More than £150m disappeared from the value of an IT software company after its boss resigned on the day it revealed he had failed to disclose the company’s trading shares.
FTSE 250 group Bytes Technology is “working to clarify the details of the undisclosed transactions” of Neil Murphy, who resigned as chief executive yesterday and told the board about his transactions.
Shares in the software, security and cloud services provider plunged 10.7 per cent, or 64.5p, to 537p.
That reduced its value by £155 million, leaving it worth £1.3 billion.
Having joined as sales director in 1997, Murphy was promoted to CEO three years later and became CEO when it went public in 2020.
Resignation: IT software company Bytes is “working to clarify the details of the undisclosed transactions” of Neil Murphy (pictured), who resigned as chief executive and told the board about his transactions.
Sam Mudd, a board member and CEO of a company owned by Bytes, will take over as interim boss.
The FTSE 100 fell 0.73 per cent, or 56.70 points, to 7,662.51, while the FTSE 250 rose 0.05 per cent, or 9.34 points, to 19,118.97. Two miners were in decline as weaker commodity prices hit their profits.
Glencore’s profits halved to £13.5bn last year – below the £13.8bn expected by analysts – while Rio Tinto’s profits fell 9 per cent to £19bn. pounds.
Miners took advantage of rising commodity prices after Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago.
But prices, including coal, fell last year and sent Glencore’s profits tumbling as it cut its dividend payout to 1.3 billion pounds after paying out 5.6 billion pounds the previous year.
Rio said a drop in the price of copper, diamonds and aluminum hit profits. It will pay its shareholders £5.6bn in dividends, although this is 13 per cent less than what it paid in 2022.
Glencore fell 1.1 per cent, or 4.35 pence, to 386.05 pence, while Rio fell 1.5 per cent, or 79 pence, to 551 pence.
An HIV specialist company, majority owned by GSK, reported positive results from a trial of a treatment that is injected into adults suffering from the disease.
Stock Watch – Gooch & Housego
Somerset-based Gooch & Housego, which makes optical filters designed to protect patients undergoing laser eye surgery, slumped after warning that a drop in demand would hit its profits.
Profits for the year to September 30 are expected to be around £3m below its previous expectations.
Business has suffered as customers buy fewer items amid weaker demand. The shares, which hit a high of 1,880p in 2018, fell 16.4 per cent, or 100p, to 510p.
The drug manufactured by Viiv, which is also supported by Pfizer and the Japanese company Shionogi, is an alternative for those who have difficulty taking pills every day. However, GSK fell 1 per cent, or 16p, to 1,661p.
Engineer Senior has secured two contracts with Airbus, including an agreement to manufacture and supply business class seats for a major European airline. The shares rose 1.5 per cent, or 2.4p, to 162p.
Windward, which tracks vessels and vessels and then analyzes the data for clients using artificial intelligence, has landed a contract with the world’s largest international police organization.
It will help Interpol identify, track and prevent illicit trafficking, human trafficking and illegal fishing.
The shares fell 1.3 per cent, or 1.5p, to 111p. A rating downgrade from investment bank Liberum sent British Gas owner Centrica into the red, with its shares falling 3.1 per cent, or 4.1 pence, to 129.3 pence.
Tate & Lyle, which was down 0.1 per cent, or 1.5 pence, at 616.5 pence, said revenue fell 4 per cent in the final three months of 2023 amid weaker demand.
The sugar and golden syrup business expects sales for the 12 months to the end of March to be lower than a year earlier.
H&T bought assets including the Essex-based Maxcroft-owned lender for £11.3m.
The group, which is stable at 370p and buys and sells second-hand jewelery and watches, also secured £25m in additional funding from Pricoa’s private equity arm.
Drinks owner C&C will launch a £13m share buyback program next month.
The group behind Tennent’s Magners and Bulmers beer and ciders plans to return up to £129m to shareholders over the next three years.
His news sent shares up 1.4 per cent, or 2.2 pence, to 156.8 pence.
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