Associated British Foods, Petra Diamonds and CloudCall

“The FTSE100 began the trading week in positive territory, taking its lead from an upbeat start in Asia and despite the widely reported destruction being caused by Hurricane Irma,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Associated British Foods expects full-year adjusted operating profit to be well ahead of last time. Markdowns at its clothing chain Primark have been lower than expected and like-for-like sales have increased. Profit margins, though, have been squeezed due to the stronger US dollar and higher costs and ABF’s shares were down by over 1% in early trading.

“Petra Diamonds was a double-digit faller after a parcel of diamonds totalling 71,654.45 carats from the Williamson mine in Tanzania was seized by the government. The diamonds have been blocked from export to Petra's marketing office in Antwerp and some key personnel from Williamson are currently being questioned by the authorities. Petra Diamonds’ shares were down by over 13.1%.

“Computer telephony integration specialist CloudCall was an early riser following a 61% increase in monthly recurring revenues. Operating losses continue to narrow and it has seen steady growth in the number of end users adopting its technology. The monthly cash-burn continues to reduce and that the business is well-placed to execute on its focused growth strategy. CloudCall’s shares were up by more than 3%.”

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