Week ahead: UK inflation reading due; Next, Kingfisher results in focus

20th Mar 2026 07:11

(Sharecast News) - The corporate calendar will be much quieter next week, but results from B&Q owner Kingfisher and clothing and homeware retailer Next will be eyed, along with the latest UK inflation and retail sales figures.

Next's full-year results are due on Thursday. Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the retailer heads into the numbers with good momentum.

"Full-price sales were up 10.6% in the nine weeks to 27 December, well ahead of the group's guidance for the Christmas period," he said. "The positive surprise was driven by strong performances in both the UK and overseas, with the latter continuing to grow at a high double-digit pace. That led to full-year pre-tax profit guidance being upgraded yet again, with nearly 14% growth to £1.15bn now expected at next week's results.

"Looking ahead to the coming year, the group expects pre-tax profit growth to simmer slightly, rising by around 4.5% to £1.2bn. But this outlook was announced before the recent spike in oil prices. As a leader in the UK market, Next is well-positioned to navigate challenging conditions better than many of its peers. But investors will still be keen to hear how much of an impact this additional inflationary pressure is expected to have on the group's costs and consumer demand."

On Monday, interim results are due from Applied Nutrition, while Tuesday will see the release of full-year results from Kingfisher and interim numbers from housebuilder Bellway.

Also on Tuesday, the March flash PMIs for the eurozone, UK and US will be released.

Danske Bank said: "We expect the euro area manufacturing PMI to decline to 49.3 from 50.8, while the services PMI is likely unchanged as higher energy prices have yet to feed through.

"Spain's flash March inflation is due on Friday, while February inflation will be released for Japan on Tuesday and for the UK on Wednesday."

On Wednesday, Eurowag will release its FY results. Investors will also watch for February inflation figures for the UK.

Peel Hunt, which rates Eurowag at 'buy', with a 170p price target, said it expects management to comment on the impact of higher oil prices, alongside progress on bottom-line performance and the ongoing migration to EW Office.

"Cash generation remains a key strength, with net debt/EBITDA at 2.0x and €109m of cumulative free cash flow generated across the three interims up to 1H25, supported by positive cash flow in 2H25," it said. "Eurowag has guided to low double-digit growth in 2026. Our forecasts assume 11% revenue growth and €115m of cash EBITDA (32% margin), supported by continued strong cash generation and balance-sheet strength."

On Thursday, Ceres Power will join Next and report FY results, while the main highlight on Friday will be UK retail sales data for February.