Business news in Brief 28/02/2012

Bunzl delivers on growth in style

Business supplies distributor Bunzl showed its recession-proof qualities with a greater-than-expected 11 per cent rise in yearly profit yesterday.

The FTSE 100 firm, which supplies supermarkets, hospitals and hotels with products such as carrier bags and toilet rolls, reported a 2011 pre-tax profit of £306.1 million, on sales 6 per cent higher at £5.11 billion.

The group, which operates in 23 countries and serves clients including John Lewis and Selfridges, said revenue in continental Europe and in the company’s largest market, North America, grew 7 and 12 per cent, respectively.

Emerging markets drive Cookson

Materials technology group Cookson reported a 12 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £211.6 million in 2011 driven by strong growth in emerging markets, while revenues rose 11 per cent to £2.8 billion.

The group, whose precious metals processing business is based in Birmingham, said it expects growth in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions to more than make up for weaker demand in Europe.

It expects increasing exposure to developing markets will fuel growth in 2012, surprising the market which had l

Funding for work to speed up data move

Edinburgh university spin-out VLC has secured £180,000 in initial seed funding from the Par investment syndicate as it embarks on pioneering research into an alternative to wireless radio data communication.

It is based on research carried out by Harald Haas, professor of mobile communications. The technology can transfer vast quantities of information across a spectrum 10,000 times wider than the radio frequency spectrum. Dr Gordon Povey, chief executive of VLC, believes the company may help lead a migration from radio communication.

Hiscox defies fears of plunge into red

Insurer Hiscox wrong-footed expectations of a loss in the past year after a strong performance from its retail business helped outweigh £270 million in catastrophe-related claims.

Bermuda-based Hiscox made a 2011 profit of £17.3m, down from £211.4m a year earlier but ahead of the deficit of between £20m and £30m pencilled in by analysts.

The decline reflected a spate of natural disasters, including the Japanese earthquake, which made 2011 the insurance industry’s second-costliest on record with payouts totalling more than £65 billion.