Monday 8 February
-Trading update from Electrocomponents
-In Japan, quarterly results from Softbank
– In the USA, quarterly results from Take-Two Interactive, Simon Property and Hasbro
Tuesday 9 February
-Full-year results from Ocado, St Modwen and Micro Focus
-First-half results from housebuilder Bellway
-Trading statement from airliner TUI
-US NFIB smaller companies business conditions survey
-US Job Openings and Labour Turnover (Jolts) survey
-In Asia, trading updates from silicon chipmakers TSMC and UMC
-In Japan, quarterly results from Honda Motor, Nissan Motor and Japan Tobacco
-In Europe, quarterly results from Total and silicon chipmaker AMS
-In the USA, quarterly results from Cisco, Twitter and broadcaster Fox
Wednesday 10 February
-Smurfit Kappa full-year results
Packaging giant Smurfit Kappa’s shares have risen by a third over the past 12 months on the back of the surge in e-commerce. Its business mix is weighted towards fast-moving consumer goods so it stands to benefit when the virus is contained, and economic activity is rejuvenated, according to AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
In November’s nine-month trading statement, chief executive officer Tony Smurfit said earnings were expected to be between €1.46bn to €1.48bn for the year. This represents a 10% year-on-year decline from 2019’s peak but is still slightly higher than expectations. If Smurfit gives an indication of the year just begun the consensus forecast is looking for Ebitda of €1.56bn in 2021.
Analysts will also look for comments on pricing. Smurfit Kappa flagged price hikes for recycled containerboard in October as surging e-commerce volumes have helped drive up prices.
Last April, Smurfit Kappa withheld its full-year dividend but restored its shareholder distributions with a payment of €0.81 a share in July, followed by an interim payment of €0.28 a share in November. Analysts expect a further dividend of €0.28 to take the total for 2020 to €1.37. The current forecast for 2021 is €1.14, putting the stock on a forward yield of 2.8%
-First-half results from Dunelm and house builder Redrow
-Final services purchasing managers’ indices (PMIs) for Asia, Europe, UK and USA
-Chinese inflation figures
-US inflation figures
-US oil inventories data
-In Japan, quarterly results from Toyota Motor and silicon chipmaker Renasas
-In Europe, quarterly results from Heineken, Vestas Wind Systems, Delivery Hero and shipping giant AP Møller-Maersk
-In the USA, quarterly results from Coca-cola, Uber, General Motors and Zillow
Thursday 11 February
-Tesco shareholders meeting to approve special dividend
Tesco’s shareholders will get the chance to vote on the company’s plan to pay a £5 billion special dividend, equivalent to 50.93p per share, as it reallocates some of the proceeds from the sale of its Thai and Malaysian operations.
Mould notes Tesco has steadily rebuilt its dividend payments after cutting them in the fiscal year to February 2015 and scrapping payouts in 2016 and 2017. The company repaid some £585m of business rates relief that it received from the government after criticism over whether it was right for the company to pay any dividend payments while accepting taxpayers’ cash.
Analysts forecast a dividend of 7.84p a share for the year to February 2021, a drop from the 9.15p a share dividend paid for the year to February 2020. However, the interim dividend was increased to 3.2p from 2.65p.
-Full-year results from RELX and Coca-Cola HBC
-Trading update from Ted Baker
-Astrazeneca full-year results
Despite Astrazeneca’s Covid vaccine success its shares remain unchanged for the past year and down by a fifth from their peak in the summer.
There are a number of reasons for this, Mould says. First, Astrazeneca, alongside University of Oxford, is only charging the cost price for each vaccine dose until the pandemic is over. Second, the company is struggling to increase production volumes as supplies of raw materials, synthesisation, packing, testing and distribution all make for a logistical headache. Lastly, the Anglo-Swedish firm has launched a $39m cash-and-stock bid for American firm Alexion, in a push to strengthen their position in the immunology field. Investors are concerned by the sum involved, the move into a new field and the potential loss of focus on Astrazeneca’s current core areas.
Mould adds shareholders will look out for the total product sales which despite a steady upward trend, have seen a bit of a slowdown this year as hospital admissions and trips to the doctors have fallen. The company reported a 10% year-on-year rate of increase at the nine-month stage, so analysts will be looking out for 2021 forecasts.
In terms of dividends, the annual pay-out has been $2.80 per share, making Astrazeneca the seventh biggest dividend payer in the FTSE 100 in cash terms. Analysts expect that this will remain unchanged.
-US weekly jobless claims data
-In Europe, quarterly figures from L’Oreal, Schneider, Pernod Ricard and steelmaker Arcelor Mittal
-In the USA, quarterly figures from Walt Disney, PepsiCo, Palantir and Kraft-Heinz
Friday 12 February
-UK manufacturing, construction and industrial output data
-In Japan, quarterly figures from Toshiba
-In Europe, quarterly figures from Électricité de France
