Final Results

RNS Number : 5322S

Mothercare PLC

20 May 2009

 



Mothercare plc

Preliminary Results

Strong growth in sales, profit and dividend

Mothercare plc announces its preliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 28 March 2009.

Financial Results

• Group sales up 6.9% to £723.6m (2008: £676.8m)

• Group profit before tax increased to £42.2m (2008: £4.5m)

• Basic EPS increased to 36.3p (2008: 0.1p)

• Strong cash generation; debt free. Net cash balance £24.8m (2008: £22.7m)

• Total dividend up 20.8% to 14.5p (2008: 12.0p)

Financial Highlights (proforma basis)(1)

• Group sales up 2.8% to £723.6m (2008: £703.6m)

• Group profit before tax increased to £42.2m (2008: loss of £2.6m)

• Group underlying(1) profit before tax up 12.4% to £37.1m (2008: £33.0m)

• Underlying EPS up 12.6% to 32.1p (2008: 28.5p)

• UK like-for-like sales(1) up 1.4%

• International like-for-like sales up 6.0%

Strategic Highlights (proforma basis)

Growth strategy delivering results:

• Record results for International:

-    International retail sales(1) up 40.9%;

-    International profit up 47.9% to £13.9m;

-    115 new stores; total 609 stores overseas in 50 countries.

• Early Learning Centre integration largely complete; benefits greater than expected

• UK property portfolio restructuring on track to deliver benefits

• Rapid growth through online strategy in Direct:

-    Direct in Home sales up 24.9% to £62.2m;

-    Direct in Store sales up 26.3% to £45.1m.

Ben Gordon, Chief Executive, said: 

'This has been another strong performance for the Mothercare group and as a result we have recommended a 20.8% increase in the total dividend. Our International franchise business has enjoyed a record year, with profits up by nearly 50%. We now have 1,014 stores worldwide in 51 countries, with plans to open another 100 stores this year. The integration of the Early Learning Centre is now largely complete and has delivered benefits beyond our expectations.

'Given the uncertain consumer environment, we are planning cautiously for 2009/10, however we are well placed as we enter the new financial year, benefiting from our growing International platform, resilient multi-channel UK business, strong cash flow and debt free balance sheet.'

Enquiries to:

Mothercare plc

Ben Gordon, Chief Executive	01923 206001
Neil Harrington, Finance Director	01923 206187
Brunswick Group Limited
Catherine Hicks/Catriona McDermott	020 7404 5959

⁽¹⁾     For definitions of 'proforma basis', 'group underlying profit before tax', 'International retail sales' and 'like-for-like sales' see 
         Financial Review.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REVIEW

RESULTS

The Mothercare group has grown sales, profit and dividend against the backdrop of a difficult global economic environment. The multi-channel UK business has again grown like-for-like sales, boosted by strong performances from Direct and the integration of the Early Learning Centre. Our International business had a record year with profits increasing by nearly 50%.

Group sales for the year rose by 6.9% to £723.6 million (2008: £676.8 million) and group profit before tax increased nearly ten-fold to £42.2 million (2008: £4.5 million). Like-for-like sales growth in the UK (up 1.4%) and in International (up 6.0%) contributed to this performance which was also boosted by the benefits of the integration of the Early Learning Centre and very tight control of costs. Our key underlying profit before tax measure calculated on the more comparable proforma basis (see below), increased by 12.4% to £37.1 million (2008: £33.0 million). On the statutory basis (which is not comparable as the Early Learning Centre first quarter losses are included this year but excluded last year), underlying profit before tax decreased by 3.9% to £37.1 million (2008: £38.6 million).

The group remains cash-generative and debt free. The acquisition facility was not drawn down at any point in the year and the net cash balance at the year end was £24.8 million (2008: £22.7 million). As a result of the strong underlying performance of the group and the positive cash generation, we are pleased to propose a final dividend of 9.9 pence giving a total dividend for the year of 14.5 pence, an increase of 20.8%.

The remainder of this review and the financial review is prepared on the more comparable 'proforma' basis. It assumes that the Early Learning Centre, which was acquired in the previous financial year on 19 June 2007, had been owned for all of last year.

TWO WORLD CLASS BRANDS

Our strategy is centred on the development of our two world class brands, Mothercare and the Early Learning Centre. Specialism and innovation are central to our brand positioning as we continue to build the Mothercare group as a leading global parenting retailer.

One of our exciting innovations this year was the launch of our exclusive Baby K range, designed in conjunction with celebrity mother Myleene Klass. The ranges have been successful in the UK and around the world and as a result we plan to extend Baby K into Home and Travel. We reached an exclusive licensing agreement with the BBC to produce 'In the Night Garden' Home and Travel products, which are selling ahead of our expectations. We also continue to have great success with the MyChoice buggy system which is a real innovation in allowing customisation of products by our customers. With its series of interchangeable options the MyChoice has become one of our best selling pushchairs ever.

At the Early Learning Centre we have been working on our own brand toys. The best selling development toys this year included our own brand 'Making Music' range, 'Snow Queen Palace' and the 'Tower of Doom'.

The best in class expertise and specialism of our staff differentiates us from the competition and continues to be a key focus for us. We were again included in the top '20 Best Big Companies to Work For' in the 2009 Sunday Times awards progressing to 13th place overall.

MOTHERCARE STRATEGY

The Mothercare group four-lever growth strategy is providing significant benefits:

1. International franchise - globalisation of the two brands;

2. Integration benefits - Early Learning Centre acquisition;

3. Restructuring the UK property portfolio; and

4. Driving the multi-channel business.

1.    International franchise - globalisation of the two brands

International represents the biggest single growth opportunity for the Mothercare group and we now have 609 overseas stores in 50 countries outside the UK. International continues to develop rapidly with overall franchisee retail sales for the year up by 40.9% to £404.2 million and underlying profits up by 47.9% to £13.9 million.

In the same way that the Mothercare brand has been so readily received around the world, the Early Learning Centre brand is proving to be just as popular. We have also invested in our global supply chain and we now have five distribution centres at the core of our state-of-the-art logistics network.

In Europe, we saw positive like-for-like growth, particularly in Russia, which contributes the highest international sales numbers for us worldwide. We plan to open a further 10 new Mothercare and Early Learning Centre stores this year, which will bring our total stores number in Russia to 47.

The Middle East is a very important region for us where we see huge potential and we currently have 196 stores in the region, across 9 countries. A key part of our development strategy in the Middle East is to open larger stores with the complete range of Home and Travel.

The International roll-out of the Early Learning Centre continues to do well, having almost doubled the number of Early Learning Centre stores outside the UK since acquisition to 164, and taken the brand for the first time to 10 new countries this year including India, Bahrain and Kuwait. The Early Learning Centre is now present in 29 countries, up from 15 when we acquired it.

2.    Integration benefits - Early Learning Centre acquisition

Good progress has been made in realising the synergies from the Early Learning Centre acquisition. Total synergies for the financial year for 2008/09 enabled us to drive benefits ahead of the original business case and we now consider the integration of the Early Learning Centre to be substantially complete.

The largest single synergy from the acquisition of the Early Learning Centre has been through building Early Learning Centre inserts within Mothercare stores. Our 84 Early Learning Centre inserts performed at the top end of our expectations through Christmas and have continued to perform well since. The success of the inserts is due to the increased footfall each brand brings to the other.

Other significant cost savings have been achieved by combining the two businesses, including moving to a single management team and fully integrating the back office functions whilst maintaining the key talent and expertise of the Early Learning Centre team. During the year we successfully relocated the Early Learning Centre warehouse to a new site adjacent to the existing Mothercare warehouse in Daventry, resulting in further transport savings.

3.    Restructuring the UK property portfolio

The Early Learning Centre acquisition gave us a unique opportunity to accelerate our property strategy, allowing us to integrate and optimise the combined UK property portfolio, taking the best sites from both brands. At the end of last year we announced a major restructure of our portfolio which included store rightsizing, consolidating two stores into one and store closures. In total, including the stores that received an Early Learning Centre insert or a new out of town refit, we announced that 145 stores would be affected by property restructure activity.

This restructure is now largely complete and the beneficial effects on the business can be seen with costs in the year £10.4 million lower than last year. The property restructure delivered £2.4 million of additional profit in 2008/09 and is on track to add £2.6 million of profit before tax in the financial year 2009/10, taking the total profit increase to our £5.0 million target.

With recent structural changes in the property market, we are well placed to rationalise further and as a result will move into the next phase of our property transformation. Almost 50% of the group's property leases are coming up for renewal in the next three years enabling us to seek better lease terms, or move out of lower profit stores. This phase will also see us open new out of town 'Parenting Centres' in key catchments and open new stores in higher traffic locations such as malls and city centres where we currently do not have a presence, taking further advantage of the beneficial property deals currently available.

4.    Driving the multi-channel business

The Direct business has continued its rapid growth with total sales through the Direct channel now amounting to £107.3 million, an increase of 25.5%. This is made up of Direct in Home sales up 24.9% to £62.2 million and Direct in Store sales up 26.3% to £45.1 million.

Mothercare has been a pioneer in multi-channel retailing in the UK. The proportion of UK sales now delivered through our Direct channel has grown to 18.5%. Our online range and web offering continues to improve and Web in Store in particular, continues to be a great success with customers.

The Mothercare website offers customers a much wider choice of Home and Travel than is available in any store and two thirds of our Clothing range is now available online. Our Early Learning Centre website also has more products available online than in store including larger home and garden items that require home delivery.

We are also announcing today that we plan to launch Mothercare websites overseas with our franchisees. We are working with our partners to open two trial sites in the next year. The model will be based on a centralised site and support structure which share the look and feel of Mothercare.com, but with local language and fulfilment. Based on the performance of these trials, we may roll out further sites in other countries.

Gurgle.com, our social networking and information site for parents has proved a success with mothers around the world and now has 91,000 registered users. It is fast becoming a brand in its own right and our latest development for Gurgle has been the launch of three parenting advice books with Harper Collins.

SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK

This has been a strong performance for the Mothercare group. Our International business has enjoyed a record year, increasing profits by nearly 50%. We now have 1,014 stores worldwide including 609 Mothercare and Early Learning Centre stores outside the UK in 50 countries. The multi-channel UK business has again grown like-for-like sales in a challenging market, boosted by strong performances from Direct and the integration of the Early Learning Centre.

Given the uncertain consumer environment we are planning cautiously for 2009/10 and, as previously announced, we expect that gross margins will come under further pressure from the weakness of Sterling.

Overall, we are well placed as we enter the new financial year, benefiting from our growing International platform, resilient multi-channel UK business, strong cash flow and debt free balance sheet.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Results Summary

Following the acquisition of the Early Learning Centre on 19 June 2007, the Results Summary that follows is again prepared on the more comparable 'proforma' basis which assumes that the Early Learning Centre had been owned for all of last year.

On this basis, group underlying profit before tax increased by 12.4% to £37.1 million (2008: £33.0 million). Underlying profit excludes exceptional items, amortisation of intangible assets (excluding software) and the volatile non-cash foreign currency adjustments (note 3).

Income Statement - Proforma Basis

	08/09 £m	07/08 £m
Revenue	723.6	703.6
Profit from operations	37.2	34.4
Financing	(0.1)	(1.4)
Underlying profit before tax	37.1	33.0
Loss on disposal/termination of property interests	(3.1)	(16.9)
Integration costs	(1.5)	(18.8)
Other reorganisation costs	-	(0.4)
Non-cash foreign currency adjustments	11.8	2.5
Amortisation of intangible assets	(2.1)	(2.0)
Profit/(loss) before tax	42.2	(2.6)
Underlying EPS - basic	32.1p	28.5p

Non-underlying items

Underlying profit before taxation on a proforma basis excludes the following non-underlying items:

·          Exceptional losses on disposal or termination of property interests and integration costs of £4.6 million;

·           Non-cash adjustments relating to the revaluation of monetary assets, liabilities and stock, and marking to market of foreign currency hedges at the year end. As the hedges are taken out to match future stock purchase commitments, these are theoretical adjustments which we are required to make under IAS 39 and IAS 21. They will reverse in 2009/10. The net adjustment is a particularly large gain this year due to the recent devaluation of Sterling against the Dollar; and

·          Amortisation of intangible assets (excluding software) of £2.1 million.

Exceptional items in 2007/08 included £35.7 million of exceptional losses on disposal of property interests and integration costs relating to the integration of the Early Learning Centre and the resulting property restructure of both businesses.

Results by Segment - Proforma Basis

The primary segments of Mothercare plc are the UK business (including Direct) and the International business.

	Revenue 08/09 £m	Revenue 07/08 £m
UK	578.8	587.3
International	144.8	116.3
Total	723.6	703.6
	Underlying profit 08/09 £m	Underlying profit 07/08 £m
UK	32.1	34.5
International	13.9	9.4
Corporate	(8.8)	(9.5)
Financing	(0.1)	(1.4)
Total	37.1	33.0

Corporate expenses represent head office costs, board and senior management costs, audit, insurance and professional fees. The 7.4% reduction in corporate costs is a result of tight cost control and integration synergies.

International profits have increased by 47.9% compared with last year, boosted by the weakness of Sterling against the US Dollar. UK profits have declined by 7.0%, however the UK bears the cost of the increase in the pension charge (see below) and in the group bonus and IFRS 2 share based payment charge. If these are excluded, UK profits improved by £1.3 million compared with last year.

Like-for-Like Sales

In this statement, 'like-for-like' sales are defined as sales for stores that have been trading continuously from the same selling space for at least a year and include Direct in Home and Direct in Store. Sales from Early Learning Centre inserts in Mothercare stores are included where they are trading in existing Mothercare space. Like-for-like sales are presented on a proforma basis. International retail sales are the estimated retail sales of franchisees and joint ventures. International like-for-like sales are calculated at constant rates of exchange.

Financing and Taxation

Financing represents interest receivable on bank deposits and costs relating to bank facility fees, and the unwinding of discounts on provisions.

The underlying tax charge is comprised of current and deferred tax and is calculated at 28.0% (2008: 30.0%) of the estimated taxable profits for the year. A total tax charge of £11.9 million (2008: £4.4 million) has been included.

Pensions

With the triennial valuation of our defined benefit schemes now complete, we have concluded our discussions with the Trustees on future funding and the following changes are being made to the defined benefit schemes:

·         Schemes now closed to new members (new defined contribution scheme opened instead);

·         Cap on the revaluation of future pension benefits lowered to 2.5%;

·         Increase in member contributions of up to 3.0% of pensionable salary;

·         One-off cash contribution by the company of £3.0 million in 2009/10; and

·         Increase in regular contributions by the company of approximately £1.0 million per annum.

As a result of the above, it is expected that the deficit in the fund will be eliminated within the next ten years.

Details of the income statement net charge, total cash funding and net assets and liabilities under IAS 19 are as follows:

	09/10*     £m	08/09 £m	07/08 £m
Income statement
Current service cost	(3.0)	(2.5)	(3.8)
Return on assets/interest on liabilities	(1.2)	1.6	3.7
Net charge	(4.2)	(0.9)	(0.1)
Cash funding
Company contributions	(5.0)**	(4.7)	(3.7)
Balance sheet
Fair value of schemes' assets		150.2	181.1
Present value of defined benefit obligations		(175.6)	(167.3)
Unrecognised surplus		-	(11.8)
Net (liability)/asset	N/A	(25.4)	2.0

*     Estimate

**     Excludes one-off contribution of £3.0 million

 The effects on the IAS 19 valuation to changes in the key assumptions are as follows:

	08/09 %	07/08 %	Change in assumption	Impact on scheme liabilities £m
Discount rate	6.5	6.9	+/- 0.1%	-/+ 3.8
Rate of salary growth	4.2	5.0	+/- 0.5%	+/- 1.6
Life expectancy			+ 1 year	+ 5.0

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

The balance sheet includes identifiable intangible assets arising on the acquisition of £26.8 million and goodwill of £68.6 million.

The group continues to generate cash, with net cash flow from operating activities of £34.9 million. After investing £22.8 million of capital expenditure, £13.4 million of integration and property costs and paying £10.9 million dividends, the net cash position at the year end is positive, at £24.8 million (2008: £22.7 million).

Going Concern

Our objective with respect to managing capital is to maintain a balance sheet structure that is both efficient in terms of providing long-term returns to shareholders and safeguards the group's ability to continue as a going concern. As appropriate the group can choose to adjust its capital structure by varying the amount of dividends paid to shareholders, returns of capital to shareholders, issuing new shares or the varying level of capital expenditure.

The group has a committed secured bank facility of £55.0 million at an interest rate of 1.0% above LIBOR which expires on 31 May 2010. It also has an uncommitted unsecured bank overdraft of £10.0 million at an interest rate of 1.0% above the bank base rate.

The group's committed borrowing facility contains certain financial covenants which have been met throughout the year. The covenants are tested half-yearly and are based around gearing, fixed charge cover and guarantor cover.

The committed bank facility was unused throughout the year and at year end the group had a cash balance of £24.8 million in addition to the £65.0 million of available facilities. The group's latest forecasts and projections have been sensitivity-tested for adverse variations in trading performance and show that the group is expected to operate within the terms of its current borrowing facility and covenants for the foreseeable future.

Capital Expenditure

Total capital expenditure was £22.8 million (2008: £20.4 million), of which £15.9 million was invested in UK stores. This is broadly in line with depreciation of £19.9 million in the year, however the net capex spent after deducting £6.6 million of landlords' contributions to store fit-outs is £16.2 million - significantly below the ongoing level of depreciation. Capital expenditure for 2009/10 is expected to be £15.0 million (net of landlords' contributions to store fit-outs).

Earnings per Share and Dividend

Basic underlying earnings per share on a proforma basis were 32.1 pence (2008: 28.5 pence). Total basic earnings per share increased to 36.3 pence (2008: 0.1 pence). The Directors recommend a 19.3% increase in the final dividend to 9.9 pence (2008: 8.3 pence) giving a total dividend for the year of 14.5 pence (2008: 12.0 pence), an increase of 20.8%, in line with the Company's progressive dividend policy.

The final dividend will be payable on 7 August 2009 to shareholders registered on 5 June 2009. The latest date for election to join the dividend reinvestment plan is 17 July 2009.

Consolidated income statement

For the 52 weeks ended 28 March 2009

	Note	52 weeks ended 28 March 2009			52 weeks ended 29 March 2008
		Underlying1	Non-underlying2	Total	Underlying1	Non-underlying 2	Total
		£ million	£ million	£ million	£ million	£ million	£ million
Revenue	2	723.6	-	723.6	676.8	-	676.8
Cost of sales	3	(644.8)	8.2	(636.6)	(602.1)	(10.4)	(612.5)
Gross profit		78.8	8.2	87.0	74.7	(10.4)	64.3
Administrative expenses		(41.2)	-	(41.2)	(36.1)	(7.3)	(43.4)
Profit from retail operations		37.6	8.2	45.8	38.6	(17.7)	20.9
Loss on disposal/termination of property interests	3	-	(2.1)	(2.1)	-	(16.3)	(16.3)
Share of results of joint ventures		(0.4)	-	(0.4)	(0.1)	(0.1)	(0.2)
Profit from operations	2	37.2	6.1	43.3	38.5	(34.1)	4.4
Investment income	4	0.4	-	0.4	1.6	-	1.6
Finance costs	3, 5	(0.5)	(1.0)	(1.5)	(1.5)	-	(1.5)
Profit before taxation		37.1	5.1	42.2	38.6	(34.1)	4.5
Taxation	6	(10.3)	(1.6)	(11.9)	(10.8)	6.4	(4.4)
Profit for the period attributable to equity holders of the parent		26.8	3.5	30.3	27.8	(27.7)	0.1
Earnings per share
Basic	8	32.1p	4.2p	36.3p	34.5p	(34.4)p	0.1p
Diluted	8	31.1p	4.1p	35.2p	33.7p	(33.6)p	0.1p

¹Before items described in note 2 below.

² Includes exceptional items (loss on disposal/termination of property interests, integration costs and 
   restructuring), amortisation of intangible assets (excluding software) and the impact of non-cash foreign 
   currency adjustments under IAS 39 and IAS 21 as set out in note 3.

All results relate to continuing operations.

Consolidated statement of recognised income and expense

For the 52 weeks ended 28 March 2009

	Note	52 weeks ended  28 March 2009	52 weeks ended  29 March 2008
		£ million	£ million
Actuarial loss on defined benefit pension schemes		(31.2)	(3.6)
Tax on items taken directly to equity	6	8.7	1.0
Net loss recognised directly in equity		(22.5)	(2.6)
Profit for the period		30.3	0.1
Total recognised income and expense for the period attributable to equity holders of the parent		7.8	(2.5)

  Consolidated balance sheet

As at 28 March 2009

	Note		28 March 2009	29 March 2008
			£ million	£ million
Non-current assets
Goodwill			68.6	68.6
Intangible assets			35.9	35.6
Property, plant and equipment			92.4	95.8
Investments in joint ventures			0.7	0.8
Retirement benefit obligations			-	2.0
Deferred tax asset			0.8	-
			198.4	202.8
Current assets
Inventories			94.1	70.8
Trade and other receivables			55.7	52.5
Current tax assets			-	0.6
Cash and cash equivalents			24.8	22.7
Currency derivative assets			7.3	0.7
			181.9	147.3
Total assets			380.3	350.1
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables			(108.4)	(95.6)
Current tax liabilities			(2.6)	-
Obligations under finance leases			-	(0.4)
Short term provisions			(11.9)	(24.0)
			(122.9)	(120.0)
Non-current liabilities
Trade and other payables			(19.6)	(15.5)
Obligations under finance leases			(0.1)	(0.1)
Retirement benefit obligations			(25.4)	-
Deferred tax liability			-	(4.4)
Long term provisions			(13.7)	(12.1)
			(58.8)	(32.1)
Total liabilities			(181.7)	(152.1)
Net assets			198.6	198.0
Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent
Called up share capital			43.8	43.6
Share premium account			4.3	3.4
Other reserve			50.8	50.8
Own shares			(10.6)	(9.8)
Translation reserves			1.2	-
Retained earnings			109.1	110.0
Total equity	9		198.6	198.0

  Consolidated cash flow statement

For the 52 weeks ended 28 March 2009

	Note	52 weeks ended 28 March 2009	52 weeks ended 29 March 2008
		£ million	£ million
Net cash flow from operating activities	10	34.9	51.8
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received		0.4	1.6
Purchase of property, plant and equipment		(17.5)	(17.3)
Purchase of intangibles - software		(5.3)	(3.1)
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment		-	4.5
Acquisition of subsidiary		-	(36.4)
Cost of acquisition		-	(5.6)
Investments in joint ventures		(0.3)	(1.0)
Net cash used in investing activities		(22.7)	(57.3)
Cash flows from financing activities
Interest paid		(0.4)	(1.1)
Repayment of obligations under finance leases		(0.4)	(0.5)
Equity dividends paid		(10.9)	(7.9)
Issue of ordinary share capital		1.1	0.1
Purchase of own shares		(1.1)	(2.5)
Net cash used in financing activities		(11.7)	(11.9)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents		0.5	(17.4)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period		22.7	40.1
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes		1.6	-
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period		24.8	22.7

 Notes

1.    General information

a)  The accounting policies followed are the same as those published by the group within the 2008 
     annual report and accounts.

b)  Whilst the financial information included in this preliminary announcement has been prepared in 
     accordance with IFRS as endorsed by the European Union, this announcement does not itself 
     contain sufficient information to comply with all the disclosure requirements of IFRS.

c)  The Company believes that underlying profit before tax and underlying earnings provides 
     additional useful information for shareholders. The term underlying earnings is not a defined 
     term under IFRS and may not therefore be comparable with similarly titled profit measurements 
     reported by other companies. It is not intended to be a substitute for IFRS measures of profit. As 
     the Company has chosen to present an alternative earnings per share measure, a reconciliation 
     of this alternative measure to the statutory measure required by IFRS is given in note 8. 

            d)  The financial information set out in this announcement does not constitute the          
                 statutory accounts for the 52 week period ended 28 March 2009 or the 52 week period ended 29 
                 March 2008, but it is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2008 have been 
                 delivered to the Registrar of Companies and those for 2009 will be delivered following the 
                 Company’s annual general meeting. The auditors have reported on those accounts; their reports 
                 were unqualified, did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis without qualifying 
                 their report and did not contain statements under s237 (2) or (3) Companies Act 1985.

2.   Segmental information

For management purposes, the group is currently organised into two operating segments: UK and International. UK comprises the UK store and wholesale operations, catalogue and web sales. The International business comprises the group's franchise and wholesale operations outside of the UK. These two segments are distinguished by the different nature of their risks and returns. It is considered that there are no secondary segments as all business originates in the UK.

Segmental information about the UK and International businesses is presented below.

		52 weeks ended 28 March 2009
		UK	International	Unallocated corporate expenses	Consolidated
		£ million	£ million	£ million	£ million
Revenue
External sales		578.8	144.8	-	723.6
Result
Segment result (underlying)		32.1	13.9	(8.8)	37.2
Non-cash foreign currency adjustments					11.8
Amortisation of intangibles					(2.1)
Exceptional items (note 3)					(3.6)
Profit from operations					43.3
Investment income					0.4
Finance costs					(1.5)
Profit before taxation					42.2
Taxation					(11.9)
Profit for the period					30.3

		52 weeks ended 29 March 2008
		UK	International	Unallocated  corporate expenses	Consolidated
		£ million	£ million	£ million	£ million
Revenue
External sales		565.0	111.8	-	676.8
Result
Segment result (underlying)		38.0	9.6	(9.1)	38.5
Non-cash foreign currency adjustments					2.7
Amortisation of intangibles					(1.6)
Exceptional items (note 3)					(35.2)
Profit from operations					4.4
Investment income					1.6
Finance costs					(1.5)
Profit before taxation					4.5
Taxation					(4.4)
Profit for the period					0.1

Corporate expenses not allocated to UK or International represent head office costs, board and senior management costs, insurance, annual and interim reporting costs and audit and professional fees.

3.    Exceptional and other non-underlying items

Due to their significance and one-off nature, certain items have been classified as exceptional or non-underlying as follows:

		52 weeks ended 28 March 2009	52 weeks ended 29 March 2008
		£ million	£ million
Exceptional items:
Loss on disposal/termination of property interests		(2.1)	(16.3)
Integration of ELC included in cost of sales1		(1.5)	(11.5)
Integration of ELC included in admin expenses		-	(7.3)
UK central and sourcing restructure		-	(0.1)
Unwinding of discount on exceptional provisions included in finance costs		(1.0)	-
Other non-underlying items:
Non-cash foreign currency adjustments1		11.8	2.7
Amortisation of intangibles1		(2.1)	(1.6)
Exceptional and other non-underlying items		5.1	(34.1)

¹Included in non-underlying cost of sales, a credit of £8.2 million (2008: charge of £10.4 million)

Loss on disposal/termination of property interests

During the 52 weeks ended 28 March 2009 ('current year') a net charge of £2.1 million has been recognised in profit from operations relating to provisions against subleases and vacant property.

During the 52 weeks ended 29 March 2008 ('prior year'), a net charge of £16.3 million was recognised in profit from operations relating to the optimisation of the UK portfolio which involves the closure and re-siting of Mothercare and Early Learning Centre stores. 

The tax effect of the loss on disposal of property interests in the current year was a credit of £0.6 million (2008: credit of £0.8 million).  

Integration of the Early Learning Centre

In the current year, costs of £1.5 million (2008: £11.5 million) were charged to cost of sales relating to the restructure of the Early Learning Centre's supply chain and the opening of Early Learning Centre inserts in Mothercare stores.

In the current year, costs of £nil million (2008: £7.3 million) were charged to administrative expenses relating to the restructure of the Early Learning Centre's head offices in Swindon and London, the realignment of international franchise agreements and the integration programme.

The tax effect of the above costs in the current year was a credit of £0.4 million (2008: credit of £5.3 million).

Unwinding of discount on exceptional provisions

In the current year, a charge of £1.0 million was recognised in finance costs relating to the unwinding of the discount on exceptional property provisions.

Non-cash foreign currency adjustments

In the current year, a net profit of £11.8 million (2008: net profit of £2.7 million) was recognised in cost of sales as a result of the non-cash foreign currency adjustments under IAS 39 and IAS 21.

Amortisation of intangibles

In the current year, amortisation of intangibles arising on the acquisition of the Early Learning Centre of £2.1 million (2008: £1.6 million) was charged to cost of sales.

4.    Investment income

	52 weeks ended 28 March 2009	52 weeks ended 29 March 2008
	£ million	£ million
Interest on bank deposits	0.4	1.6
Investment income	0.4	1.6

5.    Finance costs

	52 weeks ended 28 March 2009	52 weeks ended 29 March 2008
	£ million	£ million
Interest and bank fees on bank loans and overdrafts	0.4	1.1
Unwinding of discounts on provisions(1)	1.1	0.4
Finance costs	1.5	1.5

(¹) Includes a non-underlying charge of £1.0 million (2008: £nil) of unwinding of discounts on exceptional provisions. See note 3.  

6.    Taxation

The charge for taxation on profit for the period comprises:

	52 weeks ended 28 March 2009	52 weeks ended 29 March 2008
	£ million	£ million
Current tax:
Current year	8.4	3.9
Adjustment in respect of prior periods	-	0.1
	8.4	4.0
Deferred tax:
Current year	4.5	2.0
Adjustment in respect of prior periods	(1.0)	(1.6)
	3.5	0.4
Charge for taxation on profit for the period	11.9	4.4

UK corporation tax is calculated at 28 per cent (2008: 30 per cent) of the estimated assessable profit for the period.

The charge for the period can be reconciled to the profit for the period before taxation per the consolidated income statement as follows:

	52 weeks ended 28 March 2009	52 weeks ended 29 March 2008
	£ million	£ million
Profit for the period before taxation	42.2	4.5
Profit for the period before taxation multiplied by the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of 28% (2008: 30%)	11.8	1.4
Effects of:
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes	1.0	5.8
Impact of overseas tax rates	0.1	(0.2)
Change in tax rate	-	(0.2)
Utilisation of tax losses not previously recognised against capital gains	-	(0.9)
Adjustment in respect of prior periods	(1.0)	(1.5)
Charge for taxation on profit for the period	11.9	4.4

In addition to the amount charged to the income statement, deferred tax relating to retirement benefit obligations amounting to £8.7 million (2008: £1.0 million) has been credited directly to equity.

7.    Dividends

	52 weeks ended 28 March 2009			52 weeks ended 29 March 2008
	pence per share	£ million		pence per share	£ million
Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the period
Final dividend for the prior year	8.3p	6.9		6.7p	4.7
Interim dividend for the current year	4.6p	4.0		3.7p	3.2
		10.9			7.9

The proposed final dividend of 9.9 pence per share for the 52 weeks ended 28 March 2009 was approved by the board after 28 March 2009, on 20 May 2009, and so, in line with the requirements of IAS 10 'Events After the Balance Sheet Date', the related cost of £8.5 million has not been included as a liability as at 28 March 2009. This dividend will be paid on 7 August 2009 to shareholders on the register on 5 June 2009.

8.    Earnings per share

	52 weeks ended 28 March 2009	52 weeks ended 29 March 2008
	million	million
Weighted average number of shares in issue	83.5	80.6
Dilution - option schemes	2.7	1.9
Diluted weighted average number of shares in issue	86.2	82.5
	£ million	£ million
Earnings for basic and diluted earnings per share	30.3	0.1
Non-cash foreign currency adjustments	(11.8)	(2.7)
Amortisation of intangibles arising on acquisition of ELC	2.1	1.6
Exceptional items (note 3)	4.6	35.2
Tax effect of above items	1.6	(6.4)
Underlying earnings	26.8	27.8
	pence	pence
Basic earnings per share	36.3	0.1
Basic underlying earnings per share	32.1	34.5
Diluted earnings per share	35.2	0.1
Diluted underlying earnings per share	31.1	33.7

9.    Reconciliation of equity

	52 weeks ended 28 March 2009	52 weeks ended 29 March 2008
	£ million	£ million
Total recognised income and expense	7.8	(2.5)
Dividends to equity holders of the parent company	(10.9)	(7.9)
Issue of ordinary share capital	1.1	58.1
Exchange differences on translation of overseas operations	1.2	-
Purchase of own shares	(1.1)	(2.5)
Cost of employee share schemes	2.5	1.8
Net increase in equity	0.6	47.0
Equity at beginning of year	198.0	151.0
Equity at end of year	198.6	198.0

10.    Reconciliation of cash flow from operating activities

	52 weeks ended 28 March 2009	52 weeks ended 29 March 2008
	£ million	£ million
Profit from retail operations	45.8	20.9
Adjustments for:
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment	17.3	16.0
Amortisation of intangible assets - software	2.6	2.1
Amortisation of intangible assets - other	2.1	1.6
Losses on disposal of property, plant and equipment	2.4	1.7
Gain on non-underlying non-cash foreign currency adjustments	(11.8)	(2.7)
Equity-settled share based payments	2.5	1.8
Movement in provision for costs of reorganisation of distribution network	-	(0.7)
Movement in property provisions	(3.1)	(1.3)
Movement integration provisions	(10.3)	13.6
Movement in restructuring provisions	-	(1.6)
Movement in other provisions	(0.3)	0.3
Amortisation of lease incentives	(2.2)	(2.8)
Lease incentives received	6.6	0.9
Payments to retirement benefit schemes	(5.0)	(4.3)
Charge to profit from operations in respect of service costs of retirement benefit schemes	1.2	0.7
Operating cash flow before movement in working capital	47.8	46.2
Increase in inventories	(14.9)	(2.4)
Increase in receivables	(2.3)	(3.8)
Increase in payables	9.5	14.7
Cash generated from operations	40.1	54.7
Income taxes paid	(5.2)	(2.9)
Net cash flow from operating activities	34.9	51.8

 

END

 

 

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