Thursday preview: WH Smith, Mothercare, SABMiller

14th Oct 2009 17:26

Retailers WH Smith and Mothercare are due to make trading announcements on Thursday.Newsagent chain WH Smith announces full year results that should see profit before tax climb to £81.5m from £76m a year earlier, despite sales that are forecast to dip to £1,327m from £1,352m. Like for like sales are predicted to be down 4.4%.Earnings per share are tipped to rise by 12% to 40.75p, helped by the company's shares buyback programme in 2008. Merrill Lynch reckons that the company will be sitting on £33m cash, 'giving scope for higher dividend payouts or expansion going forward.' Market consensus is for the full year dividend to be bumped up to 16.6p from 14.30p.Children's retailer Mothercare updates the market on trading in the company's second quarter, which covers the mid-July to mid-September period.UK like for like sales in the first quarter were up 5.1% year on year but broker Singer Capital Markets thinks this will have slowed to 3% in the second quarter, which would not be a disaster given that quarter one figures were boosted by the sunny weather and the fact that Easter occurred in the first quarter period this year. 'We expect UK EBIT [earnings before interest and tax] to fall by £2.0m - 2.5m from last year's £7.0m,' Singer said. 'This shortfall, and a small increase in JV [joint venture] losses, ought to be countered by profit growth from International franchising where we forecast trading profit of £9.5m (vs £7.3m last year),' the broker added.After updates this week from Whitbread, Diageo and Punch Taverns, the boozy theme is continued with fizzy lager brewer SABMiller and flat ale brewer Marstons bringing out trading statements.SABMiller's lagers may be fizzy but its lager volumes were flat in the first quarter, though soft drinks volumes rose 2%. The company may be keen to grow through acquisition since losing its position as the world's biggest brewing company to Anheuser-Busch InBev, with Mexican brewer Femsa, which counts Sol and Dos Equis among its brands, said to be in its sights.Real ale brewer and pub group Marstons will give a trading update covering the final nine weeks of its fiscal year which runs to the end of September.In the first 43 weeks of the fiscal year like for like (LFL) sales were down 1.2% year on year (YOY) in managed pubs but this might have improved over the fag-end of summer given that the company said LFL sales in the six weeks to August 1 were up 2.3% YOY.Panmure Gordon thinks full year pre-tax profit will be around £69.6m, a shade below market consensus of £70.4m. INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEDavis Service Group, Sagicor Financial Corporation, United Business Media, ZotefoamsFINALSWH SmithINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSConsumer Price Index (EU)Consumer Price Index (GER)Consumer Price Index (US) Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)Philadelphia Fed Index (US)Empire State Manufacturing Survey (13:30)Industrial Production (JPN) Capacity Utilisation (JPN)Bank of Japan MPC Monthly Report (JPN)AGMSBlack Arrow, City of London Inv Trust, Jupiter Primadona Growth Trust, Orpak Systems, RenishawQUARTERLY RESULTSPartyGamingTRADING STATEMENTSAggreko, Ashmore, Marston's, Mothercare, SABMiller