"Vesuvius is a global leader in metal flow engineering, developing, manufacturing and marketing mission-critical ceramic consumable products and systems to demanding applications, primarily in the global steel and foundry industries. Vesuvius also supplies fabricated precious metals to the jewellery industry in Europe and has significant precious metals recycling operations."

Both Vesuvius Plc & Alent Plc are seperate companies created from the demerger of Cookson Plc in Dec 2012.

http://www.vesuvius.com/en/

Investec comment:
"Demerger of the former Cookson Group on 19 December presents an opportunity to leave behind an unfortunate legacy. The group was a serial equity fund-raiser – to finance acquisitions or survival – and it had a record of value destruction. In spite of the undoubted cyclicality of its markets, we believe that Vesuvius can break with the past and be managed prudently to generate robust cash flows, underpinning a good and progressive dividend. We expect Vesuvius to be valued in much the same way as Cookson Group, on account of their business similarities and investors‟ concerns, which have always focused on the Ceramics business. On the basis of the stand-alone estimates in this report, we derive a PE-based target price of 346p."

Already exceeded the broker tp.

Nice find Harry.

Thanks, but it was fate really, as I owned Cookson shares and so now have Vesuvius & Alent in their stead. However, both are doing well in their own right, so no complaints from me, so far!

Whenever I hear 'vesuvius' - I think of Frank Spencer!

Yes, I know what you mean. Even the guys on the FT Alphaville site thought that the name was a bit of a joke, but what's in a name? Calling your company 'Virgin', or your band 'Prefab Sprout' would seem to be a road to oblivion, but they worked!

Very true - anyway, on my list now!

StockMarketWire.com
Deutsche Bank starts Vesuvius at hold, target 350p

StockMarketWire.com
Credit Suisse starts Vesuvius at neutral, target 400p

Announcement of 2012 Full Year Results on the 21st March 2013.

StockMarketWire.com
RBC Capital has downgraded its recommendation on Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) to "sector perform" from "outperform" after the broker rejigged its estimates following the demerger of Alent. The City broker has reduced its share price target to 410 pence from 660 pence. Earnings per share estimated have been lowered to 33 pence (from 59 pence) for 2013 and 37 pence (from 65 pence) for 2014. With the combined shares prices of Vesuvius and Alent trading at 708p (versus a Cookson share price of 596p at the time of our last update), we see a significant portion of the near-term value creation from a demerger as having crystallised, said analyst Andrew Carter. In terms of the wider view held by the City, only 28 per cent of brokers currently have a buy recommendation in place with the remainder maintaining a hold or neutral rating on the stock according to Broker Forecasts consensus data.

Results for the year ended 31 December 2012 (unaudited)
Resilient financial performance delivered in a difficult second half trading environment:
· 2012 trading profit of £150.2m (including Precious Metals Processing), affected by Steel and Foundry trading environment being significantly weaker in second half (as previously announced)

· Final dividend of 9.5 pence per share, in line with guidance at demerger

· Free cash flow(1),(2) from continuing operations of £54.2m (2011: £32.1m)

· Year-end net debt(2) of £295m

Strategic transformation of Vesuvius into a focused, global leader in metal flow engineering:

· Restructuring programme well progressed across the Group, exiting low-margin business, reducing the cost base, improving operational flexibility and cash flow

· Successful demerger completed(3)

· Complete exit from Solar Crucibles business announced

· Discussions on disposal of Precious Metals Processing at an advanced stage

François Wanecq, Chief Executive of Vesuvius, commented:
"Vesuvius has demonstrated its resilience in the significantly weaker steel and foundry markets experienced in the second half of 2012. We have taken decisive action to exit low margin businesses and lower our fixed cost base, to drive profitability and cashflow. Since the year-end, we have decided to exit completely from the Solar Crucibles business.
We have clear market and technology leadership in both Steel and Foundry, a strong presence in developing markets, and opportunities to develop new higher value products and services for our customers. We will continue the drive to improve our operating efficiency, while maintaining our leadership in technology, innovation and global reach.
The Group is now positioned to increase margins, and as our end-markets start to strengthen, grow revenues. Our strong balance sheet and cash generation will enable us to continue to invest in our business and pursue further high value opportunities."

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4559027

Disposal of Precious Metals Processing Division
Proposed share repurchase programme

Vesuvius plc ("Vesuvius" or the "Company"), a leading metal flow engineering company, announces that it has entered into an agreement to sell its Precious Metals Processing Division ("PMP") to Heimerle + Meule GmbH ("H + M"), a subsidiary of L. Possehl & Co, mbH ("Possehl") for a cash consideration of €56.8m, payable on completion.

The cash consideration will be subject to closing balance sheet adjustments. Completion, which is expected by the end of the first half of 2013, will be subject to conditions including approval by the European Commission and by the Supervisory Board of Possehl.

The majority of the disposal proceeds will be returned to shareholders through the on-market repurchase of shares. The balance of the proceeds will be used to reduce the Company's existing borrowings.

Commenting on the sale François Wanecq, Chief Executive of Vesuvius, said:

"Following the recent creation of Vesuvius plc through the demerger of Cookson, this is a further important strategic step for our company. It represents the sale of a non-core asset and the final exit from precious metals processing, leaving Vesuvius principally focused on our core competence of molten metal engineering, serving the global steel and foundry industries.

"It is also a very positive outcome for the Precious Metals Processing business and its employees, offering the opportunity to develop a long-term future within a group dedicated to the precious metals industry.

"As a result of this disposal, we intend to return the majority of the net proceeds to shareholders through an on market repurchase of shares, demonstrating our desire to exercise strong capital discipline and generate superior returns. Our strong balance sheet allows us to do this and still remain able to fund attractive growth opportunities."

BFN
John McDonough, Chairman, bought 50,000 shares in the company on the 27th March 2013 at a price of 355.24p. The Director now holds 50,000 shares.

StockMarketWire.com

Investec has upgraded its recommendation on Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) to "buy" from "hold" following the recent share price weakness. The City broker has lowered its price target slightly to 385 pence per share from 400 pence. The shares are down by nearly 8 per cent in the past month. Broker Forecast consensus data shows that the majority of brokers (69 per cent) have a less bullish opinion on the stocks near-term outlook and have a 'neutral' rating in place versus the remaining 31 per cent which rate the shares as a "buy".

BFN
Christer Gardell, Non Executive Director, bought 450,000 shares in the company on the 22nd April 2013 at a price of 325.00p. The Director now holds 56,443,446 shares.

Completion of disposal and confirmation of share repurchase programme

Vesuvius plc announces that on 31 May 2013 following the satisfaction of all conditions to closing, it completed the sale of its Precious Metals Processing Division to Heimerle + Meule GmbH, a subsidiary of L. Possehl & Co, mbH.

The cash consideration of €56.8m was received on completion and will be subject to customary closing balance sheet adjustments.

As previously announced, the Company intends to undertake an on-market share repurchase programme to return up to £30m to shareholders. This programme is expected to commence post the 2013 AGM which will be held on Tuesday 4 June 2013 and to take up to 6 months to complete.

The balance of the net proceeds will be used to reduce the Company's existing borrowings.

StockMarketWire.com
Vesuvius Plc booked a first-half pretax profit of £64 million, down from £71 million a year ago. Revenue was £773 million, from £819 million. It proposed an interim dividend of 4.75p a share.

"Vesuvius has delivered a solid performance in the first half, in a trading environment that was generally stable but still operating at a substantially lower level than in the first half of last year," said CEO Francois Wanecq in a statement.

"All of our businesses performed better than, or in-line with, their main end-markets," he said.

He said trading margins recovered somewhat following the substantial falls in the second half of last year, although they werer still below the levels achieved during the same period last year.

MARKET REPORT: Vesuvius surprises dealers with maiden profits eruption

By Geoff Foster

PUBLISHED: 22:30, 2 August 2013 | UPDATED: 22:30, 2 August 2013

The maker of ceramic moulds for steel-makers and foundries, which was formed when Cookson split into two companies, certainly surprised Harry Philips, respected engineering guru at Oriel Securities.


He said: ‘It’s not often we can be described as being on the overly conservative side on numbers but on this occasion we are. Vesuvius has thumped our expectation out of the park with £71million of operating profit playing our forecast of £58million. Debt is also much better than we thought at £273million.’



MARKET REPORT: Vesuvius enjoys maiden profits eruption

Buyers responded to the impressive performance by piling into the shares which raced ahead to touch 507p before closing 40p or 9 per cent higher at 480p.


They have now risen 51 per cent since the de-merger in December.


Philips had been expecting a small decline in profits from the second-half of 2012 after the company said in March that trading was broadly similar to the latter half of last year.


Clearly, restructuring at Vesuvius is paying off. It sold its precious metals processing business, which recycles and provides semi-finished gold, silver and platinum to the jewellery industry, for €56.8million last month. It also said cheerio to its loss-making solar crucibles business late last year.
Chemicals group Alent, the other half of the Cookson demerger, closed 6p up at 377p.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/markets/article-2383823/MARKET-REPORT-Vesuvius-surprises-dealers-maiden-profits-eruption.html#ixzz2atIYyr7A
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Vesuvius: JP Morgan raises target price from 420p to 497p reiterating an overweight rating; Exane moves target price from 410p to 455p and keeps a neutral rating; Deutsche Bank takes target price from 350p to 450p, while its hold recommendation remains unchanged.

StockMarketWire.com
Analysts at Investec have effectively double-downgraded their recommendation on Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) and moved straight to "sell" (from buy) on valuation grounds, after the shares skyrocketed on the back of last week's positive set of interims. The City broker has upped its price target to 430 pence per share (previously 385 pence). The broker said: "The shares had already started running strongly before last Friday's results and they rose a further 40p (9%) on the day. Although we expect further progress from the company, we see this as an over-reaction and we switch to a Sell recommendation on valuation grounds.⬝ On Monday, JP Morgan Cazenove reaffirmed its "overweight" rating, increasing its price target to 497 pence a share (from 420 pence), whereas Deutsche Bank stuck with its less positive "hold" call and increased its target to 450 pence (previously 350 pence).

Ex divi wed 28th aug (4.75p)

StockMarketWire.com
Investec has upgraded its recommendation on engineering services group Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) to "hold" from "sell", on valuation grounds, believing the shares are currently trading at a more realistic level following the recent fall. The shares have pulled back by around 6 per cent in the past month. The broker has also trimmed its price target by 5 pence to 450 pence per share to reflect the slight sector de-rating. In our view, the price had spiked up too far and it has now returned to a level consistent with its margins, growth potential and capacity for dividend payment and growth" analyst Michael Blogg said in his note to clients.

StockMarketWire.com
Metal processing group Vesuvius said its trading performance in the period since 1st July has been in line with management's expectations.

Underlying market conditions reflected a continuation of the activity levels seen in the second quarter and were generally stable.

The company said it continues to successfully implement a number of actions to mitigate the effect of the weakness in end-market demand experienced since the third quarter of 2012, including a programme to streamline the Group's portfolio and focus on higher-value product lines. These self-help measures are contributing to an improvement in the Group's trading margins. Expectations for full year performance therefore remain unchanged.

STEEL
Regional steel production trends continue to be mixed. Global volumes as reported by the World Steel Association are 4.7% higher than the third quarter of last year, with continued weakness in Europe and a flat market in North America offset by growth in the Middle East and China. As expected, steel production volumes were lower than in the second quarter of this year, reflecting the normal seasonality resulting from customer shutdowns over July and August. The steel division's performance reflects these trends with recent trading activity being above the corresponding period of last year but below the second quarter of this year.

FOUNDRY
Despite some improvement in the truck and light vehicle markets, the weakness of the global mining and North American railroad sectors has prevented an overall recovery in the foundry casting market to date. Therefore, whilst the business environment remains challenging and recent trading activity has been marginally below the corresponding period of last year, we have mitigated these effects with the on-going focus on operational efficiency and the active management of our cost base.

FINANCIAL CONDITION
There has been no material change in the financial position from that reported at the half year results on 2 August 2013.

The share repurchase programme initiated on 4 June 2013 was completed in mid-September, with £30m of the proceeds of the sale of the Precious Metals Processing division having been returned to shareholders. The remainder of the proceeds were applied to the reduction of the Group's net borrowings. These actions underline the Group's commitment to exercise prudent capital discipline and offer attractive returns to shareholders.

Vesuvius plc announces the issuance of US$60 million and €30 million of US Private Placement loan notes ("the Notes").

Proceeds from the issue were received on 3 December 2013 and used to reduce drawings under the Group's existing committed bank facilities. The Notes, which all carry a fixed rate of interest, were issued in four series: €15 million at 3.46% maturing in December 2021, US$30 million at 4.61% maturing in December 2023, €15 million at 3.93% maturing in December 2025 and US$30 million at 4.96% maturing in December 2028. The weighted average interest rate and maturity on the Notes will be 4.34% and 11.5 years respectively.

This placement further strengthens the Group's balance sheet by diversifying its sources of funding and lengthening its debt maturities.

StockMarketWire.com
Vesuvius's FY pretax profit surged to £104.1m, from a restated £17.2m. Revenue was £1.51bn, from £1.55bn. It recommended a final dividend of 10.25p a share.

Vesuvius warned on the strength of sterling this year and its potential impact on financial performance.

CEO François Wanecq said in its first complete year as an independent company, Vesuvius had successfully initiated the recovery of margins across despite an unfavourable economic environment.

"Market conditions remained challenging in 2013, continuing from the reduced levels of activity seen in the second half of 2012, and Sterling strengthened substantially in the second half of 2013, impacting our reported growth numbers," he said.

Against this backdrop, Vesuvius had taken a disciplined approach to implementing its stated strategy.

"We streamlined our business portfolio and activities, exiting non-core low-margin businesses, further improved the quality of our products and services, and implemented self-help measures to increase the productivity of our own businesses," he said.

"The result is improved profitability, strong cash flow, and a more focused Group. This gives us a strong platform from which to pursue our growth strategy."

Looking ahead, Vesuvius expected the underlying trading environment during 2014 to be broadly similar to that experienced in 2013.

"We are progressing with our plan to improve operational efficiency across the group. These actions should continue to drive improvement in our trading margins and working capital performance in 2014."

However, if the recent strength of sterling continued it would have a negative impact on Vesuvius's reported growth in 2014.

Ex-divi wed 23rd Apr (10.25p)

StockMarketWire.com
Vesuvius said whilst there have been encouraging signs of increased activity in some end-markets, namely in Europe, conditions in other end markets remain challenging.

It therefore continued to expect the underlying trading environment during 2014 to be broadly similar to that experienced in 2013.

"As previously disclosed, a continuation of the current strength of sterling will have a negative impact on our reported results," Vesuvius said.
"Despite this, management's sustained focus on self-help measures to drive operational efficiency, coupled with the strength of our customer relationships and our technical leadership and innovation, is expected to drive further margin improvement during the course of the year," it said.
"Consequently, the Board remains confident in their expectations for the full year."

Vesuvius said there had been no material change in its financial position from that reported at 31 December 2013.

"We continue to operate with a strong balance sheet and remain cash generative. We are maintaining our focus on working capital management, and are making further progress in reducing inventory days across the Group."

StockMarketWire.com
Numis has upgraded its recommendation on Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) to 'add' from 'hold' after stating that it believes the stock is cyclicality overly discounted. The broker also added that the combination of the stock's current valuation, solid trading environment, margin upside and improving cash flow suggests a sensible entry point for investors. Analysts have set a new and improved target price of 515 pence per share.

StockMarketWire.com
Vesuvius's trading performance for the third quarter of this year has been in line with the Board's expectations, despite some softening in market conditions in certain regions since the announcement of our 2014 Half Year Results in August.

"Therefore, the Board's expectations for the full year performance remain unchanged," the company said in a statement.

"We continue to implement a range of strategic and operational initiatives across all business lines to improve trading margins across the Group, and we remain resolutely focused on cash generation.

"Further to the announcement made in August, we are pleased to announce the completion of the acquisitions of the technical services businesses, Ecil Met Tec and Process Metrix, for an aggregate consideration of approximately £30m."

Looking at its markets, Vesuvius added:

"Whilst there have been signs of increased activity in some end-markets, namely in the US, Europe has seen weaker growth over the period and conditions in end markets in South America and Asia remain challenging.

"We expect these conditions to continue for the remainder of the year. As previously disclosed, a continuation of the current strength of sterling will have a negative impact on our reported results.

"It is expected that Management's sustained focus on driving operational efficiency, coupled with the strength of our customer relationships and our technical leadership and innovation, will drive further margin improvement. Consequently, the Board's expectations for the Group's full year performance remain unchanged."

StockMarketWire.com
Vesuvius said in the course of the past month it made a preliminary proposal to the Board of Morgan Advanced Materials for an all-share merger between the two companies.

"The proposal was rejected by the Board of Morgan without discussions taking place. As a result Vesuvius confirms that it does not now intend to make an offer for Morgan," Vesuvius said in a statement.

The Board of Vesuvius (the "Board") believes that a combination of the two companies would have created a higher margin global leader in advanced ceramics technology, with complementary business models, strategies and cultures, delivering value-enhancing products and technical services to a broad range of end-markets.

StockMarketWire.com
Vesuvius has noted the announcements made by Alent and Platform Speciality Products Corporation regarding the resolution of litigation arising out of corporate activity relating to Cookson Group plc's performance materials division (now Alent) dating back to autumn 2006.

The pending litigation was noted in the contingent liability note of Vesuvius' 2013 Annual Report and Accounts.

Under the terms of the demerger of Vesuvius and Alent, Vesuvius is required to contribute 50% of any net settlement liability.

Vesuvius will pay US$10m (GBP£6.4m) as its share of the full and final settlement of the litigation.

Strong margin improvement through the delivery of Group strategy

Vesuvius plc, a global leader in molten metal flow engineering, announces its preliminary audited results for the year ended 31 December 2014.
Business Highlights
· Strong underlying revenue performance from Steel Flow Control in all regions, and from Advanced Refractories in the Americas and Asia-Pacific
· Product portfolio of activities further streamlined, with increased focus on products and services where value-add is rewarded
· Implementation of self-help measures to increase productivity
· Investment in technology, with new R&D facility in Netherlands to drive innovation and growth in Foundry
· Further growth of presence in China, with the opening of a new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant for Foundry
· Acquisition of Process Metrix and ECIL Met Tec, expanding our Technical Services offering - an important medium-term growth opportunity
François Wanecq, Chief Executive of Vesuvius, commented:
"During 2014 we made encouraging progress in line with our objectives and strategy, against a backdrop of mixed trading conditions.

We have delivered further margin progression on the back of moderate underlying revenue growth, and we have maintained our long-term trend of expanding our addressable markets by building further on our strong base in Asia, and in China in particular. We have invested in new R&D centres, and we have completed acquisitions, building our new Technical Services offering for our steel and foundry customers.

We expect the underlying trading environment in the current year to be broadly similar to that experienced in 2014. We are progressing with our plan to improve operational efficiency across the Group and these actions should drive further improvement in our trading margins during 2015."

JP Morgan Cazenove cuts Vesuvius to neutral from overweight, target cut from 531p to 510p.

Credit Suisse reiterates underperform on Vesuvius, target cut from 460p to 435p.

Vesuvius plc, a global leader in molten metal flow engineering, announces its results for the six months ended 30 June 2015.

Business summary
· Lower revenues and profits driven by a decline in global steel production and inventory volumes
· Cash conversion ratio of 84%
· Return on sales increased to 10% as a result of management actions to improve productivity and reduce cost
· Underlying increase in profitability in the Foundry division of 165 basis points driven by new management actions
· Strong balance sheet, with long-term bank facilities in place to 2022. Net debt of £296m reflects acquisition of Sidermes
· Interim dividend up 3% to 5.15 pence per share (H1 2014: 5.00 pence) to be paid on 25 September 2015
· Continued improvement in profitability from self-help initiatives
· Restructuring programme commenced to address structural changes in end markets

Strategic progress
· Delivery of margin improvement continues
· Revenue up year-on-year in Asia-Pacific in all businesses despite adverse trading conditions
· Outperformance in China and India - strategically important markets for long-term growth
· Continued focus on products and services where value-add is rewarded
· Sidermes acquisition expands our Technical Services offering - an important medium-term growth opportunity

François Wanecq, Chief Executive of Vesuvius, commented:
"In recent months, we have seen challenging end markets with a global decline in crude steel production, particularly in the US, our largest market. Against this backdrop, Vesuvius has made further strategic and operational progress. We are pleased to report revenue and margin progression in the major long-term markets of China and India and further progress in building our Technical Services business.

As a consequence of the structural change in our end markets, we have commenced a global restructuring programme and have currently identified actions which will result in a total charge of around £20m in 2015 and 2016 with full year cost savings in excess of £10m in 2017. Some early benefits from this programme are expected to be seen this year, and as a result, we remain confident that performance will be broadly in line with market expectations for the full year.

This programme is designed to better align our group with our end markets and capitalise on the further growth of our addressable markets as outlined at our Capital Markets Day in June."

JP Morgan Cazenove today reaffirms its overweight investment rating on Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) and cut its price target to 323p (from 370p).

StockMarketWire.com
Vesuvius saw its FY pretax profit sink to GBP77.4m, from GBP111.2m. Revenue improved to GBP1.32bn, from GBP1.44bn. Dividend was 16.275p a share, from 16.125p.

CEO Francois Wanecq commented:
"These results reflect the substantial headwinds that we have faced in our key end-markets of steel and foundry.

"We have been able to minimise the impact on our margins due to a continued focus on self-help measures and our substantial restructuring programme launched in response to the permanent structural changes in the end-markets.

"We expect the underlying trading environment in the current year to be broadly similar to that experienced in the second half of 2015 and have initiated a further cost reduction plan, which, together with the actions already taken will deliver full year savings of £20m towards the end of 2017, an increase of £10m over the savings already announced.

"Despite the current challenges, our strategy for longer-term profitable growth remains unchanged and, in this context, we have made encouraging progress in 2015, strengthening our competitive position in the strategically important markets of China, India and South America through increasing penetration of our value added products, and continuing to develop our Technical Services offering."

JP Morgan Cazenove today downgrades its investment rating on Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) to neutral (from overweight) and cut its price target to 310p (from 323p).

Jefferies International today downgrades its investment rating on Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) to underperform (from hold) and cut its price target to 255p (from 300p).

I bought some more this morning around 9:00. I'm sure Jefferies are well intentioned.

StockMarketWire.com
Vesuvius anticipates its trading performance, supported by the ongoing benefit of its restructuring actions, will be in line with current expectations for the full year.

Even this early in the year, it sees its underlying trading environment to remain similar to that experienced in H2 2015.

"We remain confident in our ability to capitalise on any recovery in our addressable markets in the medium term," the company said in a statement.

"Overall market conditions remain unchanged since we announced our 2015 Full Year Results at the beginning of March with lower year-on-year global steel production and mixed end markets in our Foundry Division.

"We continue to make good progress with our self-help and restructuring actions as evidenced by the decision in April to close the Flow Control plant in Ostrawa, Czech Republic.

"As communicated at the beginning of March, restructuring will deliver benefits of £20m per annum by the end of 2017."

StockMarketWire.com
Vesuvius' H1 pretax profit has slipped to £38.2m, from £51.4m, as revenue eased to £668.3m, from £702.6m. Interim dividend was 5.15p, unchanged on the year. Its FY outlook remains unchanged.

CEO Francois Wanecq commented:
"We have delivered an encouraging result in the first half of 2016, with an improvement in financial performance relative to the second half of 2015.

"This reflects the strength of our market position and progress in implementing our self-help initiatives and ongoing restructuring programme.

"Our end markets in steel and foundry are showing signs of stabilisation, although we expect them to remain at relatively weak levels for the remainder of the year.

"Based on our strategic and operational progress in the first half, and assuming current exchange rates continue for the rest of the year, our full year expectations remain unchanged.

"We remain confident in our ability to capitalise on any recovery in our addressable markets in the medium term."

Third Quarter 2016 Trading Update
Vesuvius plc, a global leader in molten metal flow engineering, releases the following Trading Update covering trading in the period from 1 July to 30 September 2016.

SUMMARY
Since the announcement of our half year results in July and as anticipated, end markets have remained subdued overall. We expect this to continue for the balance of the year. However, the delivery of self-help and restructuring measures will continue to benefit profit margins, and we have further increased our 2017 annualised savings target. As set out below, recent and current foreign exchange trends are having a beneficial impact on trading profit.

TRADING
Since the announcement of our 2016 Half Year results in July, steel markets have remained relatively flat with the latest World Steel Association global production statistics (ex China) showing a decline of 1.5% versus last year. This is being partly mitigated by growth in India on the back of good domestic demand and growth in exports. Foundry markets remain mixed with auto and heavy truck sales varying by region while other foundry sectors such as agriculture, mining and rail remain challenging. In total, excluding the impact of foreign exchange movements, Group sales year to date remain in line with our expectations.

RESTRUCTURING
Ongoing progress is being made in the delivery of the previously stated restructuring programme with the recent announcement of two plant closures at Avezzano and Cagliari in Italy. These and the other restructuring measures previously announced lead us to increase our annualised savings target by £5m to £30m by the end of 2017 at a cost of £40m (previously £35m).

FOREIGN EXCHANGE
The Group's results have benefited from a foreign exchange tailwind during 2016 with most global currencies strengthening against Sterling between December 2015 and September 2016. In particular, there has been a significant movement since June as a result of the UK's decision to leave the EU. Average exchange rates of Sterling to US Dollar and Euro have fallen by 8.8% and 9.3%, respectively, between FY 2015 and 2016 YTD. This has provided a trading profit benefit of approximately £7m year to date. Assuming current foreign exchange rates continue, the estimated benefit would increase to £11m for the full year.

EFFECTIVE TAX RATE
During the year, the regional mix of where we earn profits has shifted away from lower rate to higher rate tax regimes. This is expected to result in our full year effective tax rate increasing to around 28% (previously 25.5%).

FINANCIAL POSITION
We have continued to generate strong cash flows during the quarter although the positive impact this should have had on net debt has been offset by the ongoing translation impact of a weaker Sterling to both the US Dollar and Euro. We are continuing to focus on tight working capital management in order to release cash.

Peel Hunt today reaffirms its buy investment rating on Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) and raised its price target to 480p (from 410p).

It just can't keep it's head above 400 for any length of time. I suspect Artisan to continue to offload as they appear to be doing on any number of stocks into this rally.

StockMarketWire.com
Vesuvius has turned in an improved FY pretax profit of £79.4m, from £77.4m, after a resilient performance for the 12-month period.

Revenue was £1.4bn, from £1.3bn. Dividend was 16.55p, from 16.275p.

"We delivered an encouraging set of results in 2016 in challenging market conditions and made important progress towards our strategic and operating objectives, in particular, growth in return on sales as a result of the restructuring programme," said CEO Francois Wanecq.

"Our resilience reflects the strength of our customer relationships, built on our proven ability to offer innovation, reliability and efficiency."

He added that whilst the trading environment remained broadly stable, Vesuvius had seen early signs of improvement in 2017.

"Following our cost improvement efforts, we are well positioned to benefit from any recovery in demand and we will continue to focus on creating value for our customers and shareholders alike.

"We remain confident of making further progress, both in the near and longer term."

Up 20% today. Sadly sold most of mine before the results for what was a pleasing profit. Last lot sold today at 519 and time for me to find the next opportunity

StockMarketWire.com
Vesuvius said that whilst it is still early in the year, and recognising the inherent uncertainty in predicting end market resilience, its expectations for 2017 trading performance are cautiously optimistic.

"At our year-end results in early March, we highlighted encouraging early signs of improvement in the global market environment," the company said.

It added that this trend had continued since then across Vesuvius' major regions, resulting in delivery of a strong Q1 2017 in comparison to a relatively weak Q1 2016.

Vesuvius had benefited in Q1 2017 from the 5.7% year-on-year growth in global steel production, as reported by the World Steel Association.

"However, this Q1 2017 increase in global steel production is off the relatively low base of Q1 2016 and full year 2017 growth expectations for the market are materially lower than this figure.

"In Foundry, the market environment remains mixed with light vehicles slowing in the USA and static in the rest of the world. Heavy truck and mining sales are showing slight signs of recovery but this varies by region."

Vesuvius said it continued to make progress in the delivery of its restructuring program.

"The total targeted annual savings now stand at £40m, up from £35m, whilst associated costs remain unchanged at £45m. We continue to assess restructuring opportunities across our businesses which could potentially yield further savings in the future," the company said.

"All things being equal, based on the average exchange rates in Q1 2017, and were current spot foreign exchange rates to persist for the remainder of 2017, this would have increased our 2016 Trading Profit by approximately 7%."

Peel Hunt today reaffirms its buy investment rating on Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) and raised its price target to 740p (from 700p).

JP Morgan Cazenove today reaffirms its overweight investment rating on Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) and raised its price target to 730p (from 710p).

Barclays Capital today initiates coverage of Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) with a underweight investment rating and price target of 500p.

StockMarketWire.com
Vesuvius, the molten metal flow engineering company, has raised €100 million in a US private placement.

The new US private placement notes, which carry a fixed rate of interest, were issued in two series: €50 million at 1.90% maturing in December 2027; and €50 million at 2.12% maturing in December 2029.

The notes will be used for repayment of existing indebtedness, primarily the US$110m, 4.26% coupon, US private placement maturing on 16 December 2017.

Vesuvius' annual interest costs will decline by approximately £1.8m as a result of this refinancing and the weighted average maturity of its committed debt facilities now stands at approximately six years, versus approximately four years at year-end 2016.

StockMarketWire.com
Vesuvius, the molten metal flow engineering company, increased its underlying revenue by 12.5% to £1,683.9m in 2017.

The company's underlying trading profit rose by 16.1% to £165.5m, with the return on sales up 30 basis points to 9.8%.

The group benefitted from a 5.3% increase in global steel production up 5.3% in 2017.

However, steel production growth in the world excluding China was supported by a significant decrease in Chinese steel exports, which may not repeat in 2018.

Performance in China was particularly strong, with 9.2% underlying revenue growth. The company benefitted from the trend in China towards higher quality steel requiring higher quality products and value creating solutions.

In the relatively mature regions of Europe and the US, the company achieved revenue growth of 7.6% and 8%, respectively. This outperformance was supported by increased penetration of its value-creating solutions; new product launches, especially in Foundry; and an increased focus on strategic customers.

Restructuring savings of £16.2m were achieved in 2017 and total targeted savings from the existing restructuring programme, mainly in Flow Control, increased from £55m to £60m.

Vesuvius has launched a new restructuring programme targeting £15m of annual savings by 2020 in its other businesses.

The full year dividend has been increased by 8.8% to 18 pence per share.

Investec today reaffirms its hold investment rating on Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) and raised its price target to 650p (from 580p).

Morgan Stanley today reaffirms its equal weight investment rating on Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) and raised its price target to 660p (from 610p).

HSBC today reaffirms its hold investment rating on Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) and set its price target at 675p.

StockMarketWire.com
Vesuvius, the molten metal flow engineering company, exceeded its trading expectations in the first quarter thanks to positive market conditions and good progress in addressing the temporary headwinds it faced in 2017.

The board expects trading for the full year to be marginally above previous guidance, despite a foreign exchange headwind.

In the first quarter, the group benefitted from continued growth in steel production, which has increased 2.8% year-on-year in the world excluding China and 4.1% including China. In Foundry, the market environment remains positive across the majority of markets.

Vesuvius' sales volume growth has continued to outperform underlying market growth.

For raw materials, the group's price pass through has been implemented and the headwind addressed. Flow Control's European production has been ramped up and met the increased demand experienced in Q1 2018.

The net impact of exchange rates has been a Q1 2018 headwind of approximately £1.6m, the main driver being a 7.9% strengthening in Sterling against the US Dollar. All things being equal, if month end March 2018 rates were to persist for the remainder of the year, this would impact the 2018 trading profit by approximately 4.7%.

JP Morgan Cazenove today reaffirms its overweight investment rating on Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) and raised its price target to 760p (from 745p)

Jefferies International today reaffirms its buy investment rating on Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) and raised its price target to 740p (from 725p).

HY Results : http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=6066828

Patrick André, Chief Executive of Vesuvius, commented:
"We had a strong H1 2018, delivering our best half year revenue, trading profit and return on sales since we became an independent company in 2012. We continued to outperform underlying markets thanks to the growth in demand for our value-creating solutions, supported by our increasing investment in R&D. We are cautiously optimistic regarding H2 2018 performance as the environment in our key end markets remains positive. This strength in underlying markets and our continuing implementation of self-help measures underpins our confidence that our full year trading profit (EBITA) will be marginally above the current consensus market expectation of c.£189m(1). Looking beyond 2018, we believe in our ability to deliver further organic improvement in our profit margins as we implement our strategy and deliver on our restructuring programmes."

Berenberg today initiates coverage of Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) with a hold investment rating and price target of 660p.

StockMarketWire.com
Molten metal flow engineering group Vesuvius warned that unfavorable currency movements would impact its full-year profit.

The impact of exchange-rate movements during 2018 had increased since the company's first-half results, due primarily to further currency depreciation in developing markets.

'Without this increased foreign exchange headwind our expectations for full year trading profit would have been approximately 5% higher,' the company said.

Still, Vesuvius said it expected its full-year Ebita to be in-line with current consensus market expectations, even after taking FX headwinds into account.

'We continue to deliver a strong performance across all business units and regions of the world,' the company said.