Wednesday preview: Vistry, Hays, US banks in focus

(Sharecast News) - Trading updates are due from housebuilder Vistry and recruiter Hays on Wednesday, while in the US, earnings from Citigroup and Bank of America will be in focus. Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, noted that Vistry's been on the receiving end of favourable government policies towards affordable housing of late.

"That saw its average weekly sales rates between July and early November rise by 11% compared to the prior year," he said. "With the overhanging uncertainty of the UK budget now out of the way, investors are keen to see how many more partner-funded deals have been completed when the group delivers its full-year update next week.

"Pre-tax profit forecasts for 2025 point to slight growth of around 3% to £271 million, following a sharp decline in the prior year due to a handful of management missteps. Investors are hoping to hear that continued cost discipline has helped achieve this target, especially as its partnerships model is lower margin than ordinary housebuilding projects. Moving forward, striking a positive tone next week will be key to rebuilding investor confidence into the new year."

As far as Hays is concerns, UBS forecasts a second-quarter LFL gross decline of 7.8% year-on-year, in-line with Visible Alpha, after an 8% fall in the first quarter and a 9% drop in the final quarter of last year, "as net fee declines stabilise in an uncertain macro/geopolitical environment".

UBS said permanent hiring remains under more pressure with low conversion of offers to placements, while temporary trends have been more resilient. It noted that FY26 adjusted EBITA consensus currently sits at around £50m, i.e. a small improvement from about £45m in FY25 due to ongoing cost savings.

"After significant headcount reductions already, we would expect headcount to be broadly stable from here as Hays focus on driving productivity in still-challenging markets," the bank said.

Investors will also eye quarterly earnings from Citigroup and Bank of America across the pond, after JPMorgan and BNY Mellon's numbers on Tuesday and ahead of earnings from Goldman Sachs, Blackrock and Morgan Stanley on Thursday.

On the macroeconomic front, US retail sales data for November and existing home sales figures for December are due at 1330 GMT and 1500 GMT, respectively. Chinese trade figures for December will also be released overnight.

Wednesday January 14

INTERIMS

MS International

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

British Land Company, Celebrus Technologies, Helical, Mercia Asset Management

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

Duke Capital Limited

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Business Inventories (US) (15:00)

Consumer Credit (US) (13:30)

Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)

MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)

Producer Price Index (US) (13:30)

Retail Sales (US) (13:30)

Retail Sales Less Autos (US) (13:30)

FINALS

Ramsdens Holdings

AGMS

Diploma, Tracsis

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Hays, Pearson, Vistry Group

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Bellway