Operating profit before other items of £128.9m, generating a 5.8% margin (2015: £128.6m, 5.7%)
Operating profit has grown 100.9% to £112.5m, generating basic EPS growth of 119.6%
Strong dividend growth of 3.4% to 12.1 pence per share
Cash conversion of 75.2% (2015: 126.5%); five-year average 100.3%
Net debt of £178.3m or 1.2x EBITDA (2015: £177.8m)
Good overall progress
Good performance in Facilities Management business (84% of group revenues); very strong operating profit margin of 6.3%
Market leading integrated FM business accounts for one-third of revenues and after a successful period of retentions and extensions, have no major rebids until 2019; this underpins the strength of our long-term prospects
Revenue growth in FY16 was impacted by lower discretionary and project spend, as well as some delayed starts on new contracts
Recent flow of new FM contract awards will see a return to modest revenue growth in FY17
Property Management business (13% of group revenues) delivered good growth and substantial margin improvement
Recovery underway in Healthcare business (3% of group revenues)
Capital allocation
We prioritise the use of our cash to: invest for organic growth; acquire small bolt-on businesses; grow dividends at least in line with the underlying earnings of the group; and buy back shares to offset share issues under share schemes and the Mitie model
In addition, we are initiating a buyback programme to return surplus cash to shareholders whilst maintaining modest year-end gearing levels of between 1 to 1.5x EBITDA; this will be up to £20m in the financial year ending March 2017 and will be reviewed annually going forward. Shares purchased will be cancelled
Well positioned for the future
82% of 2016/17 budgeted revenue secured (prior year: 85%)
Sales pipeline buoyant at £9.1bn (2015: £9.7bn) and order book remains strong at £8.5bn (2015: £9.0bn)
We remain the number one FM provider in the UK and continue to see a good range of opportunities, particularly in the private sector where our partnership model and technology-led approach sets us apart
Ruby McGregor-Smith, Chief Executive of Mitie Group plc, commented:
"Mitie has had a good year, with strong margins and profits. I am delighted that the dividend is increasing for the 27th consecutive year.
"We are a pure services business with a strong position in our chosen markets. We operate long-term contracts for a blue chip client base and are well diversified across the private and public sectors.
"Our business model is flexible, resilient, low risk and has proven to be responsive to client needs and market conditions over three decades.
"We continue to see a range of good outsourcing opportunities across our key markets and anticipate modest growth in the coming year. We remain positive about the group's prospects for the future."
