Tesco stays on course in spite of freezing conditions

With Tesco's third-quarter figures expected to show a similar trend to the previous quarter tomorrow, it is likely that attention will focus on the impact of the big freeze on its trading operations over recent days.

There have been reports of some grocers' lorries struggling to reach stores through the snow, but a Tesco spokesman said all its stores and distribution centres were open and there were "no concerns over supplies".

The retailer said it has benefited from a 27 per cent increase in soup sales and a 67 per cent jump in sales of thermal leggings during the last week of November.

Its first-half results revealed that UK like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT rose by a subdued 0.3 per cent, but analyst Sam Hart of stockbroker Charles Stanley expects this figure to rise to between 0.5 per cent and 1 per cent in the third quarter as a result of rising food price inflation.

Perth-based Stagecoach is expected to return to profits growth when it reports its half-year results on Wednesday, helped by a strong performance from its UK rail businesses.

Underlying profits are set to increase by more than 30 per cent to about 105 million in the six months to 31 October, according to City analysts, following a drop of 24 per cent in the full-year to 30 April. Stagecoach recently announced that it had seen a 6.5 per cent like-for-like increase in revenues from its rail businesses, which include South West Trains and East Midland Trains, in the first 24 weeks of the year.

Its bus business also grew in the period, with like-for-like sales up 2.3 per cent.

Southern Cross Healthcare, Britain's biggest provider of care homes, is forecast to report a 46 per cent drop in profits this week.

The embattled company will announce that pre-exceptional profits slumped to 23.5m in the year to September, according to a consensus of analysts' forecasts.

Profits at the Darlington-based firm are being squeezed as councils and primary care trusts, which pay for more than 70 per cent of its customers, demand reductions in rates, while its rents keep rising.

Analysts at Brewin Dolphin recommended investors sell the shares after the company revealed occupancy rates declined from 87.5 per cent to 85.4 per cent in the third quarter.

"Ultimately given our downbeat assessment of Southern Cross' occupancy outlook, we genuinely believe that the prospect of moving to a loss making position by 2012 and not having sufficient cashflow to meet quarterly rent obligations is realistic," it warned in a note.

Photo-Me International is likely to unveil a new photo booth by French designer Philippe Starck when it updates the market with half-year results on Thursday.

The booth created by Starck, who starred in the BBC2 series Design For Life, has been trialled in France where it has helped entice more people to have their picture taken than in a regular booth, according to analysts at Hardman & Co.

A bullish trading statement last month revealed that Photo-Me's performance in the first half-year had exceeded management's expectations and it was considering upping its dividend payment.

Although there is no analysts' consensus for the half-year, the adjusted pre-tax profits should exceed last year's haul of 11.2m.

Kesa Electricals, which runs Comet, is on course to build on last year's recovery when it releases half-year results on Wednesday.

Comet could make a small retail profit in the half-year, compared to a loss of 1.2m in the same period the previous year, according to Nick Bubb, an analyst at Arden Partners.

The UK retailer, which made a retail profit of 11.5m in the year to April, is on an improving trend, having improved its pricing and focused on smaller stores that offer better customer service.