Nick Raynor, investment adviser at The Share Centre, gives his thoughts on what to expect from companies announcing results (w/c 16 May 2011).

Tuesday 17 May 2011

Aviva (AV.L) - Interim management statement

Aviva have just sold a 15 per cent stake in Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd for £381 million. As some analysts are disappointed with the sale they may state what plans they have for the proceeds in this update. However, Aviva will still hold 43 per cent of the company and so this cash may just help to improve liquidity. We believe it is unlikely that the events in Japan will have affected the company's overseas performance but it will be interesting to see recent performance figures.
BUY.

Smiths Group (SMIN.L) - Interim management statement

After the recent report from the detection division that trading had fallen short of expectations the share value fell by 6 per cent and delayed orders which will have an effect on the second half of the year. We hope this statement may repair some of the damage and other divisions will make some in roads to the harm already caused.
BUY.

Vodafone (VOD.L) - Preliminary results

It is thought that Vodafone is amongst the bidders for the Italian company MetroWeb and so we are looking for clarification in this update. We also hope to hear if it has any plans for its Verizon Wireless stake, it has been mentioned that they will push for a dividend but we have seen nothing yet. The share price has been suffering lately and so these results could provide the perk that investors are looking for.
BUY.

Wednesday 18 May 2011

Compass Group (CPG.L) - Interim results

Compass Group had another busy quarter with more acquisitions being made. None of them are excessive, but all should enhance earnings in their own way. Other companies within the public sector have noted that spending is on the increase which can only be good news for Compass Group.
BUY.

ICAP (IAP.L) - Preliminary results

Some companies may not enjoy volatility within the stock market, however for ICAP the more volatile the better as traders and investors look to buy and sell anything and ICAP carries out millions, if not billions, of pounds worth of deals each day. The last quarter should have been no exception so we expect a strong finish to the year to be noted in this update.
HOLD.

Land Securities (LND.L) - Preliminary results

Slowly but surely confidence has been returning to the property sector and coupled with Land Securities' reasonable dividend, investors have had a good ride for the last six months. Land Securities is not our favoured company within the sector as the portfolio is a little more diverse than others. Our preferred play is British Land due to its large exposure to London. A solid set of figures is expected in this release, and we may look to change our stance.
HOLD.

Thursday 19 May 2011

Cairn Energy (CNE.L) - Interim management statement

Investors have been waiting a long time for the deal to sell assets to Vedanta and it looks like it may be completed at last. Indian ministers are meeting, for what is hopefully the final time, to discuss the deal. Investors look set to get a cash payout once the deal is concluded. Cairn Energy is looking to develop areas off the Greenland coast and we hope for some updates on that region in this update.
BUY.

National Grid (NG.L) - Preliminary results

Utilities are finding favour at the moment and National Grid's shares are now back to the level they were trading at before the big drop off in May 2010. Investors may get jittery at this level and so this is a timely update where we hope to see some positive news to back up these gains and push the price further. The US operations have always caused some concern, but we hope this is not the case and it won't ruin the good work that has already been done.
HOLD.

Friday 20 May 2011

Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE.L) - Preliminary results

Scottish & Southern Energy has recently broken out of an 18 month cycle which saw the share price struggle to get over 1250p. The price is now racing away but there has been no significant news to indicate why the sudden surge. It may be takeover speculations or improved figures, but whatever the reason is investors should be happy. We hope this update will shed further light on recent movements and its next direction.
HOLD.

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