MARKET WATCH

CAR insurer Admiral will report soaring profits on Wednesday as it benefits from rising premiums.

The firm behind the Diamond and Elephant.co.uk brands has grown its share of the market in recent months after it put up prices by less than its competitors.

Analysts expect it to report pre-tax profits of £159.3 million in the first half of 2011, up 26 per cent on the same period a year ago.

Admiral will also reveal whether it has succeeded in turning around the fortunes of its price comparison website Confused.com. The website came under pressure in 2010 after its adverts flopped against competition from Go Compare’s opera singer, Compare The Market’s talking meerkats and Moneysupermarket’s campaign fronted by comedian Omid Djalili.

The firm behind iconic cast-iron Aga cookers is expected to report a surge in profits on Friday despite the squeeze in consumer spending.

AgaRangemaster has suffered in recent years as sales of big ticket items fall amid the lack of confidence and weak household spending power. Andrew Wade, an analyst at Numis Securities, expects the group’s first half pre-tax profits to come in at £2.2m, up from £800,000 in the same period a year ago.

The UK’s biggest pawnbroker, H&T, is set to report strong profits on Tuesday as it benefits from the soaring price of gold.

When the firm last updated the market, in June, it said it expected its full-year profits to beat City’ expectations of £13.9m. Numis’ Wade then upgraded his forecast to £16.8m from £13.9m.