Final Results
Computacenter PLC
13 March 2002
Wednesday 13th March 2002
COMPUTACENTER PLC
PRESS RELEASE
Preliminary Results Announcement
Computacenter plc, the specialist provider of IT infrastructure services,
today announces preliminary results for the twelve months ended 31 December
2001.
Financial Highlights:
- Overall performance in line with market expectations, with profit before tax
of £51.1 million* (2000: £55.6 million)
- Sales of £2.09 billion, up 5.3% (2000: £ 1.99 billion)
- Diluted earnings per share of 17.9p (2000: 20.8p) excluding non-operating
exceptional items
- Unchanged dividend payment of 2.9p per share
- Strong, ungeared balance sheet, with net cash of £53.3 million (2000: £13.4
million)
Operational Highlights:
- UK managed services revenue growth of 18.0%, reflecting strategic emphasis
on services
- Withdrawal from non-core, loss-making operations (iGroup and Germany)
- Acquisition of GECITS businesses in UK and France
- Strong performance in France
- Completion of migration to new Hatfield logistics facility
* pre-exceptionals, post Biomni
Ron Sandler, Chairman of Computacenter plc, commented:
'In the context of difficult trading conditions we regard this as a
creditable performance. During the year we maintained tight control over
costs and took appropriate steps to eliminate areas of unnecessary
expenditure. The benefits of our strategy to expand Computacenter's services
activities were evident in 2001, and served to mitigate the decline in
product revenue during the second half of the year.
Whilst we remain cautious about the trading outlook for 2002 for as long as
present market conditions persist, we have a robust, cash generative
business, with an increasing proportion of our income arising from the
provision of services.'
For further information, please contact:
Computacenter plc.
Mike Norris, Chief Executive 01707 631 601
Tessa Freeman, Investor Relations 01707 631 514
www.computacenter.com
Tulchan Communications 020 7353 4200
Andrew Grant or Julie Foster
www.tulchangroup.com
Chairman's statement
2001 started strongly for Computacenter. Excellent trading conditions in the
Group's core markets led to exceptional first quarter performance. However,
as the year progressed, a marked slowdown in the IT spend of Computacenter's
corporate customers became evident, reflecting the general deterioration in
the state of the global economy. The second half of the year was
characterised by weak market demand, with sales of the Group's products and
services to the telecoms and investment banking sectors being particularly
depressed.
In response to these difficult trading conditions, we maintained tight
control over costs and took appropriate steps to eliminate areas of
unnecessary expenditure. It is also pleasing to report that our efforts in
recent years to expand our services activities, both contracted and
non-contracted, are starting to show rewards. The benefits of this strategy,
in giving the Group greater resilience to adverse market conditions, were
clearly evident as the year progressed.
Buoyed by the strong first quarter, Computacenter's revenues in 2001 grew by
5.3% to £2.09 billion. Profit before tax, post-Biomni and before
non-operating exceptional charges, was £51.1million (2000: £55.6 million).
Diluted earnings per share, pre-exceptional items, were 17.9p (2000: 20.8p).
The Group's share of losses in our e-commerce joint venture, Biomni, was £2.2
million (2000: £3.6 million).
The Group's cash position remained strong, with net funds at the year-end of
£53.3 million, compared to £13.4 million in the previous year. With the
completion of the investment in the operations centre in Hatfield, capital
expenditure in 2001 of £15.8 million (2000: £27.5 million) returned to a more
normal level.
In recent years, Computacenter has paid considerable attention to
strengthening its services activities, to complement the core product
logistics business. Whilst product sales weakened as the year progressed,
reflecting curtailment in customers' IT expenditure, demand for
infrastructure services, particularly of an outsourcing nature, held up well.
As a result, UK managed services revenues in 2001 grew by 18.0% and for the
year as a whole, utilisation of our services personnel was high. We
anticipate that our services activities will continue to make an increasingly
significant contribution to the Group's financial performance in the future.
2001 was a year of considerable change for Computacenter, bringing with it
the implementation of a major reorganisation, the migration of the logistics
operations to Hatfield, the withdrawal from unprofitable non-core activities,
an important acquisition, and further efforts to strengthen and expand the
services activities of the Group. I am confident that the combination of
these initiatives provides a strong platform for growth, and improves our
ability to capitalise on any future recovery in IT markets.
The reorganisation of our UK operations came into full effect at the start of
the year. Its principal purpose was to serve our customers on a more
integrated basis across the full spectrum of our product and services
offerings. An ancillary benefit was the opportunity it offered to organise
the UK sales effort along industry sector lines, matching the approach taken
by our principal vendors. The benefits of this reorganisation, coupled with
the hiring during the year of a number of new senior personnel, are already
clearly apparent, most obviously in the growth of our services revenues.
The migration to our new state-of-the-art Hatfield logistics facility was
completed during 2001. Whilst the complex transfer of operations inevitably
led to some modest disruption in our supply chain services over the summer
months, no major problems were encountered. Hatfield is also the location of
our £11 million investment in the new Solutions Centre, a facility to allow
our customers to test alternative enterprise infrastructures, which became
operational early in 2002.
During the year, decisions were taken to withdraw from two loss-making
non-core activities, the iGroup and Computacenter Germany, resulting in
exceptional charges for the Group of £16.2 million, of which £2.6 million
represents goodwill on acquisition previously written off. In the case of
Computacenter Germany, the withdrawal was achieved by sale of the business to
GE Capital IT Solutions (GECITS) whilst at the same time we entered into
agreements to acquire the UK and French businesses of GECITS. Computacenter
and GECITS have entered into an exclusive cooperation agreement to ensure
that both organisations can continue to support their customers on a
multi-country basis.
Contracted managed services account for a high proportion of the activities
of both the UK and French businesses of GECITS that we acquired, and this
reinforces our commitment to expanding the services side of our business.
Considerable efforts were made during the year to strengthen our services
capability and further develop the skills, management tools and best
practices that underpin our competitiveness.
Computacenter France performed impressively in 2001. Revenues grew by 22.4%
to £262.5 million, with record operating profits of £6.0 million (2000: £1.7
million). With the completion of the French element of the GECITS transaction
in February 2002, Computacenter is now strongly positioned as a leading
competitor in the French market.
Our performance in 2001 demonstrates that we have a robust, cash generative
business with an increasing proportion of our income arising from the
provision of services. We remain cautious about the trading outlook for 2002,
as markets remain subdued, making it difficult to forecast the result for the
year. We would expect to have a clearer view as the year progresses. However,
we continue to work towards delivering an improved performance over 2001,
although this does assume some improvement in market conditions later in the
year.
I am pleased to welcome two new non-executives to the Computacenter Board,
Nick Cosh and Cliff Preddy. Both were appointed in January 2002, and I am
confident that we will benefit greatly from their skills and experience in
the years ahead. Adrian Beecroft and Rod Richards have resigned from the
Board, having been involved with Computacenter since 1985 and 1991
respectively. Adrian and Rod have made enormous contributions to
Computacenter over the years, helping to guide the Group from its venture
capital backed origins into the publicly listed arena. We are immensely
grateful for all they have done for Computacenter.
It is the staff of Computacenter who are responsible for our commercial
success. The difficult trading conditions experienced in the second half of
2001 unquestionably put considerable pressure on our staff, who responded to
the challenge with their customary drive and determination. I should like to
extend my thanks and appreciation to all Computacenter employees for their
commitment and hard work. It is pleasing to note that over 55% of our
employees have a financial interest in the Group, either through a
shareholding or share options.
Finally, I am pleased to recommend an unchanged final dividend of 2.9p per
share, payable on 30 May 2002 to registered shareholders as at 3 May 2002.
Chief Executive's review
After a very strong first quarter, Computacenter's performance was affected
by the deteriorating economic climate, with corporate IT spending falling off
markedly in the second half of the year. However our strategic focus on
strengthening our services activities during 2001 improved the Group's
resilience to these more challenging market conditions.
In recent years, an increasing number of our customers have turned to
Computacenter for assistance in leveraging their IT infrastructures to
streamline business processes, improve speed to market or make critical
information more readily available. These requirements continued to be in
evidence in 2001. In addition, and particularly as the economic outlook
became less buoyant over the course of the year, IT cost containment became
an increasing priority for our customers, and this led to a greater demand
for managed services, and in particular, outsourcing.
UK
In 2001 we began to see the benefits of the major reorganisation, conducted
at the end of 2000, in order to increase our customer focus, improve our
operational effectiveness and help us deliver an integrated suite of services
tailored to our customers' needs. Partly as a result of these initiatives,
2001 saw higher professional services utilisation rates and a growing managed
services contract base. This served to mitigate the decline in product supply
revenue, which in the UK fell in the second half of 2001 by 28% compared to
the first half.
In addition to our progress in professional and managed services,
Computacenter benefited from relatively buoyant capital expenditure in the
government sector, where revenues increased from 14.3% of our business in
2000 to 24.1% in 2001. However there were sharp declines in infrastructure
investment in many industries, particularly financial services and
telecommunications, both sectors having fuelled much of Computacenter's
growth in recent years. This shift in our market mix is the principal reason
for the decline in our UK product margin in 2001, since government sector
business attracts lower than average margins for Computacenter.
Consistent with our strategy of growing the Group's high-value services
business was the decision, in the second half of the year, to acquire the UK
business of GE Capital IT Solutions (GECITS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of GE
Capital. The integration of the GECITS business will add to our services
offering in the UK, increasing our specialist knowledge in complex
networking, storage and server technologies, particularly Cisco and Citrix.
Former GECITS accounts transferring to Computacenter include Marks and
Spencer, Safeway, Worldcom, National Grid and Northumbria Water. This
acquisition, which involved absorbing almost 250 GECITS staff, was completed
in December 2001.
Our managed services are directed towards helping our customers increase the
value and reduce the cost of their IT infrastructures. Among the many
significant managed services wins in 2001 was Computacenter's first ten-year
contract, with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in July. In partnership
with CMG, Computacenter will provide a broad range of services including
management consultancy, advice on emerging technologies and IT infrastructure
management.
Whilst our traditional product supply business suffered in the investment
banking sector, we continued to win managed services business, including a
major three-year contract with BNP Paribas. This covers the provision of a
first line helpdesk, IT support for the bank's traders and the management of
desktop and server infrastructure moves and changes.
Other significant new managed services accounts included the Traffic Area
Network (TAN) unit of the Department of Transport, Local Government and the
Regions, and a major international oil company. The TAN contract is for five
years, with an option to extend to ten, and covers support for the unit's
entire desktop and server infrastructure, including the maintenance and
management of all applications and network connectivity. The contract with
the oil company is to support a new infrastructure, the UK roll-out of which
has also been awarded to Computacenter.
A growing number of organisations are looking for a partner to provide
end-to-end management for the entire technology life-cycle. An important
component in that comprehensive service offering is the end-of-life asset
management services offered by our subsidiary RDC, the largest dedicated
company in its field in Europe. Throughout 2001, RDC continued to grow and
mature as the leading provider in the UK, processing 286,000 units, an
increase of 43% on 2000. Over 83% of this total was either re-marketed or
recycled for re-use. The company's contract base grew by 40% to 410 accounts,
and in August the company was accredited to ISO 14001, the international
environmental management standard.
We continued to win significant new business in our traditional product
supply activity, where we are increasingly finding opportunities to take a
managed procurement role. In May the Office of Government Commerce (OGC)
confirmed that Computacenter had been awarded two five year contracts to
supply its full range of services, including IT managed services, hardware
maintenance, telecoms, hardware and software to government departments under
the GCat2 framework agreement. Computacenter ran the former GCat scheme from
1997 until its conclusion in September 2001.
In other procurement successes, Consignia appointed us sole supplier for the
procurement of all its hardware and software, and in the second half of the
year, we won a major technology roll-out project for the Department of Work
and Pensions, the largest central government department. Computacenter also
won the contract to supply IT Direct, a procurement service provided to the
Lloyd's of London and Baltic Exchange markets. This contract gives 800
companies, involving approximately 100,000 users, access to our technology
and services.
CCD, our trade distribution business, which offers products and logistics
services to resellers, took increased market share with several of its key
vendors in 2001, despite the considerable pressures on its customer base, the
reseller community.
We have created a strong platform for the future growth of our product supply
business with the migration of our logistics and configuration facility to
our new state-of-the-art Hatfield Operations Centre during the year. This
large-scale and complex project, which was completed with minimal service
disruption, will offer Computacenter customers faster, lower cost product
delivery and an enhanced range of customised services.
A further investment at Hatfield in 2001 is in our recently opened Solutions
Centre. The first of its kind in the UK, this facility is designed to test
enterprise technologies across a wide range of platforms and vendors. By
giving us the ability to simulate entire complex infrastructures, it allows
us to test and tailor solutions to the specific needs of our customers'
businesses.
In the early months of 2002 we confirmed that we were in discussions with the
BT Group concerning a strategic partnership for the provision of desktop
support services. This contract will involve the transfer of nearly 400 staff
under TUPE regulations. It will involve the support of approximately 100,000
desktop users and will generate services revenue in excess of £150 million
over five years, representing a considerable expansion of Computacenter's
managed services contract base. In addition to this contract our existing
supply agreement with BT will be extended for a corresponding period. We
expect that this contract will be agreed in March 2002.
France
Computacenter France had its best year since its inception, achieving
revenues of £262.5 million, a growth of 22.4% over 2000, and operating
profits of £6.0 million (2000: £1.7 million). We increased market share as
the French market consolidated further, a process we expect to continue in
2002.
We saw strong services growth across our French client base, including wins
with Elior, EDF (Electricite de France), Groupe Schneider and a considerable
extension in the scope of service provided to French Telecom. Significant
procurement contracts were also won with the French army (Groupement des
Achats Informatiques des Armees), the ONF (Office National des Forets) and
Alcatel.
Alongside the acquisition of GECITS UK, Computacenter acquired the French
service business of GECITS (formerly ISTA). This was successfully completed
in February 2002. We are confident that this acquisition will significantly
enhance our services capability in France.
Belgium and Luxembourg
The slowdown in capital expenditure in the UK adversely affected our BeLux
operation during 2001, as UK customers cut back on the international projects
that account for an appreciable portion of BeLux revenues. Although this
impacted product sales significantly, the acquisition of Inacom Services
Europe SA in 2000 began to bear fruit in 2001, with service revenues growing
70% H2 2000 to H2 2001.
Although performance overall was disappointing, the BeLux operation won a
number of important infrastructure services contracts in 2001, including the
support of a new global IT infrastructure for Six Continents (formerly Bass
Hotels & Resorts), covering over 100 hotels throughout Europe.
Biomni
The market for e-procurement software in 2001 was difficult. Despite this
Biomni, our joint venture with Dealogic (formerly Computasoft e-Commerce),
made satisfactory progress, with our share of losses reduced from £3.6
million to £2.2 million. The company grew its revenues by over 73% on the
same period last year and continued to build a client base independent of
Computacenter, adding over 35 new customers to its B2B e-commerce community.
There were significant implementations at several large organisations,
including Wincanton and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
In 2001, Biomni was awarded the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply
Certificate of Excellence for its own processes, the only e-procurement
vendor to achieve this level of accreditation.
Sharpening focus
In 2001, Computacenter took decisions to withdraw from those activities it
considered to be both peripheral and unlikely to generate adequate levels of
profitability.
Our iGroup division in the UK, which developed intranet-based knowledge
management solutions, was closed and some of its hosting services transferred
to our core managed services portfolio.
In December, Computacenter completed the sale of its business interests in
Germany to GECITS, which trades as GE CompuNet in that country. It had become
increasingly clear that Computacenter Germany lacked the scale and
geographical coverage to compete effectively. We believe that combining the
business with GECITS will offer a more credible proposition for customers in
that market.
Appointments
There were some significant new senior appointments in 2001. In June, Tim Way
joined Computacenter as Director of HR and Customer Satisfaction. He joins us
from United Biscuits, where he was Strategic HR and Corporate Affairs
Director.
In August, Mark Slaven joined us from Deloitte Consulting as Director of
Information Systems, with overall responsibility for internal IS Operations
and Development. Within UK Operations, Joe Edwards joined us from Cap Gemini
to lead our Retail Finance customer sector.
GROUP PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
For the year ended 31 December 2001
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
TURNOVER
Turnover: group and share of joint ventures 2,097,224 1,990,620
turnover
Less: share of joint venture turnover (3,801) (2,173)
___________ ___________
____________________________________________________________________________
Continuing Operations 2,030,803 1,913,353
Discontinued operations 62,620 75,094
____________________________________________________________________________
GROUP TURNOVER 2,093,423 1,988,447
OPERATING COSTS (2,038,340) (1,927,040)
___________ ____________
OPERATING PROFIT/ (LOSS)
____________________________________________________________________________
Continuing operations 59,608 69,394
Discontinued operations (4,525) (7,987)
____________________________________________________________________________
GROUP OPERATING PROFIT 55,083 61,407
Share of operating (loss)/ profit in joint (2,174) (3,551)
venture
Share of operating profit in associate (67) 90
___________ ___________
TOTAL OPERATING PROFIT: GROUP AND SHARE OF 52,842 57,946
ASSOCIATE AND JOINT VENTURE
Exceptional loss on termination of operations (16,213) -
___________ ____________
PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES BEFORE INTEREST 36,629 57,946
AND TAXATION
Interest receivable and similar income 7,815 6,343
Interest payable and similar charges (9,544) (8,718)
___________ ____________
PROFIT ON ORDINARY 34,900 55,571
ACTIVITES BEFORE TAXATION
Tax on profit on ordinary activities (15,799) (16,348)
___________ ____________
PROFIT ON ORDINARY 19,101 39,223
ACTIVITIES AFTER TAXATION
Minority interests - equity (43) 14
___________ ____________
PROFIT ATTRIBUTABLE TO MEMBERS OF THE PARENT 19,058 39,237
COMPANY
Dividends - ordinary dividends on equity shares (5,435) (5,269)
___________ ____________
RETAINED PROFIT FOR THE PERIOD 13,623 33,968
=========== ============
Earnings per share
- Basic 10.5p 22.0p
- Diluted 9.9p 20.8p
Diluted (Excluding effect of non-operating
exceptional items) 17.9p 20.8p
Dividends per ordinary share 2.9p 2.9p
GROUP STATEMENT OF TOTAL RECOGNISED GAINS AND LOSSES
For the year ended 31 December 2001
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
Profit for the financial year excluding share of 20,647 41,633
joint venture and associate
Share of joint venture's loss for the year (1,522) (2,486)
Share of associates (loss)/ profit for the year (67) 90
_______ _______
Profit attributable to members of the parent company
for the financial year 19,058 39,237
Exchange differences on retranslation of net assets
of associated and subsidiary undertakings
254 (75)
_______ _______
Total recognised gains for the year 19,312 39,162
======= =======
GROUP BALANCE SHEET
at 31 December 2001
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
FIXED ASSETS
Intangible assets 7,957 6,227
Tangible assets 103,523 109,402
Investments 13,531 11,825
_______ _______
125,011 127,454
_______ _______
CURRENT ASSETS
Stocks 95,385 119,563
Debtors 295,837 339,623
Cash at bank and in hand 109,665 71,647
_______ _______
500,887 530,833
CREDITORS: amounts falling due
within one year (395,695) (410,095)
NET CURRENT ASSETS 105,192 120,738
_______ _______
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES
230,203 248,192
CREDITORS: amounts falling due after
more than one year (2,006) (39,504)
PROVISION FOR JOINT VENTURE DEFICIT
Share of gross assets 3,380 3,455
Share of gross liabilities (7,370) (5,923)
_______ _______
(3,990) (2,468)
PROVISION FOR LIABILITIES (2,189) (1,983)
AND CHARGES
_______ _______
TOTAL ASSETS LESS LIABILITIES 222,018 204,237
======== =======
CAPITAL AND RESERVES
Called up share capital 9,281 9,201
Share premium account 68,710 67,568
Profit and loss account 143,825 127,304
_______ _______
Shareholders' funds - equity 221,816 204,073
Minority interests - equity 202 164
_______ _______
222,018 204,237
======== =======
Approved by the Board on 13 March 2002
M J Norris Chief Executive
F A Conophy Finance Director
GROUP STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
For the year ended 31 December 2001
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
CASH INFLOW FROM OPERATING
ACTIVITIES
86,576 54,277
RETURNS ON INVESTMENTS AND
SERVICING OF FINANCE
(1,515) (2,164)
TAXATION
Corporation tax paid (17,770) (19,625)
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE AND FINANCIAL
INVESTMENT
(18,687) (35,983)
ACQUISITIONS AND DISPOSALS (4,437) (702)
EQUITY DIVIDENDS PAID (5,294) (5,229)
_______ _______
CASH INFLOW/ (OUTFLOW) BEFORE
FINANCING 38,873 (9,426)
FINANCING
Issue of shares 1,222 1,895
Decrease in debt (1,500) (1,500)
_______ _______
INCREASE/ (DECREASE) IN CASH
IN THE YEAR 38,595 (9,031)
======== =======
GROUP STATEMENT OF CASHFLOWS
For the year ended 31 December 2001
RECONCILIATION OF NET CASH FLOW TO MOVEMENT IN NET FUNDS
31 December 2001 31 December 2000
£'000 £'000
Net funds at 1 January 2001 13,407 21,152
Increase/ (decrease) in cash in the 38,595 (9,031)
year
Cash outflow from repayment of debt
and lease finance 1,500 1,500
______ ______
Change in net cash resulting from
cash flows 53,502 13,621
Amortisation of debt issue costs (214) (214)
Increase in debt on acquisition of
subsidiary - -
______ ______
Net funds at 31 December 2001 53,288 13,407
====== ======
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of preparation
The preliminary financial information has been prepared on the basis of the
accounting policies set out in the Group's statutory accounts for the year
ended 31 December 2000.
2 TURNOVER AND SEGMENTAL ANALYSIS
The Group operates in one principal activity, that of the provision of
distributed information technology and related services. Turnover represents
the amounts derived from the provision of goods and services which fall
within the Group's ordinary activities, stated net of VAT.
An analysis of turnover by destination and origin, operating profit and net
assets is given below:
Turnover by Destination 2001 2000
£'000 £'000
UK
Continuing 1,744,226 1,668,536
Discontinued 54 395
_________ _________
Total 1,744,280 1,668,931
France, Belgium & Luxembourg 280,765 225,311
Germany - discontinued 62,889 77,639
Rest of the World 5,489 16,566
_________ _________
Total 2,093,423 1,988,447
========= =========
Turnover by Origin 2001 2000
£'000 £'000
UK
Continuing 1,753,999 1,686,143
Discontinued 54 395
_________ _________
Total 1,754,053 1,686,538
France, Belgium & Luxembourg 276,804 227,210
Germany - discontinued 62,566 74,699
_________ _________
Total 2,093,423 1,988,447
========= =========
Operating Profit
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
UK
Continuing 54,582 68,179
Discontinued (3,105) (4,518)
_________ _________
Total 51,477 63,661
France, Belgium & Luxembourg 5,170 1,215
Germany - discontinued (1,564) (3,469)
_________ _________
Total group excl associate & Joint
Venture undertakings 55,083 61,407
Share of operating result of
associates and joint venture (2,241) (3,461)
_________ _________
Total operating profit 52,842 57,946
========= =========
Net Assets Employed
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
UK 182,257 195,740
France, Belgium & Luxembourg 12,146 9,837
Germany (6,449) 2,276
_________ _________
Subtotal 187,954 207,853
Net Assets of associated undertaking
UK 8 75
Rest of the world 150 150
_________ _________
Net Assets Employed 188,112 208,078
Net Funds 53,288 13,407
_________ _________
Net operating assets 241,400 221,485
Non-operating liabilities (19,382) (17,248)
_________ _________
Net Assets 222,018 204,237
========= =========
3 OPERATING COSTS
Continuing Discontinued 2001 Continuing Discontinued 2000
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Decrease/
(increase) in 19,029 4,789 23,818 (29,935) 3,256 (26,679)
stocks of
finished goods
Goods for 1,570,346 45,446 1,615,792 1,529,012 57,011 1,586,023
resale and
consumables
Staff costs 222,090 10,533 232,623 208,418 14,036 222,454
Depreciation
and other
amounts written 16,993 1,183 18,176 12,405 1,060 13,465
off tangible
and intangible
assets
Other operating 142,737 5,194 147,931 124,059 7,718 131,777
charges
_________ ______ _________ _________ ______ _________
1,971,195 67,145 2,038,340 1,843,959 83,081 1,927,040
========= ====== ========= ========= ====== =========
4 TAX ON PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITES
The charge based on the profit for the year comprises:
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
UK Corporation tax * 15,681 17,118
Foreign 564 48
______ ______
16,245 17,166
Share of Joint Venture's tax
(652) (1,065)
______ ______
15,593 16,101
Deferred tax 206 247
______ ______
Total tax charge 15,799 16,348
====== ======
* Includes a tax credit of £930,000 relating to the effect of non-operating
exceptional items
The tax charge for the year is higher than the standard rate of Corporation
Tax in the UK (30%). The principal reasons for this difference are set out
below:
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
Total profit before taxation 34,900 55,571
====== ======
At 30% 10,470 16,671
Expenses not deductible for
tax purposes 739 1,117
Funding to overseas entity
not deductible for tax purposes 924 -
Goodwill amortised 99 79
Goodwill reinstated on disposal 793 -
Accounting depreciation in
excess of tax depreciation 12 (726)
Effect of payment to Quest - (2,633)
Profits of overseas undertakings
not taxable due to brought forward
loss offset (669) -
Losses of overseas
undertakings not available for
relief 3,225 1,593
====== ======
Current tax charge 15,593 16,101
====== ======
Tax losses have been surrendered by way of group relief to Computacenter (UK)
Ltd which has paid the tax value for these losses.
5 DIVIDENDS
The Directors recommend the payment of a dividend of 2.9p per share (2000:
2.9p per share), representing an aggregate charge of £5,435,000 (2000:
£5,269,000). The Computacenter ESOP trust has waived the dividends payable in
respect of 1,427,042 (2000: 1,427,042) ordinary shares that it owns which are
not allocated to employees. The Computacenter Trustees Limited have waived
dividends in respect of 461,011 (2000:461,011) shares which it owns which are
not allocated to employees and the Computacenter Quest ('Qualifying Employee
Scheme Trust') has similarly waived dividends in respect of 1,109,143
(2000:1,109,143) shares that it owns.
6 EARNINGS PER SHARE
The calculation of earnings per ordinary share is based on profit
attributable to members of the holding Company of £19,058,000 (2000:
£39,237,000) and on 181,252,000 (2000: 177,952,000) ordinary shares, being
the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year after
excluding the shares owned by the Computacenter Employee Share Trust,
Computacenter Trustees Limited and the Computacenter Quest.
The diluted earnings per share is based on the same earnings figure of
£19,058,000 (2000: £39,237,000) and on 191,928,000 (2000: 188,556,000)
ordinary shares, calculated as the basic weighted average number of ordinary
shares, plus 10,676,000 (2000: 10,604,000) dilutive share options.
An additional earnings per share ratio of 17.9p was presented to provide a
measure of group operating activities, excluding the exceptional item. This
additional earnings per share ratio is based on earnings of £34,341,000,
which comprises of the profit attributable to members of the holding company
of £19,058,000, excluding the exceptional loss £16,213,000 and the tax credit
of £930,000, and on 191,928,000 ordinary shares.
7 RECONCILIATION OF OPERATING PROFIT TO OPERATING CASH FLOWS
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
Operating profit 55,083 61,407
Depreciation 17,847 13,202
Impairment provision 2,099 -
Amortisation 329 263
Own shares allocated - 176
Loss on disposal of fixed assets 836 87
Termination of UK operation - iGroup (2,531)
(Decrease)/ increase in debtors 42,983 (95,130)
Decrease/ (increase) in stocks 24,059 (26,679)
(Decrease)/ Increase in creditors (54,755) 101,053
Currency and other adjustments 626 (102)
________ _______
Net cash inflow from operating activities 86,576 54,277
======== =======
8 PUBLICATION OF NON STATUTORY ACCOUNTS
The financial information contained in this preliminary statement does not
constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 240 of the Companies Act
1985. The financial information set out in this announcement is extracted
from the full Group financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2001,
the auditor's report on which has yet to be signed.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange