Your business week: Will Applegreen remain unfazed by Brexit?

Kingfisher and Malin to report results while EU leaders to vote on Article 50 extension

Applegreen  CEO Bob Etchingham. The company is due to report results on Tuesday. Photograph:   Cyril Byrne
Applegreen CEO Bob Etchingham. The company is due to report results on Tuesday. Photograph: Cyril Byrne

Monday

Indicators: US housing market index (Mar).

Tuesday

Results: Applegreen, Mincon, FedEx.

Indicators: Euro zone construction output (Jan), labour cost and wage growth (Q4), economic sentiment index (Mar); UK unemployment (Jan), average earnings (Jan); German current conditions (Mar), economic sentiment index (Mar).

Applegreen still unfazed by Brexit?

Not long before it moved to complete its €362 million acquisition of Welcome Break, Applegreen was dispassionate about the looming prospect of Brexit and what it might mean for its ever-expanding empire.

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Toward the end of last year it had more than 100 service stations in the United Kingdom and, by that stage, there was little sign of trouble.

When it releases full-year results on Tuesday, it will be interesting to see if the company’s views on the situation have changed, particularly given the turmoil in London due to spill over into this week.

"[The UK stations] are long-term infrastructure assets. They've proven to be very stable, resilient cash generators. We expect that even if there was a recession in the UK, the effect [on them] would be very modest," chief executive Bob Etchingham told The Irish Times last September.

“I’m sure there will be some short-term dislocation, but I don’t see the UK being isolated to any extent.”

In the same month the forecourt retailer reported a 27 per cent rise in first-half revenues to €855 million, during which time it added 26 sites to its portfolio. It also said it was entering a phase of growth in the UK market.

Wednesday

Results: Kingfisher, Malin.

Indicators: UK inflation (Feb), PPI input and output (Feb), retail price index (Feb), industrial trends orders (Mar); German PPI (Feb).

Meetings: US Fed interest rate decision; ECB non-monetary policy meeting; "Nine Lessons in Brexit" with Ivan Rogers, former permanent representative of the UK to the EU (Institute of International and European Affairs, North Great George's Street, Dublin 2).

Events amid the Brexit chaos

As the chaotic Brexit train trundles on this week, uncertainty continues to grip a bewildered business community. On Thursday and Friday, the European Council are due to meet to discuss the latest necessary steps, all of which are shaped by whatever emerges from the Westminster wash.

However, while the UK parliament continues to tear itself apart there are opportunities for a composed British perspective on what the coming weeks and months might bring – timelines being as uncertain as conclusions.

The Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) holds two events this week in which expert views from across the Irish Sea will be calmly dispatched.

On Wednesday, Ivan Rogers, former permanent representative of the UK to the EU, will give a talk framed around his book 9 Lessons in Brexit, a study of the failures of Britain's political class in its handling of the exit strategy and the importance of a future relationship between Europe and the UK.

On Thursday, the institute's sixth "Countdown to Brexit" event will examine whether British divisions are irreparable. The panel will include former chief editor of the Economist, Bill Emmott; Dr Kathryn Simpson, associate professor of political economy at Manchester Metropolitan University; and journalist Ella Whelan.

Thursday

Results: Heidelberg Cement, Nike.

Indicators: Euro zone consumer confidence flash (Mar); UK public sector net borrowing (Feb), retail sales (Feb),

Meetings: Bank of England interest rate decision; European Council meeting; EU leaders vote on Article 50 extension; Dublin Tech Job Fair (WeWork, Iveagh Court, Harcourt Street, Dublin 2); ESRI Seminar Series: Do lower minimum wages for young workers raise their employment? (ESRI, Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2).

Friday

Results: Tiffany, Revlon.

Indicators: Euro zone composite, services and manufacturing PMI flash (Mar); German composite, services and manufacturing PMI flash (Mar); US composite, services and manufacturing PMI flash (Mar).

Meetings: European Council meeting; Marketing Society of Ireland's Ad Visibility event with Prof Karen Nelson-Field (RTÉ, Donnybrook, Dublin 4).