MARKET REPORT: Oxford Instruments rises because it snaps up £15m rival

Oxford Instruments surged ahead as it closed in on the takeover of a rival and outlined plans to restructure its business.

The FTSE 250 firm, which makes and sells X-ray cameras, microscopes and magnets to academic researchers and commercial customers, is buying a Zurich-based company for £15million.

FemtoTools designs and makes precision nanoindenters that measure the force needed to pierce a hole in a material.

Richard Tyson, chief executive of Oxford Instruments, said the company will be an ‘excellent addition’ to its portfolio.

The acquisition, which is expected to be completed within a month, comes as Oxford Instruments restructures its business into two new divisions.

Its imaging and analysis arm, which will account for 70 per cent of group revenues, will comprise of six businesses including FemtoTools. 

Oxford Instruments, which makes X-ray cameras, microscopes and magnets for  academic researchers and commercial customers, is buying Zurich-based FemtoTools for £15m

And the other division, advanced technologies, will hold two companies.

The updates came alongside annual results from Oxford Instruments that showed revenue rose 5.8 per cent to £470.4million in the 12 months to the end of March and profit dipped 3 per cent to £71.3million. 

Shares gained 7.1 per cent, or 175p, to 2635p.

The FTSE 100 fell 1 per cent, or 80.67 points, to 8147.81 and the FTSE 250 lost 0.9 per cent, or 179.19 points, to 20,266.85.

Bank shares came under pressure as political parties eye a tax raid on the industry and investors bet interest rate cuts would finally come sometime after the General Election. 

Standard Chartered dipped 4.3 per cent, or 32p, to 721.2p, HSBC shed 2.3 per cent, or 16p, to 677.6p and NatWest slid 2.3 per cent, or 7.1p, to 303.8p.

Pharmaceutical group Hikma made gains after investment bank Citi upgraded its rating on the stock. Shares added 2.2 per cent, or 43p, to 1973p.

Stock Watch – Novacyt

Shares in Novacyt plunged 19.8 per cent, or 13.8p, to 56p after it agreed to pay £5million to settle a two-year dispute with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

The trial between the molecular diagnostics firm and the Government was set to start on Monday but will no longer go ahead.

The company and the DHSC have now settled all claims and counterclaims, with neither party making ‘any admission or liability or wrongdoing’.

A slump in metal prices weighed on mining stocks, with Glencore down 2.2 per cent, or 10.25p, to 465.55p, Rio Tinto off 2 per cent, or 106p, to 5251p and Antofagasta 4.3 per cent, or 92p lower, at 2067p.

Gold producers also sank into the red with Hochschild Mining down 2.8 per cent, or 5p, to 176.4p, Fresnillo falling 1.6 per cent, or 9p, to 551p and Centamin off 1.5 per cent, or 1.7p, to 114.1p. 

Recruitment firm Hays traded lower after BNP Paribas Exane downgraded its rating on the stock. 

Shares dropped 2.3 per cent, or 2.4p, to 102.3p.

Capricorn Energy is in line for a bumper payout after hitting a key milestone. 

The company sold its interest in Sangomar oilfield offshore Senegal to Australian energy firm Woodside in December 2020.

As part of the agreement, Capricorn Energy was entitled to a special payment of as much as £39million once production began.

Capricorn shares soared 8.8 per cent, or 15p, to 186.5p but Woodside lost 1.8per cent, or 26p, to 1396p.

Bus and train operator First Group hit the buffers as it sounded the alarm over Labour’s plans to renationalise the railways. 

Boss Graham Sutherland described nationalisation as ‘clearly a challenge’. Shares fell 2.8 per cent, or 4.7p, to 164.8p.