Source: Sharecast
Gold miners Endeavour, Pan African Resources and Hochschild also shone as gold prices surged.
Ibstock fell as it said 2025 started well, with a solid increase in volumes, but market uncertainty led to progressively tougher conditions through the second half.
Ibstock said it had delivered "a solid performance in FY25", with revenue rising 2% to around £372m, even as trading conditions became "progressively more challenging".
However, total brick market volumes of roughly 1.85bn remained well below the 2.5bn recorded in 2022, though Ibstock said its Clay market share in the 11 months to November was ahead of the prior period.
Big Yellow lost ground after a third quarter trading statement that showed it increased space and higher rents offset a slight dip in occupancy levels compared with last year.
Group revenues were up 2% year-on-year at £52.3m over the three months to 31 December, with like-for-like store revenues also growing 2%.
UK defence group Qinetiq said it still expected to deliver organic annual revenue growth of 3% and an operating margin of around 11% despite near-term spending uncertainty.
The company also maintained earnings per share guidance of 15 – 20%.
“With an order backlog of around £5bn and a qualified pipeline of £11bn we have significant long-term visibility. Combined with our strong cash flow this allows for both investment in the business and compelling shareholder returns," the company said in a trading update on Tuesday.
Orders for the year to date were now more than £3bn, with an order backlog of around £5bn and a longer-term pipeline of £11bn.
"Recent awards include the £205m five-year extension to deliver mission critical engineering services for Typhoon, ensuring the operational readiness of our armed forces, and contracts worth £87m for our laser technology to enable future warfare,” Qinetiq added.
FTSE 250 - Risers
Pan African Resources (PAF) 131.60p 4.94%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 272.60p 4.05%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,202.00p 2.59%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 198.40p 2.37%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 590.50p 1.81%
SSP Group (SSPG) 193.70p 1.73%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 530.00p 1.63%
Rank Group (RNK) 99.40p 1.43%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 217.50p 1.40%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 308.00p 1.38%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
AEP Plantations (AEP) 1,400.00p -4.11%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 192.00p -3.66%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 120.00p -3.23%
Ibstock (IBST) 132.20p -2.94%
Quilter (QLT) 186.00p -2.92%
Marshalls (MSLH) 162.40p -2.87%
Genus (GNS) 2,755.00p -2.82%
JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 737.00p -2.64%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 128.40p -2.58%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 226.80p -2.49%
