Wednesday preview: Domino's Pizza, Bellway

29th Mar 2011 17:07

Pizza delivery outfit Domino's Pizza's shares have been steadily declining since a trading update on 5 January and are now priced around 140p below the 52-week high of 586p achieved the day before that update.Anyone still holding the stock in expectation of it regaining its mojo will be banking on a reprise of the company's consistent ability to beat expectations for like for like sales (LFL) growth, an ability that seemed to desert the company in mid-February at the time of its last trading update.LFL sales for the first seven weeks of 2011 rose 4.7%, down from an 11.9% increase for the 52 weeks ended 26 December 2010, prompting the company to mutter meaningfully about "exceptional comparatives".The bright side to that February update was that sales growth had started picking up again towards the end of the reporting period. Wednesday's trading update covers the first 13 weeks of the current financial year. "Inevitably the first impression of the 13-week figure will look unexciting, even if the implied six-week figure moves up, so that we would not be buyers ahead of this announcement," advises Peel Hunt."We will be interested in the further progress of online sales. These had reached over 40% of delivered sales by the second half of 2010. The fact that they were up 73% in the first seven weeks shows the potential of this area, and Domino's marketing strategy in 2011 will be closely focused on getting the maximum growth from this area," the broker reckons.Housebuilder Bellway's interim results are not expected to contain many surprises. Most of the cats were let out of the bag at the time of the 7 February trading update, when the group revealed it sold 2,332 homes in the six months to end-January, an increase of 85 on the corresponding period a year earlier.With analysts not much interested in the picture in the rear view mirror, focus will be on current trading. The group made a decent start to the spring sales season after site visits were hit by adverse weather conditions in December and January, and, as the company said, "the strength of this year's spring selling season should be more apparent, when the results for the six months to 31 January 2011 are announced on Wednesday 30 March."INTERIMSBellway, Ceres Power HoldingsINTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATEAir Partner, British Sky Broadcasting Group, Downing Absolute Income VCT 1, Henderson EuroTrust, Matrix Income & Growth 2 VCT, Plexus Holdings, Produce Investment, Renewable Energy Generation Ltd., Smiths Group, Trading EmissionsQUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATEAfrica Opportunity Fund Ltd., Alpha Pyrenees Trust Ltd., British Land Co, Torchmark Corp.INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSIndustrial Production (JPN)PMI Retail (GER) (08:55)PMI Retail (EU) (09:00)Business Climate Indicator (EU) (10:00)Economic Sentiment Indicator (EU) (10:00)MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)GMSGartmore Irish Growth Fund, Hambledon Mining, Telecom Plus, WFCA, Worthington GroupFINALSCharles Taylor Consulting, Churchill China, IFG Group, Judges Scientific, Moss Bros Group, Northbridge Industrial Services, OJSC Novolipetsk Steel GDS (Reg S), Pilat Media Global, Signet Jewelers Ltd., Summit Corp., Tribal Group, UK Commercial Property TrustANNUAL REPORTForth PortsIMSSDomino's Pizza UK & IRLSPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEBeazleyAGMSAluminium Bahrain (GDR) (Reg S), Amino Technologies, Bluehone AIM VCT 2, Domino's Pizza UK & IRL, Horizon Acquisition Company, Octopus Titan VCT 1, Octopus Titan VCT 2, Octopus Titan VCT 3, Phytopharm, Prime Focus LondonTRADING ANNOUNCEMENTSTopps TilesUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSCBI Distributive Trades Surveys (11:00)Index of Services (09:30)FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE4imprint Group, Anglo American, BlackRock World Mining Trust, Bovis Homes Group, Delcam, Devro, Eurasian Natural Resources Corp., Evolution Group, F&C Asset Management, Goals Soccer Centres, LSL Property Services, Prudential, Rank Group, Shore Capital Group Ltd., SpaceandPeople, Stadium Group, Wynnstay Group- - -jh