Thursday preview: Dixons, WS Atkins

With the US celebrating its Thanksgiving Day holiday the UK stock market will be more reliant than ever on company results to generate trading opportunities. Dixons Retail releases its first set of figures since going back to the Dixons name and abandoning the DSG International moniker.Nomura Securities is forecasting an interim loss of £10.9m for the PC World owner but notes that, at least, is an improvement on the £17.9m registered at the interim stage last year. The broker thinks the UK, the Nordic countries and Italy will be the success stories of the period but Greece and online sales may have taken a dive from last year's levels. "We expect second quarter like for like (LFL) sales to be relatively weak, which may limit short-term performance of the stock; however, we note overall positive first half LFL expectations of +1.1% for the UK," the broker said."We continue to rate Dixons a Buy, as we believe the long-term strategy is on track for 3-4% margins. We expect underlying improvements to continue to build with 2012/13 the key year for both cash generation and reaching the 3% target margin," Nomura added.Engineering contractor WS Atkins also releases interim results on Wednesday, having said back in September that it had been trading in line with expectations.That was before the outcome of the government's comprehensive spending review was known, however, and management might make some sort of comment on how much, if at all, it expects the review to have on future business.In August the company bought Florida-based professional services firm PBSJ Corporation for $280m and analysts will be looking for an update on how that purchase is bedding down.Panmure Gordon notes that working capital typically ebbs in the first half of the financial year and it predicts net cash will have dipped to about £102m from £302.5m at the financial year end. By this financial year end it expects the cash to have risen to about £129.6m.The broker has pencilled in £39m for profit before tax, down slightly from £40.6m at the interim stage last year.On the economic front the CBI distributive trades survey is predicted to show that the balance of retailers reporting that sales were ahead of November 2009 levels slipped back to +33% from +36% in October.INTERIMS Atkins (WS), Castings, Dixons Retail , Helical Bar, Latham (James), PayPoint INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Albany Inv Trust, Collins Stewart, Hansteen Holdings, Konami Corp. Q3 Antofagasta GMS Accumuli , Surface Transforms FINALS Daily Mail and General Trust, Grainger EGMS Hameldon Resources Ltd. (DI), United Bank Ltd. GDR (Reg S) AGMS Animalcare Group, Eleco, eServGlobal Ltd., Group NBT, Helphire Group, Impax Asian Environmental Markets, Manchester & London Inv Trust, Queenco Leisure International Ltd. GDR (Reg S), Thor Mining INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Consumer Prices Index (JPN)Consumer Confidence Indicator (FRA) (07:45)UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS CBI Reported Sales (11:00)