It really was a black Friday – another one – for embattled builder Carillion whose shares slumped a further 10.8 per cent, or 2p, to record lows of 16.5p.
The builder has now fallen 91 per cent since its disastrous trading update in July.
The HS2 supplier and Battersea Power Station redeveloper has been in a tailspin since July when it made a shock £845million write-down and warned on profits, amid ballooning costs and debt.
Last Friday the key government contractor issued a third profit warning, sending shares tumbling to a then-record low of 21.5p.
But they reached new depths yesterday amid reports of Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable’s concern the Government was feeding it contracts and it was considered ‘too big to fail’.
Free fall: Carillion has been in a tailspin since July when it made a shock £845m write-down and warned on profits, amid ballooning costs and debt
Project management firm WYG also tanked on a profit warning. Last year it helped discover a ceremonial centre near Stonehenge from 3,650BC.
But yesterday bosses said they would make only a £3.5million to £4million profit, blaming lost or delayed consultancy services contracts. Shares fell 32.8 per cent, or 22p, to 45p.
British Gas owner Centrica recovered slightly from its 15 per cent crash on Thursday when it admitted it had lost 823,000 residential customers and also warned on profits. Shares added 0.7 per cent, or 1p, to 139p.
That was despite a pessimistic note from Deutsche Bank analysts, who warned of the looming price cap on bills and of technology benefiting competitors.
They predicted the firm’s prize dividend could be cut in 2019 and that it might become a takeover target. They recommend selling the stock, with a price target of 125p.
Meanwhile Black Friday had a more hopeful meaning for retailers. Shoppers are expected to splurge £8billion over the weekend as Christmas shopping gets under way.
MARKET REPORT: Another share crash for builder CarillionNovember 25, 2017 0
It really was a black Friday – another one – for embattled builder Carillion whose shares slumped a further 10.8 per cent, or 2p, to record lows of 16.5p.
The builder has now fallen 91 per cent since its disastrous trading update in July.
The HS2 supplier and Battersea Power Station redeveloper has been in a tailspin since July when it made a shock £845million write-down and warned on profits, amid ballooning costs and debt.
Last Friday the key government contractor issued a third profit warning, sending shares tumbling to a then-record low of 21.5p.
But they reached new depths yesterday amid reports of Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable’s concern the Government was feeding it contracts and it was considered ‘too big to fail’.
Free fall: Carillion has been in a tailspin since July when it made a shock £845m write-down and warned on profits, amid ballooning costs and debt
Free fall: Carillion has been in a tailspin since July when it made a shock £845m write-down and warned on profits, amid ballooning costs and debt
Project management firm WYG also tanked on a profit warning. Last year it helped discover a ceremonial centre near Stonehenge from 3,650BC.
But yesterday bosses said they would make only a £3.5million to £4million profit, blaming lost or delayed consultancy services contracts. Shares fell 32.8 per cent, or 22p, to 45p.
British Gas owner Centrica recovered slightly from its 15 per cent crash on Thursday when it admitted it had lost 823,000 residential customers and also warned on profits. Shares added 0.7 per cent, or 1p, to 139p.
That was despite a pessimistic note from Deutsche Bank analysts, who warned of the looming price cap on bills and of technology benefiting competitors.
They predicted the firm’s prize dividend could be cut in 2019 and that it might become a takeover target. They recommend selling the stock, with a price target of 125p.
Meanwhile Black Friday had a more hopeful meaning for retailers. Shoppers are expected to splurge £8billion over the weekend as Christmas shopping gets under way.
STOCK WATCH – MITON GROUP
Aim-listed fund manager Miton Group has seen its shares climb steadily during recent years and added an extra 9.6 per cent, or 3.38p, to 38.5p yesterday after an unscheduled trading update to upgrade profit guidance.
Bosses said it has £3.6billion of assets under management and profits for the full year should exceed current market expectations.
Analysts at Peel Hunt expect it to make a £6.3million profit for the year compared to an earlier prediction of £5.8million.
But sales yesterday failed to cheer the sector greatly, amid fears businesses will slash prices by so much that they end up making a loss.
Next, taking part in Black Friday for the first time, was down 1.8 per cent, or 79p, to 4306p.
Women’s fashion chain Boohoo climbed 0.8 per cent, or 1.5p, to 186p. Competitor Asos climbed 0.2 per cent, or 11p, to 5868p.
Debenhams fell 1.3 per cent, or 0.5p, to 37p. Halfords fell 0.3 per cent, or 0.9p, to 332.7p.
Their performance was reflected in the FTSE 350 General Retailers sector, which was down 0.6 per cent, or 14.89 points, to 2468.46, continuing its 5.3 per cent annual slide.
Even a chirpy note from Berenberg analysts failed to lift Burberry. Defending boss Marco Gobbetti, they said it could be one of the sector’s ‘most exciting turnaround stories’.
And they speculated outgoing creative director Christopher Bailey’s shoes could be filled by top candidates including Phoebe Philo from Celine, Hedi Slimane from Yves Saint-Laurent, and Riccardo Tisci from Givenchy. But Burberry closed down 0.5 per cent, or 8p, to 1740p.
The FTSE 100 closed down 0.1 per cent, or 7.60 points, at 7409.65.
Paddy Power Betfair was a big winner, climbing 3.2 per cent, or 275p, to 8810p, amid talk of its deal with Crown Bet.
Events and publishing firm Informa rose 1.1 per cent, or 8.5p, to 760p, thanks to Liberum analysts hailing its ‘impressive’ performance.
Bankers also had reasons to be cheerful, climbing after the Financial Conduct Authority said 20 of them had agreed to back the inter-bank lending rate Libor until it is phased out in 2021.
That calmed nerves over the future of the benchmark amid a slump in interbank lending. RBS was up 0.4 per cent, or 1.2p, to 270.8p, HSBC Holdings climbed 0.5 per cent, or 3.9p, to 735.7p. Barclays climbed 0.32 per cent, or 0.6p, to 189.35p.