Retailers set to confirm the going has been tough in 2011

FOR the second consecutive week retailers will dominate results reporting, with a flurry of statements expected to further highlight the fragile mood of the consumer.

John Lewis Partnership posts half-year figures on Wednesday, but is believed to have found the going much tougher since it posted a 20 per cent jump in annual profits to £367.9 million for the year to the end of January.

The employee-owned firm has already stated that sales in the six months to end-July have risen 6.5 per cent. A year ago interim profits came in at £110.5m, but retail analysts say price‑cutting on the high street – the group’s motto is “never knowingly undersold” – could rein in profits this time.

John Lewis’s supermarket subsidiary Waitrose is expected to have proved resilient.

Waitrose sales rose 8.7 per cent over the six months, while the department stores’ performance was more muted with sales up 2.6 per cent. John Lewis’s online business saw first‑half sales rise 27 per cent.

Fashion chain Next – due to report interims on Wednesday – has already disclosed that sales through its 500 UK and Ireland outlets fell 1.7 per cent in the first half of 2011.

However, Next is buoyed by its online and catalogue business – directory and online sales rose 15 per cent in the 26 weeks to end‑July. The group said last month that some of the cost pressures from rising cotton prices were starting to ease and, after warning that prices could rise by 10 per cent this autumn, it expects 2012 to be a benign year for cost inflation.

It said underlying pre-tax profits for the full year should be between £535m and £585m.

B&Q owner Kingfisher’s reports interim results on Thursday, with the City consensus for an 18 per cent rise in profits to £409m from £354m.

The group is expected to say the first half has been a tale of two countries, with a strong performance in France offsetting a weak one in the UK, where the last quarter in particular was a struggle. Chief executive Ian Cheshire partly blamed the chilly UK summer.

Kesa Electricals’ shareholders will expect an update on the potential sale of UK high street chain Comet and the subsidiary’s current trading at its annual meeting next Thursday.

Latest reports suggest talks over a possible disposal have broken down and that Kesa will be forced to push through its own self-help programme to revitalise Comet.

Some analysts are predicting a drop by as much as 25 per cent for Comet in its first quarter. It made a loss of £8.9m in the year to April.

Housebuilder Barratt has indicated full-year results on Wednesday will show a profit for the first time in three years.

The group predicted underlying profits of £40m in its last trading update, against a loss a year ago of £33m.

August inflation figures, affected by higher utility bills, are out on Tuesday and are expected to have climbed to 4.5 per cent from 4.4 per cent in July.