THE struggling Filtronic operation will be the centre of attention this week as the business reports interim results.

The Shipley company, which took over the former Fujitsu plant at Newton Aycliffe in 1999, is due to report on Friday.

The Newton Aycliffe plant has been losing an estimated £1m a month. But there has been some recent good news for the site, with an estimated 90 jobs being added to its workforce of 180 this year.

They are expected to be added across all three divisions on the site, including semiconductors, aerospace and broadband applications.

Other results next week are due from defence firm Chemring, software group Misys and casino operator Stanley Leisure.

It has been a year of mixed fortunes for defence group Chemring, which posts final figures on Tuesday.

It began with a £15.5m acquisition in the US, which made it the Pentagon's largest supplier of infra-red, anti-missile decoys. But Chemring was also hit by an explosion at one of its factories, which could have an impact on earnings.

Analysts are forecasting pre-tax profits for the year to October 31 of £9.1m, an improvement on the prior year's £7.1m.

Stanley Leisure, the gaming and gambling group which took Railtrack's place in the FTSE 250, publishes interim figures on Wednesday.

Analysts believe pre-tax profits will improve from £15.9m to £16.5m.

Software group Misys, a former member of the blue chip FTSE 100 Index, issues its interim figures on Thursday.

Fund manager Gerrard is forecasting a dip in pre-tax profits, from £51.2m last year to £47.6m.

l Companies reporting results next week include:

TUESDAY - Finals: Chemring Group. Interims: AIM Group.

WEDNESDAY - Finals: Porvair. Interims: Stanley Leisure

THURSDAY - Finals: Derby Trust, Kensington Group. Interims: Misys.

FRIDAY - Interims: Filtronic.