A Brief Look At The Week Ahead

The week kicks off with RM Group, the software and computer services group, that is making a strong push to capture the government cash being pumped into primary and secondary schools, publishing final results. The company has already won contracts with four councils and aims to capture one-third of the IT budget for UK schools. Analysts are predicting pre-tax profits of 14m-15.5m against 14m last time but a sharp rise in revenues and profit margins in the year to September 2007. On Tuesday, De La Rue, the bank-note printer and cash machines group, announces its half-year numbers and analysts are looking for pre-tax profits of more than 42m compared with 30.6m last time. Increased demand for complex security features in banknotes to combat the growing sophistication of forgers boosted full-year numbers in May. It is food and drink day on Wednesday with Compass Group, the world's biggest catering company, which serves up 11bn of meals to schoolchildren, hospital patients, company staff and Wimbledon fans among others, forecast to announce operating profits of 506m and 11.3p of earnings per share, similar to last year. The contract caterer has been bedevilled by legal issues, but the market has factored them into the share price, which has been strong recently, particularly since its recent positive trading update. The same day sees Mitchells & Butlers report full-year numbers. The share price has been very strong leading up to the figures mainly, analysts say, because of bid speculation and positive trading and comments from other pub companies. Specifically, there have been more positive comments on the impact of the smoking ban seen in Scotland. With the company's most recent guidance suggesting earnings would be at the upper end of the board's expectations, Goldman Sachs predicts pre-tax profits of 206m and earnings per share of 29p. On Thursday, the market will be waiting to see what develops at Jessops, the chain of 315 camera shops. Following the trading update in September, most of the analysts believe that 355m of sales and 17m pre-tax profit are likely as the company enlarges its share of the growing digital camera market. The voracious Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries, which mopped up Jennings of Cumbria earlier this year, reports on Friday. It is set to announce that pre-tax profits have risen from 90.1m to 101m and earnings per share from 84.4p to 91.6p. More importantly for investors, Wolves is set to maintain its 30-year tradition of raising the dividend by at least 10%. Amongst others in the headlines this week are :- Homeserve on Monday; ASOS and Kelda on Tuesday; Sportingbet on Wednesday and Dyson and Pennon on Thursday. Plenty there to keep us all busy. Good hunting! Greystone (Greystone is Alan English, City Editor at MoneyAM.)

Good morning traders!

In Asia today, the Nikkei advanced 150.78 points to close at 15,885.38, while the Hang Seng ended the morning down 90.06 points at 19,170.24.

New York Mercantile Exchange's main oil contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, was up 0.27 cents at $59.51 a barrel.

Happy trading!

G.

End-of-day Market Roundup

A good day to keep your head down, I guess... ;-)