The business week ahead: Banks in the spotlight as major players gather for AGMs

Lloyds Banking Group faces shareholders at its annual general meeting in Edinburgh on Thursday after the group cheered investors with news that it had already returned to profitability in the first quarter of the year.

Royal Bank of Scotland – which gives its first-quarter update on Friday – has come under fire over pay and performance targets, but said at its AGM last week that it would review those linked to share price after it emerged some had been met.

Also on Friday, HSBC reports its figures amid expectations for further improvements in its bad debt charges.

It, too, is subject to criticism over executive pay.

Aberdeen Asset Management, the UK's largest independently quoted fund manager, is set to unveil a sharp rise in profits to 81 million in its half-year results tomorrow.

Pre-tax profits for the six months to 31 March are forecast to have grown 145 per cent as the firm staunched investor outflows as the recession eased. Analysts also expect chief executive Martin Gilbert to confirm it will repay all 70m of its short-term debt by the end of the year.

Edinburgh-based microchip maker Wolfson Microelectronics is expected to report a solid set of first quarter results on Wednesday. Analysts expect Wolfson to return to profits of about 2m to 2.6m this year thanks to a broader range of products after a difficult 2009.

Accountancy software group Sage is thought to be set to post better-than-expected results when it presents its interim results on Wednesday.

The Newcastle-based firm could post revenues of 725.9m, according to Panmure Gordon analysts, compared with a consensus prediction of 713.8m.

Sage, which employs around 13,400 people and serves more than six million businesses worldwide, is also expected to produce an optimistic outlook statement as the company gears up for growth.

Pre-tax profits fell 2 per cent to 307.5m in the year to September 2009, but Sage said it was encouraged by a contract renewal rate of 81 per cent.

Panmure analyst George O'Connor said the company was "laying the foundations for growth" with new products, while the recovery in its US market and debt reduction efforts continue.

"We expect Sage interim results to be a notch ahead of expectations, with a cautiously positive outlook statement bolstered by numbers which suggest that all of the geographies are performing in line and debt is falling," he said.

Sage's results are likely to be the last for outgoing chief executive Paul Walker, who announced his intention to step down earlier this year. Walker is one of the longest serving bosses on the FTSE 100, having spent 16 years at the helm.

Retailer Next is unlikely to cause too much of a stir when the firm updates on its recent performance on Wednesday.

The fashion and homewares chain said that even if annual sales were down 2 per cent it still hopes to be able to grow profits by around 30m.

Analysts believe this resilience to the consumer environment gives Next a certain amount of protection from the vagaries of the economic and political winds blowing through the UK this year.

JD Wetherspoon's trading update on Wednesday should give a refreshed portrait on the UK pubs market as the firm discusses the effects of its expanded food and coffee offering.