FTSE 250 movers: De La Rue plunges on profit warning and downgrade

23rd Oct 2013 14:43

Banknote printer and ID services group De La Rue plunged after issuing a profit warning on Wednesday, saying that it would miss its full-year operating guidance by 10m pounds as a result of 'challenging trading conditions'.Investec added to further selling pressure today after downgrading its rating for the stock from 'add' to 'hold'.International Personal Finance shares also took a big hit today after Canaccord Genuity reduced its rating on the stock from 'hold' to 'buy', maintaining its 700p target price. This was despite the group posting a 19% leap in third-quarter pre-tax profit. Premier Oil was also lower after cutting its fiscal-year 2013 production guidance due to gas export issues in Vietnam and the UK. The company reduced its production guidance to 57,000 to 59,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from a previous 63,000 boepd. Meanwhile, shares in Pace jumped after the broadband and PayTV technology developer acquired broadband solutions firm Aurora Network and reported "good progress" since the start of July. Healthcare provider Al Noor Hospitals accelerated growth in the third quarter and made its first move out of Abu Dhabi, prompting a decent share rise. Al Noor, which floated in London in June, grew revenues 11.4% to $84m in the three months to September 30th, up from the 10.9% growth seen in the first half of the year. Home Retail Group climbed after its pre-tax profit in the first half rose 53% to £27.4m, driven by sales growth at its Argos and Homebase subsidiaries. In the six months to August 31st, sales climbed 3% to £2.5bn including a 2.3% increase in like-for-like sales at catalogue merchant Argos and a 5.9% jump at home improvement store Homebase. FTSE 250 - RisersPace (PIC) 322.30p +11.14%IP Group (IPO) 155.40p +9.75%Laird (LRD) 243.00p +7.67%AL Noor Hospitals Group (ANH) 925.00p +4.52%Home Retail Group (HOME) 192.60p +4.50%NMC Health (NMC) 366.90p +3.35%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 172.50p +3.29%Supergroup (SGP) 1,180.00p +2.79%BTG (BTG) 407.60p +2.77%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 47.81p +2.42%FTSE 250 - FallersDe La Rue (DLAR) 883.00p -9.99%International Personal Finance (IPF) 613.00p -8.30%Telecity Group (TCY) 783.00p -5.32%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 49.37p -4.78%Premier Oil (PMO) 328.90p -3.26%Ocado Group (OCDO) 430.50p -3.26%Evraz (EVR) 129.90p -3.20%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 254.10p -3.02%PZ Cussons (PZC) 402.00p -2.45%Rank Group (RNK) 150.40p -2.34%NR