One of the day's big risers is IT and software group Micro Focus International, following a better than expected update.
The company, which called off talks with private equity firms in the summer because it said bids were too low, plans to return 45p a share in cash to investors. The decision follows the company agreeing a new $275m facility with its banks. Half year profits rose 19.9% to $75.8m, ahead of market forecasts, after it acted to turn around a poor performance in the previous financial year.
The company's shares have climbed 27.1p to 408.6p, making it the leading riser in the FTSE 250. Analyst George O'Connor at Panmure Gordon said:
Remarkable. Interim results are ahead of expected and feature a 45p special dividend – the outlook is confident. We have looked and the cost model stacks up – so the genie in the bottle is down to execution and selling software. Historically Micro Focus's customer proposition has done well in a downturn. Since the last update we have seen a slew of new product debuts, new US chief operating officer appointment and new banking facilities all of which suggest that Micro Focus is getting the details right. We retain our buy at 458p (up from 425p) target price.
Elsewhere Cable & Wireless Worldwide has climbed 0.76p to 17.61p after Gavin Darby, who joined from Vodafone as its new chief executive, bought 2m shares at 16.89p each.
