Thursday preview: UK GDP, Halfords, Qinetiq, B&M

Following a quiet week for UK data, Thursday will allow economists to get their teeth into more granular detail about the consumer backdrop, with the second release of gross domestic product for the first-quarter, plus the index of services and results from companies including Halford, United Utilities and QinetiQ.

The initial GDP estimate from the Office for National Statistics showed the British economy growing by 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in Q1, a sharp slowdown from the 0.7% growth at the end of last year.

Since then, updated industrial production and construction data have been revised down, but not by enough for economists to expect the estimate to be upped by a full decimal place.

HSBC said it felt the number will be unchanged in the forthcoming release and was interested in getting a first sight of the expenditure composition of Q1 growth and getting a look at the services index to see a more detailed sectoral breakdown top get a further insight into how consumer spending is evolving.

"We think that consumer spending will be shown to have slowed, while the monthly trade data suggest that net exports will have detracted from growth. The spending breakdown, therefore, might look fragile."

Howard Archer, in one of his last acts before leaving IHS Markit, said while the headline number looks unlikely to change, "the risks look to be slightly slanted to the downside rather than the upside as actual industrial production growth in the first quarter was modestly less than was estimated".

"Details of the expenditure side of GDP in the first quarter of 2017 will be released, and there can be no doubt that it will show that sharply weakened consumer spending was behind the slowdown in growth as increasingly squeezed householders reined in their spending."

Company results

QinetiQ will release preliminary results, with investors expected to find interest in the outlook after the announcement in March of a further decline of the single source baseline profit rate to 7.46% from a prior 8.95%. UBS forecast revenues of £789m, EBIT of £90m from EMEA services and £19m in global products, adding that it was looking for more detail on future growth opportunities and integration progress on the Targets division.

Full year results from bike and car accessory retailer Halfords should see sales of £1.1 retail LFL sales of 3.5% and flat autocentres LFL, UBS said. Analysts said to look out for reassurance for investors on the potential to recover the FX related gross margin hit, that the core Halfords markets remain in growth, the period of high cost inflation is over and that free cash flow will be returned to investors.

Discount retailer B&M European Value will roll up the shutters on its full year results, with the fourth quarter being the least weighty historically. Barclays expects a healthy set of results from B&M, projecting full year sales growth of 18.4%, 17.3% growth in underlying EBITDA and looking out for 2018 guidance, both financial and in terms of store expansion as B&M grapples with its attempts to get into the more affluent South-East.

Full-year numbers from PayPoint follow the disposals of its mobile and online businesses and the concluded negotiations with Yodel over Collect+. Barclays said this will allow the focus to return to the underlying business, where it expects net revenues excluding mobile and online of £114.0m, and EPS of 61.3p, with a focus on any update on its new ePOS terminal.

Thursday May 25

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Continuing Claims (US) (13:30)
Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Gross Domestic Product (09.30)
Index of Services (09:30)

FINALS
B&M European Value Retail, Halfords Group, Helical, Intermediate Capital Group, PayPoint, QinetiQ Group, Renewi (Shanks), Tate & Lyle, TR Property Inv Trust, United Utilities Group, Wizz Air Holdings

INTERIMS
Daily Mail and General Trust A (Non.V), Schroder European Real Estate Investment Trust, Urban&Civic

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Card Factory, GVC Holdings, Inchcape, Mincon Group , Regional REIT Limited

SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
ITV, United Carpets Group

AGMS
Jersey Oil And Gas , Air China Ltd., Albion Development VCT, Alliance Pharma, Amryt Pharma, Belvoir Lettings, Cambridge Cognition Holdings, Card Factory, Concurrent Technologies, EnQuest, F&C Private Equity Trust, Ferrexpo, Flowtech Fluidpower, G4S, Gama Aviation , Gocompare.com Group, Hastings Group Holdings , Headlam Group, Henry Boot, Huntsworth, Immedia Group, Inchcape, Itaconix , Kcell Joint Stock Co GDR (Reg S), Kenmare Resources, Keywords Studios, Legal & General Group, LMS Capital, Luceco , Middlefield Canadian Income PCC, NAHL Group, Nasstar, Old Mutual, Parity Group, Regional REIT Limited, Robert Walters, Sealand Capital Galaxy Limited (DI), Total Produce, TP Group, Vectura Group, Yu Group

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Foxtons Group , Hikma Pharmaceuticals, IndigoVision Group, Intu Properties, ITV, Reckitt Benckiser Group, UBM, Zotefoams

FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Action Hotels, Advanced Medical Solutions Group, Andrews Sykes Group, British American Inv Trust, Bunzl, Burford Capital , C&C Group, Capita, Cineworld Group, DCC, Downing Three VCT F Shs, Downing Three VCT H Shs, Downing Two VCT F Shs , Downing Two VCT G Shs, Exova Group , FDM Group (Holdings), Hill & Smith Holdings, Huntsworth, IFG Group, Ingenta, Irish Continental Group Units, Manx Telecom , Maven Income & Growth 2 VCT, Menzies(John), Midwich Group, Mincon Group , Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets, Neptune-Calculus Income & Growth VCT, Soco International, Spectris, Tarsus Group, The Gym Group, Venture Life Group, Whitbread, Worldpay Group, Xaar

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Wetherspoon (J.D.)

INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Avingtrans, Baring Emerging Europe, Brewin Dolphin Holdings, Diploma, Euromoney Institutional Investor, Gattaca, Impax Asset Management Group, Income & Growth VCT , Keystone Inv Trust, Marston's, Mitchells & Butlers, Town Centre Securities

QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Carnival, HICL Infrastructure Company Ltd, NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited Red