MSG up on back of profit growth

Shares in Morgan Sindall Group (MSG), whose urban regeneration projects include the £107 million Marischal Square development in Aberdeen, were up 12p at £19.50 after it posted a 10% jump in annual profits.

MSG’s pre-tax figure for 2019 came in at £88.6 million, up from £80.6m the year before, on turnover that rose by 3% to £3.07 billion.

Chief executive John Morgan said a strategic focus on construction and regeneration was underpinning a positive momentum across the group and giving it a platform for further progress.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 closed 20.38 points lower at 7,436.64 yesterday.

“Strategic focus underpinning a positive momentum”

Medical equipment firm Smith & Nephew was one of the Footsie’s top risers bucking the trend after it saw annual sales surpass £3.8bn for the first time.

The group reported a 4.4% rise in underlying revenue to £4bn for 2019 and predicted growth of 3.5% to 4.5% for 2020, but cautioned that the coronavirus could cloud its outlook. Shares rose £1.34 to £19.79.

Defence giant BAE Systems was up 6.4p to 656.4p after it hailed a “year of significant progress” and delivered strong financials along with a new deal for its pensioners.

Other major European markets also closed in the red as they failed to keep up the momentum from strong trading on Wednesday.

The German Dax fell by 0.87%, while the French Cac moved 0.8% lower. In currency markets, the pound fell 0.36% against the US dollar at 1.287 and slid 0.26% against the euro at 1.192.