Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is under pressure to introduce tax breaks and spending plans in his spring statement on Wednesday. It was not originally intended to be a “mini-budget” but it is expected to introduce new policies to help households and businesses tackle the rising cost of living.
Forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility are expected to show slower growth and higher inflation over the next five years. This will help to push up the government’s total borrowing bill by raising the cost of servicing its debt. Economists at EY project that total public sector borrowing will rise from an expected £83 billion to £100 billion in 2022-23.
The Federation of Small Businesses, which represents 280,000 firms, wants the chancellor to raise the employment allowance from £4,000 to £5,000 to help reduce the hiring bill for squeezed employers. He is also being urged to scrap a rise in national insurance of 1.25 percentage points that is due to kick in next month.
Inflation, which hit a 30-year high of 5.5 per cent in January, is expected to have risen further in tomorrow’s figures for February because, in addition to broader increases in wages and the prices of goods, fuel prices spiked at the end of the month after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Tomorrow
Pandemic spending in the absence of holidays and commuting brought a boom for Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q and Screwfix, as people spruced up their homes. In November the business said the shift to working from home meant the DIY surge had continued, and boosted its annual profit guidance to £950 million. But annual sales are expected to have softened.
Interims Diurnal, ScS Group, Softcat, YouGov
Finals Alliance Pharma, Circassia, Diaceutics, Fintel, Harworth, Kape Technologies, Kingfisher, Longboat Energy, Luceco, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Pebble Group, Sabre Insurance, Staffline, Trustpilot, Zotefoams
Trading updates Carnival, Renewi
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Wednesday
It seemed like a good idea when Saga, the over-50s insurance and travel group, introduced three-year fixed price policies for car and home insurance. Now, with inflation unleashed, it may have drawbacks. Policyholders have been promised the same premium for three years, but the cost of repairs and replacements may be going up more than expected.
Shareholders will also want updates, with the annual results, on the travel and cruises division, which has been hit by lockdown. This month the company’s new vessel Spirit of Adventure, above, had to turn back from a planned Caribbean voyage after a Covid outbreak. Saga has already warned that the cruises operation would post a £45 million to £50 million loss for the full year to January 21.
Overall, investors are braced for a small underlying loss of about £6 million for the wider group, which has been a disappointment for those who bought in at the flotation in 2014. Adjusting for consolidation, they paid an effective £27.75 a share. The shares closed on Friday at £2.47.
Finals Dignity, Henry Boot, Judges Scientific, Kenmare Resources, Petrofac, Pittards, Saga, SigmaRoc, Surgical Innovations, Ultra Electronics
Trading update Halma
Thursday
One of the best indicators of the state of the retail sector will be provided in the full-year results presentation by Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise, the boss of Next. His comments on consumer outlook will be closely watched. In January the 40-year-old business told the City to expect profits of £822 million, almost 10 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Interims CVS Group, Kin & Carta
Finals Arbuthnot Banking, Atalaya Mining, Biome Technologies, Bonhill Group, Bridgepoint, Energean, EnQuest, Eve Sleep, International Public Partnerships, Lloyd’s of London, Next, Secure Trust Bank, Sopheon, Venture Life, WAG Payment Solutions
Friday
Smiths Group will need to prove it can generate consistent growth when it unveils half-year figures, after securing the long-awaited disposal of its medical equipment business. At a capital markets day in November the FTSE 100 constituent set out plans to accelerate organic revenue growth to 4-6 per cent a year and grow earnings at a rate of between 7 and 10 per cent. Analysts have forecast revenue and pre-tax profits of £2.48 billion and £332 million this year, up from £2.41 billion and £240 million respectively.
Interims Smiths Group
Finals Ebiquity, Faron Pharmaceuticals
Trading update United Utilities
