Week ahead in business and economics: June 9-13

CORPORATE EVENTS

The luxury handbag maker Mulberry has endured a challenging 12 months, so its annual results this week are unlikely to be an easy read.

The company has issued four profit warnings in two years, including two this year.

The most recent of these warnings came in April, when interim executive chairman Godfrey Davis said the cost of scrapping the scheduled price rise on its handbags, the closure of two US stores, and the expense of ousting chief executive Bruno Guillon in March would have a “material adverse impact” on profits.

The consensus in the City is that for the year to end of March, revenues will fall from £165m last year to £164m and pre-tax profits will drop from £26m to £14m. The firm’s share price fell by two-thirds during Mr Guillon’s two-year tenure as the company lost sales in the UK to high street rivals offering discounted luxury products.

The City will be looking for more details about how Mr Davis plans to improve Mulberry’s performance, but there is unlikely to be any news regarding the appointment of a new chief executive and creative director.

MONDAY JUNE 9

Full-year results Falkland Island Holdings, Latchways

Interim results Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust

Trading Update None scheduled

Economics None scheduled

AGMs: Fairpoint Group (AGM), Hansteen Holdings (AGM)

TUESDAY JUNE 10

• Analysts at Jefferies believe that Ted Baker will report a 15pc surge in retail sales in its first-quarter trading update. The increase will highlight the rapid rise of Ted Baker as one of Britain’s most successful fashion brands. Charmaine Yap at Jefferies said: “In our opinion this serves as a timely reminder of the brand’s underlying strength and an opportunity to buy into Ted’s longer-term growth potential.” The company recently revealed it was expanding into upmarket audio equipment by selling headphones and speakers in John Lewis for between £59.99 and £199.99.

Full-year results Phoenix IT Group, Sepura, Carclo, CML Microsystems, Oxford Instruments

Interim Results None scheduled

Trading update City of London Group, Dialight, Spirit Pub Company, Ted Baker

Economics BRC retail sales monitor, manufacturing output, industrial production

AGMs: Gem Diamonds (AGM), Lamprell (AGM), Ted Baker (AGM)

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11

• Justin King’s final trading update as J Sainsbury chief executive will be marked by the supermarket group reporting another fall in like-for-like sales. Sainsbury’s is expected to report a drop of between 1pc and 1.5pc for the last three months, which would be ahead of rivals Tesco and Morrisons but still confirm the pressure on Britain’s food retailers. Analysts at Deutsche Bank said: “We expect 2014 to be a tough year for Sainsbury’s.” Mr King will stand down as chief executive in July.

• Betfair’s circa £200m cash pile will be a key focus for investors. The online betting company, led by chief executive Breon Corcoran, pledged last year to devise a plan for its cash after fending off a takeover bid from private equity giant CVC. A sizeable return to shareholders is considered highly unlikely at this stage, however, as the gambling industry faces six months of uncertainty ahead of the introduction of a 15pc online betting tax in December. Ivor Jones, analyst at Numis, expects Betfair to conclude “that the cash safety net should be retained for a while yet”. Consensus points to full-year Ebitda of £87m. Mr Corcoran will also be quizzed over recent management changes.

Full-year results Greka Drilling, Monks Investment Trust, Castings, Creston, Dee Valley Group, Hyder Consulting, Flybe Group, Betfair

Interim results None scheduled

Trading update Styles & Wood Group, London Finance & Investment Group, Treatt, St Modwen Property, JKX Oil & Gas, MoneySupermarket.com, BATM Advanced Communications, Baillie Gifford Japan Trust, J Sainsbury, WH Smith, N Brown

Economics May unemployment figures

AGMs: Afren, Amara Mining, Cayenne Trust, Dignity, G4S, JKX Oil & Gas, InternetQ, Mears Group, Michael Page International, Morrison Supermarkets, M.P. Evans Group, WANdisco.

THURSDAY JUNE 12

• Asia Pacific and energy are expected to drive most of the growth at WS Atkins, the largest engineering company in the UK, when it reports its full-year results. The numbers will also show solid progress for Europe, the Middle East, North America and the UK, although expectations are for flat sales in Britain. Mike Allen, analyst at Panmure Gordon said cash generation should be a key positive in the results, with “M&A potential also likely to be of interest in our view”. He has forecast a cash balance of £177.4m, up from £143m, and also expects a 5pc rise in the dividend to 33.6p. Expectations are for marginal growth, with pre-tax profit expected to grow to £104.9m, up from £103.3m, on revenues of £1.76bn, up from £1.7bn.

Full-year results WS Atkins, Boohoo.com, Halam, Mulberry, Pets At Home, Hardy Oil & Gas

Interim results CareTech Holding, IDOX, Redhall Group

Trading update PZ Cussons, Laura Ashley, Home Retail Group

Economics Rics housing survey, Bank of England’s Martin Weale gives speech in Luxembourg, George Osborne and Mark Carney speak at Mansion House Dinner

AGMs: Kingfisher (AGM), Evraz (AGM)

FRIDAY JUNE 13

Full-year results Lindsell Train Investment Trust, Bonmarché Holdings, Ensor Holdings

Interim results None scheduled

Trading update Petropavlovsk, Panther Securities, H&T Group, SThree

Economics Construction output, S&P and Fitch to publish UK rating

AGMs: TLA Worldwide, Soco International

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