The week ahead: Glencore, Premier Oil, Wood Group

Monday 17 August

Trading statements

Bovis Homes Group.

Tuesday 18 August

Despite Brent falling back down to under $50 a barrel, Deutsche Bank is confident Wood Group has the potential for earnings resilience. The oil services firm reports half-year numbers on Tuesday.

"We forecast $225 million of group EBITA [earnings before interest, tax and amortisation], down 7.5% y/y compared with pre-close (25 June) guidance for EBITA 'down on 1H14'," says Deutsche analyst Sebastian Yoshida, who sees limited risk to current full-year guidance but suggests the 2016 outlook could be an issue.

With the second quarter being one of the worst for oilfield service companies, industry expert Malcolm Graham-Wood reckons the meeting's outcome will be of "significant interest". Given the recent oil price performance, however, it's unlikely to be overly bullish.

Although Wood Group will not escape broader end-market pressures, Yoshida sees the potential for earnings resilience through cost cutting and scope to support earnings/value.

On 8x EV/EBITA and offering a 10% FCFY [free cash flow yield] in 2015-17E Wood remains one of Deutsche's top picks in the sector.

Yoshida has a 'buy' rating and 805p price target on the shares.

Trading statements

John Wood Group, Cairn Energy, Persimmon, H&T Group, Alpha Pyrenees Trust, Marshall Motor Holdings, Menzies (John).

AGM/EGM

Qannas Investments, Castings, World Trust Fund.

Wednesday 19 August

JP Morgan expects its 'underweight' thesis on Glencore will become evident when the FTSE 100 miner releases first-half results on Wednesday.

The broker reckons any rally will be short-lived, with balance sheet strains, loss-making operations and dividend concerns likely to reaffirm the downward trend. Analysts there predict Glencore's marketing business will miss expectations with just $1.1 billion of operating profit in the half. Their full-year target of $2.7 billion looks a long shot, too. Hitting that will need a 31% improvement on the first half.

Glencore's valuation support is weak versus Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, which have progressive dividend policies, adds JPM. "At current commodity prices, we calculate GLEN is at breakeven profitability in 2016 and loss making in 2017. We expect a 13.7% spot FCF [free cash flow] yield in 2015 will benefit credit not equity holders. We lower our PT [price target] to £2.10/sh and we remain UW."

Find out which miner has the safest dividend, here.

Trading statements

Glencore, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, EnQuest, Hochschild Mining, Admiral Group, Imperial Tobacco Group, Inspired Energy, MirLand Development Corporation, Plaza Centers NV.

AGM/EGM

Global Invacom Group, Playtech, General Industries.

Thursday 20 August

Oil explorer Premier Oil will also release half-year results this week - Mark Henderson at Westhouse Securities remains bullish but believes investors remain concerned about the balance sheet.

"Premier has delivered a strong performance on production in the first half, as reported in the trading statement in early July. This is chiefly due to high uptime and better reservoir performance in Vietnam, offset by problems at Huntington in the UK North Sea," says Henderson. "The issues at Huntington (gas export) have reportedly been resolved and we would expect Premier to do better than the guided 55kboepd (ex Solan) for the full year."

Expect production of 60.5kboepd in the first half, sales of $601 million and pre-tax profit of $25 million.

"Operating and financial performances have been improving at Premier Oil although we believe that investors remain concerned about the balance sheet, given the development projects underway and the ongoing Falkland’s exploration campaign. We expect management to focus on efforts to preserve balance sheet flexibility in these results," adds Henderson, who attaches an 'add' recommendation and 214p target price to the stock.

Trading statements

Premier Oil, Sportech, Primary Health Properties, Kaz Minerals, New World Resources, Mail.RU Group, Stock Spirits Group, Sanne Group, UK Commercial Property Trust, TT Electronics, Rank Group, WH Smith, Costain Group, Phoenix Group Holdings, Polypipe Group, Sane Group.

AGM/EGM

Marimedia.

Friday 21 August

Trading statements

Spire Healthcare Group, AGA Rangemaster Group, HellermannTyton Group, Tritax Big Box Reit.

AGM/EGM

88 Energy, ReNeuron Group.

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.