Tuesday preview: Glencore and Persimmon

20th Aug 2012 16:00

Reporting its first-half numbers on Tuesday morning will be commodities trader and marketer Glencore. The stock was under pressure on Monday on reports that Qatar Holdings has boosted its stake in potential merger partner Xstrata and is looking to block the deal as it demands a sweetened offer from Glencore.Analysts are expecting the firm's net profits in the first six months of the year to fall by more than a third to $1.6bn on the back of lower prices, high costs and the impact of power cuts in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Meanwhile, FTSE 250 house-builder Persimmon will be hoping for the same sort of response that sector peer Bovis Homes received after its first-half results on Monday; Bovis's shares gained after it smashed analysts' profit expectations and doubled its interim dividend.Results from Persimmon, like Bovis, have already been 'well-guided' following its pre-close trading update last month. The firm said that it had legally completed 4,712 new homes in the first six months, up 6% year-on-year, while sales rates have continued to run ahead of 2011 through Spring. The average selling price was up 7% at £171,400.Turnover has already been revealed at £805m, up 13% on the previous year. As for the bottom line, Peel Hunt is expecting the firm to report a pre-tax profit of £90.3m, up 51% year-on-year. The broker said that there will be no dividend this year (first structured payment will be in June 2013) while the net cash position will be strong at £112m, as already guided by the company."Persimmon is resolved to follow the lower growth and higher distribution model and we think this is the right approach in this cycle. Shareholders deserve a more assured income and should not have to see surplus cash gambled on the cycle," said Peel Hunt analyst Robin Hardy.