Tuesday preview: Lloyds, AB Foods, Rolls-Royce

2nd Nov 2009 15:50

Part-nationalised lender Lloyds Banking Group's £25bn recapitalisation programme will finally be made public tomorrow, according to reports. The bank is expected to raise £13.5bn from a deeply discounted rights issue, possibly at 50p a share, with the British government subscribing for £5.5bn of shares in order to maintain its 43% stake. It's also expected to reveal sweeteners to persuade existing bondholders to exchange their bonds for riskier investments that could convert into equity.The name Associated British Foods is increasingly looking like a misnomer as the performance of the British Sugar owner's Primark clothing stores continue to dominate investor interest.Broker Jefferies expects Primark to announce like for like sales growth of around 7% or 8% in the second half when Associated British Foods announces its full year results. Most of the retailer's products are sourced in US dollars so the weakness of sterling is likely to have eaten into the clothing chain's margins by around half a percentage point in the second half, Jefferies suggests. Aero engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce continues to reel in the orders, despite the recession. It announced a $350m order from Turkish Airlines on Monday and a $720m order last Friday from Virgin Atlantic.The company is looking to reduce its dependence on the aerospace industry by hooking up with French power company EDF Energy to build four new power plants in the UK, and may provide an update on how this project is progressing.At the end of July the company said the global trading environment remains 'very difficult' and it expects the revival to be slow. Nonetheless, the company expects underlying revenues will continue to grow and underlying profits for the year are expected to be broadly similar to those achieved in 2008.INTERIMSBlinkx, Endace, Penna Consulting, VolexINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEGoldenport, Mears Group, Nationwide Accident Repair Services, Smith & NephewINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSFactory Orders (US) (15:00)Producer Price Index (EU)UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSPMI Construction Survey (09:30)FINALSAssociated British Foods, Smart (J)EGMSIndependent News & MediaAGMSCubus Lux, Hexagon Human Capital, Pacific Horizon, PNC Telecom, System C HealthcareQUARTERLY RESULTSProdesse Investment Ltd., Yamana Gold IncTRADING STATEMENTSAGA Rangemaster Group, Antofagasta, BATM Advanced Communications, Consort Medical, Hammerson, Intelek, Rolls-Royce, Stagecoach, Tarsus Group, Zotefoams