FTSE 250 movers: Vistry slumps; Ocado delivers

(Sharecast News) - FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,039.12 0.29%

House builder Vistry reported a slump in profits after "disappointing" year amid challenging market conditions, abandoned projects and cost overruns that forced it to suspend its dividend.

Pre-tax profit for 2024 fell 64% to £105.5m despite a 7% rise in completions. Vistry added that its forward order book totalled £4.4bn in the year to date, compared with £4.6bn last year, while the group sales rate was down to 0.59 per site per week from 0.81, reflecting a low volume of partner-funded transactions in the first quarter.

The company, which pivoted to building affordable homes in partnership with local authorities and housing associations, issued three profit warnings in the last quarter of the year and halved its operating divisions to three as a result of its problems.

The news also hit rivals Bellway and Crest Nicholson.

Ocado surged after an upgrade to 'overweight' from 'neutral' by JPMorgan, which identified "several reasons to be more optimistic".

Ithaca Energy was also up after it hailed a "robust" 2024 operational and financial performance at the top end of management guidance.

Wetherspoons was hit by a downgrade to 'sell' by Deutsche Bank.

Citi cut its price target on Qinetiq on Wednesday to 510p from 530p as it said near-term uncertainty was an overhang but long-term value remains.

Citi said it was updating its forecasts following the recent profit warning. It now sees Qinetiq achieving closer to £2.1bn of revenue in FY27, versus around £2.4bn previously, with its mid-term EBIT forecast moving approximately 15% lower. It also maintained its 'buy' rating on the stock.

Bakkavor rallied following a Bloomberg report that convenience food maker Greencore has lifted its bid for the rival.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 287.20p 14.97% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 153.10p 7.67% Trustpilot Group (TRST) 246.50p 5.57% Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 508.50p 5.15% HGCapital Trust (HGT) 518.00p 4.33% QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 392.80p 4.14% The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG) 75.10p 3.87% Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 105.50p 3.74% Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 89.50p 2.87% IP Group (IPO) 42.90p 2.75%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Vistry Group (VTY) 611.00p -5.78% Future (FUTR) 806.50p -4.16% THG (THG) 34.86p -2.84% Burberry Group (BRBY) 791.40p -2.66% Bellway (BWY) 2,380.00p -2.62% Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 319.00p -2.60% Volution Group (FAN) 551.00p -2.30% Kainos Group (KNOS) 706.00p -1.94% Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 173.10p -1.48% Computacenter (CCC) 2,538.00p -1.48%