MONDAY
Results: Whirlpool.
TUESDAY
Results: JetBlue Airways, Procter & Gamble, Coca Cola.
Indicators: Euro zone budget and debt to GDP ratios (2018), consumer confidence flash (April); US house price index (Feb), new home sales (March).
WEDNESDAY
Results: Associated British Foods, Südzucker, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Boston Scientific, Facebook, PayPal, AT&T, Boeing, Brink's, Caterpillar, Microsoft, Tesla, Visa.
Indicators: UK public sector net borrowing (March); German business climate, current conditions and expectations (April).
Meetings: AIB Group agm (Ballsbridge Hotel, Dublin); Glanbia agm (Lyrath Estate Hotel, Old Dublin Road, Kilkenny); Business Agility – Thriving in Change seminar (Expleo Ireland, North Wall Quay, Dublin).
In a world of flux, change in the business community is becoming increasingly difficult to predict, as is certainty on how investment can head it off.
On Wednesday, Expleo Ireland, a technology consultancy, will hold its Business Agility event aimed at advising companies on exactly how to go about doing so with the presentation of the Barometer of Change study, published by the UK-based affiliate Moorhouse Consulting.
The 2018-2019 Barometer, which surveyed more than 300 senior executives, found 90 per cent believed both the pace and the pressure of change had increased in the past three years. That represents an 18 per cent increase on the previous survey, a reflection of the sheer acceleration in shifting organisational practices.
Moorhouse also found that although more than two-thirds of companies have invested in “change initiatives” these frequently become redundant before they are finished.
It is of little surprise then that most organisations (84 per cent) believe such breakneck pace will increase significantly in the coming years.
“Change is becoming hard to predict and even harder to navigate, with organisations having thoroughly mixed opinions on where to invest internally,” said Siobhán Smith, Expleo Ireland marketing manager, ahead of the event.
It will also feature speakers from a range of affected industries. Last February, Expleo Ireland – formerly known as SQS – announced the creation of a further 120 jobs in Dublin with a focus on the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, aerospace and automobile industries.
Associated British Foods (ABF), owner of the Penneys and Primark brands, will report interim results on Wednesday having previously anticipated first-half revenue growth in all of its businesses.
The group, which also encapsulates major grocery, agriculture and ingredients businesses, said in late February it expected a small reduction in adjusted operating profit for the 24 weeks to March 2nd, offset by lower net financial expenses.
It recorded an adjusted operating profit of €745.5 million in the first half of its 2017-18 financial year.
In the same trading statement, the company revealed its Dublin-headquartered Penneys/Primark company was likely to increase sales in the first half of the year by 4 per cent.
Davy has noted that ongoing difficulties in Germany and a competitive UK clothing market would prompt it to pare its full-year, like-for-like growth assumption.
“Commentary on the Primark margin suggests some upside to our flat year-on-year FY forecast. Sugar commentary is as expected. We anticipate no material changes to our FY19 forecasts,” it said.
THURSDAY
Results: Intel, Allegion, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Biomarin Pharmaceuticals, Norwegian Air, Saint-Gobain Group, Amazon, Ford, Starbucks, UPS.
Indicators: Irish overseas travel (March); UK business optimism index (Q2), industrial trends orders (April); German consumer confidence (May).
Meetings: CRH agm (Royal Marine Hotel, Dún Laoghaire); Greencoat Renewables agm (Davy House, Dawson Street, Dublin); Tullow Oil agm (Chiswick Park, London); Agile-Lean Ireland conference on business practices (Croke Park, Dublin).
FRIDAY
Results: Aon, Exxon Mobil, Colgate-Palmolive.
Indicators: Irish national minimum wage estimates (Q4); UK housing prices (April), mortgage approvals (March), distributive trades (April); US GDP (Q1).
Meetings: Datalex egm (Clontarf Castle Hotel, Dublin); Dublin Chamber Business Debate for Local Election 2019 featuring election candidates (Dublin Chamber, Clare Street, Dublin).