Market Report: Ladbrokes' new chief executive fails to win over investors
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Your support makes all the difference.A pledge from Ladbrokes’ new chief executive to speed up a strategic review of the business has failed to win over investors.
The bookmaker had earlier reported an earnings slump of more than 22 per cent, partly triggered by a string of punter-friendly football results, which prompted UBS to cut its target price on the stock to 130p from 150p.
Jim Mullen said he would bring forward a review of its operations to June from September, but Ladbrokes shares finished the day close to the bottom of the FTSE 250, down 3.4p at 102.7p.
On the blue chip index, Tesco was the biggest faller having shed 12.1p to hit 222.65p after revealing the worst loss in its near 100-year history. It dragged its rivals Morrisons and Sainsbury’s with it and helped to knock 34.69 points off the FTSE 100, which closed at 7,028.24.
Greece also played its part in the decline, as traders sat on the sidelines awaiting the outcome of its latest negotiations with the eurozone.
Hargreaves Lansdown found itself in the red after Jefferies issued a fresh assessment on the asset management sector. Jefferies relegated the investment supermarket to a hold rating and trimmed its price target to 1,073p, saying that much of the good news for Hargreaves was already reflected in the share price. Hargreaves dropped 36p to 1198p.
BT echoed its rival Sky’s strong move a day earlier as its shares gained 3.7p to reach 460.55p. Nomura analysts heralded a “new dawn” for the telecoms giant, following its acquisition of mobile network EE, its retention of some Premier League football broadcasting rights and its efforts to reduce its pension-fund black hole.
Shares in the retail-to-building group Travis Perkins put in a similarly strong performance, rising 55p to 2,074p, thanks to a first-quarter trading update that showed a 5.1 per cent jump in like-for-like sales.
Back on the mid-cap index, Tate & Lyle couldn’t take traders’ minds off the news that it is pulling out of most of its corn starch business in Europe and cutting costs in its sweetener business, despite target price upgrades. It shares sank 34p to 608.5p.
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