Financial summary
● Group like-for-like (LFL) sales(1) ex-fuel/ex-VAT up 4.9% (2017/18: 3.0%)
● Q2 Group LFL ex-fuel/ex-VAT up 6.3%, a nine-year high
● Revenue up 4.5% to £8.80bn (2017/18: £8.42bn)
● Underlying profit before tax (UPBT(2)) up 9.0% to £193m (2017/18: £177m)
● Underlying earnings per share (EPS(2)) up 8.5% to 6.28p (2017/18: 5.79p)
● Reported PBT down 29% to £142m (2017/18: £200m) after net adjustments of £51m, including £33m previously announced for successful bond tender offers and £28m following a change in methodology for estimating stock provisions
● Free cash flow(3) of £242m, including bond tender costs and lower disposal proceeds year on year in the first half (2017/18: £352m)
● Net debt reduced by a further £44m to £929m since the end of 2017/18
● Interim ordinary dividend up 11.4% to 1.85p (2017/18: 1.66p)
● Special interim dividend of 2.00p, taking total interim dividend up 132% to 3.85p
And later;
Our policy is for the ordinary annual dividend to be sustainable and covered around two times by underlying earnings per share. The 2018/19 interim ordinary dividend will be 1.85p, up 11.4%.
We remain confident that Morrisons has many meaningful and sustainable sales and profit growth opportunities ahead. We also expect free cash flow generation to remain strong and sustainable. Reflecting this progress and our expectations, the Board is proposing a further special dividend of 2.00p per share in addition to the interim ordinary dividend. This takes the total interim dividend to 3.85p, an increase of 132% on last year. As we stated at the 2017/18 preliminary results, we will retain a strong and flexible balance sheet, and we will be guided each year by the principles of our capital allocation framework in assessing the uses of free cash flow.
Both the ordinary interim and special interim dividends of 1.85p and 2.00p per share respectively will be payable on 5 November 2018 to shareholders on the share register at the close of business on 28 September 2018.
https://www.investegate.co.uk/morrison- ... 00076188A/