A NUMBER of FTSE 100 companies will take centre stage next week giving analysts the opportunity to judge the progress of, among others, InterContinental Hotels and bookmaker William Hill during the first half of the year.

Cigarette maker Gallaher issued a statement in June saying trading was resilient because falling volumes in the UK and Western Europe were being offset by increases elsewhere in the world.

As a result, analysts expect its half-year results on Wednesday to offer few surprises, with expectations for pre-tax profits of £260m, compared with £250m, a year earlier.

However, Gallaher remains a potential takeover target if a fresh round of consolidation takes place in the tobacco industry.

InterContinental Hotels is continuing to reshape itself as a hotel management company after selling much of its global property portfolio, including nearly all of its estate in the UK.

This has helped to shield it from sudden volatility in the market, such as the terrorist attacks in London, which are widely believed to have deterred many foreign tourists from visiting the UK.

InterContinental is due to provide investors with half-year results on Thursday. Analysts at fund manager Gerrard are predicting profits of £154m, up from £143m at the same stage last year.

The fortunes of broadcaster ITV have been mixed in the first six months of the year, with a declining share of viewing audiences offset by the positive news that regulator Ofcom will cut its licence fee.

Analysts are expecting interim profits of £177m on Wednesday - higher than the £127m recorded at the same stage of last year and putting the focus on how the broadcaster will perform during the remainder of the year.

William Hill will announce half-year results on Monday and is likely to have suffered from the unfavourable betting results that have hit many rival bookmakers.

City stockbroker Charles Stanley is looking for interim profits of £120m, compared with £131.2m last year, but believes its online operations will have benefited from the growth in demand for poker and gaming.