Cigarette maker Imperial Tobacco will be in the spotlight this week, while investors are also expecting news on Smith & Nephew, British Airways, Tate & Lyle, Smith & Nephew, ICI and Unilever.

Lambert & Butler owner Imperial Tobacco reports back on what is expected to be another period of solid growth for the Bristol-based cigarette maker.

The company said in September it had boosted its market share in the UK and benefited from price increases introduced earlier this year.

Imperial has also increased sales in eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The world's fourth largest tobacco company sold 172.5 billion cigarettes and 26,600 tonnes of fine cut tobacco last year. Analysts have said tomorrow's full-year results are expected to show another good performance in the UK and the rest of the world, although Germany could highlight some weakness while there are concerns about increasing competition in Europe.

Goldman Sachs sees pretax profits coming in at #1.2 billion, up from #1.08 billion last year, while Lehman Brothers and Barclays Wealth anticipate a figure of #1.1 billion.

Medical device maker Smith & Nephew is "primed for growth", according to analysts.

S&N was founded in 1856 and operates in 33 countries where it has more than 8,000 employees, including a plant in Birmingham where it develops products for treating complex bone fractures, and at its wound management division in Hull. The company reports third quarter results on Thursday and is expected to show continued improvement with foundations for a strong year end.

Dresdner Kleinwort is expecting sales of #354 million – up by five per cent on last year – after management took steps to restructure and roll out new products.

Chemical maker ICI reports third quarter results on Thursday which are expected to show robust growth despite a slowing US housing market threatening its paints arm.

The chemicals giant said pretax profits for the first half of the year rose from #195 million to #219 million thanks to a "solid performance" from paints where revenues jumped ten per cent.

Sugar and sweeteners firm Tate & Lyle – which reports first half results on Wednesday – put its European starch business up for sale earlier this week following a fall in the price of sugar.

Tate said it will explore the full or partial disposal of its Food & Industrial Ingredients Europe division (Talfiie) as it was "no longer an essential element" of the business.

It came after July's sweeping reforms to the European Union's 40-year-old sugar regime sent sugar prices falling.

Barclays Wealth forecasts Tate will bank #160 million in pretax profits compared with #136 million in 2005.

British Airways will be back in the spotlight this week as it updates the market on its performance during the second quarter.

And the question on everyone's lips will be how well has the airline recovered since the summer's security alerts at Heathrow Airport?

Analysts Barclays Wealth sees BA reporting pretax profits of #222 million compared to #241 million last year.

Consumer goods giant Unilever enlightens the market on third quarter results on Thursday, but it has already warned of tough trading conditions in Europe.

Barclays Wealth predicts a drop in pretax profits from #1.5 billion to #1.4 billion and the impact of rising commodity prices could be worth watching.