Thursday preview: Carnival, Games, WS Atkins, Retail Sales

16th Jun 2010 16:31

Results announcements from cruise ship operator Carnival are usually made in the afternoon to ensure that its US shareholders get to see the figures at the same time as the European stakeholders.The company's performance is likely to have been boosted by the weakness of sterling while on the face of it the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud that hit the airlines in Europe earlier this year should not have worried the company much. However, many of the company's cruises rely on passengers flying to the embarkation point, so the ash cloud may have had more effect than initially thought. More topically, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may also be having an effect on bookings,Second-quarter earnings per share (diluted) are expected to be in the range of $0.26 to $0.30 compared to $0.33 in the same period last year, while net revenue yields for full-year are expected to increase 2 to 3% on a constant dollar basis, compared to flat to up 1% in the December guidance.Recent figures from Argos owner Homebase indicated that video game sales are going through a slump which does not bode well for computer gaming retailer Game Group, which is due to post an interim management statement on Thursday covering the first 19 weeks of trading in its current financial year.The company's shares have virtually halved in the last year as the company announced a sharp fall in profits in April and the departure of chief executive Lisa Morgan and chief operating officer Terry Scichma. Singer Capital Markets expects the company will unveil continued declines in year on year like for like (LFL) sales, though the pace of decline may have slowed since the April update."Comparatives do start to soften as the year progresses," the broker notes. "We currently forecast a UK LFL decline of 14% for H1 [first half], implying a decline across the remaining 15 weeks of the first half of c. 10%. Group gross margin in the current year is expected to be broadly flat," Signer said. Design and engineering firm WS Atkins is forecast to announce pre-tax profits of £89.3m for the year to 31 March 2010, down from £102.70m the year before. Turnover is tipped to dip to £1,432.4m from £1,487.2m.Those forecasts are after the company indicated back in April that full-year results would be slightly ahead of market forecasts which at the time had the company set to make £86m or £87m, The company had continued to perform strongly in 2010 but Panmure Gordon says the firm still faces challenges. The broker believes the key issues that need to be addressed in Thursday's statement are: "Customer spending outlook including current delays or cancellations; Middle East markets - over the worst from Dubai now?; Corporate activity - sector consolidation or acquisition opportunities"Singer Capital Markets is expecting figures from equipment rental group Ashtead to trigger a forecast upgrade cycle. "Ashtead generates 81% of its revenue in the US which is a geography we prefer as we believe it will emerge more quickly than Europe from recession," the broker said.The market expects revenue to slide to £868.56m from £974.00m the year before, while adjusted profit before tax, according to Singer, should fall from £87.4m to £2.6m. Offsetting the profit decline Singer expects "positive trends in yield and utilisation to be highlighted demonstrating recovery.""Ashtead has suffered the negative effects of operational gearing on profits over the last two years. However, with demand set to pick up and costs under control, operational gearing is set to work in Ashtead's favour," the broker suggests.On the economic front the CBI Industrial Trends Survey for June is expected to indicate that the balance of manufacturers reporting that orders are at normal levels rose improved to -17% in June from May's level of -18%.UK Retail Sales for May are tipped to show a 0.3% month on month increase, the same as in April. That would make year on year growth 2.3%. Pundits will be looking to see whether the World Cup has had any effect on buying patterns even though May, happily, was a month in which hardly anyone knew what a vuvuzela was.INTERIMSAukett Fitzroy Robinson, CareTech Holding, CarnivalINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEAberdeen Asset Management, Noble InvestmentsINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBalance of Payments (US) (13:30)Consumer Price Index(US) (13:30)Continuing Claims (US) (13:30)Current Account (US) (13:30)Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)Leading Indicators (US) (15:00)Philadelphia Fed Index (US) (15:00)ECB Report (EU) (09:00)Construction Output (EC) (10:00)Q4Ashtead GroupGMSArriva, Ondine Biopharma, TEG GroupFINALSAshtead Group, Atkins (WS), Consort Medical, Hartest, MS International, Mulberry Group, Worthington Group IMSSAnglo & Overseas, Game Group, SIGEGMSCazenove Absolute Equity Ltd.AGMSAlea Group Holdings (Bermuda) Limited, DP Property Europe Limited, Faroe Petroleum, Hampden Underwriting, Henderson Private Equity Inv Trust, Heritage Oil, Highland Gold Mining, Immupharma, Kingfisher, Ondine Biopharma, Slingsby H.C, Summit Corporation, Tawa, Toye and Co, Work GroupUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSCBI Industrial Trends Surveys (11:00)Internet Retail Sales (09:30)Retail Sales (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATECryo-Save Group, Derwent London