Beers and pasties will be to the fore on Wednesday, with pubs operator JD Wetherspoon PLC (LON:JDW) and bakery chain Greggs plc (LON:GRG) both due to issue trading updates, with the mid-cap firms likely to offer more sustenance than any blue chip numbers.
Wetherspoon’s third-quarter update will be eyed to see if the company’s guidance from its interims in March is starting to reflect in actual performance.
Back then the group issued a cautious outlook expecting lower like-for-like (LFL) sales growth in the second half of the financial year.
In a preview, analysts at City broker Peel Hunt said they think that Wetherspoon’s third-quarter sales will have slowed but would still be ahead of assumptions for the year-to-date.
“We expect to maintain our FY forecasts that assume 4.5% LFL sales (vs 6.1% in H1) and 40bps EBIT margin growth (vs +80bps in H1)” the broker said.
Spending and expansion eyed at Greggs
Meanwhile, investors will be hoping that Greggs’ first-quarter trading update will show signs of a continuation of the group’s encouraging LFL sales growth seen at the beginning of the year, which were 3.2% higher in the days up to 24 February in its full-year results.
The company’s spending plans will also be eyed after comments from chief executive Roger Whiteside with full-year 2017 numbers in February which said 2018 would be “the peak year for investment in our supply chain as we create the platforms for further growth.”
Price mix seen negative for Imperial Brands
Among the blue chips, half-year results from cigarette manufacturer Imperial Brand PLC (LON:IMB) are unlikely to be impressive, according to analysts at Hargreaves Lansdown, especially given they’re expected to show some negative price/mix impacts.
A £160m hit to operating profit following the collapse of tobacco distributor Palmer & Harvey won’t help matters, the Hargreaves analysts added, although one area that will attract attention is the group’s efforts in Next Generation Products.
The Lambert & Butler to Winston cigarettes firm has upped its investment in e-vapour and heated tobacco of late, with new product launches and entrances into new markets.
TUI to retain full-year targets
And shareholders in TUI AG (LON:TUI) are expecting the FTSE 100-listed tour operator to posts good first-half results supported by strong demand for holidays in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank expect TUI to report revenues of €6.7bn driven by good performances at its cruises and hotels divisions, with seasonal underlying losses (LBITDA) of €166mln.
In an update in February, TUI said turnover in the three months to 31 December 2017 rose to €3.5bn, up from €3.2bn in the same period a year earlier.
Significant events expected on Wednesday May 9:
Trading updates: JD Wetherspoon PLC (LON:JDW), Greggs plc (LON:GRG), G4S PLC (LON:GFS), IFG Group PLC (LON:IFP), Marshalls PLC (LON:MSLH), OneSavings Bank PLC (LON:OSB), Provident Financial PLC (LON:PFG), Renishaw PLC (LON:RSW)
Interims: Imperial Brands PLC (LON:IMB), TUI AG (LON:TUI), Compass Group PLC (LON:CPG)
Finals: Deltex Medical PLC (LON:DEMG), Mirriad Advertising Plc (LON:MIRI)
Traffic numbers: International Airlines Group PLC (LON:IAG)
Economic data: US wholesale trade; US forward PPI