The Business Matrix: Wednesday 16 May 2012

Submarine boost for Babcock

Babcock International, the group which maintains Royal Navy submarines, has posted a 26 per cent jump in full-year profits to a record £274m as military and engineering clients outsourced more work to cut costs. Its sales rose 14 per cent to £3.07bn. Babcock also said it had sold its US defence business, VT Services, for £61m.

Fury at Moody's Italy downgrade

Italy's banking and business community responded angrily to a mass downgrade of Italian banks by the credit rating agency Moody's, calling the move irresponsible. Repeated rounds of rating downgrades have added to funding difficulties for eurozone banks, increasing their reliance on ECB funds.

Campari toasts rise in sales

Recession-weary Italians raised a few more glasses of Campari's trademark red aperitif in the first three months of the year, helping the group to post a 2.8 per cent rise in underlying sales. The group, which also makes Skyy vodka and Glen Grant and Wild Turkey whiskies, posted £222m in first-quarter sales.

Airport scanners boost aids Smiths

Sales of airport security scanners picked up in the last quarter, according to Smiths, after being hit during the recession. But the engineering group said its military and cargo sales were still under pressure. Government cuts continue to hurt its sales of medical equipment.

F&C to launch investment trusts

F&C Asset Management is looking to extend its range of investment trusts and has introduced a revised compensation scheme for senior managers, as the UK funds house reports long-awaited plans to shake up its flagging retail businesses.

Bridge Ventures backs Cloud.IQ

Sir Ronald Cohen's Bridges Ventures has invested in the technology company Cloud.IQ. Bridges, the private equity firm behind firms such as The Gym, has invested £2m in the marketing technology business, which was founded seven years ago and is part of a cluster of digital businesses based near east London's "Silicon Roundabout".

Wonga moves into Africa

The loans provider Wonga has chosen South Africa for its first step in international expansion after trials showed that the country's consumers liked its online service. Wonga provides short-term loans online to tide customers over until payday. It said it would offer loans of between 100 rand and 2,000 rand (£7.50 to £150) for up to a month.

Coryton faces rescue deadline

Up to 900 jobs at the bankrupt Coryton oil refinery in Essex hang in the balance, with the deadline for a rescue deal at midnight tonight. The refinery – which supplies a fifth of the petrol sold in the South-east – ran into trouble in January when its Swiss parent company, Petroplus, filed for insolvency.

GSK to buy out Cellzome

GlaxoSmithKline will assume full control of protein technology company Cellzome following an offer worth £61m for the shares it does not already own. Glaxo and Cellzome, which has laboratories in Cambridge and Heidelberg, already have two early stage research collaborations.

Foyles wins Bookseller award

Foyles has won the national prize at the Bookseller Industry Awards for the third time in six years. It is the sixth time the independent booksellers chain, which has five branches in London and one in Bristol, has won the award.