Agenda: Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Booker, Supergroup and Dunelm update

Sainsbury’s

The big four grocer will reveal its first-quarter results on Tuesday, July 4. Sainsbury’s like-for-likes have suffered lately as the fightbacks mounted by Tesco and Morrison’s have cut into its market share.

Management have been challenged to keep their grocery arm front and centre, as they integrate the business with Argos and roll out shop-in-shops. Shareholder questions on this topic can be expected at its AGM on July 5.

Ocado

The online grocer will post its interim results on Wednesday, July 5. Ocado’s profits should rise but this will do little to satisfy investors and analysts who are impatient for its long-awaited international deal.

Chief executive Tim Steiner inked a deal with a regional European retailer recently, signing it up to use its smart platform technology.

After years of trying to entice other retailers to use its tech platform, this will be seen as a validation of Ocado’s technological and online prowess by some, but others point out that it is not the blockbuster deal investors crave to boost profitability.

Booker

The convenience retailer will host its AGM and unveils its first-quarter results on Wednesday.

Booker revealed rising pre-tax profits and relatively healthy sales in its last full-years but its AGM is likely to be dominated by questions surrounding its merger with Tesco, which is currently being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority.

Supergroup

The fashion retailer will post its preliminary results on Thursday, July 6. SuperGroup chief executive Euan Sutherland is expected to announce a positive set of results, a bright spot in an otherwise subdued market.

Supergroup’s pre-tax profits should be in line with expectations while at its fourth-quarter update the retailer reported that its full-year revenues rose 27.2%.

Dunelm

The homewares retailer will reveal its fourth-quarter results on Friday, July 7.

Dunelm chief executive John Browett will be hoping to provide an improvement from its interims, at which he was forced to update the market with news of a 26% drop in pre-tax profits.

The retailer has been hit by the combination of a softening homewares market and a period of heavy investment.