THIS week is a busy one for company results, and the breadth of firms reporting will provide us with a flavour of how the economy is faring.
By the time of publication, we will already have seen results from Arm, Provident Financial and Glaxo, with the latter providing an update on its merger with Smithkline today.
Wednesday sees results from Abbey National, which only recently escaped the clutches of Lloyds, after political intervention. Further merger activity looks inevitable, with Alliance and Leicester an obvious candidate. Interim profits for Abbey are expected to be around £950m.
BskyB is likely to confirm its strong position in the pay-TV market, though a pre-tax loss of £220m is predicted. The cost of acquiring live football looms large, though pre-tax profits some time next year are a possibility.
Of particular interest is the firm's tie-up with Ladbrokes, following the potential for the relaxation of gaming laws.
Cadbury reports on Wednesday, and is expected to show ten per cent earnings growth, with interim profits at about £310m. Legal and General is expected to report interim profits broadly unchanged from last year, at about £230m.
Thursday brings interim results from AstraZeneca, where figures will be held back by increased research and development and marketing spend, and are likely to come in at just above $2bn. In contrast, ICI will report a drop in profits to about £115m, and a cut in the interim dividend is expected.
The end of the week also sees results from Lloyds, BG, Prudential and BT.
After a dramatic period, BT is expected to report flat first-quarter earnings, though headline profits will be down. Of more interest will be the future direction for the company.
John Pearson
Associate Director
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