Overview
Operating highlights
- Leading position in multi-channel retailing further strengthened
- Substantial benefit from group-wide sourcing scale and supply chain initiatives
- Further improvements to product ranges and choice as well as the customer shopping experience at both Argos and Homebase
- Store networks expanded and further long-term growth opportunity remains
- Strong operating cost control achieved
Financial highlights
- Sales1 up 2.3% in total to £5,985m (2007 pro forma: £5,851m), with like-for-like sales up 0.7% at Argos and down 4.1% at Homebase
- Gross margin ahead by approximately 50 basis points at Argos and approximately 250 basis points at Homebase
- Operating expenses up 4%, of which underlying inflation approximately 3%
- Benchmark operating profit2 up 11% to £398m (2007 pro forma: £359m), with growth of 16% at Argos and a decline of 16% at Homebase; reported operating profit of £387m
- Benchmark profit before tax3 up 15% to £433m (2007 pro forma: £377m); reported profit before tax of £426m
- Basic benchmark earnings per share4 up 16% to 33.9p (2007 pro forma: 29.3p); reported basic earnings per share of 34.0p
- Net cash increase of £114m; closing net cash position of £174m
- Benchmark pre-tax return on invested capital5 up 70 basis points to 12.7%
- Final dividend of 10.0p recommended, taking the full-year dividend up 13% to 14.7p (2007: 13.0p)
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