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Week Ahead 5-9 November

A summary of key company announcements expected in the coming week
October 26, 2012

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

CompanyDividend (p)Payment
Ashmore 10.7507 Dec
Asian Citrus 1.331 Dec
Bunzl 8.802 Jan
Centaur Media  1.507 Dec
Craneware 5.707 Dec
Dechra Pharmaceuticals 8.523 Nov
Dunedin Income Growth Inv Tst 2.530 Nov
Elderstreet VCT 2.007 Dec
Genus 10.123 Nov
Hargreaves Services 11.812 Dec
James Halstead 11.007 Dec
JPM Overseas Inv Tst 13.530 Nov
Jupiter Primadona Growth Trust 22.7504 Dec
Manchester & London Inv Tst 7.830 Nov
Matchtech  10.607 Dec
Pace0.92807 Dec
Polar Capital Global Healthcare Growth & Incpme0.530 Nov
Proven Planned Exit3.021 Nov
Regenersis1.105 Dec
STHREE 4.707 Dec
Swallowfield 4.130 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.