Mid-sized companies in the technology, property and tourism sectors will take their turn in the spotlight this week as no rivals from the FTSE 100 Index are due to report.
Shares in set top box maker Pace Micro Technology have doubled over the past two months to more than 60p as a succession of agreements with major corporates in the United States excited investors.
The latest deal to supply set-top boxes to Comcast – the largest provider of cable, entertainment and communications services in the US – is worth up to $550m (£379.5m) over three years.
Pace will announce its full-year results on Tuesday and broker Charles Stanley is anticipating pre-tax profits of £6.6m for the 53 weeks to June 4 – up from £3.9m at the same stage of 2004.
Ian Mitchell, analyst at Charles Stanley, said: “The improvements in Pace’s fortunes are being driven by demand for more advanced set-top boxes and the imminent increase in the delivery of digital subscription television over IP (internet protocol) networks.
“This looks likely to be able to deliver long-term growth and Pace is well placed to benefit.”
Online clothing retailer ASOS was in vogue at the end of last year when its shares were within a whisker of 90p. Although the firm has lost a third of its value since then, it remains one of the few options for investors willing to hitch a ride on the internet retailing boom.
ASOS has said its pre-tax profits for the year to March 31 should be at least £1.05m on sales that are up 79% at £13.4m.
Seymour Pierce analyst Richard Ratner expects it to beat that estimate tomorrow with profits of £1.1m, up from £620,000 at the same stage of 2004.
Ratner said: “The management remains optimistic about the prospects for the current year. It sees – as we do – a resilient ‘young fashion’ market.”
ASOS sells clothes in the style of celebrities such as Kate Moss and Sienna Miller. Its website attracted a million users in March for the first time, with more than 580,000 people currently registered.
Holiday village operator Center Parcs has previously told investors that all the key measurements of its performance had improved during the second half of its financial year, which covers the 12 months to April 22.
These indicators showed improved occupancy, rates per night and spend per sleeper at its four UK family holiday centres -even though Center Parcs was forced to close its site at Whinfell Forest in Cumbria temporarily in January because of high winds and flooding.
However, UBS analyst Simon Johnson said at the time of the company’s trading update in May: “We would point to the fact that Center Parcs customers book a considerable period ahead and so the recent consumer slowdown noted by other hospitality companies may not yet be visible.”
A consensus of eight analysts in the City expect the company to report on Wednesday that its profits totalled £25.56m before accounting for tax and exceptional items – up from £24.9m for the previous year which spanned its flotation on the stock market.
Bakery firm Inter Link Foods should please investors with a 24% rise in full year profits on Wednesday.
The Blackburn-based group is expected to report profits before goodwill of £6.2m against £5m a year ago.
The supplier of own-label cakes to supermarkets has been growing by attracting new business and buying out rivals.
Latest acquisitions have included a Polish cake and cookie maker and Yorkshire Cottage Bakeries, making it the second biggest cake maker behind Manor Bakeries.
John Dickinson of Brewin Dolphin Securities in Newcastle said:
“Inter Link has a very strong growth record, they’re clearly taking market share, they have made some acquisitions and they seem to be winning quite a lot of new business.
“We like the company and we’re looking for profits of £9.3m in the year to April 2006”.
Analysts hope motor dealer Reg Vardy will report some positive news about the lacklustre UK market for new cars on Wednesday.
The company is expected to report final pre-tax profits before goodwill and one-off items of £34.5m against £40.9m the year before.
Reg Vardy said in May that the new car market had stayed weak in early 2005, but that it had outperformed rivals.
The Sunderland-based group has almost 100 dealerships across the UK and sells most of the major brands including specialist marques Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover.
It also has a contract hire division that leases cars to companies on 36 month deals.
Investors will be seeking news about the performance of a recently acquired dealership as well as an update on the state of the market.
One analyst who declined to be named said: “We’ll be looking for a view from them about whether markets are getting worse or whether there are signs of stabilisation.”
Investors will be hoping for news of further progress towards an expected rise in annual profits when Midlands property developer St Modwen reports interim figures tomorrow.
Although interim pre-tax profit forecasts were unavailable, the Edgbaston-based group is expected to post full year profits of about
£46m against £40.4m last time.
St Modwen told its annual meeting in April that its current financial year had started well and that it had made progress since its annual report in February.
It received planning permission in April to build a technology park on 40 acres of land adjacent to Rover’s Longbridge factory, owned by Advantage West Midlands.
Investors are likely to be interested in any update from the company on the situation relating to the administration of Rover and the Longbridge site, which St Modwen owns.
A spokesman said: “The company has a substantial pipeline of development prospects and it is very active in buying and selling.”
References: EGi News 11/07/05
