press release

08 December 2016

The Forward Look

Graham Spooner, Investment Research Analyst at The Share Centre, gives his thoughts on what to expect from companies announcing results week commencing 12 December 2016.

 Wednesday

Dixons Carphone (Interim results) Dixons has sounded very upbeat about sales this year, notably in September when it said that it had seen no impact from the EU referendum result. At that stage it reported a 4% rise in like-for-like sales in the first quarter so investors will be keen to hear if trading remains robust as the group enters the most important weeks of its year, the run-up to Christmas. Southern Europe sales have been good this year but the performance of the Connected World division will also be scrutinised as this is expected to provide steady growth in the coming years.

We currently list as a BUY

Micro Focus International (Interim results) Full year figures in July from this software group were ahead of expectations but that was completely overshadowed by the subsequent news in September of the $9bn acquisition of software assets from Hewlett Packard. In November the company said that business generated a 1% rise in full year revenues and an improved operating profit margin. In this update the market will be looking for further guidance on what prospects the company sees for those assets and whether future dividends are likely to get a boost.

We currently list Micro Focus International as a BUY

 Thursday

Centrica (Q3 trading update) The group does not always get the best of press coverage and regularly comes under pressure from politicians, consumers and watchdogs, as a result of its charges. The share price has struggled to make any headway year to date, on the back of comments from politicians, mild weather hitting demand, lower oil and gas prices and analyst earnings concerns. A strategic review of the business has been implemented, which aims to achieve £750m of savings a year by 2020 and improve returns on capital and cash flow.

We currently list as a HOLD

Economic Diary

Announcements for the w/c 12 December:

13 December, UK consumer prices, November – Office for National Statistics. Last month, the data revealed that UK inflation had fallen from 1% in September to 0.9%. In November last year, month on month inflation was zero, so month on month inflation in November 2016 will need to be greater than zero for the annual rate to rise. Given the falls in sterling seen in the summer and autumn (which have since been partially reversed) the month on month inflation rate is likely to be higher than zero and so the annual rate is likely to rise back to 1%, or maybe higher.

14 December, Federal Open Market Committee Meeting, two-day meeting, December 13-14. The Fed is likely to increase interest rates today, after all, US unemployment fell to a one year low last month and consumer confidence rose to a nine year high. But the case for rate hike is not as overwhelming as is generally assumed. Wages fell last month and US core inflation is proving sticky and has fallen by 0.2 percentage points in recent months.

Further announcements include:

13 December

• UK house prices, October – Office for National Statistics

15 December • Retail Sales in the UK, November – Office for National Statistics • US Consumer prices, November – Bureau of Labor Statistics • US Real Earnings, November – Bureau of Labor Statistics

16 December • Monthly Industrial Trends Survey – Confederation of British Industry • EU Inflation (HICP), November – Eurostat

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Note to editors:

Please note that the dates stated in this article are indicative and could be subject to change which is beyond our control.

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