The WPP Board is proposing a final dividend for 2020 of 14.0p per share, which together with the interim dividend paid in November 2020 gives a full-year dividend of 24.0p per share. The record date for the final dividend is 11 June 2021, and the dividend will be payable on 9 July 2021.
Other financial highlights include:
FY continuing operations reported revenue -9.3%, LFL revenue -7.3%
FY LFL revenue less pass-through costs -8.2%; sequential recovery since initial lockdowns: Q2 -15.1%, Q3 -7.6%, Q4 -6.5%
Q4 LFL revenue less pass-through costs by major market: US -6.2%, UK -7.4%, Germany -0.8%, Greater China -12.1%, India -8.9%
FY headline operating margin 12.9%, down 1.5pt on prior year as cost savings of over £800 million offset the majority of the revenue decline; H2 headline operating margin +0.5pt
n Reported loss before tax impacted by £3.1 billion of impairments (£2.8 billion goodwill, £0.3 billion investment and other write-downs)
n Net debt at 31 December 2020 £0.7 billion, better than expected and down £0.8 billion year-on-year, reflecting continued strong working capital and cash management
