Thursday preview: Associated British Foods third quarter results

10th Jul 2013 13:48

Associated British Foods (ABF) unveils its third quarter results on Thursday.The parent company of Primark's trading is expected to show the effects of an unseasonably cold spring.Canaccord Genuity has also highlighted the impact of the UK sugar beet industry on ABF, which owns British Sugar. Sugar beet growers have asked the National Farmers' Union Sugar board to continue negotiating sugar beet prices, saying that British Sugar's proposed 2014 price of £30.67 per tonne is not high enough. "We think there is significant risk that ABF will have to pay more for beet," the broker said in a note last month. "A higher beet price would be unhelpful for ABF's profitability as it raises the cost of producing sugar at a time when market participants are questioning whether high EU sugar prices are sustainable." ABF has been bolstered by booming sales of its clothing business, Primark. Primark delivered six months of growth in the 24 weeks to the start of March, with like-for-like sales increasing 7.0%. Operating profits surged 55% to £238m, driven by lower cotton prices, better exchange rates and lower markdowns.However, sales of spring and summer fashion ranges were hurt by an unseasonably cold start to the year. Nevertheless, Primark sales helped to drive 25% jump in first-half adjusted pre-tax profits to £452m at ABF.Also in focus on Thursday will be annual results from fashion retailer SuperGroup.The company, which includes brands Superdry, Cult and SurfCo California, is expected shed more light on its expansion plans following a series of profit warnings in 2011 and 2012. On the macroeconomic front, the US Treasury will unveil its budget statement, a day after the Federal Reserve releases minutes from its June meeting on interest rates and its quantitative easing programme. Thursday July 11thQUARTERLY PAYMENT DATEGlaxoSmithKlineQUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATEAbbott LaboratoriesINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSECB Report (EU) (09:00)Treasury Budget Statement (US) (19:00)GMSVela Technologies, XCAP SecuritiesFINALSCoral Products, SupergroupANNUAL REPORTAPI GroupIMSSAssociated British FoodsEGMSBoussard & Gavaudan Holding Ltd. EUR Shares, BTGAGMSAPI Group, Babcock International Group, Blinkx, Perpetual Income & Growth Inv Trust, Shires Income, Telford Homes, TP70 2010 VCT , Triple Point VCT 2011, Wynnstay PropertiesTRADING ANNOUNCEMENTSHaysFINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEAlliance Pharma, office2office, Scisys, Young & Co's Brewery 'A' SharesRD