Earnings: Watch For Some Surprises This Week

It's the peak week in the December 31 profit reporting season with over 100 major companies due to report interim or full year figures in the next five days.

The flow of figures will be a real mixed bag, as the season so far has been.

This week's results will produce winners and losers from the domestic and export sides of the economy.

Results will vary, with the likes of Bluescope reporting a big loss, Lend Lease, IAG and Suncorp reporting lower returns.

A number of oil companies will reveal solid rises in full year earnings because of the strength of oil prices in 2011.

Woodside, Suncorp, Bluescope Steel and Lend Lease, are among big names reporting.

AGL, Origin Energy, GPT, Insurance Australia Group (IAG) and Perpetual (a weak result) will also reveal results.

Lend Lease, Amcor, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and UGL will also release interims.

OneSteel is expected to report a sharp slide in profit, but that will be a profuit unless Bluescope's loss.

Downer EDI, Macmahon Holdings, Mirvac, Sonic Healthcare, iiNet and Flight Centre will reveal earnings, with Mirvac to be down a touch, but Macmahon expected to be up and Flight Centre to report a strong result thanks to the continuing high level of overseas travel by Australians taking advantage of the strong dollar.

Lower interim profits will come from insurers, Suncorp Group and Industry Australia Group as their insurance businesses remain battered by the cost of various disasters.

Both groups have already issued profit warnings about the lower profits caused by the disasters (and the cost of the floods last month in NSW and Queensland have yet to be taken into account).

CSL, Fletcher Building, IOOF Holdings, SEEK, Computershare, Paperlinx, Suncorp Group and Transfield Services also report and of that lot, Paperlinx will be the one to watch with yet another loss and continuing unrest among shareholders.

Fletcher Holdings will reveal a result damaged by the slowdown in the Australian building industry and weak steel demand.

Oil Search and Woodside will report sharply higher full year profits for 2011, thanks to higher global prices, as Santos did last week.

Ausenco and Coca Cola Amatil will also reveal annual figures, as will mining services group, Boart Longyear.

GPT, Iluka Resources, MAp and Panaust are also due to reveal full-year results

Watch beach sands miner, Iluka to confirm a record result (it has already guided the market higher).

Cabcharge, Toll Holdings, Charter Hall Group and Clough will also release half-yearly earnings, as will Wotif, Air NZ, Echo Entertainment and .

Virgin Australia (part owned by Air NZ), Crown Casino, Qube and Tatts Group are also due, while Emeco Holdings, Monadelphous, Asciano will also produce interims, some good because of the resources boom, especially in WA and Queensland.

Media groups, Fairfax Media, Seven Group Holdings, Consolidated Media Holdings, Seven West Media, Austar United Communications, APN News & Media (full year figures) will report and give us a very good idea how the sector is travelling. The news is likely to be poor, especially from Fairfax.

Seven Group is more involved in the resources sector here and in china through its Ownership of Westrac.

The AMP's chief economist and strategist, Dr Shane Oliver says around a third of companies have reported, so its still early days in the December half profit reporting season, but the results are soft.

"So far only 36% of companies have exceeded expectations (versus a norm of 45%) and 29% have come in worse than expected (versus a norm of 25%). 64% of companies have reported positive year on year profit growth.

"Outlook statements are cautious and investors have greeted the results negatively with the majority of stocks seeing their share prices fall after results were released," he wrote at the weekend.