Scottish Business Briefing - Wednesday August 1, 2012
INDUSTRY
Record results fail to support Weir’s shares
SHARES in Weir Group took a tumble yesterday after the Glasgow-based engineering giant warned that profits at its oil and gas division would struggle to meet the City’s full-year forecasts (Scotsman).
ENERGY & UTILITIES
North-east pair given SLF cash injection
A pair of north-east energy service businesses have taken a share of £5million of funding to spur on growth plans. Red Spider and ROVOP were among four Scottish firms to benefit from the Scottish Loan Fund (SLF) and which have the option to draw down a combined £9million from the scheme (P&J).
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Devro tucks into sausage profits rise
SAUSAGE skin maker Devro yesterday served up a rise in half-year profits after sales of the Moodiesburn-based firm’s higher-margin Select range increased in developed markets such as Germany and Japan (Scotsman).
RETAIL
Next increases annual profit target as sales rise
Retailer Next has “modestly” increased its full-year profit target after it reported a rise in half-year sales. The clothing and homeware business now expects to make an annual pre-tax profit of between £575m and £620m, up from its previous guidance of £560m-£610m (BBC).
TECHNOLOGY
Flight to high-quality audio lifts Wolfson’s hopes for second half
MICROCHIP maker Wolfson is eyeing a return to profit in the second-half of the year on the back of a surge in demand for its audio components for mobile phones and tablet computers (Scotsman).
Forecast suggests purple patch for IndigoVision
SHARES in IndigoVision surged by as much as 15 per cent yesterday after the Edinburgh-based CCTV systems maker revealed its operating profits will be at least double last year’s total (Scotsman).