I am delighted to report another year of progress for the Smiths News Group. We have achieved or exceeded all of the operational targets that we set last year and delivered a strong financial peroformance in line with expectations.
Underlying profit before tax increased by 14.8% to £35m
We gained 6,000 new customers and delivery points
As a result the Group remains on track with its strategy and is well positioned to make further progress in the year ahead.
Despite challenging markets and the higher cost base inherited in the former Dawson News territories, we have increased underlying profit before tax by 14.8% to £35m. This strong result was driven by the increase in sales following the contract wins of 2009, supported by clearly targeted performance and efficiency improvements, further results of which will flow through into the current year. Free cash flow at £20.4m was in line with expectations, also a strong performance. The divident for the year of 7.4p, an increase of 8.8%, reflects our confidence in the ongoing performance of the Group.
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