Financial highlights:
Total revenue up 7.6% to £504.8m (2016: £469.2m) benefitting from the on-boarding of stores acquired from the Co-op, around two thirds of which were trading at the half year and all by the end of July
Like-for-like (LFL) sales up 0.2% in H1; LFL sales up 1.4% in Q2, in part supported by favourable weather and our evolving mix of growth products
LFL performance in recently acquired and converted stores up 2.8% in H1; 3.8% in Q2
Gross margin improvement trend continues, up 90 basis points to 25.4% (2016: 24.5%)
Adjusted EBITDA increased to £16.5m (2016: £16.0m), despite being impacted by £1.3m pre-opening costs relating to the acquisition
Profit before tax, impacted by £2.3m exceptional costs and £1.3m pre-opening costs, was £4.5m (2016: £8.2m)
Basic earnings per share 2.8p (2016: 6.1p); Adjusted earnings per share 5.0p (2016: 6.1p); excluding pre-opening costs stable at 5.9p
Net debt £110.8m (2016: £42.3m). Management remain comfortable that this debt profile is in line with previously described expectations
Interim dividend per share maintained at 3.4p (2016: 3.4p)
On track to achieve results for the full year in line with management's expectations, including an expected material increase in sales and profits in H2 driven by the acquired stores
