Genetics firm sinks after losing US patent bust-up
ANIMAL genetics firm
Genus fell after it lost a court decision in a patent row. It has been battling rival Inguran over technology used for sexing bull semen.
It’s a process that can skew which gender is produced from artificial insemination, which is important because dairy farmers prefer female calves.
Genus launched its product as an alternative to technology already in use by Inguran, hoping to increase competition in the market. But yesterday a US district court in Wisconsin ruled that Inguran’s patent was valid and had been infringed.
It said Genus had breached confidentiality obligations which were set out in a 2012 agreement between the two firms.
Basingstoke-based Genus argued that Inguran had wilfully maintained a monopoly position. But the jury said Genus had not proved it had suffered as a result of that.
The jury will now consider a verdict on damages. Genus was the biggest faller on the All-Share for the day as its shares slumped 8pc, or 156p, to 1782p.
TT Electronics rose as Peel Hunt put a Buy rating on the stock. A day earlier, the automotive electronics firm reported revenues had risen 5pc to £277m in the first half
Pre-tax profit for the six months to June 30 was £11.4m, up 25pc on the same period a year ago. It said improvements in cost efficiency boosted profitability and it does not anticipate significant impact from the UK referendum result.
Shares had slipped as it said trading in US industrial markets had been challenging but there was strong demand from the automotive sector. Yesterday they rallied 2.7pc, or 3.75p to 142.25p.
Online gaming software company
GAN climbed as it announced a major client win.
US business Chickasaw Nation has around 20,000 electronic gaming machines across 20 casinos in Texas. It has more than 1m customers a year. The two firms are set to work together on a new socalled social casino experience.
GAN’s simulated gaming system allows users to play casino games including poker, backgammon, gin rummy and slow machines using the internet, mobile phones and virtual reality. It alluded to a partnership back in April but did not disclose the partner. Shares gained 6.8pc, or 2.5p to 39.5p.
The FTSE 100 eased up just 1.31 points to finish the week at 6916.02.
EasyJet topped the list for the day, rising 4pc, or 42p to 1101p.
As part of the airline’s share incentive plan a number of top dogs snapped up a few shares yesterday. Chief operating officer Warwick Brady and group commercial director Peter Duffy each added 26 shares, while chief financial officer Andrew Findlay snapped up 28.
EasyJet employees can each contribute up to £150 a month to the scheme. Elsewhere, bottling firm
Coca Cola HBC was in the top flight for a second consecutive day as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and UBS all raised their target price for the stock. Shares advanced 2.3pc, or 39p to 1720p.
Miners were in the red for the day, despite the price of the black stuff climbing 5pc to $46 a barrel.
Antofagasta lost 3.4pc, or 18p, to 514p, the greatest faller on the index for the day, while Rio Tinto fell 3.2pc, or 80p to 2409p. E-commerce software firm cloudBuy rose as it reassured investors the second half would be stronger than the first. The AIM-listed firm said turnover fell to £785,000 in the six months to June 30, down 11pc on the same period a year ago.
The business made an operating loss of £2m over that time, around a third lower than the £2.9m loss it reported in the first half last year.
But cloudBuy said revenues from projects it has won should boost numbers over the next six months. Full-year performance should be similar to last year’s.
It is working to reduce costs, having cut administration expenses by £1m. Shares gained 1.8pc, or 0.12p to 7.25p.