London pre-open: Strong start predicted

28th May 2009 07:52

Footsie is expected to rise in early dealings despite the sharp fall on Wall Street last night.Sugar and sweetener firm Tate & Lyle posted a sharp fall in profits after facing impairment charges and tough trading conditions.Profit before tax in the year to 31 March fell to £113m from £182m the previous year even as revenues climbed to £3.55bn from £2.87bn. The fall in profits was largely due to an impairment charge of £97m decision to mothball a sucralose facility in Alabama and produce all sucralose from a newer facility in Singapore.Hedge fund manager Man Group saw profits slide for the year as troubles in the global financial markets hit revenues. "The past financial year saw extraordinary turmoil in financial markets globally which put extreme stress on business models across the financial services industry. Man has not been immune," said chief executive Peter Clarke. Pre-tax profit slumped to $743m from $2,079m last year on revenue that slide to $2,433m from $3,222m before.Mining giant Rio Tinto has received a request from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for more information regarding its pending sale of the Jacobs Ranch coal mine in Wyoming. Rio Tinto agreed in March to sell the mine to Arch Coal for a total cash consideration of $671m. Rio Tinto said is will respond positively to this request for information and will continue to co-operate with the FTC.Hochschild Mining has taken full control of the Moris mine in northern Mexico, buying the 30% stake owned by its joint venture partner. The Latin America-focused miner has paid $1.5m in cash to buy the 30% stake from EXMIN Resources. The Moris open pit mine began production in August 2007. In 2008 it produced 65.07 thousand ounces of silver and 26.85 thousand ounces of gold.Higher sales in spite of the economic downturn helped the cash and carry group Booker post a sharp rise in pre-tax profits. Pre-tax profits in the year to 27 March climbed to £47.2m from £36.2m the previous year as total sales climbed to £3.2bn from £3.1bn. The firm was helped by a big push into catering, with sales to caterers and others climbing 7% compared with a rise of 1% in sales to retailers.Payment services group PayPoint saw profits rise 19% in the year and said trading in the current year so far is in line with expectations. The group expects further growth in the UK by increasing market share in bill and general payments, mobile top-ups, and ATMs. It plans to add a further 1,500 terminals during the course of the current financial year.Over-stretched plumbing supplies distributor Wolseley's trading profit more than halved in the first nine months of its financial year. The group said revenue in the nine months to the end of April 2009 was up 0.2% to £12.1bn, but was down 15% in constant currency terms. Trading profit fell 58%, or 65% at constant exchange rates, to £189m. Profit before tax, excluding exceptional items, amortisation and write-downs, tumbled 80% (88% in constant currency terms) to £72m.