Earnings season tails off as City awaits Osborne – London Report
THE WEEK will be dominated by the chancellor’s Autumn Statement on Wednesday as companies wait on tenterhooks to see how expected cuts to the budget could affect them.
In the meantime there are still plenty of companies reporting results as we near the end of the third quarter earnings season.
This morning FTSE 250 outsourcer Mitie kicks us off with its half-year results that are expected to deliver sales of £2.4bn and pre-tax profit of £117.6m, in lines with expectations.
Keep an eye out for interim results from women’s retailer Bonmarche this morning to see how the company’s continuing growth in online is progressing.
In June the over-50s women’s clothing retailer said online sales grew 36 per cent during the year.
Tomorrow the world’s largest catering company Compass is reporting with watchers anticipating revenue of £17.8bn, up 4.6 per cent and an adjusted net income of £881m, up 1.9 per cent.
Market analyst at IG David Madden said: “Compass is performing well in its core markets, but the business is starting to wane in other countries.”
Also tomorrow FTSE 250 estate firm Shaftesbury will post its full-year results, with some analysts predicting a significant rise on its pre-tax profit forecast of £38.9m.
On Wednesday we have troubled travel operator Thomas Cook’s full year results, with the company hoping to reassure investors that an increased terror threat will not weigh too heavily on future earnings.
A Russian plane crash at the end of October in Egypt, as well as the Paris shootings, took their toll on the company’s share price and the suspension of flights to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, and are likely to have impacted sales. Pre-tax profits of £163m are expected, with earnings per share expected to come in at 9.3p.
Later on Wednesday we’ll get the chancellor live for the Autumn Statement and Spending review from early afternoon with deep cuts on the cards.
Defence firms could soar however with the government set to commit to over £3bn in new spending.
Babcock delivers its half year results tomorrow ahead of the announcements.
Other company reports to watch out for include Britvic and Daily Mail & General Trust on Wednesday and pub operator Marston’s final results on Thursday.