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Both these operations are serviced through the ventilation shaft which, in its current sinking configuration, was hampering operational efficiency, it said. The fatality at its Impala 17 shaft in June also resulted in a prolonged stoppage. Chief Executive Alon Davidov said that despite a disappointing first half of the year, the board was optimistic that the second half will produce an improved performance, and expected to meet expectations for revenue for the full year. "However, although the lumpiness of our business makes the full year outlook difficult to forecast, it is uncertain that the company will fully make up the first half profit shortfall caused by the operational difficulties and delays to commencing new projects."

Share in underground construction group Shaft Sinkers fell after it reported a disappointing first half and said it was uncertain about hitting full year profit targets. Revenue of £100.4m was 10.6% lower than in 2011, which the company blamed largely on operational issues in South Africa, including the death of a member of staff. Profit from operations fell short of managements' mid-year expectations, dropping from £6.22m last year to £1.07m. The company's shares fell 11% following the announcement. Despite the lower results for the first 6 months of 2012, the firm declared an interim dividend of 2.4p, which it said reflected "its confidence in the group's ability to generate progressive earnings over time". The company blamed the results on lower than expected ramp up of the mining development and shaft equipping contracts at its Impala 16 site, which it said was attributable to logistical problems at the shafts.

But he made a valiant attempt to save the company, which before his arrival had allowed Internet retailers to sneak up on its blind side and steal its business. Strategically, Fox spotted that the emphasis in music was moving over to the live scene rather than recorded music, where the phenomenal success of the download services of US titans Apple and Amazon bit hard into HMV's sales of CDs. Unfortunately, the live music arm, as the only bit of the business enjoying growth, had to be sold off to save the rest of the company from collapsing under a mountain of debt. David Grigson, Chairman of Trinity Mirror said Fox would provide the strategic leadership the company needs. "His experience gives him a current and in-depth understanding of how consumers' habits are changing and the technology that is driving these changes," he said. "He is a great team player and leader and his skills and experience perfectly complement those of the existing executive team."

Former HMV boss Simon Fox has stepped out of the frying pan of the music industry and into the fire of publishing as new boss of Trinity Mirror. In an impressive piece of understatement, Trinity's announcement said Fox "understands structurally changing sectors". He follows in the footsteps of Sly Bailey, who stepped down earlier this year in the midst of a growing storm over executive pay at the company. Trinity Mirror said Fox's base pay will be £500,000 per annum and he will have a bonus potential of 75% of salary. Of this, 50% is payable in cash and 50% in restricted shares , the release of which will be deferred for three years. He will also receive a one-off joining grant of performance shares equivalent in value to 120% of his salary. Vesting of the performance shares will be subject to performance targets that require significant growth in the share price over the performance period, the firm said. This is less than the £1.7m annual pay package enjoyed by his predecessor. Fox oversaw a dramatic collapse in the share price of HMV and the near demise of a business weighed down by heavy debts.

"The uncertain economic environment in Europe should not have a significant direct effect on the company as European operations account for less than 9.7% of total revenue," he said. "However, the company's business as a whole will be affected if the repercussions of economic uncertainty in Europe were to impact the global economy substantially." Evraz said its results in the second half would be affected by the delayed effect of the reduction in steel prices in the second quarter of 2012. This was due to a lag of up to two months, particularly for export sales, between the fixing of a price in a sales contract and when revenue comes in, as well as the continuing softness in prices. It added that industrial action at its Highveld Steel and Vanadium mine and a decrease in rail sales resulting from the project of modernisation of the rail mill at ZSMK would also hit second half performance.

Russian steel giant Evraz suffered a tough first half after it was hit by falling steel sales and prices. It is also eyeing the immediate future with caution and said second half revenues would be affected by the drop in steel prices as well as recent industrial action in South Africa. Revenues for the six months to the end of June fell by 9.1% to $7.6bn, compared with $8.38bn the previous year. Profit from operations was cut in half from $859m in 2011, to $430m this year. The firm put the fall down to the drop in falling demand - and hence steel prices - as well as an increase in selling and distribution costs. Nonetheless the firm ramped up its interim dividend 64% to 11c per share. It said this decision reflected cash flow generation in the first half and confidence in the longer-term outlook for the company, in spite of the current challenging operating environment. Chief Executive Alexander Frolov said the global economy and, in turn, the steel industry, remained very volatile and his company continued to be cautious on the outlook for the remainder of 2012.

"However, our businesses trade in sound end markets with good prospects such as the energy, oil & gas and mining sectors. Order books remain strong and our major investment programme is yet to fully reap its benefits. The addition of Elster will give us the opportunity, over several years, of enhancing existing growth prospects." The interim dividend has been maintained at 2.6p.

Industrial turnaround specialist Melrose reported increased earnings for the half year and said while economic conditions are difficult to predict, it is confident it is in a good position to benefit from market opportunities. Melrose, which buys underperforming manufacturing businesses, turns them around and then sells them, said headline profit before tax for the six-month period to 30 June 2012 rose to £81.9m, up 16 per cent from the same time last year. Revenue for the period was rose to £564.6m from £516.6m in 2011. Pre-tax profit fell to £46.3m from £58.9m after the group incurred exceptional costs primarily from acquisition and refinancing. Chairman Christopher Miller said he was pleased with the group's results and its strategy to 'buy, improve, sell'. "We have now successfully completed our next acquisition...Economic conditions are difficult to predict at present but we are confident that our group companies place us in a good position to benefit from market opportunities." Looking ahead Melrose noted the recovery from the slump of 2008/09 has been slow and patchy and this seems set to continue.

Highly acquisitive advertising giant WPP is to move its headquarters back to the UK having moved to the Republic of Ireland in 2008 to escape Britain's taxes on overseas profits earned by multi-nationals. The decision was announced with the group's interim results which saw like-for-like (LFL) revenue up 3.6% year-on-year and headline profit before tax rise by almost 12%, and more than 17% in constant currency terms, to £570m. However, the group's LFL revenue growth in July slowed, bringing LFL revenue growth in the first seven months of 2012 down to 3.5%.

The group's combined ratio deteriorated to 95.2% from 94.2% but for the UK car insurance business alone it improved to 88.9% from 90.4%. Earnings per share climbed to 47.3p from 43.3p the year before, paving the way for a very generous 15% increase in the interim dividend from 39.1p last year to 45.1p this time round. "Admiral has delivered a further increase in both turnover and profit in the first half of 2012, and a record dividend for our shareholders. In the UK, following the very significant growth in 2010 and 2011, we continue to slow our rate of growth to a more modest level, which we believe is a sensible response to the increased competition in the market," said Admiral's Chief Executive Officer, Henry Engelhardt. Admiral was clearly quite pleased with its record interim dividend payment as Chairman Alastair Lyons chipped in: "We are delighted once again to be able to declare an increase in our interim dividend, now at 45.1 pence per ordinary share. This represents 95% of after-tax earnings for the first six months of 2012, testament to the strength of Admiral's capital-efficient, cash-generative business model." Engelhardt added that the company is on track to meet its expectations for 2012.

Car insurance specialist Admiral said competition in the UK vehicle insurance market has gone crazy-bad in 2012, but it still managed a handy increase in profits from this source in the first half of the year, Headline profit before tax for the whole group in the first half of 2012 rose 7% to £171.8m from £160.6m the year before. The UK Car Insurance business result was £183.3m, up 9% from £168.2m in the first half of 2011, driven by higher net premium revenue and an improved combined ratio; the combined ratio measures how wisely a company has taken on insurance risk, with a lower number being better. The international car insurance business continues to lose money, with Admiral's share of losses widening to £8.9m from £3.2m the year before, reflecting investment in further growth in Italy and a significant increase in premium and vehicles in the US, but the group's price comparison web site business saw profits surge to £8.1m from £5.0m the year before. The group has been trying to get shot of its Confused.com price comparison business for some time, but even this achieved an increase in profits - £8.4m versus £8.2m the year before. Group turnover improved to £1,169.3m in the first half of 2012 from £1,104.4m in the first half of 2011, while net revenue grew to £488.4m from £425.1m. The number of vehicles insured shot up to 3.50m at the end of June from 3.15m a year earlier and 3.36m at the end of 2011.

"We have demonstrated strong financial performance on the back of excellent production results in the first half of the year. Our key growth projects, Omolon and Albazino/Amursk, have started to pay off and have made a meaningful contribution to the company's financial results. This was supported by stable production and cost performance at our mature operations", said Vitaly Nesis, Chief Executive Officer. "I believe that the current US dollar exchange rate dynamics, which had an impact on our bottom-line performance in the first half of the year, will in turn favourably affect our cost base towards the year-end. We expect that our performance in the second half of the year will be driven by continued revenue growth from our new operations, decrease in working capital, and robust cost performance, allowing us to meet shareholder expectations," he added. The company has declared an inaugural full year dividend of $0.20 per share, although no interim dividend is to be paid out, also in accordance with the stated policy.

Mining company Polymetal International has posted a 41 per cent rise in half-year revenue, largely driven by a strong increase in gold equivalent sold and the average realised gold price. Revenue for the period rose to $767m from $545 the same period the previous year, boosting pre-tax profits from $210.7m to $220.8m, aided by a decline in capital expenditure, from $215m to $171m, but partly offset by an increase in the total cost of sales, up 32% from £261m to £346m. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) soared 53% to $380m from $249 in the first half of 2011, while the EBITDA margin increased to 49.6% from 45.7%. During the period the firm prodcued 501,000 oz gold equivalent, up 48% from 338,000 the same period the year before, while 467,000 oz were sold, up 23% from 379,000 oz sold the corresponding period in 2011. The firm believes it is firmly on track to deliver its full-year target of more than one million ounces of gold equivalent, boosted by a stronger-than-expected performance at both the Dukat and Khakanja mines. The average realised price of gold rose 14% from $1,434 to $1,639 per ounce, while the average realised price of silver dropped 15% from $34.8 to $29.5 per ounce. Gold contributed to 48% of the revenue (2011 H1: 50%), while silver accounted for 48% ((2011 H1: 48%).

"Although corporate balance sheets are much stronger than pre-Lehman and confidence is higher as a result, the Eurozone, Middle East, China hard or soft landing and US deficit uncertainties demand caution. The $2trn net cash lying virtually idle in those balance sheets, seems destined to remain so," WPP suggested. WPP warned that 2013 is set to be even more challenging than 2012 without big events like the Olympics and international football championships to generate advertising demand. The group confirmed that, subject to shareholder approval, it intends to change its tax domicile back to the UK, having legged it off to Dublin in 2008 in protest at the UK's tax treatment of overseas profits earned by multi-national companies. On the subject of overseas earnings, WPP said its wholly-owned Ogilvy & Mather subsidiary will form a joint venture with A&B Expedio, a marketing company based in the Philippines with expertise in events management. The joint venture company, to be called OgilvyAction, will operate in the Philippines and will be based in Metro Manila.

Headline profit before interest and tax climbed 10.1% (CER: +13.5%) to £570m from £518m in the first half of 2011. Headline profit before tax was up 11.9% to £467m from £417m a year earlier, or up 17.1% in constant currencies. Reported profit before tax rose by 7.0% to £358m from £334m the year before. In constant currencies, reported profit before tax for the first half of 2012 rose by 13.4%. Diluted headline earnings per share rose by 13.2% to 25.8p from 22.8p in the first half of 2011. In constant currencies, earnings per share on the same basis rose by 18.6%. Diluted reported earnings per share were up 19.3% to 21.6p and up 26.1% in constant currencies. The group has previously announced that it will be paying a greater proportion of post-tax earnings out as dividends, lifting the ratio from around one-third to two-fifths; despite this, the interim dividend, although increased by 18% from last year to 8.8p, is still only 34% of earnings per share, but the group noted that its final dividend is typically higher than the interim dividend, so presumably the final payment for the year will see the group hit its target of a full-year payment that is 40% of earnings. WPP, a global giant of the advertising industry, is often seen as a reliable harbinger of economic conditions to come and so the nudging down of full-year revenue growth forecasts will be of concern, although it is worth noting that WPP raised its full-year growth forecasts as recently as April. "Quarter two saw a continuation of the strength of advertising spending in fast moving consumer goods, especially. Nonetheless, clients understandably continue to demand increased effectiveness and efficiency, i.e. better value for money," the group's statement said.

Global advertising conglomerate WPP saw like-for-like (LFL) revenue growth slow in July and is set to achieve a full-year LFL increase some way short of the figure for which it had budgeted. The group is forecasting LFL revenue growth for 2012 of 3.5%, versus a budgeted improvement of 4.0%. In the first half of the year the grew saw LFL revenue growth of 3.6% year-on-year, but this rate slowed to "over 3.0%" in July, bringing the cumulative seven-month growth in LFL revenues down to 3.5%. Revenue in the first half of the year rose 5.5%, or 6.8% on a constant exchange rate (CER) basis, to £4,972m from £4,713m the year before. Revenue growth was "slightly softer" in the second quarter than the first, the group revealed; first quarter LFL revenue growth was 4.0% while the second quarter saw this growth rate slow to 3.2%. Billings rose 1.2%, or 2.8% on a CER basis, to £21,651m from £21,392m in the first half of 2011. Headline earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose by a tenth, or 13.0% on a CER basis, to £682m from £620m in the corresponding period of 2011, and represented 13.7% of revenues, up from 13.2% the year before.

development pipeline suggests this will be maintained for the full year," he added. Unite said significant achievements in asset sales and the arrangement or extension of important debt facilities mean that the group's financial position continues to strengthen. It has a new £121m 10-year senior debt facility arranged with Legal and General. Commenting on the trading environment it said: "The UK economy remains challenging and we continue to be vigilant to the risks that are present as a result. However, demand for UK University places, and consequently accommodation, continues to be strong and UNITE remains well placed for the future." Furthermore with the 2014 London development pipeline committed and with 2012 completions it is on track to deliver £44m of NAV uplift (27p per share) by December 2014. The interim dividend has been increased to 1p pence per share, up from 0.5p. The full year dividend is expected to represent 25% of net portfolio contribution.

Student accommodation provider UNITE said recurring profits from operations doubled to £14.4m in the half year to 30 June amid high occupancy levels across the entire portfolio. Adjusted, diluted NAV per share climbed 5.3% to 335p while adjusted earnings per share increased 190% to 9p. Like for like rental grew 1.8% during the six months since December 2011. Current reservations for 2012/13 are at 87% compared to 89% in 2011 when there was a surge of applications ahead of increased tuition fees and 87% in 2010. UNITE said it was on track for 3-4 per cent full year rental growth. Chief Executive Mark Allan said: "During the first half of 2012, the business has built on the strong operational momentum created in 2011. High occupancy, solid rental growth and cost efficiencies have underpinned a further significant improvement in the group's profitability." "The healthy level of forward reservations and the successful completion of our 2012 d

Net fees in the permanent placement business, representing 44% of group net fees, increased by 3%. The company's global exposure was its saviour with the Continental Europe & Rest of World division delivered 23% net fee growth. This compared with the UK, which became increasingly challenging as the year progressed, with net fees down 7%. The UK division posted an operating loss of £6.5m as net fees fell by 8% in the permanent placement business and by 6% in the temporary placement business. This means fees are now down 50% versus peak levels. Chief Executive Alistair Cox said looking ahead to 2013 the firm expected the overall economic backdrop to remain difficult and markets to continue to be multi-speed. "Several markets are likely to remain very challenging, but these will sit side-by-side with clear opportunities for growth," he said. "Therefore we need to be both adaptable to the world as it changes and selective about areas for investment."

A strong showing in international markets helped recruitment firm Hays offset a loss in its UK division. The company said there would be no let up in the tough market conditions going into 2013. Net fees in the year to the end of June were up 9% to £734m. Profit before tax was up 11% to 122.4m but the company cuts its dividend by more than half to 2.5p. The firm put the cut down to the increased global economic uncertainty impacting on the business, which slowed the pace of the profit growth. The results showed the temporary job market was holding up but making permanent placements was becoming increasingly tough. Net fees from temporary placements, which represent 56% of group fees, increased by 12%. This comprised a volume increase of 4% and growth in the amount of hours worked of 9%, partially offset by underlying margins, which were slightly lower at 14.6%.