Home-building group Taylor Wimpey will reveal the impact which the housing market recovery is having on its performance this week, while ITV will also update investors.
Taylor Wimpey to reveal annual results
Analysts in the City hope to see a sizeable jump in the profits of Taylor Wimpey.
With the firm due to report its results on Tuesday, it is thought in some quarters that pre-tax profits could be 68% higher, at £451 million.
The company is building more homes at higher values, as a result of the improving property market.
It recently reported that it completed construction work on 6% more homes last year, compared to the situation back in 2013.
Its average selling price was 12% higher, reaching a level of £213,000.
The UK housing market performed particularly well during the early stages of 2014, with the state-backed Help to Buy scheme boosting activity.
The pace of growth eased towards the latter stages of the year, as measures such as the Mortgage Market Review were introduced to prevent the emergence of a new housing bubble.
But the Chancellor offered a further stimulus by reforming the Stamp Duty system as part of his Autumn Statement package in December.
According to Taylor Wimpey, this move should “help more home-buyers to get on to and move up the property ladder”.
The group has also announced that its order book encompasses 6,601 homes.
It said that this is the “optimum size” which it can achieve at this stage in the business cycle.
A £250 million dividend for shareholders is expected this year, along with a £50 million special dividend.
While the company came close to collapse during the economic downturn, it has since recovered, with low borrowing costs, Government support schemes, and improving economic conditions all playing their part.
ITV enjoys advertising boost
Broadcasting giant ITV is widely expected to post stronger annual profits and advertising revenues this week.
Despite seeing its audience numbers slip, a relatively upbeat trading update is anticipated from the group this Wednesday.
A 17% improvement in adjusted pre-tax profits, to £682 million, is now widely expected in the City.
Downton Abbey and The X Factor are among the broadcaster’s flagship programmes at present.
Over the 10 months to the end of October 2014, the group said its channels saw a 5% dip in their share of viewing, to 21.8%.
The viewing share for the main ITV channel was 4% lower during the period - to 15.4%.
The football World Cup in Brazil during the summer was among the factors which drove net advertising revenues up by 6% during the first nine months of this year, however.
Over the full year, it is expected that advertising revenues will go up by 5%.
Looking ahead to the coming year, analysts have suggested that it will be much harder to forecast advertising revenues, in light of the Rugby World Cup, and the general election in May.
ITV has invested more money in original content in recent times, in order to reduce its exposure to the advertising market.
For instance, it has purchased production firms behind programmes like the Graham Norton Show.
By investing in this area, ITV can then sell its original content to broadcasters in foreign territories.
The firm has previously revealed that its ITVBe channel has made an encouraging start since it was launched back in the autumn. The channel caters for a young female audience.
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