Aussie jail contract gives lift to services giant shares
STRONG UK employment data and a rate hike in the US pushed the FTSE 100 to a new all-time high.
The blue-chip index hit 7440 in intra-day trading and finished up 0.64pc, or 47.31 points, at 7415.95.
Anglo American was the highest riser of the day after the revelation that an Indian billionaire was to take a £2bn stake in the mining giant. Shares surged 8.6pc, or 103p, to 1297.5p.
The news sent other players in the sector soaring too. Glencore leapt 5pc, or 16.3p, to 341.4p while
Antofagasta advanced 4.7pc, or 37.5p, to 844p. Just seven stocks in the FTSE 100 were in the red on the day. Hikma was the greatest faller, down 4.7pc, or 107p, to 2190p, as it gave back some of the previous day’s gains.
Service company Serco got a boost as it was named the preferred bidder for a £1.6bn contract to run a jail in Australia.
It is part of the NorthernPathways consortium which will design, build and operate a jail for the New South Wales government. The group is now set to enter into final contract negotiations. Serco’s contract is expected to start in 2020 and could be worth £1.6bn over 20 years.
It’s significantly more than the £1bn value the firm had previously alluded to. Shares gained 1.6pc, or 1.8p, to 117.3p.
Plans to grow its patient medical service dragged on EMIS
Group shares. The healthcare software provider is to invest up to £7m over the next two years in a project to provide medical and well-being information to around 18.3m unique monthly visitors.
The investment is a bid to drive further growth and to reach the
targeted annual revenue of £50m from the site. N+1 Singer said the firm’s plans were ‘to be applauded and would be transformational for the group if successful’, but added that it would mean tempering profit expectations.
The announcement weighed on shares despite EMIS reporting that operating profit had more than doubled to £23.5m in 2016. The final dividend will rise 10pc to 11.7p. Shares slipped 0.8pc, or 7p, to 878p.
Wincanton has won a five-year contract with Wilko. The logistics firm will manage all the UK transport operations for the retailer, making at least 100,000 deliveries a year. The group’s fleet maintenance arm will service Wilko’s fleet, too. Wincanton didn’t reveal how much the deal was worth, perhaps that’s why shares tumbled 1.3pc, or 3.5p, to 271.25p.
Rotala also had contract wins to announce. The firm, which operates subsidised bus routes for businesses and councils, has won deals with Transport for West Midlands, to start in April. Rotala will get £866,000 a year from the contracts and an estimated £740,000 in customer revenue based on passenger stats. The contracts are for up to five years. Shares leapt 2pc, or 1p, to 52p.
Professional lighting equipment manufacturer FW Thorpe was in the spotlight as it reported pretax profit was up 18pc to £7.8m. Revenue at the business climbed 23.8pc to £51.2m in the six months to December 31.
Thorpe said it had been an exceptional first half. Costs increased as a result of more overtime needed to meet demand.
A new factory in Redditch will increase manufacturing capacity as it continues to invest in products. It recently introduced its SmartScan wireless lighting control system. Shares jumped 1.3pc, or 14.12p, to 327.5p.
Mothercare revealed new nonexecutive director Gillian Kent will join its board. She was chief executive of Propertyfinder until it was acquired by Zoopla and had 15 years at Microsoft. Shares dipped 0.8pc, or 1p, to 126p.