Agenda: McColl's, Asda, Dunelm, Bunnings and Hotel Chocolat

McColl’s

The convenience specialist unveils its preliminary results on Monday, February 19.

McColl’s said in December that like-for-like sales were broadly flat across the year, but hailed the performance of recently acquired and converted stores, which enjoyed a 2.4% like-for-like uplift.

The retailer’s annual revenues surpassed £1bn for the first time and the City will want to see that filter through to profits.

Asda

Details of the grocer’s fourth-quarter trading performance will be revealed on Tuesday, February 20 when its parent company Walmart updates the market.

Asda has recorded consecutive quarters of sales growth as it continues its turnaround efforts. Analysts will be expecting new boss Roger Burnley, who took the reins on January 1, to continue that momentum.

Dunelm

Tuesday brings a half-year update from Dunelm, which appointed Nick Wilkinson as its new chief executive earlier this year.

At an update last month, the homewares retailer said like-for-likes climbed 3.4% in its second quarter. Dunelm’s online growth outstripped its stores division, with ecommerce sales made through Dunelm.com surging 30.5% to £26.2m.

Bunnings

The Australian import will report its interim results on Wednesday, February 21.

After it emerged that Bunnings’ days in the UK could now be numbered, and up to 40 Homebase stores could be closed, there’s likely to be keen interest in how the fledgling UK DIY business fared in the first half.

Wesfarmers predicted the business made losses of around £97m during the period.

Hotel Chocolat

The chocolatier posts its interim results on Wednesday.

Hotel Chocolat, which launched its own beauty range at the end of last year, has gone from strength to strength since floating on the stock exchange in May 2016.

The retailer’s pre-tax profits doubled to £11.2m in the year to July 2, 2017 – and a 15% spike in sales during the crucial Christmas trading period should make for a sweet first-half showing.