Financial highlights
3% Group underlying sales growth, with 6% International growth and 2% UK decline
International driven by 10% growth in North America and 4% growth in both Europe and Asia Pacific
UK Contribution reduced by 8% (£9 million) due to revenue and gross margin declines
Gross margin declined by 1.3% points, reflecting mix, negative FX and discounting
Headline profit before tax(2) declined by 21%, with 8% (£8 million) due to fewer trading days and currency
Reported profit before tax decreased by 5% benefitting from a £20 million pension credit
Strong balance sheet with net debt: EBITDA of 1.3 times
In August the group signed a new £172 million syndicated multicurrency facility
Full year dividend per share maintained at 11.75 pence
Operational highlights
Group eCommerce sales growth of 6%, with share rising to 59% of Group revenues
Extensive enhancements to our websites, particularly search and browse functionality
Significant new product introduction, around 62,000 new products introduced to RS and 13,000 to Allied
Good progress extending the Global Offer with 27% of products available globally (up from 10%)
Successfully rolled out existing SAP-based IT system to Japan completing global rollout