Netflix Inc, Primark ower ABF and a pair of mining giants in focus on Tuesday

Updates from Primark owner () and FTSE 100 miners Rio Tinto and BHP are in the diary for Tuesday, along with the latest UK unemployment numbers.

Across the Atlantic, the US earnings season will see FAANG star broadcast its numbers after the Wall Street close (see more below), following the likes of Harley Davidson, , , and which all report before the opening bell.

Primark reopenings in focus for ABF

AB Foods will unveil half-year results that should not come as a big surprise after the conglomerate issued four trading updates since the full-year results in November.

It has been an intense period for the group, with restrictions severely hampering Christmas trading for its Primark arm, which doesn’t have an e-commerce platform.

In February, the company said closures of the clothing chain’s stores would cause an estimated £1.1bn loss in sales with a £650mln cash burn.

Following phased reopenings in many of its markets, management forecast that 83% of Primark’s retail selling space should be trading by April 26, which could still change as governments around the world continue to make sudden changes to their lockdown rules.

What’s for sure is that the UK’s non-essential shops, including Primark, reopened on April 12, with long queues of customers seen outside a number of them. There is likely to be some comment on that, while investors will also want to hear updates on whether cash burn was as predicted.

ABF’s other divisions of Grocery, Sugar, Agriculture and Ingredients have provided a balancing effect for the group, having received a boost from the stay-home orders but likely to see a drop off as things return to normal.

A full-year dividend of 36p per share is expected, after payments were suspended throughout last year.

Copper in focus for mining giants

Four of the UK’s top listed miners issue updates on Wednesday and the omens look good, with iron ore and copper prices having risen steadily since the start of the year.

Tuesday will see BHP PLC () announce third quarter production numbers, offering potential for updated full-year guidance, though no financials are likely.

reckons copper production will be down 13% on the prior quarter, pointing towards full-year production of 1,565mln tonnes, compared to previous company guidance of 1,510-1,645mt.

Analysts at the bank expect “positive provisional pricing”, especially with copper, and said to look out for update on various projects, including Spence, Jansen, Bass Strait West Barracouta and South Flank, and potentially also an update on the restart of production at Samarco in Brazil.

As for (), the three things that matter to the stock, says, are iron ore, aluminium/alumina and copper.

In this statement, the analysts are looking for updated full-year guidance and news on shipments from Rio’s Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) operations and the Oyu Tolgoi mine, plus how developments are progressing on the Mongolian mine’s underground project.

and churn

Last time Netflix Inc () reported quarterly numbers it revealed how the pandemic had lifted its subscriber numbers above 200mln by the end of last year.

Boosted by coronavirus lockdowns around the world and the streaming group’s ever growing slate of video content, there was a net gain of 8.5mln new subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2020, a jump from the 2.2mln added in the third quarter.

This took the number of new users to 36.6m for the year and drove its total number of customers to 203.7mln.

Investor eyes will be on ‘subs’ again tomorrow, with management eyeing another 6mln newcomers in the first quarter of 2021 but stressing the volatility of growth in a post-COVID-19 environment.

This could make customer ‘churn’ a key number to watch as well, said analysts at UBS, as some customers leave due to…