Annual results for the year ended 31 December 2018

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25 Feb 2019
Bunzl plc

Annual results for the year ended 31 December 2018

Bunzl plc, the specialist international distribution and services Group, today publishes its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2018.

Financial results 2018 2017 Growth
as reported		 Growth
at constant
exchange
Revenue £9,079.4m £8,580.9m 6% 9%
Adjusted operating profit* £614.0m £589.3m 4% 7%
Adjusted profit before income tax* £559.0m £542.6m 3% 6%
Adjusted earnings per
share*		 129.6p 119.4p 9% 12%
Dividend for the year 50.2p 46.0p 9%  
         
Statutory results        
Operating profit £466.2m £456.0m 2%  
Profit before income tax £424.8m £409.3m 4%  
Basic earnings per share 98.4p 94.2p 4%  

Highlights include:

  • Good increases in revenue, adjusted operating profit* and adjusted profit before income tax*
  • Adjusted earnings per share* increased by 12% at constant exchange rates to 129.6p
  • Strong organic revenue growth of 4.3% with all business areas contributing growth of 4% or more
  • Group operating margin* of 6.8%, down 10 basis points principally due to decreases in North America and UK & Ireland, partly offset by increases in Continental Europe and Rest of the World
  • Committed acquisition spend of £183 million, following a record year in 2017 (committed spend of £616 million), and the acquisition of Liberty Glove & Safety announced today
  • Return on average operating capital of 50.7% with return on invested capital of 15.0%
  • Continued strong cash conversion* of 94%
  • 26 year track record of dividend growth continues with a 9% increase in the dividend for the year

* Alternative performance measure (see Note 1)

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

“Bunzl has once again delivered another good set of results with adjusted earnings per share up 12% at constant exchange rates. The strength, resilience and reliability of our consistent business model and strategy, together with the compounding effect of our ability to reinvest our strong cash flow to take advantage of market consolidation opportunities, have enabled Bunzl to produce a strong long term performance.

Looking forward, despite mixed macroeconomic conditions, with an active pipeline of acquisition opportunities we believe that the prospects of the Group are positive due to its strong market position and well established and successful strategy to grow the business both organically and by acquisition.”

Enquiries:

Bunzl plc Tulchan
Frank van Zanten, Chief Executive David Allchurch
Brian May, Finance Director

Martin Robinson
Tel: +44 (0)20 7725 5000 Tel: +44 (0)20 7353 4200

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

Annual results for the year ended 31 December 2018