magazine archive
magazine archive
Week Ahead
Can Auto Trader improve profitability?
Thursday 02 Nov 2017Look for an update on margin performance when online second-hand car marketplace Auto Trader ( AUTO ) reports its first half results (9 Nov). In the year to 31 March 2017, the company increased its underlying operating profit margin by six percentage points to 67%. Analysts at investment bank...
Third quarter update is very important for Next
Thursday 26 Oct 2017Clothing and homeware colossus Next’s ( NXT ) third quarter update on 1 November will be pored over by analysts and investors for guidance on how improved ranges are performing. Chief executive Simon Wolfson’s consumer outlook commentary will also be closely watched. Alongside half year results (14...
Three of the largest London-listed banks to update on trading
Thursday 26 Oct 2017A trio of the UK’s largest banks are releasing quarterly results over the next week, starting with Barclays ( BARC ) today (26 October), Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS ) on 27 October and HSBC ( HSBA ) on 30 October. All the banks are faced with the prospect of UK interest rate hikes which should be...
Will Whitbread bounce back from disappointing sales at Costa?
Thursday 19 Oct 2017As inflation continues to rise, investors will be keen to see if Whitbread ( WTB ) can boost sales at Costa Coffee when the company reports its interim results on 24 October. Earlier this year, Whitbread revealed sales growth more than halved at Costa to 1.1% in the 13 weeks to 1 June as people cut...
Gear4Music to reveal impact of investment on profit margins
Thursday 19 Oct 2017The musical instruments retailer Ge ar4Music ( G4M:AIM ) will report half year results on 24 October. We already know that sales grew 44% in the period to £31.2m, thanks to a previous trading update. The focus for the results will therefore be concentrated on profit margins and expansion plans...
Lloyds set to issue third quarter trading update
Thursday 19 Oct 2017Mortgages-to-current account provider Lloyds ( LLOY ) will issue a third quarter trading statement on 25 October. Investors will no doubt hope for a continuation of the positive trading seen at half year results (27 Jul) where Lloyds reported an 8% increase in underlying profit to £4.5bn. Investors...
Utilitywise investors hoping for some good news
Thursday 12 Oct 2017Tuesday 17 October Energy broker Utilitywise ( UTW:AIM ) releases its full year results on 17 October. The company’s share price has been weak lately which suggests the market is still expecting more bad news. We note that Panmure Gordon analyst Michael Donnelly in August raised his rating on the...
Unilever seeking spreads sale
Thursday 12 Oct 2017Thursday 19 October Look for an update on the sale process for its spreads business when consumer goods giant Unilever ( ULVR ) reports third quarter results on 19 October. The company hopes to net $8bn from a sale of the business which makes Flora and Stork margarines. The market will also be...
DotDigital to impress again
Thursday 12 Oct 2017Tuesday 17 October Expect strong full year results from digital marketing technology supplier DotDigital (DOTD:AIM ). This will likely mean impressive near-20% organic top line growth, implying £32m revenue or so. Pre-tax profit should be in the £8m ballpark and be backed up by excellent cash...
Two large staffers to give updates on trading
Thursday 05 Oct 2017Wednesday 11 October Two of the largest recruitment firms on the market, PageGroup ( PAGE ) and Hays ( HAS ), are set to inform investors on how the jobs market is looking. PageGroup will issue its trading update on 11 October and Hays releases its update on the following day. Given that both firms...