FTSE 250 movers: Sweet for Tate & Lyle, Wizz hits turbulence

(Sharecast News) - FTSE 250: 19,910.13, +0.54% at 1150 GMT. Tate & Lyle backed its full-year guidance on Thursday as it said third-quarter trading was consistent with the first half.

In an update for the three months to the end of December, the company said top-line momentum was continuing in the food and beverage solutions division, with revenue up 19%.

It also noted a positive outcome from the 2023 calendar year pricing round and said the outlook for the year to the end of March 2023 was unchanged.

The company said full-year adjusted pre-tax profit was set to be in line with current market expectations, with stronger profits in food & beverage solutions offsetting lower profits from the minority holding in plant-based business Primient.

Chief executive Nick Hampton said: "Tate & Lyle continues to perform well with Food & Beverage Solutions delivering another strong quarter of double-digit revenue growth.

"We have successfully renewed 2023 calendar year customer contracts to recover higher input costs and, despite ongoing economic uncertainty, we continue to deliver against our strategy as a growth-focused speciality food and beverage solutions business."

Gambling software maker Playtech said it now expected annual earnings to rise by at least a quarter, driven by its business-to-business a Snaitech operations.

The company said it expects to report adjusted core earnings of at least €400m, compared to €317m a year earlier.

Hungary-based budget airline Wizz Air narrowed losses in the third quarter on the back of fare increases and higher booking volumes.

The carrier on Thursday posted a core loss of €2.8m for the three months to December 31, compared with a loss of €87.5m a year earlier. Wizz still expects a loss for the full year but held guidance for a return to profits in 2024.

Revenue for the period soared 132% to €911m.

"We continue to see evidence of solid fare environment as average fares (combined ticket and ancillaries) are trading above 2019 and 2022 levels," said chief executive Jozsef Varadi.

"As we reach the end of January, we are seeing booking volumes coming in ahead of 2022, which is in line with expectations."

Wizz said it would benefit from hedging and new capacity in the new year and forecast year-on-year growth of 25-30% this summer.

Victoria Scholar, analyst at Interactive Investor said shares in Wizz had surged almost 50% since the start of January, even though the stock slumped 8% in early Thursday trade.

"Some analyst price target upgrades and a broader pick-up in market sentiment. However the stock is trading lower today as profitability remains a challenge in the near-term," she said.

Intermediate Capital Group gained as the company said assets under management increased in the quarter to December 31.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,397.50p 7.75% Tate & Lyle (TATE) 762.80p 5.48% Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT) 101.80p 4.52% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 246.00p 4.50% Future (FUTR) 1,609.00p 4.41% Molten Ventures (GROW) 378.00p 3.73% Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,127.00p 3.39% Synthomer (SYNT) 153.50p 2.47% OSB Group (OSB) 520.50p 2.36% Playtech (PTEC) 570.00p 2.24%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,807.00p -6.81% Pennon Group (PNN) 927.00p -2.06% Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Income Fund Limited (SEQI) 86.10p -1.82% Premier Foods (PFD) 110.40p -1.78% Ascential (ASCL) 257.40p -1.76% Energean (ENOG) 1,228.00p -1.68% Tullow Oil (TLW) 37.86p -1.66% Telecom Plus (TEP) 2,010.00p -1.47% Spirent Communications (SPT) 217.80p -1.45% Senior (SNR) 144.60p -1.36%