Monday 9 December
- Chinese inflation
- In the US, quarterly results from Oracle and Toll Brothers
Tuesday 10 December
- Full-year results from NCC
- First-half results from Ashtead
- Trading statement from Thungela Resources
- Interest rate decision from the Reserve Bank of Australia
- US NFIB smaller companies business survey
- In Europe, quarterly results from Colruyt and Metro
- In the US, quarterly results from Autozone, GameStop and Ferguson
Wednesday 11 December
- First-half results from Cohort
- Trading statement from S&U
- US inflation
- US Federal monthly budget deficit
- Interest rate decision from the Bank of Canada
- US oil inventories
- In Europe, quarterly results from Inditex and TUI
- In the US, quarterly results from Adobe and Lennar
- British American Tobacco year-end trading update
British American Tobacco will provide its year-end trading update with shares at a two-year high, despite regulatory pressure against smoking.
Analysts expect total sales of £26.3bn for 2024, and earnings per share of 360p, a slight drop from last year’s 376p.
Russ Mould, AJ Bell investment director, Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis, and Dan Coatsworth, AJ Bell investment analyst, said: “Management has already guided to a full-year dividend of 238.4p a share, against 235.52p in 2023, with a £700m buyback for 2024 and a £900m buyback for 2025.
“In the past five years, cash flow has comfortably covered the dividend and actually done so by an ever-wider margin, despite the ongoing decline in stick volumes.”
Combining the dividend and buyback, free cash flow adds up to near £6bn, representing 9% of the market cap.
Mould, Hewson, and Coatsworth added: “Note that the company has also funded buybacks through selling highly valued assets in India, where the stock market has boomed. BAT owns a 20.3% stake in ITC, a Kolkata-headquartered conglomerate which is involved in not just tobacco, but hotels, agriculture, and consumer goods such as clothing, confectionery and stationery.
“That shareholding has a current stock market valuation of £11.2bn, or a sixth of BAT’s market cap, and compares to a stated valuation on BAT’s balance sheet of less than £2bn.”
Thursday 12 December
- Full-year results from RWS
- First-half results from De La Rue and New River REIT
- Interest rate decision from the Swiss National Bank
- Interest rate decision from the European Central Bank
- US producer price (factory gate) inflation
- US weekly initial unemployment claims
- In the US, quarterly results from Broadcom, CostCo, Jabil and Ciena
- Currys first-half results
Appliance and technology retailer Currys will produce its first-half results after watching shares in the company near double in the past year.
At market close on 6 December, Currys had a share price of 81.45, up from 46.20 a year before.
“A pair of earnings upgrades during its last fiscal year, an improved balance sheet thanks to the sale of its Greek business and an unsuccessful takeover bid at 67p a share from activist investor Elliott have all helped turn around sentiment toward a downtrodden stock,” the AJ Bell trio said.
“Currys’ shares have motored past Elliott’s offer price and kept going, so these first-half results will be the next test of investors’ more positive view of the company, which has begun to build some profit momentum thanks to improved trading in the Nordic region and the UK, despite an economic backdrop that is still difficult.”
Analysts will eye the like-for-like sales trends of the UK and the Nordics, which were up 5% year-on-year for the UK in the first quarter, but fell 2% in the Nordics. For the fiscal year 2025, group sales are forecast at £8.5 bn, with little change from 2024. Adjusted pre-tax profit, however, is expected to grow to £137m, up from £118m last year.
“It will also be interesting to see if Mr Baldock makes any comment on analysts’ forecasts that Currys will return to the dividend list in fiscal 2025, with a payment of 0.5p a share. If that is the case, it may well do so with the final payment for the year, not the interim one,” Mould, Hewson and Coatsworth said.
The AJ Bell team noted this would likely depend on Currys ability to reach its financial goals, including better profitability and a stronger balance sheet. This was aided by the sale of its Greek business in April, which reduced the company’s debt with its net proceeds of £156m.
Friday 13 December
- GfK UK consumer sentiment survey
- UK GDP growth
- UK construction, manufacturing and industrial output
- EU industrial production