Friday preview: Serco under pressure to deliver second half rebound

Outsourcing firm Serco updates the market on third quarter trading and has a hard act to follow after sector peer Capita's upbeat statement on Tuerday.

At the halfway point of the year, Serco announced a 2% like-for-like decline in revenue but said this should turn round in the second half to an 8% improvement.

Consensus forecasts require an additional £34m organic operating profits increase in the second half (H2), Peel Hunt notes. "We can see £27m of the uplift leaving an additional £7m of profits to be delivered in H2 - a potential shortfall of up to 4%," the broker said,

"While any profit short fall in 2012 is likely to be small, the delivery of H2

expectations is vital in regard to investor confidence in the ability of Serco to achieve the acceleration in organic revenue growth rates anticipated by analyst forecasts from H2 2012 onwards," suggested Peel Hunt's Christopher Bamberry.

INTERIMS

London Stock Exchange Group, Record

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Aviva, British Polythene Industries, Hunting, Intertek Group, Kerry Group 'A' Shares, Kingfisher, Lombard Risk Management, M&C Saatchi, Octopus Apollo VCT, S & U, Zhejiang Expressway Co 'H' Shares

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Balance of Trade (EU) (10:00)

Capacity Utilisation (US) (16:15)

Current Account (EU) (09:00)

Industrial Production (US) (16:15)

New Car Registrations (EU) (10:00)

GMS

Tangiers Petroleum Ltd (DI)

IMSS

Amec, Aegis, Clarke (T.), Lavendon, New Britain Palm Oil, Paddy Power, Rotork, Serco, Ultra Electronics Holdings

SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Octopus Eclipse VCT 1, Octopus Eclipse VCT 2, Octopus Eclipse VCT 3, Octopus Eclipse VCT 4

AGMS

Albemarle & Bond Holdings, Allergy Therapeutics, Cash Converters International Ltd, Dunelm Group, Matchtech Group, Nyota Minerals Ltd., Ultimate Finance Group

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Animalcare Group, British Sky Broadcasting Group, Galliford Try, Go-Ahead Group, Goldplat, Hays, Strategic Equity Capital, Wilmington Group

JH