PRICE rises at chemicals group ICI helped it stave off the impact of higher raw material costs, the industrial group said last night.
ICI - which employs about 480 people in the region, including 350 through its Uniqema division - said the rises helped it post a 12 per cent rise in half-year profits to £207m.
It also reported signs of an improvement in trading conditions towards the end of the second quarter, but added European markets remained generally subdued.
Chief executive John McAdam said: "ICI maintained its positive start to 2005 with a solid second quarter."
Comparable group sales for the three months to the end of June were six per cent above a year earlier, with price rises accounting for four per cent of the six per cent improvement in sales from its main international businesses division, which features ICI paints and the company's National Starch operation.
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