Investors cheer as Galliford Try says its overhaul is on track
Investors in Galliford Try breathed a sigh of relief after the building firm said it was on track to meet full-year profit forecasts following an overhaul of its contract construction business.
Graham Prothero, chief executive at the FTSE 250 construction firm which has worked on projects including the Queensferry Crossing in Scotland and the roof on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, said: “The business is now firmly focused on its core strengths of regional building operations, together with profitable operations in highways and water, all of which are now performing effectively.”
Analysts at Peel Hunt said the update should “reassure the market” but noted that the company did not provide new details on two contract settlement negotiations, including one relating to an outstanding £38m claim against a client.
Shares rose as high as 657.5p before closing at 630.5p, up 19.5p. Chemicals company
Johnson Matthey slumped after it announced flatlining sales. Operating profits in the clean air division of the maker of catalytic converters are set to be below last year due to costs being higher than anticipated. The firm said it expected performance “to be more heavily weighted to the second half ”. It is one of
a number of European firms in the chemicals and automotive sector to hit trouble in recent weeks after a major profit warning from German giant BASF and difficulties for car companies such as BMW and Mercedes’ owner Daimler.
Shares closed down 183p at £32.04, a 5pc fall.
Aston Martin Lagonda
reversed some of the gains it made on Tuesday, dropping 31p, or 3.1pc, to 978p, just more than half the £19 at which they were offered when the luxury car manufacturer floated in October. Elsewhere, oil companies were hit by an overnight fall in the price of crude oil. Offshore-focused Premier Oil shed 2.7p to 78.3p. Tullow Oil ceded 5.9p to 202.7p.
Speculation that spread betting firm Plus500 could move to acquire New York-listed GAIN Capital sent its shares down 16.4p, or 2.5pc, to 639.6p. Analysts said it could help Plus500’s online retail capability.
The FTSE 100 index surrendered the majority of its gains from earlier in the week, closing at 7,535.46, a 0.6pc decline. Europe’s
Stoxx 600 had a 0.4pc drop. The pound hit a fresh two-year low against the US dollar, nosediving below $1.24 in morning trading as markets continued to price in increased expectations of a no-deal Brexit. It pulled out of the steep decline in the afternoon, rising back into the black on the day at close to $1.245. Sterling also recovered from an initial dip against the euro, climbing towards €1.11.