Final Results
Robert Walters PLC
12 March 2002
12 March 2002
ROBERT WALTERS PLC
PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDED
31 DECEMBER 2001
Robert Walters plc, the recruitment and HR outsourcing business, today
announced its preliminary results for the twelve months ended 31 December
2001.
Financial Highlights
* Turnover (gross fee income) £253.6m (2000: £216.8m)
* Gross profit (net fee income) £65.2m (2000: £63.5m)
* Operating profit, pre exceptional item, £7.7m(*) (2000: £15.5m)
* Operating profit, post exceptional item, £6.3m(**) (2000: £14.0m)
* Profit before tax £6.5m (2000: £18.3m)
* Earnings per share 4.9p (2000: 15.0p)
* Operating cash flow £15.0m (2000: £7.3m)
* Cash at year-end of £9.0m (2000: £9.8m)
* Final dividend: 2.1p per ordinary share. Total dividend maintained at 3.15p
per ordinary share
(*) After first time charge of £348,000 goodwill.
(**) Write down on investment of £1.5m in terminated technology project.
Commenting on the results, Chief Executive, Robert Walters, said:
'I believe that in a very difficult year for the recruitment industry our
business has shown resilience. Our permanent business has been affected by
the economic slowdown but our contract business has held up extremely well
and provided us with an important buffer in weak economic conditions.'
'At this stage, the first quarter of 2002 is looking to be very similar in
terms of net fee income to the final quarter of last year and we will
continue to manage our business on the basis of unchanged market conditions.
Our focus will remain on cost savings across the Group whilst sustaining our
ability to respond quickly to, and benefit from, any upturn.'
Commenting on the results, Chief Operating Officer, Giles Daubeney, said:
'Our greatest asset remains our people who we would like to thank for their
hard work and commitment. We will continue to invest in their training and
development to ensure we have the capabilities to provide the pre-eminent
service that our clients and candidates have come to expect of the Robert
Walters Group.'
For further information please contact:
_______________________________________
Robert Walters plc +44 20 7379 3333
Robert Walters Chief Executive
Ian Nash Group Finance Director
Brunswick
Patrick Handley +44 20 7404 5959
Fiona Fong
Or visit our website at www.robertwalters.com
Notes to Editors:
_________________
Robert Walters plc
Robert Walters is a leading global recruitment consultancy, specialising in
placing high calibre professionals into permanent, contract and temporary
positions at all management levels. The Group specialises in the accounting,
finance, banking, IT, management consultancy, general management, legal,
sales and marketing, human resources, call centre and support fields. Robert
Walters' blue-chip client base ranges across leading investment banks and
multi-national corporations covering all market sectors.
Established in 1985, Robert Walters has built a global presence with 23
offices spanning five continents. It employs over 900 staff worldwide.
In 1997, Robert Walters established its outsourcing division, Resource
Solutions, to provide HR outsourcing and consultancy services. At the
forefront of recruitment outsourcing, Resource Solutions currently operates
contracts throughout Europe, Australasia, Asia and the US.
In September 2001, Robert Walters acquired Interim Leaders, a business
focusing on senior interim management roles.
Chairman's and Chief Executive's Review
_______________________________________
In 2001 Group turnover of £253.6m (2000: £216.8m) produced a net fee income
of £65.2.m (2000: £63.5m) and an operating profit (before exceptional item)
of £7.7m (2000: £15.5m).
2001 was a difficult year for the recruitment industry. The downturn in
permanent hiring has had a significant and immediate impact on the Group's
operating profit. The downsizing in the investment banking and IT sectors has
proved particularly painful but we remain committed to these markets and are
well positioned to benefit internationally from their recovery.
Our response to the slowdown in recruitment activity has been to address the
cost base with a number of initiatives, which took increasing effect in the
second half of 2001. Since April 2001 we have reduced our staff numbers in
the core Robert Walters business by 15.2%; however we have resisted making
any further significant staff reductions so as to ensure our business retains
sufficient scale to benefit from the upturn. We continue to invest in our
people through training and development programmes designed to help our
employees adapt to a very different economic climate.
During the recession of the early 1990's, we experienced a marked increase in
contractor numbers as clients met their recruitment needs by hiring short
term flexible labour. While we have not so far seen this trend reappearing,
our contract business has held up extremely well and provides us with an
important buffer in weak economic conditions.
The acquisition of Dunhill Management Services Trust ('Dunhill') in
Australia, which was completed on 27th April 2001, has been fully integrated,
with consequent cost savings, and now provides us with considerable scale in
one of our key markets.
Resource Solutions, our HR outsourcing division continues to make good
progress and is now profitable.
At this stage, the first quarter of 2002 is looking to be very similar in
terms of net fee income to the final quarter of last year and we will
continue to manage our business on the basis of unchanged market conditions.
Our focus will remain on cost savings across the Group whilst sustaining our
ability to respond quickly to, and benefit from, any upturn during the year.
Clearly, now is not the time to engage in any significant expansion of our
network but where opportunities present themselves we will consider investing
in initiatives which will further develop our business.
It is vital that we maintain our strategy, get better at what we do, expand
our market share particularly in the commerce sector and take steps to ensure
that as conditions improve we can once again deliver significant growth.
Operating Review
________________
During 2001 we continued to focus on our core competency of specialist
professional recruitment, where we have been successful in building a strong,
reputable, global brand.
United Kingdom
In the UK, turnover increased by 15.7% to £183.6m (2000: £158.6m) and net fee
income fell by 8.4% to £36.2m (2000: £39.5m). Operating profit declined from
£9.9m to £5.1m.
The permanent businesses have suffered due to the head count freezes made by
our clients, which have been directly reflected in the number of advertised
vacancies, which have declined at the sharpest rate since January 1983.
However our contract business continues to give resilience to the Group, with
net fee income growing during the year.
The demand for IT staff has declined significantly in both contract and
permanent recruitment. In response, we have re-aligned our presence in the
market to accord with current market conditions.
Our investment in the interim management sector, with the acquisition of
Interim Leaders, has enabled us to move into more senior level recruitment
where we believe there are significant opportunities to place experienced
interim executives into time-critical roles.
Continental Europe
In The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany turnover increased by 32.6%
to £10.1m (2000: £7.6m) and net fee income grew by 12.6% to £6.1m (2000:
£5.4m). The increase in turnover and net fee income was driven by the growth
of our interim business. Operating profit fell from £1.7m to £1.2m, due to
the additional investment in staff and expansion into new business areas.
We continued to develop our offices in Belgium and France and saw net fee
income increases in both operations. France is one of the largest recruitment
markets in the world and offers tremendous potential for the Group.
Germany continues to be a difficult market, but our exposure to this market
is small.
Asia Pacific
In Asia Pacific turnover increased by 17.4% to £55.5m (2000: £47.3m) and net
fee income by 18.1% to £19.6m (2000: £16.6m). Operating profit fell from
£3.9m to £1.1m. Dunhill is included in these figures from 27 April 2001. The
turnover of Dunhill was £11.3m, with net fee income of £4.8m and operating
profit of £0.1m.
The region was significantly affected by the global slowdown in investment
banking, IT and telecommunications that had been strong markets for the Group
in 2000.
The Dunhill business is now fully integrated and has been re-branded Robert
Walters. This acquisition has expanded the Group's service offerings in
Australia into the fields of sales and marketing, human resources and legal
as well as giving the Group the geographic spread to pitch for national
account work. The advertised presence of the Group has been enhanced
significantly by our acquisition of Dunhill.
In contrast to the market conditions, the New Zealand offices increased their
net fee income in 2001.
The candidate flow between the UK and Australasia remains a key factor for
our contract businesses on both sides of the world.
The successful start to 2001 for our Hong Kong and Singapore offices was not
sustained and the businesses found trading particularly difficult in the
latter part of the year.
We are delighted with the development of our Tokyo office. Notwithstanding
the difficult trading conditions net fee income increased significantly.
Other International
Turnover in the USA, Ireland and South Africa increased by 35.6% to £4.3m
(2000: £3.2m). Net fee income rose 66.8% to £3.3m from £2.0m and operating
profit grew from £114,000 to £248,000.
Our New York office suffered during the fourth quarter but the market is
beginning to recover.
Although small, our Irish and South African operations continued to grow
during 2001, and also provided a continuing source of candidates for some of
our other offices.
Resource Solutions
Resource Solutions, our HR outsourcing business, that manages the on-site
recruitment functions for many clients around the world, had a successful
2001 with increased levels of business and improved profitability.
General Overview
Our greatest asset remains our people who we would like to thank for their
hard work and commitment. We will continue to invest in their training and
development to ensure we have the capabilities to provide the pre-eminent
service that our clients and candidates have come to expect of the Robert
Walters Group.
Financial Review
________________
Turnover
Turnover for the Group is the total income from the placement of permanent
and contract staff and therefore includes the remuneration costs of contract
candidates and the value of advertising invoiced to clients. It also includes
the outsourcing and consultancy fees charged by Resource Solutions to its
clients.
Turnover increased by 17.0% to £253.6m (2000: £216.8m) with 52.9% of the
annual total being generated in the second half (2000: 57.8%).
Dunhill, which was acquired on 27 April 2001, accounted for £11.3m of the
growth in turnover of which 72.0% fell in the second half.
Turnover from our contract business increased by 21.9% to £210.0m (2000:
£172.2m) and demonstrated its resilience compared with permanent recruitment
in difficult trading conditions. Of this increase, 6.5% relates to the
contract recruitment business and the balance reflects the progress Resource
Solutions has made in selling outsourced payroll contracts.
Gross Profit (Net Fee Income)
Net fee income is the total placement fees of permanent candidates, the
margin earned on the placement of contract candidates and advertising income.
It also includes the outsourcing and consultancy margin earned by Resource
Solutions.
Net fee income for the year increased by 2.7% to £65.2m (2000: £63.5m). Net
fee income was £34.8m for the first half of the year and £30.4m in the second
half reflecting the deteriorating economic climate.
The increased proportion of contract placements and outsourced payroll
contracts explains why the growth in net fee income has fallen below that of
turnover and also the fall in net fee income margin to 25.7% (2000: 29.3%).
Dunhill accounted for £4.8m of the net fee income, of which 67.2% fell in the
second half.
Operating Profit
Administrative expenses (before exceptional item) were £57.5m (2000: £48.0m).
This increase resulted from the acquisition of Dunhill, additional
consultants being employed towards the end of 2000 and the first half of
2001, new business initiatives and the continued development of Resource
Solutions.
Administrative expenses in the second half of 2001 were £28.8m as against
£28.7m in the first half but reflect six months of Dunhill costs whereas only
two months of costs were included in the first half of the year.
The modest increase in net fee income allied to the increase in the cost base
resulted in a decline in the Group's operating profit, before exceptional
item, to £7.7m (2000: £15.5m).
Exceptional Item
In 2000 the Board approved the continued development and roll-out of a
web-enabled global database system linking both front and back offices across
our network of offices. The projected total cost of this project was £6.0m
over the two years from December 2000.
The development of this project continued through the first half of 2001 but
was suspended in the third quarter due to the rapidly worsening market
conditions.
In the current economic climate, the Board believes that it is no longer
appropriate to sanction the necessary levels of future expenditure to
complete this project and has therefore decided not to continue with it and
to write off the whole of the investment. This investment of £1.5m has been
treated as an exceptional item and charged to the profit and loss account.
Taxation
The effective rate of tax on profits on ordinary activities for the year rose
to 37.2% from 33.5%. The rate was lower last year because of the higher
proportion of profit before tax falling in the UK due to the sale of our
investment in Stepstone.
Earnings per Share and Dividends
Basic earnings per share were 4.9p (2000: 15.0p) and diluted earnings per
share before exceptional item were 6.1p (2000: 12.7p). The weighted average
number of shares for the year was 82.6m (2000: 81.1m).
A final dividend of 2.1p per ordinary share is being proposed by the Board.
Together with the interim dividend of 1.05p per ordinary share paid in
November 2001 the total dividend would amount to 3.15p per ordinary share.
The final dividend, which amounts to £1.8m will be paid on 16 May 2002 to
those shareholders on the register at 19 April 2002.
The Company paid a dividend of 1.56p per ordinary share for 2000. This
represented 50% of the dividend that would have been paid had the shares been
listed throughout the year 2000.
Balance Sheet
The Group had net assets of £40.9m at 31 December 2001 (2000: £35.8m),
including goodwill of £9.4m (2000: nil).
This movement is accounted for by the issue of shares to satisfy the Dunhill
acquisition and retained earnings for the year of £1.6m.
Cash Flow and Net Cash Position
At 31 December 2001 the Group had cash balances of £9.0m (2000 £9.8m). Cash
flow from operating activities in 2001 was £15.0m (2000: £7.3m).
The major payments made from the operational cash flow were £5.5m taxation,
£4.4m being the cash proportion of the Dunhill acquisition, dividends of
£2.1m, and capital expenditure of £3.8m.
Surplus cash balances are invested in short term deposits at floating rates.
The Group also has a committed £5m overdraft facility, which is due for
renewal in August 2002.
Acquisitions
On 27 April 2001 the Dunhill Group was acquired for a total consideration of
£9.0m including estimated contingent payment. Goodwill of £9.0m arose on the
acquisition and is stated after charging amortisation of £0.3m.
The Company has made a prudent estimate of the contingent consideration for
Dunhill which is dependent upon its performance in 2001 and is payable in
March 2002. As with the initial payment, any sum due to the vendors will be
settled as to 52.5% in cash and 47.5% by an issue of new Robert Walters plc
ordinary shares.
In September 2001 the Group acquired a senior interim management business
called Interim Leaders. A payment of £0.7m was made to acquire the
infrastructure and key individuals to enable the Group to enter this new
market.
Consolidated Profit and Loss Account
For the year ended 31 December 2001
2001 - Unaudited
______________________________________________________________________________
Notes Before Exceptional Total
Exceptional items
items (Note 3)
£'000 £'000 £'000
______________________________________________________________________________
Turnover 2
Existing 242,224 - 242,224
operations
Acquisitions 11,328 - 11,328
______________________________________________________________________________
253,552 - 253,552
Cost of sales (188,321) - (188,321)
______________________________________________________________________________
Gross profit 65,231 - 65,231
Administrative (57,502) (1,457) (58,959)
expenses
Operating profit
Existing 7,659 (1,457) 6,202
operations
Acquisitions 70 - 70
______________________________________________________________________________
7,729 (1,457) 6,272
Profit on disposal - - -
of investment
______________________________________________________________________________
Profit on ordinary 7,729 (1,457) 6,272
activities before
interest
Interest (net) 223 - 223
______________________________________________________________________________
Profit on ordinary 7,952 (1,457) 6,495
activities before
taxation
Tax on profit on 4 (2,850) 437 (2,413)
ordinary
activities
______________________________________________________________________________
Profit on ordinary 5,102 (1,020) 4,082
activities after
taxation
Dividends 5 (2,496) - (2,496)
______________________________________________________________________________
Retained profit 2,606 (1,020) 1,586
for the year
______________________________________________________________________________
Earnings per share 6
(pence)
Basic 6.1 (1.2) 4.9
Diluted 6.1 (1.2) 4.9
______________________________________________________________________________
Consolidated Profit and Loss Account
For the year ended 31 December 2001 (cont.)
2000
______________________________________________________________________________
Notes Before Exceptional Total
Exceptional items
items (Note 3)
£'000 £'000 £'000
______________________________________________________________________________
Turnover 2
Existing 216,786 - 216,786
operations
Acquisitions - - -
______________________________________________________________________________
216,786 - 216,786
Cost of sales (153,267) - (153,267)
______________________________________________________________________________
Gross profit 63,519 - 63,519
Administrative (48,013) (1,462) (49,475)
expenses
Operating profit
Existing 15,506 (1,462) 14,044
operations
Acquisitions - - -
______________________________________________________________________________
15,506 (1,462) 14,044
Profit on disposal - 4,056 4,056
of investment
______________________________________________________________________________
Profit on ordinary 15,506 2,594 18,100
activities before
interest
Interest (net) 152 - 152
______________________________________________________________________________
Profit on ordinary 15,658 2,594 18,252
activities before
taxation
Tax on profit on 4 (5,357) (763) (6,120)
ordinary
activities
______________________________________________________________________________
Profit on ordinary 10,301 1,831 12,132
activities after
taxation
Dividends 5 (1,427) - (1,427)
______________________________________________________________________________
Retained profit 8,874 1,831 10,705
for the year
______________________________________________________________________________
Earnings per share 6
(pence)
Basic 12.7 2.3 15.0
Diluted 12.5 2.2 14.7
______________________________________________________________________________
Consolidated Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses
For the year ended 31 December 2001
Unaudited
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
______________________________________________________________________________
Retained profit for the year 1,586 10,705
Foreign currency translation differences (42) 157
______________________________________________________________________________
Total recognised gains for the year 1,544 10,862
______________________________________________________________________________
Consolidated Balance Sheet
31 December 2001
Unaudited
Notes 2001 2000
£'000 £'000
______________________________________________________________________________
Fixed assets
Goodwill 7 9,355 -
Tangible assets 5,605 3,618
Investments 103 103
Own shares held 2,425 2,565
______________________________________________________________________________
17,488 6,286
Current assets
Debtors 34,248 43,304
Cash at bank and in hand 9,035 9,813
______________________________________________________________________________
43,283 53,117
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one (19,741) (23,125)
year
______________________________________________________________________________
Net current assets 23,542 29,992
______________________________________________________________________________
Total assets less current liabilities 41,030 36,278
Provisions for liabilities and charges (145) (455)
______________________________________________________________________________
Net assets 2 40,885 35,823
______________________________________________________________________________
Capital and reserves
Called-up share capital 16,931 16,460
Share premium 82,804 79,757
Other reserves (74,034) (74,034)
Foreign exchange reserves (465) (423)
Profit and loss account 15,649 14,063
______________________________________________________________________________
Equity shareholders' funds 9 40,885 35,823
______________________________________________________________________________
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
For the year ended 31 December 2001
Unaudited
Notes 2001 2000
£'000 £'000
______________________________________________________________________________
Net cash inflow from operating activities 10 15,024 7,273
Returns on investments and servicing of 223 151
finance
Taxation (5,543) (5,159)
Capital expenditure and financial (3,788) (5,087)
investment
Acquisitions and disposals (4,896) 4,917
Equity dividends paid (2,132) -
______________________________________________________________________________
Cash (outflow) inflow before financing (1,112) 2,095
Financing - 3,743
______________________________________________________________________________
(Decrease) increase in cash in the year 11 (1,112) 5,838
______________________________________________________________________________
Notes to the accounts:
1. Basis of accounting
The accounting policies are the same as those set out in the financial
statements of the Group for the year ended 31 December 2001, and are
consistent with the prior period. The Group has adopted FRS17, Retirement
Benefits and FRS18, Accounting Policies.
Segmental information
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
i) Turnover:
UK 183,551 158,639
Continental Europe 10,139 7,648
Asia Pacific 55,516 47,295
Other 4,346 3,204
___________________________________________________________________
253,552 216,786
___________________________________________________________________
ii) Gross Profit:
UK 36,219 39,522
Continental Europe 6,071 5,390
Asia Pacific 19,624 16,618
Other 3,317 1,989
___________________________________________________________________
65,231 63,519
___________________________________________________________________
iii) Profit on ordinary activities before interest
and tax:
UK 5,131 9,882
Continental Europe 1,225 1,659
Asia Pacific 1,125 3,851
Other 248 114
___________________________________________________________________
7,729 15,506
Exceptional items (1,457) (1,462)
___________________________________________________________________
Operating Profit 6,272 14,044
Profit on disposal of investment - 4,056
Interest (net) 223 152
___________________________________________________________________
Profit on ordinary activities before tax 6,495 18,252
___________________________________________________________________
iv) Net Assets:
UK 28,676 26,777
Continental Europe 4,833 5,022
Asia Pacific 7,254 4,176
Other 122 (152)
___________________________________________________________________
40,885 35,823
___________________________________________________________________
The analysis of turnover by destination is not materially different to the
analysis by origin.
3. Exceptional items
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
IT strategy costs 1,457 1,462
Profit on disposal of investment - (4,056)
___________________________________________________________________
1,457 (2,594)
___________________________________________________________________
The IT strategy costs in 2000 and 2001 relate to consultancy fees incurred in
developing a global technology process.
4. Tax on profit on ordinary activities
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
Current year tax charge:
Corporation tax - UK 2,109 4,820
Corporation tax - Overseas 1,352 1,850
Double tax relief (633) (651)
Deferred tax (356) -
___________________________________________________________________
2,472 6,019
___________________________________________________________________
Adjustments in respect of prior period:
Corporation tax - UK (369) (40)
Corporation tax - Overseas - 138
Double tax relief 64 -
Deferred tax 246 3
___________________________________________________________________
(59) 101
___________________________________________________________________
2,413 6,120
___________________________________________________________________
UK Corporation tax has been charged at 30% (2000: 30%)
The effective rate of tax on profits on ordinary activities for the year rose
to 37.2% from 33.5%. The rate was lower last year because of the higher
proportion of profit before tax falling in the UK due to the sale of our
investment in Stepstone.
5. Equity Dividends
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
Interim dividend paid of 1.05p per share
(2000:nil) 889 -
Final dividend proposed of 2.1p per share
(2000:1.56p) 1,778 1,427
Adjustment in respect of prior period (171) -
___________________________________________________________________
2,496 1,427
___________________________________________________________________
6. Earnings per share
The calculation of earnings per ordinary share is based on the profit on
ordinary activities after taxation and the weighted average number of
ordinary shares of Robert Walters plc.
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
___________________________________________________________________
Profit on ordinary activities after taxation 4,082 12,132
___________________________________________________________________
2001 2000
Number Number
of Shares of Shares
Weighted average number of shares:
Shares in issue 83,907,876 82,300,000
Own shares held (1,299,016) (1,162,184)
___________________________________________________________________
For basic earnings per share 82,608,860 81,137,816
Outstanding share options 365,053 1,500,441
___________________________________________________________________
For diluted earnings per share 82,973,913 82,638,257
___________________________________________________________________
7. Goodwill
Note £'000
Costs:
Additions 8 9,703
___________________________________________________________________
At 31 December 2001 9,703
___________________________________________________________________
Amortisation:
Charge for year 348
___________________________________________________________________
At 31 December 2001 348
___________________________________________________________________
Net book value:
At 31 December 2001 9,355
___________________________________________________________________
8. Acquisitions
i) On 27 April 2001 the Dunhill Group was acquired for a total
consideration of £8,974,000. Goodwill of £8,989,000 arose on the
acquisition and is stated after charging amortisation of £300,000. This
represents the excess of the consideration given over the provisional
fair value of the tangible assets and liabilities acquired. It has been
capitalised and will be written off on a straight line basis over its
useful economic life which is considered to be 20 years.
ii) The Group acquired a business for a total consideration of £714,000
in September 2001 in the senior interim management market called Interim
Leaders. The related goodwill of £714,000 is stated after charging
amortisation of £48,000 and is being amortised over five years.
9. Reconciliation of movements in shareholders' funds
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
Profit for the year 4,082 12,132
Foreign currency translation differences (42) 157
___________________________________________________________________
4,040 12,289
Dividend proposed (2,496) (1,427)
New shares issued 3,518 12,826
Capital contribution - 31
___________________________________________________________________
Net addition to shareholders' funds 5,062 23,719
Opening shareholders' funds 35,823 12,104
___________________________________________________________________
Closing shareholders' funds 40,885 35,823
___________________________________________________________________
10. Analysis of cash flow
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
Reconciliation of operating profit to net cash flow
from operating activities:
Operating profit 6,272 14,044
Depreciation charges 1,628 1,217
Amortisation charges 348 -
Loss (gain) on disposal of tangible fixed assets 322 (14)
Decrease (increase) in debtors 10,923 (10,809)
(Decrease) increase in creditors (4,159) 2,632
(Decrease) increase in provisions (310) 203
___________________________________________________________________________
Net cash inflow from operating activities 15,024 7,273
___________________________________________________________________________
11. Analysis and reconciliation of net funds
At 31
At 1 January Cash Exchange December
2001 flows movements on 2001
cash
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Cash at bank 9,813 (1,112) 334 9,035
and in hand
__________________________________________________________________________
Net funds 9,813 (1,112) 334 9,035
__________________________________________________________________________
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
(Decrease) increase in cash in the year (1,112) 5,838
Cash flow from decrease in debt - 676
___________________________________________________________________________
Change in net funds resulting from cash flows (1,112) 6,514
Non cash flows resulting from decrease in debt - 9,119
Foreign currency translation differences 334 (12)
___________________________________________________________________________
Movement in net funds in year (778) 15,621
Net funds (debt) at 1 January 9,813 (5,808)
___________________________________________________________________________
Net funds at 31 December 9,035 9,813
__________________________________________________________________________
12. Preliminary Announcement
The preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2001 are unaudited.
The financial information set out above does not constitute the Group's
audited statutory accounts within the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies
Act 1985. The financial information for the year ended 31 December 2000 has
been extracted from the statutory accounts for that year which have been
delivered to the Registrar of Companies and the report of the auditors on
those accounts was unqualified and did not contain a statement under section
237(2) or 237(3) of the Companies Act 1985. The Group accounts for the year
ended 31 December 2001 will be finalised on the basis of the financial
information presented by the Directors in the preliminary announcement. The
Group accounts for the year ended 31 December 2001 have not yet been
delivered to the Registrar of Companies.
This preliminary announcement was approved by the Directors on 12 March 2002.
13. Dividend
The record date for the final dividend is 19 April 2002 and payment date is
16 May 2002.
14. Issue of Annual Report and Accounts
The 2001 Annual Report and Accounts will be posted to shareholders by 31
March 2002. Copies may be obtained after this date from the Company
Secretary, 55 Strand, London WC2N 5WR.
15. Annual General Meeting
The 2001 Annual General Meeting of Robert Walters plc will be held at 55
Strand, London WC2N 5WR on 9 May 2002.
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