Friday preview: Marshalls, T. Clarke, UK GDP, Bernanke

25th Aug 2011 16:34

Paving slab firm Marshalls' share price fell down a crack in August, and is only 10p or so above its 52-week low. Its markets remain challenging, what with its partial dependence on the public sector, and Panmure Gordon thinks it will be a long, hard slog before the company gets back full on its feet. "Our overall view on Marshalls remains unchanged; longer term recovery potential remains intact and the approaching 5% yield should provide support, however, market challenges continue, as do input cost pressures and we are keen to see more evidence of a sustained recovery in Marshalls' end markets before turning more positive," the broker said, reiterating its "hold" recommendation. Panmure Gordon is predicting interim profit before tax of £9.5m for Marshalls.Brewin Dolphin, meanwhile, reckons the results "should show typical seasonality and leave it on track". It is also looking for pre-tax profits (PTP) of £9.5m. "Our overall view on Marshalls remains unchanged; longer term recovery potential remains intact and the approaching 5% yield should provide support, however, market challenges continue, as do input cost pressures and we are keen to see more evidence of a sustained recovery in Marshalls' end markets before turning more positive," the broker said, justifying its neutral position on the shares. Building services group T. Clarke is another company facing challenging trading conditions. Panmure Gordon thinks the key trends in Friday's interim results will be spending trends, revenue visibility and regional demand variations. "We expect to see a 10% decline in adjusted PTP from £3.24m to £2.93m," the broker said. On the economic front, the Office of National Statistics' next stab at calculating UK gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter is expected to show a 0.2% quarter-on-quarter increase, the same as the previous stab and the same growth seen in the previous quarter. The GDP figures are likely to be overshadowed, however, by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's speech at the central bankers' talking shop at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He used his speech at last year's gathering to pave the way for "QEII", the Fed's second round of quantitative easing, the radical policy of pumping electronically created money into the economy to avoid deflation. However, analysts warned that having already announced a two-year interest rate freeze - a move that caused markets to rise for just five days before plunging back into the red - Bernanke may have little new to say.INTERIMSAga Rangemaster Group, Independent News & Media, Lavendon Group, Marshalls, New Britain Palm Oil Ltd. (DI), T Clarke, Vimetco GDR NV GDR (Reg S), Yule Catto & CoINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEDowning Planned Exit VCT 4, Downing Planned Exit VCT 5, Edinburgh UK Tracker Trust, Independent Inv Trust, Maven Income and Growth VCT 5, Reed ElsevierINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSGDP (Preliminary) (US) (13:30)U. of Michigan Confidence (Final) (US) (15:00)GMSImaginatikFINALSMBL GroupANNUAL REPORTAbbeySPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEAberforth Geared Income Trust, Access IntelligenceEGMSDatang International Power Generation Co Ltd., Thames River Multi Hedge PCC Ltd. EUR Shares, Thames River Multi Hedge PCC Ltd. Realisation Shares, Thames River Multi Hedge PCC Ltd. USD SharesAGMSNaspers Ltd. ADR, Plant Impact, Prosperity Minerals Holdings Ltd.UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSGDP (output, income & expenditure) (09:30)Index of Services (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEAberdeen New Dawn Inv Trust, Heath (Samuel) & Sons, Kewill, Latham (James), Volex--jh