FTSE 250 movers: Redrow falls despite rise in profits

The FTSE 250 continued to slide on Tuesday, with the second tier market down 140.79 points (0.91%) to 15,357.20 by mid-afternoon.

Redrow was near the top of the fallers list despite posting a rise in first half pre-tax profit as revenue and completions grew.

In the six months to the end of December, pre-tax profit increased 14% to a record £104m, on revenue of £603m, up 8% from the same period in 2015. Earnings per share, meanwhile, were 15% higher at 22.9p and the operating margin was 18.2% versus 17% the previous year. Legal completions were up 18% in the period to 2,178, with Help to Buy continuing to support demand. In addition, the company announced an interim dividend of 4p per share, which was double that of last year, and guidance of 10p for the year, compared to 6p in 2015.

Chairman Steve Morgan said: “We are only at the beginning of the spring selling season, however demand for new homes remains robust. We ended the first half with a record order book up 51% on this time last year, and in the first six weeks of the second half have secured 455 private reservations, 10% ahead of last year.” However the company did confirm it has seen a slowdown in London despite the rest of the UK performing well.

Sophos Group’s third quarter results were hit by the strong dollar depleting some of its gains made through a major acquisition in the three months to 31 December 2015.

Like-for-like billings were up 17.4% year-on-year, with growth across all major regions and product categories, though notwithstanding stronger quarterly comparatives. Sophos' reported billings grew 10.6% year-on-year, reflecting significant currency headwinds including the devaluation of both sterling and the euro against the US dollar. Reported revenue in the quarter was $121.4m (£84.16m), up 4.7% over 12 months earlier, or 11.9% growth on a constant currency basis. Its reported cash EBITDA was $34.8m, up 5.5% year-on-year or 16.3% at constant currency.

Investors also weren’t convinced with Allied Minds saying that 2015 was a year of investment rather than cashflow, as it updated the market of its trading in the 12 months to 31 December 2015.

The company had net cash and investments - including cash in the form of fixed income securities - of $194.8m (£135.37m) at the end of the year, down from $261.5m at the end of 2014. Revenues fell during the year to $3.2m, from $7.7m, with the board blaming revenue shortfall at RF Biocidics, with following initial regulatory approval now required certification for each individual installation, delaying revenue.

During 2015, the firm invested $102.8m into new and existing portfolio companies, including leading fundraisings of $63.6m - with $42.2m coming from third-party investment - to accelerate the development of two of the group's existing companies.

Meanwhile Poundland continued to rise on Tuesday, a day after Deutsche Bank upgraded the company from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’ - a move it said was controversial.

It said the company has had a challenging start to the year, but believed the company can help itself to offset the challenges it faces. It also noted consensus earnings for the year to the end of March have fallen by 40%, due to weak sales and the 99p Stores business.

“We have little expectation that like for like sales trends will improve in the near-term, so operational deleverage risks remain.” However, Deutsche Bank did see two years of “exceptionally strong” earnings growth, and believed positive catalysts from the company’s multi-price trials in the UK could alleviate concerns about the business model.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Acacia Mining (ACA) 237.00p 3.31%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 218.80p 3.21%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,263.00p 2.10%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 711.00p 1.72%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 463.40p 1.40%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 5,815.00p 1.13%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 1,794.00p 1.07%
Poundland Group (PLND) 148.10p 0.95%
Kier Group (KIE) 1,227.00p 0.90%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 276.00p 0.88%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Vedanta Resources (VED) 217.80p -10.74%
Redrow (RDW) 381.60p -9.57%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 187.40p -9.12%
Enterprise Inns (ETI) 71.85p -9.05%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 264.70p -7.99%
Aldermore Group (ALD) 180.00p -7.07%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 261.60p -6.77%
Allied Minds (ALM) 279.00p -6.47%
Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) 270.30p -6.34%
Vectura Group (VEC) 168.00p -5.88%