LONDON (ShareCast) - Filtrona kept its full-year expectations unchanged, despite lower sales at the plastics and fibres group’s cigarette filters division.

Results from 1 January have been in line with the comparable period last year, the group said.

Fibre Technologies' performance was behind prior year following a reduction in volumes in the cigarette filters division due to the previously announced customer insourcing decisions.

The group said it it implementing further cost saving measures, including job cuts at the UK facility on Tyneside, but added that the division has secured new business from a multinational customer which will mitigate a future loss of conventional dual filter volume.

Plastic Technologies, meanwhile, has traded ahead of the prior year despite the impact of reduced volumes within the US operations of the plastic profile and sheet division.

“Whilst market conditions in the US have become more challenging, the board believes that the Filtrona Group will continue to develop satisfactorily,” said the group.

Edinburgh oil and gas firm Melrose Resources provided an update on its Egyptian operations today, disclosing that its net entitlement production from the El Mansoura and South East El Mansoura concessions averaged 14,890 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the first quarter of 2008.

The entitlement comprised 69% gas and 31% hydrocarbon liquids.

The ramping up of Egyptian output enabled Melrose to hit a new net peak production rate in the first quarter of 22,400 boepd, though the company said its 2008 production guidance of 20,000 boepd remains unchanged.

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