Forget self-driving cars and robo-vacuum cleaners, Ocado Group PLC (LON:OCDO) has been busy building what it believes is the largest robotic warehouse for online grocery retail in the world.
The costs of that, coupled with the severe weather earlier in the year, meant the company swung to a loss of £9mln in the first half of the year.
In Tuesday’s third-quarter trading update, investors will be looking if Ocado still expects underlying earnings to improve significantly, as it forecast back in July. Costs will be in focus, too.
On top of its traditional grocery delivery service, Ocado is also in the business of helping other retailers with their distribution networks.
Shares urged at the start of summer when it signed a deal with US supermarket giant Kroger, so any further details of that contract win will be keenly eyed.
Short but sweet from Northgate
Elsewhere, vehicle hire firm Northgate PLC (LON:NTG) will issue a first-quarter update today ahead of its annual general meeting.
Analysts at Peel Hunt expect a relatively short statement, which will confirm trading in line; detail regional Vehicle on Hire (VoH) metrics; and provide brief trading/margin commentary.
The analysts noted that full-year guidance for average VoH in the UK & Ireland is for 'high single-digit', with the rental margin 'broadly flat'.
They said the VoH run rate in the first-quarter is likely to be higher given the softer comparator, with 2018’s first-quarter down 6.5%, and the benefits of the ToM acquisition.
However, first-quarter margins will likely reflect investment, the analysts concluded.
Spire speared
Meanwhile, Spire Healthcare PLC (LON:SPI) has been one of the summer’s biggest movers, falling 22% on the day of a profit warning on 6 August and the stock now trades at an all-time low since its IPO.
In the trading update, the FTSE 250-listed company changed its full-year 2018 guidance from flat underlying earnings (EBITDA) year-on-year to expecting it to be “materially lower than for 2017”.
Tuesday’s first-half results are therefore likely to make glum reading, with NHS revenues forecast to decline by 9.5% for the period.
Significant events expected on Tuesday September 18:
Trading updates: Ocado Group PLC (LON:OCDO), Northgate PLC (LON:NTG)
Finals: AEW UK Long Lease REIT PLC (LON:AEWL), Eagle Eye Solutions PLC (LON:EYE), GRC International Group PLC (LON:GRC), Green REIT PLC (LON:GRN), Haydale Graphene Industries PLC(LON:HAYD), Purecircle Limited (LON:PURE), Springfield Properties PLC (LON:SPR)
Interims: Augean PLC (LON:AUG), Bango plc (LON:BNG), Be Heard Group PLC (LON:BHRD), Cloudcall PLC (LON:CALL), DP Poland Plc (LON:DPP), Faroe Petroleum plc (LON:FPM), Frontier Smart Technologies Group Limited (LON:FST), Hydrogen Group PLC (LON:HYDG), Judges Scientific PLC(LON:JDG), JTC PLC (LON:JTC), Keyword Studios PLC (LON:KWS), NAHL Group plc (LON:NAH), Personal Group Holdings plc (LON:PGH), Smart Metering Systems PLC (LON:SMS), VR Education Holdings Plc(LON:VRE)
Economic data: US housing market index