NEWPORT West MP Paul Flynn hailed Corus' announcement last week of its first profit in five years as a "pleasure for Newport steelworkers".

He was among a group of steel area MPs to receive a special briefing from Corus chief executive Philippe Varin.

Mr Varin explained how Corus had posted a pre-tax profit of £163 million for the first half of the current financial year.

This compared to a loss of £89 million at the same time last year. And the firm's turnover rose to £4.5 billion for the half-year, from £4 billion last year.

Mr Flynn said: "For probably the first time in 30 years several fav-ourable factors have come together to encourage Corus to give a positive briefing to steel area MPs.

"I was greatly encouraged by the optimistic comments of chief executive Philippe Varin and there are strong signs that the steel industry can restore success."

But the MP added a bitter-sweet note on behalf of Newport's retired and redundant steelworkers.

"While it is a pleasure for present Newport steelworkers to hear some long overdue good news, it will be a sadness for the ex-steelworkers that this has come a week after Blast Furnace No 3 was dynamited."

Corus' results looked good from every angle. Earnings per share increased to 2.25p compared to a loss of 3.88p per share for the same time last year.

And net debt fell from £1.5 billion at this point last year to £1.2 billion now. Mr Varin said Corus was closing the competitive gap between itself and its European rivals and was now only 4.5 per cent behind compared with six per cent last year.

He attributed the company's success to higher steel prices which more than offset increased raw material costs.

He also claimed that his "Restoring Success" programme was now saving the company £220 million per annum.

Pontypool-born steel union leader Michael Leahy said the turnaround was a tribute to the workforce and he was hoping for expansion at all Corus' UK plants including Llanwern and Teeside.

He said: "Should Corus re-evaluate its strategy and take further advantage of the changed market conditions then this really could be a new dawn for the company."