Companies Reporting: Pennon, B&M European Value Retail, Dr Martens

Here’s our regular look at the FTSE 350 and a selection of other companies reporting from 30 May to 3 June.

• Pennon will reveal how much inflation’s driven interest payments higher
• B&M European Value Retail could outline how inflation is affecting its core customers
• Trading patterns in America will be in-focus for Dr Martens

Pennon, Full Year Results, Tuesday 31 May

Laura Hoy, Equity Analyst “Debt will be in focus as Pennon spells out its full year progress. The group stretched its balance sheet to acquire Bristol Water. In normal times this may not be more than a bugbear, but given that some 26% of Pennon’s debt is index-linked, it’s something to keep a close eye on. For every 1% inflation rises, Pennon’s on the hook for an extra £8m in finance costs. That’s likely to have been adding up this year considering inflation’s risen 7.8% at last check. It will be interesting to hear how management intends to keep these ballooning costs under control.

Part of that will be evaluating how the Bristol Water deal is progressing. At the last results, management was expecting the deal to yield roughly £20m in annual cost savings by 2024/2025. That would more than offset near-term inflationary pain, but getting there smoothly remains a challenge. Shareholder returns also tend to be a main draw for utilities like Pennon. Demands on cash aren’t insignificant at the moment, so shareholder return plans will be closely followed.”

B&M European Value Retail, Full Year Results, Tuesday 31 May

Sophie Lund-Yates, Equity Analyst “The market hasn’t reacted kindly to the news that B&M’s CEO is stepping down. While a changing of the guard can cause markets to wobble at the best of times, some of the negative sentiment stems from nervousness around B&M’s path from here. One of the biggest things to watch next week will be the outlook statement. B&M’s core customers are likely among the worst affected by inflation. The group’s lower prices are also not as competitive as they once were, according to analysts. That means it’s less likely to capture more affluent customers looking for value options, too. The market is expecting operating profits of around £578m, which would be a 5.8% fall on last year. This doesn’t seem an unreasonable expectation, and so the biggest question from investors will be what happens next.”

Dr Martens, Full Year Results, Wednesday 1 June

Sophie Lund-Yates, Equity Analyst “In the third quarter the famous shoe brand saw revenue rise 15%, ignoring the effect of exchange rates. That bodes well for expectations of 17.4% growth for the full year. The group has been held back by weaker trading in Asia Pacific because of Covid. This has caused a particular problem in third party stores, with Australia and China being the worst affected. While this isn’t something the group can control, it will be interesting to see how the situation has evolved given lockdowns in China. There’ll also be an eye on growth in America. The 6% increase in the third quarter was weaker than they would have liked. This was partly caused by shipping delays, but a longer run of disappointing growth could suggest the brand is losing its potency.”

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

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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