Nick Raynor, investment adviser at The Share Centre, gives his thoughts on companies announcing results (w/c 1 August 2011).

Monday 1 August 2011

HSBC (HSBA.L) - Interim results

Santander's recently stated profits were down 38 per cent and this worried the financial markets. European and US concerns have plagued the banking sector recently and movements have been volatile. We expect more of the same this week as the rest of the banking sector are reporting figures. Investors will want to see if HSBC has managed to improve its cost-income ratio as promised at the start of the year.
HOLD.

Companies also reporting:
Hammerson (HMSO.L) - Interim statement. HOLD.
Intertek (ITRK.L) - Interim statement. HOLD.

Tuesday 2 August 2011

Barclays (BARC.L) - Interim results

Barclays is the only UK bank that has been left to its own devices (of sorts) and is keen to start making some attractive profits from its retail banking division. We hope this update shows signs of this happening. Also, Investors will be eager to see if the dividend is going to be increased.
BUY.

Fresnillo (FRES.L) - Interim results

Fresnillo is a play for investors looking for exposure to silver mining, but also has a gold division. A production update was issued in mid-July and so we don't expect any surprises, just another set of consistent figures. As the gold price continues to rise, we could see further rises on the share price.
BUY.

Companies also reporting:
Weir Group (WEIR.L) - Interim statement. HOLD.
Xstrata (XTA.L) - Interim statement. HOLD.
 
Wednesday 3 August 2011

Legal & General (LGEN.L) - Interim results

MPs have called to delay the implementation of the Retail Distribution Review by a further 12 months, which will benefit Legal & General. This would keep more IFA's in business and therefore more savings products could be sold. It will be interesting to see if new business figures and the amount of funds under management will be mentioned in the update.
HOLD.

Standard Chartered (STAN.L) - Interim results

When the banks issued first quarter figures three months ago, Standard Chartered was the only one to show any signs of life with record income figures. We expect more of the same from these results. Anything less may see a great deal of disappointment from the market and this may be reflected in the share price. It will also be interesting to see if the events in Japan have had a significant impact on trading.
BUY.

Companies also reporting:
Rexam (REX.L) - Interim statement. HOLD.
GKN (GKN.L) - Interim statement. SELL.
 
Thursday 4 August 2011

British Land (BLND.L) - First quarter results

British Land recently expanded its portfolio of business by buying the leases of 17 Virgin Active Racket Clubs for £179 million. Although these properties will be leased back to Virgin, it shows the value and investment opportunities in the property markets at the moment. The company has made investments this year and more is expected in the near future. We hope to see something interesting in these first quarter figures.
BUY.

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) - Interim results

Lloyds has announced major job cuts again and the sale of over 600 branches. Concerns over Europe are still hammering away at the share price and coupled with signs that the UK economy is still flagging this could be a very long and torturous road for Lloyds and its investors. Any positives will be gratefully received in these results, but may be hard to find.
HOLD.

Aviva (AV.L) - Interim results

Takeover rumours have been abounding the market for Aviva - whether it be a breakup of the company or an outright bid. However, some analysts believe this is highly unlikely due to the current uncertainty surrounding regulations within the insurance industry at the moment, but it should not be ruled out. These results should be of interest as we expect new business figures from both home and abroad to increase, however we don't expect fireworks.
BUY.

Companies also reporting:
Randgold Resources (RRS.L) - Second quarter results. HOLD.
Rio Tinto (RIO.L) - Interim statement. BUY.
RSA Insurance (RSA.L) - Interim statement. HOLD.
Schroders (SDR.L) - Interim statement. HOLD.
Unilever (ULVR.L) - Interim statement. HOLD.
Inmarsat (ISAT.L) - Interim statement. HOLD.

Friday 5 July 2011

Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS.L) - Interim results

We feel Royal Bank of Scotland is undoubtedly the weakest bank within the sector at the moment and it will take a lot of restructuring before we would even entertain the recommending the stock again. Performance has been ok from the UK, but its overseas operations are causing the main concerns. We hope to see some improvement in these results.
SELL.

Prudential (PRU.L) - Interim results

New business figures released in May showed some reasonable growth levels and we expect this to continue to be the case in these interim results. There has been a little grumble made towards the company's management by shareholders, so a positive set of figures may just swing them back in favour.
BUY.

Companies also reporting:
Old Mutual (OML.L) - Interim statement. HOLD.
Smith & Nephew (SMIN.L) - Interim statement. HOLD.