Welcome to the week ahead, our summary of the forthcoming key company announcements. Companies are no longer obliged to notify the London Stock Exchange (LSE) of results and trading updates, so this list does not claim to be comprehensive. You can read company announcements on at http://announce.ft.com and our daily online news summaries record all key company announcements and business press headlines.
Monday 5 November
Interims: e2v technologies, Ryanair
Final: Egdon Resources
Trading statements: Hiscox, HSBC, Inmarsat, Telecity, Weir
AGM: Merchant House
EGM: UK Coal
Economics: Purchasing managers' index - Services
Tuesday 6 November
Interims: Babcock, DCC, Endace, First Derivatives, Marks & Spencer
Finals: Associated British Foods, Bowleven, Next Fifteen Communications
Trading statements: Aer Lingus (Traffic statistics), Capital Shopping Centres, Costain, easyJet (traffic statistics), G4S, Hilton Food, Intercontinental Hotels, Kofax, Smith (DS)
AGMs: Kofax, Mucklow (A&J), Sirius Real Esate
Economics: British retail consortium sales (October) - shop price index, Industrial production, Manufacturing output, NIESR GDP estimate (October), New car registrations
Investors could be underwhelmed by half-year figures from high street retail bellwether Marks & Spencer (MKS), due on 6 November. After all, first-quarter like-for-like sales fell 2.8 per cent on the same period a year earlier, with underlying general merchandising sales having tumbled by a painful 6.8 per cent. Management blamed tough market conditions and unseasonably wet weather, as well as ongoing stock shortages in key womenswear items. With the Olympics having helped keep shoppers away from the high street since that dreary update appeared, don’t hold your breath for a dramatic improvement in the second quarter, either. Indeed, analysts at JP Morgan Cazenove admit that Marks’ second quarter trading is “unlikely to be brilliant” - with better trading more likely to make an appearance during 2013. Yet the shares have climbed 25 per cent since those grim first-quarter numbers and, at 391p, now trade on 12 times the broker’s 32.7p earnings estimate for end-March 2013 (2012: 33.76p). Amidst ongoing consumer gloom, further upside looks unlikely.
In contrast, investors can expect rather better news from Associated British Foods (ABF) when it reports full-year figures - also on 6 November. Management said in a trading update in September that underlying sales at discount clothing retailer Primark are set to rise 15 per cent year-on-year, while profits from the sugar business should be “considerably higher”. And while restructuring costs will hit the grocery operation’s earnings, revenues there should be well up on last year. The agriculture business has been benefiting from higher volumes of sugar beet feed as well, although the group’s ingredients unit will see profits well down - reflecting restructuring charges. Overall, management say that adjusted operating profit should be “substantially ahead of last year” and JP Morgan Cazenove expects pre-tax profit of £971m with EPS 86.1p (2011: £835m/74p). The shares have jumped 18 per cent since early June and, at 1,375p, now trade on 16 times expected earnings - possibly leaving its progress looking priced-in.
Wednesday 7 November
Interims: Burberry, First Group, Vedanta Resources
Final: Fenner
Trading statements: 4imprint, Aer Lingus, Capital & Counties Properties, Old Mutual, Rangold Resources, RPS, Smurfit Kappa, Spirax-Sarco Engineering
AGMs: Hays, Sinclair IS Pharma
EGM: Quarto Group
Luxury goods group Burberry (BRBY) will report half-year figures on 7 November - that announcement should hold few surprises after having already revealed rapidly slowing growth with its half-year trading update in October. Specifically, retail revenues grew 10 per cent in the first half - well down from the 45 per cent growth seen a year earlier. While licensing revenue actually fell 5 per cent, compared with 4 per cent growth a year ago. That’s consistent with the slide in growth recently reported by rival luxury goods player, Mulberry. Worryingly, a key reason for its weaker performance was “a more challenging environment in Asia” - previously a growth engine for all luxury goods players. JP Morgan Cazenove expects EPS of 66.26p from Burberry for the year to end-March - up just 7 per cent on 2012’s figure and a far cry from the 26 per cent earnings growth seem in the year to end-March 2011. True, the shares have fallen off a cliff since fears about growth emerged in early September, but at 1,135p, they still trade on a hardly cheap 17 times expected earnings.
Thursday 8 November
Interims: BTG, Cable & Wireless Communications, Charles Stanley, Dairy Crest, Electrocomponents, Experian, Flybe, Land Securities, Shanks, Talvivaara Mining, Tate & Lyle
Trading statements: Ark Therapeutics, Aviva, Balfour Beatty, Bumi, Eurasian Natural Resources, Hardy Oil & Gas, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Howden Joinery, Lancashire Holdings, London Mining, Marshalls, Morrison (Wm), Novae, Reed Elsevier, RSA Insurance, Schroders, Sopheon, Spirent Communications, Sportech, SuperGroup, Trinity Mirror, Wetherspoon (JD), Yule Catto
AGMs: Craneware, Genus, Indigovision, Wetherspoon (JD)
Economics: Trade figures, Bank of England asset purchase target, Interest rate announcement
Friday 9 November
Trading statements: Beazley, Galliford Try, Hammerson, Rentokil Initial, Rolls-Royce, Tullett Prebon, Xchanging
AGMs: Galliford Try
Shares going ex-dividend on 7 November
Company | Dividend (p) | Payment |
Ashmore | 10.75 | 07 Dec |
Asian Citrus | 1.3 | 31 Dec |
Bunzl | 8.8 | 02 Jan |
Centaur Media | 1.5 | 07 Dec |
Craneware | 5.7 | 07 Dec |
Dechra Pharmaceuticals | 8.5 | 23 Nov |
Dunedin Income Growth Inv Tst | 2.5 | 30 Nov |
Elderstreet VCT | 2.0 | 07 Dec |
Genus | 10.1 | 23 Nov |
Hargreaves Services | 11.8 | 12 Dec |
James Halstead | 11.0 | 07 Dec |
JPM Overseas Inv Tst | 13.5 | 30 Nov |
Jupiter Primadona Growth Trust | 22.75 | 04 Dec |
Manchester & London Inv Tst | 7.8 | 30 Nov |
Matchtech | 10.6 | 07 Dec |
Pace | 0.928 | 07 Dec |
Polar Capital Global Healthcare Growth & Incpme | 0.5 | 30 Nov |
Proven Planned Exit | 3.0 | 21 Nov |
Regenersis | 1.1 | 05 Dec |
STHREE | 4.7 | 07 Dec |
Swallowfield | 4.1 | 30 Nov |
The ex-dividend date is the first day on which it is no longer possible to buy the shares and qualify for the dividend. Ex-days are almost always a Wednesday. The record date is usually two days after the ex-date. The payment day is the day on which the funds are transferred to shareholders.