Synthomer buys US-based Hexion; Centamin profits fall

London’s FTSE 100 is seen starting 28 points lower than Friday’s close at 6,162.

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FTSE 250 specialty chemicals company Synthomer announced the $226m (£156m) acquisition of Hexion Performance Adhesives & Coatings on Monday morning, to be completed this summer following regulatory approval and other conditions.

The purchase - to be funded through existing cash and additional credit facilities - would strengthen Synthomer's position in the performance adhesives and coatings market by adding Hexion's range of dispersions, additives, powder coatings and specialty monomers.

At the same time, Synthomer's board said it had reached agreement to sell its dispersions business in South Africa to Ferro for £13m, following that division's declining EBITDA and cash flow performance in a competitive market.

Weaker commodity prices hit full year profits at gold miner Centamin, which fell to $58.4m from $81.5m despite a jump in revenue to $508.4m from $472m.

Annual production rose 16% to 439,072 ounces - within the revised guidance range.

Cash operating costs of $713 per ounce was down from $729 per ounce in 2014, mainly due to lower fuel prices, although marginally above guidance $700 per ounce despite higher production than originally forecast.

All-in sustaining costs of $885 per ounce was below our original forecast of $950 per ounce, mainly due to the re-scheduling of certain sustaining capital cost items, as well as the higher production.

Guidance for 2016 is for 470,000 ounces at $700/oz cash operating cost and $900/oz all-in-sustaining cost.

In the press

The UK economy could lose more than half a million jobs by 2020 in the event of a vote to leave the EU and would be unlikely to recover from the impact fully even after 15 years, the head of the CBI is set to warn. Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the business lobby, will present research by PwC, the professional services firm, suggesting the shock of a British exit could cut economic output between 3 and 5.4 per cent in 2020, depending on what sort of deal Britain managed to negotiate with its trading partners. – Financial Times

Rolls-Royce is to add up to 350 jobs at its Derby base as the engineering giant gears up production of its TrentXWB engine. Warren East, chief executive, will also this week meet with Midlands MPs whose constituencies Rolls has plants in to ease concerns that the company is looking to shift work abroad. – Telegraph

BHS believes it has secured the backing of major landlords for a vital vote this week that will determine the future of the 88-year-old department store chain. The retailer needs 75% of creditors to vote in favour of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) at a meeting on Wednesday or it will collapse into administration. - Guardian

Soft drink makers are considering taking legal action against the government over its controversial sugar tax as George Osborne’s budget shows further signs of unwinding. Suing the government is one option that companies are considering as they await more details on the tax, which will come into force in 2018 and cost £1bn to implement, almost double the amount that it is expected to raise. – Guardian

US close

Shares on the S&P 500 finished higher for a fifth week running on Friday, pushing the equity benchmark into the black for the year by 0.3%.

Over the latest week the S&P 500 gained 1.4%, led by industrial and raw materials names, alongside a 2.3% advance in the Dow Jones Industrials that pushed that gauge into the green for the year as well.

For the day, the S&P 500 came to rest at 2,049.58 points by the closing bell, up by 0.44%, settling just below key short-term technical resistance at 2,050. In parallel, the Dow Jones rose 120.81 points or 0.69% to 17,602.30 and the Nasdaq Composite by another 20.66 points or 0.43% to reach 4,795.65.