Advertising firms are often said to be first into a recession, and among the last out, so results from the giant of the UK industry, WPP, could give a good clue as to which way the economic winds are blowing, and how strongly.
The market has pencilled in a figure of £9,939m for revenue and £1,115m for profit before tax. Earnings per share are tipped to rise to 64.8p, underpinning a predicted handsome increase in the full year dividend from 17.79p to 21.22p.
Charles Stanley is below consensus on revenue (£9,850m) and above the median forecast in the range on profit before tax (£1,160m), while it thinks earnings before interest, tax and amortisation will rise from £1,229m last year to £1,325m.
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"WPP is set to report a good set of full year results, reflecting further recovery in the global communication services industry and good operational execution," reckons Charles Stanley analyst Sam Hart.
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"Outlook comments from Chief Executive, Sir Martin Sorrell, will be closely analysed," Hart suggests. "He has previously stated that he expects 2012 to be a reasonable year for the advertising industry. Advertising and promotion revenues have historically grown broadly in line with global GDP [gross domestic product], which is forecast to be up by 3-4% in 2012. A further 1-2% boost is expected to come from 'maxi-quadrennial' events including the Olympic Games, European Football Championships and the US Presidential Election."
Beyond that, Sorrell has said he expects 2013 and beyond to be "a long hard slog" for developed Western economies as they wean themselves off the fiscal stimulus drug.
On the economic front, February Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) surveys for the manufacturing and construction sectors are due for release on Thursday. Market consensus is for the manufacturing PMI to come in at 52.0, barely changed from Hanuary's 52.1. The PMI Construction survey reading is tipped to also ease slightly, to 51.3 from 51.4 the month before.
INTERIMS
AI Claims Solutions
QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
JPMorgan Claverhouse Inv Trust
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Auto Sales (US) (15:00)
Bloomberg Consumer Confidence (US) (14:45)
Construction Spending (US) (15:00)
Continuing Claims (US) (13:30)
Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)
ISM Manufacturing (US) (15:00)
ISM Prices Paid (US) (15:00)
Personal Consumption Expenditures (US) (13:30)
Personal Income (US) (13:30)
Personal Spending (US) (13:30)
PMI Manufacturing (GER) (08:55)
PMI Manufacturing (UK) (09:30)
GMS
Woodburne Square Ag
FINALS
Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd. (Singapore), Derwent London, Fiberweb, Fyffes, Hardy Underwriting Bermuda Ltd. (DI), Hongkong Land Holding Ltd. (Singapore), Howden Joinery Group, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group, Man Group, Mandarin Oriental International (Singapore), Novae Group, office2office, Psion, Quadnetics Group, Robert Walters, Spirent Communications, Unite Group, Vitec Group, WPP, Xchanging
EGMS
ACTA Spa
AGMS
Driver Group, IDOX, LPA Group, Terrace Hill Group
TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Kazakhmys
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
British Portfolio Trust
