Financial Overview
| Profit and loss | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £10,413.8m | £9,351.2m | £8,230.2m | £8,079.1m | £7,594.3m |
| Revenue | £1,342.0m | £1,106.4m | £996.9m | £870.4m | £747.0m |
| Gross profit | £1,153.0m | £946.6 | £852.1m | £755.0m | £647.5m |
| %Gross profit to turnover | 11.1% | 10.1% | 10.4% | 9.3% | 8.5% |
| Operating profit (before amortisation of goodwill and exceptional items) | £185.4m | £146.2m | £133.8m | £115.0m | £105.0m |
| Profit before tax,amortisation of goodwill and exceptional items | £166.8m | £132.7m | £116.2m | £100.2m | £98.1m |
| Profit before tax | £124.6m | £131.7m | £113.5m | £94.0m | £91.9m |
| Effective underlying tax rate | 25.8% | 26.5% | 28.7% | 29.3% | 29.8% |
| Profit for the financial year | £89.2m | £93.3m | £80.1m | £64.6m | £64.5m |
| Cash flow: | |||||
| Operating cash flow | £261.6m | £175.0m | £130.7m | £68.1m | £121.7m |
| Net (indebtedness)/funds at the year end | £(297.5)m | £(245.2)m | £(206.9)m | £(209.5)m | £(52.2)m |
| Balance sheet: | |||||
| Goodwill on acquisitions | £1114.6m | £796.6m | £667.8m | £684.5m | £478.5m |
| Other fixed assets | £231.1m | £142.1m | £98.8m | £101.9m | £79.0m |
| Net current liabilities | £(3.2)m | £36.4m | £(97.2)m | £(212.2)m | £(144.1)m |
| Non-current liabilities | £(882.7)m | £(668.8)m | £(452.8)m | £(404.4)m | £(266.8)m |
| Provisions for liabilities and charges | £(4.5)m | £(1.8)m | £(0.7)m | £(0.9)m | £(0.7)m |
| Net assets/(liabilities) | £459.8m | £306.3m | £216.6m | £169.8m | £146.6m |
| Earnings per share – Underlying | |||||
| – basic | 10.3p | 8.2p | 7.1p | 6.1p | 5.5p |
| – diluted | 10.3p | 8.2p | 7.0p | 6.1p | 5.5p |
| Earnings per share – Reported | |||||
| – basic | 7.3p | 7.8p | 6.8p | 5.6p | 5.5p |
| – diluted | 7.3p | 7.8p | 6.8p | 5.5p | 5.5p |
| Ordinary dividend rate per share | 2.50p | 2.30p | 1.90p | 1.65p | 1.45p |