FTSE 250 movers: Vesuvius hot again; Helios Towers slumps

(Sharecast News) - FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,251.99 -0.86%

Molten metal flow engineering specialist Vesuvius was red hot again a day after it said in a trading update that it anticipated trading profit for the 2024 financial year to be slightly below 2023 levels on a constant currency basis, maintaining a return on sales margin of around 10.2%.

Construction products manufacturer Hill & Smith said on Wednesday that trading in the four months ended 31 October had been "positive".

Reflecting "good momentum" in its engineered solutions and galvanising services divisions, Hill & Smith said revenues were 7.5% higher on a constant currency basis during the period, while operating margins were also said to be ahead of the same period a year earlier.

Helios Towers fell on Wednesday after investor Arbejdsmarkedets Tillægspension (ATP) - Denmark's largest lifelong pension plan - sold around 50.6m shares in the company in a placing for approximately £48m.

The shares were placed with investors in an accelerated bookbuild offering at 94p each. The placing price is a 10% discount to the closing share price on Tuesday.

Plastic piping manufacturer Genuit fell sharply a day after reporting a "resilient performance" year-to-date, despite operating in "subdued market conditions".



Market Movers

FTSE 250 - Risers

Vesuvius (VSVS) 395.50p 7.04% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 225.00p 3.93% Harbour Energy (HBR) 258.40p 3.40% Hill and Smith (HILS) 2,145.00p 3.13% Close Brothers Group (CBG) 204.60p 2.71% BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 386.00p 2.39% Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 251.50p 1.62% CMC Markets (CMCX) 336.00p 1.51% Herald Investment Trust (HRI) 2,190.00p 1.39% Carnival (CCL) 1,791.00p 1.36%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Genuit Group (GEN) 390.00p -6.92% Helios Towers (HTWS) 95.60p -5.72% IP Group (IPO) 40.30p -5.29% Marshalls (MSLH) 320.50p -4.61% Ocado Group (OCDO) 302.60p -4.39% Big Yellow Group (BYG) 1,054.00p -4.01% W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 83.00p -3.49% Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,970.00p -3.43% Kier Group (KIE) 147.80p -3.27% Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 432.60p -3.26%