Financial headlines
Gross transaction value up 2.5%: UK up 2.3%, International up 3.7%
Group like-for-like sales up 2.0%
Group gross margin flat
Profit before tax down 2.7% at £154.0 million
Earnings per share up 4.1% to 10.2p
Final dividend of 2.4p per share; full year dividend of 3.4p per share
Share buyback continued in line with guidance: £40.2 million in last 12 months to date
Operational headlines
Further progress made against the four pillars of our strategy to build a leading international, multi-channel brand, supported by prudent investment in key areas
Market share gains achieved in clothing and non-clothing product categories both in stores and online
Multi-channel continues to grow well ahead of the market with online sales up 46.2%, representing 13.2% of Group sales
12 store modernisations completed, transformation of Oxford Street into our international flagship store on track for December 2013 launch
New Designers at Debenhams: Patrick Grant, Stephen Jones, Todd Lynn
Good performance from Magasin du Nord
Michael Sharp, Chief Executive of Debenhams, said:
"I am pleased with our performance in 2013 given the very difficult conditions. We gained market share in key categories, demonstrating the competitiveness of our product offer. We continue to deliver growth and additional customer benefits through our strong multi-channel capabilities. At the same time, we are working hard to ensure our UK stores adapt to the challenge of their changing role in a multi-channel world.
"Looking ahead, we remain confident in our strategy and are excited about the upcoming launch of our global flagship store on Oxford Street which coincides with the celebration of Debenhams' 200th anniversary.
"More widely, whilst consumer confidence may be showing signs of improvement, we expect that household incomes will remain under pressure from inflation growing ahead of wages. With this in mind, we remain cautious about the strength and pace of any consumer recovery in 2014 and expect the marketplace to remain highly competitive."
