Strong profit growth
|
6 months to 31 October 2014 |
|
Change (reported) |
Change (constant currency) |
|
Revenue |
£1,971m |
(5)% |
0% |
|
Adjusted operating profit(1) |
£176m |
+10% |
+17% |
|
Profit before tax |
£123m |
+45% |
+58% |
|
Adjusted EPS(1) |
12.9p |
+15% |
+24% |
|
Interim dividend per share |
3.7p |
+16% |
NA |
|
Return on sales(4) |
8.9% |
+120bps |
+130bps |
|
ROACE(5) |
13.8% |
+170bps |
+170bps |
Highlights
Continued success with customers driving growth
o Corrugated packaging volume growth of +2.3% - all regions in growth
o Underlying(6) revenue growth of 2.0%
Strong financial performance in line with our KPI's
o Return on sales(4) increase of 130 bps (constant currency) to 8.9%
o ROACE(5) improvement of 170 bps to 13.8%
o Strong cash flow generation
o Net debt reduced by £133 million to £694 million
Active investment and management of business portfolio
o 4 acquisitions and 2 disposals announced or completed
o Roll-out of design centre network through Europe
"We are pleased with performance in the first half of this financial year. We have continued to make good progress with our customers, benefitting from our differentiated commercial offering, and this has translated into strong financial performance, with a particularly good progression on margins and returns as well as excellent cash flow generation. We continue to actively manage our business portfolio and are excited by the opportunities for the Group.
Our outlook remains positive as the business continues to grow, despite ongoing economic headwinds in many of our markets. The Board expects continued performance in line with the Group's medium term financial targets."
