FTSE 250 movers: TalkTalk on the up, but Wizz Air flies lower
London’s FTSE 250 was up 0.5% to 18,243.22 in afternoon trade as investors digested encouraging UK manufacturing figures.
TalkTalk was the standout gainer as investors cheered news that chief executive Dido Harding was stepping down, and as the company said revenue and earnings for the current financial year would be affected by re-contracting activity, but will be in line with previous guidance.
Primary care property developer Assura gained ground after saying it made good progress in the third quarter and hiked the quarterly dividend 9% as it looked forward optimistically at NHS plans to build more doctors' surgeries. The group acquired 22 medical centres for a gross £48.8m in the in the third quarter ending 31 December, with these properties having a rent roll of £2.5m and a weighted average unexpired lease length of 13.8 years.
Online property sales website Zoopla was also on the front foot a day after announcing the acquisition of the Hometrack website for £120m.
On the downside, however, central and Eastern Europe focused airline Wizz Air flew lower after cutting its underlying net profit guidance for the full year despite reporting a surge in third-quarter profit, on the back of lower fuel prices and severe weather conditions.
Wizz said that although the current financial year is looking like “a very good year” for the company and it remains excited about its prospects for the next financial year, lower fuel prices continue to feed through to lower airfares, a trend which looks set to continue well into 2017. In addition, the group’s operations this winter have been disrupted by unusually severe weather conditions in CEE.
As a result, Wizz has trimmed its guidance for net profit for the full year from €245-€255m to between €225 and €235m.
Hochschild Mining fell after suspending operations at its Inmaculada mine in southern Peru following a fatal accident involving two contractors on Tuesday.
The company said an investigation is currently underway and all relevant authorities have been informed. It insisted it is committed to reviewing and reinforcing procedures to ensure safety remains the top priority across the company.
Risers
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 167.10p 6.77%
Evraz (EVR) 238.00p 6.73%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 159.80p 5.13%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 310.20p 2.99%
Paysafe Group (PAYS) 393.30p 2.99%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 292.00p 2.82%
Zoopla Property Group (ZPLA) 376.10p 2.70%
Assura (AGR) 53.35p 2.60%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 301.70p 2.51%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 273.30p 2.51%
Fallers
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,606.00p -9.83%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 239.30p -4.05%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 240.20p -2.56%
Henderson Group (HGG) 213.00p -2.29%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 257.20p -1.87%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 423.50p -1.63%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,188.00p -1.49%
Allied Minds (ALM) 392.40p -1.43%
Serco Group (SRP) 142.00p -1.39%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 270.50p -1.35%