Greggs PLC (LON:GRG) has been on a roll of late, having delivered a string of profit upgrades on the back to strong sales.
City watchers will be looking for that outperformance to have continued when the pasty and doughnut seller reports its half-year results on Tuesday.
The last time we heard from Greggs was in May, when bosses lifted its expectations for the 2019 fiscal year after a scarcely believable 11.1% jump in like-for-like sales in the first 19 weeks of the year.
That was the fourth upgrade in five months and sent shares to all-time highs. Since then the shares have headed even higher.
What’s really impressive is that Greggs has grown sales when its retail and restaurant peers have, almost without exception, found the going tough.
Greggs has managed to tap into market trends, growing its breakfast and late-afternoon offerings, and even bringing out a vegan sausage which has proved a masterstroke.
Reckitt’s new CEO in the spotlight
Reckitt Benckiser PLC’s (LON:RB.) recent US$1.4bn settlement over allegations that it tried to illegally boost sales of its blockbuster opioid addiction treatment certainly made headlines, but it is unlikely to dominate its half-year results.
Analysts reckon the looming departure of longstanding chief executive Rakesh Kapoor, who is stepping aside in September, is a more pressing issue.
“A smooth set of half year results would be the ideal welcome gift for new boss, Laxman Narasimhan,” said Hargreaves Landown's Nicholes Hyett.
Infant nutrition – which makes up almost a quarter of group sales – will be closely eyed, and investors will be hopeful that Asian sales have started to improve following manufacturing issues and lower birth rates in China.
“Reckitt needs to show it’s able to secure its piece of the US$25bn Chinese baby formula market,” Hyett added.
Elsewhere, there has been speculation that Reckitt might look to spin off the rest of the business, although we’re unlikely to hear anything about that until the new boss has his feet firmly under the table.
Provident Financial investors look for turnaround progress
Provident Financial PLC (LON:PFG) reports its interims on Tuesday in the wake of successfully fending off a £1.3bn hostile takeover bid from rival subprime lender Non-Standard Finance PLC (LON:NSF).
NSF ditched its plan to buy Provident in June after failing to secure enough support from shareholders.
Provident advised shareholders against backing the deal, arguing that a review of NSF’s historical financial disclosures had uncovered a series of concerns, including a poor capital position and statutory losses since the business was founded.
NSF had said these concerns were “completely unfounded” and insisted that it has a “robust capital position”.
It argued that Provident’s board has presided over multiple profit warnings, serious regulatory mismanagement and a lack of vision for the future of the business.
In a first-quarter trading statement published in May, Provident estimated that it had spent more than £20mln in trying to defend itself from the unsolicited offer.
Provident said all four of its divisions – Vanquis Bank, Moneybarn, Satsuma and home credit – performed as expected in the opening three months of 2019, delivering “strong new business growth” in the period.
Having won the battle against the NSF bid, investors will be looking to see that Provident’s recovery is on track when the group reports its first-half results
Major announcements due:
Trading updates: Reckitt Benckiser PLC (LON:RB.)
Finals: Games Workshop PLC (LON:GAW), NWF PLC (LON:NWF)
Interims: Centrica Plc (LON:CNA), Greggs PLC (LON:GRG), Provident Financial Group PLV (LON:PFG), Aggreko PLC (LON:AGGK), Elementis PLC (LON:ELM), Jupiter Fund Management PLC (LON:JUP), Low & Bonar PLC (LON:LWB), Spectris PLC (LON:SXS), Hutchison China MediTech PLC (LON:HCM)
AGMs: Rose Petroleum PLC (LON:ROSE)
Economic data: US personal income and personal spending, US PCE price index, US consumer confidence