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Week Ahead: Persimmon expected to shrug off Brexit fears

Last updated: 06:05 22 Aug 2016 BST, First published: 06:05 21 Aug 2016 BST

New house

House builder Persimmon had a strong first half to the year and investors will want to know whether the EU referendum vote has slowed trading.

Approvals remained ahead of last year for the April/May period despite a period of increasing uncertainty leading up to the EU referendum, so it will be interesting to see whether that was still the case following the slightly surprising referendum result.

The company has already announced that first half revenues were up 12% year-on-year at £1.49bn and Numis Securities has done a bit of crystal ball gazing to predict earnings before interest and tax will exceed £345mln.

“Regarding post Brexit trading, we think that Persimmon will have held up relatively well, in keeping with the wider sector and benefiting from its very low level of London exposure. Overall, we expect guidance for the full year to remain unchanged/improve slightly and the company to state that 2017 will be dependent on trading conditions in autumn and beyond,” Numis said.

Engineering solutions provider Costain said at the end of June it had enjoyed a strong first half and it was on course to deliver a result for the year in line with the board’s expectations.

Peel Hunt has forecast half-year profit before tax of £14.2mln will be unveiled in Wednesday’s results, while net cash is expected to clock in at around £80mln.

The focus is likely to be on the improving quality of the order book and the underlying margin potential across both divisions of the group, the broker reckons.

“Management is likely to remain upbeat given the opportunities across key markets (organically as well as through further bolt ons),” Peel Hunt said.

Significant announcements expected

Monday

Interim: Wireless Group PLC (LON:WLG)

Tuesday

Final: The Rank Group PLC (LON:RNK)

Interims: AcenciA Debt Strategies Ltd (LON:ACD), Cape PLC (LON:CIU), Eurocell PLC (LON:ECEL), Hansteen Holdings plc (LON:HSTN), Hostelworld Group PLC (LON:HSW), Persimmon PLC (LON:PSN), PV Crystalox Solar PLC (LON:PVCS)

Wednesday

Finals: Xaar PLC (LON:XAR)

Interims: Atlas Mara Co-invest Ltd (LON:ATMA), Carillion PLC (LON:CLLN), Costain Group PLC (LON:COST), Glencore PLC (LON:GLEN), Gresham Computing plc (LON:GHT), Headlam Group PLC (LON:HEAD), Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (LON:HIK), Paddy Power Betfair (LON:PPB), Polymetal International PLC (LON:POLY), Sportech plc (LON:SPO), WPP group PLC (LON:WPP)

Thursday

Interims: Allied Minds PLC (LON:ALM), Anglo Pacific Group plc (LON:APF), Boot (Henry) PLC (LON:BHY), Cairn Homes PLC (LON:CRN), CRH PLC (LON:CRH), IFG Group PLC (LON:IFP), John Laing Group PLC (LON:JLG), Macfarlane Group PLC (LON:MACF), Optibiotix Health PLC (LON:OPTI), Phoenix Group Holdings (LON:PHNX), Playtech Ltd (LON:PTEC), Spire Healthcare Group (LON:SPI), STV Group PLC (LON:STVG),

Friday

Interims: Computacenter PLC (LON:CCC), Industrial Multi Property Trust PLC (LON:IMPT), Lavendon Group plc (LON:LVD), Marshalls PLC (LON:MSLH), The Restaurant Group PLC (LON:RTN)

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