Highlights
UK market continues to underpin growth with another half of double-digit LFL sales
Successful new opening store programme
o 21 (2014: 8) stores opened in the period
o System sales per store almost 12% ahead
Continued success of digital investment programmes in the UK
o e-commerce system sales ahead by 24.4%
o App based sales now represents the largest distribution channel driving 51.6% of online sales
Significant increase in franchisee profitability
o EBITDA performance up from 12.9% to 15.1%
Improving performances in international businesses
o Economic recovery and operational improvements in ROI
o Losses in Germany narrowed from £4.7m to £1.8m
o New corporate stores opened in Switzerland
Group underlying operating profit and EPS up by 30%
Strong cash flow and cash conversion - net cash of £19.2m
Cash Balance and Dividend
As at 28 June 2015 the Group had net cash of £19.2m (29 June 2014: net debt of £3.7m). The Group had total banking facilities of £35m, of which £26.7m was undrawn, and also had £30.1m of cash in hand. The facilities include a £30m five-year facility attracting an interest rate of 135bpts over LIBOR, which expires on 10 August 2017, together with an overdraft of £5.0m, which remained undrawn at 28 June 2015. The Directors are confident that the Group will continue to have sufficient liquidity and headroom.
Having reviewed the cash required by the business including capital expenditure requirements and the performance of the Group, the Board has decided to increase its interim dividend by 15% to 9.00p per ordinary share.
The ex dividend date is 6 August 2015 with a record date of 7 August 2015 and a payment date of 4 September 2015.
Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Officer David Wild, said:
"We've had a strong first half, driven by an excellent performance in our core UK business, which has again recorded double digit like-for-like sales growth. Our international operations have also shown improvements compared to last year.
Our success in the UK is a result of the investment we have made in market-leading e-commerce initiatives. Our App has now been downloaded over 10 million times and our App sales have overtaken desktop sales for the first time.
The 21 new stores opened in the period are performing better than ever. Our roll out is well supported by our franchisees, who are benefiting from increased profitability and are seeing a good reaction from the UK consumer to our bundle deals and other initiatives.
Whilst we are pleased with our performance in the first half, we face tougher comparators in the rest of the year. We have a continued programme of e-commerce initiatives and other marketing campaigns. The UK new store pipeline is solid and we are well-positioned for the future."
