Companies Reporting: Dixons Carphone, AB Foods, AO World, Currys

Here’s what you can expect from a selection of FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and international companies reporting next week. Among those currently scheduled to release results:

• Dixons Carphone will let us know if the online business has lost any momentum
• We get our first glimpse at what Associated British Foods looks like now it’s back firing on all cylinders
• Micro Focus will fill in the half year details after a recent trading update
• Electrical retailer AO World will reveal if it’s still plugged into a surge in business

Dixons Carphone [LON:DC], Full Year Results, Wednesday 30 June

Sophie Lund Yates, Equity Analyst

“Covid meant the electrical equipment specialist had to speed up its pivot to digital. We already know these efforts were remarkably successful, with online Electricals sales more than doubling to £4.5bn in the year. The group has doubled-down on its online service proposition, launching its ShopLive function, which connects customers to a real-life store assistant for help and product demonstrations. We wonder if this has helped keep online momentum moving in the right direction, even as restrictions ease. One of the biggest things to watch is operating margins. At the last count, these were just under 2%, which means there’s little room for error. The group’s expecting full year pre-tax profit of £151m, plus net cash of £150m. Provided these goal posts haven’t moved, it will make the outlook statement very important. Within that, any commentary on how the restructuring programme’s going would be very well received. The plan includes closing all standalone Carphone Warehouse stores and integrating them into Dixons and Currys PC World shops. This is the right move in our view, but as with any big changes, it comes with the risk of things going wrong – or over budget.”

Associated British Foods LON:ABF, Q3 Trading Statement, Thursday 1 July

Laura Hoy, Equity Analyst

“Primark parent Associated British Foods is on track for a year-over-year profit decline, but all things considered, the retailer is in pretty good shape. Lockdowns hit revenue hard as Primark’s lack of online presence hurt sales. But the upcoming quarterly results should show the start of a recovery for ABF. One of Primark’s biggest strengths throughout the crisis has been inventory management, which has kept the chain from heavy discounting like many of its peers. Instead, the group has mixed last year’s inventory with new lines to clear out unsold items. Demand was strong initially as its stores reopened, and we’ll be looking for evidence that the group has been able to offload last year’s spring and summer lines as shoppers return. If pent-up demand was as strong as management was expecting, we should see strong margins. In contrast, sales in the group’s Grocery division will be up against tough comparisons after the boom last year. Together with rising US vegetable oil costs, profits in the division are unlikely to grow.”

Micro Focus International LON:MCRO, Half Year Results, Thursday 1 July

William Ryder, Equity Analyst

“Micro Focus has already told us it expects to report $1.4bn in revenue for the six months ending 30 April, representing a decline of about 5% when compared with 2020. That reflects declines across all business segments except Licencing, where sales are expected to be up 10% helped by some deals closing early and the impact of Covid last year. For the full year, Micro focus is targeting a “meaningful improvement in the rate of constant currency revenue decline”. The group expects to report an underlying cash profit (EBITDA) margin of 36%, which was ahead of market expectations when announced and is the result of the strong Licencing performance and cost saving measures.  Micro Focus has also announced a new Chief Financial Officer. Matt Ashley will join the business on 28.”

AO World [LON:AO], Preliminary Q4 Results, Thursday 1 July

Susannah Streeter, Senior Investment and Markets Analyst

‘’Electrical retailer AO World saw business soar during the pandemic as consumers poured money into IT and white goods for working from home set ups. AO World’s established digital platform was well placed to profit from the dramatic shift to online purchases during the pandemic, and 2 million new customers signed up. Group revenue for the first nine months surged by 66% and although there are some concerns purchases may simply have been brought forward, there were initial signs the company was plugged into continued momentum during the fourth quarter. What has also been encouraging is that the German business also turned profitable during the year. With bricks and mortar retailers now open, there will be a return to more traditional  electrical retailers so we are likely to see evidence that the pace of new business  is slowing. However, the buoyant property market could continue to be a driver for sales, with people moving house keen to buy brand new white goods. Working from home is also expected to linger for the long term, so there are likely to be fresh upgrades needed of workers IT systems which could also help benefit the company. We are expecting to see evidence that the rapid growth trajectory is tailing off, but the company still expects double digit growth for the year ahead.’’

FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and selected other companies scheduled to report next week

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This article is 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.

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