YP75: BP in the spotlight as White House piles on the pressure

Once again it was left to BP to dominate the headlines. After pressured talks at the White House, the firm announced that the dividend would be scrapped and 20bn would be put into a fund to pay compensation claims.

The news was seen as a positive step by investors, but with the leak not yet plugged and no cap on BP's liability agreed, there still remains a considerable degree of uncertainty surrounding the situation.

The road ahead looks promising for Datong plc having announced a first-half pre-tax profit on the back of soaring sales. The Leeds-based company, which designs and manufactures intelligence gathering equipment, reported a pre-tax profit in the six months to March 31 of 206,000, compared with a pre-tax loss of 128,000 the year before.

The group have been encouraged by signs of a recovery in its core US markets and are expected to benefit from their strong order book going into the second half of the year. This is typically a less fruitful period for the company, but management believe they are in a much stronger position than in the past due to their improved order book of 2.7m.

Elsewhere, Pressure Technologies plc a holding company for Chesterfield Special Cylinders Ltd, reported a 38 per cent fall in pre-tax profit for the first half of 2010. On a brighter note, the Sheffield-based company have increased its interim dividend.

The group's principal activities are the design, manufacture and reconditioning of seamless steel high-pressure gas cylinders, predominantly for the energy and defence markets.

Having maintained a strong balance sheet with 5.2m net cash in the bank following the acquisition of Al-Met Ltd, management believe the group are on target to meet market expectations for the full year. While the order book remains a slight concern having been somewhat diminished, the company will still enter the second half of the year with orders in the region of 11.4m.

Pre-tax profit falls have also been witnessed at Doncaster-based MS International. The manufacturer of specialty engineering products reported a 32 per cent drop in fiscal 2010 pre-tax profit, from 4.9m to 3.3m. In addition, the company announced a recommended second interim dividend of 3.80p per share as final payment for the year which will result in a total dividend of 4.50p per share equal to the previous year.

The group have seen an encouraging performance in its defence division due to robust export sales and manufacturing efficiencies. While management remain positive on the outlook for the defence division, they expect the markets in which they operate to remain subdued in the medium term.

Edward RH Marsden, Assistant Investment Manager at Brewin Dolphin, Leeds