After the Budget in the UK and the FOMC statement in the US on Wednesday, it is in danger of being a case of “after the Lord Mayor’s show” on Thursday.
The market will get the chance to compare the performance of two fashion chains: the heavyweight Next and the up and coming Ted Baker.
Investec says Next’s results should highlight a record year for the firm.
The company issued a trading update right at the end of 2014 so there should not be too many surprises in the rear-view mirror, and most of the attention will focus on what lies ahead.
“Retail space growth and execution on service/multi-channel remain at the heart of NEXT’s evolution. However, the Directory [the catalogue offering] could well be facing declining credit numbers in the UK, and the prospect of cutting its headline interest rate,” Investec’s Alistair Davies said.
Profit before tax should be £10mln or so either side of £775mln, and analysts will be keen to see whether there is any shift in guidance for sales and profit growth in the current year; Next has indicated growth rates of somewhere between +2.5% and +7.5%, and this range could tighten up with a bit more of the year now behind us.
When last we heard from Ted Baker (in early January) it revealed an impressive 22.8% year-on-year increase in retail sales in the eight weeks from 9 November, albeit helped by a 9.2% increase in selling space.
“Sales since Christmas have been particularly strong and we expect to end the year with a clean stock position,” the company said.
Significant announcements expected
Finals: EMIS Group (LON:EMIS), EnQuest (LON:ENQ), Lamprell (LON:LAM), Next (LON:NXT), Ophir Energy (LON:OPHR), Premier Farnell (LON:PFL), Savills (LON:SVS), Ted Baker (LON:TED). Xaar (LON:XAR)
The following widely-held stocks go ex-div on Thursday: Standard Chartered, Low & Bonar
Economic data: EU – ECB monthly bulletin. US – Current account balance; Weekly jobless claims; Philadelphia Fed; Leading indicators