Nick Raynor, investment adviser at The Share Centre, gives his views on the companies announcing results this week (w/c Monday 14 March 2011).

Tuesday 15 March 2011

Axis-Shield (ASD.L) - Full-year preliminary results

This should be a positive update for investors as January's trading update promised Axis would be in a position to pay a maiden divided for 2010 following a rise in earnings. Also, revenues are expected to rise past the £100 million mark. We are confident this will happen and recommend Axis as a strong play in the healthcare market.
BUY.

G4S (GFS.L) - Full-year preliminary results

G4S will hopefully publish positive figures from within a sector which has been on the wrong end of cost cutting and negative press. Rivals such as Securitas have been downgraded by brokers but G4S's emerging markets exposure should make them stand out from the rest. Forecasts are for profits to rise above £400 million - almost £100 million more than last year. Anything less will be a disappointment, but we believe they won't let us down.
BUY.

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Greggs (GRG.L) - Full-year results

Despite the rough weather over the Christmas period Greggs' update in January was in-line with expectations and we therefore feel these final figures will meet forecasts and could possibly be bettered. Mince pies were the boost during Christmas and no doubt in the run-up to Easter hot cross buns will have the same effect. Profits are expected to come in over £50 million and revenues to be close to £670 million.
BUY.

Northgate (NTG.L) - Interim management statement

We are expecting a positive update from Northgate in-line with the company's performance over the last year. Interim results showed profits were up by almost 25 per cent compared to the previous year and margins have been improving over the same period. Logic would indicate that if these margins have been maintained, this update should also be positive. The recovery of Northgate has been pleasing to see and we believe there will be further gains for investors.
BUY.

Marstons (MARS.L) - Trading statement

Marstons' Christmas update was fairly positive and we are expecting much of the same from this short update. The main interest for us will be to see how the company's expansion plans are progressing and if it is on target to open 20 new pubs during 2011.
BUY.

Thursday 17 March 2011

Legal & General (LGEN.L) - Full-year preliminary results

Broker views vary at the moment; Numis are positive with a target price of 171p and Goldman Sachs are negative with a ‘sell' and 110p target. There is a lot of competition within these markets, but we believe these figures will be reasonable. Our only concern is that the dividend policy will be tarnished and not increased as hoped. Investors should wait and see.
HOLD.