FTSE 250 movers: Lancashire up, TI Fluid lower

(Sharecast News) - FTSE 250 down 1.14% to 18,010.19 at 1504 GMT.

Insurer Lancashire Holdings gained after reporting a rise in gross premiums written on Thursday as it hailed a "strong" balance sheet and "robust" capital position, and said that loss estimates from hurricane Ian were in line with expectations.

In the nine months to 30 September, gross premiums written rose 34.3% on the year to $1.3bn, mostly thanks to growth in the property and casualty reinsurance segment. This was mainly due to new business in the casualty reinsurance and financial lines classes of business as well as the continued strong RPI for this segment of 108%, which is driven by the continued hardening in property reinsurance classes, Lancashire said.

The company said net loss estimates from hurricane Ian were between $160m and $190m. Consensus expectations are for losses of $174m.

Lancashire reported a total net investment return of negative 5%, primarily driven by unrealised losses.

Chief executive Alex Maloney said: "During 2022, Lancashire has continued to grow and diversify its underwriting portfolio and deliver on its underwriting strategy. This has been fuelled by solid rate increases and strong market conditions which has given us additional resilience.

"We expect the broader positive conditions to continue into 2023 and our strategy is to take advantage of attractive market opportunities. We believe we could see significant increases in rates and improving terms and conditions due to recent events and the fact that capacity had already been tightened in the wider market."

Maloney said the company was well-placed to manage inflationary pressures and that inflation will also present further opportunities for the group as clients look to purchase additional cover.

"Even allowing for the impact of hurricane Ian, and unrealised investment losses, our capital position remains strong and we will drive forward with our growth strategy and capitalise on the strong rate environment through our diversified product portfolio," he said.

Howden Joinery shares were up after is said that it now expects FY2022 pre-tax profit to be "marginally" ahead of consensus forecasts as it hailed strong revenue growth.

In the period from 11 June to 29 October, UK revenue was up 6.6% on the same period a year earlier, while international revenues rose 24.5%.

The trade kitchen supplier said given the continued momentum during the period, it now expects pre-tax profit for the year to be marginally above consensus forecasts of £387m.

Chief executive Andrew Livingston said: "Howdens achieved a record performance in our important peak trading period. We continued to gain market share supporting our customers with a strong product line-up, high stock availability and outstanding service.

"Trade customers have remained busy into the Autumn with a good pipeline of work, as consumers continue to invest in and improve their homes. Our kitchen and joinery markets are large and attractive, and we are prioritising investment for future growth through our successful strategic initiatives."

Howdens said it is continuing to invest in expanding its manufacturing and supply chain capabilities, including the rollout of its regional cross-docking facilities.

TI Fluid Systems fell despite reiterating full-year targets on Thursday after third-quarter revenues sparked.

The automotive fluid systems manufacturer said group revenue in the nine months to 30 September jumped 10.4% to €2.41bn, or by 4.5% on a constant currency basis. Sales rose in Europe and Africa, its biggest region, by 2.1% to €880.9m and by nearly 9% in Asia Pacific to €821.8m.

TI Fluid added that it was making "excellent progress" on its organic electrification growth strategy, with €0.9bn of lifetime revenue for battery electric vehicle awards booked in the year to date, €300m of which was in the third quarter.

Looking ahead to the current quarter, the firm acknowledged that inflationary cost increases were set to remain and that it was pursuing cost recoveries and price adjustment in response.

But it added: "Based on our current view of the fourth quarter, we expect to report full-year results in line with current consensus market expectations, with full-year revenue growth consistent with, or slightly below, global light vehicle production."

The full-year adjusted earnings before interest and tax margin was likely to be around 6%, TI Fluid added.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 97.04p 8.33% Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 561.50p 6.55% Ferrexpo (FXPO) 102.60p 4.96% Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 536.20p 3.39% Auction Technology Group (ATG) 868.00p 2.72% Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 2,305.00p 2.22% JPMorgan Indian Investment Trust (JII) 844.00p 1.93% BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 4,715.00p 1.84% Genus (GNS) 2,688.00p 1.66% Essentra (ESNT) 216.00p 1.65%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 228.60p -9.21% TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 122.80p -7.53% Ashmore Group (ASHM) 197.40p -7.50% International Distributions Services (IDS) 191.15p -5.84% Helios Towers (HTWS) 111.20p -5.76% Home Reit (HOME) 82.70p -5.27% FirstGroup (FGP) 102.30p -5.01% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 201.40p -4.82% Tritax Eurobox (GBP) (EBOX) 60.20p -4.44% FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 624.00p -4.15%