Marmite has become a synonym for “like it or loathe it” while the brand's owner, Unilever, is a byword for stodgy predictability.
The Bovril, Dove and Vaseline brands owner reports on Thursday, and concerns over growth in emerging markets will be to the fore, after first quarter year-on-year growth slowed to 5.4% from 5.7% in 2014.
“Performances across countries are likely to have remained mixed, with Russia, due to squeezed consumer incomes, a weak first quarter feature. More favourably, management may reiterate Q1 comments noting that 'despite high levels of currency and commodity volatility, we are now starting to see more tailwinds than head winds in our markets',” notes Keith Bowman, at Hargreaves Lansdown.
France, rather than emerging markets, will be a major concern for DIY retailer Kingfisher (LON:KGF).
The significance of France for the B&Q owner was underlined by the appointment of Véronique Laury as chief executive officer.
“Investors will be looking for news about sales at the group’s B&Q chain of DIY stores in the UK, as well as those for its business in France and other parts of Europe,” suggests Graham Spooner, an investment research analyst at The Share Centre.
“Any update on the new chief executive’s attempts to streamline and coordinate the various different operations will also be of interest. This statement comes ahead of interim results in September, but with inflation at very low levels the market will also be looking for any comments on whether profit margins have changed significantly,” he added.
Significant announcements expected
Interim: Breedon Aggregates (LON:BREE), Howden Joinery (LON:HWDN), Reed Elsevier (LON:REL), Shire (LON:SHP), Unilever (LON:ULVR)
Trading update: Kingfisher (LON:KGF), SABMiller (LON:SAB), SSE (LON:SSE)
The following widely-held stocks are trading ex-dividend: Homeserve, SSE, Telecom Plus
Economic: UK – Retail sales