Companies reporting next week

KEY players from the hard-pressed industrial sector, including

Investors will be looking for signs of a pick-up in demand from the US corporate sector when logistics group Exel reports results on Monday.

The company reassured the market in December that annual pre-tax profits should be in line with market expectations, although the figure of £149m will still be lower than the £157m recorded a year earlier.

Engineering group IMI has tidied up its business in recent months to concentrate on control systems and drinks dispensing. That has meant the sale of large parts of the company, mainly in building products, to allow growth in those targeted areas. However, weak markets have slowed the disposal process, although IMI may still have enhanced their sale value in recent months.

Analysts will now be looking on Monday for management to demonstrate its expertise in the new areas of focus. Pre-tax profits are expected to fall to £125m from £147m a year earlier.

Media buying agency Carat should be the star of communication firm Aegis's full-year results on Tuesday. Carat is thought to have put in a strong performance when compared with other advertising agencies after attracting £1.12bn of new business.

However, Aegis's research business is having a more difficult time and underlying profits for the whole group are expected to dip to £59m from £78m, fund manager Gerrard said.

The downturn in advertising markets is almost certain to have left its mark on full-year earnings at Scottish Media Group (SMG), due on Tuesday. Fund manager Gerrard expects TV advertising and sponsorship revenues to be down by more than 12%, although SMG's cinema advertising business should have been boosted by a strong list of film releases in 2001.

Underlying profits are expected to fall to £34m from £59m, although most focus will be on SMG's debt situation, with the company likely to renegotiate its bank loans in the near future.

Anglo American will be the last of the three big miners to report its final results on Wednesday after figures from Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.

Through Anglo American's holdings in De Beers, AngloPlatinum and AngloGold, more than 50% of the company has already reported results. Given relatively low commodity prices over the period, earnings from the trio were reasonable.

Pre-tax profits will be slightly lower at $1.75bn £1.22bn, although Anglo American should state a more promising outlook than some of its peers because of its exposure to several differing markets.

Engineering group Smiths is expected to remain cautious on the outlook for its key civil aerospace market when it reports half-year results on Wednesday.

However, prospects for military aerospace should be brighter because of the progress of the programmes it sells into.

As for the results, Smiths has already told the market it expects a 15% fall in interim operating profits while a restructuring charge of up to £50m will also be taken during the year. Fund manager Gerrard forecasts operating profits of £206m.

Last year was one to forget for Millennium & Copthorne Hotels after the impact of the September 11 terrorist attacks led to a collapse in global travel. The total dividend should be of interest because annual pre-tax profits are forecast to fall to £55m from £129.1m last time.