Carpetright flies after it takes axe to failing stores
Carpetright shares were flying after creditors gave the troubled floor- coverings retailer the nod to close 81 stores.
As part of its plans, the smallcap company will also try to secure rent cuts of up to 50pc at 113 shops and raise £60m from shareholders to balance the books.
Carpetright, which has more than 400 stores, issued three profit warnings in four months as it struggled with too many sites and falling sales.
Its shares boomed 9.4pc, or 3.65p, to 42.65p yesterday.
Sterling slumped by nearly 1pc against the dollar, giving a boost to the FtSe 100 as many of its constituents have big overseas earnings. The blue- chip index ended the day up more than 1pc or 80.78 points at 7502.21, while the FtSe 250 rose 0.67pc, or 134.01 points, to 20,271.63.
Shares in FTSE 100 budget airline easyJet nudged up 1.4pc, or 22.5p, to 1606.5p after broker RBC Capital Markets increased its target price from 1700p to 1800p.
Analysts downgraded Kaz Minerals
from ‘add’ to ‘hold’ over concerns the FTSE 250 miner will not be able to step up production as much as hoped, despite posting ‘reasonably positive’ first quarter figures on Thursday.
In a note to investors, Peel Hunt said: ‘We would not sell out of the stock as we continue to believe it offers strong potential upside should copper prices spike on any supply disruption over the balance of this year.
‘We believe that at current share prices, investors need to believe such disruption will happen in order to justify adding to positions right now.’
Shares edged 0.2pc, or 1.6p, lower to 914.6p, although they
were down 2.6pc at one point during trading. pets at home boss Peter Pritchard ended his first day in charge with the retailer’s shares in the red, as analysts predicted he has a battle on his hands in the face of tough competition. Russ Mould, of broker AJ Bell, said: ‘Mr Pritchard’s first challenge is to find a way to cope with growing competition from online players, general merchandisers and supermarkets.’
Shares in the troubled pet supplies retailer dipped 0.3pc, or 0.5p, to 154.8p.
Ultra electronics shares fell despite the defence firm boasting of a bulging order book.
It had £933m-worth of orders at the end of March, up from £914m at the start of the year.
Rami Myerson, an analyst at Investec, said: ‘Ultra trades at a discount to its UK defence peers, which we believe does not reflect the solid underlying fundamentals and outlook for the business.’
Shares dipped 1.6pc, or 22p, to 1383p. On AIM, shares in porta
Communications rocketed as the marketing and PR group revealed plans to merge its London-based Newgate and Redleaf agencies. It has also installed Emma Kane and Brian Tyson as joint chief executives as it pushes to create a ‘more integrated global operation’. Shares leapt 61.3pc, or 1.38p, to 3.63p. Technology recruitment firm
harvey Nash was up during trading after reporting record revenues of £889.3m in the year to January 31. However, pre-tax profit slid 43.7pc to £5.4m as a result of restructuring costs and the acquisitions of IT recruiter Crimson and PAT, a Swedish leadership consultancy. Shares motored 6.2pc, or 6p, higher to 102.5p.
Shares in Sunrise resources soared with the miner on the verge of flogging its first load of perlite to an unknown but ‘ long established buyer’. Perlite, a type of volcanic glass that expands dramatically when heated, is used in insulation and is sometimes mixed with soil to help plants grow faster. Shares jumped 34.6pc, or 0.04p, to 0.18p.