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27 Feb 2023
Bunzl plc

Annual results for year ended 31 December 2022

Bunzl plc, the specialist international distribution and services Group, today publishes its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2022.

 

 

Financial results

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Growth as reported

Growth at constant

exchange◊

Revenue

£12,039.5m

£10,285.1m

17.1%

9.8%

Adjusted operating profit*

£885.9m

£752.8m

17.7%

11.1%

Adjusted profit before income tax*

£818.0m

£698.2m

17.2%

10.5%

Adjusted earnings per share*

184.3p

162.5p

13.4%

7.0%

Dividend for the year∆

62.7p

57.0p

10.0%

 

 

Statutory results

Operating profit

£701.6m

£623.3m

12.6%

 

Profit before income tax

£634.6m

£568.7m

11.6%

Basic earnings per share

141.7p

132.7p

6.8%

 

Highlights include:

Very strong performance with revenue growth of 9.8% at constant exchange rates, driven by product cost inflation, volume recovery in the first half and growth from acquisitions

Adjusted operating profit* increase of 11.1% at constant exchange rates, with slightly higher operating margin year-on- year; reported operating profit up 12.6%

Adjusted earnings per share* up 7.0% at constant exchange rates; reported basic earnings per share up 6.8%

Strong free cash flow* generation; cash conversion of 107% supported by working capital improvement

30th consecutive year of annual dividend growth; total dividend per share growth of 10.0%

12 acquisitions agreed over 2022, with a total committed spend of £322 million; two additional acquisitions announced today

Net debt to EBITDA* of 1.2 times provides substantial headroom for further acquisitions; robust return on invested capital* of 15.0%

2023 outlook unchanged

 

Commenting on today’s results, Frank van Zanten, Chief Executive Officer of Bunzl, said:

“I am truly proud that Bunzl has delivered another excellent year, with strong profit growth and an increase in dividend per share for the 30th consecutive year, a track record that demonstrates the resilience and diversity of our business and its ability to consistently deliver growth. This would not be possible without the continued hard work and dedication of Bunzl’s teams around the world, who have successfully managed both global supply chain disruption and inflation, allowing us to end 2022 with adjusted operating profit 37% higher than in 2019 at constant exchange rates, with the Group’s diversification also supportive to the resilience of performance over this period. We have made further strategic progress, increasing the percentage of digital customer orders, and further supporting customers with the transition towards products that are better suited to the circular economy. We agreed to acquire 12 businesses in 2022, ending the year with substantial headroom for further self-funded acquisitions and an active pipeline, with two additional acquisitions announced today.”

 

* Alternative performance measure (see Note 2).

◊ Growth at constant exchange rates is calculated by comparing the 2022 results to the 2021 results retranslated at the average exchange rates used for 2022

† At average exchange rates and based on historical accounting standards, in accordance with the Group’s external debt covenants.

∆ The Board is recommending a 2022 final dividend of 45.4p per share. Including the 2022 interim dividend per share of 17.3p the total dividend per share of 62.7p represents a 10.0% increase compared to the 2021 total dividend per share.


Enquiries:

Bunzl plc

Frank van Zanten, Chief Executive Officer Richard Howes, Chief Financial Officer Sunita Entwisle, Head of Investor Relations Tel: +44 (0)20 7725 5000

Tulchan

Martin Robinson Olivia Peters

Tel: +44 (0)20 7353 4200

Note: A live webcast of today’s presentation to analysts will be available on www.bunzl.com commencing at 9.30 am.

Annual results for year ended 31 December 2022

Webcast