5 stocks to watch in June

An eclectic mix of companies will publish financial figures in June, as the stock exchange gears up for a busy summer of results. After a tumultuous few months for markets, FTSE 100 stalwarts Berkeley and Halma will update investors on their full-year progress, while Chemring, Dr Martens and Pennon will offer a snapshot of what’s going on in the FTSE 250.  

This article is not a recommendation to buy or sell these investments; it is purely insight into some of the companies that announce results in the coming months.  

Berkeley Group Holdings 

When Berkeley publishes its annual results next month, shareholders will be searching for signs of life in the property market. The FTSE 100 housebuilder told investors in December that it was ‘close to the point of inflection when both the operating environment and market conditions are supportive of investment’ - but a lot has changed in the world since then.  

Berkeley mainly builds residential homes in London and the South East. High property prices, combined with interest rate hikes, have weighed on its sales record in recent years, and higher construction costs have also hurt the bottom line.  

The near-term outlook remains subdued. For financial year 2025, revenue is expected to be largely flat, and analysts at UBS think net earnings will decline by 6% to £374m. The bank doesn’t believe earnings will ‘inflect’ until 2029. 

Several forces are now working in Berkeley’s favour, however. Changes to planning rules under the Labour government could speed up development and a fall in base rates could kick-start the property market. Analysts at Stifel, which currently have Berkeley on a ‘hold’, have voiced cautious optimism. 

“There is upside risk to returns if demand improves, speeding up capital turn and improving margins, or if the planning system frees up to allow it to replenish its landbank with higher-margin land,” they said. 

Berkeley is also taking proactive steps to stoke demand. Given the rental market is booming, the company has decided to enter the build-to-rent market, with an aim to deliver its first homes in financial year 2027. 

Berkeley’s share price has languished over the past five years, but analysts disagree over whether the stock is genuinely cheap. UBS is optimistic, saying ‘the share price offers an attractive entry point into the UK housebuilder with the highest through cycle returns’. Stifel is more circumspect, however, saying the valuation looks ‘fair’ given the outlook.  

Berkeley will publish its annual results on 20 June.  

More on Berkeley Group Holdings

Halma  

Halma is not a household name - but perhaps it should be. The FTSE 100 company is ‘very high quality’, according to Stifel analysts, with generous profit margins and a long record of steady growth. 

The group is made up of about 50 individual businesses, which manufacture a range of ‘life saving’ equipment, including fire suppression systems, heart rhythm monitors and gas detectors.  

Halma has embraced a ‘buy-and-build’ approach since it listed in London 50 years ago. Its constant stream of acquisitions has not detracted from its key selling point, however: its dividend. 2024 marked the 45th consecutive year of dividend growth of 5% or more.  

Still, it is not an easy time to be a manufacturer. Costs are high and Donald Trump’s tariff shock hit just as sentiment was just starting to recover. Halma described ‘varied trading conditions’ and an ‘evolving economic and geopolitical backdrop’ in a short update in March. The announcement was cheerier than the market expected, however, due to a small boost to profit margin guidance. 

Stifel expects Halma to report revenue growth of 9% for the year to 31 March 2025. Adjusted profit before tax, meanwhile, is forecast to rise by 11% to £440mn.  The investment bank stressed Halma’s “long and consistent record of delivering premium growth with low volatility”, although it noted that it had been “has been relatively quiet on the M&A front” recently. 

Barclays appeared unfazed by this and increased its forecasts slightly for 2025. ‘Once again, Halma’s portfolio structure has allowed it to deliver sector organic growth in line with the best in sector,’ the bank concluded.  

Halma will publish its full-year results on 12 June. 

More on Halma 

Chemring 

European defence stocks are having a bumper year. Shares in Rheinmetall, Germany’s biggest arms manufacturer, have more than trebled since May 2024, and shares in the Italian aerospace giant Leonardo have doubled in the same period. The reason for this is clear: governments across Europe have pledged to increase their military spending to become less reliant on the United States.  

Closer to home, business is booming at the FTSE 250 defence company Chemring. In April, it announced a £251m deal with the Ministry of Defence, which bolstered an already impressive order book. The contract win drove up Chemring’s share price, and many investors will be eagerly awaiting the group’s interim results next month.  

Geopolitical forces are just one part of the investment story, however, and it is important to note that Chemring has tripped itself up in the past. There are obvious safety risks associated with working with explosives, and Chemring “has a history of incidents that have disrupted production”, according to Berenberg. 

Last financial year, its profits were lower than the market expected due to ‘operational challenges’ at a plant in Tennessee. Its sensors and information division - which sits alongside the missiles and ammunition business - also faces growth challenges. 

Berenberg still expects earnings to grow strongly, however: between 2025 and 2027, it thinks operating profit could increase at a compound annual rate of 15%. The upcoming results should shed more light on whether this is achievable.  

Chemring’s interim figures are out on 3 June. 

More on Chemring 

Dr Martens  

Dr Martens is a self-professed ‘British icon’. The bootmaker found favour with punks and skinheads in the 1970s and has retained a certain glamour in the UK ever since. Unfortunately, Americans aren’t as enamoured. All eyes will be on the US, therefore, when it publishes its annual results in June. 

The US market has been tough for Dr Martens since it joined the London Stock Exchange during the pandemic. Blame was originally pinned on a troublesome distribution centre in Los Angeles, but customer demand is now the pressing issue. Sales in the region have been falling, and Dr Martens’ shareholders have endured a string of profit warnings as a result, as well as the departure of chief executive Kenny Wilson.   

New chief executive (and former chief brand officer) Ije Nwokorie reassured investors in January that the retailer was making ‘good progress’ in the region. He added that the direct-to-consumer Americas business was on track to return to growth in the second half of the year. Costs are also being ‘actively managed’, and management is working to reduce the high levels of inventory that were concerning some investors.  

The market could take some convincing, however. Analysts at Barclays are looking for a ‘more sustained improvement in performance before taking a more constructive view’. Berenberg is feeling cheerier, saying a ‘turnaround is in progress’. However, the bank is still braced from a sharp drop in operating profit - from £125mn in the 12 months to 31 March 2024 to just £58mn in financial year 2025. Profits are forecast to rebound again in 2026 but given the nature of retail, visibility is limited.  

Shares in Dr Martens have fallen by roughly a quarter since January and are down 35% year-on-year. Please note past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns. 

Dr Martens will publish its annual results on 5 June. 

More on Dr Martens 

Pennon

Once upon a time, investing in utilities was seen as a relatively safe bet. The sector promised reliable dividends and growth was steady, if not spectacular. In recent years, however, the mood changed - particularly for water stocks.  

Sewage scandals have forced the likes of Pennon, Severn Trent and United Utilities to invest heavily in infrastructure, and regulators have been given new powers to - in the words of the government - ‘take tougher and faster action to crack down on water companies damaging the environment and failing their customers’.     

Pennon, the owner of South West Water, has had a particularly challenging few months. An outbreak of the parasite cryptosporidium in a Devonshire town caused significant reputational damage last year, and the cost of dealing with the outbreak pushed the company into a half-year loss before tax of £38.8m.  

Many equity analysts remain cautious. In the wake of a capital markets day in March, BofA Securities complained that ‘visibility on expected achieved returns remained low’ and said that Pennon was facing a ‘challenging regulatory period’. 

This is partly due to the sheer scale of investment that Pennon is planning. It intends to spend £3.2bn over the next five years across the South West, Bristol, Bournemouth and Sutton and East Surrey. A £490mn rights issue announced in January - which allowed shareholders to buy 13 new shares for every 20 they owned, at a sizeable discount - will help to fund this, as will higher bills. 

The water sector is urgently trying to woo investors, but it remains to be seen whether the huge investment push will pay off.  

Pennon’s annual results are due out on 3 June.  

More on Pennon 

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