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"As the roll-out of the Beacon pub contract grows in significance, we expect that management will consider an update on the performance benefits of this strategy," Dawson added. Beacon is Enterprise's managed tenancy format.

"The last update informed the market that the level of business failures was running at a lower level. Whether this is due to the worst pubs having already been sold or a genuine improvement in trading conditions is difficult to quantify. However, any signs of improving failure rates should be taken as encouraging given that the immediate direct benefit to the group is lower costs of supporting struggling tenants. The key issue is whether this trend is truly established and sustainable," suggests Charles Stanley's James Dawson.

Earnings per share are seen retreating to 10.2p from 10.8p last year and, as Charles Stanley observed, the company does not pay a dividend and is unlikely to resume doing so in the near future

Pubs group Enterprise Inns is set to serve up interim figures, with broker Charles Stanley noting that declines in revenue, profit before tax and earnings per share are expected. Despite that, it still thinks the shares are a speculative play on the sector and are worth a punt. The consensus is forecasting sales will slide to £330.0m from £346.0m at the interim stage in 2011, while profit before tax is tipped to dip to £69.0m from £74.0m the year before.

We would also anticipate further tracking opportunities stemming from the MoD [Ministry of Defence] coupled with further Nuclear work potentially on the agenda. White Fleet Management is the only contract rebid we anticipate in the next 18 months (c£30m per annum over 10 years) suggesting upside potential to our current forecast assumptions," the broker added.

"We anticipate some near term slippage in its £10bn bid pipeline as £2bn of revenue moves into the order book in March/April. However, we expect this to be replenished quickly, with opportunities such as Magnox (£2bn), Mobile Asset Management (£1bn over time) and Emergency Services outsourcing (at least a £500m potential opportunity) to fill the gap," Panmure Gordon revealed

Panmure Gordon is going for earnings before interest, tax and amortisation of £347.2m and us ahead of consensus with its adjusted profit before tax forecast of £284.2m. It is forecasting net debt of £649.6m.

The median forecasts from the range of analysts following the stock are for revenue of £3.37bn, profit before tax of £276.4m, earnings per share of 62.09p and a full-year dividend of 21.46p

Investor expectations on Babcock are rising and signs that growth momentum can be sustained are required to maintain this level of share price performance in Panmure Gordon's view. "However, the pace of outsourcing in its core areas continues to grow and we continue to believe Babcock is competitively well positioned, hence our positive stance ahead of results," the broker added.

Babcock International, the engineering support services company, is set to publish full year figures on Tuesday and, according to Panmure Gordon, the key question at this stage is not so much how well the company did last year, but whether it can continue to replenish its bid order pipeline, and whether this can be feed through to earnings upgrades. "M&A [mergers & acquisitions] could also be on the agenda as its balance sheet continues to de-leverage post the successful integration of VT," the broker notes.

Positive points cont The group continues to expect long term growth for both its US (Jackson Life) and UK businesses. In the US and over the next 20 years, more than 10,000 people a day will reach retirement age and these individuals will look to the insurance industry among others to help them convert their accumulated wealth into a steady stream of retirement income. Similar trends are expected to aid the UK business. The group enjoys wider geographical diversification than most UK rivals. The company has again highlighted what it believes to be a “robust balance sheet”. A progressive dividend policy continues to be pursued – the total 2011 dividend payment was increased by 5.6% compared to 2010.

Positive Points: The group highlighted a strong start to 2012. As targeted by management, the group's Asian division has become its biggest profit contributor. Six of its 11 Asian life insurance operations are now market leaders in terms of absolute new business sales and, excluding India, all of its markets grew sales in 2011. In South-East Asia, growth has been largely led by the rising market of Indonesia as well as the more developed economies of Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. Prudential Indonesia is now its largest business in Asia across virtually all metrics. It is a market that has low insurance penetration, of just 1%. It is the world's fourth most populous country and a member of the G20.

Negative Points: In the US, Jackson delivered new business profit of £214 million, slightly lower than Q1 2011. Accompanying management comments highlighted still significant uncertainties in the global economy. As previously highlighted by management, the market in India has proved challenging since Q4 2010, thanks to regulatory reform. Prudential previously noted that it is considering moving its headquarters from London due to EU regulations scheduled to take effect in 2014.

First quarter results: Positive momentum reported at the full year had continued, led by Asia. Asian new business profit had grown by more than 20%, with its multi-channel platform proving to be a core component. In Asian bancassurance, new business profit grew by 40% thanks to the success of its partnerships across the region. The group's Asset Management business also reported a 12% increase in net inflow compared to last year, led by M&G. In all management noted that it "remained on-track to achieve its 2013 'Growth and Cash' financial objectives and, despite significant ongoing macro-economic uncertainty, the Prudential looked forward to the rest of the year with confidence."

Prudential PLC is a major financial services company. The company has over 21 million customers worldwide. As well as the UK arm of its operations it has operations in 12 countries. The Company has four business units. Prudential UK, M&G, Prudential Corporation Asia and Jackson National Life in the United States. It has been in existence for over 160 years and has £351 billion in assets under management (as at 31 Dec 2011). It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Positive Points: The group maintained production levels at full capacity across most of its principal commodities during the quarter and expected it to remain at or close this level for the full year. Although group costs rose, cost control and productivity enhancing initiatives continued to be pursued. The group confirmed the acquisition of coal producer Shubarkol was completed with the aim of providing synergies to ENRC's core businesses in Kazakhstan. A policy of capital expenditure or investment continues to be pursued, whilst acquisitions are also being used to strengthen group positions. Copper and Cobalt assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo have recently been acquired. The group's home base of Kazakhstan and its proximity to major economic powers such as China and Russia is seen as a transportation cost advantage over other rival resource companies.

Negative points cont First quarter alumina production fell 18.3% on the year to 330,000 tons due to processing problems at ENRC's alumina refinery, the company said. ENRC expects alumina production to return to full capacity in the second half of this year. As a primarily Kazakhstan-based company with close links to the current government of Kazakhstan, political risk could be enhanced if there is a change in the political climate. In addition, ENRC has increased its exposure to Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zimbabwe through acquisitions which again could heighten the political risk for the group.

Negative Points: The group's Ferroalloys Division operated close to full available capacity but revenue "deteriorated very sharply" year-on-year due the fall in sales prices and sales volumes of chrome ore and high-carbon ferrochrome. The volume decline was caused by the shutdown of production at Tuoli and lower capacity levels at Aksu. ENRC’s operating costs experienced a noticeable increase in the first three months of 2012. This was driven by input material cost inflation, higher energy prices and higher labour costs. The company expect cost pressure to continue in 2012.

Financial Highlights: ENRC's planned capital expenditure for the year is expected to be approximately US$2.7 billion. As at 31 March 2012 total debt stood at US$3.3 billion

The firm also saw a substantial decline in prices for all of the group's commodities and for iron ore in particular. Meanwhile, operating costs experienced a "noticeable increase" due to input material cost inflation, higher energy prices and higher labour costs. The company added that cost pressures are expected to continue throughout the year. "Materials and energy inflation, higher stripping and mining costs for mine development, as well as growing depreciation and amortisation charges will be the main drivers", noted management who added that it anticipates unit costs to rise up to 20% as previously outlined. In the group's accompanying production report, ENRC stated that production was restored to full available capacity across most of its principal commodities. Copper production increased by 36.8% in the first quarter when, compared to Q1 2011.