Final Results
Unite Group PLC
16 March 2005
Date: 16 March 2005
On behalf of: The UNITE Group plc ('UNITE' or 'the Company')
Embargoed until: 0700hrs
The UNITE GROUP plc
Preliminary Results for the Year Ended 31 December 2004
The UNITE Group plc, the UK's largest student landlord, today releases the
preliminary announcement of its results for the year ended 31 December 2004.
The key highlights are:
• Net asset value per share up 10% to 332p (2003: 5.6% growth to 302p)
• Property portfolio up 17% to £1.1 billion (2003: £0.95 billion)
• Rental income up 39% to £66.8 million
• Operating profits from completed portfolio up 41% to £41 million
• Operating margins improved to 62.1% (2003: 60.5%)
• Loss (before goodwill amortisation) reduced sharply to £1.1 million
(2003: £5.2 million)
• Significant progress in diversifying capital base during 2004
Commenting on the results, Geoffrey Maddrell, Chairman of The UNITE Group plc,
said:
'2004 has unquestionably been a year of achievement for UNITE with strong
performance against all objectives. Net asset value remains the key indicator
of the value of our business: at 332p per share as at 31 December 2004 (2003:
302p), this has grown by some 10% during the year, with the total portfolio now
valued at £1.1 billion.
'The successful introduction of strategic asset disposals and joint ventures,
involving in total some £173 million of assets, has helped firmly establish our
asset class in the broader investment community and have provided much needed
transactional evidence for the market. We will build on this success in 2005.
He continues: 'The Group has benefited from its consistency of strategy and from
the positive market conditions which existed throughout the year. With the
benefit of this stable foundation, robust business model and positive market we
plan to build on this success in 2005 gaining further from our economies of
scale; developing further the investment market for student accommodation;
increasing the diversity and flexibility of our capital base; and pursuing a
strategy of managed growth across our business and portfolio.'
A presentation will be held today at 0930hrs at Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street,
London EC2N 1HQ and a copy of the presentation can be found on UNITE's website:
www.unite-group.co.uk
Enquiries:
The UNITE Group plc
Nicholas Porter, Chief Executive Officer Tel: 020 7902 5055
Mark Allan, Group Finance Director Tel: 020 7902 5062
www.unite-group.co.uk
Redleaf Communications Ltd Tel: 020 7955 1410
Emma Kane/James White Mob: 07876 338339
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
At the beginning of 2004 I set out an important new phase in our strategy, as we
began to reach the scale of operations envisaged at the time we first came to
the public market. This new phase, designed to build on our position as the
UK's largest provider of student accommodation, focused on three core themes:
enhancing the quality of our investment portfolio whilst maintaining an annual
programme of steady but significant portfolio growth; enhancing our customer
service through the development and training of our people and market research;
and restructuring our capital base whilst continuing the strong operating
performance of the business and improving margins. With this in mind, I am
delighted to report on a year of strong performance.
• Net asset value per share grew by 10.0% to 332p (2003: 5.6% growth, 302p);
• our asset disposals and joint ventures, involving in total some
£173 million of assets (based on Estimated values at completion), have
helped firmly establish our asset class in the broader investment community
and have provided much needed transactional evidence for the market;
• Full year pre tax losses (before goodwill amortisation) reduced sharply to
£1.1 million from £5.2 million in 2003.
Financial results
Net asset value remains the key indicator to the value of our business. At 332p
per share as at 31 December 2004 (2003: 302p), this has grown by 10% during the
year, driven predominantly by our continued development activity. During the
year the business successfully delivered 5,104 new bed spaces into our
investment portfolio and also increased the number of confirmed deliveries for
2005 to 4,677 beds (including assets held in joint ventures) with another 5,759
beds also secured and fully funded for delivery in 2006 and beyond. Pipeline
visibility remains a key strength of the business.
Taking into account the new beds delivered during the year, our completed and
managed portfolio grew by 24% to 26,319 bed spaces, and was valued at £991
million as at 31 December 2004, excluding 1,246 beds sold to Morley during the
year and now managed on their behalf. Rental income for the year was up 39% to
£66.8 million, again due mainly to the larger portfolio, but also reflecting
strong like-for-like revenue growth (6.8% between academic years 2003/04 and
2004/05).
Operating profits from the completed portfolio were up 41% to £41 million,
growth at this level outpacing turnover growth as a result of continued scale
benefits and asset stabilisation. This is reflected in our operating margin
which, adjusted for the lease cost element of the sale and leaseback transaction
with Morley, again increased to 62.1%, up from 60.5% for 2003.
New borrowing associated with our continued development activity contributed to
an increase in net debt to £731 million and an increase in our balance sheet
gearing to 198% (31 December 2003: 182%). Importantly, however, this level of
gearing has not increased when compared to that as at 30 June 2004 (199%); the
Group has begun to demonstrate its ability to manage its gearing through asset
disposals and joint ventures whilst continuing to grow its portfolio.
This higher level of borrowing resulted in an increase in the Group's interest
costs. Although average gearing during the year increased by 40%, portfolio
interest cover was largely maintained at 1.11 times (2003: 1.15 times).
Taking the aforementioned items into account, portfolio profit increased
marginally to £4.0 million from £3.9 million in 2003.
Finally, the introduction of joint ventures, coupled with the sale of certain
non core parts of larger development sites, has introduced a new element to the
Group's profit and loss account. These activities contributed £1.2 million to
the Group's profit before interest and tax in 2004 and a contribution to profits
from this source is expected to continue in the future.
Dividend
In accordance with our stated policy, the Board is pleased to recommend a final
dividend of 1.67 pence per share, making a total dividend of 2.5 pence per share
for the year (2003: 2.5 pence). The dividend will be paid on 13 May 2005 to
shareholders on the register as at 15 April 2005.
Business performance
Our 26,319 bed portfolio of completed accommodation (2003: 21,215 beds) remains
in demand, as evidenced by our average occupancy rate of 95% of available rooms
entering the 2004/05 academic year (2003: 96%) and the strong like-for-like
revenue growth of 6.8% achieved in the current academic year.
UNITE is committed to growing its portfolio through continued development and
has built up a wealth of expertise and a strong reputation with both land owners
and local planning authorities in this area over the past 12 years. As a
result, despite a challenging development market, site availability remains
generally good; we continue to work well in partnership with planning
authorities to deliver new high quality schemes, whilst our overall target
development margins have been achieved.
Set against this background is our development pipeline of some 10,436 beds.
All of these beds are fully funded and will contribute greatly to the overall
quality of our future investment portfolio.
We have remained successful in combating build cost inflation through our
investment in modular construction and through contractor partnering.
Inflationary pressures in this area continue but, despite this, we expect to be
able to contain any future reduction in development margins to a small and
manageable level.
The performance of our modular construction division during 2004 has been
encouraging. It exceeded its production volume target for the year, achieving
overall output of some 2,530 modules together with the associated componentry.
At these levels of production the facility is fully competitive with traditional
construction. In the more benign inflationary environment of the manufacturing
sector, and with production volumes expected to increase further in 2005, this
division is well positioned for further improvements in performance.
Market conditions
Market conditions in 2004 were, and remain, positive for UNITE both in terms of
student occupier demand and our evolving asset class. In the UK higher
education sector, student numbers continue to grow, with increased demand both
from UK domiciled students and from international students seeking to benefit
from the strong reputation of our University system. As importantly, the strong
commercial property market and the resulting yield compression across the more
traditional asset classes has brought alternative investment options, such as
student accommodation, into sharper relief for investors. Against a back-drop
which now sees the reference Investment Property Databank ('IPD') initial yield
substantially below 6%, the average initial yield across our portfolio of 6.56%
looks increasingly attractive.
Customers
As the UK's largest student landlord, UNITE has a responsibility to all its
stakeholders to ensure that it continually seeks to improve its understanding
of, and services to, its customers.
We fully recognise the fact that our success is reliant on continuing to provide
a high quality, affordable accommodation experience and we have introduced a
number of important initiatives during the course of the year to this effect.
This includes the introduction of broadband technology across the estate and
increased staffing resource at the property level. Some of these initiatives
have impacted slightly on margins for 2004 but will start to deliver positive
improvements in the short term.
People
During 2004 we continued our focus on personal and professional development and
the strengthening and deepening of UNITE's management team. We were able to make
internal promotions, supported by succession planning and intensive management
development. This included promoting two internal candidates to lead two of our
operating divisions.
Our investment in training for the business as a whole has had a significant
impact on improving customer service and motivating staff.
Overall, our workforce grew by 209 to 773 and our level of employee
satisfaction, measured by an external survey, grew to that of the upper decile
of companies in the UK.
Outlook
2004 has unquestionably been a year of achievement for UNITE. The Group has
been able to benefit from its consistency of strategy and from the positive
market conditions which existed throughout the year.
With the benefit of its stable foundation, robust business model and the
positive market we plan to build on our success in the coming year gaining
further from our economies of scale; developing further the investment market
for student accommodation; increasing the diversity and flexibility of our
capital base; and pursuing a strategy of managed growth across our business and
portfolio.
Consolidated profit and loss account
for the year ended 31 December 2004
Note 2004 2003
£'000 £'000
Turnover 2 74,623 48,055
Cost of sales (24,678) (12,848)
Gross Profit 49,945 35,207
Administrative expenses - ordinary (14,154) (15,110)
- goodwill amortisation (2,665) (5,570)
(16,819) (20,680)
Group operating profit 33,126 14,527
Profit/(Loss) on disposal of investment properties 23 (125)
Profit on ordinary activities before interest and taxation 33,149 14,402
Interest receivable 4 1,137 681
Interest payable and similar charges 4 (38,098) (25,871)
Loss on ordinary activities before taxation and
goodwill amortisation (1,147) (5,218)
Loss on ordinary activities before taxation (3,812) (10,788)
Taxation 5 - -
Loss on ordinary activities after taxation (3,812) (10,788)
Dividends paid and proposed 6 (2,780) (2,702)
Retained loss for the financial period (6,592) (13,490)
Loss per share
Basic 7 3.5p 10.0p
Excluding goodwill amortisation and deferred tax 7 1.0p 4.8p
Diluted 7 3.5p 10.0p
All of the above activities for the current year relate to continuing
operations.
Consolidated statement of total recognised gains and losses
for the year ended 31 December 2004
Note 2004 2003
£000 £000
Profit/(Loss) for the financial year (3,812) (10,788)
Unrealised surplus on revaluation of properties 43,137 31,308
Unrealised surplus on revaluation of properties in joint 1,125 -
venture
Total recognised gains and losses for the financial year 40,450 20,520
Consolidated balance sheet
at 31 December 2004
Note 2004 2003
£000 £000 £000 £000
Fixed assets
Intangible assets 2,475 5,140
Tangible assets
Investment and development properties 8 1,110,450 948,792
Other tangible fixed assets 18,099 19,726
1,128,549 968,518
Investment in Joint Ventures 9
Share of gross assets 7,246 -
Share of gross liabilities (6,121) -
1,125 -
1,132,149 973,658
Current assets
Stocks 13,401 2,769
Debtors 32,325 20,072
Cash at bank and in hand 37,582 24,980
83,308 47,821
Creditors: amounts falling due within one
year
Short term build facilities and other
borrowings
(including convertible debt) (106,153) (107,664)
Other creditors (76,777) (75,823)
(182,930) (183,487)
Net current liabilities (99,622) (135,666)
Total assets less current liabilities 1,032,527 837,992
Creditors: amounts falling due after more
than one year
Long term borrowings (662,906) (511,200)
Net assets 369,621 326,792
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital 12 27,825 27,054
Share premium account 141,324 136,936
Merger reserve 40,177 40,177
Revaluation reserve 196,914 161,786
Profit and loss account (36,619) (39,161)
Equity shareholders' funds 369,621 326,792
Net asset value per share 332p 302p
Consolidated cash flow statement
for the year ended 31 December 2004
Note 2004 2003
£000 £000
Cash flow from operating activities 13 22,963 23,513
Returns on investments and servicing of finance 14 (45,619) (32,062)
Capital expenditure 14 (114,687) (172,127)
Equity dividends paid (2,728) (2,689)
Cash outflow before financing (140,071) (183,365)
Financing 14 148,907 192,767
Increase in cash in the year 8,836 9,402
Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net debt
for the year ended 31 December 2004
Note 2004 2003
£000 £000
Increase in cash in the year 8,836 9,402
Cash flow from increase in debt and lease financing (148,007) (192,766)
Change in net debt resulting from cash flows (139,171) (183,364)
Loan stock converted into ordinary shares 4,259 856
Amortisation of debt issue costs (2,681) (1,389)
Movement in net debt in the year (137,593) (183,897)
Net debt at beginning of year 15 (593,884) (409,987)
Net debt at end of year 15 (731,477) (593,884)
Note of consolidated historical cost profits and losses
for the year ended 31 December 2004
2004 2003
£000 £000
Reported loss on ordinary activities before taxation (3,812) (10,788)
Realisation of property revaluation gains of previous 8,331 1,422
years
Historical cost profit/(loss) on ordinary activities 4,519 (9,366)
before taxation
Historical cost profit/(loss) for the year retained after 1,739 (12,068)
taxation and dividends
Reconciliation of movements in shareholders' funds
for the year ended 31 December 2004
Group Group
2004 2003
£000 £000
(Loss)/profit attributable to ordinary shareholders (3,812) (10,788)
Dividends paid and proposed (2,780) (2,702)
Retained loss for the year (6,592) (13,490)
Net surplus on revaluations 44,262 31,308
Net proceeds of new share capital subscribed 5,159 856
Net addition to shareholders' funds 42,829 18,674
Opening equity shareholders' funds 326,792 308,118
Closing equity shareholders' funds 369,621 326,792
Notes
1 Basis of preparation
The group accounts include the accounts of the company and its subsidiary
undertakings, all of which are made up to 31 December 2004.
The financial information set out in this preliminary announcement is prepared
on the basis of the accounting policies set out in the most recent set of annual
Financial Statements.
The financial information set out in this document does not constitute the
company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2004 or 2003 but it
is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2003 have been delivered
to the Registrar of Companies, and those for 2004 will be delivered following
the company's annual general meeting. The auditors have reported on those
accounts; their reports were unqualified and did not contain a statement under
section 237 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985.
The statutory accounts for 2004 will be finalised on the basis of the financial
information presented by the directors in this preliminary announcement and will
be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the company's annual
general meeting.
This preliminary announcement was approved by the board of directors on 16 March
2004 and satisfies the provisions of section 240 of the Companies Act 1985
regarding the publication of non-statutory accounts.
2 Segmental analysis of operations
2004 2003
£000 £000
Turnover
Investment activities 66,808 48,055
Development activities 7,815 -
Corporate activities - -
74,623 48,055
Profit before interest and tax
Investment activities 40,951 29,088
Development activities - ordinary (1,215) (4,975)
Corporate costs (3,945) (4,016)
(Loss)/profit on disposal of investment properties 23 (125)
Goodwill amortisation - re investment activities (150) (150)
- re development activities (2,515) (5,420)
33,149 14,402
Net Assets
Investment activities 326,771 268,336
Development activities 42,850 58,456
Corporate activities - -
369,621 326,792
Portfolio profit is calculated as follows:
Profit before interest and taxation on investment activities - as above 40,951 29,088
Net interest payable (36,961) (25,190)
3,990 3,898
Included in the development loss for the period to 31 December 2003 is the loss
relating to the under recovery of manufacturing overheads £1,246,000 which, in
line with expectations, has not recurred.
3 Profit on ordinary activities before taxation
2004 2003
£000 £000
Profit on ordinary activities before taxation is stated after charging/
(crediting):
Auditors' remuneration 180 205
Fees paid to the auditor in respect of other services 249 27
Depreciation and other amounts written off tangible fixed assets 2,354 2,524
(Profit)/loss on disposal of fixed assets (23) 125
Amortisation of goodwill 2,665 5,570
Hire of plant and machinery - including rentals payable under operating 413 367
leases
Hire of other assets - including rentals payable under operating leases 1,395 979
£95,700 was paid to the auditors in respect of refinancing work and has been
capitalised (2003: £nil)
4 Net Interest payable
2004 2003
£000 £000
Amounts payable on bank loans and overdrafts
On loans not wholly repayable within five years 2,959 544
On loans wholly repayable within five years 27,235 15,213
On bank overdrafts 82 106
Amounts payable on other loans
On asset backed bonds 18,700 18,730
On convertible unsecured loan stock 209 433
On unsecured loan notes 16 156
Costs written off on refinancing 99 -
Finance charges payable in respect of hire purchase agreements 92 155
49,392 35,337
Transfer to cost of investment and development properties (11,294) (9,466)
38,098 25,871
Less: Interest receivable (1,137) (681)
36,961 25,190
5 Taxation
(a) Analysis of charge in the year
There was no liability to taxation in respect of either year for the Group or
its joint venture undertaking.
(b) Factors affecting the tax charge for the year
The tax credit on the loss on ordinary activities has been reduced from the
amount that would arise from applying the prevailing corporation tax rate to the
Group's losses, as follows:
2004 2003
£000 £000
UK corporation tax at 30% (1,144) (3,236)
Permanently disallowable expenditure 2,425 1,784
Capital gains in excess of accounting profit 2,230 -
Consolidation adjustments not deductible for tax 4,953 4,175
Non-taxable profits and capitalised expenditure deductible (2,277) (1,944)
Excess tax losses (utilised) not utilised in year (1,421) 2,631
Excess of capital allowances over depreciation (4,766) (3,410)
- -
A proportion of the profits arising in joint ventures has been distributed to
Group companies, in whose accounts the related tax charges have been provided.
(c) Factors that may affect future tax charges
Deferred taxation balances arising in the Group are set out in detail in note
11.
In accordance with FRS19, the deferred tax in respect of property revaluation
surpluses has not been provided.
6 Dividends
2004 2003
£000 £000
Equity
Interim dividend paid of 0.83p (2003: 0.83p) per 25p ordinary share 921 895
Final dividend proposed of 1.67p (2003: 1.67p) per 25p ordinary share 1,859 1,807
2,780 2,702
7 Loss per share
Basic loss per share has been calculated using a weighted average number of
shares of 109,477,518 (2003: 107,859,284) as follows:
Losses EPS
After goodwill Before goodwill After goodwill Before goodwill
amortisation amortisation amortisation amortisation
£000 £000 pence pence
Year ended 31 December 2004
Basic loss (3,812) (1,147) (3.48) (1.05)
Year end 31 December 2003
Basic loss (10,788) (5,218) (10.00) (4.84)
The share options and convertible loan stock in issue during 2003 and 2004 do
not give rise to any dilutive potential ordinary shares and therefore the basic
and diluted loss per share are the same.
8 Investment and development properties
Properties held
Investment Developments in for future
Properties progress development Total
£000 £000 £000 £000
Group
Cost or valuation and net book
value
At beginning of year 788,304 124,281 36,207 948,792
Additions 827 179,869 2,558 183,254
Disposals (49,041) (557) (15,135) (64,733)
Transfers 218,723 (198,017) (20,706) -
Revaluations 32,647 10,490 - 43,137
At 31 December 2004 991,460 116,066 2,924 1,110,450
At 31 December 2003 788,304 124,281 36,207 948,792
8 Investment and development properties
Included within investment and development properties are the following values
in respect of leasehold interests:
Properties held
Investment Developments in for future Total Total
Properties progress development 2004 2003
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Cost or valuation and net
book value
Long leasehold 162,350 27,095 307 189,752 140,117
Short leasehold 13,300 - - 13,300 11,980
175,650 27,095 307 203,052 152,097
The valuation of investment and development properties comprise:
2004 2003
£000 £000
Group
Historical cost 914,661 787,006
Revaluation 195,789 161,786
1,110,450 948,792
Investment properties were valued as at 31 December 2004, on the basis of '
market value' as defined in the RICS Appraisal and Valuation Manual issued by
the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors by CB Richard Ellis Ltd and Messrs
King Sturge & Co, Chartered Surveyors as external valuers.
Development properties have been incorporated at valuations by the directors at
acquisition or when planning permission and appropriate construction contracts
are in place, plus subsequent expenditure. These valuations were based on
completed property valuations by CB Richard Ellis Ltd and Messrs King Sturge &
Co, Chartered Surveyors.
CB Richard Ellis have valued 43% of the portfolio and Messrs King Sturge 57% by
reference to completed value.
The total interest included in Group properties at 31 December 2004 was
£33,370,545 (2003: £25,177,350). Total internal costs relating to
manufacturing, construction and development costs of group properties, which
have been deducted in arriving at the revaluation uplifts recognised on these
properties, amount to £33,343,953 at 31 December 2004 (2003: £25,805,000).
9 Investment in joint venture
Interest in joint
venture
2004 2003
£000 £000
Group
Cost or valuation and net book value
At beginning of year - -
Share of operating profit for year - -
Share of interest payable for year - -
Share of retained profit for year - -
Share of revaluation surplus 1,125 -
At end of year 1,125 -
The Group's joint venture in student villages with Lehman Brothers is held as a
75% interest in the ordinary shares of LDC (Project 110) Ltd, a company
incorporated in England and Wales, whose principal activity is the construction
and letting of investment property. Under the Articles of Association, the Group
cannot exercise control over this company and its interest amounts to a 51%
share of the profits and assets of the joint venture.
The value of the Group's interest in the joint venture is held at an amount
equivalent to its share of the underlying net asset value of the undertaking.
The amounts included in respect of the joint venture comprise the following:
Interest in joint
venture
2004 2003
£000 £000
Share of assets
Fixed assets 7,099 -
Current assets 147 -
7,246
Share of liabilities -
Due within one year (1,926) -
Due after one year (4,195) -
Share of net assets 1,125 -
10 Analysis of debt
Group
2004 2003
£000 £000
Bank loans, other loans and overdrafts fall
due:
In one year or less, or on demand 105,778 107,163
Between one and two years 66,648 125,099
Between two and five years 83,249 121,103
In five years or more 512,228 263,835
767,903 617,200
The amounts falling due after more than five years consist:
£252,499,678 (2003: £255,712,370) in respect of asset backed bonds which bear
fixed interest at rates between 5.926% and 8.549% and are repayable on a sliding
scale with final repayment in October 2027.
£259,728,460 (2003: £8,123,200) in respect of various bank loans repayable by
instalments predominantly by November 2011 and being interest at variable rates
between 1.25% and 1.4% above LIBOR.
Debt is disclosed net of issue costs of £12,009,675 (2003: £11,627,000).
The maturity of obligations under hire purchase agreements is as follows:
2004 2003
£000 £000
Group
Within one year 431 596
In the second to fifth years 826 1,260
Less future finance charges (101) (192)
1,156 1,664
The Group has various borrowing facilities available to it. The undrawn
committed facilities available at 31 December 2004 in respect of which all
conditions precedent had been met at that date were as follows:
2004 2003
£000 £000
Expiring in one year or less
Build facilities 38,355 47,086
Other facilities 5,000 5,000
43,355 52,086
In addition, there are further committed facilities available where not all
conditions precedent have yet been met amounting to £226m. Of this amount £54m
remains available for completed properties and £172m for development properties.
Security for the Group's property development and investment financing is by way
of first charges, and in some instances second charges, over the properties to
which they relate. In certain instances, cross guarantees are provided within
the Group.
Fair value of financial liabilities
Set out below is a comparison by category of the book value and fair values of
the Group's financial liabilities, excluding variable rate loans, at 31 December
2004:
Book value Fair value
£000 £000
Primary financial instruments held or issued to finance the Group's
operations:
Short term financial liabilities and current position of long term 1,947 2,025
borrowings
Long term borrowings 269,664 280,487
271,611 282,512
Derivative and other financial instruments held to manage the interest
rate
profile:
Interest rate swaps - 9,347
At 31 December 2004 271,611 291,859
At 31 December 2003 272,726 278,266
The fair values of the interest rate swaps and caps and long term fixed rate
debt have been determined by reference to prices available from the markets on
which the instruments are traded. All the other fair values have been
calculated by discounting future cash flows at prevailing interest rates.
11 Provisions for liabilities and charges
The movement on the deferred tax balances and other provisions during the year
ended 31 December 2004 were as follows:
Deferred
taxation Other Total Total
2004 2004 2004 2003
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Group
At 1 January 2004 - - - -
Capitalised interest 3,314 - 3,314 3,544
Accelerated capital allowances 5,605 - 5,605 1,576
Intra-group profits taxed but not relieved (4,347) - (4,347) (4,171)
Tax losses available (4,572) - (4,572) (949)
At 31 December 2004 - - - -
The deferred tax balances at 31 December 2004
arose as follows:
Amount provided Amount not Amount Amount not
2004 provided 2004 provided 2003 provided 2003
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Group
Capitalised interest 10,619 - 7,305 -
Accelerated capital allowances 12,370 - 6,765 -
Intra-group profits taxed (16,952) - (12,605) -
Tax losses (6,037) (1,200) (1,465) (5,786)
Potential tax on property valuation surplus - 51,456 - 49,595
Capital gain on investment in joint ventures 338 -
At 31 December 2004 - 50,594 - 43,809
No provision has been made for tax arising on the revaluation of properties,
since the disposal of properties is not envisaged by the Directors.
12 Called up share capital
2004 2003
£000 £000
Authorised
155,000,000 (2003: 155,000,000) ordinary shares of 25p each 38,750 38,750
Allotted, called up and fully paid
Number of
shares £000
At beginning of year 108,213,432 27,054
Loan notes converted 2,453,219 613
Share options exercised and scrip dividends 634,544 158
At end of year 111,301,195 27,825
13 Reconciliation of operating profit to operating cash flows
2004 2003
£000 £000
Group operating profit 33,126 14,527
Depreciation and amortisation charges 5,019 8,094
Increase in stocks (10,632) (1,218)
Increase in debtors (8,230) (1,563)
Increase in creditors and provisions 3,680 3,673
Net cash inflow from operating activities 22,963 23,513
14 Analysis of cash flows
2004 2003
£000 £000
Returns on investment and servicing of finance
Interest received 1,137 681
Interest paid (47,768) (32,743)
Gain on refinancing 1,012 -
Net cash flow from returns on investment and servicing of finance (45,619) (32,062)
Capital expenditure
Purchase of tangible fixed assets (175,695) (178,723)
Disposal of tangible fixed assets 61,008 6,596
Net cash flow from capital expenditure (114,687) (172,127)
Financing
Issue of share capital 900 1
Net receipts on bank loans 150,131 197,324
Movement on loan notes (1,616) (3,909)
Capital element of hire purchase payments (508) (649)
Net cash flow from financing 148,907 192,767
15 Analysis of net debt
At 1 January At 31 December
2004 Cash flow Other changes 2004
£000 £000 £000 £000
Cash at bank and in hand 24,980 12,602 - 37,582
Bank overdraft (5,320) (3,766) - (9,086)
19,660 8,836 - 28,496
Financing
Debt due within one year (101,843) 892 4,259 (96,692)
Debt due after one year (510,037) (149,407) (2,681) (662,125)
Hire purchase agreements (1,664) 508 - (1,156)
(613,544) (148,007) 1,578 (759,973)
Net debt at end of year (593,884) (139,171) 1,578 (731,477)
Cash at bank and in hand includes £6.9m (2003:£nil) held in a bank account drawn
from a facility put in place in November 2004. This amount is only available
for general Group use once certain criteria are met, which is expected by occur
by Autumn 2005.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
Monday, 20th May 2024
COMPANIES COVERED:
Latest directors dealings
- 2 minutes ago Aquila Energy Efficiency Trust (EUR)
- 10 minutes ago London Stock Exchange Group
- 10 minutes ago London Stock Exchange Group
- 46 minutes ago Prudential
- 56 minutes ago Howden Joinery Group