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Cookson returns to pre-tax profit
Materials science firm Cookson moved into pre-tax profit for the first half of the year, and expects performance to improve during the rest of the year. Revenues rose to £1.23bn for the half, translating to £92.5m pre-tax profit. The world’s biggest producer of ceramic smelting liners said it won’t resume its interim dividend despite the strong performance that saw earnings per share jump to 23.4p from a loss of 42.6p.