Interim Results

FirstGroup PLC 7 November 2001 PART 1 Embargoed until 07.00 am on Wednesday 7 November 2001 FIRSTGROUP PLC INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2001 HIGHLIGHTS - Strong growth in North America - US School bus +12% growth - UK Bus volumes +1.4% - UK Rail results in line with expectations despite Hatfield Turnover £995.0m up 3% + Profit before tax £55.5m* up 1% + Net dividend per share 3.3p up 10% Cash generation £131m** up 3% + Adjusted basic earnings per share 9.1p up 3% Commenting, FirstGroup's Chief Executive, Moir Lockhead said: 'The Group has delivered another set of strong results against a more uncertain economic environment. This performance confirms the success of the clear strategy we have set for the Group of focusing our investment on those areas that provide growth and the best return for shareholders. I am delighted with the continuing strong performance of our North American business and I remain confident that our balanced portfolio of bus and rail businesses in the UK and North America will provide resilience going forward. The events of 11 September have created further uncertainty for the economies in the USA and UK. However, our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic are in sectors that are more able to cope with economic slow-down and uncertainty.' * Before goodwill, restructuring and other exceptional items ** Group operating profit before ESOP, goodwill and restructuring and other exceptional costs, plus depreciation +Continuing operations excluding Bristol International Airport Enquiries: FirstGroup plc Moir Lockhead, Group Chief Executive Tel: 020 7291 0510 Iain Lanaghan, Group Finance Director Tel: 020 7291 0510 Michael Mitchell, Corporate Communications Director Tel: 020 7291 0504 Photographs for the media are available at www.newscast.co.uk Chairman's Statement The tragic events in the USA on 11 September have had a profound impact on us all. I am relieved to report that none of our employees in FirstGroup America were directly harmed, although clearly everybody in the USA has been affected by the attacks. I would like to pay tribute to our employees, particularly those based in the New York and Washington areas, who provided assistance in the immediate aftermath and worked extremely hard to restore normal services. This is another robust set of results for the Group which underlines the strength and spread of our businesses in the UK and North America. Excluding the contributions from Bristol International Airport, which was sold in January 2001, Group turnover has increased by 3% to £995m and Group operating profit increased by £0.1 million to £85.4m. Underlying earnings per share (before goodwill amortisation, restructuring and exceptional costs and property profits) rose to 9.1p (2000: 8.8p as restated) an increase of 3%. The Board has recommended an interim dividend of 3.3p (2000: 3.0p), an increase of 10%. The dividend is covered 1.8 times and will be paid on 13 February 2002 to shareholders on the register on 18 January 2002. During the period the Group's management structure has been strengthened with the appointment of Dr Mike Mitchell as Chief Operating Officer UK. Mike has taken over responsibility for UK Bus operations in the UK alongside his existing responsibilities as Executive Director of UK Rail. In addition, our rail and bus operations have been strengthened by the appointments of Dean Finch as Managing Director Railways and David Leeder as Managing Director UK Buses. Mirroring this structure, the Group announced on 25 October 2001 that it will be appointing a full time US based President for FirstGroup America. Tony Osbaldiston, Deputy Chief Executive, who has divided his time between London and the US for the last two years, will leave the Group at the end of November. I would like to pay tribute to Tony for all the success he has achieved with the Group over the last seven years. We have a well balanced portfolio of operations spread across the UK and North America. Approximately 75% of our UK bus operations are in urban areas where we see the best opportunities for passenger growth. We have two strong passenger rail franchises serving intercity and London commuter markets and we operate one regional railway on an agreed financial basis with the Strategic Rail Authority. This ensures we are not overly exposed to the regulated UK rail market. In North America we operate in sectors with contractually based revenue streams with significant opportunities for further market share growth. We continue our successful strategy of focusing on delivering improvements in shareholder value by investing our strong cashflows in business growth, reducing debt and buying back equity as appropriate. Martin Gilbert Chairman Chief Executive's Operating Review Overview I am pleased to report a further period of achievement for the Group. We are a leading international public transport provider focused on safety and customer service. We have a clear vision of transforming travel. Our strategy remains to focus resources on those areas of our business that offer the best return for shareholders. To this end we have continued to invest in our US school bus business which has shown excellent growth. In the UK we continue to develop opportunities to improve the operational efficiency of our bus and rail businesses and to attract passengers back to public transport. Over the past few months we have been developing a range of initiatives in the UK for our customers and employees to progress our vision to transform travel and be the number one transport provider. An integral part of this is the promotion of 'First' as a national brand on all of our buses and trains together with a new range of employee recruitment, training and development programmes which will allow us to offer greater job satisfaction for our staff and improved services for our passengers. UK Bus For the six months to 30 September 2001 turnover increased to £395.7 million (2000: £392.7m). Operating profit was £43.5 million, before contract hire leasing costs (2000:£47.4m). The reduction was primarily due to the inclusion of an extra week's trading in 2000 and the higher cost of fuel. Total passenger volumes have increased by 1.4% in the period. The focus of the business has been to put in place measures to grow passenger volumes and to address specific cost pressures in the industry such as fuel and driver shortage. New Overground and Metro networks have been introduced in Weymouth, Doncaster, Leeds, Aberdeen, Manchester, Rotherham Plymouth and York. Passenger volumes in the towns and cities where these networks have already been put in place have grown at a faster rate than the average. During the period we launched a major initiative to reduce the level of staff turnover and improve our recruitment and training programmes. In the period total driver turnover has been reduced by approximately 7% excluding the Bristol area where we are still experiencing particularly high levels of driver shortage. We continue to work with Local Authorities to launch new initiatives to improve bus accessibility in urban areas. In November, the East Leeds Guided Busway, the second such project in the city, opened and another new guideway will open in Bradford in January 2002. Passenger volumes on the first guideway in Leeds have increased by 65% since it was opened. In London we have been successful in retaining and gaining a net 28 contracts providing additional revenue of approximately £18 million per year. We are encouraged by the emphasis that Transport for London (TfL) is placing on strengthening the bus network and relieving traffic congestion in the capital. We believe that we are well placed to work with TfL and further extend our operations in London. In August we were pleased to announce that we had placed an order for up to 100 yellow school buses to be used in pilot projects around the UK. The first scheme will commence early in the new year in Yorkshire to be followed shortly afterwards by similar projects in the South East. This is an exciting opportunity for us to bring our expertise in North American school bus operations to the UK and help relieve traffic congestion and road accidents. UK Rail The results in the period have been overshadowed by the continued disruption to the network as a result of the Hatfield accident. Consequently, for the six months to 30 September 2001 rail turnover was £364.3 million (2000:£365.3m) reflecting the lower level of passenger volume on the railway. Operating profit however, was £29.5 million (2000: £26.9m). Passenger volumes continued to recover at the beginning of the period but comparative performance slipped back due to the ongoing impact of speed restrictions and operational difficulties during the summer. We are now moving into the post Hatfield comparative period and therefore expect to see increases in year on year passenger volumes. We have continued to receive performance regime payments throughout the period of disruption and have agreed additional compensation from Railtrack in respect of the continued loss of passenger revenue. The number of speed restrictions on First Great Eastern and First Great Western is now approaching more normal levels. The longer-term prospects are less clear and will depend upon the continued recovery from the Hatfield disruption and the ongoing economic outlook. During the period we introduced the new class 175 units on First North Western but we were disappointed that we were not able to introduce the new class 180 fleet on First Great Western into the summer timetable as scheduled. Delivery of this fleet from the manufacturer has been severely delayed by over 12 months and this has required First Great Western to arrange temporary replacements over the summer period. We continue to work with Alstom to obtain delivery of the new fleet as quickly as possible. The administration of Railtrack has caused significant uncertainty within the rail industry, however we have continued to receive all payments due to us. We believe that the reorganisation may provide us with some new opportunities to develop and grow our railway operations. It is important that a new organisation for the industry is devised as soon as possible. The opportunity should be taken to develop a simplified structure for day-to-day operations involving train operating companies as well as the infrastructure provider. North America The performance of our North American operations continues to be very strong. In the six months to 30 September 2001 turnover increased to £231.9 million (2000: £201.8m) an increase of 9% before exchange rate movements and operating profit rose to £17.8 million (2000: £16.1m) an increase of 7% before exchange rate changes. We are particularly pleased by the performance of First Student, our school bus operation, which had an excellent start to the new school year. Additional contracts for 1600 new school buses were gained, representing an increase of over 12%. During the period we were pleased to announce the acquisition of Verona Bus Service which operates 200 school buses in Wisconsin and O'Connor bus company which operates over 70 buses in Maine. We now operate a total of 14,700 school buses across 33 states in the USA and Canada, and in the last 6 months have expanded in to new areas such as Alaska, Maine, North Carolina, Florida and Wisconsin. Since the acquisition of this business two years ago, the fleet has grown by a third. First Transit has also had a very successful start to the year. New contracts have been won in Denver, California, Pennsylvania and North Carolina and a major contract in Houston has been retained and expanded. Over the six months to 30 September annualised revenues increased by 15%. Whilst a number of existing contracts remain to be re-bid in the second half, the outlook for the remainder of the year is favourable. During the period First Vehicle Services has retained and extended a number of important contracts. We continue to focus on developing this business which we believe has exciting opportunities for growth. The reorganisation of First Group America has now been completed with the closure of the St Louis office and the centralisation of all administration functions in Cincinnati. The sales functions have been strengthened and all computer systems are now bedded-down. Tight control has been maintained on all costs, but we expect to see some increase in insurance premiums in the second half year. During the period we have invested £98.5 million in new vehicles largely for our school bus division, of this £65.2 million supports the growth in new school bus routes which started operating in September 2001 and £33.3 million is for the maintenance of the existing fleet. First Transit and First Vehicle Services in the main require little or no capital expenditure as generally we do not own the assets in these businesses. The contractual nature of the revenue in all three businesses provides a very stable income stream and the public sector bias of the clients we serve provides a considerable degree of insulation from the current slowdown in the US economy. The downturn in economic activity is likely to ease labour and other cost pressures. We remain confident that we can continue to expand the operations in North America where there are opportunities for growth in all three divisions. Outlook The Group's balanced portfolio of operations reduces its exposure to individual sectors of the market. Our North America business is performing very strongly with excellent prospects for further growth. UK Bus is underpinned by strong cash flows and is less operationally exposed to economic cycles. UK Rail is fundamentally very sound but it is operating in a more difficult market and at this stage the longer-term outlook is less certain. The Group's strong cashflows continue to underpin the high level of investment in the business. As a major international public transport provider we are confident that there continue to be opportunities to grow our business. Although it is still early in the second half of the year, trading has begun satisfactorily. Moir Lockhead Chief Executive Financial review Overall Turnover of continuing operations increased in the half year by £31.9m (3.3%) to £995.0m. Operating profit of continuing operations before ESOP, goodwill and exceptional costs was £0.1m higher than last year at £85.4m. Divisional results 6 months to 6 months to Year to 30 September 2001 30 September 2000 31 March 2001 Turn- Opera- Opera- Turn- Opera- Opera- Turn- Opera- Opera- over ting ting over ting ting over ting ting profit* margin* profit* margin* profit* margin* £m £m % £m £m % £m £m % UK Bus 395.7 43.5 11.0 392.7 47.4 12.1 788.6 105.0 13.3 North America 231.9 17.8 7.7 201.8 16.1 8.0 462.7 56.3 12.2 Rail 364.3 29.5 8.1 365.3 26.9 7.4 761.2 56.2 7.4 Financing - (1.2) - - - - element of leases** Other*** 3.1 (4.2) 3.3 (5.1) 6.6 (10.5) Existing 995.0 85.4 8.6 963.1 85.3 8.9 2,019.1 207.0 10.3 Group Bristol - - - 23.5 8.9 38.0 34.9 11.5 32.8 International Airport Total Group 995.0 85.4 8.6 986.6 94.2 9.5 2,054.0 218.5 10.6 * Before ESOP, goodwill and restructuring and other exceptional costs ** Financing element of UK PCV operating lease costs *** Tram operations, central management, Group information technology and other items Turnover in the UK Bus division increased by 0.8% overall, or 4.5% after adjusting for an extra week's trading last year. Passenger volumes rose 1.4% on a comparable basis, after allowing for the extra week and other one-off effects last year. A large part of this increase results from new contracts in London. Fuel costs were £3.7m higher than last year, with the move to the four year fuel cap effective until March 2005, partially offset by the increased fuel duty rebate on Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel. This and other cost pressures, particularly on drivers' wages, led to reduced margins. An intensive programme to improve driver retention is underway and the benefits are beginning to feed through. The North American businesses again performed strongly, particularly in First Student, with profits up £1.1m after allowing for exchange rate movements. Net new contracts for 1,600 school buses have led to 12% growth in First Student, while margins have been sustained. The school bus business is seasonal, with much higher margins in the second half of the year because of the school holidays in the summer. We have invested in intensifying our sales and marketing teams to continue this excellent growth. The Rail Division operating profit was £2.6m higher than last year at £29.5m. Reductions in passenger revenue resulting from delays and disruption caused by speed restrictions have been largely matched by compensation though the performance regime. The previous losses on First North Western have been replaced by a new financial arrangement with the Strategic Rail Authority which funds an agreed budget plus a management fee. In October additional compensation of £17m from Railtrack for the effects of gauge corner cracking was agreed and the cash will be received during the second half. This amount will be recognised over future periods to compensate for ongoing loss of passenger revenue. In general many businesses are experiencing rising insurance costs, particularly since the events of 11 September. We are largely self-insured and the level of claims has been generally stable in both the UK and North America. The Group's UK insurance policies continue until 31 March 2002, while the North America policies are due for renewal in November 2001 and April 2002. Accordingly, the impact on the current financial year of any increases in premiums will be minimal. Next year it is likely that UK premiums will increase by around £5 million. The full year effect of increases in North American premiums is likely to be around £4 million. Restructuring and other exceptional costs Restructuring and exceptional costs of £4.2m were incurred in the half-year in North America. These relate to the relocation of First Student's headquarters from St Louis to Cincinnati, implementation of benefits systems and remaining up front systems implementation costs. Joint ventures and associates Our share of losses from joint ventures and associates totals £1.3m, which relates mainly to totaljourney, which launched its website during the period. Since the launch, the Office of the Rail Regulator has indicated that the site could not have an exclusive link to the Railtrack National Enquiries website. As this was a fundamental commercial requirement of the joint venture, Railtrack offered to refund our entire investment. When Railtrack went into Railway Administration this offer was withdrawn. We are now taking action to recover our investment. At 30 September 2001, the net book value of our investment in totaljourney was £5.1 million. On 25 September 2001, a conditional sale agreement was signed disposing of our interest in Tramtrack Croydon Limited (TCL) to Amey Tramlink Limited. As a result we no longer have significant influence over TCL and it has been reclassified from a joint venture to an investment. Completion of the sale is expected during 2002. Goodwill amortisation The total goodwill charge for the half year was £14.7m, of which £13.3m was in North America and £1.0m was from joint ventures and associates. Interest The net interest charge for the half year was £27.0m against £32.8m in the same period last year. The £5.8m reduction principally reflects the decrease in net debt arising from the sale of Bristol International Airport in January 2001. The interest charge is covered 4.9 times by cash generation. Taxation The Group has adopted FRS 19, which has involved moving from a partial provision basis for deferred tax to a full provision basis, and prior year comparatives have been restated to reflect this change. The restatement of the tax charge has resulted in increases of £5.6m for the six months to 30 September 2000 and £13.2m for the year to 31 March 2001. The restatement of the deferred tax provision at 31 March 2001 has resulted in an increase of £ 58.8m to £71.1m. It should be stressed that these changes are only accounting entries and have no cash impact. The taxation charge for the half year has been based on the estimated likely effective rate for the full year of 31%. The forecast effective tax rate for the current year had FRS 19 not been adopted is about 24% and as timing differences are not expected to reverse in the foreseeable future, this is considered representative of the actual cash cost of taxation to the Group. Earnings per share The adjusted basic earnings per share figure is 9.1p, which is 3% higher than the restated figure for last year. Cash flow and investment in the business Cash generation (operating profit, before ESOP, goodwill and one off costs, plus depreciation) rose from £127.7m (excluding Bristol International Airport) to £131.3m. Capital expenditure for the period amounted to £117.6m. This included £103.0m for new vehicles (£98.5m in the US and £4.5m in the UK). The low level of spend on new vehicles in the UK reflects a move to contract hire and maintenance contracts for vehicles with suppliers in growth areas plus the continued use of operating leases on London contracts. During the half year, operating leases commenced in respect of new vehicles to the value of £25.3m. Net debt Net debt increased in the half year by £111.9m to £772.6m. There is a significant first half bias to capital expenditure because school bus purchases in North America are made during this period in preparation for the start of the new school year in September. In addition, £37m was paid to the SRA in April 2001 in connection with the First North Western franchise amendment that was agreed last year. The sterling value of the Group's dollar borrowings decreased by £10m as a result of the period end exchange rate movement from £1:$1.42 to £1:$1.47. Of the £23.4m deposits for rolling stock that were outstanding at March 2001, £2.0m was received in the first half as some trains were accepted into service. The balance of £21.4m will be received as the trains are delivered and accepted into service, provided First Great Western enter into a operating lease agreement for the rolling stock. In line with the policy of reducing exposure to interest rate risk, over 70% of the Group's net debt is on fixed terms. Borrowings included bank loans of US$393m to hedge the net assets of the US businesses. Analysis of net debt Fixed Variable Total £m £m £m Cash - 20.0 20.0 Rail ring-fenced cash - 60.4 60.4 Sterling bank loans and overdrafts - (397.7) (397.7) US dollar bank loans and overdrafts - (266.7) (266.7) Canadian dollar bank loans - (7.5) (7.5) HP and finance leases (124.4) (26.9) (151.3) Loan notes (9.2) (20.6) (29.8) Interest rate swaps (444.6) 444.6 - Total (578.2) (194.4) (772.6) Balance sheet and net assets The restatement of deferred tax decreased opening net assets by £59m to £400m. Net assets decreased in the half year by £14m to £386m, mainly reflecting £11m retained profits less a £21m foreign exchange movement, and a £4m share repurchase. The US dollar borrowings broadly match the US dollar denominated net assets excluding goodwill, and therefore the foreign exchange movement principally arises from the impact on the US goodwill of the 4% strengthening of sterling against the US dollar since March. Shares in issue During the first half, 1.3m shares (0.3% of the share capital) were repurchased and cancelled at a total cost of £4.1m. This leaves 421.1m in issue. For the purpose of the earnings per share calculation (excluding own shares held), the average number of shares in issue during the first half was 420.4m. If there are no further changes to the share capital before the year end, the average number of shares in issue for the full year will be 420.2m. Dividend The interim dividend is 3.3p per ordinary share against 3.0p last year, an increase of 10%, and it is covered 1.8 times. Foreign Exchange The profits from North America have been translated at an average rate of £1: $1.46, while the period end exchange rate was £1:$1.47, which compares with £ 1:$1.42 at 31 March 2001 and £1:$1.46 at 30 September 2000. Accounting Standards As explained above, FRS 19 Deferred Tax has been adopted in the current year. As a result, the Group's policy for deferred tax has changed from partial provision to full provision. Prior year figures have been restated to reflect the new policy. More details are given in note 2. The Group intends to follow the phased introduction of FRS 17 Retirement Benefits provided for in its transitional arrangements, which means that the results will only be impacted from the year ended 31 March 2004. Iain Lanaghan Finance Director 6 November 2001 Consolidated profit and loss account Unaudited Unaudited Audited 6 months 6 months Year to to to 30 30 31 September September March 2001 2000 2001 Notes (restated) (restated) £m £m £m Turnover Continuing operations 995.0 963.1 2,019.1 Discontinued operations - 23.5 34.9 Group turnover 995.0 986.6 2,054.0 Share of turnover of joint ventures 1.4 4.6 2.1 Total turnover 996.4 991.2 2,056.1 Operating profit Continuing operations 65.9 67.0 123.4 Discontinued operations - 8.9 11.5 Group operating profit 65.9 75.9 134.9 Group operating profit before goodwill, exceptional costs and employees' profit sharing 85.4 94.2 218.5 scheme Goodwill amortisation (13.7) (12.9) (25.9) FNW franchise amendment - - (39.9) Other exceptional costs (4.2) (3.0) (13.6) Employees' profit sharing scheme (1.6) (2.4) (4.2) Group operating profit 65.9 75.9 134.9 Share of operating losses of joint ventures (1.1) - (0.8) Share of operating losses of associate (0.2) (0.1) (0.2) Amortisation of goodwill on joint (0.3) - (0.1) ventures Amortisation of goodwill on associate (0.7) (0.1) (1.8) Total operating profit 63.6 75.7 132.0 Profit on disposal of businesses - discontinued operations - 13.9 69.4 Loss on disposal of fixed assets - continuing - - (0.1) operations Profit on ordinary activities before 63.6 89.6 201.3 interest Net interest payable and similar charges (27.0) (32.8) (64.5) Profit on ordinary activities before 36.6 56.8 136.8 taxation Tax on profit on ordinary activities 3 (11.3) (18.2) (55.2) Profit on ordinary activities after 25.3 38.6 81.6 taxation Equity minority interests (0.1) (2.8) (3.9) Profit for the financial period 25.2 35.8 77.7 Equity dividends paid and proposed 4 (13.8) (11.9) (38.8) Retained profit for the financial period 13 11.4 23.9 38.9 Adjusted basic earnings per share 5 9.1p 8.8p 23.4p Adjusted cash earnings per share 5 20.0p 19.0p 44.1p Basic earnings per share 5 6.0p 8.4p 18.4p Diluted earnings per share 5 6.0p 8.4p 18.3p Consolidated balance sheet Unaudited Unaudited Audited 30 30 31 September September March 2001 2000 2001 Notes (restated) (restated) £m £m £m Assets employed: Fixed assets Intangible assets 6 544.4 562.2 573.6 Tangible assets 7 803.9 788.1 742.0 Investments - Investment in joint ventures - Goodwill 2.4 - 2.6 - Share of gross assets 3.1 38.9 35.1 - Share of gross liabilities (0.4) (37.1) (34.3) - Shareholder loans - - 1.1 5.1 1.8 4.5 - Other investments 6.6 11.0 7.6 11.7 12.8 12.1 1,360.0 1,363.1 1,327.7 Current assets Stocks 27.3 22.9 23.5 Debtors 8 306.3 270.8 279.3 Investments 9 30.1 36.8 11.8 Cash at bank and in hand 50.3 59.7 66.6 414.0 390.2 381.2 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 10 (599.8) (582.3) (591.8) Net current (liabilities)/assets Amounts due within one year (214.2) (217.5) (237.2) Amounts due after more than one year 8 28.4 25.4 26.6 Net current liabilities (185.8) (192.1) (210.6) Total assets less current 1,174.2 1,171.0 1,117.1 liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year 10 (685.9) (741.1) (622.6) Provisions for liabilities and 11 (101.3) (88.3) (93.8) charges 387.0 341.6 400.7 Financed by: Capital and reserves Called up share capital 12 21.0 21.1 21.1 Share premium account 13 236.7 233.6 236.7 Revaluation reserve 13 3.5 3.6 3.6 Other reserves 13 3.5 3.4 3.4 Profit and loss account 13 121.3 67.3 135.0 Equity shareholders' funds 386.0 329.0 399.8 Equity minority interests 1.0 12.6 0.9 387.0 341.6 400.7 Consolidated cash flow statement Unaudited Unaudited Audited 6 months to 6 months Year to to 30 30 31 September September March Notes 2001 2000 2001 £m £m £m Net cash inflow from operating 14(a) 85.1 110.2 261.8 activities Returns on investments and servicing of finance 14(b) (29.6) (23.8) (54.6) Taxation Corporation tax paid (16.0) (4.7) (20.3) Capital expenditure and financial investment 14(c) (120.5) (67.9) (50.4) Acquisitions and disposals 14(d) (9.8) 37.6 151.2 Equity dividends paid (26.8) (24.2) (36.9) Cash (outflow)/inflow before use of liquid resources and financing (117.6) 27.2 250.8 Management of liquid resources (Increase) / decrease in liquid bank (18.3) 9.5 (0.6) deposits Financing 14(e) 109.3 (21.8) (227.5) (Decrease)/Increase in cash in period (26.6) 14.9 22.7 Reconciliation of net cash flows to movements in net debt Unaudited Unaudited Audited 6 months 6 months Year to to to 31 March 30 30 September September Notes 2001 2000 2001 £m £m £m (Decrease)/increase in cash in period (26.6) 14.9 22.7 Cash (inflow)/ outflow from (increase) / decrease in debt and hire purchase contract and finance lease financing (113.4) (9.3) 199.8 Movement in current asset investments 18.3 (12.0) (37.0) Debt and hire purchase contracts and finance leases acquired with subsidiary undertakings and businesses - - (2.2) Inception of hire purchase contracts and finance leases - (21.7) (42.5) Amortisation of debt issuance fees (0.2) (0.2) (0.4) Foreign exchange differences 10.0 (15.4) (21.3) Movement in net debt in period (111.9) (43.7) 119.1 Net debt at beginning of period 15 (660.7) (779.8) (779.8) Net debt at end of period 15 (772.6) (823.5) (660.7) Consolidated statement of total recognised gains and losses Unaudited Unaudited Audited 6 months to 6 months to Year to 30 30 31 March September September 2001 2000 2001 £m £m £m Profit for the period attributable to 25.2 35.8 77.7 shareholders Foreign exchange differences (21.1) 43.0 60.0 Total recognised gains for the period 4.1 78.8 137.7 Prior year adjustment (58.8) Total recognised losses since last annual (54.7) report Reconciliation of movements in shareholders' funds Unaudited Unaudited Audited 6 months to 6 months to Year to 30 30 31 March September September 2001 2000 2001 (restated) (restated) £m £m £m Profit for the financial period 25.2 35.8 77.7 Dividends (13.8) (11.9) (38.8) 11.4 23.9 38.9 Shares issued: - in respect of exercise of savings related share options - - 0.5 - in respect of QUEST - - 2.6 Foreign exchange differences (21.1) 43.0 60.0 Own shares purchased / cancelled (4.1) (31.1) (31.1) Write down of own shares held by QUEST - - (1.5) Goodwill written back on disposals - 2.6 39.8 Net (reduction)/addition to shareholders' (13.8) 38.4 109.2 funds Shareholders' funds at beginning of 399.8 290.6 290.6 period Shareholders' funds at end of period 386.0 329.0 399.8 No note of historical cost profits and losses is given as there are no material differences between the results as set out in the consolidated profit and loss account and their historical cost equivalents. 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