Distribution and outsourcing giant Bunzl PLC (LON:BNZL) April trading statements are usually fairly brief affairs.
UBS expects the statement will largely confirm current market expectations and there may be some commentary around a couple of small new acquisitions announced in January.
UBS expects Bunzl to report a steady start and is forecasting organic sales growth year-on-year of 2.2% for the first quarter.
“By region, we expect +2.0% organic growth in North America, +1.0% in the UK & Ireland, +2.5% in Continental Europe and +5.0% in Rest of the World,” UBS said.
A trading update from Countryside Properties will reveal whether the house-builder has kept up the cracking pace it set in the first quarter of its financial year, which runs to the end of September.
In the final 13 weeks of 2017, the number of completions rose 47% to 852 units from 581 units the year before, although the private average selling price was down 11% at £394,000, reflecting management’s decision to reduce exposure to the top end of the market.
Whizzing through the completions at a faster-than-expected rate did leave the private forward order book 17% lower year-on-year at £243mln, so analysts will be keen to see how forward orders are progressing.
The outlook statement will also be of interest – particularly after the firm’s recent £135mln acquisition of Westleigh Group limited – with the firm having previously said it is confident of meeting 2018 growth targets as low-interest rates and the government’s Help-to-Buy scheme continue to support customer demand
Asset manager Jupiter Fund Management is tipped to report first-quarter assets under management of £48.0bn by UBS, down 4.3% quarter-on-quarter. The bank has pencilled in outflows of £0.9bn during the period.
Significant announcements expected
Trading updates: Bunzl PLC (Q1) (LON:BNZL), BHP Billiton plc (Q3) (LON:BLT), Countryside Properties PLC (LON:CSP), Hunting Plc (LON:HTG), Jupiter Fund Management PLC (LON:JUP), Primary Health Properties PLC (LON:PHP), RELX PLC (LON:REL), SEGRO PLC (LON:SGRO), Telford Homes plc (LON:TEF)
Finals: Be Heard Group PLC (LON:BHRD), GYG PLC (LON:GYG), Mercantile Investment trust PLC (LON:MRC)
Economic data: UK, CPI, RPI, PPI, HPI inflation; eurozone CPI; US Fed Beige Book