Week Ahead: Ticket to Schadenfreude for TUI

Date: Friday 02 Dec 2011

Massive attention has been focused on the cash-flow problems of package tour operator Thomas Cook recently, so the full-year results of rival holiday firm TUI Travel on Monday are certain to attract a lot of attention.

TUI has been at pains to emphasise it has not been suffering the same sort of tribulations as Thomas Cook, though it has not gone so far as to claim that Schadenfreude is a skiing resort in Austria ...

The results cover the period prior to Thomas Cook's latest woes, so there won't have been any benefit to TUI from its rival's reputational damage, but the update on current bookings should make very interesting reading. General market conditions remain challenging, given the Eurozone crisis, ongoing troubles in the Middle East and North Africa region and flooding in Thailand.

Market consensus is for profit before tax of £335.8m on sales of £14.1bn.

Fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management will also be releasing its full-year results on Monday. The firm announced in late September that it expects profits to be at the top end of analysts’ forecasts (ranging between £262m and £297m) despite the recent volatility in markets. As such, Singer Capital Markets expects pre-exceptional profit before tax (after finance costs) to be £295m.

At 31 August, assets under management (AUM) totalled £176.9bn, a 4.8% decrease on the total at 30 June. “Markets have been particularly volatile in recent weeks, as concerns about the Eurozone debt crisis and its impact on the global financial system have intensified,” Aberdeen Asset said. Singer says that with the market falls in September, AUM will have fallen to £172bn for the full year.

Nevertheless, the broker reiterated its buy rating on the stock on 1 December. “With strong organic growth, improving revenue and operating margins and a robust balance sheet, the outlook for higher dividend payments is also encouraging although we believe that Aberdeen will wish to retain a capital surplus given its institutional bias,” Singer said.

On Tuesday, the British Retail Consortium releases its update on the state of the UK High Street and edge of town shopping centre. Although it seems to be the case every year, retailers are banking more than ever on a bumper Christmas to hit their targets, and Tuesday's figures will give a clue as to how the presents-buying season is progressing.

On that subject, Thursday's trading update from Tesco should also give a good insight into what sort of Christmas the supermarkets can expect.

Monday December 05

INTERIMS
Sirius Real Estate Ltd.

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Rotala

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Factory Orders (US) (15:00)
Goods Orders (US) (15:00)
ISM Non-Manufacturing (US) (15:00)
ISM Services (US) (15:00)
PMI Composite (EU) (09:00)
PMI Composite (GER) (08:55)
PMI Services (EU) (09:00)
PMI Services (GER) (08:55)
Retail Sales (EU) (10:00)

Q3
OJSC Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works GDR (Reg S)

FINALS
Aberdeen Asset Management, Treatt, TUI Travel

ANNUAL REPORT
Diploma

EGMS
FRM Diversified Alpha Ltd., Integra Group GDR (Reg S)

AGMS
Creat Resources Holdings Ltd. (DI)

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Official Reserves (09:30)
PMI Services (09:30)

Tuesday December 06

INTERIMS
Brulines Group, International Greetings, MDM Engineering Group Ltd. (DI), Northgate, Park Group

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
PMI Construction (EU) (09:00)
PMI Construction (GER) (08:55)

FINALS
Alternative Networks, Innovation Group, Superglass Holdings, Victrex

IMSS
Wolseley

EGMS
Datang International Power Generation Co Ltd., Hellenic Telecom Industries SA ADS, OAO Omz ADR (Level 1)

AGMS
Bluebird Energy , Brookwell Ltd. Part Red Pref Shares NPV D, Starvest, Wessex Exploration

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
BRC Sales Monitor (00:01)
GDP (1st release) (EU) (10:00)
New Car Registrations (09:30)

Wednesday December 07

INTERIMS
DS Smith, Kesa Electricals, Micro Focus International Plc, Stagecoach Group

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Aga Rangemaster Group

INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE
3i Group, Big Yellow Group, Brown (N.) Group, Caledonia Investments, Castings, Cello Group, Chamberlin, City of London Group, Clean Energy Brazil, Creston, De La Rue, Dee Valley Group, Dee Valley Group (Non-Voting), Electrocomponents, European Residual Income Investments Cell, First Property Group, Fuller Smith & Turner, Hogg Robinson Group, Investec, London Stock Exchange Group, Majestic Wine, May Gurney Integrated Services, Montanaro European Smaller Companies Trust, Norcros, Northern 3 VCT, Northern Investors Co, Phoenix IT Group, Shanks Group, Tarsus Group, TR Property Inv Trust, TR Property Inv Trust Sigma Shares, Value and Income Trust, Ventus 2 VCT 'C' Shares, Ventus VCT, Ventus VCT 'C' Shares, VP

QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE
British Assets Trust, Personal Assets Trust, Real Estate Credit Investments PCC Ltd, XP Power Ltd. (DI)

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Consumer Credit (US) (20:00)
Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)
Industrial Production (GER) (11:00)
MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)

FINALS
ATH Resources, Brewin Dolphin Holdings, Zytronic

SPECIAL EX-DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
British Empire Securities & General Trust, Latchways

AGMS
Downing Absolute Income VCT 1, Edinburgh Dragon Trust, International Biotech Trust, ZCCM Investments Holdings 'B' Shares

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Carillion

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
BRC Shop Price Index (00:01)
Industrial Production (09:30)
Manufacturing Production (09:30)

FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE
AI Claims Solutions, Associated British Foods, British Empire Securities & General Trust, Britvic, Cambria Automobiles, Conygar Investment Company, Debenhams, Diploma, Grainger, K3 Business Technology Group, Local Shopping REIT, Netcall, Noble Investments (UK), RSM Tenon Group, Town Centre Securities, Waterman Group

Thursday December 08

INTERIMS
API Group, Ashtead Group, Mulberry Group

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
First Derivatives, William Hill

QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Canadian General Investments Ltd.

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Bloomberg Consumer Confidence (US) (14:45)
Continuing Claims (US) (13:30)
ECB Interest Rate (EU) (12:45)
Factory Orders (GER) (11:00)
Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)
Wholesales Inventories (US) (15:00)

Q2
Ashtead Group

Q3
Premier Farnell

GMS
Finsbury Growth & Income Trust

FINALS
CareTech Holding, Redhall Group, Titon Holdings

IMSS
Integra Group GDR (Reg S), Tesco

SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
BlackRock Greater Europe Inv Trust

EGMS
JSC Uralkali GDR (Reg S)

AGMS
Baobab Resources, Egdon Resources, Kolar Gold Ltd., Madagascar Oil, Yangtze China Investment Ltd. (DI)

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
PZ Cussons, Standard Chartered

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
BoE Interest Rate Decision (12:00)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
BlackRock Greater Europe Inv Trust, Fidelity Asian Values

Friday December 09

INTERIMS
MBL Group

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Balfour Beatty, Invensys, Maven Income & Growth VCT, NB Global Floating Rate Income Fund Ltd GBP, NB Global Floating Rate Income Fund Ltd USD, Pace, Printing.com, SABMiller, Stobart Group Ltd., Walker Crips Group

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
Barclays, Lilly (Eli) & Co

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Balance of Trade (GER) (07:00)
Balance of Trade (US) (13:30)
Consumer Price Index (GER) (07:00)
Current Account (GER) (07:00)
Retail Price Index (GER) (07:00)

ANNUAL REPORT
Carr's Milling Industries

SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Microgen, Narborough Plantations

EGMS
OJSC Polyus Gold ADR

AGMS
Air Partner, Artilium, Associated British Foods, cScape Group , Norseman Gold, Pantheon Resources, Tembusu Investments Ltd. (DI), Waterman Group, West Pioneer Properties Ltd. (DI)

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Balance of Trade (09:30)
Producer Price Index (09:30)
UK Trade (09:30)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Avingtrans, British Sky Broadcasting Group, Centaur Media, Craneware, Edinburgh Dragon Trust, JPMorgan Global Markets Emerging Income Trust, JPMorgan Smaller Companies Inv Trust

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