GRAFTON MARKS A RETURN TO SALES GROWTH - Building materials group Grafton says its 2010 revenue rose to €2 billion, up 1% from the year before. Its profit before tax was up 88% at €25.5m. The group's executive chairman, Michael Chadwick, says Grafton is well-placed to benefit from improvements in its markets. The UK economy seems to be growing modestly and activity has recovered from historically low levels, but he says that Ireland remains unpredictable.
Grafton's chief operating officer Leo Martin says that 2010 was a very strong year for the company as it marked the first time in three years that its sales stopped falling and actually started to grow again. He says the big jump in profits came as a result of the company's 'painful restructuring' measures over the past few years, combined with the sales growth. Grafton saw good growth in its UK operations and Mr Martin says that 70% of the company's activity is now conducted there. He says the weather did make for some difficult months in the UK, but improved market conditions are now evident.
Mr Martin says that while Ireland remains unpredictable, there has been a slowdown in the pace of sales contraction and there are some signs of stabilisation. Pointing out that about 8,500 new houses were built last year, he says this is down the highs of over 80,000 just a couple of years ago. He says the fact that people are hoarding their savings and are fearful for their jobs means that the housing market will not return to buoyant levels for some time.
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MORNING BRIEFS - the governing council of the European Central Bank discusses interest rates today. The ECB is likely to step up its anti-inflation talk and could phase out some of its crisis support measures as it prepares the ground for an interest rate rise later this year.
*** InTune Networks has won the InterTrade Ireland Innovation Awards - the company develops network equipment for the telecommunications sector. It employs 120 staff in Dublin and Belfast, and is set to recruit more in advance of a planned IPO in a couple of years.
*** Agricultural land prices have fallen by 57% over the last four years, according to a new report. The Irish Farmers Journal the national average price for an acre of agricultural land in 2010 was just under €8,800 - down 14.5% on the year before. Dublin's land is the most expensive, Roscommon's is the cheapest.
*** The price of gold hit record highs overnight, above $1,440 an ounce, as unrest spread across the Middle East and North Africa, and fuelled interest in gold as a haven from risk, and as oil prices surged.
*** On the currency markets the euro is trading at $1.3868 cents and 84.97 pence sterling.
