Companies reporting next week

INVESTORS will get a flavour of a range of industries next week as blue-chip companies including

Aerospace and defence group BAE Systems is not expected to report any surprises on the trading front on Thursday.

Analysts say the Farnborough-based company, which is tipped to turn in interim pre-tax profits of £350m against £333m previously, will report slower progress from its US operations due to currency translation.

However, a relatively good contribution from Airbus has already been flagged up and there should be some pick-up from the group's international partnerships as missile contracts mature.

Attention will focus on the group's large programmes division, where guidance is still for modest profits. Investors will also look for reassurance that the group's Type-45 destroyer contract is on track.

Silk Cut-to-Benson & Hedges cigarette group Gallaher is tipped to report half yearly pre-tax profits of £257m over last year's £241m on Wednesday.

Broker Charles Stanley is expecting few surprises following Gallaher's surprisingly cautious trading update in June, which detailed mixed fortunes across the group.

Its worldwide cigarette volumes increased by more than 6%, although this was flattered by weak comparative figures in the first quarter of last year.

The decline in UK industry volumes has slowed to about 1%, although continental European volumes fell 8% in Austria, 26% in France and 13% in Germany after hikes in excise duties.

The operations in the former Soviet Union continued to make excellent progress, while Charles Stanley said it would welcome an update on the group's entry into China. It said the company was 'fundamentally undervalued', given its strong cash flow, scope for improved margins and the broker's belief that it is potentially vulnerable to a takeover.

Broadcaster ITV is likely to be under pressure to explain its lacklustre performance in the City on Thursday after seeing shares fall well below the price seen at the time of the Carlton and Granada merger in February.

Investor confidence is likely to have been impacted by intense competition in the sector, despite progress in achieving cost savings from the tie-up.

Broker Charles Stanley said the company was ahead of its schedule for reaching its revised £100m target for savings. Maiden interim pre-tax profits of £112m are expected, although comparative figures are not available.

Given the increasingly competitive ratings environment, profit growth is more likely to be driven by cost savings than by higher revenues.

Retailer Woolworths is unlikely to improve losses for its quieter summer trading period when it unveils half year results on Wednesday.

The music-to-sweets specialist - whose crucial trading period is Christmas - faced a large proportion of store refurbishment costs during the six months.

Analysts are expecting Woolies to post pre-tax losses of around £33.3m when it updates the market, against a deficit of £34.9m last time.

But the retailer, which has stopped expanding its out-of-town Big W stores, should post its fourth consecutive half year of positive like-for-like sales growth from the main Woolworths business.

Investors will be keen to find out about InterContinental Hotels' recovery from tough trading conditions on Thursday, after rivals Hilton and Millennium & Copthorne both reported cautious optimism for the sector.

Higher revenues per average room should be seen in most regions, particularly Asia and the Middle East.

Analysts will be looking for an update on the group's strategy to sell hotels as it moves to focus on management and franchises. InterContinental recently said it was putting 20 hotels on the market, mainly in North America.

Pre-tax profits for the first half are expected to come in at £140m, compared with £95m last time, fund manager Gerrard said.

Analysts believe bookmaker William Hill and its rivals will continue to suffer volatility until the Government's much anticipated Gambling Bill is introduced.

However, they reckon that won't stop the group notching up a healthy 34% rise in interim pre-tax profits to £115m on Monday.

William Hill is likely to follow in the footsteps of Ladbrokes owner Hilton Group by reporting strong gains as a result of its introduction of fixed odds betting terminals.

While significant growth is likely from those terminals, there may also be gains from the telephone betting and interactive betting divisions, plus increased trading hours.

The group received permission to buy back shares during its close period and the market will be looking for further share buy backs or plans to return capital to shareholders, given its strong cash flow.