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Week Ahead: 21-25 July

A summary of key company announcements expected in the coming week
July 17, 2014

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 at http://announce.ft.com and our daily online news summaries record all key company announcements and business press headlines.

Monday 21 July

Interims: Dialight, Michelmersh Brick

Finals: Allocate Software, Schroder Real Estate Investment

Trading statements: Babcock International, Quindell

AGMs: Babcock International, Ensor, Pathfinder Minerals, Quintain Estates & Development

EGM: Bowleven

Economics: Rightmove house prices

Companies paying dividends: Gooch & Housego (2.6p), LondonMetric Property (3.5p), The Mission Marketing (0.75p), Scottish Investment Trust (4.8p)

Tuesday 22 July

Interims: Arm, Beazley, Croda International, McColl's Retail Group, Premier Foods

Finals: IG, Versarien

Trading statements: Future, Petropavlovsk, Qinetiq, Royal Mail

AGMs: Advanced Computer Software, Assura, Bloomsbury Publishing, Brown (N), Dekel Oil Public, Qinetiq, Red Leopard, Renold, Scapa Group, Vp

Economics: Public sector borrowing, CBI trends - total orders, selling prices, business optimism

Companies paying dividends: CVC Credit Partners European Opp (2.5p), Land Securities (7.9p)

Investors won't be resting easy ahead of half-year results from Arm (ARM), which licenses its microchip designs to manufacturers, then collects royalties for each chip they ship. Slowing sales of smartphones and tablets – the main reason for customer Samsung’s recent profit warning – threaten to depress Arm’s processor royalties. Furthermore, its average royalty per chip may be pressured by stronger sales growth in cheaper smartphones than premium devices.

Broker Liberum expects Arm’s second-quarter sales to climb 8.4 per cent to about £186m, with processor licensing revenues up 21 per cent to £69m. However, it forecasts a drop in its average royalty per chip from 5¢ (2.9p) to 4.7¢. Arm boasts dominance in numerous markets and looks well-placed to benefit from the proliferation of wearable and connected devices. But those gains may not fully compensate for slowing smartphone and tablet sales. And at 854p, Arm’s shares trade at 37 times Liberum’s full-year forecast earnings of 22.9p for 2014, which looks far from cheap. Hold.

Wednesday 23 July

Interims: Capita, GlaxoSmithKline, Morgan Advanced Materials, Provident Financial, Staffline

Finals: Angle, Renishaw

Trading statements: BHP Billiton, Brewin Dolphin, Hogg Robinson, Intermediate Capital, Johnson Matthey, Norcros, Sage

AGMs: Active Energy Group, BP Marsh & Partners, Carphone Warehouse, FlyBe, Hogg Robinson, Intermediate Capital, Insetco, Johnson Matthey, Norcros, PayPoint, Sirius Petroleum, Synergy Health, TalkTalk Telecom, Zanaga Iron Ore

EGM: Sefton Resources

Economics: Bank of England MPC meeting minutes, BBA house purchase loans, CBI reported sales

Companies paying dividends: Assura (0.45p), Home Retail (2.3p), JPM Global Emerging (1p), Max Property (special) (15p), Octopus VCT (1p), Templeton Emerging Markets (7.25p)

Thursday 24 July

Interims: CSR, Hammerson, Howden Joinery, Lancashire, Nichols, Rathbone Brothers, Reed Elsevier, Unilever

Trading statements: Britvic, Close Brothers, Daily Mail & General Trust, easyJet, Electrocomponents, Halma, Kingfisher, Lonmin, Marston's, Paragon, SABMiller, Shaftesbury, Tate & Lyle

AGMs: Caffyns, Camper & Nicholson Marina, Dee Valley, De La Rue, Electrocomponents, Fuller Smith & Turner, Halma, Personal Assets Trust, Record, Royal Mail, SABMiller, Securities Trust of Scotland, Tate & Lyle, Vertu Motors

EGMs: Cyprotex, Thorntons

Economics: Retail sales

Companies paying dividends: Big Yellow (8.4p), DCC (50.73p), Invesco Income Growth Trust (3.65p), Octopus Aim VCT (2.5p), PayPoint (23.9p)

Friday 25 July

Interims: African Barrick Gold, Anglo American, Pearson, Spectris

Final: British Sky Broadcasting

Trading statements: Biome Technologies, Cable & Wireless Communications, United Utilities, Vodafone

AGMs: Bellzone Mining, Cable & Wireless Communications, Helical Bar, Shanks, Taihua, United Utilities

Economics: Hometrack housing survey, GDP second quarter, Index of services

Companies paying dividends: 3i (13.3p), ACM Shipping (7p), Amati VCT 2 (4p), Anpario (3.5p), Aveva (22p), BP Marsh & Partners (2.75p), BlackRock Com Inc Inv Trust (1.4875p), Dunedin Smaller Companies Inv Trust (2.1p), Experian (15.39p), Fidelity China Special Situation (1.15p), First Derivatives (9p), ICAP (15.4p), Impellam (7p), JPM Income & Capital Trust (1.625p), Jupiter Green Investment (1.1p), Kingfisher (special) (4.2p), Lombard Risk Management (0.045p), Montanaro European Smaller (5.25p), Northern 3 VCT (3.5p), Northern Investors Company (10p), Paragon Group of Companies (3p), REA (3.75p), Real Estate Credit Investments (2.7p), RWS (4.9p), TP10 VCT (3.31p), Triple Point Income VCT (6.2p), Triple Point Income VCT A ord (6.2p), Triple Point VCT 2011 (3.68p), Troy Income & Growth Trust (0.55p), UK Mail (14.2p), Walker Crips (1.06p), Walker Crips (special) (1p)

African Barrick Gold (ABG) is due to release its half-year report less than a month after unfounded allegations of bribery were made over its North Mara mine in Tanzania. This sideshow was small beer compared to the challenges facing new chief executive Brad Gordon, as he attempts to turn around the miner’s fortunes after last year’s $823m write-down. The impairment was linked to the sharp fall-away in the gold price, although given that it has subsequently hovered around the $1,300/oz mark, predictions by some analysts of a prolonged downtrend now seem overly pessimistic. Shareholders can also take heart from solid first quarter production results, which included news that that development of Bulyanhulu Upper East had been approved. Though ABG hit production guidance for the 2013 year-end, it is still 30 per cent adrift of its initial target rate of 1m ounces a year. So, further news on Bulyanhulu Upper East, together with potential exploitation of North Mara underground, will be welcomed. All-in cash costs for ABG’s mining complex will also come under the microscope. We maintain our sell stance ahead of the mid-term update.

Shares going ex-dividend on 23 July

CompanyDividend (p)Payment
Artemis Alpha Trust215 Aug
Bankers Investment Trust ord 25p3.729 Aug
Chemring ord 5p2.415 Aug
Development Securities ord 50p3.222 Aug
Energy Technique ord 25p215 Aug
GB ord 2.5p1.6529 Aug
Immunodiagnostic Systems ord 2p8.522 Aug
London Stock Exchange ord 5p20.718 Aug
Martin Currie Pacific Trust ord 50p515 Aug
Scapa ord 41 2/3p122 Aug
Sirius Real Estate €0.322 Aug
SSE ord 50p60.719 Sep
Standard Life Inv Property Income Trust1.16122 Aug

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.