COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Year ended 31 December.

Watmoughs Holdings made £20.1m profit before tax (£15.4m). EPS 20.3p (15.9p). Final dividend is 6.1p, making 7.8p (6.6p).

Sotheby's Holdings announced income before taxes of $33.8m ($32.2m). EPS $0.36 ($0.35).

Delta made pre-tax profits of £65.1m (£53.4m). EPS 27.7p (23.1p). Final dividend of 11.2p (10.3p), making 15.5p (14.5p).

Ferry Pickering Group's pre-tax profit recovered to £1.906m (loss of £2.549m). EPS 10.22p (loss of 21.02p).Final dividend of 3.65p, making 5.85p (5.265p).

Wellington Holdings improved pre-tax profit to £4.1m (£2.6m). EPS of 13.03p represent a 26.4 per cent increase. Dividend 5.5p.

JIB Group's profit before tax edged ahead to £24.4m (£21.8m). EPS 11.5p (11.4p). Final dividend of 5p (5p), making7.5p (7.5p).

Rosebys improved pre-tax profits slightly to £2.83m (£2.75m restated). EPS 9.1p (9.4p restated). The final dividend is 3.35p, making 4.85p (4.65p).

Crockfords reduced profits before tax to £14m (£23m). EPS 10.27p (16.18p). Final dividend of 6p, making 8p.

Hall Engineering Holdings made a profit before tax of £870,000 (£8.5m). EPS 2.89p (17.91p). Final dividend of 3.775p (3.02p), making 8.775p.

Interim results

Six months to 30 November

Everest Foods lifted pre-tax profit to £1.6m from £1.1m. The interim dividend was increased from 1.2p to 1.4p.

Six months to 24 December.

Molyneux Estates achieved profit before tax of £1m (loss of £357,000). The interim dividend is 1.5p.