The Times - UK (2022-01-01)

the times | Saturday January 1 2022 47

Business

biggest risers in the FTSE 250 in 2020,

soaring by 167 per cent as the spread-

betting and foreign exchange trading

platform benefited from a surge in

trading activity during lockdowns. Its

fortunes reversed last year, with the

shares tumbling by 34 per cent amid

calmer markets, a fall in client

numbers and after a profit warning in

September. TP Icap, the interdealer

broker that also enjoyed a boom at the

start of the pandemic, lost 28 per cent

of its stock price during the year as

more subdued conditions hit its

revenue and profits.

Shares in Flutter Entertainment,

formed via a merger of Paddy Power

and Betfair, fell by 23 per cent amid

growing competition in the American

market and more restrictive gambling

regulations in Britain.

Even the host of all those stocks

was not immune. London Stock

Exchange Group’s shares fell 23 per

cent as absorbing the $27 billion

takeover of Refinitiv, the data group,

proved challenging. A report in

March that the bill for integrating

Refinitiv would be higher than

expected spooked investors and a

later announcement of improved cost

synergies anticipated from the deal

failed to reverse a fall in the share

price.

Petropavlovsk, the Russian

goldminer, lost 41 per cent as the bull

market in gold failed to translate into

higher sales. It was an

underwhelming year for Fresnillo,

too; shares in the precious metals

miner fell by 22 per cent despite it

advising investors that it could shrug

off disruption from new labour laws

that limit the use of contractors at

underground mines in Mexico.

Polymetal International, another

precious metals miner, dropped by

23 per cent.

John Wood Group, the Aberdeen-

based engineer, tumbled 39 per cent

in a year when it delayed some

projects and said in November that it

would miss annual forecasts. The

company is considering a sale or spin-

off of its built environment business,

the value of which it does not believe

is reflected in its share price.

Hochschild Mining suffered a

36 per cent share price hit during a

year in which Peru’s government

moved to shut down its mines in the

country. The FTSE 250 precious

metals miner vowed in November to

fight the “illegal” plans affecting its

Inmaculada and

Pallancata mines,

which analysts said

accounted for most

of the company’s

value. Later it said

that its Inmaculada

mine and another

in Peru would

continue to operate

after the

government

softened its stance

and announced

that mining

companies could

request extensions

and modifications

to their permits

for mining and

exploration

activities.

However, the shares did not

fully bounce back from the

uncertainty.

Lancashire Holdings, the FTSE 250

insurer, was another big share price

faller, sliding 27 per cent over the year.

The company warned in October of

potential future multimillion-dollar

losses from natural disasters. Its

exposure to recent natural disasters,

including Hurricane Ida and the

European storms Xero and Bernd,

could cost it between $165 million and

$185 million, it said, adding that

another loss of $40 million was to be

expected because of civil unrest in

South Africa.

session on December 15 after the

Ontario Supreme Court of Justice

ordered the company to pay damages

of C$1.23 billion (£720 million) for

pulling out of the acquisition of

Cineplex, the Canadian cinema group.

Cineworld said that it would lodge an

immediate appeal.

Trainline lost momentum, falling

by 40 per cent during the year as it

faces a threat from government plans

to create a new state ticketing hub

that will centralise control under

Great British Railways, a new public

body.

CMC Markets was one of the

would fall this year as it planned

to invest £50 million in boosting

capacity.

On London’s junior

market, shares in

Asos and Boohoo,

the fashion

retailers,

dropped by

50 per cent and

64 per cent,

respectively.

For the second

year running,

Cineworld was

among the biggest

laggards on the

FTSE 250. Despite a

recovery to 90 per cent

of its global pre-pandemic

box-office revenues in October,

shares in the world’s second largest

cinema chain fell by 50 per cent

during the year. Indeed, they slumped

by almost 40 per cent in only one

American private equity firm, and

St Modwen Properties, the

warehouse developer and

housebuilder bought by Blackstone.

Darktrace, the cybersecurity

company that joined the FTSE 100

thanks to a strong start after its initial

public offering in April, was relegated

from the index last month after a big

sell-off from some of its early backers.

However, the shares are up 24 per

cent since the company was listed.

N

ot all online retail and

delivery companies that

prospered during the 2020

lockdowns have sustained

the momentum in their

share prices. Ocado, the online retail

technology business, suffered its

worst annual decline since 2011,

falling by 27 per cent, as investors

appeared to get fed up with its

consistent pre-tax losses as it invests

in software and automation

technology.

Its successful retail

joint venture with

Marks & Spencer,

the high street

chain, boosted its

revenue during

the lockdowns

and helped M&S

shares to

increase by

70 per cent last

year. However, the

lifting of restrictions

and increased

competition have

resulted in the level of

demand falling back. Labour

shortages and disruption caused by a

warehouse fire resulted in Ocado’s

total sales declining in the fourth

quarter and it said that profit margins

July 19

Global market

sell-off on

resurgence of

Covid-19 cases

August 23

Pfizer becomes

first Covid vaccine

to gain full FDA

approval

November 23

Omicron is

detected in

South Africa

December 8

Boris Johnson

confirms move

to Plan B in

England

December 13

UK reports first

death with Omicron

coronavirus variant

December 16

Bank of England

raises interest rates

after inflation spike

Ashtead Group 75%

Glencore 64%

Royal Mail 59%

Meggitt 59%

Croda International 54%

Dechra Pharmaceuticals 53%

Ferguson 51%

Segro 51%

Entain 49%

St James’s Place 49%

Watches of Switzerland 158%

Indivior 135%

Future 120%

Investec 118%

Volution Group 100%

Reach 92%

Greggs 92%

Auction Technology Group 86%

Playtech 82%

Safestore Holdings 82%

Ocado -27%

Polymetal International -23%

London Stock Exchange Group -23%

Flutter Entertainment -23%

Fresnillo -22%

Smith & Nephew -15%

Abrdn -15%

Melrose Industries -13%

Hikma Pharmaceuticals -12%

Pearson -11%

Cineworld Group -50%

Petropavlovsk -41%

Trainline -40%

John Wood Group -39%

Hochschild Mining -37%

Aston Martin Lagonda -35%

Global Holdings

CMC Markets -34%

Ashmore Group -33%

Centamin -29%

TP Icap Group -28%

FTSE 100 leaders

% rise % rise

% fall % fall

FTSE 100 laggards FTSE 250 laggards

FTSE 250 leaders

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7,400

7,200

7,000

6,800

6,600

6,400

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