Shares in Imperial Leather owner PZ Cussons slumped after a plunge in the currency of Nigeria.
The stock fell 15 per cent, or 15.7p, to 87.5p after the consumer goods firm swung to a loss of £96million for the 12 months to the end of May, against a £62million profit the year before. The Manchester firm was hit by a 70 per cent fall in the naira against the dollar in that time.
Group revenues fell by a fifth to £528million and the annual dividend was halved.
Trading improved in UK personal care with Carex handwash back to growth. The firm said it was making progress selling tanning brand St Tropez and could offload its African arm.
Nigeria woes: PZ Cussons stock fell 15% after the St Tropez tanning brand-owner swung to a loss of £96m for the 12 months to the end of May, against a £62m profit the year before
The FTSE 100 fell 0.7 per cent, or 56 points, to 8254 and the FTSE 250 fell 0.5 per cent, or 109 points, to 20,835.
Reckitt Benckiser is being aided by Morgan Stanley in talks on the sale of homecare assets including Air Wick and Cillit Bang that could be worth £6billion or more, said Bloomberg, in a deal to be completed next year.
Reckitt would not comment on ‘market rumours or speculation’ yesterday. Its shares closed up 1.24 per cent, or 57p, at 4,667p.
Legal & General has agreed to sell housebuilder Cala Homes to private equity firms Sixth Street Partners, based in the US, and Patron Capital for £1.35billion. L&G shares fell 3 per cent, or 6.5p, to 222p
AstraZeneca’s Fasenra has been approved in the US to treat a rare disease that harms organs.
But its stock fell 0.9 per cent, or 112p, to 11,856p. Its rival GSK settled two more claims in California that discontinued heartburn drug Zantac causes cancer.
Stock Watch – Ingenta
Software provider Ingenta warned project delays will hit profits.
The group expects profits to be between £1.8million and £2million this year. It made £2.2million in 2023.
The outlook came after profits more than halved to £700,000 in first half of 2024.
Sales fell 10 per cent to £5.1million due to lower commercial revenues driven by project delays over the summer and customers taking longer to make spending decisions.
Shares tumbled 18 per cent, or 21p, to 97p.
It also reported positive results from a trial into taking its shingles and respiratory vaccines together. But shares still slid 0.3 per cent, or 5.5p, to 1,604p.
Deutsche Bank advised clients to buy shares in IT services provider Kainos despite last month’s warning that weaker trading would hit annual spending. But shares fell 0.5 per cent, or 4p, to 876p.
HSBC analysts have cut precision instrument supplier Spectris’s rating from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’, lowering the target price by 650p. Shares fell 4.6 per cent, or 130p, to 2,676p.
Online card shop Moonpig warned of consumers continuing to rein in spending, sending shares down 1 per cent, or 2p, to 200.5p.
M&C Saatchi was boosted by higher advertising spending in the US, Europe and Middle East and offloading loss-making arms, which helped the firm return to a profit of £11.3million after a £5.1million loss. Shares rose 1 per cent, or 2p, to 193.5p.
But currency firm Argentex posted lower sales as weaker volatility on foreign exchange markets hit client spending.
Group revenue fell 4 per cent to £23.9million in the first half of 2024, and the firm swung to a loss of £1.7million, after a £4.8million profit a year before. Shares fell 5 per cent, or 1.75p, to 34p.
Christie, which provides professional business services, issued a profit warning due to delays in completing deals. Shares tumbled 11 per cent, or 12.5p, to 97.5p.
Creo Medical sold a 51 per cent stake in its European arm for £25million to Chinese firm Micro-Tech.
The medical device supplier will use the proceeds to shore up its finances. Shares rose 13 per cent, or 3.75p, to 32.50p.
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