Companies reporting next week

TRADERS hauling themselves back after the Easter break will be met with just a handful of company results in the shortened week. However economic news is busy, with all eyes on the Bank of England's interest rate decision on Thursday.

Aviation services group Alpha Airports revealed the cost of the 11 September terror attacks on its in-flight catering and retailing business last month when it cut 923 jobs - 15% of its workforce. One-off charges and write-downs mean the group is expected to report a pre-tax loss of around £7m for the year to 31 January, against a £5.9m profit the previous year.

Sales have been increasing across Alpha's shops in many of the UK's regional airports and analysts want reassurance that the improving trend has continued. The figures are due on Wednesday.

It has been a tough year for clothing group William Baird with sales of its womenswear and active and casualwear falling. After a profits warning in November, an update last month showed sales of its core womenswear ranges were down 8% in the 56 weeks to 26 January with active and casualwear falling 11%.

Profits in the year to 3 February, due on Wednesday, are expected to come in at £5.4m. But they will be hit by exceptional costs linked with selling the rainwear brand Dannimac. Bottom-line losses in 2000-2001 were £19m.

Oil and gas explorer Tullow Oil cheered investors last month with news of the start of production at its Espoir Field, off the Ivory Coast. The FTSE 250 group, with interests from the North Sea to Bangladesh, expects to produce more than 30,000 barrels a day from the site.

Its shares have climbed 26% so far this year as investors bet on its prospects, and analysts hope results for 2001 on Thursday will confirm its potential. Profits are expected to hit £22.6m, up £800,000.

On the economic front, investors will focus on Thursday's decision from the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee. The Bank is widely expected to leave rates on hold at 4% for the fifth month in a row, after cutting seven times last year. However the real question is when will rates start to rise? Some economists think as early as June, while others are pencilling in August.

Manufacturing data on Tuesday is expected to show further improvement. The latest data from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply showed growth in the sector for the first time in a year. Tuesday's figures are expected to show further improvement, which would indicate two months of expansion for the beleaguered sector.

The services industry is also expected to show an improved performance when figures are released on Thursday. The City will be looking for the extent to which the services sector is benefiting from the general upswing in the economy.