FTSE 250 movers: Indivior surges, Hargreaves Lansdown out of favour

22nd Feb 2024 14:56

(Sharecast News) - FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,295.52 0.92%

Indivior surged on Thursday after the opioid addiction treatment maker said it was planning to move its primary listing to the US.

Indivior said it was initiating consultations with shareholders on potentially shifting to a primary listing in the US this year, while maintaining a secondary listing in the UK.

The company said a US listing could be beneficial as it would "reflect the group's current and future growth opportunities for its proprietary treatments" - Sublocade, Perseries and Opvee - which are centred in the US.

In addition, it would attract more US investors and analysts and allow for inclusion in major US indices over time.

Indivior also pointed to the fact that a growing proportion of its share capital is owned by US-based investors.

News of the potential move came alongside 2023 results, which showed that operating losses narrowed to $4m from $85m a year earlier, while total net revenue rose 21% to $1.1bn.

At 0900 GMT, the shares were up 18.1% at 1,601p.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Indivior is currently the forty-seventh largest company on the FTSE 250 index. One would expect it to receive a higher valuation on the US market and that's a key reason why many companies switch listing location.

"The company has nearly half of its shares owned by US investors and the US is one of its major sales regions so there is logic in having a US stock listing. However, it would be yet another blow to the reputation of the London Stock Exchange as a listing venue. The more companies that follow this path, the harder it will be to attract new names to the UK."

Instant-service equipment business ME Group said on Thursday that it had delivered a "year of record financial performance", with both revenues and profits growing in the 12 months ended 31 October.

ME Group said revenues were 14.6% higher at £297.7m, while underlying earnings grew 15.6% to £106.6m and pre-tax profits surged 25.7% to £67.1m. Earnings per share were 30.1% higher on a diluted basis at 13.31p.

The FTSE 250-listed group noted that its next-generation photo booth rollout was underway, modernising and digitalising its photobooth estate, while it also continued the expansion of its laundry operations.

ME added that it had created further shareholder value through dividends, with total dividends per share increasing from 12.70p to 7.39p.

Chief executive Serge Crasnianski said: "We are pleased to report a year of record financial performance during which we continued to make good strides in delivering on our long-term growth strategy. We have reported strong revenue and profit growth across all of our business areas and geographic regions, achieved despite the widely reported macroeconomic challenges.

"The board looks ahead to the future with confidence and, notwithstanding changes in the macro environment, expects the group to build on the success of FY 2023 and achieve continued revenue and earnings growth in FY 2024."

As of 1100 GMT, ME Group shares were 4.82% higher at 139.20p.

Shares in Jupiter Fund Management jumped on Thursday, after full-year profits came in comfortably ahead of expectations.

The FTSE 250 investment manager reported a 7% dip in net revenues in the year to 31 December to £368.8m.

But a "disciplined" approach to cost control meant operating costs fell by 12%, helping support a 36% jump in underlying pre-tax profits to £105.2m.

Analysts had been expecting pre-tax profits closer to £91.5m.

Assets under management also rose, by 4% to £52.2bn, driven by positive net inflows from institutional clients.

Total outflows were £2.2bn, though that moderated notably from 2022's £3.5bn.

Matthew Beesley, chief executive, said: "We have delivered a robust performance this year, despite the challenges faced by our industry.

"Our strong capital position means we are well-placed to invest for the future. The market outlook continues to be uncertain but I am confident that we have a strong underlying business and a strategy that can delivered growth over the medium term."

As at 0945 GMT, shares in Jupiter were trading 7% higher at 87.55p.

Deutsche Numis, which has a 'hold' rating on the stock, said: "We estimate that 2024 so far has seen trackable net inflows of £0.2bn, which is an encouraging start compared to prior periods in our view.

"Overall, we think there is little in this statement for the bears, and there are some early signs of improvement. Whether the latter can be sustained remains to be seen, but it is clearly encouraging nonetheless."

There were few surprises in Genus's interim results on Thursday after a detailed trading update from the animal genetics company just last week, as it reported a 31% drop in adjusted profits as expected.

Shares in Genus tanked 16% on 15 February after the company guided to full-year adjusted pre-tax profit of £58m, owing to challenging markets, well below the consensus forecast for a similar outcome from last year's £71.5m.

However, an absence of bad news its interim results has provided some reassurance, with shares rising 2.5% at 1,960p following the figures on Thursday morning.

In line with recent guidance, Genus said revenues were £334m in the six months to 31 December, down 5% on the previous year, which it described as "resilient" in a tough environment. At constant currency, revenues would have risen 1%.

Adjusted pre-tax profit was down 26% year-on-year on a reported basis at £29m due to weakness in China, particularly in its porcine business PIC and dairy/cattle unit ABS. In the latter specifically, demand for dairy genetics in China was hit by a double-digit decline in the dairy herd.

As mentioned last week, Genus is now undergoing a so-called "Value Acceleration Programme" in ABS to improve profitability and returns from investments.

"We have taken rapid action including initiating a comprehensive programme to accelerate the value delivery from our bovine operations," said chief executive Jorgen Kokke.

"We have also completed a strategic review of R&D activities. The company is benefitting from savings achieved in the first half and will benefit further in the second half of the year and into FY25, as we optimise resource allocation to best deliver our growth objectives."

The company said there was no change to the full-year guidance given last week, assuming that current market conditions persist for the rest of the year.

"We are seeing the positive impact of our actions to accelerate value delivery which will deliver further benefit in the second half and in subsequent years," Kokke said.

Hargreaves Lansdown reported a 6% rise in assets under administration in its half-year results on Thursday, reaching a record high of £142.2bn by 31 December, compared to £127.1b a year earlier.

The FTSE 250 company said net new business, however, dipped to £1b from £1.6bn in the prior year's first half.

Revenue rose 5% to £368.2m, and underlying diluted earnings per share settled at 34.6p, a marginal decrease from 35.5p in the first half of the 2023 financial year.

The board hiked the interim dividend by 4% to 13.2p, up from 12.7p in the prior year's corresponding period.

Self-storage group Safestore said on Thursday that quarterly revenues had fallen amid "challenging economic conditions".

Revenues were down 0.7% year-on-year at £55.3m, with closing occupancy just 0.2% higher at 6.11m square foot, and average storage rates were 1.2% weaker at £30.06.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 - Risers

Indivior (INDV) 1,560.00p 15.04%

Me Group International (MEGP) 147.00p 10.69%

Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 88.80p 8.29%

Close Brothers Group (CBG) 350.00p 8.23%

Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 655.50p 6.07%

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,205.00p 5.25%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,210.00p 5.19%

Darktrace (DARK) 359.60p 5.15%

Genus (GNS) 2,002.00p 4.71%

Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,108.00p 4.63%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 754.00p -6.38%

PZ Cussons (PZC) 100.20p -2.72%

Victrex plc (VCT) 1,286.00p -2.65%

Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 775.50p -2.64%

BBGI Global Infrastructure S.A. NPV (DI) (BBGI) 123.00p -2.54%

Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 370.00p -2.48%

Tullow Oil (TLW) 29.42p -2.19%

British Land Company (BLND) 361.50p -2.14%

Quilter (QLT) 101.60p -2.03%

IP Group (IPO) 49.35p -1.50%