Credit agency Experian (EXPN) falls 6.1% to £10.65 after full-year results flag short-term headwinds. Subdued trading in Brazil and a likely hit to revenue in the US, due to operational changes, are combining to constrain growth in the first half of its new financial year. Read our latest view on Experian in this cover story on investment themes from December 2013 which flagged some of the risks highlighted in today's update.
Supermarkets giant Sainsbury's (SBRY) slips 1.8% to 327.3 after warning of tough times ahead for the food retail sector. This is despite robust full-year figures where pre-tax profits rise 5.3% to £798 million and like-for-like sales creep up 0.2% in the year to 15 March, a testing year in which Sainsbury's maintained its grocery market share at 16.8%, its highest for a decade. Read our news analysis on the results.
OneSavings Bank has confirmed its intention to float on London’s main market. We look at the story in more detail here.
Media giant ITV (ITV) rises 2% to 189.7p after strengthening its position in the US content market. It is paying $360 million for 80% of Leftfield, an independent producer of reality programmes including Real Housewives of New Jersey.
Aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce (RR.) falls 0.9% to £10.30 as it announces the £785 million sale of its gas turbine and compressor business to Siemens (SIE:ETR). On completion, expected in December this year, Rolls will get a further £200 million for a 25-year licensing agreement on its gas turbine technology Investec comments that the transaction 'looks unlikely to be a catalyst for a significant re-rating'.
Tobacco giant Imperial Tobacco (IMT), the world's fourth biggest cigarettes company, puffs up 18p (0.72%) to £25.35 on resilient half-year results which reassure that full-year forecasts will be met. CEO Alison Cooper flags market outperformance from Imperial's Growth Brands, including recovering sales of Davidoff, JPS and Gauloises Blondes cigarettes.
Property portal Rightmove (RMV) falls 1% to £23.96 despite a bullish trading update for the first four months of 2014. It retains a slot in the UK's top 10 most popular websites with a 14% rise in page impressions year-on-year. More estate agents and new home advertisers are using its website and January saw a new monthly record for traffic with 1.45 billion pages viewed.
Industrial fastener specialist Trifast (TRI) marches ahead, rising 8.1% to 100p, as it announces plans to buy Italian rival Viterie Italia Centrale for £22.5 million. N+1 Singer says the acquisition should enhance earnings by 15-20% in the March 2015 financial year and 20-25% in March 2016.
Clean energy storage developer Ilika (IKA:AIM) is in demand, the shares jumping more than 6% to 64.5p, as the company is granted UK patents on some of its solid-state battery processes. The joint filing is in conjunction with Japanese car giant Toyota.
Cloud calls service supplier Coms (COMS:AIM) rallies a little more than 4% to 6.28p on string of new contract wins worth £14.2 million. We featured the near-£60 million cap in Shares in February.
Car dealer Vertu Motors (VTU:AIM) edges up another 1.44% to 61.88p on superb full-year results to end-February. The acquisitive automotive dealer's taxable profits sped 116% higher to £17.5 million on sales up 33.8% to more than £1.7 billion during a transformational year of expansion, during which Vertu outperformed a buoyant UK new car market. The company was featured in Shares in January.
Bargain Booze and Wine Rack-owner Conviviality Retail (CVR:AIM), a running Shares Play at 155p, gains 1.5p at 168.5p on a positive pre-close trading update. Following a strong Easter, full-year earnings are expected to be 'slightly ahead' of consensus expectations says Conviviality, which yesterday announced the acquisition of 26 Rhythm & Booze stores in Yorkshire.
Connectivity supplier Volex (VLX) attempts to reassure investors with a short data division update and 4G rollouts. But there's little real news, so while the shares edge 2.3% up to 98.25p, it's worth remembering the challenges facing the company, as we explained last month.
Medical equipment maker EKF Diagnostics (EKF:AIM) plummets 20% to 26p on news that US reimbursement rate cuts. The agreement, for its drug metabolism genetic biomarkers from recently acquired Selah Genomics, will be $495 per sample, almost half the $941 expected. EKF has not altered its expectations.
Stem cell specialist ReNeuron (RENE:AIM) improves 3.8% to 3.3p on positive stroke therapy results in first clinical trial. The company is also looking for a new chief executive after number cruncher Michael Hunt switches to more familiar territory as the company's chief financial officer.
