Move will incur one-off cost of £1.2 millionShares fall 12% year-to-dateFull year trading expected to be in lineShares in Zotefoams (ZTF) fell over 7% to 300p in morning trading as the speciality materials maker said it will be winding down the operations of its MuCell business unit which includes its mono-material barrier packaging company ReZorce.ReZorce uses proprietary microcellular foaming t

Year-to-date shares up 51%Overall sales growth of 14% reportedCEO David Stirling to step downShares in Zotefoams (ZTF) traded 1.6% higher at 528p this morning as the specialty chemicals maker reported a trading update for the four months ending 30 April 2024 ahead of its annual general meeting.The company said trading in the period had been strong with overall sales growth of 14%.Sales of high pe

If we took a straw poll of readers and asked which country has the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund, the chances are Saudi Arabia and Singapore would come high up the list if not at the top.In fact, the largest is Norway's Government Pension Fund Global which has a value of more than $1.6 trillion.When the country discovered large offshore oil fields at the end of the 1960s, the government de

Chemicals companies produce the compounds used in a huge variety of different industrial and consumer products across sectors which include agriculture, healthcare, technology, aerospace, sports, leisure and beauty.The breadth of the industry?s focus means its fortunes are closely tied to the economy and movements in GDP as well as volatility in raw material prices and energy costs.In 2023 the sec

Vodafone chair buys 823,500 sharesZotefoams director buys £21,000 sharesTatton CEO sells £1.1 million sharesJean-Francois van Boxmeer, chair of telecoms giant Vodafone (VOD) has bought 823,500 shares at 69p for a total value of £568,215 on 28 March.This move comes after Vodafone CFO Luka Mucic also bought a substantial number of shares in the telecoms giant.Mucic snapped up 2,460,000 shares at

Even casual observers might have spotted the records being smashed in long distance races by athletes wearing Nike (NKE:NYSE) running shoes. The latest of which saw Kelvin Kiptum come within 35 seconds of the two-hour barrier at the Chicago Marathonas he set a new all-time best for the distance on 10 October.What you may not know is a UK small cap has had a key role to play in the technology behin

- Record pre-tax profits of £12.2 million- Dividend increase of 5% for shareholders- Benefit from the stronger US dollarSpecialty materials-maker Zotefoams (ZTF) reported record pre-tax profits of £12.2 million for the year ending 31 December 2022 - a rise of 74% compared to the previous year.Highlights also included an 80% increase in cash generation from operations, with free cash flow of £14

- Second upgrade in just three months- Earnings driven by strong demand and price rises- Sales growth accelerated in third quarterSpecialty materials-maker Zotefoams (ZTF) released an unscheduled pre-year-end trading update, raising its forecast for adjusted pre-tax profits for the second time in three months thanks to strong trading in the current quarter.Investors celebrated the news, lifting th

Constituents of the UK chemicals sector span both a wide range of market capitalisations and end markets.These include aerospace, automotive, coatings, semiconductors, sports and leisure and the global flavour and fragrance industries. The largest company in the UK chemicals sector, Croda (CRDA) has a market capitalization of £12.6 billion, this contrasts with AIM-quoted Biome Technologies (BIOM:

More than £2.2 billion of dividends will now be paid by London-listed companies which previously halted payments during the pandemic. The figure relates to dividends declared since the start of July and includes six companies in the FTSE 100.This sends a very strong message to the market that companies are regaining confidence and that the sharp drop in dividend income we saw earlier this year ma

UK and European stock markets enjoyed a day of strong gains on Tuesday as investors took a risk-on approach in the face of speculation in Washington that President Trump could introduce a capital gains tax cut to create jobs.UK stocks shrugged aside latest employment data which showed the number of people in work in the three months through June fell by 220,000, the biggest quarterly decline since

European stock markets stormed higher across the board at lunchtime on Tuesday as investors pin hopes on speculation in Washington that President Trump could introduce a capital gains tax cut to create jobs.UK stocks shrugged aside latest employment data which showed the number of people in work in the three months through June fell by 220,000, the biggest quarterly decline since the global financ

FTSE opened on the front foot on Tuesday with a gain of almost 3% to 5,129 points as the UK joined global stock markets higher following more stimulus from the US Federal Reserve and strong trading in Asia.Oil and mining shares led the market advance with defensive sectors such as utilities and consumer staples taking a back seat .Japan's Nikkei 225 index was up 7.7% and China's SSE index gained a

Boris Johnson's thumping general election victory saw a swathe of unloved stocks come charging back, with the Gervais Williams-run Miton UK MicroCap Trust (MINI) among them.Shares in the investment trust reversed more than a year of poor stock price performance to rally 4.7% to 50.9p with investors clearly far more confident that the Prime Minister can get his Brexit deal through Parliament and br

The FTSE 100 got off to a decent start this morning as a fall in the pound boosted the exporter-heavy index.Sterling has dipped as a deal between the UK and the European Union ahead of the Brexit deadline becomes ever more unlikely.Just before 9am, the UK's benchmark index stood almost 30 points, or 0.4%, higher at 7,172.73.Sports betting company GVC Holdings (GVC) jumped 3.4% to 775p as it lifted

Shares in chemicals manufacturer Zotefoams (ZTF) have plunged with an unstable political and economic climate in Europe and North America leading the firm to issue a profit warning.Zotefoam's share price has fallen a whopping 36% in early morning trade to 340p as the specialist chemicals firm warned that sales of polyolefin foam, its biggest-selling product, are likely to be £6m below market fore

The FTSE 100 remained on the back foot amid global growth fears, down a further 0.4% after enduring its worst day since January 2016 on Wednesday.Firms perceived to have particular exposure to the global economy like advertising giant WPP (WPP) and packaging firm DS Smith (SMDS) suffered most heavily.Global lifestyle brand Ted Baker (TED) descended 34.9% to 589.9p as it reported a £23m loss befor

The chemicals sector has historically been a very good place to invest with significant share price gains over the past decade and occasionally generous dividends.Unfortunately momentum has stalled in parts of the sector over the past six months amid concerns about a global economic slowdown and how that could feed into weaker demand for chemical products. There have also been some concerns about

The most popular investment trusts on AJ Bell's YouInvest platform in the month to 8 February include long-time favourites such as Scottish Mortgage (SMT) and Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT), as well as some trusts investors may be less familiar with.Investment trusts can be a useful option for investors looking for diversified exposure to a range of different companies and other assets.TAKING ADVA

Management and performance fees may not be the most important consideration when weighing up the merits of particular investment trust, but they are certainly key. The greater the costs of a fund, the harder your investments have to work to generate a positive return.Investment companies pay a fee to fund managers for managing the portfolio. They may also pay a performance fee, if the manager outp