London’s small and mid cap markets gained in early afternoon trade on Thursday as companies such as Lancashire Holdings, 888 and Hurricane Energy shared trading updates and results.
FTSE 250
Lancashire Holdings jumped 13% to 450p as the insurer said gross written premiums in the first quarter of 2022 rose 35% from 2021 to $477.9m. The company also estimated a hit between $20m to $30m due to the war in Ukraine.
Telecom Plus shares gained 5.5% to 1,615p after the company announced an annualised H2 customer growth rate of 20% is expected to continue in FY23. The company said profits are expected to be in line with forecasts.
Inchcape shares rose 5.2% to 1,002p as the automotive retailer and distributor said revenue climbed 13% organically YoY in the first quarter of 2022. The group expects a 25% rise in pretax profit to £300m in 2022 on a Russia-adjusted basis.
Spectris shares increased 4.5% to 2,789p after the company announced a “strong” start to 2022 where trading and order book provides momentum for the full-year in its Q1 trading update. The group said organic sales growth was up 12% and order intake strengthened by 29%.
Hays share price gained 3.7% to 121p as the company announced that today it will launch a share buyback programme to purchase up to £75m of ordinary shares of 1p and is expected to commence on 29 April 2022.
Synthomer shares increased 3.4% to 295p following the announcement of the group’s FY expectations remaining unchanged in its Q1 trading update. It also addressed that NBR margins and volumes continue to stabilise in line with expectations as high inventory levels of medical gloves and reduced demand due to the easing of the COVID 19 pandemic take place.
888 Holdings said revenue declined 18% to $224m in the first quarter, with the gambling firm’s exit from the Netherlands hitting monthly punter numbers. 888 said average monthly active users fell 8% yearly “reflecting the temporary exit from the Netherlands” and the timing of any licence award in the Netherlands “remains unclear”. However, 888 Holdings’ shares rose 3% to 190p.
Weir Group shares fell 5.6% to 1,519p when the group said that the loss of sales from Russia in 2022 is expected to have an impact on the group’s underlying operating profit of up to £20m. However, Jon Stanton said, “the group has had an excellent start to the year”, as Weir’s aftermarket saw strong demands with orders up 28% and 3% sequentially.
AIM
Simec Atlantis Energy shares soared 23% to 2.85p following the company’s announcement of the transition of the Uskmouth site into a sustainable energy park. The group said the Uskmouth site has a 230MW grid connection along with substantial land and infrastructure that make it a prime location for the delivery of a “large-scale, commercially attractive, BESS facility”.
Empyrean Energy shares leapt 18.4% to 3p as shares rebounded from the 77% plunge on Wednesday after the group announced that the Jade prospect reached final total depth but logging indicated no oil pay in the target reservoir in offshore China.
Angle shares jumped 12.6% to 102p after the company group reported a £0.2m increase in revenue and a £3.2m increase in cash and cash equivalents. The liquid biopsy company said that its Prostate cancer study design was completed and it began discussions with a major group of United States urology clinics to partner in the study and provide access to a patient base for the group.
Corcel shares gained 9% to 1.47p as the natural resource exploration company signed a Heads of Terms with a UK investment fund to fund its current and future UK energy storage and generation projects.
Hurricane Energy reported its full-year results in which the company generated revenues of $240.5m from seven liftings of Lancaster crude compared to $180.1m from 12 liftings in 2021 which lead the group’s shares to rise 7% to 9.9p.
Hurricane Energy noted a profit after tax of $18.2m compared to a loss after tax of $625.3m in 2021.
Live Company shares tanked 10.2% to 11p despite the company announcing a new contract for Bricklive Paddington with Paddington Now BID which will be based in Norfolk Square Gardens, London from July 23 to July 31.
Empire Metal shares sunk 9% to 2p after the group announced that its placing to raise £1.7m to accelerate exploration at the group’s Eclipse and Gindalbie Projects.
BP Exploration Operating Co, a subsidiary of oil company BP sold its 5% stake in Serica Energy sending Serica’s shares to fall 7.7% to 362p. The group raised £49.3m by selling 13.5m shares in Serica at a price of 365p and Serica will not receive any of the proceeds.
Oilex shares dropped 3.8% to 0.19p as the group said in its quarterly report that it has received permits from the Gujurat state government to commence production at its Cambay Fields, however, the process took too long and resulted in no production from the region as the group waited to recommence operations.
