Ferrexpo, an iron pellet-producing company operating in Ukraine, will offer insight into the effects of war on a business when it provides a first-quarter update.
The mining company, which has around 9,500 workers based in Ukraine, saw both underlying profits and revenue sink by around 50% in its 2022 financial year and since Russia invaded the European country, shares in the iron ore producer have sunk by over 56%.
With analysts recently identifying the importance of accessing the Black Sea, investors may look out for any progress in this goal, either from agreements to allow exporting safely or a successful pushback on the Russian navy at the ports.
Robert Walters will provide some insights into international hiring trends when it too delivers a first-quarter update, with its small profit warning in January having rocked the sector's booming confidence.
With the first quarter update being less than a month from the final results, it's unlikely there will be any massive shifts, but there are some subtleties worth keeping an eye on.
Analysts at AJ Bell said this update "should be informative", with Walters, who is to be replaced Toby Fowlston after 38 years at the helm, "flagged fierce competition for candidates and wage growth to match in the first half of 2022", and "increased uncertainty in the second”.
The current City forecast consensus for the full year is for pre-tax income of £50mln, down from £55.6mln in 2021.
Major announcements
Trading updates: Ferrexpo PLC (LSE:FXPO) (Ferrexpo PLC (LSE:FXPO)), Robert Walters PLC (LSE:RWA) (Robert Walters PLC (LSE:RWA))
AGMs: Cloudcoco Group PLC, Scottish American Investment Co PLC
Economic announcements: Continuing Claims (US), Initial Jobless Claims (US), Halifax House Price Index (UK), PMI Construction (UK)
Ex-dividend: Barratt Developments, Reckitt Benckiser Group, F&C Investment Trust, ConvaTec Group, Rentokil Initial, Smiths Group (LSE:SMIN) (Smiths Group (LSE:SMIN))