| £m | 2018 | 2017 | Δ |
| Revenue | 6,741 | 6,433 | 4.8% |
| Like-for-like revenue growth | 4.9% | 3.3% | +1.6ppt |
| Adjusted operating profit | 375 | 380 | (1.3)% |
| Adjusted operating profit excluding property profits | 348 | 351 | (0.9)% |
| Adjusted profit before taxation | 347 | 343 | 1.2% |
| Adjusted earnings per share | 114.5p | 110.4p | 3.7% |
| Net debt | (354) | (342) | £(12)m |
| Dividend per share (pence) | 47.0p | 46.0p | 2.2% |
| Lease adjusted ROCE | 10.5% | 10.7% | (0.2)ppt |
| Adjusting items | (387) | (41) | |
| Operating (loss) / profit | (22) | 327 | |
| (Loss) / profit before taxation | (49) | 290 | |
| Basic (loss) / earnings per share (pence) | (34.4)p | 93.1p |
(1) Alternative performance measures are used to provide a guide to underlying performance and details of the calculations can be found in the notes listed
(2) 2017 LAROCE has been restated to reflect goodwill impairment for comparability purposes
- Strong Group revenue growth of 4.8%, and 4.9% on a like-for-like basis
- Continued market outperformance in Contracts division and Toolstation
- Adjusted operating profit declined by 1.3% while adjusted EPS grew by 3.7%
- H2 adjusted operating profit, excluding property profits, grew by 10.7% underpinned by successful cost reduction activities
- Adjusting items includes a non-cash impairment of £246m against the goodwill in Wickes in H1 and restructuring costs across the Group
- Full-year total dividend increased by 2.2% to 47.0p per share
- Good progress has been made on the strategic actions set out in December 2018, including simplification through the removal of the divisional structure above the Merchant businesses
- 2019 adjusted operating profit expected to be similar to 2018
John Carter, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"The Group delivered a solid performance overall in 2018 despite a challenging market backdrop. We took concerted self-help actions during the year, and the benefits of this cost reduction, together with improved trading, drove an improved profit performance in the second half of the year.
In December 2018, we set out our intention to focus on delivering best-in-class service to trade customers and to simplify the Group. To that end, removing the divisional structure within Merchanting will enable an increased focus on customers at a business unit level, speed up decision making and, at the same time, reduce costs.
In the longer term, the Group remains focused on generating sustainable profitable growth for shareholders and we will achieve this by allocating capital and resources to our most advantaged businesses. We are making good progress on the preparation for the disposal of the Plumbing & Heating division, and are seeing an encouraging improvement in trading and good momentum in Wickes.
Whilst we remain positive about the long-term outlook for our end markets, we are planning for uncertain market conditions to continue in the near term. The Group remains focused on self-help actions to underpin performance in the near term, whilst continuing to invest for the future."
