Friday preview: John Lewis, Polar Capital, Plant Impact

11th Jun 2009 17:25

Friday looks set to be the quietest day of a quiet week for company results, with weekly sales figures from Waitrose owner John Lewis likely to be the main focus in the morning, as investors look for trends that may give a clue to how the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury, Wm. Morrison and Debenhams are faring.Technology focused investment trust Polar Capital reports full-year results which may include some rueful comments about the recent recovery by Sterling. The company is chiefly invested in US technology stocks such as Apple, Microsoft and Google, so the current shaky state of the dollar will be dampening performance.Environmentally friendly crop productivity firm Plant Impact is scheduled to announce full-year results on Friday. As one might expect of an early stage technology company, the company is loss-making, with 2008/9 pre-tax losses projected to widen to £2.51m from £1.85m the year before. On the plus side, sales are forecast to surge to £0.8m from £0.28m, and to really take off next year as the 'transformational' licensing deal with Japanese crop protection giant Arysta LifeScience kicks in.FINALSPolar Capital Technology Trust, Ensor Holdings, Plant ImpactINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEBritish Empire Securities & General Trust, Smiths News, WH SmithINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSIndustrial Production (EU) (10:00)U. of Michigan Confidence (US) (15:00)Import Price Index (US) (13:30)CPI (FRA) (07:45)Industrial Production (JPN)Consumer Confidence (JPN)AGMSChina Medical System Holdings, Griffin Mining, Independent News & Media, Lookers, Networkers International, Share Plc, Sweet ChinaFINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEAmbrian Capital, Cayenne Trust, Clarkson, Elderstreet VCT, FDM Group, Nationwide Accident Repair Services, Porvair, Rightmove, Wellstream Holdings, Xaar