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cRH has responded to the weak outlook by extending its cost-reduction programme into next year. It delivered savings of €50m in the first half of this year, bringing cumulative annualised savings since 2007 of €2.1bn, of which over 40 per cent is recurring. And CRH's dividend delivers a decent enough yield, but the payout, which hasn't been increased since 2009, is under pressure. In 2007, the 61.3¢ payout was covered 3.9 times by earnings. But last year cover was down to 1.3 times and, on forecasts from broker Numis, it will be just 1.2 times for 2012. But CRH has an established business. Last year it ranked as number one for sales of asphalt and concrete products in the US, with similar high standings in Europe and developing areas, such as Poland and China. It's also busy adding bolt-on acquisitions, spending €256m in the first half on 18 such investments, a marked acceleration from the €163m spent a year earlier. This should leave the group well placed when economic conditions improve, but there is little indication that trading is about to improve in the US or Europe. True, the US Federal Reserve has introduced further stimuli through another round of quantitative easing, but that indicates that the US economy is closer to stalling than reviving.

By contrast, European operations struggled to cope with lousy weather. February's extremely low temperatures meant that, even with an element of catch-up, like-for-like sales on the materials side slipped 2 per cent. Meanwhile, price rises of around 2 per cent were insufficient to recoup higher input costs, but operational efficiencies left underlying profit margins little changed. The products division was worse hit, with like-for-like sales down 5 per cent, reflecting a particularly poor performance in the Netherlands and France. The usual culprits played a part, with declining consumer confidence and cutbacks in government and municipal spending providing the gloomy backdrop. On the distribution side, a resilient performance in Germany (20 per cent of sales) was swept away by declines in Switzerland and the Netherlands (60 per cent of sales). Developments in Spain added more gloom, prompting CRH to write down the value of its 26 per cent stake in construction group Uniland by €130m.

CRH has come a long way since it was formed through the merger of Cement Limited and Roadstone in 1970. At that time it was the sole producer of cement in Ireland, and 95 per cent of sales came from Ireland. Now it employs around 76,000 people at 3,600 locations across 36 countries, and its product range has increased substantially to include asphalt, aggregates, concrete, construction accessories and roofing. And its revenue stream is usefully divided - roughly three ways between residential, non-residential and infrastructure. However, all is not well. While first-half sales in the US rose 20 per cent to €4.02bn (£3.2bn), sales in Europe fell 5 per cent to €4.6bn. On a like-for-like basis - which excludes the impact of acquisitions, disposals and exchange rate movements - underlying group sales were flat, as were operating profits at €184m. In the US, benign weather at the start of the year was responsible for much of the growth on the materials side - which includes aggregates, asphalt and concrete - and the pace of growth was slowing by the end of the first half. A similar trend was seen in the products division, which produces pre-cast concrete products; while the distribution side, which trades as Allied Building Products, delivered like-for-like sales growth of 5 per cent. But overall, CRH's bosses reckon that growth rates will continue to slow for the rest of the year.

Finsbury's share price suggests investors still think of the group as a write-off. That may have been fair when the group was labouring under a mass of debt, but Finsbury now looks much healthier. What's more, even using valuation metrics that take debt into account, the company still looks extremely cheap - its enterprise value (the value of net debt plus equity) is just 4 times Cenkos's forecast for 2012-13's cash profits. True, Finsbury shares come with big risks, but, if the company can convince investors it can produce growth despite the tough economic backdrop and that debt will no longer hold back development, there could be significant upside but always dyor gl

The performance of the business also looks better. The company achieved impressive growth last year. Cakes sales were helped by exports through Finsbury's 50 per cent-owned joint venture Lightbody and were 9 per cent ahead. Meanwhile, its bread and gluten-free products increased sales by 10 per cent. The group looks well positioned in some fast-growing areas and is the market leader in the gluten-free baked goods; this immature market is growing at around 15 per cent a year. Finsbury also had strong bread sales thanks to growing demand for freshly-baked bread. Its sales success has also been helped by investment in innovation and a number of brand licences, including Disney, Thorntons, Weight Watchers and Vogel. However, the company still faces a tough consumer environment and the spectre of rising input costs. This means progress will not come easily, but the organic growth achieved over the last year is encouraging. With the balance sheet now looking stronger, there is also the potential for bolt-on acquisitions.

Baker Finsbury Food is looking like a credible turnaround story. In recent years the company has been tackling its debt, which peaked at £50m in 2008, whilst eking out growth from the troubled food retail sector. Yet results for 2011-12 show that Finsbury is making good progress, even though its shares are still priced for a disaster that now looks unlikely. Debt has been the key issue for some time and a focus for Finsbury's bosses, who came on board the then-struggling company in 2009. Now the situation no longer looks so bad. At the end of June, net debt including deferred considerations was £33.9m, a £3.2m drop in the preceding 12 months. This leaves debt representing a manageable 2.6 times last year's underlying cash profits, while net interest costs were covered 4.9 times by cash profits. What's more, the company has a £47m debt facility with HSBC which stretches out to 2017. The balance sheet and borrowing position of the company is also strengthened by the fact that Finsbury owns a number of freehold sites. So, while the group's balance sheet still carries debt equal to 70 per cent of shareholders' funds, it has begun to look reasonably solid. Broker Cenkos, which advises Finsbury, thinks it is sound enough for the company to reinstate the dividend this year. That could provide the grounds for re-rating its shares that - trading at less than half their underlying book value (see table) - are in "deep value" territory.

If CVS is to build on its progress then it needs to avoid past mistakes and must be wary of getting into a race to the bottom for additional online sales. Indeed, should sales growth online slow, then the division's low profit margins will become a problem. And, at 29 times forecast earnings for 2013-14 (see table), CVS's shares look highly rated. However, the company has a largely captive market in the UK and the 'force' is clearly with it. With profit margins set to continue improving and the dividend growing usefully, the shares still have long-term merit.......but as always dyor.......

CVS's entry into e-commerce also showed signs of bearing fruit. Sales at its online pharmacy arm, Animed Direct, more than tripled to £3m, although some City analysts question the aggressive pricing that keeps the division's profit margins so low; that said, e-commerce is generally low-margin. Still, across the whole group, an increase in like-for-like sales of 2.9 per cent in 2011-12 marks an encouraging return to growth. True, CVS's balance sheet carries a lot of debt as the company expands by acquiring individual vets' practices, though there are signs of a structural improvement, with net debt falling by £2.6m to £30.9m during the year. This is a positive sign that the underlying business can generate enough cash both to reduce debt and to raise dividends. True, cash profits dropped 12 per cent to £15m, but that was a result of carrying extra working capital. Meanwhile, free cash flow of £7.2m was plenty to cover £3.8m-worth of acquisitions and £0.6m-worth of dividends.

Operating veterinary practices in a nation that often seems to prefer domestic animals to people should be a great way to make money. With pooches pampered and cats fawned upon, it is a mystery why CVS does not make fatter profit margins as it hoovers up the competition. In reality, pet owners are price conscious and the advent of online animal medicine pharmacies and pet services has exposed the company to fierce competition. However, results for 2011-12 show signs of a concerted fightback and, if the operational improvement continues, then CVS will consign its status as a dog share to the past. The main problem confronting the company was how to compete against e-commerce companies. The answer for CVS is to offset their impact by demonstrating the value of customer loyalty schemes within its 223 surgeries, which can generate stable revenues. The CVS loyalty scheme more than doubled the number of participants in its "Healthy Pet Club" scheme to 65,000 in 2011-12. In the process, it allowed the company to cross-sell to pet owners from across its range of clinical services and produced the added benefit of insulating its sales of medicines from online competition. Finding niches has been the key to attracting sign-ups; for example, the "Kitten Club" is not a cabaret venue in Weimar Germany but a specialist service for owners of young cats. Such is the success of 'pet-club' schemes that monthly subscription revenues doubled to £5.2m in 2011-12.

Christie Group, a business services firm, has opened a new office in Warsaw as it seeks to expand its presence in the Polish and Ukrainian markets. Christie & Co, the group's specialist property advice subsidiary, now has 14 offices across the globe. It has appointed Warsaw native Adam Konieczny as Business Development Manager for Poland and Ukraine. Prior to joining Christie & Co Konieczny worked as a senior consultant in the Polish hospitality industry at an international property company for more than seven years. "Adam will lead Christie & Co's consultancy services in Poland and Ukraine, a part of Europe whose hotel sector has seen a significant expansion in recent years," said Markus Beike, Managing Director of Christie & Co's German operations.

Staff training and talent development software provider NetDimensions has snagged a new contract with Finnair Flight Academy. NetDimensions has been contracted, along with its reseller partner Peak Pacific, to provide an integrated learning solution based on the NetDimensions Learning product. Meanwhile, Indra, a technology and innovation company, has successfully rolled out NetDimensions Talent Suite to 22,500 of its 40,000 employees that are operating in over 100 countries, the company revealed. Shares in NetDimensions edged up by a halfpenny to 41p to hover just below the 52-week high of 42.25p.

While Peel Hunt thinks there is sufficient cash for an orderly wind-down of the company the broker is not optimistic that shareholders will see any of it. "There is a chance that a third party buys the assets, or indeed the business as a whole, but we see a wind down as the more likely outcome," Shepher-Barron concludes. The shares plunged to a 52-week low 2.05p in morning trading before recovering a little to 2.6p; less than a year ago the company was trading above 30p a share.

The future is looking bleak for cash-strapped Ceres Power, the fuel cell technology developer, as it has been unable to secure sufficient funding to keep the business going. The group had hoped to secure a new tranche of funding before the end of September to enable it to pursue its goal of delivering a "global cost leadership" mass market small combined-heat-and-power product. The company will continue to explore all strategic options, including a sale of the business, cancellation of the listing and, in the absence of any alternative proposals, commencement of an orderly wind down of the business. Broker Peel Hunt fears it is the end of the road for Ceres, after "eight years raising money on the back of over-promising." The broker has reduced its target price from 4p to zero. "A fresh approach from a new CEO [Chief Executive Officer] improved things but there was insufficient potential in the business to make it worth backing, in our view. Investors, who had put in £65m to date, apparently agree and have finally drawn the line." Peel Hunt notes that the firm's flagship product is still four years away from first commercialisation, and field trials have yet to start. On top of that, "technical progress still needs to be made, there is major uncertainty over manufacturing cost, the economic case for product adoption is limited and there was still a large quantum of funds needed to reach cash break-even," explains Peel Hunt's Andrew Shepherd-Barron.

The enlarged group is now in the process of tendering for large contracts in Australia, Canada, the UK, and mainland Europe where it has submitted a number of bids in respect of the decommissioning of oil and gas and pharmaceutical facilities. Silverdell anticipates reporting an order book at the end of October in excess of £200m, with over 75% of revenues scheduled to fall in 2013. The company also said the integration of EDS Group is progressing in line with management expectations. Sean Nutley, Chief Executive of Silverdell, said: "The future for Silverdell looks highly promising, with the opportunity now to build on strong UK relationships to grow our business abroad. The acquisition of EDS has given us a unique and compelling combined service offering and an ideal platform for future growth. Our decision to recommend a maiden dividend reflects our confidence as we look to the coming year and beyond."

Silverdell, a specialist environmental support services group, has said revenues have increased 30 per cent in the year ended September 30th and announced that it plans to pay a maiden dividend. Revenue for the year is expected to come in at around £78m, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is expected to be 46% ahead of the previous year at around £6.0m, with Consulting EBITDA up by around 30% on the same period last year. Remediation is expected to be 15% lower, which was the result of an unforeseen deferral of certain high margin shut down and refurbishment works. These works were deferred due to changing customer plans, but are now underway. Approximately £200,000 of the decrease relates to a small number of bad debt provisions resulting from customer bankruptcy. The corresponding adjusted fully diluted earnings per share is expected to fall in the range of 1.15-1.25p. Senior net debt (excluding asset backed finance arrangements) is expected to be between £6m and £7m. The group continues negotiations relating to its claim against a main contractor on a project completed in September 2011.

Ultra Electronics, the defence, security, transport and energy company, has won a contract from the Ministry of Defence to supply a sensor management and situational awareness system. The £14m contract will be executed by the Surveillance Systems business unit within Ultra's ommand & Control Systems division. The programme is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2014.

Profit before tax and exceptional costs climbed 10.4% to £9.4m from £8.5m the year before, but once those exceptional costs had been applied, profit before tax was down 8.4% at £7.8m. The exceptional costs of £1.6m relate to rent on the group's prestigious store on Fifth Avenue in New York and its stores in Tokyo, as well as set-up costs for its expansion into China. There were also a few bad and doubtful debts from Greek customers. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) advanced to 16.8p from 14.8p last year, but basic EPS retreated to 13.9p. The interim dividend has been hiked 10.5% to 7.9p from 7.15p the year before. "Whilst we have made a strong start to the financial year, our results for the full year will, as always, be dependent on trading in the second half of the financial year and we remain cautious given the challenging trading environment. Our costs and financial commitments remain under control and, with our strong balance sheet, we will continue to invest in the long term development of the Ted Baker brand," the company said.

Fashion chain Ted Baker said reaction to its autumn/winter collections has been positive as it unveiled a solid first half trading performance. Group revenue in the 28 weeks to August 11th rose 15.4% to £118.6m from £102.8m at the halfway point last year. UK and European retail sales rose 7.9% year-on-year to £74.7m while US retail sales shot up 53.3% to $25.6m. In the rest of the world, retail sales were up 58.1% to £2.8m. E-commerce sales were up 82.4% to £6.2m. The retail gross margin was 64.6% (2011: 64.0%) reflecting a lower level of promotional activity this time round. Wholesale sales were up 15.4% to £24.9m from £21.6m the year before, reflecting continued growth in the UK and USA. Underlying wholesale margins were largely unchanged. Group wholesale sales for the full year are expected to be up by some 8% year-on-year. Licence income increased by 19.2% to £3.7m as a result of a strong performance from both product and territorial licences.

Specialist recruiter Matchtech is seeing strong across-the-board demand for contractors from engineering companies. Pre-tax profits for the year ending July 31st rose 25% to £8m on revenues of £371.4m, up 23% on the previous year. This was driven by what the company described as "unprecendented" demand for contractors across all engineering sectors. The company operates in four key sectors, engineering, built environment, Information systems and technology, and science and medical. Net debt at July 31st 2012 was £14.5m with bank interest for the year increasing from to £711,000 compared with £461,000 in 2011. In June 2012 Matchtech agreed an increase in its facilities with Barclays from £35m to £50m on improved terms, committed until June 2015. The final dividend is being held at 10.6p a share, making a total of dividend for the year of 15.6p, covered 1.6 times by earnings per share. Consensus estimates are for earnings per share of 30.42p in 2013, putting the company on a forward price earnings ratio of 6.8 with a prospective yield of 7.6%.

Separately, The Telegraph writes that BAE boss Ian King could make £18m from the EADS deal when cashing in share options triggered by the deal being signed. If the deal goes ahead it will create a £30bn defence and aerospace behemoth to rival America's Boeing. BAE and EADS have a deadline of October 10th to make formal proposals for a tie-up or walk away.