FTSE 250 was up 1.1% to 21,306 and the AIM index gained 0.5% to 1,043 in late morning trading on Tuesday on hopes of a market resurgence as Ukraine continued its peace talks with Russia.
FTSE 250 Risers
Mining company, Ferrexpo saw its shares fly 10% to 184p as it announced its support for Ukraine with its Humanitarian Fund update with the company supplying batteries for light vehicles, medical equipment and materials for temporary housing.
Tullow Oil shares gained 4% to 53p following the firm’s shares responding positively to completing the Azinam acquistion.
IWG shares rose 3.3% to 267p after the company announced a share buyback of 75,000 ordinary shares of 1p each at an average price of 259.68, representing 0.007% of issued share capital.
Liontrust Asset Management shares increased 3% to 1,272p following the confirmation of the acquisition of Majedie Asset Management.
888Holdings shares gained 1.3% to 191p after the announcement of their joint venture, 888Africa.
FTSE 250 Fallers
Property developer, Bellway saw its shares fall 5% as costs associated with building safety improvements rose to £22.1m. The company did however report a 3.5% increase in revenues followed by an 11.6% increase in underlying operating profits as the company noted a strong order book for 2022.
Bellway increased dividends from 35p to 45p in H1 2022 and currently has a 3x dividend cover.
“What hasn’t gone away are tight supply and demand dynamics and at least the housebuilders have taken the opportunity to fix the roof while the sun is shining,” said Russ Mould, Investment Director, AJ Bell.
“Most have strong balance sheets and Bellway is no exception with net cash of nearly £200 million. This may also support the ability to pay dividends to reward investors for their patience during any future market downturn.”
TP ICAP shares faded nearly 2% as the optimism around their recent update diminished.
AIM Fallers
Driver Group shares sunk almost 30% to 27.5p as the company revised their outlook for 2022 with a decrease in the group’s pre-tax profits from £1m to £300k – £500k for the half-year, following the company’s drop in revenues in the Middle East due to a ‘problematic loss-making contract’.
SkinBio Therapeutics shares plummeted 20% to 36.5p on Tuesday morning after the company announced pre-tax losses which nearly doubled to £1.16bn from £0.6bn in H1 2021. The firm also noted a slower than expected US market penetration in its half-year reports.
EQTEC saw its shares fall 9% to 1p following its announcement that it had obtained a new unsecured loan facility for up to £10m, with an initial advance of £5m to be received by 29 March 2022 from Riverfort Global Opportunities and YA II PN.
IQE also suffered with a drop of 4.4% to 39p as revenues decreased by 13% to £154k in 2021 as a result of the wireless and photonics segment’s revenues seeing a drop of 12% and 17% respectively.
Northamber shares fell 9.6% to 56.5p as the company recorded a pre-tax loss of £116k compared to a £230k profit in 2020 as distribution and administration costs pulled the group’s revenues down.
AIM Risers
Mobile Tornado Group shares soared 18% to 1.05p after the company extended its loan facility with InTechnology for an additional 12 months to September 26, 2023. The principal amount that can be drawn also increased from £300k to £500k.
Lansdowne Oil and Gas shares flew 18% to 0.65p a week after the company raised funds to develop the Barryroe prospect and provide working capital for the coming 6 months.
Near-patient molecular diagnostics company Genedrive shares gained 24% to 31p following the announcement from UK’s National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) issuing a new Medtech Innovation Briefing (MIB) on the Genedrive MT-RNR1 test.
The shares gained despite Genedrive noting a pre-tax loss of £2.8m compared to profits of £621k in H1 2021 and stating a lack of revenues due to delays in product development.
Aquis Exchange shares increased 4% to 507p after the company noted an increase of 42% to £16.2m in revenues and its pre-tax profits soared 540% to £3.2m.
“I am delighted to be reporting such strong financial results today, with revenue up 42% and profit before tax increased in excess of five times from what we recorded in FY20,” said Alasdair Haynes, Chief Executive Officer, Aquis Exchange.
“It is clear we have now transformed into a business with dependable revenues, generating significant profits, and with a very robust financial position.”
“We have shown we are able to not only withstand periods of intense volatility and uncertainty, but to continue growing and investing throughout them. This gives us great confidence going forward.”
In addition to their AIM listing, Aquis have recently listed on their own Aquis Growth Market.