Wednesday preview: Compass, Sainsbury, FirstGroup

12th May 2009 15:40

Supermarket giant J Sainsbury seems to have recovered its poise and purpose in recent years, despite being overtaken in terms of UK market share by first Tesco and then Asda. Though widely assumed to be at the posher end of the supermarket spectrum, it has more than held its own in terms of market share since price became more of an issue for shoppers. Data from market research firm Nielsen recently suggested the supermarket chain had a good Easter, while rival market research group TNS Worldpanel was also bullish; it said Sainsbury's market share in the 12 weeks to 19 April rose to 16.3%, up from 16.1% a month earlier.Analysts are predicting that full-year pre-tax profit will be in the region of £527m, with sales up to £19bn from £17.8bn the year before. As ever, like-for-like sales growth figures will be pounced on; they have been running at around 4.5%, excluding fuel.A full balance sheet update is expected to accompany the full-year results with net debt likely to have risen to around £1.5bn - £1.6bn, giving gearing of around 30%.Interim results from caterer Compass Group are expected to show a fattening of pre-tax profits, with broker Charles Stanley going for £365m, versus £289m at the interim stage last year, though this does include an anticipated £70m boost from favourable currency translation effects.UK revenues are expected to be around 4% lower, due to restructuring and a repositioning of the business, but Britain only represents 17% of group sales. Things have been going a lot better in the group's major market, North America, where top line growth of around 4%-5% has been achieved.Rising unemployment is bad for bus and train groups such as FirstGroup but the company said back in March it was confident its full-year results would meet expectations. Analysts are expecting pre-tax profit of £314m, more than double last year's level, on revenue of £6,018m. The group is highly indebted, having grown quickly through acquisition, and concerns remain that the group will need to fire on all cylinders to carry on servicing its debt in the recessionary environment; as such, focus will be on the iconic Greyhound bus operations in North America, which did not fare well in the last recession under previous management.INTERIMSCompass Group, Dimension Data HoldingsINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEMaxima Holdings, Triple Point VCTINTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATEAberdeen Asset Management, Numis Corporation, Sage Group, Smart (J) & Co., Smiths News, United DrugQUARTERLY PAYMENT DATEAberdeen Development CapitalQUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATEBPFINALSFirst Group, Futura Medical, Land Securities Group, Sainsbury, VT GroupEGMSAllied Irish BanksAGMSAmec, Amlin, Arbuthnot Banking Group, BrainJuicer Group, British Smaller Technology Companies VCT 2, Bunzl, Dialight, Glanbia, Greggs, International Personal Finance, John Wood Group, JPMorgan Private Equity Ltd Equity Shares, Manganese Bronze, Pittards, Playtech, Rentokil Initial, Thomson Reuters, Trinity Mirror, TT Electronics, UnileverTRADING ANNOUNCEMENTSAMEC, Amlin, Axa Property, Barratt Developments, Greggs, Johnston Press, Manganese Bronze, A&J Mucklow, SIG, Tribal Group, Trinity Mirror, TT Electronics, Weir Group, Wood (John) GroupUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSNIESR GDP Estimate (00:01)Average Earnings (09:30)ILO Unemployment Rate (09:30)Manufacturing Unit Wage Costs (09:30)Bank of England Quarterly Inflation Report (10:30)INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBusiness Inventories (US) (15:00)Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)Retail Sales (US) (13:30)Retail Sales Less Autos (US) (13:30)Import Price Index (US) (13:30)CPI (FRA) (07:45)Industrial Production (EC) (10:00)Current Account (JPN)Bankruptcies (JPN)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEBabcock & Brown Public Partnerships Ltd., Dairy Farm International (Singapore), Dealogic, Hongkong Land Holdings, Jardine Matheson (Singapore), Jardine Strategic (Singapore), Rathbone Brothers, Savills, St James's Place, T ClarkeFINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATEAXA Property Trust, Computacenter, Downing Protected VCT IX, Downing Protected VCT VIII, Elderstreet VCT, Foresight Technology VCT, Healthcare Locums, Henry Boot, Hiscox, Inmarsat, Matrix Income & Growth 4 VCT, Nationwide Accident Repair Services, New Britain Palm Oil Limited, Provident Financial, Public Service Properties Investments, PV Crystalox Solar, Rightmove, Robert Walters, S & U, Severfield-Rowen, Shed Media, SQS Software Quality Systems, STM Group, Ted Baker, XaarQUARTERLY RESULTSEurasian National Resources Corporation, Espirito Santo, First Quantum Minerals, Playtech, Prodesse Investment Ltd.