Yahoo Finance Week ahead in business and finance
Monday
Gold miner Centamin is still in the City’s good books after capping off a strong year by handing shareholders a bumper dividend in January.
The Egypt-based miner will be looking to maintain its momentum into the new financial year by posting strong production figures in its first quarter update, the sole corporate highlight for traders this morning.
Trading statement
Centamin
Economics
Halifax house price index (UK), Sentix investor confidence (EU)
Tuesday
Card Factory will be picking up the pieces from January’s disastrous profit warning, which sent its shares crashing to an all-time low. Its second profit warning in four months came as its weak Christmas trading failed to offset increased costs from higher wages and the depreciation of the pound.
With numerous high street peers under strain from challenging market conditions in the UK, more difficult trading for Card Factory would likely send its shares to new depths.
Peel Hunt’s Jonathan Pritchard described tomorrow’s results as a “seminal” moment for the company. The drop off in card volumes late last year caused City analysts to fret over the sustainability of the company’s business model.
“It would be reassuring to hear about the stability of the card market and Card’s strategies to benefit from its strong market-leading position,” Mr Pritchard told clients.
Full-year results
Card Factory, Eddie Stobart, Hostelworld
Interim results
Robert Walters
Economics
British Retail Consortium sales (UK), PPI (US), Wholesale inventories (US)
Wednesday
The meteoric growth at fast fashion giant Asos will be back under the spotlight with the e-tailer needing to meet sky-high expectations to regain its momentum on London’s junior market. Boohoo.com’s share price troubles in recent months demonstrates that explosive growth is not enough to placate demanding investors, but analysts have praised Asos’s recent commitment to investing in technology, a crucial factor cited by them for the its strong growth prospects.
That potential has lifted Asos’s price-earnings ratio to multiples far higher than its bricks-and-mortar peers, but its shares deserve to trade at such a premium, according to Hargreaves Lansdown’s Nicholas Hyett. The high levels of investment mean that robust sales growth “will be key” and a slip-up will be punished by the market “harshly”, he argued.
Full-year results
Tesco
Interim results
Asos, McCarthy & Stone
Trading update
PageGroup, Vedanta
AGM
Rio Tinto
Economics
Industrial production (UK), Manufacturing output (UK), NIESR GDP estimate (UK). CPI (US), FOMC meeting minutes (US)
Thursday
The crisis at high street struggler Mothercare will be back in focus a week after the company ditched its chief executive as it attempts to secure a rescue deal with lenders.
The chain removed Mark Newton-Jones from the top job on Wednesday but denied that the move had been pushed by its creditors.
Strong headwinds in the retail sector and the decision not to discount in the run-up to Christmas led to January’s huge profit warning.
Mothercare is attempting to secure new funding to stop it becoming the latest in this year’s long line of high street names to collapse.
Full-year results
Saga
Trading update
Dunelm, Greene King, Hays, Man Group, PZ Cussons, Mothercare, Saga, WH Smith
Economics
Bank of England credit conditions & bank liabilities survey (UK), Import & export price index (US), Industrial production (EU)
Friday
No FTSE 350 companies reporting.
Economics
JOLTS job openings (US), Trade balance (EU)
