London pre-open: Early slide anticipated

25th May 2010 07:37

Shares are expected to slide in early dealings as worries over the European debt situation continue to plague markets around the world.Tuesday's preliminary results from Marks & Spencer (M&S) came in with a slightly better than expected profit but the retail giant said it remains cautious about the outlook for the year ahead. Profit before tax and property disposals came to £632.5m in the 52 weeks ended 3 April, an improvement on last year's £604.4m.South west England-focused water group Pennon hailed another successful year after lifting revenues and profits in the year to March 31 and raising the full year dividend by 7.4%. Pre-tax profits climbed to £183.8m from £159.4m on revenues that rose to £1.068bn from £958.2bn. The proposed full year dividend was upped to 22.55p from 21p.Losses at its cash processing division meant profits came in little changed last year at banknote printer De la Rue, despite good sales growth. Pre-tax profits in the year to March were £96.6m, up from £96.1m, on sales of £561m some 12% higher. Operating profits rose by 13% to £109m driven by good growth from the banknote arm.