Skip navigation

News Archive (2007 - 2011)

12 May 2008

Announcement of Interim Results for the six months ended
31 March 2008

Download

The full results are available to download in PDF format

 

  Unaudited Unaudited Audited
  Six months ended 31 March 2008 Six months ended 31 March 2007 Year ended 30 Sept  2007
  £'m £'m £'m
Revenue 85.3 68.2 140.7
Operating profit(1) 13.1 10.1 22.1
Operating margin(1) 15.4% 14.8% 15.7%
Adjusted profit before tax(1),(2) 13.1 10.7 23.3
Profit before tax 11.5 10.5 22.3
Free cash flow(2) 5.4 1.7 13.2
       
       
  Pence Pence Pence
Adjusted earnings per share(1),(2),(3) 7.6 6.3 14.0
Basic earnings per share(3) 6.4 6.0 12.7
Dividends per share(3) 2.5 1.8 5.4
       
  1. Before amortisation of acquisition intangible assets.
  2. Alternative performance measures are defined in note 2 to the condensed financial statements.
  3. Comparative numbers restated to adjust for the impact of the January 2008 bonus issue.

 

  • Revenue and adjusted profit before tax up 25% and 22% respectively; adjusted earnings per share up 21% at 7.6p.
  • Strong contributions from new acquisitions.
  • Underlying revenue and operating profits up 5% and 7% respectively, after adjusting for currency effects and acquisitions.
  • Results demonstrate the resilience of the businesses; achieved through focus on specialised technical products and services largely funded by operating, rather than capital budgets.
  • Free cash flow of £5.4m for the period and net cash funds at 31 March 2008 of £7.2m.
  • Interim dividend up 39% to 2.5p, reflecting Directors' policy to target dividend cover towards 2.0 times.

 

Commenting on the results for the period, Bruce Thompson, Diploma's Chief Executive said:

"The acquisitions completed last year have delivered a good contribution to the overall results and at the same time underlying organic growth has remained robust. The resilience of the Group's businesses and the further contribution from the new acquisitions, provide the Board with confidence of making further progress in the second half of the year."

 

 

 

For further enquiries please contact:  
   
Bruce Thompson, Chief Executive Officer 020 7549 5700
Nigel Lingwood, Group Finance Director 020 7549 5705
Simon Bloomfield/Ian Seaton, Bankside Consultants 020 7367 8861/8891

 

 

NOTE TO EDITORS:

 

Diploma PLC is an international group of specialised distribution businesses operating in the three sectors of Life Sciences, Seals and Controls.

Diploma achieves stable growth and attractive margins from its focus on supplying specialised technical products to markets which value high levels of customer service, technical support and value adding activities. A high proportion of revenues are generated from essential products and services funded by operating, rather than capital budgets.

The Group employs ca. 1,000 employees and its principal operating businesses are located in the UK, Germany, US and Canada.

Over the last seven years, the Group has grown Adjusted earnings per share at an average of ca. 20% p.a. through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions. The current market capitalisation is ca. £180m.

 

Further information on Diploma PLC can be found at www.diplomaplc.com

 

 

back to Latest News