London pre-open: Footsie to retake 5,600

17th Mar 2011 07:40

Blue chips are expected to edge high in early trade despite a 1.4% slide in Tokyo.Futures prices indicate an 18-point gain for the FTSE 100 first thing, regaining the 5,600 level.Legal & General is confident, despite a drop in full-year operating profit, as sales rose 28% and the government's decision to cut state benefits forces people to make their own provisions. The country's fourth-largest life insurer grew worldwide Annual Premium Equivalent (APE) sales to £1.8bn last year from £1.4bn in 2009. European Embedded Value (EEV) operating profit fell 7% to £1.22bn, but profit before tax more than tripled to £1.68bn from £552m a year ago. On an international financial reporting standards (IFRS) basis operating profit was down 10% at £1bn, but pre-tax profit edged up to £1.09bn from £1.07bn the year before. The final dividend goes up 25%.Global property markets are bouncing back strongly judging by the results from international estate agent Savills, with Asia Pacific putting in an especially strong performance. Group revenue for 2010 was up 21%, or 19% in constant currency (cc) terms to £677.0m from £560.7m in 2009. Underlying profit before tax soared 88% (83% in cc terms) to £47.3m from £25.2m in 2009.Profits were in line and sales a little higher at electronic and industrial components supplier Premier Farnell last year. Revenue in the year to 31 January 2011 rose 21.4% to £990.8m from £795.3m the year before. The market had been expecting a figure of around £982m. Underlying profit before tax rose by 70% to £93.3m, a shade below the market consensus of £93.5m, from £54.8m a year ago. "This sales momentum from the fourth quarter has continued into the new financial year," the company said.Construction products supplier SIG posted higher profits in 2010 as it recovered from the economic downturn following the 2008-09 global crash, but warned that government cuts will counteract private sector growth this year. SIG, which supplies materials for insulation, roofing and other areas of construction, posted an underlying pre-tax profit of £62.5m for the period, up 3.1% from the previous year, on revenues that slipped 2% to £2.67bn.