Our regular look at the FTSE 350 and a selection of other companies reporting from 4 – 8 March
- Can Greggs keep the momentum going?
- Price hikes in focus for Admiral
- Attention will be on Entain’s strategic plan to revive growth
- Will ITV’s advertising revenue take a big hit?
- Melrose hoping to benefit from sector-wide tailwinds
Greggs, Full Year Results, Tuesday 5 March
Matt Britzman, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown “Greggs reports full-year results next week, following the trading statement back in January which showed sales grew 19.6% to £1.8bn last year. The focus will be on profit performance and the outlook for 2024. Markets are looking for profit before tax of around £168mn, which would be a 13% jump year-over-year.
On the outlook side of things, investors will be looking out for details on further plans to expand the estate, increase delivery partnerships and drive more traffic through online and click & collect options. Inflation will, as always, be a topic for discussion. As price hikes slowed last year that caused a drag on growth, but retaining a low-cost product is essential for the Greggs proposition.”
- Three Quick Facts: Mulberry, Mothercare, Greggs
- Companies Reporting: Carnival, Greggs, Tesco, Wetherspoon
- Three Quick Facts: ITM Power, TMT Investments, Admiral
Admiral, Full Year Results, Thursday 7 March
Matt Britzman, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown “Admiral is the UK’s largest private motor insurer, with a strong track record of outperforming peers. Full-year results next week should reflect the changing insurance landscape. Mammoth price hikes over 2023 should start to feed through to the profit line over 2024, as customers roll on to new contracts. It’s been a bit of a balancing act, pushing through price hikes and trying not to lose too many customers in the process. Investors will be watching customer volumes closely.
Back at the half-year, Admiral pledged a 90-95% payout ratio for the foreseeable. But that was before the recent acquisition of the home and pet insurance operations of RSA, which is expected to cost north of £100m including potential add-ons. That could mean a lower dividend than markets were expecting – one to watch.”
Entain, Full Year Results, Thursday 7 March
Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown “Betting and gaming group Entain’s US joint venture BetMGM, finished 2023 at the top end of guidance. Now that it’s moved past breakeven, it’s targeting $500m of annual cash profit (EBITDA) by 2026. Next week’s group results will see attention turn to the betting shops and websites that Entain operates itself in UK and overseas. 2023 has not been without its challenges.
Recent gaming results have gone against the bookies. The group’s been overshadowed by various allegations of improper business practice and was hit with £585m of penalties following HMRC’s investigation into its legacy Turkish business. Following the immediate resignation of CEO, Jette Nygaard-Andersen, in December, a successor is yet to be found. Investors will be looking out for any progress on that front, and indeed a steer on Entain’s strategic plan to revive growth and cope with tightening regulatory requirements.”
ITV, Full Year Results, Thursday 7 March
Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown “ITV relies on companies paying to advertise on its traditional television channels. Companies are snapping marketing purses shut as they buckle down for the unknown over the coming months, and that makes moving ITV’s top-line in the right direction a very difficult task. Total advertising revenue is expected to fall 8% for the full year and next week, investors will find out if things have been worse than expected.
The outlook statement for the studios business will be one to watch. The US writers’ and actors’ strike is seeing some revenue deferred to next year, and it will be important to assess the full effect of pent-up demand.”
Melrose, Full Year Results, Thursday 7 March
Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown “Melrose is a pure-play aerospace business, and its underlying revenue rose 18% in the four months to 31 October 2023. The group’s benefitting from sector-wide tailwinds like pent-up consumer demand for travel and a huge backlog of plane orders. In fact, last markets heard, it’s helped push the order book for the components it supplies to Boeing and Airbus aircraft to more than 12,000 parts, stretching all the way out to 2029. This gives the group great revenue visibility in the near term, and investors are keen to see if this demand has kept up over the final months of 2023.
In next week’s results, markets are expecting full-year revenue to land in at around £3.4bn, in line with the group’s prior guidance. Improved margins in the Engines segment, which were sitting in excess of 25% at the last count, mean profits will be in focus too. Melrose recently upgraded its underlying operating profit guidance by £25mn to a £400-410mn range, which looks within reach.”
This article has been brought to you in association with Hargreaves Lansdown. All opinions expressed in this article are from the analysts and do not necessarily represent the opinions of The Armchair Trader.
FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and selected other companies scheduled to report
| 04-Mar | |
| Clarkson | Full Year Results |
| 05-Mar | |
| Apax Global Alpha | Full Year Results |
| Ashtead | Q3 Results |
| Bakkavor | Full Year Results |
| Fresnillo | Full Year Results |
| Greggs | Full Year Results |
| Hiscox | Full Year Results |
| Inchcape | Full Year Results |
| Intertek Group | Full Year Results |
| IWG | Full Year Results |
| Keller Group | Q3 Results |
| Rotork | Full Year Results |
| Travis Perkins | Full Year Results |
| 06-Mar | |
| Breedon | Full Year Results |
| ConvaTec | Full Year Results |
| DS Smith | Q3 Results |
| Ibstock | Full Year Results |
| Lancashire Holdings | Full Year Results |
| Legal & General | Full Year Results |
| Quilter | Full Year Results |
| Rathbones | Full Year Results |
| Spirent Communications | Full Year Results |
| Tullow Oil | Full Year Results |
| 07-Mar | |
| Admiral | Full Year Results |
| Aviva | Full Year Results |
| Beazley | Full Year Results |
| Coats | Full Year Results |
| Darktrace | Half Year Results |
| Elementis | Full Year Results |
| Entain | Full Year Results |
| Grafton Group | Full Year Results |
| Harbour Energy | Full Year Results |
| ITV | Full Year Results |
| Melrose | Full Year Results |
| PageGroup | Full Year Results |
| Rentokil | Full Year Results |
| Spirax-Sarco Engineering | Full Year Results |
| Tyman | Full Year Results |
| 08-Mar | |
| Informa | Full Year Results |
| Just Group | Full Year Results |
