Few reports but Sainsbury’s and Tesco to update – London Report
EQUITY reports are light again this week, ahead of earnings season which begins in earnest in the second half of October.
Sainsbury’s first-half numbers, released on Wednesday, will be interesting, as the sector prepares to reveal how trading has fared over the past six months.
Few people are expecting an upbeat statement. However, according to a recent report from market research group Kantar, the chain was alone among the big four, in that it did not lose market share to both German discounters Aldi and Lidl recently.
And with “dieselgate” possibly engulfing many car manufacturers as well as Volkswagen Group, emission control technologies firm Johnson Matthey updates the market on Wednesday.
The company said in its first quarter trading statement in July that the difficult market conditions in platinum group metal refining and some parts of Process Technologies had put a dent in profits, and that situation is unlikely to have changed much.
Tomorrow sees plumbers’ merchant Wolseley reporting its full-year results, where the company is still likely to be enjoying the benefits of a growing US economy.
“Strength in the US dollar is likely to provide the numbers with a favourable tailwind, whilst further ongoing bolt-on acquisitions could be announced,” Hargreaves Lansdown wrote in a note.
Group revenue is forecast to edge around two per cent higher to £13.36bn, while trading profit is expected to have grown by over 13 per cent to £865m, the broker notes.
Also reporting this week:
Today: Filtronic, Gleeson Group, Camco Clean Energy, CityFibre Infrastructure Holdings, Flowgroup, Miton Group and Pennon International Group.
Tomorrow: Earthport, James Halstead, Netcall, Vernalis, Boohoo.com, e-Therapeutics, Ergomed, Moss Bros, Costco Wholesale, Globo, Outsourcery, Personal Group Holdings, Toumaz Holdings and Venture Life Group.
Wednesday: Northbridge Industrial Services and Saga publish interims, while Tesco, Compass Group, QinetiQ Group and Topps Tiles all publish trading statements.
Thursday: Cranswick issues a trading statement.
Friday: Electrocomponents releases an earnings report, while Tate and Lyle and FirstGroup make a trading update.