Barclays plc (LON:BARC) rounds off the banking trio’s results on Thursday, following up underwhelming Royal Bank of Scotland plc (LON:RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY).
The concerns for Barclays revolve around its current strategy and the significant part that the investment banking division plays.
There was some good news on that front with its interim results in October, with equities and fixed income trading at Barclays better than expected, and a return to dividend growth a welcome boost for investors.
However, recent news that activist investor Edward Bramson has taken a stake in the company suggests that pressure may be applied on the bank’s CEO Jes Staley to change his strategy.
Sales of BAE’s typhoons to have picked up in H2
BAE Systems PLC’s (LON:BA.) first-half revenues were hit by the slow delivery of Typhoon jets, but bosses have signalled that some of the shortfall will be made up during the second half.
Investors will be hoping to see evidence of that in Thursday’s full-year results from the FTSE 100-listed group. The aerospace and defence giant has struck a flurry of small deals of late which should allow the order book to continue to build over the US$40bn level.
With Saudi Arabia one of its largest customers, it will be interesting to see if management mentions the political fall-out from the recent murder of a Saudi journalist and the country’s involvement in Yemen.
More of the same for RELX
Analytics group RELX PLC (LON:REL) has seen its share price move closer and closer to all-time highs of late on the back of solid like-for-like growth across all of its divisions and an improvement in margins.
Of its businesses, Risk Solutions, which helps clients spot and prevent fraud, has been the standout performer.
“Investors will be looking for more of the same and will be keen to be updated on the group’s outlook for the year ahead,” said the Share Centre in its look-ahead to the FTSE 100-listed firm's results.
Thursday February 21:
Finals: Barclays PLC (LON:BARC), Centrica PLC (LON:CAN), BAE Systems PLC (LON:BA.), Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL), RELX PLC (LON:REL), Serco PLC (LON:SRP), Playtech PLC (LON:PTEC), KAZ Minerals PLC (LON:KAZ), Morgan Sindall PLC (LON:MGNS), Macfarlane PLC (LON:MACF), Rathbone Brothers PLC (LON:RAT), RPS Group PLC (LON:RPC), Vitec Group PLC (LON:VTC)
Interims: Hays PLC (LON:HAS), Go-Ahead Group PLC (LON:GOG), Avation PLC (LON:AVA), InnovaDerma PLC (LON:IDP), McBride plc (LON:MCB), Wilmington PLC (LON:WIL)
Ex-dividends to knock 7.2 points off FTSE 100: Carnival PLC (LON:CCL), GlaxoSmithKline PLC (LON:GSK), Imperial Brands PLC (LON:IMB)
Economic data: UK public sector finances; US weekly jobless claims; US existing homes sales; US Philly Fed manufacturing index