Companies reporting next week

THE focus shifts from the political arena back to the City next week with a clutch of market heavyweights, including Vodafone, Unilever and GlaxoSmithKline, all scheduled to post updates.

News and information group Reuters is expected to show a fall in first-quarter revenue of £120m to £850m when it reports on trading on Monday.

The fall is mainly down to the reversal in fortunes at its 83%-owned US broking arm Instinet, which has been pushed it into the red in the first three months of the year by volatile equity markets.

Sir Martin Sorrell's acquisitive media group WPP will update the City on first quarter trading on Monday. The tough economic climate and advertising slump are likely to have knocked revenues but analysts still hope for an increase in new business. Pre-tax profits are forecast to inch ahead, from £181m a year ago to £188m.

Global pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline is expected to unveil a healthy set of first-quarter figures on Wednesday, helped by sales of asthma drug Advair. Pre-tax profits are expected to jump from £1.39bn to £1.60bn.

Rival drugs group AstraZeneca posts its own first-quarter numbers on Thursday. The successful launch of ulcer drug Nexium is expected to boost sales, as will the delay to the patent challenge to its key drug Prilosec. AstraZeneca is also expected to give an update on how the development of its next big launch, the anti-cholesterol drug Crestor, is progressing.

Marketing costs associated with Nexium are forecast to keep pre-tax profits flat at £761m says fund manager Gerrard.

Vodafone will grab the limelight on Thursday when it reports on trading after a turbulent few weeks for the mobile phones giant.

Concerns over growth and downbeat comments from others in the sector, such as Finnish mobiles giant Nokia, have taken their toll on Vodafone's share price, which has slumped to its lowest level for more than three years.

The trading update will cover Vodafone's key performance indicators and while slowdown in subscriber growth is likely investors will want reassurance Vodafone can build on the amount of revenues it generates from each customer.

Consumer products giant Unilever is expected to post a surge in first-quarter pre-tax profits, from £698m to £865m, when it updates investors on Friday.

The Dove soap-to-Magnum ice cream group is reaping the rewards from its Best Foods acquisition as well as its growth strategy, under which it has sold several non-core brands.