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http://www.investegate.co.uk/compass-group-plc/rns/final-results/201211210700226375R/

http://www.investegate.co.uk/compass-group-plc/rns/final-results/201211210700226375R/

http://www.investegate.co.uk/darty-plc/rns/proposed-disposal-of-operations-of-darty-italy/201211210700246557R/

However, Big Yellow believes the strength of its brand, growing market awareness, and its concentration of stores in London and the South East will help it overcome these challenges. An interim property income dividend of 5p per share has been declared, up from 4.5p before. Net debt reduced to £269m from £273.9m at the end of March 31st 2012.

Self storage firm Big Yellow said the subdued economy, higher interest costs and VAT on storage continues to weigh on earnings, but it still managed to post a strong rise in adjusted profit before tax. Adjusted pre-tax profit climbed to £13.9m in the six months ended September 30th from £11.6m a year earlier. Store revenue for the six months rose 11.5% from the year before. Like-for-like (LFL) revenue per available foot (REVPAF) was £21.28 for the six months, up 10.1% from the year before. Store revenue during the second quarter increased by 12% to £18.6m. Chairman Nicholas Vetch said: "This is a strong revenue and earnings performance in a challenging environment for consumer facing businesses such as ours." "As previously indicated, the impact of higher interest costs and the imposition of VAT on storage will create a drag on the pace of earnings growth in the short term. Additionally, we believe the economy will remain subdued for some years to come."

LED manufacturer Dialight has received a major order from an unnamed US power plant operator for over 1,000 LED lighting fixtures. The order, which consists of 1,050 LED Linear fixtures and 30 High Bay fixtures for use across the power plant, has a contract value of around $400,000. "Given the remote location of the plant, the customer sought a highly reliable lighting solution and was specified by one of the world's largest engineering firms," the company said. The plant in question is a 250 megawatt (MW) solar thermal power plant in California. Dialight Chief Executive Roy Burton said: "This order signals further penetration of the clean energy market and is a clear illustration of how our lighting fixtures can be used in the most diverse of environments. "The durability of our lighting is clearly being recognised by major engineering firms as part of the specification process and LED lighting is well placed to adapt to different conditions."

oh and The interim dividend was maintained at 3.63p per share.

Nevertheless, in the International business customers numbers have grown rapidly, up 20% and 42% in the US and Spain, respectively. As for the FSA issue, the regulator is continuing to gather and review information and HomeServe does not yet know of any findings. "Therefore, at this stage no provisions have been made for a fine, should one arise, or the costs of the FSA investigation. We expect the costs of the actions we are taking to address the sales and marketing, controls and governance and complaints handling issues in our UK business to remain in line with our previous expectations." The company reported free cash flow of £10.3m for the period, up from just £2.3m last year. Net debt increased from £66.0m at the end of the previous year to £78.1m.

Strong growth internationally saw home emergency repairs group HomeServe achieve a decent increase in revenue and profit in the first half despite a slight fall in customer numbers over the period, as it continues to refocus its UK business. Revenue during the six months to September 30th totalled £229.6m, up 8% on the £213.1m reported last year. Meanwhile, adjusted profit before tax rose 9% from £23.5m to £25.6m. Customer numbers were 2.5m at the end of the period, down from 3.0m at the half-year stage last year, while policy numbers fell from 7.5m to 6.0m. The company, which is still subject to a Financial Services Authority (FSA) investigation into so-called "certain historic issues", said that it is making progress in transitioning its UK business to a "smaller, more customer-focused operation". Chief Executive Officer Richard Harpin said: "In the UK we are currently testing a number of new marketing and product propositions, the effectiveness of which will determine the future shape and size of our UK business. Our business improvement initiatives are delivering increased customer satisfaction, significantly reduced complaint numbers and strengthened governance and control processes in the UK."

Andrew Williams, Chief Executive of Halma, said: "Halma made good progress during the period, achieving record revenue and profit and strong returns. Our focus on building strong positions in markets with sustainable, long-term growth drivers such as Health and Safety regulation, increasing demand for healthcare and the need for life-critical resources (including energy and water) is providing both resilience and opportunities to grow. Order intake continues to be slightly ahead of revenue and Halma remains on track to make further progress in the second half of the year." During the period the group made three acquisitions and one disposal, and said its acquisition pipeline "remains healthy". As a result of these transactions, net debt increased to £74.1m at the period end compared to £18.7m at March 31st. Taking acquisitions, disposals and currency rate changes into account, Halma estimates that the underlying organic growth rates at constant currency were as follows: US up 2%, Europe up 0.3% and UK down 2%. The return on sales edged marginally lower from 20.5% to 20.4%. Cash and equivalents at the period end totalled £43m, compared to £41.7m the previous year.

Safety, health and environmental technology group Halma delivered a six per cent rise in both revenue and profit, prompting the company to increase its interim dividend payment from 3.79p to 4.06p per share. Revenue for the 26 weeks ended September 29th totalled £298.1m compared to £280.0m in the 26 weeks ended October 1st 2011, while on the same basis adjusted pre-tax profit climbed from £57.5m to £60.8m and adjusted earnings per share rose 5% from 11.75p to 12.34p. The strongest revenue growth was since in Asia Pacific and Australasia, with revenue up 17% including 32% growth in China. The company reported a good overall revenue performance in developed regions, with the US up 19%, which offset weaker demand in the UK and Europe, where revenue was down by 3% and 6% respectively. Revenue growth of 6% was seen in Africa, Near and Middle East and the Americas (ex-USA), and as a result the total contribution to the proportion of revenue from outside the UK/Europe/USA increased to 25% of the group total (2011/12: 23%), in line with the group's goal of 30% by 2015

Gibson-Smith, who joined the board in January 2003, would be stepping down on December 31st after his second three-year term as Chairman. He will replaced by John Gildersleeve, who joined the board in 2008 and is currently serving as Senior Independent Director. Chris Gibson-Smith said: "I have had a fascinating 10-year journey with British Land, and the last six years as Chairman have been deeply rewarding. The company is in an excellent position with a first rate team, portfolio and strategy. We are delighted that he has agreed to deepen his connection with the company. His broad range of experience makes him an ideal Chairman for British Land."

The company said that total and capital returns were 170 basis points and 200 basis points ahead of the IPD benchmark, respectively. The half-year dividend was raised from 13.0p to 13.2p per share, an increase of 1.5%. Grigg said: "In a market where leasing activity has been generally slow and valuations have continued to weaken, our results underline the strength and resilience of our business and the actions we have taken in recent years to drive performance." The valuation of the group's portfolio was flat at £10.4bn, with a 0.2% increase in the UK portfolio offset by lower values in Europe. Chairman to say goodbye

Real estate investment trust British Land saw a solid increase in underlying profits in the first half, as it continued to outperform its benchmark of property returns, the IPD (otherwise known as Investment Property Databank). Meanwhile, the firm announced that its Chairman of six years, Chris Gibson-Smith, would be stepping down at the end of 2012. Chief Executive Chris Grigg said: "Today we're reporting a good set of numbers in what continues to be a tough market. "Our income, profits and NAV are up on the same period last year and we have continued to outperform the UK property market on all key metrics - rental growth, capital returns and total returns. Our results underline the strength and resilience of British Land's business. Underlying profit before tax in the six months to September 30th was £137m, up 3.8% year-on-year. Underlying diluted earnings per share were up 4.1% at 15.2p. Meanwhile, net rental income rose 1.1% to £272m, with the impact of acquisitions adding £7m.

"This positive opinion brings us a step closer to being able to offer ZYTIGA to advanced cancer patients earlier in the course of their disease and fills a previously unmet medical need," said Jane Griffiths, the Chairman of Janssen's Middle-East and African division. "If approved, the expanded indication will provide a welcome new option for patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer. It could not only give men a chance of extended survival, but may also delay the need for chemotherapy and help to improve their quality of life."

ZYTIGA, the prostate cancer treatment drug developed by specialist healthcare company BTG, has been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the firm announced on Tuesday morning. BTG, which develops and commercialises pharmaceutical products, highlighted the announcement by pharmaceuticals group Janssen-Cilag International that the Committee for Medial Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the EMA has "granted a positive opinion recommending approval" of ZYTIGA. ZYTIGA, otherwise known as abiraterone acetate, is the oral, once-daily medication for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). "If endorsed by the European Commission, the recommendation would expand the indication for ZYTIGA, which is currently approved for use in combination withprednisone/prednisolone to treat men with mCRPC whose disease has progressed on or after a docetaxel-based chemotherapy regimen." Janssen expects to receive the regulatory decision from the European Commission in early 2013.

Earnings per share rose 9.8% to 13.5p (2011: £12.3p), enabling the interim dividend to be increased to 30% to 13p a share (2011:10p). Cash and equivalents at the period end fell to £0.7m from £5.3m at the same date the previous year. The company has no long-term debt. "We anticipate steady cash generation over the coming months and a significant improvement in our net cash position at the end of our financial year," the group added.

Discount utility provider Telecom Plus is confident it will produce record profits for the full year on the back of strong interims. For the six months ending September 30th, revenues were up 30% to £210m (2011: £161.7m), reflecting strong organic growth. Revenue growth was driven by the number of customers rising by 22,657 to about 0.44m, as well as an increase in the average number of services taken. Pre-tax profits grew 8.7% to £12.1m (2011: £11.1m). A lower gross margin of 16.8% (2011: 21.1%) reflected the increased proportion of its total turnover related to lower margin energy services combined with the actions it took to make its customer proposition even more competitive. The company anticipates that its full year gross margin will be comfortably within the 13% to 15% medium term range previously indicated. The reason for a lower margin during the second half is due to seasonal factors meaning that typically two thirds of its energy revenues fall within the second half. Andrew Lindsay, Chief Executive of Telecom Plus, was very bullish on prospects for the full year: "The board has expressed confidence that we will deliver record turnover, profits and earnings per share for the full year; this is reflected in the 30% increase we are making in our interim dividend payment and in our intention to pay a total dividend of 31p for the full year."

Leased and tenanted pubs operator Enterprise Inns posted full year profit in line with expectations and said, given the current economic uncertainty, believes it is not appropriate to resume dividend payments. Profit before tax and exceptional items fell to £137m in the year ended September 30th 2012 compared to £157m a year before. Revenue eased to £692m from £711m. Like-for-like net income fell 1.2% compared to a 4.3% decline in 2011. Enterprise said its first target is to achieve like-for-like net income growth for the entire estate. Enterprise said improving trade trends had continued across the group. Otherwise the pub company said it will continue to use available cash to reduce debt, which fell by £266m to £2.7bn. "We complete the 2012 financial year in good shape, having made progress in many areas and having invested significant sums into the quality of our estate and our internal resources to ensure that we are well placed to tackle the continuing volatility and challenge of the current market, said Chief Executive Ted Tuppen in a company statement. "We are now focused on returning the business to growth, through a number of initiatives that we believe will continue to generate significant cash flows which we will use to reduce our debts," he added.

Speciality chemicals producer AZ Electronic Materials has announced that it is planning to invest part of its planned capital expenditure in additional manufacturing facilities at its Lamotte plant in Trosly-Breuil, France. The company expects the move to strengthen its position as developer of silicon technologies used in the semiconductor, display and lighting industries and believes the move with increase service demand. As such, the company is set to invest $7.0m in expanding its colloidal silica capacity at the plant, which is scheduled to become operational in the second half of 2013. The share price rose 0.25% within the first 45 minutes of trading.