Volex takes hit as Apple goes green

A green push by consumer electronics giant Apple will end up costing the maker of its leads and cables up to $6m (£3.9m) this year.

Apple is the biggest customer of Volex, which makes the power cables and USB leads used in everything from laptops to iPhones and iPads. Volex is 23 per cent-owned by the billionaire financier Nat Rothschild. But the US firm is on a drive to move its products towards halogen-free power cables, which are less harmful to the environment when disposed of. The start-up costs in designing and making the new cables will cost it up to $6m in the current financial year, Volex said.

Stripping out these one-off costs, profits will be in line with market expectations.