London pre-open: Steady start expected

24th Mar 2011 07:36

London is expected to open little changed despite a strong finish on Wall Street yesterday.Next paraded a 9% rise in full-year profit to a new record, exactly what the City was expecting following guidance from the fashion retailer in January. Profit before tax increased to £551.4m in the 12 months to January, up from £505.3m in 2010, led by catalogue arm Next Directory where profits jumped 21% from £183.6m to £221.9m this time.Tobacco group Imperial said underlying first half tobacco net revenues are expected to increase by around 2%, as anticipated. Though the group is trading in line with management expectations the Spanish market remains challenging due to an increase in duty in December, the ban on smoking in public places and the continuing weakness of the Spanish economy.Oil firm Premier Oil notched up record revenue and profit in 2010 as oil and gas prices rocketed higher. Sales revenues in 2010 jumped to $763.6m from $621.1m in 2009, while profit before tax moved through the $100m barrier to $100.8m from $79.9m the year before, helped by a $38.6m gain on derivative financial instruments; in 2009, the company booked a $61.1m loss on derivatives.