"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/

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.