Companies reporting next week

INVESTORS in clothing retailers will discover next week whether the slowdown in high street spending materialised over Christmas when market heavyweight

Cautious consumer spending, the Rugby World Cup and mild weather caused pre-Christmas discounting across the sector.

Although Next managed to delay its own winter sale, it is likely to have suffered the same problems as its rivals and could lose margins due to discounting.

Stockbroker Gerrard reckons Next stores will grow like-for-like sales by 1% during the second half and new space will contribute a further 13%. Full year profits are expected to come in at £319m against £302.8m previously.

House of Fraser beat market forecasts for Christmas sales in 2002 and investors will be hoping for a repeat performance when it provides an update on festive trading on Thursday.

Retail expert Richard Ratner at stockbroker Seymour Pierce, predicted HoF will post a 9% fall in pre-tax profits to £21m for the year to January 31.

There may be little to cheer in a trading statement from fashion retailer Alexon - provisionally set for release on Tuesday - with analysts expecting a fall in like-for-like sales on Christmas trading in 2002.

But they still predict the Luton-based firm, which has 114 Dolcis outlets as well as the Bay Trading and Envy brands, will outperform its peer group with sales of casual womenswear holding up amid difficult trading conditions.

Disappointing sales at its department store concessions could depress profits for the year to January 25, which are forecast at £30.5m compared with £31.5m a year ago.

On Thursday, investors will be looking for signs of how the weak dollar has affected fire and safety products maker Kidde when it updates on trading.

New marketing initiatives have led management to be optimistic about progress in Kidde's residential and commercial division and that has been factored into estimates. Full year pre-tax profits are expected to be £78.5m against £68.4m previously.

God news is expected from tile and wood flooring specialist Topps Tiles when it provides a trading update on Monday.

Analysts will seek evidence that the group is on course for full year pre-tax profits of £21.5m against a reported £18.9m last time.

The group's results for the 16 months to 27 September last year exceeded expectations, with like-for-like sales in the six months to the end of November rising by 20.5%.

Broker KBC Peel Hunt said in November that it is likely that the profits forecast for the group will be upgraded as the 2003/04 year progresses, perhaps significantly.

Analysts are confident that jewellery group Signet will have avoided the High Street chill by posting a 4% rise in like-for-like UK sales for the Christmas period when it issues a trading update on Thursday.

The owner of H Samuel and Ernest Jones, which has made diamond sales a key focus of business and ran a TV advertising campaign over Christmas for the first time in years, is set to follow rivals Theo Fennell and Goldsmiths in painting an optimistic picture of trading in the jewellery sector.

But investors will be concerned about the impact of gold prices and the continued weakness of the US dollar on trade. Signet has 1,092 stores across the Atlantic and does two-thirds of its business there.