Peppa Pig film sows more seeds of success in China
Investors cannot get enough of Peppa Pig.
In a steady-as-she-goes update to the stock market, Entertainment One, the media company that owns the pink cartoon porker, signalled the outlook was rosy.
It is hoping for another boost from the release in China of a Peppa Pig film early next year, which will be just in time for the Chinese Year of the Pig.
there was little movement in the share price before they suddenly sprang into life in afternoon trading, finally closing up 9.1pc, or 34.8p, at 417p.
Drugs company Indivior has continued to tumble after sneaking out a business update saying its revenue could be hit by more than £100m. the Ftse 250 pharmaceutical firm has been embroiled for months in a court battle with Indian competitor Dr reddy’s Laboratories, over a drug called suboxone Film.
Indivior created the drug, which helps addicts wean themselves off heroin, but has accused Dr reddy’s of infringing its patent by making a cheaper alternative.
Late on Wednesday, Indivior announced the sales it had lost to Dr reddy’s would put its revenues in the £750m to £774m range, down from £858m to £888m.
shares plummeted by 16.5pc immediately after, and yesterday fell another 13pc, or 28p, to 187p.
A promise from the company that it would save between £61m and £76m in 2019, by reducing administrative costs, cutting jobs such as lawyers and statisticians, and reprioritising research, seemed to fall on deaf ears.
nevertheless, broker numis retained its ‘buy’ rating. Currently Dr reddy’s has been slapped with a court injunction which stops it from importing, selling or offering its drug. even if this was lifted, in a decision due in november, numis thinks Indivior has a good product portfolio. the UK’s biggest bike seller Halfords also suffered, on rumours that it was in the running to buy struggling rival evans Cycles.
evans is rushing to fill a £10m cash hole, and has put itself up for sale in the hope that a new investor would fund it through the tough winter.
A number of turnaround houses also tabled offers for evans, owned by private equity house eCI.
George salmon, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘Halfords investors should be aware that evans, which attracted a valuation of £100m as recently as 2015, needs stabilising.’
He suggested more than £10m would be needed for a full turnaround. Halfords’ boss Graham stapleton plans to bump up spending on his own stores from £40m to £60m a year, and salmon said it needed to be careful not to over- exert itself. shares sank 7.6pc, or 25.6p, to 310.2p.
online gambling company 888, on the other hand, hadn’t exerted itself enough in investors’ view.
shares dropped 15.4pc, or 34.6p, to 190.2p as the casino and gaming company said revenue was up by just 1pc, at £208.5m.
regulatory scrutiny around consumer protection and gambling addiction knocked UK bingo revenue by 11pc, though the World Cup boosted its sport sector.
the FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.5pc, or 33.95 points, at 7545.44, helped by British Gas owner Centrica. the company climbed 2.9pc, or 4.25p, to 153.5p after regulator ofgem announced a crackdown on complaints handling.
oil giant BP added its heft, rising 1.3pc, or 7.3p, to 593.3p as it received approval to develop a new oilfield in the north sea.
But petrol station supplier DCC fell 4.2pc, or 310p, to 7000p after it said it was issuing 8.9m shares to pay for the £130m acquisition of Jam Group, a Canadian musical instrument and audio equipment firm.