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Greencore chief's pay up 17% to €1m

Greencore chief executive David Dilger saw his total remuneration increase 17 per cent last year to over €1 million. This compares with operating profit from continuing operations, excluding exceptionals, that was more-or-less unchanged on the prior year at €74.6 million.

According to the annual report for the 12 months to the end of September, Mr Dilger was paid a basic salary of €634,000, with an additional bonus of €289,000. Pension contributions and benefits added a further €110,000 to his pay.

During the year Greencore made a further €22 million in pretax profits from its now discontinued sugar operations. Turnover from continuing operations meanwhile was up 8.3 per cent, at €901.4 million.

Robust growth in construction jobs

Employment growth remains robust in the construction sector despite recent indications of slowing activity. According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) monthly index of construction employment, numbers working in the sector rose annually by 2.6 per cent in November. The annual rate of growth is slower than the 3 per cent recorded in October.

Some 277,000 persons were directly employed in construction as of last August, according to the CSO's latest Quarterly National Household Survey. According to the latest bulletin on the housing market from AIB, planning permissions granted fell in November, but the bank predicted the level of housing construction will not begin falling until later this year.

Demand surges for Iseq fund shares

Investor demand for shares in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) of the Irish Stock Exchange's 20 largest companies has led to the creation of one million new shares in the fund over the past 12 months.

Around three million shares in the Iseq 20 ETF are now in issue, compared to two million this time last year. The ETF has more than doubled the number of shareholders over the period to 650, with investors receiving returns of 30 per cent last year.

The net asset value of the fund, which was launched in April 2005 and is sold through NCB Stockbrokers, currently stands at €56 million.

Minco update on Bilbao project

AIM-listed exploration group Minco yesterday released an update on its Bilbao zinc, silver, copper and lead project in Zacatecas, saying the latest results will allow the company to move closer to making a decision on the feasibility of commercial production at the site.

Minco said the latest resource estimate shows an inferred resource of 2.8 million tonnes at varying grades. An updated resource evaluation will be released in the coming months, it said.

North's private sector expands

There has been "a further marked improvement" in the private sector economy of the North, according to Ulster Bank.

Growth of overall activity accelerated for a fourth consecutive month, with Northern Ireland firms pointing to strong new order growth and favourable economic conditions in December, according to the Ulster Bank Purchasing Managers Index for December.

Pat McArdle, chief economist, Ulster Bank, said: "Private-sector employment expanded at the fastest pace in 4 years."