Darktrace and Johnson Matthey ousted from FTSE 100

Tech darling Darktrace will be booted off the UK’s top index three months after it entered the FTSE 100.

Chemicals and engineering company Johnson Matthey will also be ousted from the index of the UK’s biggest public firms, FTSE Russell confirmed on Wednesday.

The shake-up will see Electrocomponents and Dechra Pharmaceuticals take their places in the index.

The ranking of companies in the index takes place every three months, with the latest changes taking place on the basis of company share prices on November 30.

The changes will come into effect for this quarter on Monday December 20.

Cyber security firm Darktrace bolted into the index at the previous change-over after a strong start following its IPO in April.

However, the company has seen its shares plunge by 52% since hitting a record high in September, amid a significant sell-off at the end of its post-float lock-up period, which had forced initial investors to wait six months before being able to offload shares.

Nevertheless, the company produced upbeat growth projections in recent updates and will hope to rebound into the index in the near future.

Johnson Matthey will also join it in relegation to the FTSE 250.

The company has seen shares decline since revealing it will abandon plans to become a battery supplier and instead shift towards the electric vehicle sector.

Electrocomponents will benefit from the relegations and join the FTSE 100 later this month.

The industrial and electronics business has posted soaring profits recently, driving positivity among investors.

Dechra Pharmaceuticals has also moved up an index after the veterinary product specialist benefited from soaring pet ownership during the pandemic.

AO World and the Restaurant Group have been ousted from the FTSE 250.

Online white goods retailer AO saw its shares slump after failing to benefit from the surge in ecommerce demand as its profits were hit by supply chain disruption.

Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group has seen shares fall by around a third in the past month as concerns over rising virus cases across Europe and worries over the Omicron variant have raised fears there could be renewed hospitality restrictions.

The companies will be replaced by sub-prime lender Provident Financial and Goldman Sachs-backed Petershill Partners.