Friday preview: IAG and William Hill report full year results

25th Feb 2016 12:57

(ShareCast News) - British Airways owner International Airlines Group reports its full year results on Friday with analysts expecting an increase in earnings.UBS said it sees revenues of €22.08bn in the year to December 31 2015, compared to €20.17bn the previous year. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) are forecast to come to €2.3bn, up from €1.39bn in 2014.In October when the group reported its third quarter results, it said it expected to pay out 25% of underlying profit after tax in dividends.Chief executive Willie Walsh, known for his harsh strategy of cost cutting, said he expected that to be around €400m.Meanwhile, investors will also be looking to see how the incorporation of Aer Lingus has progressed following its acquisition last August."While the airline's profitability is seasonal, Aer Lingus is cost-effective and provides a natural gateway to build our business between Europe and North America. It's a great asset for the group," said Walsh.Any remarks on the consequences of Britain possibly leaving the European Union in a 23 June referendum will also be in focus along with the impact of lower oil prices on revenues.Bookmaker William Hill also reports its full year results on Thursday. The group has already revealed that EBIT would be about £290m, down 22% on the previous year, amid additional UK gambling duties including point of consumption tax and machine games duty."We forecast pre-tax profit of £253m, earnings per share of 23.1p and full year dividend per share of 12.8p, close to consensus," said Numis analyst Ivor Jones."We believe that 2016 is the year when William Hill will bounce back with a refreshed online technology platform and new self-service betting terminals in the shops."Jones said the first half of 2016 is likely to be focused on marketing investment and product releases for the Euro2016 soccer competition which starts on 10 June.While this makes commercial sense, it means that the "strategy may not be vindicated until the second half", Jones added."We believe that momentum will be restored in 2016 after a period of suffering from self-inflicted wounds as well as tough changes to regulation and duty."Friday 26 February INTERIMS Ricardo INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Downing One VCT , Drum Income Plus Reit, Ludgate Environmental Fund Ltd., NCC Group, Primary Health Properties, Solid State INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Consumer Price Index (GER) (13:00) Economic Sentiment Indicator (EU) (10:00) GDP (Preliminary) (US) (01:30) Personal Income (US) (01:30) Personal Spending (US) (01:30) FINALS FBD Holdings, IMI, International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI), Intu Properties, Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate, Pearson, Rightmove, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Telefonica SA, William Hill ANNUAL REPORT Royal Bank of Scotland Group SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE James Halstead, Octopus Eclipse VCT 1 EGMS Datang International Power Generation Co Ltd. AGMS Chrysalis VCT, Intelligent Energy Holdings TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS Mail.ru Group Ltd GDR (Reg S), Volex UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS GFK Consumer Confidence (00:05) FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Catco Reinsurance Opportunities Fund Ltd (DI), Chrysalis VCT, CVC Credit Partners European Opportunities Ltd EURO, CVC Credit Partners European Opportunities Ltd GBP, Dragon-Ukrainian Properties & Development, Electra Private Equity, Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust , RWS Holdings, XLMedia