London’s FTSE 250 was down 0.4% at 20,900.95 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
Precious metals miner Hochschild was weaker even as it reported a rise in full-year core earnings as production bounced back and silver prices increased.
In the year to the end of December 2021, adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation grew 41% to $382.8m, as revenues rose 30% to $811.4m. Hochschild put this down a rebound in production following operational stoppages in 2020 due to the Covid-19 crisis.
Luxury car maker Aston Martin also fell despite posting a narrowing of its full-year losses as sales surged.
In the year to the end of December 2021, pre-tax losses narrowed to £213.8m from £466m the year before, with revenue up 79% to £2bn. Aston Martin attributed the jump in revenue largely to substantial volume growth, driven by customer demand, and strong pricing dynamics.
On the upside, student accommodation company Unite Group was a high riser after saying it swung to a full-year profit and striking an upbeat note on the outlook.
Cybersecurity firm Darktrace gained after it agreed to buy attack surface management company Cybersprint for €47.5m.
FTSE 250 – Risers
Petershill Partners (PHLL) 218.00p 4.56%
TP Icap Group (TCAP) 125.60p 3.72%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 195.55p 3.55%
Unite Group (UTG) 1,025.50p 3.50%
Darktrace (DARK) 354.60p 3.14%
Rank Group (RNK) 154.00p 2.94%
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 413.00p 2.23%
Rathbone Group (RAT) 1,766.00p 2.08%
RIT Capital Partners (RCP) 2,455.00p 2.08%
JTC (JTC) 795.00p 2.05%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 131.90p -7.37%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,031.00p -6.10%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,754.00p -5.87%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 97.95p -4.25%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 188.80p -3.77%
Mitie Group (MTO) 54.60p -3.36%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 710.00p -2.87%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 223.50p -2.83%
Trainline (TRN) 201.40p -2.80%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 1,274.00p -2.45%
