Week ahead: JD Wetherspoons, BP, IAG and more train strikes
Markets are bracing for quarterly results from JD Wetherspoon, BP and airline owner IAG this week, while train strikes are set to take place Tuesday through Thursday.
Pub chain JD Wetherspoon is preparing to serve up third-quarter earnings this week and, despite a recent sales jump, boss Tim Martin said high energy and labour costs continue to disrupt the business.
The FTSE 250 stock is down nearly nine per cent since the start of the year as investor spirits have remained dampened by slowing sales growth and the lack of a dividend, which was last paid in 2019.
Meanwhile, lower oil prices and weaker refining margins are set to impact oil and gas giant BP’s first quarter earnings, when it posts a trading update on Tuesday, with slowing profit and revenue growth expected.
Shareholders have been on a “rollercoaster ride” according to AJ Bell analysts, due to volatile oil prices, a boardroom scuffle following disgraced chief executive Bernard Looney’s sudden departure, and a collapse in the natural gas price down to 2020’s historic lows.
The company has faced pressure to pare back its green targets as demand for oil and gas grows.
But global oil prices have also spelt trouble for British Airways owner IAG, which will report its first-quarter results on Friday.
As oil prices have risen due to a rising geopolitical temperature, particularly in the Middle East, IAG’s annual fuel, oil costs and emissions charges also increased by €1.4bn year-on-year in 2023. The firm, which also owns Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling, says it is well hedged.
It comes as investors are growing jittery over IAG’s latest attempt to purchase Spanish carrier Air Europa.
In other travel-related news, another wave of train strikes returns as drivers continue to fight for better pay and conditions in a long-running dispute.
Members of the Aslef union will walk out at 16 rail operators between Tuesday and Thursday, and cancellations are expected due to a ban on overtime work until 11 May.
Direct Line, 3i and ITV also report to the London Stock Exchange this week. The week ahead will also reveal Halifax’s house price index, PMI construction figures and an interest rate decision from the Bank of England.