Tuesday preview: Aberdeen Asset, Topps Tiles, Immunodiagnostic

Date: Monday 29 Nov 2010

The share price of fund manager Aberdeen Asset Manager hit a 52-week high earlier this month though it has come off the top since. Tuesday’s full year results might provide further impetus, with the group expected to report good progress on debt reduction and margin improvement.

KBC Peel Hunt is forecasting profit before tax of £191m and earnings per share (EPS) of 12.0p, a little above consensus on profits but bang on the money with the EPS. The broker thinks the full year dividend will be hiked by 16% to 7.00p, putting it well ahead of the consensus figure of 6.64p.

The broker expects assets under management (AuM) to show “modest growth” to £171.4bn from the £168.8m reported at the end of August.

“For the 11 months to 31 August, the group had recorded £1.0bn of net inflows. The financial impact of this is more significant, however, as the broad trend has been a switch from lower-margin fixed-income products into higher-margin equity mandates. Fixed-income outflows amounted to £10.6bn for the 11-month period, indicating that performance issues have yet been fully worked through, although we believe that the outlook for 2011 is better (as the poor performance numbers drop out by August or September),” the broker said.

“Even within asset classes, Aberdeen has been successful at winning new business at higher margin than existing business (partly a business mix issue, with more Global Equities Management and Global mandates, in addition to a greater proportion of pooled funds),” Peel Hunt added.

Singer Capital Markets is also expecting an upbeat statement from Aberdeen. "Investment performance has continued to improve and we expect strong equity flows to have continued since year-end leading to a strong outlook statement and potential for consensus upgrades,” the broker predicted.

Britain’s biggest tile and wood flooring specialist, Topps Tiles said at the end of September that full year adjusted pre-tax profit is expected to be within analysts' estimates after an uptick in demand in the fourth quarter.

That would suggest Tuesday’s preliminary full-year figures will reveal a profit before tax of somewhere between £14.5m and £17.1m. The median forecast is for pre-tax profit of £16.1m on sales of £180.7m. Consensus for earnings per share is 6p, down from 6.62p last year.

Broker KBC Peel Hunt thinks “ongoing sales will show continued stability, providing the basis for further growth in 2011.” The broker rates the shares as a “buy”.

“Given the strength of fourth quarter like for like sales, expected to be up c4% year on year, we have seen consensus profit before tax (PBT) expectations upgraded towards our £16.6m forecast and we expect full-year PBT to be in the range £16m-16.5m,” the broker predicted.

Diagnostics testing kit firm Immunodiagnostic Systems issues interim results for the six months to the end of September. Panmure Gordon is forecasting revenues of £22.6m, up 34% year on year, and earnings per share of 17.6p (+36%). Profit before tax is tipped to be 56% higher than last year at £7.1m.

“The company already announced in its trading update on 5 October 2010 that significant progress has been made on placing 140 iSYS machines since it was launched in February 2009, almost doubling the number of machines placed by 31 March 2010, which was 74 iSYS. We look forward to an update there,” the broker said.

INTERIMS
ACM Shipping Group, Creston, Findel, First Property Group, GB Group, Halma, Hogg Robinson Group, Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings, Northumbrian Water Group, Real Estate Credit Investments Ltd., RPC Group, VP

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
BAE Systems, Lookers, Old Mutual, Provident Financial

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
Bankers Inv Trust, City of London Inv Trust

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Construction Orders (JPN)
Producer Prices (FRA) (07:45)
Unemployment Rate (GER) (08:55)
Consumer Price Index (EU) (10:00)
Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (EU) (10:00)
Unemployment Rate (EU) (10:00)
International Reserves (EU) (11:00)
Chicago PMI (US) (13:45)
Consumer Confidence (US) (15:00)
NAPM Milwaukee (US) (15:00)
ABC Consumer Confidence (US) (22:00)

Q2
Real Estate Credit Investments Ltd.

Q3
JSC Kazkommertsbank GDR (Reg S), National Bank of Greece ADR, OJSC Cherkizovo Group GDR (Reg S)

GMS
Lupus Capital

FINALS
Aberdeen Asset Management, Gooch & Housego, Holidaybreak, ITE Group, Nasstar, Sanderson Group, Shaftesbury, Silverdell, Topps Tiles

ANNUAL REPORT
Nasstar, Topps Tiles, Xtract Energy

SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Edinburgh Inv Trust

AGMS
Aberdeen Asian Smaller Companies Inv Trust, Baillie Gifford Japan Trust, Cash Converters International Ltd. Units, Greatland Gold, Plexus Holdings, Sky High, St Ives, Sylvania Resources Ltd. (DI), Victoria Oil & Gas

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
GFK Consumer Confidence (00:01)
Nationwide House Price Index (07:00)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Anglo & Overseas, Manchester & London Inv Trust

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