London pre-open: Daily Mail profits to be at lower end

27th Sep 2011 07:22

The rally that started in London at about 1:30 yesterday afternoon is set to resume with renewed vigour this morning, as optimism grows that this time, after more false starts than the Grand National steeplechase on a foggy, blustery day, Europe's leaders are prepared to grasp the nettle and sort out the Eurozone debt crisis.City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 128 points from yesterday's close of 5,089.Daily Mail publisher DMGT may not be participating in the market advance, however. The group has warned that full year operating profit will be down from the previous year, while earnings per share will be at the lower end of market expectations due to the weak consumer advertising environment. In the 11 months to the end of August, revenue was up by 1% from the same period the previous year, with the specialist business publications arm providing strong growth.Merchant bank Close Brothers saw adjusted operating profit from continuing operations increase 13% from a year earlier to £131m and adjusted EPS increase 11% to 64.8p in the year ended July 31st. The group saw a "strong performance" from its Banking division which increased operating profits by 34% from a year earlier. Pubs group Mitchells & Butlers saw a 2.7% year-on-year increase in like-for-like sales (LFL) in the first 51 weeks of its financial year, though LFL growth has slowed to 0.5% in the 9 weeks to 17 September. Food sales at the bid target in the 9 week period were up 1.1% on a LFL basis, while drink sales edged up 0.2%. The group said the UK consumer environment remains challenging, while cost pressures are likely to endure into next year.Irn-Bru maker AG Barr saw a quickening of sales growth in its second quarter. Second quarter sales were up 5.1% from a year earlier, taking half-year sales growth up to 4%. Underlying profit before tax was marginally higher at £16.2m from £16.0m at the interim stage last year. The group said it is on course to meeting its expectations for the full year.--jh