Stocks & Shares: John Phelps

ABERDEEN oil services group John Wood will demonstrate its attractions to a potential bidder on Tuesday, when it is due to unveil news of bumper profits together with a confident update on current trading.

Its package is due to be released at a time when its near neighbours at Abbot Group are preparing to cancel their own share quote on Friday after accepting an agreed takeover, which could put Wood next in the firing line.

But veteran chairman Sir Ian Wood, 65, will make it clear that his group is continuing to thrive as an independent with confirmation that profits spiralled from £93.5 million to around £145m last year. He will outline the potential of moves into newer areas, including its involvement in the fast-expanding Canadian oil sands industry.

While some are concerned about escalating expenses as a result of skill shortages, Sir Ian is expected to stress that the vast bulk of contracts in its key engineering business are covered through cost-plus agreements. Analysts believe that this will show through in a further lift in profits to around the £180m mark this year.

Wood and his family still own nearly a quarter of the £2.16 billion group after previous share sales and there is recurring speculation about his plans for this holding when he eventually retires.

Last November, Amec group denied it was preparing an approach although it said it enjoyed a continuing close relationship with the group.

Edinburgh-based Johnston Press, which counts The Scotsman group in its portfolio of some 300 newspaper titles, could struggle to reassure investors when it releases its annual results on Wednesday after its share price plunged to new eight-year low points on Friday.

Analysts believe that the tough newspaper advertising market could see underlying profits slip again from £146m to around £136m, and are concerned about prospects for its property advertising in the current year.

Followers hope to hear that the overall market now shows signs of stabilising and look for an increase in the dividend total to around 9.8p, which means the shares yield nearly 5% at present levels of around 200p, down from 490p in the past year.

Greenock-based British Polythene Industries, whose own shares have halved in value in the past year, will stress that it is not suffering from the current backlash against supermarket plastic bags when chairman Cameron McLatchie announces annual figures tomorrow.

Directors are likely to confirm tough trading in their own markets for polythene film and sacks as a result of raw material costs, and brokers expect to hear of a dip in pre-tax profits from £14m to below £12m before taking account of restructuring costs.

Moodiesburn food casings group Devro is due to give more details of its plans to boost margins by expanding in Russia and China when directors release annual figures on Wednesday.

Brokers look for some improvement after a disappointing first half, but still expect to hear profits have dipped from £16.25m to £14.4m, a long way from the £25.8m achieved back in 2005.

Transport group Arriva, which took over the Cross-Country InterCity franchise in November, should demonstrate its abilities to absorb higher fuel prices with news of an increase in annual profits from £110m to around £120m on Thursday.

Followers say the group has now hedged its costs for the whole of 2008 and see profits accelerating to £155m in the current period.

Specialist construction group Rok is expected to point to strong growth in its Scottish businesses on Thursday when directors should disclose that overall profits rose by more than 50% to £31m last year.

Roughly a quarter of its £1bn-a-year business now comes this side of the Border following recent acquisitions, and it has been particularly busy on refurbishment work for Glasgow Housing Association together with contracts from the likes of Network Rail and Scottish Water Solutions.

Executive recruitment group Michael Page International should surprise stock market pessimists on Tuesday when it is likely to report a jump in annual profits from £96m to £145m or so, together with a confident statement on prospects.

Its announcement follows heavy selling of its shares in recent weeks which has driven down the price from 600p to around 282p, although no fewer than 10 out of 12 brokers polled by Hemscott say the shares are worth buying.