Companies reporting next week

THE collapse of ITV Digital and the future of the telecoms sector will be in the spotlight again next week as Vodafone, mmO2, Granada and Carlton Communications come to the market with eagerly awaited results.

Investors will be looking for signs of encouragement from Vodafone's full-year results announcement on Tuesday after seeing the mobile phone group's share price dip below £1 this month.

Write-downs on past acquisitions could hurt Vodafone's bottom-line figure, but fund manager Gerrard said the pre-tax profit total before exceptionals was likely to rise to £5.6bn from £4bn a year earlier.

On Wednesday mmO2 reveals maiden full-year results. The market will be looking for further signs of progress towards breakeven targets in its German and Dutch operations. Full-year losses are expected to narrow from £621m to £311m this time.

Following the collapse of ITV Digital, investors will be looking for signs of a new ITV strategy from its owners when Carlton Communications and Granada report interim results on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.

Detail will be sought on costs associated with the failed business, with those losses and the general decline in advertising revenue likely to cause Granada's operating profit to fall by a third and leave an underlying pre-tax loss of £43m.

Fund manager Gerrard said operating profits at Carlton Communications were forecast to fall by two-thirds and lead to a widening of underlying losses at £88m.

Supermarkets group Sainsbury has already reported like-for-like sales growth of 6% in the year to March 31, so interest at Wednesday's annual results presentation will be on the progress of the retailer's recovery strategy.

Pre-tax profits are expected to hit £620m from £549m a year ago. There are unlikely to be any surprises from the US supermarket business Shaws as sales growth has been reasonable in the face of tough conditions.

Investors will discover if the fragile market for new share issues has checked GUS's plans to float up-market fashion label Burberry when the retailer reports final results on Wednesday.

The results are likely to be dominated by Argos, which grew sales by 13% on a like-for-like basis in the second half. Fund manager Gerrard predicts pre-tax profits for the GUS group of £541.2m, up from £486.8m.

High Street chemist Boots will be looking to reassure the City on Wednesday after doubts were raised about its allegedly flattering accounting methods by stockbroker CSFB a week ago.

Boots is likely to report full-year pre-tax profits of £621.2m, up from £581.1m and is expected to outline further details on its strategic review, which could see the roll-out of its Wellbeing concept.

On Thursday, electricity giant National Grid will be pressed for further details on its planned £15bn merger with gas pipeline group Lattice when it posts annual results. Pre-tax profits are expected to come in at the top end of City forecasts - £543m, compared with £481m a year ago.

Automation and controls group Invensys reaches a major landmark in its restructuring campaign on Thursday when new chief executive Rick Haythornthwaite announces his first set of full-year results.

Since details of the review were announced in February, trading is thought to have been mixed, with early signs of recovery in appliance and climate controls offset by weakness in telecoms and IT markets.

Investors will be looking for further progress on a £1.5bn debt-reduction disposal programme. Underlying pre-tax profits are likely to have fallen from £707m to £360m.