Thursday preview: Greene King and Betfair Group report

26th Jun 2013 13:55

Pub operator Greene King is expected to post a rise in full-year profits and sales on Thursday.The FTSE 250-listed company has said it anticipates a 2.2% jump in underlying retail sales for the year to end of April in the face of a tough consumer climate.A unseasonably cold winter saw the group endure a slow second half but it came after a strong first half.The brewer of Abbot Ale and Old Speckled Hen is forecast to post a pre-tax profit of £161.2m, up from £152m the previous year.However, Numis Securities analyst Douglas Jack, said the group has a challenging year to follow. "Early 2013-14 trading should benefit from about 20% less rainfall year-on-year, but is up against tough comparatives due to last year's Diamond Jubilee and Euro 2012," he said.The broker cut his recommendation from 'add' to 'hold' last week.Another FTSE 250-firm with annual results out Thursday is online gaming company Betfair Group. The business recently rejected a 950p per share offer from CVC Capital Partners, which valued Betfair at around £1.0bn. A slate of US economic data, including initial jobless claims, pending home sales and personal spending figures will also be in focus on Thursday.INTERIMSSafestore HoldingsINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEEuromoney Institutional Investor, GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd, Income & Growth VCTQUARTERLY PAYMENT DATERoyal Dutch Shell 'A', Royal Dutch Shell 'B', Total SAINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBloomberg Consumer Confidence (US) (14:45)Business Climate Indicator (EU) (10:00)Continuing Claims (US) (13:30)Economic Sentiment Indicator (EU) (10:00)Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)M3 Money Supply (EU) (09:00)Pending Homes Sales (US) (15:00)Personal Consumption Expenditures (US) (13:30)Personal Income (US) (13:30)Personal Spending (US) (13:30)PMI Retail (EU) (09:00)PMI Retail (GER) (08:55)Unemployment Rate (GER) (08:55)GMSIthaca Energy Inc. (DI)FINALSBetfair Group, Greene King, North River Resources, Photo-Me InternationalANNUAL REPORTStellar ResourcesIMSSStobart Group Ltd.EGMSRapid Realisations Fund Ltd., TVC HoldingsAGMSAlecto Minerals, Anpario, Argo Real Estate Opportunities Fund, Cadogan Petroleum, Cyan Holdings, Dekeloil Public Ltd, Elektron Technology, Equatorial Palm Oil, Faroe Petroleum, Fitbug Holdings, Gold Oil, Hampden Underwriting, Henderson Private Equity Inv Trust, IBIS Media VCT 1, JSC Federal Grid Company of Unified Energy System GDR (REG S), Lukoil 'B' GDR (Reg S), Manx Financial Group, NMC Health, Photonstar LED Group, Richoux Group, Serica Energy, ServicePower Technologies, Sound Oil, Stellar Resources, Stobart Group Ltd., Strategic Minerals, TVC Holdings, VolvereUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBalance of Payments (09:30)Current Account (09:30)GDP (quarterly national accounts) (09:30)Index of Services (09:30)PMI Retail (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEMoss Bros Group, VesuviusRD