With Tuesday’s surprise twist in the bid battle for pay-TV firm Sky PLC (LON:SKY), following the invention of US cable giant Comcast Corp, it will be commercial broadcaster ITV plc (LON:ITV) which should take some of the limelight on Wednesday.
The FTSE 100-listed firm – in which rival US cable giant Liberty Global hold a near 10% stake - has seen production performance been strong recently, but advertising will still be the main focus when it issues full-year results.
Investment research analysts at The Share Centre think that investors will be keen to hear the outlook for advertising revenue for this year and hope that the forecast 1% increase over the fourth quarter has been achieved.
Shareholders will also be hoping that the football World Cup later in the year will give the group a boost.
ITV shares slumped in November last year after the broadcaster reported a decline in third quarter net advertising revenue that was worse than analysts had expected.
Another day, another housebuilder
Following Persimmon PLC’s (LON:PSN) full-year numbers on Tuesday, fellow blue-chip housebuilder Taylor Wimpey PLC (LON:TW.) will step up to the plate on Wednesday.
The firm has already pre-released many of the big numbers investors would otherwise be focused on, having disclosed that volumes were up 5% year-on-year in 2017 and the average selling price was 4% higher.
Analysts calculate that should lead to full-year revenues of around £3.95bn and pre-tax profit of £818mln.
London challenging for Foxton’s
London-focused estate agency chain Foxton’s PLC (LON:FOXT) will also deliver full-year numbers on Wednesday, with the group's year-end trading update at the end of January having provided a picture of the continued challenges in the capital’s property market.
Foxton’s run rate in its sales division through the second-half of 2017 remained subdued, with revenues down by around 17% in both the third and fourth quarters.
Analysts at Numis Securities noted that trading is expected to remain difficult through 2018, with limited prospect of a pick-up in sales, although lettings activity has proven to be relatively resilient.
They pointed out that Foxton’s management has implemented a number of growth initiatives for lettings and the analysts will be looking for an update on strategy, particularly given the Government's lettings fee ban is due to come into force in 2019.
All’s well for the Admiral
Blue chip motor insurer Admiral PLC is expected to see its full-year pre-tax profit bounce back by 28% to £357mln in 2017, according to Numis’s analysts, following the Ogden-driven reserve addition in 2016.
However, they said the main catalyst for the stock on results day will be the outlook for the UK motor insurance cycle and the scope to grow the UK insurance and price comparison website lines.
They said the focus will also be on the company's progress in building its international business to profitability.
Significant events expected on Wednesday February 28:
Finals: ITV plc (LON:ITV), Taylor Wimpey PLC (LON:TW.), Admiral Group PLC (LON:ADM), Foxtons Group PLC (LON:FOXT), Bakkavor Group PLC (LON:BAKK), Informa PLC (LON:INF), GoCompare.com (LON:GOCO), St James's Place PLC (LON:STJ), Shield Therapeutics PLC (LON:STX), Tarsus Group PLC (LON:TRS), Travis Perkins PLC (LON:TPK), UBM PLC (LON:UBM), Weir PLC (LON:WEIR)
Interims: Avingtrans PLC (LON:AVG), Ricardo plc (LON:RCDO)
Economic data: BRC UK shop price index; GfK UK consumer confidence; US preliminary Q4 GDP; US Chicago PMI; US pending home sales; Fed chairman Jerome Powell speech
FTSE 100 reshuffle after the close: Expected promotion Royal Mail Group PLC (LON:EMG); expected demotion Hammerson PLC (LON:HMSO)