Shares round-up: Kingfisher, BP, Shell, Stagecoach, Tristel

President Trump’s mask comments have rattled investors, but oil majors have worries of their own. 

Companies as diverse as Kingfisher (LSE:KGF), Computacenter (LSE:CCC) and Lamprell (LSE:LAM) were stand-out winners for investors today, in a session when the London market's unpredictable streak continued.

The FTSE 100 index was back in its now familiar territory of 6,200 – the halfway point between pre-crash levels and the March low - after falling 1%, as sentiment in Europe weakened ahead of the second quarter results season. Donald Trump's warning that the pandemic will get worse before it gets better did little to help the mood.

There were declines of 1% for market heavyweights BP (LSE:BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell (LSE:RDSB) as figures showed a bigger-than-expected build-up in oil and gas inventories in the United States. GKN owner Melrose Industries (LSE:MRO) was comfortably the biggest faller in the top flight, with shares in the manufacturing turnaround specialist down by as much as 17% after it revealed it had been loss-making in the second quarter and only managed to break-even in June.

But there were pockets of cheer in the FTSE 100 index, including from Mexico-based mining company Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) after it stuck by silver production guidance for this year. Despite a cut in its gold output expectations due to working restrictions caused by Covid-19, the shares surged by 8% to their highest level in two years at 1,155p.

It was also a significant session for DIY products retailer Kingfisher, whose shares are now at their best level since May last year. The transformation from 137p in mid-April to 250p includes a rise of 11% today after second quarter like-for-like sales surged 21.6% as Britons turned to home improvement projects in the lockdown. Half-year profits will be better than last year, but Kingfisher is still unable to offer guidance for the full year.

There were few surprises for Britvic (LSE:BVIC) investors, however, after the Robinsons and J20 drinks firm stuck by its earlier guidance that 2020 profits will be impacted by between £12 million and £18 million a month due to Covid-19. Third quarter revenues were down 16.3% to £328.9 million, with strong home consumption offset by the temporary closure of pubs and cafes.

Shares were broadly flat at 794p, whereas fellow drinks firm Nichols was 1% higher at 1,195p after it announced plans to reinstate the 28p a share dividend it withdrew at the height of the Covid-19 uncertainty in March. This will be paid on September 4 in place of the usual interim dividend, with the move made possible by a 14.4% surge in half-year cash to £46.8 million.

While still unable to provide full-year guidance, Nichols said its Vimto brand had outstripped the market in the UK and performed robustly in the Middle East despite the challenges of a new sugar tax and Covid-19 restrictions. Adjusted profits were down by 49% to £6.8 million.

Stagecoach (LSE:SGC) full-year results were met with relief after recent turbulence, with Britain's biggest bus and coach operator confident it will continue to generate underlying earnings in the new financial year and re-build profitability over time. Its regional bus vehicle mileage is now back to 80% of prior year levels as Covid-19 related travel restrictions start to ease.

The company, whose value has skidded to below £300 million during the pandemic, rose 6% to 53.45p and gave a lift to other stocks in the sector following rises of 3% for Go-Ahead Group (LSE:GOG) and 1% for National Express (LSE:NEX) and ticketing firm Trainline (LSE:TRN).

Computacenter was the biggest riser in the FTSE 250 index after the technology provider to large corporate and public sector organisations benefited from a surge in demand for IT equipment to enable home working.

Customers have also been using the company's services in what's been a challenging time for corporate IT functions. First half profits were substantially better than last year, with Computacenter now confident that 2020 as a whole will be a “year of material progress” following a record-breaking 2019. The update helped shares jump 12% to another all-time high at 1,947p.

Smaller cap stock Wincanton (LSE:WIN) is also benefiting from favourable trends after the logistics firm today reported strong levels of demand in home delivery operations and e-fulfilment. Assuming no further Covid-19 impact, the company thinks profits for the year to next March will be not less than £30 million, which is significantly ahead of market forecasts.

Wincanton, whose shares jumped 7% to 184p, recently announced two significant new contracts with Morrisons and Waitrose.

Lamprell shares were up 8% to 24.2p after the oil equipment and services business reported encouraging levels of activity and a bid pipeline worth US$5.5 billion, including potential long-term opportunities in Saudi Arabia and the fast-growing offshore wind segment.

On AIM, shares in Eve Sleep (LSE:EVE) jumped 30% to their highest level this year after the mattress retailer said it traded ahead of expectations in May and June with this momentum continuing into July.

It pointed out that a number of online mattress brands had withdrawn from the European market, whilst some store-based competitors have also reduced the size of their retail estates. 

Tristel (LSE:TSTL), whose medical device decontamination products had accounted for about 80% of its sales prior to the pandemic, highlighted today how its business has been impacted by hospitals cancelling all but the most critical patient appointments due to Covid-19.

While this has been offset by a significant surge in its sales of surface disinfection products, the company is concerned about how quickly UK patient throughput will recover. CEO Paul Swinney said:

“Whilst we believe that hospitals will revert to more normal levels of activity, we cannot be certain as to timing.”

Analysts at Finncap increased their price target to 450p to reflect better 2020 revenues growth as a result of Covid-19, but the uncertainty meant shares still fell back 53p to 412p.