Interim results from our top FTSE 100 companies will be coming thick and fast next week, with representatives from across the sectors bringing us their latest. There will also be a number of smaller company interims released next week as well, but they’re pretty much swamped by the biggies.
Want to hear about banking, oil, tobacco? Here’s one from each for next week:
Barclays, Tuesday
With focus increasingly on the re-privatisation of our bailed-out banks, eyes will be peeled for news from the sector as a whole. The two taxpayer-funded ones will report next week, but we’ll kick off with Barclays (LSE: BARC) (NYSE: BCS.US) on Tuesday. What should we expect?
The current full-year consensus suggests earnings per share (EPS) of 36p from £4.5bn in pre-tax profit, though there is a fair divergence in individual predictions. The same goes for dividends, with a fairly wide range and a consensus of 7.2p per share, which would provide a yield of 2.2% on the current share price of 321p. We’re probably unlikely to get much clue to the full-year payout just yet, with a 1p interim paid for the first quarter and a repeat of that very much expected for half time.
Barclays shares have more than doubled over the past 12 months, but what valuation is left? Well, those forecasts put the shares on a distinctly lower-then-average P/E of 9.2, dropping to under 8 for 2014, so we might still have a long-term bargain here.
BP, Tuesday
Tuesday is also big oil time, with interim results due from BP (LSE: BP). The share price has been creeping up since the start of 2013 — it’s gained 12% since the beginning of January, to 476p today. BP is a constituent of the Fool’s Beginners’ Portfolio, so I’ll be paying close attention myself, but there shouldn’t be any surprises.
BP’s first-quarter results showed the oil & gas giant bouncing back to its longer-term profits trend after last year’s slump — full-year forecasts suggest a 36% recovery in EPS, putting the shares on a P/E of under 9. BP’s dividend has remained strong too, with last year’s payment providing a 5.2% yield. We should see a small payout rise this year, though an appreciating share price puts the forward yield slightly down at 5%.
A drawn-out conclusion to the costs of the Gulf of Mexico disaster provides the only real clouds in the picture, and a final resolution could be what is needed for a share price rerating.
British American Tobacco, Wednesday
On Wednesday, it’s time for first-half figures from British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS) (NYSE: BTI.US), and many investors will be wondering if we’re approaching peak profits from the deadly weed. British American shares have followed a steady five-year climb, but over the past 12 months we’ve seen only a 5% rise to 3,470p while the FTSE is up more than 20%.
Forecasts still look decent, mind, with EPS expected to grow by 7% this year and 8% next — but that’s down from the double-digit rises the firm was enjoying until recently. A first-quarter update released in April did tell of a 5% rise in revenue for the period, but actual cigarette volumes fell by 3.7% with total tobacco volumes down 3.4%.
There’s a full-year dividend yield of 4.2% expected with the shares on a forward P/E of 15, and that doesn’t look unreasonable. But if the tobacco tide really is turning, the days of outperformance for the sector could well be in the past.
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> Alan does not own any shares mentioned in this article.
