London pre-open: Quiet day expected

19th Dec 2011 07:28

City sources are predicting the FTSE 100 will open down 44 points from Friday's close of 5,387 in what is expected to be a quiet trading day. Temporary power provider Aggreko said it has had a strong fourth quarter, with underlying revenues set to be up 22% on the final quarter of last year. Profit before Tax and amortisation for 2011 is expected to be around £324m. Market consensus for Aggreko's full-year profit before tax was £320m before this trading update.Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has won a €250m contract with nuclear power firm AREVA to supply safety instrumentation and control technologies and systems for the French nuclear reactor modernisation programme. The systems will be installed in the twenty-strong French fleet of 1300 MW nuclear reactors operated by Electricité de France (EDF).Groceries delivery firm Ocado said gross sales in the year to the end of November were around £643m, up by around one-sixth on the £551.1m achieved last year. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the year is expected to be in the range of £27.5m to £28.5m, up from £22.0m. The group said it continued to operate under capacity constraints at its Hatfield distribution centre in the fourth quarter, which put a dent in profit margins. --jh