WH SMITH PLC PRELIMARY RESULTS ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2012
Strong performance across the Group with profit ahead of expectations, EPS up 22% and final dividend up 22%
KEY POINTS
- Total Group profit before tax up 10% to £102m (2011: £93m)
- Group profit from trading operations up 7% to £117m (2011: £109m)
- Good performance from Travel with trading profit up 11% to £63m (2011: £57m)
- Resilient performance from High Street with trading profit up 4% to £54m (2011: £52m)
- Earnings per share up 22% to 62.7p (2011: 51.4p)
- Final dividend proposed of 18.6p, up 22% on the prior year; giving a total ordinary dividend per share of 26.9p, a 20% increase on the prior year
- Strong balance sheet and cash generation
- Strong free cash flow of £91m
- Net cash of £36m as at 31 August 2012
- Completed £50m share buyback programme and a further £50m return of cash via share buyback programme announced in August
- Actuarial pension deficit of £75m following the agreement of the 2012 triennial valuation, compared to a deficit of £113m three years ago
- Group total sales down 2% 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 down 5%, in line with our strategic plan
- Gross margin improved by 140 basis points
- Further good progress in Travel's growing international channel with 101 units now open or won
- Additional £12m of cost savings announced today, giving total target savings of £25m over the next three years
Commenting on the results, Kate Swann, Group Chief Executive said:
"We have delivered another strong performance across the Group with EPS up 22% in the year. In Travel we have grown profit by 11% and have made further good progress in our international channel, with over 100 units either open or won. In High Street we saw another resilient performance, with profit up 4% and continued strong cash generation.
"The Group remains cash generative enabling us to invest in our businesses and in new opportunities, whilst returning cash to shareholders. We are recommending to increase the final dividend by 22%, which is in addition to the £50m share buyback completed last year and the further £50m announced in August.
"Looking ahead, we expect the trading environment to remain challenging, however we are a resilient business with a consistent record of both profit growth and cash generation, and we are well positioned for continued growth in the UK and internationally."
