Financial Overview
| Profit and loss | 2007 | 2006 (IFRS) | 2005 (IFRS) | 2004 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £9,351.2m | £8,230.2m | £8,079.1m | £7,594.3m | £7,156.2m |
| Revenue | £1,106.4m | £996.9m | £870.4m | £747.0m | £648.8m |
| Gross profit | £946.6 | £852.1m | £755.0m | £647.5m | £572.5m |
| %Gross profit to turnover | 10.0% | 10.3% | 9.3% | 8.5% | 8.0% |
| Operating profit (before amortisation of goodwill and exceptional items) | £146.2m | £133.8m | £115.0m | £100.3m | £84.2m |
| Profit before tax,amortisation of goodwill and exceptional items | £132.7m | £116.2m | £100.7m | £93.9m | £80.5m |
| Profit before tax | £133.5m | £113.5m | £94.0m | £63.9m | £48.0m |
| Effective underlying tax rate | 26.5% | 28.7% | 29.3% | 29.4% | 29.8% |
| Profit for the financial year | – | £80.1m | £64.6m | £32.8m | £21.1m |
| Cash flow: | |||||
| Operating cash flow | £(175.0)m | £124.0m | £68.1m | £123.7m | £67.3m |
| Net (indebtedness)/funds at the year end | £(245.2)m | £(225.6)m | £(209.1)m | £(49.5)m | £(32.0)m |
| Balance sheet: | |||||
| Goodwill on acquisitions | £815.9m | £667.8m | £684.5m | £467.0m | £425.9m |
| Other fixed assets | – | £98.8m | £101.9m | £70.7m | £69.4m |
| Net current liabilities | – | £(255.3)m | £(212.2)m | £(149.0)m | £(133.4)m |
| Creditors:amounts falling due after more than one year | – | £(294.0)m | £(403.5)m | £(137.9)m | £(130.6)m |
| Provisions for liabilities and charges | £(1.8)m | £(0.7)m | £(0.9)m | £(2.0)m | £(1.5)m |
| Net assets/(liabilities) | £313.4m | £216.6m | £169.8m | £126.4m | £110.9m |
| Earnings per share – Reported | |||||
| – basic | – | 7.1p | 6.1p | 5.6p | 4.9p |
| – diluted | 8.2p | 7.0p | 6.1p | 5.6p | 4.9p |
| Earnings per share – Reported | |||||
| – basic | 6.8p | 5.6p | 2.9p | 1.9p | |
| – diluted | 7.9p | 6.8p | 5.5p | 2.9p | 1.9p |
| Ordinary dividend rate per share | 2.30p | 1.90p | 1.65p | 1.45p | 1.32p |