News in brief: Rolls-Royce denies allegations of lying, McBride counts cost of contract cleaning, Profits on a plate at Churchill China

Rolls-Royce has denied claims it “cut corners on quality-control requirements” and lied to customers. The allegations were made in a US lawsuit involving two former employees, who also say the engineer used defective parts in its products.

Thomas McArtor and Keith Ramsey allege the company records these failings in a “secret set of books”. Rolls-Royce has said it “categorically rejects the claims” and would “defend itself vigorously”.

McBride counts cost of contract cleaning

The winding down of its contract cleaning business hit annual revenues at McBride, which makes dishwasher tablets and other own-brand products for supermarkets, but said it will still achieve City profit expectations.

McBride added that total revenues, stripping out the impact of currency movements, will be down 5% for the year to July, mostly because its contract manufacturing revenue fell by 27%.

Profits on a plate at Churchill China

Churchill China said its strong first quarter had been followed by an equally good second quarter driven by its production of plates, cups and saucers for the hospitality industry.

The manufacturer said it had successfully launched new products in the catering range and improved its worldwide distribution. Churchill added that it was confident of hitting profit expectations for the year. The shares rose 2.5p to 342.5p.