MARKET REPORT: John Wood shares surge as it snubs takeover bids

Shares in John Wood Group hit an eight-month high after rejecting three takeover bids from a New York-based private equity firm.

The FTSE 250 rig and refinery engineer shot up 29 percent, or 44.85 pence, to 199.55 pence – the highest level since June last year – after it was announced that Apollo Global Management had fired on the company.

But John Wood rejected the offers, including an offer of 230 pence per share on January 26, valuing the company at £1.8 billion.

The proposals were “carefully considered” but rejected because “each significantly undervalued the group,” the company said in a statement. Analysts at Jefferies said the offer is “significantly below our 290p upside scenario.”

John Wood is under pressure from activist investor Sparta Capital to raise his share price to avoid becoming a takeover target.

It has also called on John Wood, who employs more than 35,000 people in 60 countries, to return cash to shareholders.

Apollo, who has also targeted education specialist Pearson (0.04 percent, or 0.4 pence, to 908 pence), must decide on March 22 whether to make another offer or walk away.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.3 percent, or 22.91 points, to 7907.72, but the FTSE 250 rose 0.6 percent, or 110.2 points, to 19790.49.

Recruitment company Hays is looking for a successor to boss Alistair Cox, who has ended his 15-year tenure.

The outgoing CEO took over in 2007. He took a deep bow after Hays reported record half-yearly compensation in 19 countries. Fees were up 12 per cent to £651.9m in the six months to December.

Stock watch – Tribe group

Tribal Group plunged into the red after warning that little progress has been made in resolving the contract with a Singapore university.

The software company said in December that its eight-year, £17 million contract with Nanyang Technology University (NTU) would be onerous due to delays in implementation and delivery.

Tribal has now said it continues to have “significant disagreement” with NTU over the amount of revenue it is entitled to. Shares fell 7.9 percent, or 4.15 pence, to 48.6 pence.

But profits fell 8 percent to £97 million over that period. Shares fell 3.6 percent, or 4.5 pence, to 119.1 pence.

Similarly, Genus boss Stephen Wilson will retire at the end of September after four years in charge. He has been with the animal genetics company for ten years and a replacement is being sought.

In addition to Wilson’s departure, Genus reported sales up 25 per cent to £350.2 million for the six months to December 31 and reiterated its annual forecasts as it remained hopeful that China’s volatile pig market will recover. Shares rose 8.7 percent, or 234 pence, to 2,938 pence.

However, Mondi went the other way. The packaging giant fell 4.8 percent, or 71 pence, to 1406.5 pence after it warned its company would continue to face “softer demand and prices.”

The gloomy outlook came even though revenue rose 28 per cent to £7.85 billion in 2022, while profits rose 119 per cent to £1.37 billion.

Serco fell 1 percent, or 1.6 pence, to 150.2 pence despite the extension of his contract with the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Through the deal, the outsourcing group, which manages security, transportation and immigration contracts, will help those eligible to get health insurance.

The four-year, seven-month contract, which starts on July 1, could be worth around £570 million.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals took a hit after profits fell 52 percent to £235 million in 2022 following a £151 million impairment charge related to its generics business and research and development costs. Shares fell 2 percent, or 35.5 pence, to 1,718 pence.

Kitchen supplier Howden Joinery started 2023 well with sales up 6.1 percent in the UK in the first eight weeks of the year.

It followed a 10.8 per cent rise in revenue to £2.3 billion in 2022, while profits were 4 per cent higher at £405.8 million. Shares fell 1.8 percent, or 13 pence, to 704.4 pence.

Construction group Morgan Sindall saw annual turnover rise 12 percent to £3.6 billion on demand for office space. Shares rose 7.3 percent, or 120 pence, to 1,754 pence.

And precision instrument specialist Spectris posted a 14 per cent revenue increase in 2022 to £1.3 billion. Profits rose 16 per cent to £401.5 million. Shares gained 7 percent, or 222p, to 3365p.