How miners struck gold while banks lost half of their worth

Half-way through 2016, which stocks are faring the best?

DURING the past six months we’ve seen the FTSE 100 dip into bear market territory and oil prices drop to 12year lows – and that was before the Brexit vote.

It’s been a roller-coaster start to 2016, with the FTSE 100 seeing £97bn or 5.6pc wiped off its value within two days, before bouncing back to hit a 10-month high yesterday.

But analysis of the biggest 350 companies in the country shows that it’s the mid-caps where the pain has been felt, and those with overseas earnings are soaring.

Research from Spangel reported that oil, metal and agriculture product prices for the second quarter were up 13pc on the first three months of this year. So who have been the five biggest risers and fallers?

RISERS Acacia Mining – 156pc

The FTSE 250 firm has seen its shares climb more than a fifth in the last week alone since the vote to leave the EU.

Formerly known as African Barrick Gold, the company has three producing mines across Tanzania and also processes and sells gold.

Last year it upped its gold production by 2pc to 731,912 ounces but revenues decreased 7pc to £647.2m amid falling gold prices.

A report by Deutsche Bank this week reiterated its recommendation to investors to buy the stock and analysts gave a target price of 470p.

Anglo American – 139pc

South African mining company Anglo American is another firm to do well from the recent jump in commodities. But its leap is part of a longer recovery after its share price previously fell 75pc.

Anglo, which mines diamonds through its De Beers division as well as platinum and copper, ran into trouble in April when some 41pc of its investors voted against the £3.4m pay package of chief executive Mark Cutifani. And shareholders also endured a dividend cut.

Fresnillo – 131pc

Mexico-based Fresnillo mines precious metals and is the world’s largest producer of silver from ore.

The FTSE 100 company, which has a market cap of £12.2bn, saw shares soar 18pc last Friday after the Brexit vote. In the first quarter of the year its gold production went up 26.3pc and zinc increased 27.1pc.

Centamin – 102pc

Egyptian gold miner Centamin, founded in 2009, has had a bumper six months with its share price hitting five-year highs. In the three months to March it reported profits of £30.8m compared with a loss of £1.6m the year before.

Two weeks ago Centamin’s founder and chairman Josef ElRaghy cashed in £5.6m after offloading 8pc of his shares. He sold 5m shares after the stock hit 111p. The 45-year-old had already disposed of 12.6m shares in May at a price of 98p each, netting him £13.3m. Had El-Raghy waited until after the referendum, he could have made an extra £4.2m.

Randgold – 100pc

Gold miner Randgold Resources has outshone others in the sector by sticking to its progressive dividend policy despite rivals culling theirs.

Gold prices fell 9pc during 2015 to a low of $1,051 an ounce, but Randgold raised its production by 6pc and cut operating costs, outperforming the mining sector. The gold price has now risen as investors search for a safe haven away from uncertainty elsewhere. Gold is around $1,320 an ounce.

FALLERS Circassia – 67pc

British biopharmaceuticals company Circassia has had a torrid start to the year after trials for its cat allergy treatment failed at the final hurdle. Two years ago it became the UK’s biggest-ever biotech float and raised £200m, but after its clinical trial flopped its shares plummeted 64pc, leaving investors such as Neil Woodford nursing a loss.

Restaurant Group – 58pc

The owner of chains Chiquito and Frankie & Benny’s issued a profit warning in April, sending shares tumbling nearly 25pc. The Restaurant Group warned of a slowdown in spending at its outlets and said full-year profit would be lower than the previous year.

The group said it had been hit by more people doing online shopping – which has meant fewer venturing out to the retail parks where its restaurants are located – and competition from other chains.

In June it drafted in Barry Nightingale, the former finance head at Monarch Airlines, as its new chief financial officer.

Shawbrook – 52pc

Challenger banks were hit hard by the decision to leave the EU over fears interest rates could be cut, which would dent profit margins, as well as a wider concern there could be an economic slowdown.

Shawbrook has lost more than half of its value since listing on the stock market in April last year, and saw shares fall 45pc in the days after the referendum.

The Essex-based firm has had a double whammy though, after announcing it had set aside £9m to cover potential losses from handing out millions of pounds in risky loans.

Aldermore – 52pc

Another challenger bank to feel the pain after Brexit was Aldermore. Its shares have fallen by more than a quarter since last week’s vote. Laith Khalaf of Hargreaves Lansdown said: ‘Brexit has cast a shadow over the share price and we’ve seen banks, as well as housebuilders, take a bit of a battering.’

In May it reported its loan book was up 43pc to £814m in the first quarter of this year, compared with £568m last year, and said customer numbers had gone up by 8pc.

Thomas Cook – 48pc

Travel firm Thomas Cook issued a profit warning as the threat of global terrorism turned people away from booking holidays.

It revealed a bookings slump in May, which sent its shares to a three-year low at the time.

It said that summer bookings were down 5pc on last year as destinations such as Egypt and Turkey were out of bounds following terrorist attacks.

In the past weeks investors including Standard Life and Chinese tycoon Guo Guangchang, the chairman of Fosun Group, have been buying up shares as they believe they are undervalued.