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Will Mitchells & Butlers whet investors' appetites?

Published: 16:10 21 Sep 2016 BST

Toby Carvery pub in Enfield

Will pub group Mitchells & Butlers plc (LON:MAB) whet investors’ appetite with its trading statement on Thursday?

That was likely to be the question on analysts’ lips as the owner of Harvester, Toby Carvery, All Bar One and O’Neill’s prepares to update the market ahead of full-year results.

In July, the company said sales since the half-year had been more encouraging, with an improving trend after poor weather in June and the stay-at-home impact of the Euro 2016 football.

Peter Read, co-founder of trading network Pelican, said: "At a quick glance Mitchells & Butlers looks like a tempting proposition.

“On many metrics the shares are good value both compared to other pubcos and the wider market.

“This is compounded by the prospect of a robust trading statement thanks to the warm weather and surprising consumer confidence post ‘Brexit’.

“However, traders are unlikely to get behind the shares unless there is compelling evidence that the revamp of their restaurants is bearing fruit."

Meanwhile, civil engineer Kier Group plc (LON:KIE) is tipped to give an upbeat assessment of its outlook in final results.

Numis Securities said it believed the integration of support services group Mouchel and associated benefits to the services division augur well for ongoing growth for the group in the coming year.

The macro outlook will inevitably be more varied after the EU referendum, the broker said, although Kier’s focus on existing areas of growth such as roads and infrastructure and scope for more government action in potential areas of focus like affordable housing and rail point to a relatively strong backdrop in this respect.

The broker’s Howard Seymour said: “We revised estimates to take account of ‘Brexit’ uncertainty with the full-year trading update and do not expect to have to revisit estimates on full-year results.

“Overall, the Kier business model has provided robustness and prudence over the downturn, and into recovery we believe this will drive upper quartile growth. Kier remains our key quality play in the sector.”

Other companies reporting include:

Finals: Hansard Global;

Interims: Lamprell, M&C Saatchi;

AGMs:  Auto Trader, Micro Focus International.

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