FTSE 250 movers: CWW talks send shares soaring

1st Mar 2012 12:40

Indian outfit Tata Communications said it is in talks with UK telecoms firm Cable and Wireless Worldwide (CWW) regarding an offer - confirming earlier speculation - stepping on the toes of Vodafone which last month revealed its interest in the company. CWW's shares surged nearly 20% early on, and were up around 16-17% by midday. Communications technology company Spirent was also on the up after it reported a 10% rise in annual profit after a strong performance at its major division performance analysis. Meanwhile, defence group Chemring was a heavy faller after saying that, while it is trading in line with expectations, its long-serving Finance Director will step down by the end of July. A search is underway to find a replacement for Paul Rayner who will step down no later than July 31st. Rayner has been with Chemring since 1994 and has been Finance Director since 1999. Allied Gold shares also took a hit after foreign exchange movements in 2011 sent the company plunging into the red. The group announced a loss before tax of $5.97m for 2011 versus a profit of $5.77m the year before, with foreign exchange losses of $4.06m contributing massively to the scale of the loss. In 2010, currency movements had worked in the company's favour and boosted profits by $1.69m. The group switched from reporting its results in Australian dollars to US dollars in June 2011. FTSE 250 - RisersCable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 32.35p +16.03%Spirent Communications (SPT) 149.40p +6.03%Ocado Group (OCDO) 98.60p +5.96%Telecom Plus (TEP) 643.00p +4.81%Perform Group (PER) 277.90p +4.79%Unite Group (UTG) 193.40p +4.54%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 121.00p +4.13%Hays (HAS) 83.55p +3.72%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 142.20p +3.72%Redrow (RDW) 130.80p +3.40%FTSE 250 - FallersNew World Resources A Shares (NWR) 521.50p -4.66%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 800.50p -3.55%Petropavlovsk (POG) 695.00p -3.27%Chemring Group (CHG) 425.80p -2.96%Allied Gold Mining (ALD) 108.50p -2.25%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 89.05p -1.93%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 502.00p -1.76%Drax Group (DRX) 510.00p -1.73%Rank Group (RNK) 135.30p -1.67%JPMorgan Russian Securities (JRS) 587.00p -1.34%NR