A round-up of today's other stories in brief

William Grant spirits group posts £103.6m operating profit

Scottish premium spirits group William Grant Sons, which recently acquired Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey from CC, recorded a group operating profit of £103.6 million for 2009. This compared with a surplus of £95.1 million in the previous year. Turnover rose by 40 per cent last year to £838.3 million.

William Grant said the growth was the result of continued sales success and investment behind its core global brands, including Glenfiddich, the single malt Scotch whiskey.

Chief executive Stella David said: “Thanks to our continued success, we have been able to acquire Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey, allowing us to . . . . build another truly iconic brand.”

ATP plans 50 more Belfast jobs

Nasdaq-listed Art Technology Group (ATG) plans to create 50 new jobs in Belfast as part of an expansion of its Northern Ireland operation.

The Massachusetts company develops and provides commerce software and services to major brands from Tommy Hilfiger to Tesco. It employs 62 people at its Belfast centre but now plans to nearly double its workforce with additional high quality software jobs.

Arlene Foster, the North's Minister for Enterprise said the investment could deliver a £2 million (€2.29 million) boost to the local economy just in terms of annual salaries. She said the project underscored the North's position as a "highly regarded investment location".

The expansion comes as former US president Bill Clinton urged Northern Ireland to pursue new US investors. Ken Volpe, a senior vice-president with ATG said the company's experience in Belfast had been "excellent".

Irish pension funds up 3.2% in Q3

Strong stock market performance helped Irish pension funds grow 3.2 per cent in the third quarter, according to a survey by Hewitt Associates.

The Hewitt Managed Index, an index of traditional managed pension funds, has gained 5.8 per cent since the start of the year.

Evelyn Ryder, director of investment consulting at Hewitt, noted that the index had recorded its strongest September since 1939.

New car sales continue to rise

New car sales in September were up 94 per cent on the same month last year, with 4,330 new registrations, writes Michael McAleer. A total of 83,457 new cars have been registered in the first nine months of this year, up from 54,805 for the period last year.

Diesel variants remain the firm favourite for Irish buyers, with 64 per cent of the market, compared to 32 per cent for petrol.