The week ahead...

Fiona Bond
30.10.09 17:00

It's been a turbulent ride for airlines of late, with the International Air Transport Association stating earlier this week that yields continue to be a disaster and costs continue to rise.

First to step into the spotlight will be budget airline Ryanair, who posts its half-yearly results on Monday. The Irish operator is expected to post a 12% rise in half-term passenger numbers, with profits also possibly benefitting.

Altogether more controversial will be British Airways' (BAY) interim results, due out on Friday. The airline has dominated headlines recently in its bid to slash costs by cutting flights, axing management bonuses and charging to pre-select seats. It is widely expected that BA will announce further losses after reporting a �148 million loss for the first quarter as revenue slipped 12%.

Outside of the financial results, news of strike action, the long awaited merger with Iberia, the airline's pension deficit and ongoing restructuring plans should all get a mention.

Tuesday will kick off with Associated British Foods' (ABF) final results. The group, which owns Primark and Twinings tea, has put in a solid performance of late, partly thanks to a strong performance from high-street chain Primark. With the Christmas shopping period looming, AB Foods is expected to post good profits.

Engine-maker Rolls Royce (RR-) is also expected to do well when it posts it trading update on Tuesday as contract wins have been plentiful this year and more look to be on the cards.

Midweek will welcome the interim results of retail giant Marks & Spencer (MKS). Despite being overtaken by George at Asda and Primark as the UK largest clothing retailers, M&S is still expected to post a slight increase in group revenues following an improved sales trend reported in September.

Analyst Sam Hart of Charles Stanley says: "Marks & Spencer's interim results are likely to be relatively uneventful, given their proximity to the recent Investor Day. Sales data for the period and full year guidance was provided with the Q2 trading update on 30 September, so the focus of attention will be on operating margins, outlook comments and the pension fund."

Retail rival Next (NXT) is expected to report a drop of up to 4% in underlying sales for the third quarter to the end of October as recent warm weather offsets weak comparative figures.

Next has forecast like-for-like retail sales to fall between 3.5% and 6% in its second half although its Directory home shopping business is expected to be on better form, with expectations ranging from a small fall to a small rise.

Aviva (AV-) will also serve up its third quarter results on Wednesday. Britain's largest insurance provider is expected to follow rival insurer Prudential's (PRU) lead and post disappointing sales figures. However, news on the proposed merger of some of its operations and potential for cost savings will make it a more interesting read.

Thursday will see a flurry of interim results, with both Man Group (EMG) and Cable & Wireless (CW-) taking the floor. Investors will be eager to see much-needed signs of improvement in both, after Man Group's share price tumbled last week on poor net asset value on its funds, while Cable & Wireless' share value took a hit after it cut profit expectations.

However, Man Group has been keen to reassure the market in the form of more confident updates on the flow of funds. The results are expected to highlight this boost in confidence, but the hedge fund group is likely to remain cautious in its outlook. Any signs of improvement for telecoms giant Cable & Wireless will come from its Caribbean operations and comments on a possible demerger.

On the economic front, interest rates take centre stage once again. Although the Bank of England is likely to keep the cost of borrowing on hold, its quantitative easing programme could be in for a further cash injection.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, says: "There could well be fireworks amid significant divisions within the MPC over whether or not to further extend the Bank of England's quantitative easing (QE) programme.

"Even allowing for widespread scepticism that the economy really did contract by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter, we suspect that the majority of MPC members will decide that a further �25 billion extension of the QE programme to �200 billion is warranted, to give the recovery a further helping hand. Still weak bank lending reinforces the case for more QE.

"Indeed, it is not inconceivable that the MPC could decide next Thursday that a further �50 billion of QE is justified."

Also on the cards is the UK PMI index for manufacturing on Monday. July's index rose above the critical 50 level but fell back in August and September so the pressure is on for October. Should the reading fall below 50, markets are likely to be disappointed.

Monday 2 November

Results

(Interims) Chloride Group, Ryanair

AGMs

Pacific Horizon Inv Trust, TR European Growth Trust, West Pioneer Properties

EGMs

RAM Investment Group

Dividend payment date

(Final) Falkland Islands Holdings, NWF Group

(Interim) Billington Holdings, BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust, Dealogic, Keller Group

Tuesday 3 November

Results

(Finals) Associated British Foods

(Interims) Blinx, Endace, Penna Consulting, Volex

(Quarterly) Prodesse Investemnt, Yamana Gold Inc.

Trading statement

Balfour Beatty, Rolls Royce

AGMs

Cubus Lux, Hexagon Human Capital, PNC Telecom, System C Healthcare

EGMs

Independent News & Media

Dividend payment date

(Interim) Goldenport, Mears Group, Nationwide Accident Repair Services, Smith & Nephew

Wednesday 4 November

Results

(Interims) Alterian, FirstGroup, Marks & Spencer Group

(Quarterly) Endeavour International Corp

Trading statement

Aviva, Next

AGMs

Bioenergy Africa, Green CO2, Indigo Vision, JD Wetherspoon, Redrow

EGMs

Bioenergy Africa

Dividend payment date

(Final) Pacific Horizon Inv Trust

(Interim) Cello Group, M.P. Evans Group, StatPro Group

Thursday 5 November

Results

(Interims) BTG, Man Group, Shanks Group, Cable & Wireless

(Quarterly) Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, Lancashire Holdings, Liberty International, Millenium & Copthorne Hotels, Old Mutual, Unilever

Trading statement

Unilever

AGMs

Kofax, Swallowfield

Dividend payment date

(Final) Framlington Innovative Growth Trust

(Interim) Bammer, Camellia, Fish (James) & Sons

Friday 6 November

Results

(Interims) British Airways

(Quarterly) Smith & Nephew

Trading statement

PureCircle, Rentokil Initial

AGMs

AIREA, Dechra Pharmaceuticals, Quayle Munro

Dividend payment date

(Final) Advance Developing Markets, Daejan Holdings, Eclectic Investment Company, JPMorgan Emerging Markets Inv Trust

(Interim) Advance Developing Markets, BBA Aviation, Cenkos Securities, Derwent London, Fiberweb, Forth Ports, Gaming VC Holdings, Huntsworth, Hydrogen Group, Judges Scientific, Motivcom, Pinewood-Shepperton, S & U, Spirax-Sarco Engineering, Tullow Oil, UK Select Trust Ltd., Weir Group

(Quarterly) Investors Capital Trust A Shares, Investors Capital Trust B Shares

The week ahead...

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