Newzonline

British American Tobacco Plc (BATS.L, BTI) on Thursday announced preliminary results for the full year 2009, reporting an increase in pre-tax profit helped by higher revenues, improved pricing and volume from acquisitions. The company also recommended a 16% higher final dividend.

The U.S. stock futures point to a lower opening Thursday morning even as traders look ahead to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony for a second day, this time before the Senate Banking Committee, and economic data related to weekly jobless claims, durable goods orders and house price index to gauge the pace and magnitude of economic recovery. A weaker euro and fresh concerns over the Greek debt crisis might also impact market sentiment.

Kohl’s Corp. is slated to announce its fourth-quarter results before the market opens Thursday. On average, 20 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect a profit of $1.37 per share for the quarter. Analysts’ forecast typically excludes one-time items.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., an integrated, research-based international pharmaceutical company, reported profit compared to loss last year.

Cable operator Virgin Media Inc. (VMED, VMED.L) Thursday reported a narrower loss for the fourth quarter, helped by significant improvement in net number of cable users, higher average revenue per user and stable churn rates. Separately, the company said it would begin the roll-out of a 100Mb broadband service, the fastest available commercial product in the UK, by the end of 2010.