Belgian supermarket group Colruyt is forecast to post a rise in full-year earnings on Friday (28 November), as well as raise its net profit forecast for 2008 from its current €304m.

That is the verdict of six analysts polled by Reuters, who expect average earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to increase 10.4 per cent on a year-on-year basis, up to €220m.

'The company is known to issue extremely cautious guidance - if the first half is positive, the group will have to raise its forecast,' said ING analyst John David Roeg. 'Otherwise it would seem like they expect a drop in profit in the second half.'

The discounter is expected to announce that first-half profit increased 10 per cent to €158m, with sales also increasing by 10 per cent during the March-September period, up to €3.09bn.

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