Interim results
None announced
Trading update
XP Power
Economics
Markit/CIPS construction PMI, Chancellor George Osborne expected to speak at Tory party conference
Meetings
None announced
Full-year results
Epistem Holdings, St Ives
Interim results
Tesco
Trading update
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust, British Airways, Northern Foods, Tui Travel
Economics
Markit/CIPS services PMI
Meetings
None announced
• J Sainsbury, the supermarket, will report its second-quarter results on Wednesday. The chain is thought to have had a strong quarter, and analysts expect like-for-like sales to have grown by 2pc compared to 1pc over its first quarter. New store growth is expected to accelerate throughout the year. The retailer should benefit from its South East bias, where it has its highest concentration of stores and where the looming Government cuts will have the least impact.
• Greggs, the sausage roll maker, will update the market on recent trading. The retailer said in August that first-half profits had risen by 12.3pc to £18.6m. However, Ken McMeikan, chief executive, warned that the pressure on the trading environment would increase over the second half of the year as the austerity measures kick in.
• Robert Walters will kick off a round of reporting from recruitment companies on Wednesday, as it updates on third-quarter trading.
At its results for the six months to June 30 e_SEmD issued in August – the white-collar recruiter revealed that it had swung back into the black, recording a pre-tax profit of £5.1m compared to a loss of £2.6m last time. Growth had been boosted by increasing demand in Asia.
Recruitment peers Hays and Michael Page will follow with trading updates on Thursday. At its full-year results in August, Hays revealed a slump in pre-tax profits to £29.7m from £151m the previous year, but said the outlook across 90pc of its markets was continuing to improve.
Ahead of the first-quarter trading update, analysts at Panmure Gordon said in a note last week that comparatives from last year were soft, which should lead to progress in Asia Pacific and Europe. Michael Page will update on third-quarter trading. More than 70pc of the recruiter's gross profits came from overseas markets in the first half of the year. At the time of the half-year update, Steve Ingham, chief executive, said an increase in permanent jobs did show a level of confidence in the market.
Full-year results
Sportingbet
Interim results
None announced
Trading update
J Sainsbury, Marston's, Dunelm, Hays, easyJet, Greggs, Robert Walters
Economics
None scheduled.
Meetings
Adept Telecom (AGM)
• Investors in Marks & Spencer should not expect any big strategic statements from new chief executive Marc Bolland this week. Those are going to be unveiled at the retailer's interim results next month. What observers can expect, however, is an update covering the summer months when trading on the high street was volatile due to the patchy summer weather.
• Ted Baker, the clothing retailer, will report its first-half results. Ray Kelvin, the company's founder and chief executive, said in June that sales had been robust over the first half of its year.
Trading in the UK was strong, and sales in its overseas markets were improving.
• Rank's trading statement will be eagerly watched for signs that bingo admissions are stabilising and that its Mecca Full House concept, aimed at a younger generation of players, is delivering decent returns. Any acceleration of the rebranding of Rank's G Casino format is also likely to be welcomed. Credit Suisse expects full-year pre-tax profits of £53.3m.
Full-year results
Victrex
Interim results
Ted Baker
Trading update
Hays, Halfords, Marks & Spencer, Michael Page, Rank, UK Mail
Economics
Bank of England rate announcement, UK manufacturing, US jobless claims
Meetings
IG Group (AGM)
Full-year results
None announced
Interim results
None announced
Trading update
Cerep
Economics
UK producer prices, US jobs data
Meetings
Dignity Sutton Coldfield (EGM) SIR Terry Leahy, the Tesco chief executive, will oversee his final results at the helm of the UK's biggest supermarket on Tuesday.
He hands over the top job to Phil Clarke in March next year having led the retailer since 1997. It is a tenure that has seen Tesco grow from a largely UK chain to one of the world's biggest retail groups with operations in 14 countries. Analysts expect his last results e_SEmD which will cover the first half of Tesco's financial year e_SEmD to show that sales over the six months to August 28 rose by around 8pc to £30bn while pre-tax profit is expected to be up 3.4pc to £1.6bn.
The retailer's Asian operations will show strong growth, helped over this half by favourable currency movements.
Analysts at broker Jefferies International expect a more "muted" recovery in Central Europe. Tesco's loss-making Fresh & Easy chain in the US is also expected to have remained a drag on profitability. The City expects first half losses of around £80m from the division. Overall, international trading profit is expected to be up 28pc year-on-year. THE Bank of England is expected to keep the base rate at its record low of 0.5pc when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announces its decision on Thursday.
Policymaker Andrew Sentance is widely predicted to repeat for a fifth month his call for rates to rise, while his fellow MPC member Adam Posen has just come out in favour of more quantitative easing (QE), presenting the possibility of a three-way split on the MPC over how to manage the fragile economic recovery.
Monday's construction data is expected to show growth is slowing after the second-quarter spike following the harsh winter. The next day's services PMI could prove an indicator of the likelihood of QE, if more weak data suggests the recovery is stalling.
Chancellor George Osborne is expected to address the Tory party faithful in Birmingham on Monday, which could offer some policy insights.
No comments:
Post a Comment