Monday 25 July
Interims: Sthree
AGMs: BP Marsh & Partners, Keras Resources, Kropz, Naked Wines, Young & Co’s Brewery
Tuesday 26 July
Trading updates: Greencore, Medica, Compass
Interims: Franchise Brands, Gresham Technologies, Unilever
Finals: Games Workshop, Trifast
AGMs: AO World, Brandshield Systems, Bytes Technology, Dekel Agri-Vision, Firering Strategic Minerals, Mitie, Nanosynth, NewRiver REIT, Ninety One, OnTheMarket, Oracle Power, Shires Income, Telecom Plus, Vodafone, Wizz Air, Xeros Technology
It wasn’t too long ago that investors couldn’t get enough of Games Workshop (GAW). A change of management at the fantasy figurine maker in 2015 began an ascent that saw the shares rise more than 10-fold over half a decade, and its PE ratio expand to an eye-watering 45x at its peak in mid-2021 as investors chased the shares higher. As with many highly rated shares, that’s come down with inflation and the end of lockdowns, a period in which demand for the stay-at-home hobby rocketed, and fans will once again be wondering whether to pile back in.
Forecasts for the year aren’t too demanding, but growth has clearly moderated as higher input and distribution costs have held back profit growth, with EPS expected to climb just 2.5% this year. To be fair, that’s no mean feat given the economic backdrop and testament to the loyalty of its customer base. It also reflects heavy investment in capacity and headcount, while royalty income from licensing deals is starting to grow quickly, up from £16m in 2020/21 to £28m in FY 2022. Investors will be hoping the company beats the minimum full year pre-tax profit target of £155m it set itself in its mid-June trading update.
Wednesday 27 July
Trading updates: Fresnillo
Interims: Breedon, Ibstock, Lancashire Holdings, Lloyds Banking, MusicMagpie, Nichols, Quartix Technologies, Reckitt Benckiser, Rio Tinto, Smurfit Kappa, Unite
Finals: Hargreaves Services, Yourgene Health
AGMs: Allied Minds, Aquila Services, Caledonia Investments, James Cropper, De La Rue, Mode Global Holdings, Motorpoint, Peel Hunt, Shield Therapeutics, Tatton Asset Management
Thursday 28 July
Trading updates: Aveva, Sage, Virgin Wines
Interims: Barclays, Centrica, Hammerson, Inchcape, Primary Health Properties , Rathbones, RELX, Rentokil Initial, Restore, Robert Walters, Segro, Shell, Smith & Nephew, St James's Place
Finals: SRT Marine Systems
AGMs: Alien Metals Limited, B&M European Value Retail, CMC Markets, CYBA, DiscoverIE, Eurasia Mining, GB Group, Graft Polymer, Ingenta, Mediclinic International, Oxford Instruments, SEEEN, Tate & Lyle, Ted Baker
Friday 29 July
Trading updates: Glencore, Industrials REIT, Sourcebio
Interims: AIB, Croda International, Intertek, Jupiter Fund Management, Morgan Advanced Materials, NatWest, Rightmove
AGMs: Advanced Oncotherapy, Eneraqua Technologies, Palace Capital, Record, Tintra, PCF (EGM)
Headline figures suggest the UK housing market is still in pretty good shape, not least Rightmove’s latest house price index which showed that asking prices were 9.3% higher in June than twelve months earlier, taking the average property price to a record £369,968. But there are subtle signs of a shift in the market as inflation and interest rates rise, including a slowing headline rate of asking price growth – May’s increase was 9.6% - and a rise in new listings.
We’ll find out whether or not that’s starting to affect trading at Rightmove (RMV) when it reveals its interims on Friday – its market dominance means it’s been able to shake of periodic bouts of market weakness in the past, and it’s still forecast to grow earnings by 9.5% this year. But a forecast PE of 26.5x, even after a share price fall of a fifth so far this year, demands more than that. All eyes will be on the outlook statement, and any signs of a mortgage slowdown in NatWest’s figures out on the same day.
Also this week: Lords Group (trading update)