Companies Reporting: easyJet, Halfords, Pets at Home

Our regular look at the FTSE 350 and other companies reporting from 25 – 29 November.

• easyJet aiming for the flight path to a record-breaking summer
• More bumps in the road ahead for Halfords?
• Pets at Home looking to set tails wagging with half-year results

Halfords, Half Year Results, Tuesday 26 November

Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown: “It’s been a tough start to the year for Halfords LON:HFD, as weak consumer demand saw first-half sales growth grind to a halt. Price-conscious customers have been trading down to budget ranges, and a lack of big-ticket discretionary sales has weighed on performance.

Halfords is leaning into cost cuts to try and help soften the impact on the profit line. It’s hoping to trim around £30mn of fat this year but with cost inflation expected to eclipse this figure, there isn’t much wiggle room for profitability if sales don’t start picking up soon. Markets are expecting underlying pre-tax profits of nearly £29mn over the full year, and seeing how much progress has been made towards this target in next week’s first-half results will be of interest. With the near-term outlook remaining uncertain, especially for big-ticket items, there’s room for disappointment.” 

easyJet, Full Year Results, Wednesday 27 November

Aarin Chiekrie: “easyJet’s last set of results landed well with markets, who had become nervous after rival Ryanair issued a weak performance over the same period. But easyJet LON:EZJ bucked the trend by selling a higher percentage of its available seats for the fourth quarter, despite increasing its capacity by 7%. This was enough to reassure investors that the group remains on the right flight path to deliver another record-breaking summer.

Guidance for revenue per seat in the short term was a little soft though. It’s unlikely to be the start of a fully-fledged price war between the low-cost carriers, but it’s something the market will be keeping a keen eye on. Recent industry data shows that air travel demand continues to soar higher, and investors are eager to hear what easyJet sees on the horizon in next week’s results.”

Pets At Home, Half Year Results, Wednesday 27 November

Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown: “Following a disappointing outcome in the last financial year, and low single-digit revenue growth in the first quarter, investors will be hoping for signs of a pickup for Pets at Home LON:PETS over the rest of the first half. Results are typically second-half weighted, so there will also be a particular focus on full-year guidance, which currently expects underlying pre-tax profit of around £144mn.

Online is an increasingly important channel so keep an eye on user numbers too. Services such as vets and grooming are also areas of investment, so watch for signs of progress here, as well as any commentary around the ongoing enquiry into the veterinary sector by the Competition and Markets authority.”

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