Halfords Group plc (LON:HFD) will attract attention on Tuesday as the bicycles to car parts retailer – which is still awaiting news on the appointment of a new boss – delivers its latest trading update.
The FTSE 250-listed firm’s performance is expected to be pretty good, although there may be some worry over the future strategy of whoever replaces current CEO Jill McDonald - who announced in October that she would be leaving to head up the Clothing, Home & Beauty division of Marks & Spencer Group PLC (LON:MKS).
READ: Halfords up as 7.5% drop in annual profits proves touch better than expected
Analysts at UBS expect Halfords to report a strong first-quarter, benefitting from a late Easter boost, forecasting growth in like-for-like sales of 4.5% for its Retail business.
In a preview, they pointed out that the four week April period including Easter is likely to have seen like-for-like sales growth above 10%, though this will amortise over the following 16 weeks of the 20 week period.
The analysts noted that the weather has been mixed over the period with sunny spells at the beginning of the period helping cycling but high rainfall in August likely being unhelpful , although given the weak pound there may have been a bigger benefit from UK ‘staycations’.
Redrow resilient
The UK housing market is set to come under close scrutiny this week with a slew of earnings due from housebuilders, kicking with full-year results from mid cap player Redrow plc (LON:RDW) on Tuesday.
In its last trading update, Redrow unveiled a record order book and said it saw a further increase in legal completions and average selling prices.
Liberum put Redrow on its list of preferred housebuilders in its latest note on the sector in July, repeating a ‘buy’ rating and saying it thinks the company’s growth prospects are undervalued.
The broker forecast the group reporting full-year pre-tax profit of £315mln, compared to £250mln last year, on an increase in sales to £1.6bn from £1.3bn.
Acquisitions key for DS Smith
Mid cap packaging firm DS Smith PLC (LON:SMDS) will also issue a trading update on Tuesday.
UBS analysts expect limited detail, however, with no actual numbers to be released, but they look for an update on the recent US acquisition of Interstate.
READ: DS Smith expands in America with US$920mln acquisition of 80% of Interstate Resources
The analysts also expect the group to highlight a price recovery on the back of recent paper price rises.
In its full year update in July, DS Smith reported revenue of £ 4.781mln and operating profit of £443mln with management commenting then that the current year had started well.
Significant news expected on Tuesday September 5:
Trading update: Halfords Group plc (LON:HFD), DS Smith PLC (LON:SMDS)
Finals: Craneware PLC (LON:CRW), A&J Mucklow Group PLC (LON:KLW), Mattioli Woods plc (LON:MTW), Redrow plc (LON:RDW)
Interims: 888 Holdings PLC (LON:888), Alpha Fx Group PLC (LON:AFX), Cairn Homes PLC (LON:CRN), Dalata Hotel Group Plc (LON:DAL), EU Supply PLC (LON:EUSP), Gamma Communications PLC (LON:GAMA), Lighthouse Group PLC (LON:LGT), Stadium Group plc (LON:SDM), Spectra Systems Corporation (LON:SPSY), Vipera PLC (LON:VIP)
Traffic figures: International Airlines Group PLC (LON:IAG); Ryanair PLC (LON:RYA)
Economics: UK services PMI report; US factory orders