Monday
Results: Greencoat Renewables.
Indicators: Euro zone manufacturing PMI (Feb); UK consumer credit and mortgage lending (Jan), net lending to individuals (Jan), manufacturing PMI (Feb); German manufacturing PMI (Feb); US manufacturing PMI and new orders (Feb), construction spending (Jan).
Meetings: Local Enterprise Week for small businesses (various locations nationwide).
Greencoat Renewables' results on Monday come hot on the heels of its highly publicised €35.4 million acquisition of a 14.1MW wind farm in Letteragh, Co Clare.
The move brings its portfolio of operational wind assets to 476MW. The sale falls under the REFIT 2 programme, which extends to 2032.
“Greencoat Renewables continues to be active on both ends of the Irish renewable market, acquiring smaller assets from local developers, while also forming strategic partnerships, as it seeks to consolidate a fragmented market,” Goodbody noted at the time of the announcement.
It continues to recommend a hold on stock given recent share price performance.
Davy noted that, while small, the most recent acquisition added another high-quality asset to its portfolio, with suggestions that “further assets will be added in due course”.
Tuesday
Results: Cairn Homes, Ibstock, Travis Perkins, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, Urban Outfitters.
Indicators: Irish unemployment (Feb); Euro zone PPI (Jan), unemployment (Jan), inflation (Feb); UK construction PMI (Feb); US economic optimism (Mar).
Meetings: Biopharma Ambition conference (Dublin Castle, Dublin 2); Workplace & Facilities Expo (RDS, Dublin 4).
Wednesday
Results: Hostelworld, Abercrombie & Fitch, Campbell's Soup.
Indicators: Euro zone services and composite PMI (Feb), retail sales (Jan); UK services and composite PMI (Feb); German retail sales (Jan), services and composite PMI (Feb); US services and composite PMI (Feb).
Meetings: Talent Summit (Convention Centre Dublin).
Thursday
Results: Trinity Biotech.
Indicators: Irish industrial production (Jan); UK new car sales (Feb); German construction PMI (Feb); US factory orders (Jan).
Meetings: DMX Dublin marketing conference (Aviva Stadium, Dublin 4); AI Summit (Croke Park, Dublin 3); Chartered Accountancy Careers Fair (Chartered Accountants Ireland, Pearse Street, Dublin 2); Ibec's Manufacturing the Future conference (Galmont Hotel, Galway); Dublin Chamber International Women's Day (Davenport Hotel, Merrion Street Lower, Dublin 2); EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan to address American Chamber Transatlantic Conference (Croke Park, Dublin 3).
Friday
Results: AIB.
Indicators: Irish production in building and construction index (Q4); UK Halifax house price index (Feb); German factory orders (Jan); US non-farm payrolls (Feb), unemployment (Feb), exports and imports (Jan), average hourly earnings (Feb), wholesale inventories (Jan).
AIB’s full-year results on Friday come in a period of sharp focus on residential property.
The bank is known to be preparing the sale of loans attached to primary dwellings as part of an effort to cut out non-performing loans amid pressure from regulators.
In a note ahead of its results, Davy said such plans were “not unexpected”.
“Although home-loan sales have represented only the minority of non-performing loan (NPL) reductions to date – as AIB has viewed this as a last resort and favoured customer engagement – home-loan NPLs now represent over half of outstanding NPLs,” it said.
It expects the lender to report about 5 per cent NPL ratio.
“The ambition of the bank is to go ‘decisively lower’ beyond this,” it said. “In this regard, we expect that the strategy update alongside full-year results on March 6th will provide further detail on the NPL reduction strategy.”
Last week, Bank of Ireland set the tone. With falling profits, it is planning deeper cost cuts and the sale of hundreds of millions of euro of distressed mortgages.
Separately, AIB's much-anticipated appointment of former senior HSBC executive Brendan McDonagh as its next chairman was not expected to be announced until its results are published.