FOOD group IAWS is expected to report sales in the region of 695m and operating profits of 55m when it unveils six-month figures tomorrow. The strong showing comes on the back of better margins and the contribution from recent acquisitions.

According to Paul Meade of NCB Stockbrokers, the company is also poised for a substantial windfall gain.

"We continue to to view IAWS as a very strong organic growth investment case delivering strong cash flows and the additional benefit of having at least 150m in surplus property assets, " he says.

Prime among these assets is the Cuisine de France facility in Tallaght, which would be sure to fetch a good price if production was moved to a 30-acre site that IAWS owns in Naas.

"We see potential in relation to the Dublin-based manufacturing facility, which is currently operating at maximum capacity on a constrained but highly valuable site, " says Meade.

A TRICKY YEAR BRINGS POOR RESULTS FOR ICG

THERE is a gathering view that Irish Continental Group could be through the worst of its troubles following a year of low car tourist volumes and industrial strife at its Irish Ferries subsidiary.

Last year was tricky for the ferry operator. As well as weakness in the tourism market and the industrial dispute of late 2005, higher fuel costs more than offset the growth in the freight market and a strong performance by ICG' s container and terminal division.

The company posted a 20% drop in operating profit, but its shares trod water at 12 as its travails had been digested by the market well in advance of the results.

Outsourcing of crewing on the Irish Sea gave rise to a 29.1m charge, but savings of around 20% on the current 57m annual payroll bill are expected.

Several challenges remain, notably weak tourism demand and higher fuel costs, but there is hope ahead. Analysts are predicting strong cash generation and earnings recovery in 2006/07.

FBD BENEFITS FROM A DROP IN CLAIMS INSURER

FBD benefited from a significant drop in claims last year to boost its underwriting profit. The insurance group reported an operating profit of 162.6m and eps of 363c.

These results, 2% ahead of Davy Stockbrokers' forecasts, reflect record underwriting profits thanks to massive savings on prior year claims, according to Davy's Scott Rankin.

Net earned premiums were 332.4m, with new business growth more than offsetting the impact of reductions in average premiums, according to FBD. Investment income from the group's insurance underwriting business was up by nearly 4 to 44.4m.

Generally the results were well-received by analysts. Rankin said Davy is upgrading its numbers slightly for 2006 and 2007 to operating EPS of 331c and 305c respectively.

Goodbody also provisionally raised its 2006 and 2007 EPS estimates modestly.

TRINITY TO SEEK MEETING WITH FDA

TRINITY Biotech has applied to the US Food and Drug Administration to seek a meeting to discuss how the company might seek clearance to obtain permission to sell its HIV test on an over-the-counter (OTC) basis.

If granted permission to sell the kit freely in American pharmacies and supermarkets, Trinity Biotech would hope to benefit from a substantial increase in sales thanks to the broader distribution of the products.

The stock rose by over 5% on Thursday to 2 on the news. The HIV diagnostic kit, which is currently sold to hospitals, doctors, STD clinics and community organisations, is one of only two HIVtesting products that are FDA-approved.

Trinity Biotech said that in clinical trials on 9,000 patient samples, its HIV testing device had a sensitivity (ability to detect a true positive) of 100% and a specificity (ability to detect a true negative) of 99.7%. The company recently announced revenues $98.6m for 2005, up by 23%, while pre-tax profits rose from $5.7m in 2004 to slightly under $6m.

GRAFTON SALES SET TO HIT THE /2.65BN MARK

GRAFTON Group is expected to add to the feelgood factor surrounding Irish construction stocks when it reports 2005 results this week.

NCB analyst John Sheehan is forecasting earnings growth of 20% for the company, which acquired its smaller Irish rival Heiton Holdings during 2005 to bolster its builders merchant and DIY retailing businesses.

Sheehan expects sales to hit 2.65bn, with net profit coming in around 160m.

Among the positives NCB sees are that the Heiton integration is proceeding ahead of schedule. Sheehan predicts that Grafton will exceed its earlier estimate of 17m in cost savings resulting from the deal over the next three years.

Challenging conditions in the UK, where Grafton has been expanding its merchanting operations, have been a drag on its share price, but some concern was alleviated last week when Travis Perkins, one of the largest UK merchants, issued an upbeat trading statement on its performance to date this year.

NCB has an end-of-year price target of 11.40 on Grafton's shares.