Market report: Petrofac gushes again after Oman deal eases probe woe

Beleaguered shareholders of Petrofac were finally given reason to cheer today as the troubled oilfield services group secured a crucial contract in Oman.

Shares in the FTSE 250 company collapsed last month after it emerged it was being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office as part of its probe into Monaco-based Unaoil.

Today, it revealed a 10-year deal with the Petroleum Development Oman to work on projects in the Arab country.

Craig Muir, Petrofac’s managing director of engineering and production services, called it a “landmark agreement”. It is already working on two projects for PDO worth more than $2 billion.

Last month, Petrofac suspended its chief operating officer and removed the chief executive from involvement in the investigation in an bid to clean up the mess.

Today’s deal helped the shares claw back some of the lost ground as they rose 15.64p, or 4.5%, to 364.64p.

On the wider market, traders took their feet off the buying pedal on the day of the election, waiting on the outcome before placing any big bets. The tepid trading was underlined by the FTSE 100, which edged up just 3.54 points to 7482.16.

Vodafone was the only major blue-chip mover. The mobiles giant fell 8.5p, or 3.7%, to 220.5p as its shares traded without the right to their latest dividend.

On the mid-cap index, Berendsen surged 93p, or 8.4%, to 1200p after agreeing in principle to be bought by France’s Elis in a cash-and-shares deal worth £2.2 billion.

The industrial laundry firm had told investors there was no “basis for any further discussions”.

Shares in online fashion store boohoo.com jumped 18.25p, or 8%, to an all-time high of 239p, valuing the AIM company at £2.7 billion.

The rise comes after first-quarter sales growth more than doubled. It also raised £50 million in a placing at 220p per share.

Roman Abramovich’s fuel cell firm AFC Energy was nudged 0.19p higher to 11.19p after a board shake-up which saw ex-Tory MP Tim Yeo step down as chairman.

Abramovich’s business partner Eugene Shvidler was also replaced as a director by another member of the Chelsea owner’s Ervington investment vehicle.