Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Unilever PLC among highlights in another busy Thursday

Plc () is the next company formerly known as oil super major to update on Thursday.

Transition and commodity prices will be key themes in the results statement. Shell recently updated investors with more detail on its plan emphasis on customer demand, no doubt it will be a feature in Thursday’s first-quarter results.

“Shell is attempting to pull off a metamorphosis but shrugging off its fossil fuel skin to reveal a new cleaner energy giant underneath is no easy transition,” said Susannah Streeter, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdowne.

“Refocusing on cleaner assets is an expensive path to tread, and needs to be paid for revenues from its traditional oil assets.

“Shell is trying to make the transition through a radical restructuring, that aims to focus the group down onto core assets, shedding billions of dollars of non-core businesses and reduce its refining footprint.”

Unilever volumes key for first quarter

Consumer good giant () let down shareholders with its last update, so a first-quarter trading statement on Thursday will be watched closely for any signs of recovery.

Volumes will be key for the owner of Persil and Hellman’s Mayonnaise, as well as whether it expects the rising levels of COVID-19 cases in certain countries to impact its emerging markets, particularly India and Brazil.

However, investors will are at least unlikely to worry about the dividend, as the group has previously stressed the importance of growing its shareholder payouts.

Thursday April 29

Trading announcements: Royal Dutch Shell PLC (), PLC (), (), Unilever PLC (), (), (), (), (), (), PLC (), PLC (), Lancashire Holdings Ltd (), PLC (), (LON:SN.), (), (LON:SMDSL), (), Kaz Minerals PLC (), St James’s Place PLC (), PLC () 

Finals: (), (), RTW Venture Fund Limited (LON:RTW)

Interims: (), (LON:PDH)

FTSE 100 ex-dividends to knock 3.5 points off the index: (), (), ()

Economic data: US GDP, US jobless claims