Craigs Investment Partners Head of Private Wealth Research Mark Lister said plenty of analysis could be expected during February, with so many reports due.
"This will have a major influence on where the market goes from here, while outlook statements will tell us a lot about the changing dynamics in our economy," he said in a recent report.
Of the top 50 listed companies, Mr Lister said seven out of 10 were expected to have profits rise in the 2018 financial year, while about four in 10 are forecast to post double-digit earnings growth over the previous period.
"One company that will be in focus is A2 Milk.
"The star performer from last year has been strong in 2018, and the market will be expecting big things once again.
"Those expectations did not leave the infant formula producer much room for disappointment, although looking at their track record you’d be brave to bet against them," Mr Lister said.
At the other end of the spectrum, Mr Lister said Fletcher Building would also get a lot of attention.
In late October, Fletcher announced extended losses of $160million in one division, which had already booked an earlier $292million loss, largely on the back of fixed-price contracts.
"It was this time last year things started to go horribly wrong for our biggest construction company, and the share price is still almost 30% below those levels," Mr Lister said.
Fletcher’s new chief executive was "strongly incentivised" to get operations back on track, and Mr Lister said there was no way chairman Sir Ralph Norris would want a repeat of the 2017 annual meeting.
Mr Lister said despite a subdued start to the year, especially compared with elsewhere in the world, the NZX was trading at elevated levels, "leaving the bar fairly high" for most companies.
"We’re generally expected to have another decent earnings season," he said.
He said New Zealand’s economy had been "pretty resilient", as unemployment was falling and most trading partners were experiencing "robust growth".
"There are several themes to watch during the reporting season, if not explicitly in the cash flow statements, then in the vibe we get from management," Mr Lister said.
The current rhetoric was that New Zealand’s economy was heading into a slower patch, as migration comes off the boil and the housing market shifts into low gear.
Mr Lister said recent business confidence surveys supported this view, although perception could be dominating reality in these, at least partially.
He said companies such as Freightways and Trade Me had big domestic operations, so their results might give some more evidence of this.
"In contrast, almost everyone is ramping up their estimates for global growth."
The International Monetary Fund just raised its economic forecasts quite markedly, and it was hard to disagree with this view when looking at most indicators.
"These days, we’ve got plenty of companies doing substantial business offshore, and many will be benefiting from this," Mr Lister said.
Against the US dollar, the kiwi would have been a handbrake for them, although companies exporting to Australia, the UK and Europe would have experienced a minor tailwind.
"Scales, Comvita and Ebos are a few worth watching in this regard," Mr Lister said.
