Companies Reporting: Ocado, Kingfisher, Moonpig, Next

Our regular look at the FTSE 350 and other companies reporting from 16 – 20 September.

• Kingfisher sees home improvement put on the back burner
• Moonpig’s creative streak has been paying off
• Next’s sales being powered by online growth
• Is a more positive outlook on the cards for Ocado?

Kingfisher, Half Year Results, Tuesday 17 September

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown: The home improvement market has been tough as consumers have tightened their belts amid high borrowing costs. These results are likely to show it’s still been hard going for the B&Q owner, particularly when it comes to shifting bigger ticket items. Splashing out on renovations has not been at the top of priority lists. Consumers appear to have been ring-fencing spending for holidays and experiences rather than kitchen makeovers.

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The latest results from Wickes are far from encouraging, with half-year pre-tax profits falling by a quarter, as the chain was battered by high wage bills and wider cost pressures. Although this might not bode well for Kingfisher’s latest numbers, its more diversified offering does give it more resilience. It’s been seeing more demand from trade customers in its Screwfix chain, and B&Q’s broad product range helped support a sales increase. There could be more recent tailwinds, too. The latest snapshot from the British Retail Consortium showed that, as the sun shone more in August, shoppers were more encouraged to snap up DIY and gardening items and host BBQs. The forecast interest rate reductions may also have spurred on homeowners to spruce up rooms with a view to potentially move house.

However, clouds still hover over its French Castorama operations, where the economic conditions have been far from clement. Investors will want to see that the company is still on track to meet its full-year pre-tax profit guidance of £490-550 million.

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Moonpig Group, Trading Statement, Wednesday 18 September

Susannah Streeter: on building subscribers while demonstrating a more creative streak has been paying off. It’s also been investing in artificial intelligence technology, helping customers scribe the perfect message in cards. Its features, like video and audio messages and sticker images, have also caught on. These new creative tools were used more than 10 million times during the year.

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The company’s same-day gifting service also appeals to shoppers keen for an Amazon alternative to ensure birthdays are not missed. The number of subscriptions offering members discounts on personalised cards rose to more than half a million. This helped the company beat expectations for the full year. Investors will want to see more progress in these areas, which make customers stickier and less inclined to opt for cheaper options elsewhere. However, as other card retailers offer their own personalised services, its set to remain a challenging market to compete in.

Next, Half Year Results, Thursday 19 September

Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown: Next has been getting into the habit of delivering positive news lately. In a short trading update last month, results on both the top and bottom lines beat market expectations. This led to yet another upgrade to full-year pre-tax profit guidance, getting a bump up from £960mn to £980mn.

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Second-quarter full-price sales had been expected to fall slightly, but thanks to strong overseas online growth, the group posted growth of 3.2%. Despite already accounting for more than half of group sales, analysts continue to see the online channel as the main growth driver. Expansion overseas is still in the early stages, and there’s a lot of room left to run if Next can execute its strategy well.

Retail is a different story, with in-store revenue falling 4.7% in the first half. We’re not expecting that trend to change going forward, with high-street shopping in structural decline. But in next week’s results, investors would like to get more clarity on the outlook for stores and hear how the group’s positioning itself to manage the shift.

Ocado, Q3 Trading Statement, Thursday 19 September

Aarin Chiekrie: Ocado’s valuation’s been under pressure lately, but its last set of results delivered some positive news to investors’ doors. Revenue grew 12.6% to £1.5bn in the first half, with all business units seeing an uplift. Increased active customer numbers, which rose 8.1% to nearly 1.04mn, were the biggest driver of growth as price increases contributed a smaller amount.

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Full-year revenue growth guidance suggests a slowdown in the Retail and Technology Solutions businesses in the second half. But the latest sector data shows that Ocado was the fastest-growing UK grocer in the 12 weeks to 1 September. As a result, investors are keen to see if there’s scope for a more positive outlook when the group announces third-quarter results next week.

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