UK stock markets open largely flat on a typically quiet news Friday, the FTSE 100 index virtually unchanged in early deals from Thursday's 7,278 close.
Thin company news is led by speciality plastics and packaging components specialist Essentra (ESNT). It posts a 26% slump in full year adjusted pre-tax profit as sales flag at its health and personal care packaging unit. Integration issues around its 2015 Clondalkin acquisition are being blamed but investors are unhappy, the share price down more tha 3% to 406.3p.
New CEO Paul Forman states that he plans to reveal his vision of the group's future at half year results, sometime in the summer.
UK manufacturer Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) will sell its European rotary transfer systems business in a rough €40m on a cash and debt neutral basis, the company says. The buyer is US manufacturer of motion and fluid control systems, Moog. The deal barely moves the needle for the £850m-odd UK firm, the stock largely unchanged at 297p.
International hotels operator Millennium & Copthorne (MLC) reports final results for 2016 showing group revenue per available room (RevPAR) increasing 6.6% to £76.71. But this growth was all down to the weak pound, RevPAR factually reversed 2.3% once currency movements are stripped out. But investors seem happy enough will the outcome, the share price steady at 430.7p.
Property investors Segro (SGRO) beat analysts' bleak post-Brexit predictions with both its full-year earnings per share and net asset value coming in ahead of forecasts. Robust industrial property markets kept the ship stable, Segro also saying it will pay a 5% higher dividend of 11.2p per share. That latter news lifts investor spirits and the share price, up 3% at 497.6p.
Translation technology expert to the global gaming world Keywords Studios (KWS:AIM) has bolstered its creative development, visuals and user interface (UI) expertise with the £1.2m swoop for Spov. Based in London, Keywords is buying the star-up from founder Allen Leitch, not that the market has noticed, the shares flat at 621p.
Struggling industrial dispute resolution business Driver Group (DRV:AIM) has launched an £8m fund raise as it desperately tries to turn its fortunes round. There is also a separate £500,000 open offer but the deep 26% discount of the cash call has got investors selling in droves. Full year figures from the company demonstrate its main problem, with revenues up 21% to £58.3m yet pre-tax losses widening considerably, from £1.9m to £5.3m.
