The week ahead: RBS, AA, Dunelm

There are fewer big results this week, but expect excitement in the build-up to RBS numbers on Friday.

Monday 11 February

AGM/EGM

Trading Statements

Polyu, Acacia Mining

Tuesday 12 February

Shares in the roadside recovery giant remain in a long-term downtrend, despite a 30% rally since Christmas. Will comments in this trading update for the year ended 31 January extend the rally?

Few expect any fireworks. Look for an in-line statement and repeat of guidance for full-year adjusted cash profit of £335-£345 million. 

Trading Statements

AA, Mucklow (A & J)

AGM/EGM

TUI, Pressure Technologies

Wednesday 13 February

Dunelm (LSE:DNLM) second-quarter update in January was well-received. The shares had already begun a recovery mid-December as investors bet that Christmas retail sales would not be a complete disaster. 

They were right, and the stock is now up 50% in the past seven weeks. 

• Why retail sector shares rule the roost in 2019

Dunelm has guided to first -half pre-tax profit of £70 million after a one-off charge of £3.8 million linked to the Fogarty brand. Broker Peel Hunt thinks Dunelm's core performance looks like "an upgrade waiting to happen".

Trading Statements

Oncimmune, Galliford Try, Dunelm, Smurfit Kappa, Tullow Oil

Thursday 14 February

Trading statements

Safestore, UK Commercial Property Trust, Grit Real Estate Income, Gleeson (M J), Ashmore Group, Moneysupermarket.com, Micro Focus International, Coca-Cola HBC, AstraZeneca, Lancashire Holdings, ConvaTec Group, Indivior

AGM/EGM

MXC Capital

Friday 15 February

Typically a quieter day in terms of company reporting, Friday rounds off the week in style with the first of the domestic banks publishing full-year results.

The Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE:RBS) fires the starting gun on a round of eagerly anticipated earnings reports from UK lenders, and it would be unusual if the numbers did not trigger a swing either way for these popular shares.

Source: TradingView (*) Past performance is not a guide to future performance

The banking sector has been slow to bounce back following the financial crisis, and bank-led recessions have historically taken much longer to recover from than merely a shift in the economic cycle. 

The industry has also undergone a massive restructuring and looks quite different to the one it was before 2008-09. It’s true, the banks look better than they did, and those with an emerging markets focus – away from the UK and Europe like HSBC – have done better.

But a good set of numbers will influence the dividend payout. 

• UK bank sector: What to expect this results season
• The UK banks to buy in 2019
• Selling gathers pace at Royal Bank of Scotland
• Why this analyst is bearish about RBS shares

After returning to the dividend list last year – RBS paid 2p a share after doing a deal with the US Department of Justice over mis-selling of retail mortgage-backed securities - RBS is tipped to pay 8.5p in total for 2018, only a little more this year before ramping up in 2020 to nearly 14p, according to some brokers. 

Forecasts are for adjusted pre-tax profit of around £927 million, up 81% year-on-year and down 43% on the previous quarter.

Trading statements

ASOS, Ocean Outdoor Limited, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, Segro, Royal Bank of Scotland

AGM/EGM

*Horizontal lines on charts represent levels of previous technical support and resistance. Trendlines are marked in red.