As the week draws to a close, utilities will be firmly in the front view tomorrow as SSE plc (LON:SSE) and Pennon Group plc (LON:PNN) report their full-year results.
There will also be a sprinkling of economic data with the second reading of the UK’s first quarter GDP, although there is little expectation that it will change much from the disappointing 0.1% result revealed in April.
There will also be data arriving from across the pond, with US durable goods orders and the University of Michigan’s final consumer sentiment data expected.
Water, water everywhere
With core revenues being tightly regulated, there’s not much scope for the results from SSE and Pennon to stray too far from expectations, so upcoming changes to regulation are likely to be the focus.
Ofwat’s price review, due to come in for 2019, will likely pose more of a challenge for the three firms above and their unlisted peers, so look out for commentary around any impact of the new rules.
Utilities are all about their dividend pay-outs, so investors will be hoping to see a strong grip on costs to keep the bottom line looking healthy.
Analysts are expecting Pennon to generate sales of £1.4bn and operating profits of around £320mln.
Friday May 25:
Finals: SSE plc (:LON:SSE), Pennon Group plc (LON:PNN), Volvere PLC (LON:VLE)
Trading update: Spectris plc (LON:SXS)
Economic data: UK second reading Q1 GDP; US durable goods orders; US University of Michigan final consumer sentiment