There is a deluge of results scheduled for this week, with integrated oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell the biggest names on the sheet.
The updates from the oil companies – BG is also scheduled to report as it waits to be subsumed into Shell – cover the second quarter, which was one in which Brent crude traded at an average of US$63 a barrel, down 42% year-on-year.
Broker Investec is forecasting aggregate sector net income, in dollar terms, will be down 47% year-on-year and, although Brent crude in the second quarter rose 15% from the first quarter, it predicts a quarter-on-quarter decline of 20%.
“Shell/BG. BG’s results (and cash flow) will be closely watched in light of Shell’s pending takeover. We remain surprised that BG still trades at a 9% discount to the merger terms (on a dividends-adjusted basis), given lIMIted regulatory and/or asset pre-emption risk, and expected Shell shareholder approval in early 2016,” Investec said.
“The absence of the one-off tax gain in Q1 on the reduction in UK oil taxation will distort the sequential performance at BP. Moreover, headline numbers will be depressed by the US$10bn pre-tax charge following its recent multi-lateral settlement in relation to the Macondo oil spill,” Investec noted.
It is also a big week for the banks, with Barclays, fresh from blood-letting in the board room, possibly set to garner the most interest.
“Marginally slower activity for the Investment Bank and generally sIMIlar trends for its Retail business are expected compared to the first quarter,” reckons Hargreaves Lansdowne.
“An update regarding provisions for foreign exchange investigations, litigation and PPI could feature, while management’s renewed push to increase revenues, cut costs and enhance shareholder returns following the departure of its CEO could again be underlined. In all, with legacy issues slowly being resolved, diversity of business type and geography still enjoyed and no UK government share stake overhanging, analyst consensus opinion continues to point towards a strong buy,” the wealth management firm opined.
Results from Johnnie Walker whisky and Smirnoff vodka owner Diageo probably would have struggled against some heavyweight rival attractions to draw attention, but Friday’s news that the New York Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the company for alleged padding of its sales figures will add an extra dash of interest.
After mentioning Diageo, it seems appropriate to give a nod in the direction of Fevertree Drinks, the upmarket mixers maker.
The company is riding the wave of the revival in interest in gin, as indicated by the fact that its Indian Tonic water accounts for around 45% of revenues.
It is anticipated that sales in the first half of 2015 will be around £24mln, up 61% year-on-year.
June was a particularly strong sales month, although it was accentuated by certain customers and importers building inventory in advance of the summer season, the company said earlier this month.
Significant announcements expected
Monday
Final: Nakama Group (LON:NAK)
Interim: Acacia Mining (LON:ACA), Fevertree Drinks (LON:FEVR), Hiscox (LON:HSX), Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RB.), Senior (LON:SNR), Torchmark Corporation (LON:TMK)
Trading statement: Cranswick (LON:CWK), Petra Diamonds (LON:PDL)
Economic: US – Durable goods
Tuesday
Final: Clipper Logistics (LON:CLG), Ebiquity (LON:EBQ), Games Workshop (LON:GAW)
Interim: BP (LON:BP.) Burf Capital (LON:BUR), Circassia Pharmaceuticals (LON:CIR), Domino's Pizza Group (LON:DOM), Drax Group (LON:DRX), Elementis (LON:ELM), GKN (LON:GKN), Greencoat UK Wind (LON:UKW), Hutchison China Meditech (LON:HCM), Informa (LON:INF), ITV (LON:ITV), Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (LON:JLT), John Laing Infrastructure Fund (LON:JLIF), McColl’s Retail Group (LON:MCLS), Nostrum Oil & Gas (LON:NOG), Pace (LON:PIC), Provident Financial (LON:PFG), Rathbone Brothers (LON:RAT), Segro (LON:SGRO), Shawbrook Group (LON:SHAW), Tullett Prebon (LON:TLPR)
Trading statement: Greencore (LON:GNC), Next (LON:NXT)
Economic: UK – GDP. US – Consumer confidence
Wednesday
Final: British Sky Broadcasting Group (LON:BSY), Renishaw (LON:RSW)
Interim: 4imprint Group (LON:FOUR), Barclays (LON:BA.C), British American Tobacco (LON:BA.S), Capita Group (LON:CPI), Capital & Counties Properties (LON:CAPC), Dignity (LON:DTY), Drax Group (LON:DRX), Foxtons Group (LON:FOXT), GKN (LON:GKN), GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK), Greggs (LON:GRG), Indivior (LON:INDV), International Personal Finance (LON:IPF), Ishares FTSE 250 £ (LON:MIDD), Jupiter Fund Management (LON:JUP), Lancashire Holdings (LON:LRE), Law Debenture Corporation (LON:LWDB), Man Group (LON:EMG), Mitchells & Butlers (LON:MAB), National Express Group (LON:NEX), Rightmove (LON:RMV), Riverstone Energy LIMIted (LON:RSE), Sky (LON:SKY), Smurfit Kappa Group (LON:SKG), St James's Place (LON:STJ), Telecity Group (LON:TCY), TSB Banking Group (LON:TSB), Tullow Oil (LON:TLW)
Trading statement: 3i Group (LON:III), Antofagasta (LON:ANTO), Atkins (WS) (LON:ATK), Paragon Group of Companies (LON:PAG), Pets at Home Group (LON:PETS), Tate & Lyle (LON:TATE), Wizz Air Holdings (LON:WIZZ)
Economic: UK – Net lending to individuals. US – Pending home sales; FOMC statement
Thursday
Final: Diageo (LON:DGE), Schroder Real Estate IT (LON:SREI), Victoria (LON:VCP)
Interim: AstraZeneca (LON:AZN), BAE Systems (LON:BA.), Bodycote (LON:BOY), BT Group (LON:BT.A), Centaur Media (LON:CAU), Centrica (LON:CNA), Countrywide (LON:CWD), Hansard Global (LON:HSD), Henderson Group (LON:HGG), Hong Kong Land Holdings (LON:HKLD), Inchcape (LON:INCH), InterContinental Hotels Group (LON:IHG), Intu Properties (LON:INTU), Megafon (LON:MFON), Merlin Entertainments (LON:MERL), Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (LON:MLC), Moneysupermarket.com Group (LON:MONY), Rexam (LON:REX), Rolls-Royce Group (LON:RR.), Royal Bank of Scotland Group (LON:RB.), Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSA), RPS Group (LON:RPS), Schroders (LON:SDR), Smith & Nephew (LON:SN.), Spectris (LON:SXS), Telefonica (LON:TDE ), Weir Group (LON:WEIR)
Trading statement: Babcock International Group (LON:BA.), Kaz Minerals (LON:KAZ), Thomas Cook Group (LON:TCG)
The following widely-held stocks are trading ex-dividend on Thursday: Entu, Fenner, Investec, UK Mail
Economic: US – GDP; Unemployment claims; GDP
Friday
Interim: Alent (LON:ALNT), BG Group (LON:BG.), COLT Telecom Group SA (LON:COLT), Essentra (LON:ESNT), IMI (LON:IMI), International Consolidated Airlines (LON:IAG), Jardine Strategic Holdings (LON:JDS), Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY), UBM (LON:UBM), Vedanta Resources (LON:VED), Vesuvius (LON:VSVS)
Trading statement: Sophos Group (LON:SOPH)
Economic: EU – Consumer prices; Unemployment