Financial headlines
Gross transaction value up 1.7% to £2,823.9m
Group like-for-like sales up 1.0%
Group gross margin down 60bps: H1 down 100bps, H2 up 10bps
Operating profit down 17.2%: H1 down 22.9%, H2 up 2.9%
Profit before tax in line with market expectations
o Underlying profit before tax* down 20.6% at £110.3m
o Reported profit before tax down 23.9% at £105.8m
Underlying EPS* down 19.6% to 7.4p, reported EPS down 22.8% to 7.1p
Final dividend of 2.4p per share; full year dividend of 3.4p per share maintained
Net debt improved by £10.5m to £361.5m
Borrowing facilities refinanced including issue of £225.0m 5.25% seven year senior notes
