Companies reporting next week

BEER, cigarettes, holidays and shopping will be among the topics on investors' minds next week, as a busy week for results sees companies such as

Cigarette firm Imperial Tobacco is expected to show full-year pre-tax profits have puffed up to £495m from £450m when it reports on Monday. Profits will have been helped by acquisitions in Australia and New Zealand, and from African firm Tobaccor, which it bought earlier this year.

The acquisition of the UK distribution rights for Marlboro will also help figures, although UK profits will at best be flat, said fund manager Gerrard.

The City will be scrutinising holiday firm Airtours' bookings for this winter and next summer on Tuesday when it reports its full-year figures.

Following the events of 11 September, the market will be looking for confirmation Airtours is able to control its capacity and that, even if bookings fall substantially, margins can be maintained. Pre-tax profits are forecast to come in at £130m, nearly double the £70m last time, after a year in which capacity has been restrained and margins restored.

Analysts will be keen for comments from Granada about the outlook for advertising revenues in 2002, when the broadcaster reports full-year figures on Wednesday.The year to the end of September has seen TV ad revenues fall by around 12%, making it one of the worst years in recent history for the ITV companies, analysts say.

Pre-tax profits at Granada are forecast to come in at £4.7m, against £107m the previous year - including spending on digital TV. Revenue is forecast to be up by £400m following the acquisitions of the TV interests of United News and Media (since renamed United Business Media) last year.

Thursday will see Burberry-to-Argos group GUS report its interim figures and analysts at stockbrokers Gerrard are predicting pre-tax profits to rise from £180.7m to £197m. The retail giant said last month that luxury goods brand Burberry had suffered because of the US attacks. There will also be interest in any update on the planned partial flotation of Burberry as well as details of current trading across the group in the all-important run-up to Christmas.

Investors will be given a chance to scrutinise frozen food retailer Iceland on Thursday for signs of a recovery. The retailer was hit by plunging sales and profits after a failed venture into organic foods and the tough integration of cash-and-carry firm Booker. Iceland is forecast to produce interim pre-tax profits of £16m - there is no comparative figure because of a change to the year-end - but the like-for-like sales will be the key measure of how the group is faring.

The results will also give Iceland's fledgling management team - chief executive Bill Grimsey joined in January, just weeks before founder Malcolm Walker quit - a chance to outline in detail the strategy behind the recovery plan.

Wolverhampton & Dudley, which hung onto its independence in the summer after a takeover battle with rival Pubmaster, reports full-year figures on Friday. At the time of the takeover attempt, it predicted final pre-tax profits of £76m - compared with £65m the year before - and set out a strategy of disposals and closures to fund a £200m shareholder payout. Investors will be eager to hear how the strategy is coming along.

An update on the search for a finance director - former incumbent Jim Taylor quit in October after just a month into the job - may also be of interest.