London pre-open: Sell-off enters second day

23rd Jun 2010 07:37

Last night's late sell-off in the US will have repercussions for London early Wednesday, erasing more of the hard-earned gains off the past two weeks.American investors took flight following weak housing data and Asian markets have followed suit this morning.Futures prices indicate a 59-point dive when the City opens for business shortly.In company news, Kesa Electricals, the company behind TVs-to-washing machines retailer Comet, said it traded in line with expectations during the 12 months to 30 April, but it's the French chain that's behind a recovery in profits. Adjusted profit rose 17.8% to £81.9m and retail profit increased by 28% to £98.6m, thanks mainly to Darty, which ramped up retail profit by 14% to £118.4m. Comet made £11.5m, up 13.9%.Rail and bus firm Stagecoach's profits beat market expectations despite raising earnings guidance as recently as the end of April. Underlying profit before tax in the year to 30 April were £161.3m, down from £196.4m the year before. The median estimate for profit before tax had been £149.5m. Revenue came in slightly below forecasts of £2,192m at £2,164.4m, but was up from the previous year's £2,103m.Central Europe focused lender International Personal Finance said trading has been ahead of plan so far in 2010. Credit issued is growing steadily and credit quality in all markets is good, the company said. After taking impairment charges in the first quarter because of the effects of the bad weather, the company's performance in the second half has benefited from the reversal of these charges, with April and May proving to be particularly good months. Graphics chip designer Imagination Technologies predicts the number of devices sold that use its chips could quadruple over the next few years as it rode the boom in smart mobile phones and tablet computers to post record results. Revenues for the year to April 2010 rose 26% to £80.9m (2009: £64.1m). Pre-tax profits soared to £10.2m from £2.7m. The number of partner chips shipped last year rose by 47% to 126m units, but it's aiming for 500m units annually over the next few years.The Capital Pub Company claims to have outperformed its peers with its full year results as London's pub scene remained more buoyant than the rest of the UK. Revenue in the year to 27 March 2010 rose 11% to £22m from £19.8m the year before, while adjusted profit before tax climbed 32% to £2.7m. But the "as reported" figure showed a loss of £1.51m compared to a profit of £0.45m, as the company took a number of exceptional charges. The market wanted pre-tax profits of £2.5m and turnover of £21.7m.