FTSE 250 movers: Trainline roars ahead, Virgin not in the money

Trainline saw sales and profits recover to above their pre-Covid levels, driven by the rebound in UK Consumer and International Consumer net ticket sales.

For the full-year ending on 28 February, the rail and coach technology platform said that net ticket sales jumped by 72%, for a 74% jump in revenues to £327m.

The latter were 25% above their 2020 financial year level.

In particular, the company highlighted the four-fold increase in net ticket sales in Spain against the pre-Covid level as routes were liberalised.

It also reported a near doubling in foreign travel sales with especially strong growth in those to inbound US customers.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation meanwhile were ahead by 121% to £86m and by 1% on the FY 2020 level.

Adjusted basic profit per share rose from -0.8p for the year before to 7.7p, although they remained 0.3p below the pre-Covid mark.

Construction group Morgan Sindall held annual guidance as it said general market conditions coming into 2023 had continued to ease, with inflation falling "in certain areas".

Shares in Virgin Money slumped on Thursday as the challenger bank posted lower first-half profits due to an increase in impairment charges for bad debts and higher investment costs.

The bank posted pre-tax profits of £236m compared with £315m a year earlier. Provision for bad debt surged to £144m from £21m, as Virgin updated economic assumptions with some signs of a modest increase in arrears on customer credit cards. Shares in the firm fell almost 7.5% in early London trade having plunged almost 11%.

Virgin's results contrast sharply with major High Street competitors, which have all posted soaring profits in the last two weeks on the back of higher interest rates, although they all reported falls in deposits as customers look for better returns on savings among a sector notoriously slow to pass on rate hikes to investors.

Higher interest rates drove an improvement in income to £933m, up 10%, while the bank’s net interest margin – the difference between what it charges for loans and pays on deposits – grew by eight basis points to 1.91%.

The bank increased its outlook for its 2023 NIM to about 190 basis points, compared with the previous estimate of about 185 to 190 basis points.

IMI lifted its full-year earnings per share guidance on Thursday following a "strong" performance in the first quarter.

In an update for the quarter from 1 January to the end of March, the company said it now expects earnings per share of between 112p and 117p.

First-quarter organic revenue was up 8% on the same period a year earlier, and 16% on an adjusted basis, with strong organic growth and margin improvements in all three divisions.

IMI Precision organic revenue grew 4% in Q1 and 12% on an adjusted basis, while Industrial Automation delivered organic revenues 3% higher than the same period last year. Life Sciences saw 2% organic growth and Transportation was up 10% on an organic basis.

IMI said integration of its recent acquisitions is progressing well, "unlocking new opportunities for growth and delivering synergies in line with our business cases".

The group also said that its restructuring programmes remain on track to deliver £20m of benefits for the full year, and £13m of benefits in 2024 and £9m in 2025.

Chief executive Roy Twite said: "Following a strong first quarter performance including further momentum in the IMI Critical order intake and continued resilience in the lead indicators for IMI Precision, based on current market conditions, we are upgrading our EPS guidance for the full year to 112p to 117p.

"We remain confident in delivering our growth targets and the 20% operating margin target, through the cycle over time."

FTSE 250 - Risers

Trainline (TRN) 271.00p +13.39%

Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 1,768.00p +4.37%

IMI (IMI) 1,644.00p +2.75%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 219.40p +2.05%

NCC Group (NCC) 106.00p +1.92%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 237.50p +1.67%

HGCapital Trust (HGT) 347.00p +1.61%

FirstGroup (FGP) 120.40p +1.43%

Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 176.90p +1.26%

Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 96.80p +1.26%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) 793.00p -8.43%

ASOS (ASC) 681.00p -7.65%

Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 145.05p -5.29%

4Imprint Group (FOUR) 4,305.00p -4.65%

Future (FUTR) 1,071.00p -4.63%

Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 268.20p -4.35%

Currys (CURY) 55.70p -3.63%

Vanquis Banking Group 20 (VANQ) 216.50p -3.56%

The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG) 125.80p -3.23%

Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 162.75p -3.01%