Debenhams increases its 2016 interim dividend by 2.5%

DividendMax Ltd.

Debenhams increases its 2016 interim dividend by 2.5%

Financial headlines

Gross transaction value ('GTV') up 1.6% to £1,628.7m (2015: £1,602.4m). Group like-for-like sales up 2.4% in constant currency, up 1.1% as reported

Group gross margin rate up 20bps, with mix partly offsetting 90bps markdown improvement on last year

Group EBITDA up 1.3% to £153.0m (2015: £151.0m). UK EBITDA up 3.0% to £125.5m (2015: £121.8m)

International EBITDA declined 5.8% to £27.5m (2015: £29.2m) reflecting adverse currency movements, on GTV down 3.7% as reported.  In constant currency, International GTV grew by 3.2%

Group profit before tax up 5.5% to £93.8m (2015: £88.9m), basic EPS up 5.1% to 6.2p (2015: 5.9p)

Interim dividend increased by 2.5% to 1.025p per share (2015: 1.000p)

Following strong cash generation and working capital management, net debt reduced by £95.6m to £224.2m. Net debt/EBITDA at 0.9x, marking further progress towards medium term leverage target of 0.5x

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