The Business Matrix: Thursday 13 June 2013

Monarch takes flight

Holidays airline Monarch, which operates from bases including Manchester, Birmingham and East Midlands, flew 1.9 million passengers in the six months to April 30, an increase of 7 per cent on a year earlier and leading to revenues of £206.4 million. Monarch Group’s tour arm increased revenues by 15 per cent to £75.5m.

Brazil approves sanitation plan

Brazil’s national cities council, an advisory group created by the government, has approved a 508.5 billion-real ($237 billion) sanitation plan aimed at boosting water-supply and sewage-treatment infrastructure investments. The goal is to provide potable water supplies to all urban areas of Brazil over the next 10 years.

Carr named as BAE chair

BAE Systems hailed Sir Roger Carr’s skills with investors and government as it confirmed him as its new chairman. He is viewed as a safe pair of hands following a year that saw the collapse of a £30bn merger with the Airbus manufacturer EADS. Sir Roger will resign as chairman of Centrica when he succeeds Dick Olver next year.

Pfizer wins $2.15m drugs payout

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries will pay $2.15 billion to Pfizer and a partner to settle litigation over unauthorized sales of the heartburn drug Protonix. Pfizer, the world’s largest drugmaker, will receive 64 percent of the settlement while partner Takeda Pharmaceutical will get the rest.

Telford Homes raises cash

London housebuilder Telford Homes raised £20m through a share placing yesterday to allow it to buy up more sites and take adavantage of the unprecedented demand in the capital. Telford placed the new shares at 250p. In addition, the company has also increased its borrowing facilites to £120m.

Cisco speed boost

Cisco Systems predicts that its new CRS-X internet traffic data router, which can handle up to four times more traffic than its previous version, will increase its cumulative revenue by 25 percent to $10 billion within the next two years. The CRS-X, unveiled yesterday, can handle 10 times more data than the first CRS router in 2004 Cisco said.

Grono growing

Artificial grass supplier Grono said annual turnover was expected to hit £800,000 this year, driven by the combination of wet, cool summers and long cold winters. The Manchester-based firm, whose products are sold in over 400 branches of Jewson, was set up in 2008 by former hairdresser Lionel Gilmartin.

£3m motor investment push

Up to £3m is to be spent trying to attract investment into the Great British automotive industry, the Department for Business will announce today. An Automotive Investment Organisation is to be set up, led by the former Ford chairman Joe Greenwell.

Patricia Hewitt to join Bupa board

Former health secretary Patricia Hewitt is to join Bupa as a non-executive director. The Labour minister, who was MP for Leicester West for 13 years, is senior independent director at BT and a board member at Eurotunnel.

Matalan boosted by online sales

Homewares retailer Matalan has reported underlying earnings of £100.4m for the year to February, an increase of 10.2 per cent on a year ago. Online sales rose 45 per cent and the chain also benefited from the roll-out of click and collect services.