Thursday preview: Shell, Astra, CSR

28th Oct 2009 14:28

There should be no shortage of corporate announcements on Thursday with third quarter updates expected from AstraZeneca, CSR, Kazakhmys, Royal Dutch Shell, Standard Life and Virgin Media.Results from oil giant Royal Dutch Shell follow hot on the heels of much better than expected figures from long-time rival BP and also solid results from BG Group.At the end of last week Royal Dutch's third quarter profit, tipped to be around $3.2bn by broker Charles Stanley, was expected to be higher than BP's, but after BP stunned the market with a replacement cost profit figure, excluding non-operating items and fair value accounting effects, of $4.7bn, that is now looking unlikely.Either way, Shell's third quarter figure is sure to be sharply lower than last year's $8bn, reflecting the sharp fall in energy prices.Anglo-Swedish pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca will see its figures matched up against those released on Wednesday by larger rival GlaxoSmithKline.Astra reports in US dollars so should see less of a currency boost than Glaxo, though exchange rate movements have still been favourable to the company. Pre-tax profits are expected to show a 6% year on year increase at $2.58bn.The company may update the market on the development of its nasal spray vaccine, which could play a vital part in preventing the spread of swine flu.Cambridge based bluetooth specialist CSR's third quarter update 'should show strong sequential revenue growth indicative of market share gains and a continued recovery from severe de-stocking,' according to broker Panmure Gordon.At the time of its second quarter results, CSR issued third quarter guidance of $195m to $215m for revenue. Panmure Gordon predicts the figure will come in above the mid-point of that range, at $206m, though this is slightly below the market consensus of $208m.Seymour Pierce is more optimistic, going for revenue of $215m, and expects 'to hear further positive commentary regarding CSR's progress with the BC7000 products with leading mobile phone companies but will be paying particular attention to any indications regarding progress on CSR9000 devices and any customer interest in products that will combine CSR and SiRF's technology.'On the economic front, the Bank of England is expected to announce that mortgage approvals for house purchases edged up to 53,500 in September, from 52,317 in August.Net mortgage lending is tipped to be around £0.8bn.INTERIMSLiDCOINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEInternational Power, Lighthouse GroupQUARTERLY PAYMENT DATEHenderson Global Property Companies Ltd.UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSNet Consumer Credit (9:30)Mortgage Approvals (9:30)Net Lending Secured on Dwellings (9:30)M4 Money Supply (9:30)INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSGross Domestic Product (US) (12:30)Initial Jobless Claims (US) (12:30)Personal Consumption (US) (12:30)Unemployment (GER) (8:55)Jobless Rate (JPN)Household Spending (JPN)Consumer Prices (JPN)FINALSNamakwa DiamondsEGMSF&C Commercial Property Trust, Global MENA Financial Assets Ltd.AGMSAdvance Developing Markets, Amberley Group, Arcontech Group, BHP Billiton, Bright Things, Dyson Group, Framlington Innovative Growth Trust, Go-Ahead Group, MeDaVinci, Murgitroyd Group, Photo-Me International, Syndicate Asset Management, The Directors Dealing Inv Trust, United CarpetsFINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEHaynes Publishing Group, Lighthouse Group, Oxford InstrumentsQUARTERLY RESULTSAstraZeneca, CSR, Kazakhmys, Royal Dutch Shell 'A', Royal Dutch Shell 'B', Standard Life, Virgin Media Inc.