London pre-open: More falls expected

23rd Nov 2010 07:35

Shares are expected to fall further in early dealings, continuing the reversal yesterday as worries mounted that the euro-crisis will spread beyond Ireland.Mitchells & Butlers' debt reduction programme has cut the pub group's interest bill, helping boost full-year profit by 26%. The All Bar One and Harvester owner reported profit before tax and exceptional items up to £169m for the year ended 25 September from £134m a year ago. Revenue rose 1.1% to £1.98bn.Water Group Severn Trent posted a fall in profits in the six months to 30 September despite higher revenues, after facing a number of charges. The company, which serves 8m customers across England and Wales, said pre-tax profits fell to £101.1m from £208.2m the previous year on turnover that rose to £867.9m from £852.1m.De La Rue's underlying interim profits tumbled after the well-flagged problems at one of its paper production sites. That cost it £35m and the resignation of chief executive James Hussey. The firm says demand for banknotes was also weak generally in the past six months with revenues falling from £252m to £209m. Underlying profits fell from £48m to £23.8m including a £35m charge for the problems in paper production, which was in line with previous estimates.