London’s FTSE 100 rises 79.5 points to 7,032 and the FTSE 250 powers 212.7 points higher to 18,746 on the latest Brexit news, although the muted 1.15% gain for the FTSE 250 index is by no means large enough to suggest investors are hungry for UK equities once more after a long downbeat period. EU leaders may have agreed the UK’s exit deal, but getting it approved by parliament is the real hard task, so UK equities are likely to remain volatile until the vote in mid-December.
Lamprell (LAM) gushes 11% higher to 67.4p on news the oil rig assembler has been chosen by Saudi Aramco to be part of its much sought after Long Term Agreement for Offshore Facilities (LTA) programme. Under the money-spinning programme Lamprell, which submitted its bid in a consortium with marine contractor Boskalis, will focus on the engineering, procurement and construction of offshore structures.
Rio Tinto (RIO) improves 18p to £36.60 after agreeing to sell its 68.6% stake in the Rossing uranium mine in Namibia to China National Uranium Corporation for up to $106.5m. Rio Tinto CEO J-S Jacques says ‘the sale of our interest in Rössing once again demonstrates our commitment to strengthening our portfolio and focussing on our core assets, which deliver sector leading returns in the short, medium and long term.’
Belfast-headquartered IT, consulting and software solutions firm Kainos (KNOS) rises 5.3% to 442p on stellar half year results driven by burgeoning demand for its Digital Transformation and Workday Services. Sales and profits are tracking well ahead of market expectations, Kainos putting up a 42% surge in adjusted pre-tax profit to £10.1m on sales up 62% to £67.2m in the first half.
Investors also welcome a bullish outlook statement from CEO Brendan Mooney, who insists Kainos’ pipeline of prospects ‘continues to strengthen across all divisions’ with the group ‘well-positioned for growth both in the short-term and in the coming years.’
Also in demand is sector peer Sanderson (SND:AIM), the cloud software supplier skipping 7.7% higher to 91.5p on robust full year results with a 13% hike in the total dividend to 3p. There’s also a bullish outlook statement, with Sanderson, even at this relatively early stage of the new financial year, confident it can ‘once again deliver trading results which are, at least, in line with market expectations for the year ending 30 September 2019.’
Cerillion (CER:AIM), the billing, charging and customer relationship management software play perking up 2.8% to 149p on solid full year results and news of an excellent new customer pipeline.
Oil and gas outfit Faroe Petroleum (FPM:AIM) gushes 23% higher to 154.2p as DNO, Norway’s oldest independent oil and gas company, makes an all-cash offer at 152p per share, a 20.8% premium to Friday’s closing share price and valuing Faroe at £607.9m.
Vectura (VEC) is friendless, falling 8.25% to 71.2p on disappointing results from the latest trial results for its late stage asthma treatment.
Eggless and fresh cream cakes seller Cake Box (CBOX:AIM) sweetens up 3.1% to 181.5p on very strong half year results, the first since its June 2018 IPO. Total sales rose 44% to £8.3m in the six months to 30 September, reflecting a tasty combination of new franchise store openings and 4.4% like-for-like growth in spite of the hot weather.
