KEY POINTS
- Group profit from trading operations up 3% to £74m (2011: £72m)
- Good performance from Travel with operating profit up 8% to £27m (2011: £25m)
- Robust performance from High Street with operating profit of £47m (2011: £47m)
- Total Group profit before tax of £66m (2011: £64m)
- Earnings per share up 14% to 40.0p (2011: 35.2p)
- Interim dividend of 8.3p, up 15% on the prior year
- Strong balance sheet and cash generation
- Strong free cash flow of £63m for the half
- Net cash of £53m as at 29 February 2012
- Good progress with return of cash to shareholders through on market share buyback programme
- Group total sales down 3% with like-for-like (LFL) sales down 5%:
- Travel total sales up 2% with LFL sales down 3%
- High Street total sales down 5% with LFL sales excluding Entertainment down 4% and overall LFL sales down 6%, in line with our strategic plan
- Gross margin improved by 130 basis points, in line with plan
- Good progress in Travel's growing international business with 80 units now open or agreed
- Cost savings in High Street delivered £2m ahead of plan, with a further £3m identified for the second half
Commenting on the results, Kate Swann, Group Chief Executive said:
"We have delivered a good performance with profits increasing in the first half of the year. In Travel we have grown operating profit by 8% and have made further good progress in our international channel with 80 units either open or agreed. Our High Street business continues to deliver strong cash generation, with gross margin improvement and costs tightly controlled.
"The Group remains cash generative enabling us to invest in our businesses and new opportunities, whilst also returning cash to shareholders. We have returned £33m to shareholders through the share buyback announced in August 2011 and we have today increased the interim dividend by 15%.
"Looking ahead, we expect the trading environment to be challenging, however we are a resilient business with a consistent record of both profit growth and cash generation and we have opportunities for growth in the UK and internationally."
