UK share markets are struggling for direction on Monday as the seasonal lull sets in. Concerns that central banks will tighten monetary policy sooner than expected in response to an inflationary spike isn’t helping matters either. The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 are basically unchanged since the end of last week.
However, not all UK shares are flattish today. Here’s why these British stocks are either powering ahead or plummeting in start-of-week business.
Senior soars on new offer
The Senior (LSE: SNR) share price has soared 11% in Monday business, taking total gains over the past year to 123%. The small-cap has soared to 169p after suitor LSF XI Investments returned with an increased offer price.
Senior — which has rebuffed LSF’s acquisition attempts four times prior to today — said the cash offer terms had been improved to 200p per share. This is up from LSF’s last bid of 185p, which was rejected last week.
UK defence share Senior is perhaps best known for building parts for the aerospace industry. It’s been hit hard by the impact of Covid-19 on the civil aviation sector and latest financials showed sales at its Aerospace division fell 25% year-on-year in the first quarter.
Ilika continues to lose power
Ilika’s (LSE: IKA) share price has, by contrast, sunk in start-of-week trade. Down 5% on the day at 147.5p, gains for the past 12 months have been trimmed to a still-mighty 173%. Investors have sent the UK electronics share to six-month lows following the release of fresh trading numbers.
The solid-state battery maker said revenues dropped 18% year-on-year to £2.3m during the financial year to April. This, in turn, prompted its adjusted EBITDA loss to widen to £2.3m, from £2.1m a year earlier.
Ilika also said cash and cash equivalents had fallen £5m year-on-year to £9.8m. The business will release full-year results on Tuesday 6 July, it said.
UK share Capita rises on trading and disposal news
The Capita (LSE: CPI) share price meanwhile has leapt 6% following the release of fresh financials. Though at 39.85p, the FTSE 250 share still trades 18% lower than it did a year ago.
The UK support services share said it has enjoyed “an improving trend in our trading performance in the first half of the year.”
As a consequence it expects to record its first annual sales rise for six years in 2021. Capita also said it’s won a number of significant contracts including The Royal Navy and Tesco Mobile. The outsourcing giant added that it continues to make “good progress” with its cost-reduction programme.
In other news, Capita said it has agreed to sell its 51% stake in AXELOS Limited to PeopleCert International. The best practice business — a joint venture established with the Cabinet Office in 2013 — will provide Capita with a total cash windfall of £183.6m.
