Thursday sees big cap pub group Marston's (LON:MARS) report after Harvester owner Mitchells & Butlers (LON:MAB) impressed earlier in the week with market forecast beating results and a reinstated dividend.
Marstons, the firm behind Ringwood Best and Pedigree ales, will be hoping to repeat the trick and impress the market.
In a trading update last month for the year to October 3, it said it had made good progress in the last year, with underlying growth in all of the business segments and that underlying profit before tax would be in line with expectations.
City broker Numis rates MARS shares an 'add', noting this trading statement, and forecasting a 14% increase in pre-tax profit for the second half.
Analyst Douglas Jack writes that destination and premium LFL (like-for-like) sales grew 1.8% in 2015 estimates, with margins up.
He notes that 25 new builds opened in 2015 with to eight in the first half and 17 in the second six months.
He forecasts 23 new builds in 2016.
"Due to the successful Thwaites acquisition, total brewing volumes were up 15%," he notes.
Numis said it expects to repeat its forecasts for 2016 of a pre-tax profit of £100.0mln against consensus of £98.6mln and estimates that EBITDA growth/dividends should drive a 25% equity return over the next two years if the EV/EBITDA rating holds.
Traders will also look on Thursday to see if Marstons has anything further to say on the government's living wage plans.
Plans are to introduce a £9 an hour living wage by 2020.
Earlier this year, it said the impact would be mitigated by the fact that it had anticipated increases above the rate of inflation, and by the lower rate of corporation tax it will have to pay from 2017.
Significant announcements expected -
Final: Marston's (LON:MARS), SSP Group (LON:SSPG)
Interim: Torotrak (LON:TRK), Severn Trent (LON:SVT), LondonMetric Property (LON:LMP), Charles Stanley Group (LON:CAY), Arrow Global Group (LON:ARW), First Property Group (LON:FPO), LON:HL.L/Helical-Bar/" rel="3100">Helical Bar (LON:HL.L/Helical-Bar/" rel="3100">LON:HL.L), PayPoint (LON:PAY)
Trading statement: Anglo Pacific Group (LON:APF)
Reading ex-dividend: Amec Foster Wheeler (LON:AMFW), 3i Infrastructure Ltd (LON:3IN), Anglo Pacific Group (LON:APF)
Economic: Eurozone – M3 money supply; US – Jobless claims..