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Shares in William Hill owner William Hill plunged after the gambling group reported lower profits following a slump in online sports betting.
Evoke, formerly known as 888, warned that first-half profits were £35m to £40m below its expectations.
While UK online revenue rose 3 per cent, sports betting was hit by a drop in returns from marketing and promotions at the start of the year.
And its UK retail business, which includes William Hill stores, saw revenue fall 8 per cent in the first six months of 2024.
William Hill owner Evoke, formerly known as 888, has warned that profits in the first half of the year are between £35m and £40m below its expectations.
But chief executive Per Widerstrom said: “The underlying health of the business is strengthening and the corrective actions we have taken make us even more confident that our strategic approach is sound.”
Evoke fell 14.5 per cent, or 12.55 pence, to 73.75 pence. The FTSE 100 rose 0.2 per cent, or 17.43 points, to 8,204.89 and the FTSE 250 rose 0.7 per cent, or 140.82 points, to 21,234.16.
Dunelm expects full-year profit for the year ending June 29 to exceed the £200m forecast by analysts following strong fourth-quarter sales. The homewares retailer gained 8.5 per cent, or 94 pence, to 1,200 pence.
Kier Group shares rose 2.6 per cent, or 4p, to 160.6p, with the construction group saying results for the 12 months to the end of June will be better than a year earlier and further growth should come from the government’s commitment to improving UK infrastructure.
Alastair Barbour is to step down as chairman of asset manager Liontrust and will be replaced in September by Luke Savage. The shares rose 3.3 per cent, or 21 pence, to 665 pence.
Stock Watch – Craft Liquors
Online drinks seller Artisanal Spirits Co rose 7.4 percent, or 3 pence, to 43.5 pence as it forecast higher profits and whisky sales.
The Edinburgh firm behind The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, which has around 40,000 members, said profits in the first half of 2024 were £1m higher than the same period last year.
It has enough whisky stock to “meet demand for the foreseeable future” as independent experts have valued its cask spirits at just over £100.
Private equity firm 3i rose 0.8 percent, or 24 pence, to 3,044 pence after its key investment Action, the Dutch discount retailer, saw sales rise 20 percent to 5.2 billion pounds in the first half.
Darktrace expects revenue to rise more than 26 per cent to at least £531m in the year to the end of June, alongside a 10 per cent increase in customers as the Cambridge-based cybersecurity firm nears a £4.2bn takeover by US private equity firm Thoma Bravo.
Shares gained 1.2 percent, or 6.6 pence, to 583 pence.
Defence firm Qinetiq rose 2 per cent, or 9.4 pence, to 47.2 pence after an encouraging first quarter that included winning a contract linked to the US military.
It was a mixed session for Qinetiq peer Babcock, which fell 1.1 percent, or 5.5 pence, to 512 pence, after upgrades from Jefferies and Bank of America were overshadowed by a downgrade from Berenberg.
Schroders rose 4.9p, or 18.4p, to 395.2p after Morgan Stanley issued a bullish note and upgraded the wealth manager.
Shares in Intelligent Ultrasound Group rose 51.7 per cent, or 3.75 pence, to 11 pence after it agreed to sell its clinical artificial intelligence business to US medical technology company GE Healthcare for £40.5m.
Building products supplier Alumasc expects full-year profits of at least £12.6m, up from £11.2m last year and the £11.9m forecast by analysts, and up 16.8 per cent, or 32.5p, to 226p.
And pottery firm Portmeirion is eyeing higher profits, saying US sales are likely to have risen 4 per cent in the first half of 2024. They soared 11.9 per cent, or 25p, to 235p.
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