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 4 March
Interim: Tristel
Finals: Amlin, British Polythene Industries, CLS, FBD, Foreign & Colonial, HSBC, Intertek, Keller, Sagentia, Ultra Electronics
Trading statement: City of London Investment
AGM: Jersey Electricity
EGM: Advanced Computer Software
Economics: Purchasing managers' index - construction
Tuesday 5 March
Interims: Abcam, Interior Services
Finals: 4imprint, Breedon Aggregates, Cupid, Glencore International, Jardine Lloyd Thompson, John Menzies, Johnson Service, Macfarlane, Meggitt, Michael Page International, MoneySupermarket.com, Pace, Paddy Power, PPHE Hotel, Regus, Rotork, Serco, Standard Chartered, Wood (John), Xstrata, Zotefoams
Trading statement: Ashtead
Economics: British retail consortium February sales, Purchasing managers' index - services, Official reserves
Glencore (GLEN) and Xstrata (XTA) will release their last independent full-year results ahead their long-awaited $80bn (£53bn) merger, which is still awaiting final regulatory clearance from Chinese authorities. We already know that Xstrata chief executive Mick Davis will be leaving the combined entity after six months, so there won't be any management revelations a la Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. Instead, investors are likely to focus on statements from Glencore's boss Ivan Glasenberg and his management team, on plans for Xstrata's assets and whether the combined group, in keeping with sector rivals, will ditch growth plans in favour of a renewed focus on operational efficiencies. Of course, given Glencore's unique position in the mining sector, there's every chance that the newly merged group could pursue expansion by acquisition, while simultaneously shelving or selling non-core assets. All shall be revealed.
Wednesday 6 March
Finals: Admiral, Belgravium Technologies, Cape, Chime Communications, Costain, Dignity, International Personal Finance, James Fisher, Legal & General, Lookers, Management Consulting, Melrose Industries, Ophir Energy, Sportech, Tarsus, Unite
Trading statement: easyJet
AGM: Local Shopping REIT
Economics: British retail consortium shop price index, New Car registrations
Thursday 7 March
Interim: IndigoVision
Finals: Aggreko, Aviva, Avocet Mining, Balfour Beatty, Cineworld, Clarkson, Cobham, Communisis, Futura Medical, Grafton, H&T, Hardy Oil & Gas, Hunting, IMI, Nichols, Novae, Schroders, SIG, Spirax-Sarco Engineering, Standard Life
Trading statements: Betfair, Smith (DS)
AGM: Silverdell
EGM: Petropavlovsk
Economics: Bank of England interest rate announcement, Asset purchase target
Friday 8 March
Finals: AGA Rangemaster, Marshalls
Trading statement: SThree
EGM: Carpathian
PREVIEW: Betfair third-quarter update
The third-quarter update from betting exchange company Betfair (BET) is likely to attract more attention than usual following a slew of downgrades from analysts since the company's half-year results. The company has been hit hard by regulatory upheaval in Europe, mainly in Germany, and the trading update will be a chance to see what impact the first attempts at change from its new management team is having. Particularly interesting will be the initial performance of Betfair's fixed-odds betting service, which the company launched a few weeks ago, as well as any guidance on cost savings. The fixed-odds services marks something of a departure for Betfair, which had mainly seen itself as a technology services company, rather than as a traditional bookmaker. Betfair's efforts are focused on regaining its position in the UK market and any progress towards achieving that goal will be carefully noted. Consensus figures for full-year 2013 pre-tax profits and adjusted EPS are £30.8m and 29p, respectively.
Shares going ex-dividend on 6 March
| Company | Dividend (p) | Payment |
| Alumasc | 2.0 | 9 Apr |
| Brewin Dolphin | 3.6 | 8 Apr |
| Colefax | 1.9 | 10 Apr |
| Darty | 0.7 | 3 Apr |
| Domino Printing Sciences | 13.39 | 9 Apr |
| Electronic Data Processing | 2.0 | 8 Apr |
| Henderson Asian Growth Trust | 3.25 | 22 Mar |
| JPMorgan Mid Cap Inv Trust | 5.5 | 8 Apr |
| Jupiter Primadona Growth Trust | 19 | 28 Mar |
| Murray Income Trust | 7.0 | 12 Apr |
| Oxford Instruments | 3.05 | 8 Apr |
| Park | 0.55 | 8 Apr |
| Personal Assets Trust | 140 | 19 Apr |
| Real Estate Credit Investments | 0.2 | 29 Mar |
| Renishaw | 11.31 | 8 Apr |
| Rio Tinto | 60.34 | 11 Apr |
| Sanderson | 0.7 | 29 Mar |
| Scottish American Inv Co | 2.5 | 12 Apr |
| Securities Trust of Scotland | 1.15 | 28 Mar |
| Shire | 9.39 | 9 Apr |
| St Modwen Properties | 2.42 | 4 Apr |
| SWP | 0.075 | 29 Mar |
| Town Centre Securities | 7.34 | 8 Apr |
| TUI Travel | 8.3 | 10 Apr |
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.
