Business news in brief

BAA said its seven airports handled a total of 6.5 million passengers in February, an increase of 4.8 per cent on the same month last year. The company said that Eire traffic recorded the strongest growth, up 17 per cent, adding that other long-haul routes increased by 9.1 per cent and North Atlantic routes by 8.3 per cent.

Profits at Graham Group, the building products group, tumbled from pounds 19.3m to pounds 10.66m in 1996. However, the company said: "As we enter 1997, our markets have emerged positively from the steep decline in 1996 and we expect these early trends to lead to sustained growth." It added that the upturn in the housing market came too late to have "any significant impact on trading in 1996".