The revival of grocery chain William Morrison Supermarkets PLC (LON:MRW) under new boss David Potts showed a good start to 2017 with an upbeat trading statement back in January, and full-year results due Thursday are expected to underline that.
The FTSE 100-listed food retailer – ranked number four by sales in the UK – reported a 2.9% increase in its like-for-like sales, excluding fuel and VAT, for the first nine weeks of the fourth quarter - the company’s best performance in seven years.
Morrison’s also forecast that its underlying pre-tax profit for the full-year would exceed market expectations at between £330mln and £340mln, which would be the first increase in profits since 2011.
The numbers are expected to at least confirm that, so the focus is likely to be more on the year ahead, should the company give any guidance.
The current consensus forecasts for 2017, according to the company’s own website are for underlying pre-tax profits of £366mln and like-for-like sales growth of 1.6%.
Aside from the grocery world, FTSE 100 insurers will also be in focus again on Thursday, with Aviva PLC (LON:AV.) set to unveil full-year numbers.
Barclays expects Aviva to have had a strong end to 2016, forecasting second-half operating profits of £1.5bn, meaningful higher than the £1.3bn reported in the first-half, thanks to a relatively benign period for catastrophes, as well as foreign exchange benefits in both Canada and Europe.
In a preview, the bank's analysts said they expect Aviva’s full-year operating earnings to hit £2.8bn, driven by 6% growth in UK life insurance as the cost savings from its acquisition of Friends Life in 2015 feed through.
However, they added, the focus of the results will be on the timing of the around £1bn of excess capital from the Friends Life transaction, potential divestments in Europe, and what the company might do with this additional capital.
Further down ...
Away from the blue chips, Domino’s Pizza Group PLC (LON:DOM) is expected to serve up some tasty full-year numbers.
Broker Peel Hunt forecasts earnings growth of 15% for 2016, driven by strong increases in UK like-for-like sales sales, with around 80 new stores added in the UK in the period.
But estate agency group Countrywide PLC (LON:CWD) is expected to report a drop in its 2016 profits, as the post-Brexit vote impact on the UK housing market takes its toll.
Peel Hunt expects around a 6% fall in Countrywide’s transaction volumes in 2016, with pre-tax profits seen dropping by around a third to £56mln.
Meanwhile, full-year numbers from Premier Oil PLC (LON:PMO) will be dominated by any news of its all-important debt refinancing.
Barclays expects progress with the project to begin reducing Premier’s around US$2.8bn debt mountain, with confirmation it remains on schedule for a late 2017 start-up.
Away from corporate news, investors will also eye the latest meeting of the European Central Bank, which is expected to see policy kept loose despite rising inflationary pressures in the region.
Economists only expect the ECB to signal a shift away from its ultra-easy monetary policy toward the end of this year or early next, although some expect bank president Mario Draghi to tweak some of his press conference language in order to prepare the ground for a winding-back of the stimulus programme in the months and years to come.
Significant announcements expected Thursday:
Finals: Aviva PLV (LON:AV.), Avacta Group Plc (LON:AVCT), Cairn Homes PLC (LON:CRN), Capital & Regional PLC (LON:CAL), Cineworld PLC (LON:CINE), Countrywide PLC (LON:CWD), Domino's Pizza Group PLC (LON:DOM), DS Smith PLC (LON:SMDS), Morrison Supermarkets PLC (LON:MRW), Old Mutual Group PLC (LON:OML), Ophir Energy (LON:OPHR), Premier Oil PLC (LON:PMO), Restore Plc (LON:RST), Secure Income REIT PLC (LON:SIR), Spirax-Sarco Engineering PLC (LON:SPX)
FTSE 100 ex-dividends (knocking 5.36 points off index): BHP Billiton plc (LON:BLT), CRH PLC (LON:CRH), Hargreaves Lansdown PLC (LON:HL.), Land Securities Group PLC (LON:LAND), Persimmon PLC (LON:PSN), Shire Plc (LON:SHP)