The UK media firm Emap has said it expects to report profits "marginally ahead" of previous predictions.

The company, which publishes FHM, Heat and Smash Hits magazines, said revenues for the year to 31 March would be up 1%.

But it said it had experienced some slowdown in sales growth in the last quarter.

Emap said advertising bookings for April and May "are showing some improvement compared with the fourth quarter of the current year".

Last July, the company sold its US magazines business for $515m (�365m), less than half what it paid for it in 1999.

The failure of its US venture claimed the scalp of chief executive Kevin Hand, who resigned in May.