An Irish Diary

Your business week: All eyes on Greencore trading update

Tech focus at National Manufacturing and Supply Chain Conference; unemployment rate; Fed rate

Patrick Coveney, chief executive of Greencore. Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times
Patrick Coveney, chief executive of Greencore. Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times
Mark Hilliard's picture
Mark Hilliard
Sun Jan 28 2018 - 18:00

Monday

Results: Lockheed Martin, Under Armour, Xerox.

Indicators: Irish retail sales (Dec); UK house prices (Jan).

Tuesday

Results: Pfizer, Chubb, Electronic Arts, Harley Davidson, McDonalds.

Indicators: Irish unemployment (Jan); Euro zone consumer confidence (Jan), industrial, services and economic sentiment (Jan), business confidence (Jan), consumer inflation expectations (Jan), GDP flash (Q4); UK lending to individuals (Dec), mortgage approvals and lending (Dec); German import prices (Dec), inflation (Jan).

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Meetings: Greencore AGM (Westin Hotel, Dublin); UDG Healthcare AGM (Westbury Hotel, Dublin); Dublin Chamber Business Breakfast, future of travel technology (Dublin Chamber, Clare St).

All eyes on Greencore trading update

Greencore will be hoping for a slightly less eventful year, given the turbulence of 2017.

The tone will be set at its AGM on Tuesday, the same day it releases a trading update for the 13-week period to the end of December.

In late November, the company’s full-year results showed a 74 per cent dip in pre-tax profits to £12.4 million. It was the cap on a year many would be glad to see the back of.

The previous month, the convenience food manufacturer suffered a listeria scare at a plant in Rhode Island in the US and, while small in scale, it generated unwanted, negative media attention.

Greencore’s share price took a substantial hit in August following concerns about the future of contracts with customers like Starbucks and Tyson Foods.

"It's been a difficult year," chief executive Patrick Coveney told The Irish Times in an interview last month. "We have made some huge changes that I think, in time, will be seen to be hugely positive for Greencore."

Among those was the €695 million purchase of the US company Peacock Foods in late 2016. Greencore will hope that that move, together with scaling up its UK sandwich and ready meals business, can turn things around in fiscal 2018.

Harley Davidson: results out Tuesday
Harley Davidson: results out Tuesday

Wednesday

Results: Mondelez, Wizz Air Holdings, Facebook, Microsoft, PayPal, eBay, AT&T, Boeing, Callaway Golf, New York Times.

Indicators: Euro zone unemployment (Dec), inflation (Jan); UK consumer confidence (Jan); German retail sales (Dec), unemployment (Dec); US mortgage applications and rates (Jan), home sales (Dec).

Meetings: US Fed interest rate decision; National Manufacturing and Supply Chain Conference (Citywest Convention Centre, Dublin).

Manufacturing and supply chain conference to focus on tech

Pitched at senior management, engineers and researchers, the all encompassing National Manufacturing and Supply Chain Conference is adopting the omnipresent theme of technological change, a tide bringing with it a sense of shifting organisational and process approaches.

As well as structural innovation, the event looks to cutting-edge research helping to shape these changes, particularly in the fields of food production, medical and pharma, electronics and engineering manufacturing.

The 2018 conference features a range of speakers including Pat Breen, Minister of State with special responsibility for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection; Barry Heavey, director of life sciences at Accenture Ireland; and Robert Hernan, senior lean specialist at Enterprise Ireland.

Seminars on the day will address areas including manufacturing and logistics technology, 3D printing, medtech, the forthcoming GDPR, sustainable energy and design, supply chain logistics, sustainable buildings and smart cities.

Thursday

Results: Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Boston Scientific, Ferrari, GoPro, Mastercard, Motorola Solutions, Ralph Lauren, Time Warner, UPS, Visa.

Indicators: Irish manufacturing PMI (Jan); Euro zone manufacturing PMI (Jan); UK manufacturing PMI (Jan); German manufacturing PMI (Jan); US manufacturing PMI and employment (Jan), vehicle sales (Jan).

Meetings: Business Connect 2018 – Small Firms Association initiative linking members with larger firms (Aviva Stadium, Dublin).

Friday

Results: Merck & Co, Aon, Exxon Mobil.

Indicators: Irish industrial production (Dec); Euro zone PPI (Dec); UK construction PMI (Jan); US unemployment (Jan), non-farm payrolls (Jan).

Meetings: Cork Chamber Annual Dinner (Cork City Hall).