Explosion rocks GKN's profits

A fatal explosion last month at an American plant run by the industrial and engineering group GKN will result in a £30m one-off hit, before insurance claims, to GKN's profits, the company said yesterday.

GKN said its plant in Gallatin, Tennessee, suffered an explosion on 27 May which killed two people and left three others in a critical condition. It said the likely cause of the incident was a hydrogen gas leak.

The company added that trading at the rest of the group was in line with expectations.