Wednesday preview: BG Group, Cadbury, easyJet

28th Jul 2009 15:50

Oil and gas explorer BG Group follows hot on the heels of sector peer BP in declaring second quarter results on Wednesday. The company has a lesser dependence on oil production than BP so the value of a read across from BP's results is limited; gas prices have not recovered nearly as swiftly as oil prices this year.The company has been splashing the cash, making a big push into the US shale gas market with the acquisition of a 50% stake in US firm Exco's fields in east Texas and north Louisiana. BG will pay $1.055bn for 120,000 acres in the two states, of which 84,000 acres cover the prolific Haynesville shale gas formation.Chocolate and chewing gum company Cadbury made a slowish start to the year, with first quarter sales up 2% year on year, but Singer Capital Markets expects this to accelerate to 4.4% in the second quarter. "Overall we expect PBT [profit before tax] to rise by 20% to £255m and EPS by 22% to 13.5p, firmly underpinning our forecast of 17% EPS growth for the year," Singer said.No frills airline easyyJet may not have as combative a chief executive as its sector peer Ryanair but events in the board room have still been hairy this year. The group issues a trading statement which could see the long running contretemps between the board and its founder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, brought to an end. The two factions have been in dispute over growth plans but the Sunday Telegraph reports that a compromise deal has been reached.Quarterly results from Spanish banking giant Santander will be of keen interest to UK banking sector watchers as the company has a sizeable presence on the UK High Street since it added the Bradford & Bingley business to its Abbey network. Both brands are being consolidated into a single company under the Santander brand.INTERIMSBodycote, Cadbury, CSR, Inchcape, Manganese Bronze, Morgan Crucible, RAB Capital, Reckitt Benckiser, Tarsus GroupINTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATEAberforth Geared Capital & Income Trust Income Shares, Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust, British Portfolio Trust, Brunner Inv Trust, Domino's Pizza UK & IRL, Fenner, Heavitree, Microgen, Throgmorton TrustQUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATEEquity Partnership Income Shares, GlaxoSmithKlineINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBeige Book Fed Survey (US) (19:00)Crude Oil Inventories (US) (13:30)Durable Goods Orders (US) (13:30)UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBank of England Consumer CreditBank of England Net Lending Secured on DwellingsBank of England Loan Approvals for House PurchaseFINALSDignity, Eco Animal Health Group, Renishaw, Roxi PetroleumAGMSADDleisure, Alizyme, Andes Energia, AssetCo, CareCapital, Cattles, Cropper (James), Downing Protected VCT II, Downing Protected VCT II, Downing Protected VCT III, Downing Protected VCT VI, Downing Protected VCT VII, Elektron, Halfords Group, Hogg Robinson, Lupus Capital, Polar Cap Technology Trust, Roxi Petroleum, Shanta Gold, Umeco, ZiraxFINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEAcal, Rensburg AIM VCT, RIT Capital PartnersFINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATEEdinburgh New Income Trust, Investec, M&G High Income & Growth Units, New City High Yield Fund Ltd., Northern Foods, Robert Wiseman, Tangent Communications, TanjongQUARTERLY RESULTSBanco Santander SA, BG Group, CSR, Just Retirement, Lancashire HoldingsTRADING STATEMENTSeasyJet, St. James's Place, Umeco