London pre-open: Flat started expected

27th Aug 2009 07:50

Footsie is predicted to open little changed following a choppy session on Wall Street overnight.A 4% drop in full-year profit at Diageo was pretty much in line with expectations, but the alcoholic drinks giant has cut current year growth targets. The group, responsible for the Smirnoff, Captain Morgan and Guinness brands, said pre-tax profit fell £78m to £2.015bn in the year ended 30 June on reported sales up 15% to £12.28bn. Net sales rose to £9.31bn from £8.09bn.Carillion's large portfolio of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) helped the support services company post a rise in profits and revenues in the six months to June 30. Pre-tax profits climbed to £51.9m from £27m over the same period the previous year as revenues rose to £2.72bn from £2.41bn.Online gaming firm 888 Holdings saw profits slide in the half year and said it is trading "solidly" despite consumer sentiment remaining weak and currencies still volatile. Pre-tax profit for the six months slumped to $14.9m from $26.3m driven by the decline in foreign currency effect and the economic downturn, which hit turnover down to $117.8m from $131.5m.National Express says a consortium, which includes CVC Capital Partners and the Cosmen family, is prepared to pay 450p a share in cash for the bus and trains operator. The revised proposal comes after the Takeover Panel declared a deadline for bids of 11 September to bring an end to speculation about the firm's destiny.Engineer and project manager AMEC reported a slight fall in pre-tax profits due to one-off items but said trading remained robust in a tough trading environment. In the six months to June 30, pre-tax profits fell 4% to £88.4m, as revenues edged up slightly to £1.260bn from £1.255bn.