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MONDAY
Results: Kainos.
Indicators: German consumer confidence (Dec); US new home sales (Oct).
TUESDAY
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Results: Cranswick, Falcon Oil & Gas, Greencore Group, UDG Healthcare.
Indicators: Irish retail sales (Oct), overseas travel (Aug - Oct); Euro zone loan growth (Oct); UK nationwide housing prices (Nov), financial stability report; US home prices (Sep), consumer confidence (Nov).
Meetings: Irish Waste Management Conference 2017 (Carton House Hotel, Maynooth); Irish Fiscal Advisory Council publishes Fiscal Assessment Report (ESRI, Whitaker Square, Dublin).
Data changes
The vast majority of accounting technicians believe Irish business is unprepared for sweeping data protection laws due to come into force next year.
Ahead of its annual conference on Tuesday, Accounting Technicians Ireland said a survey of its members found 83 per cent were unconvinced by preparations for the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), replacing the existing framework in May.
The regulations loom large in the business world. Under development for four years, the GDPR has been described as the most lobbied piece of legislation to pass through the EU law-making machine, and brings with it the threat of multimillion euro fines for breaches.
The conference, The Next Frontier, will examine the challenges and opportunities for business, accountancy and finance professionals in the face of evolving technologies, tightening regulations and shifting political forces.
Pat Moran, head of cybercrime and IT forensic, PwC Ireland, social media strategist Samantha Kelly, and Paul Shanahan, business group lead Intelligent Cloud at Microsoft Ireland, will speak on the future of connectivity in the wake of GDPR.
A discussion on the key challenges and opportunities of navigating Brexit will be chaired by Brian Keegan, director of taxation and public policy, Chartered Accountants Ireland. Key presentation on the topic will be given by Fergal O'Brien, director of policy and chief economist at Ibec, Anne Lanigan, manager of the Brexit unit at Enterprise Ireland, and Jonathan Warnes, director of the global employer services group Deloitte.
Greencore
results
It has been a difficult few months for Irish food producer Greencore, sandwiched between large falls in share price and a bacteria scare at one of its processing plants.
The company, reporting full-year results on Tuesday, is now the largest sandwich maker in the UK, where it fills the shelves of Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's and Tesco among others, and has been praised for its track record in revenue growth.
However, with shares having fallen by 20 per cent in the year, investors may find their appetites soured. Last month a listeria scare at its plant in Rhode Island – a nasty bacteria that causes food poisoning – saw shares drop 7.2 per cent following the recall of sandwiches (although the issue was linked to ingredients supplied from elsewhere). Then in August the loss of a contract to provide frozen sandwiches to Starbucks from its factory in Jacksonville, Florida, triggered another slump.
Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded its outlook to "underperform", with one analyst remarking that the assembly facility was "massively underutilised and hurting margins".
In a note ahead of Tuesday’s results, Davy said the company was coming to the end of an “intense” capital investment period alongside negative earnings. Consensus earnings for 2018 of -4.9 per cent had, it said, resulted in the “disproportionate” fall in its stock price. “Despite these headwinds, Greencore’s business model remains highly relevant for its retail and CPG customers.”
WEDNESDAY
Results: Tiffany & Co.
Indicators: euro zone business and consumer confidence (Nov), services, economic and industrial sentiment (Nov), consumer inflation expectations (Nov); UK consumer credit (Oct), mortgage lending and approvals (Oct); German inflation (Nov); US GDP (Q3).
Meetings: Small Firms Association agm (Ibec, Lower Baggot Street, Dublin).
THURSDAY
Results: Donegal Investment Group, Barnes & Noble.
Indicators: Irish wholesale prices (Oct), CSO foreign direct investment data (2016); Euro zone inflation (Nov), unemployment (Oct); UK consumer confidence (Nov); German import prices (Oct), retail sales (Oct), unemployment (Nov).
Meetings: Eir Spiders Digital Technology Awards (Mansion House, Dublin) .
FRIDAY
Indicators: Irish manufacturing PMI (Nov), industrial production (Oct); euro zone manufacturing PMI (Nov); UK manufacturing PMI (Nov); German manufacturing PMI (Nov); US manufacturing PMI, new orders and employment (Nov), vehicle sales (Nov).
Meetings: Green Reit agm (Merrion Hotel, Dublin).