LONDON (ShareCast) - London’s leading shares are expected to begin with good gains with traders predicting FTSE 100 will open up 57 points.

Bank Lloyds TSB saw profits slide 19% as it took a £585m hit from the market dislocation. Profit before tax fell to £1,573m from £1.937m previously, excluding the market dislocation impact though, profit before tax increased by 11% to £2,158m

“The first half of 2008 has been a period of considerable turbulence for the financial services sector and this has been compounded by the marked slowdown in the UK economy as a whole,” said the group.

Insurer Aviva said operating profit on a European embedded value basis rose to £1.72bn from £1.54bn a year ago, helped by the strong euro, which offset the problems in the market.

Car insurance group Admiral posted record profits for the half year, helping it to increase dividends by 26%. Pre-tax profit for the six months rose 16% to £100.3m on turnover that increased 13% to £472.5m. Interim dividend was hiked 26% to 26p.

Packaging firm Mondi saw half year operating profits increase by 8% to €263m driven by a strong performance from the Europe and International division.

In the press, Vodafone’s new chief executive indicated he would stick to the it’s focus on emerging markets and remained hopeful of a deal for South Africa’s Vodacom as he begun his tenure at the world’s biggest mobile phone operator, says the FT,

Informa, the exhibitions group, has received a second approach, believed to be from a private equity consortium led by Blackstone, says the Times.

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