FTSE 250 Movers: Thomas Cook regains lost ground

23rd Nov 2011 15:33

Thomas Cook was regaining lost ground after plummeting on Tuesday on the revelation that it would delay the release of its results until it has asked its banks about borrowing more money. The company is running short of cash due to a "deterioration of trading in some areas of the business in the current quarter". Similarly, TUI Travel, which dropped 9% yesterday on the back of concerns surrounding its rival, was recovering from yesterday's losses. Peel Hunt analyst Nick Batram said that Thomas Cook's woes "are not good for the industry in general and, as we saw yesterday, the market is nervous of the implications for TUI Travel. In the short term, this is likely to hold the stock back." Shares of defence markets researcher and technology firm QinetiQ also raced ahead after it reported a return to net profit for the half year and said expectations for the current year have increased by around 20%. The group posted a net profit of £66.6m for the six months to 30 September compared to a net loss of £42.1m the same time a year earlier. Revenue fell to £739.6m from £864.9m. Meanwhile, high street sports retailer JD Sports Fashion was falling after announcing that it has seen the growth of like-for-like (LFL) sales slow down in the sixteen weeks ended 19 November due to the ongoing troubles facing the everyday consumer.Since the end of the first half, LFL sales grew by just 0.2% from the same period last year, well under the 3.3% LFL sales growth reported in the first seven weeks of the period. Halfords was also falling after UBS downgraded the stock from neutral to sell, and cut its target price from 280p to 270p. Shares in Premier Foods were down after the Food Standards Agency said claims that the company is not responsible for the recent botulism food poisoning scare are "premature". Premier Foods owns Lloyd Grossman, the firm which produced the contaminated product. FTSE 250 - RisersThomas Cook Group (TCG) 12.06p +18.24%TUI Travel (TT.) 158.60p +16.02%QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 125.00p +7.67%Centamin Egypt Ltd. (CEY) 85.45p +5.82%Chemring Group (CHG) 385.00p +4.39%Allied Gold Mining (ALD) 168.30p +2.31%AG Barr (BAG) 1,156.00p +2.30%Telecom Plus (TEP) 748.00p +2.19%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 79.80p +1.85%Anglo Pacific Group (APF) 279.00p +1.82%FTSE 250 - FallersPremier Foods (PFD) 4.30p -10.42%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 9.60p -9.00%Lancashire Holdings (LRE) 679.50p -8.91%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 392.00p -8.48%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 762.50p -6.44%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 471.30p -6.12%Misys (MSY) 258.10p -5.60%Mothercare (MTC) 129.60p -5.47%Halfords Group (HFD) 313.10p -5.38%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 126.70p -4.95%NR