Tate & Lyle, a world leader in sugar, cereal sweeteners and starches, today announced their preliminary results for the 53 weeks ended March 31, 2001.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF PRELIMINARY RESULTS
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For the 53 weeks ended March 31, 2001
2001 2001
PRELIMINARY RESULTS TO MARCH 53 weeks 53 weeks
$million(a) Pound million
Audited
Sales $6,136 Pound 4,146m
Profit before tax, goodwill
amortisation
and exceptional items $167 Pound 113m
(Loss)/profit before taxation ($337) (Pound 228m)
EPS (diluted) before
goodwill amortisation
and exceptional items 23.2(cent) 15.7p
EPS (diluted) (84.5(cent)) (57.1)p
2000 2000
PRELIMINARY RESULTS TO MARCH 52 weeks 78 weeks
Pound Pound
million million
Unaudited Audited
Sales Pound 4,090m Pound 6,183m
Profit before tax, goodwill
amortisation
and exceptional items Pound 209m Pound 300m
(Loss)/profit before
taxation Pound 191m Pound 287m
EPS (diluted) before
goodwill amortisation
and exceptional items 29.9p 45.2p
EPS (diluted) 24.2p 40.2p
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By GlobalData(a) US Dollar conversions provided at the average exchange rate for
the period of $1.48 = Pound
- Difficult market conditions continue
- Energy costs up Pound 45 million
- Good progress on Amylum integration
- Dividend maintained at 17.8p (26.3(cent))
- Progress on disposal of US Sugar businesses
The full Preliminary Results are included with this Press Release. They follow the Chairman’s Statement and Chief Executive’s Review.
“Our immediate priorities are to complete the disposals of Western Sugar and Domino Sugar, to improve the performance of Amylum, and to deliver the benefits from integrating that company with Staley.
Energy costs are substantially higher now than they were a year ago and look likely to remain so for at least the first half year. However these increased costs will be offset by improvements in pricing in European and North American cereal sweetener and starch markets, which started to become effective from the beginning of 2001. Together with the planned disposal of our US sugar businesses this leads us to view the current year with greater confidence. Our challenge is to restore profitability to an acceptable level and to continue with the pursuit of our strategy to revitalise the Group for the benefit of our shareholders.”
Sir David Lees
Chairman
Copies of the Annual Report for the period ended March 31, 2001 will be available to shareholders shortly, and will be obtainable from Robert Gibber, Company Secretary, Tate & Lyle PLC, Sugar Quay, Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6DQ
Chairman’s Statement
The past year has been a difficult one for the Group. Profit before tax, exceptional items and goodwill amortisation was Pound 113 million ($167 million), compared with Pound 209 million for the unaudited 52-week period to 25 March 2000. This decline was largely driven by tough market conditions in US sugar, where pre-interest losses of Pound 20 million ($30 million) were incurred, by pressure on cereal sweetener and starch margins and by a Pound 45 million increase in energy costs.
Results
Loss before tax for the 53-week period to 31 March 2001 was Pound 228 million ($337 million) after exceptional items of Pound 336 million. Due to the change in our financial year end from September to March the previous audited results cover a 78-week period. In order to provide more meaningful comparative figures unaudited results for the 52-week period ended March 25, 2000 are also included in this report.
Diluted earnings per share before exceptional items and goodwill amortisation for the 53-week period to 31 March 2001 were 15.7p (23.2(cent)) compared with 29.9p in the year to March 25, 2000.
Exceptional items include Pound 9 million of net profit on disposal of businesses and a Pound 345 million write down on planned sales of businesses, of which Pound 227 million relates to Domino Sugar, Pound 111 million to Western Sugar and Pound 7 million to smaller businesses. The sale of Western is detailed in a separate announcement issued today. We have been seeking a strategic solution for Domino and, in the light of advanced negotiations, have written down Domino’s assets to reflect our estimate of sale proceeds. Pound 75 million of the write down in respect of Western Sugar was recognised in the first half of the year. The total net exceptional item of Pound 336 million includes Pound 193 million of goodwill previously written off to reserves.
Operating cash flow was Pound 219 million ($324 million). Net borrowings were Pound 963 million at 31 March 2001 compared with Pound 805 million at 25 March 2000. During the year Pound 281 million was expended on the acquisition of Amylum and Staley minorities of which Pound 212 million was in cash. This was largely covered by the divestment of non-core businesses and assets, which realised Pound 186 million.
Dividend
The total dividend proposed for the year is 17.8p (26.3(cent)) and is covered 0.9 times by earnings before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items. The dividend has been maintained at the level of the year to September 1999, the most recent comparable period. The final dividend of 12.3p (18.2(cent)) will be due and payable on August 8, 2001 to shareholders on the register on July 13, 2001.
The Board
Richard Delbridge, was appointed to the Board as a non-executive director on September 1, 2000. He was formerly Chief Financial Officer of National Westminster Bank Plc and is currently a non-executive director of Egg plc and Innogy Holdings plc.
Lord Walker retires from the Board following the AGM on August 2, 2001. He has been a director since 1990 and his wise counsel and experience have been of considerable value to the Group.
Strategy
In a year in which trading conditions in almost all our businesses have been difficult, good strategic progress has been made.
- We completed the disposal of Bundaberg Sugar and a number of other smaller businesses the proceeds from which have been recycled into the development of our core businesses.
- We acquired the minority interest in Staley and Amylum which has made possible the creation of a low cost global starch and sweetener business offering growth opportunities in value added products.
- We have become increasingly confident about the potential benefits from the integration of Amylum within the Group.
- We are close to resolving the problems of our US sugar businesses, the divestments of which will eliminate the significant trading losses and strengthen our balance sheet.
- We are continuing to reduce costs and enhance efficiency through our business improvement projects.
Outlook
Our immediate priorities are to complete the disposals of Western Sugar and Domino Sugar, to improve the performance of Amylum, and to deliver the benefits from integrating that company with Staley.
Energy costs are substantially higher now than they were a year ago and look likely to remain so for at least the first half year. However these increased costs will be offset by improvements in pricing in European and North American cereal sweetener and starch markets, which started to become effective from the beginning of 2001. Together with the planned disposal of our US sugar businesses this leads us to view the current year with greater confidence. Our challenge is to restore profitability to an acceptable level and to continue with the pursuit of our strategy to revitalise the Group for the benefit of our shareholders.
Sir David Lees
Chairman
June 6, 2001
Chief Executive’s Review
Change of Year-end
In order to provide meaningful comparisons in the review that follows the audited results for the 53 weeks to March 31, 2001 are compared with the unaudited results for the 52 weeks to March 25, 2000.
Group Performance
Results for the year were disappointing, with profit before tax, exceptional items and goodwill amortisation falling from Pound 209 million to Pound 113 million ($167 million).
The tough conditions faced in the US sugar market towards the end of the prior year have persisted throughout the year ended March 2001 and show no signs of improving. Our US sugar operations incurred a Pound 20 million ($30 million) loss before interest. Increased energy costs across the Group, especially in the second half, have also squeezed margins by Pound 45 million. Our sweetener and starch businesses on both sides of the Atlantic faced very competitive markets, with lower margins. Although energy costs remain high, there was good news in the pricing rounds for the 2001 calendar year, with Staley reporting double digit price rises for sweeteners and Amylum securing price rises of around 10% on most product lines. These price improvements will mainly benefit the financial year ending March 2002.
Rising to these challenges, we have been focused on executing our strategy. We have delivered efficiency gains through reorganisation and consolidation and have continued to dispose of smaller businesses in non-core markets and those businesses from which we did not expect to achieve acceptable returns.
Focus on Key Activities
Good progress has been made to capture the full benefits from the acquisition of the Staley and Amylum minorities last August. We are already delivering benefits and are confident that we will achieve the target of Pound 50 million benefit per annum by 2003/04.
We completed the disposal of Bundaberg, our Australian sugar milling and related activity group, in July 2000. This disposal, coupled with the sale of ten smaller businesses in the Animal Feed and Other segments, will reduce overheads and provides a cash inflow of Pound 180 million. The other disposals include animal feed and agribusiness companies. After the year end, we also sold Zambia Sugar.
As you will have seen from the Chairman’s Statement, we have also entered into an agreement that should lead to the disposal of Western and are in advanced negotiations for the sale of Domino.
We announced last year that we were looking for a strategic solution for these under-performing businesses that continue to incur losses, this year totalling Pound 20 million before interest. This is an industry wide issue, a result of a dysfunctional US sugar regime and an oversupply of beet and cane sugar in the market. These problems require a political solution that also addresses the disputes between Mexico and the US over NAFTA access for Mexican sugar to the US market, and US high fructose corn syrup to the Mexican market. We cannot be certain of any significant improvement to the US market in the near future.
We have explored many alternatives for these businesses, from outright divestment to various forms of industry rationalisation. We are convinced that, provided this can be concluded on satisfactory terms, the sale of Western and Domino offers the best way forward for the Group.
The completion of these disposals will be an important step in the delivery of our strategy to refocus our portfolio of assets on those that are core, and that we can expect to deliver an acceptable level of return.
Performance of Main Businesses
Increased energy costs reduced margins at all our main business units. Staley and Amylum profits were below those of the previous year, impacted also by lower sweetener and starch margins. The high fructose corn syrup market in the US showed little growth last year, reflecting reduced growth in carbonated soft drink sales. The industry did not bring any significant additional capacity on line and supply and demand moved more closely in balance due to some capacity being diverted to other higher margin products such as ethanol.
The market for industrial starches, especially to the paper industry, was very competitive due to the strength of the US dollar and consolidation within the industry. Speciality food starches were resilient in difficult market conditions. Citric profitability declined slightly, with lower selling prices but higher volumes.
Our announcement in August 2000 that we had signed a joint development agreement for bio-based polymers with DuPont provides a glimpse of the future for Tate & Lyle. This project will provide a significant step towards manufacturing advanced polymers from renewable resources, replacing products now made from petroleum. Producing products from carbohydrates will have a role in how the world manages carbon dioxide emissions in the future. This is an excellent fit with our global carbohydrates business and our proven Research & Development capabilities, and presents an important opportunity to advance our strategy of growing through the development of new value-added products.
Our cane refineries in the UK, Canada and Portugal continued to perform well. In our North American sugar businesses losses increased as the oversupply of beet and cane sugar continued to squeeze margins to uneconomic levels, sending the largest US producer to seek “Chapter 11” protection from its creditors. More positively, we have arrived at a settlement of the long running labour dispute at Domino’s Brooklyn refinery. The new barge was commissioned in September, enabling the more cost-effective transfer of sugar syrup from Baltimore to Brooklyn.
Performance of Other Businesses
Many of the businesses in this category were sold during the year. Of the remaining businesses, both sugar and starch joint ventures in Central Europe performed well despite drought conditions, cutting costs and increasing profits as sugar regimes were introduced in preparation for entry to the European Union.
Molasses trading had a difficult year, with demand impacted by problems in the farming sector. Sugar trading activity remained profitable, with Brazil and Thailand being the key suppliers.
Demand for sucralose continues to grow, especially in Japan and the US. Plans for the development of this business globally await completion of the commissioning period of the new Johnson & Johnson production facility. New issues related to dietary guidelines recently developed by a number of governments and increasing concern with obesity will create many new opportunities for this product.
Safety
Safety continues to be a central concern and the past year has seen an improvement across the whole Group. We have a history as the leader in safety in the US corn wet milling industry statistics and have undertaken to transfer this expertise world-wide. Each business has been set safety targets and we publish a quarterly Safety Index in the employee magazine Tate & Lyle World. This is an invaluable tool for measuring, reporting and improving the Company’s record on Health and Safety throughout its operations. The full Board reviews health and safety performance annually and supports the drive for continuous improvement.
Energy
We are committed to reducing energy consumption on both economic and environmental grounds. All businesses have been set a target to reduce energy consumption on a per unit basis by 3% per year. In December 2000, the Group published an Energy Index for each of our major plants which tracks energy consumption across the Group and is being used to focus conservation efforts.
Employees
This has been a challenging year of significant change for the Group and for employees. Some have left the Group with their businesses, and others are working in businesses where disposal plans have been announced. Our colleagues have responded with energy, initiative and determination. We thank them and their families for their continuing support.
The Future
We remain committed to our strategy of developing value-added products, continuing the rationalisation of our portfolio of assets and driving out costs.
The Group is more focused and has better quality assets than it had 12 months ago. We are building a truly global business with proven world class research and development capabilities. We continue to improve our status as a low cost producer with very strong product development relationships with the world’s top food and industrial businesses. We have positioned ourselves to take advantage of strategic opportunities to manufacture products from renewable carbohydrate resources, replacing petrochemicals. Looking forward, we are well positioned for growth.
Larry Pillard
Chief Executive
June 6, 2001
Operating & Financial Review – Financial Results
Summary of Financial Results
Change of Year-end
Last year’s change in financial year-end from September to March means that these results cover the 53-week period ended March 31, 2001, and are compared with those in the previous Annual Report, for the 78-week period ended March 25, 2000.
In order to assist shareholders, unaudited results for the 52 weeks ended March 25, 2000, are also included. This Operating and Financial Review principally compares trading for the year ended March 31, 2001 with this unaudited comparative period.
Trading
Sales increased by Pound 56 million. Disposals of businesses reduced sales by Pound 406 million and exchange rate movements increased sales by Pound 133 million. Group profit before interest, exceptional items and goodwill amortisation fell by Pound 99 million from Pound 284 million to Pound 185 million ($274 million). Exchange rate movements increased profits before interest by Pound 7 million.
Exceptional Items and Goodwill Amortisation
Profits and losses on disposal have been classified as exceptional due to their size producing a net total loss of Pound 336 million, which includes Pound 193 million of goodwill previously written off to reserves. After a tax charge of Pound 3 million on these exceptional items the effect of the exceptional profits and losses on shareholders’ funds is a reduction of Pound 146 million.
The exceptional profit on sale of businesses was Pound 9 million. The exceptional write-down in recognition of the planned sale of businesses was Pound 345 million. The write-down comprises Pound 111 million in respect of Western of which Pound 75 million was charged at the half-year, Pound 227 million in respect of Domino and Pound 7 million in respect of other businesses. The write-down includes goodwill of Pound 25 million relating to Western, and Pound 149 million relating to Domino.
The goodwill of Pound 153 million arising on the acquisition of the Amylum and Staley minorities was capitalised. Pound 5 million of capitalised goodwill was amortised in the year.
Segmental analysis of Profit before Interest
Sweeteners and Starches – Americas
Profits before exceptional items and interest from continuing businesses fell by 38% from Pound 156 million to Pound 96 million. IMASA, the Argentinian starch and cereal sweetener business, made Pound 5 million before it was sold in the previous year. Exchange rate movements increased profits by Pound 14 million.
Staley and Tate & Lyle Citric Acid
Although Staley’s starch business began the year strongly this was not sustained. The strong dollar had a major impact on the sales of the US paper industry, Staley’s largest starch market and the general economic slowdown in the US became increasingly felt as the year progressed.
The sweetener market was weak due to low demand and low pricing. However, there were signs of improvement during January to March 2001. Double digit percentage increases in average selling prices were achieved, consistent with industry trends. Corn gluten meal pricing, and corn oil pricing remain at depressed levels in spite of some recovery in the former. Whilst the cost of corn per bushel is at reasonable levels, net corn costs were higher due to the low co-product values.
Consolidation in the industry continued. Customers continued to grow in size through merger and acquisition, but, for the first time in many years, combinations also occurred among our competitors.
In August an agreement was reached with DuPont for the joint development of the production of
1, 3-propanediol for the textile industry using a corn-based fermentation medium. Both a pilot and a demonstration plant were successfully commissioned.
Energy costs at Staley rose following substantial increases in natural gas and electricity prices. The impact of these increases was moderated somewhat by Staley’s reliance at its larger facilities on coal, which is protected from similar upward price pressures. Projects with excellent paybacks are underway to reduce energy usage further and also recycle steam and heat. A debottlenecking project at Loudon was completed and new drying facilities at Decatur are being installed.
In Mexico the Almex joint venture performed well increasing sales, but higher corn costs reduced margins, and results were below last year’s excellent performance.
The market for citric acid was competitive during the year. Profit declined slightly, with lower selling prices but higher volumes.
The creation of a global citric business continued. The Tate & Lyle Citric Acid brand is becoming recognised globally and product standards have been established among all the citric plants to ensure quality products for our customers, regardless of the plant from which the product is sourced. The citric plants were included in the global Tate & Lyle purchasing network, enabling the citric plants to obtain the best pricing available in the Group.
We completed expansions to plants in the US, UK and Brazil and the full benefit of increased volumes will be seen next year. The global market for citric acid continues to grow at 5% annually.
North American Sugar
Redpath, the Canadian sugar-refining business, performed strongly. Sales and market share increased, while margins were held at last year’s levels. The increase in world raw sugar prices resulted in stockholding gains of Pound 3 million. Cost reductions in a number of manufacturing areas were achieved, and these offset a significant increase in energy costs.
The Canadian sugar industry obtained an extension to the anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports of EU and US sugar for a further five years. This protects the market from the impact of these subsidised products.
The US sugar refiner, Domino, continued to operate under extremely difficult market conditions which worsened as the year progressed. Losses were similar to the previous year, with cost savings offsetting the additional market squeeze and higher energy costs.
The surplus sugar supply arising from record domestic beet and cane production in the 1999/2000 campaign resulted in a fall of almost 30% in white sugar prices and 15% in raw sugar prices. Following forfeiture of excess stocks by domestic raw sugar producers to the US Government in October 2000, raw prices returned to close to normal levels but white prices remained depressed. For several months white sugar traded at the same price as raw sugar, placing a severe squeeze on Domino. Further pressure on margins arose from an increase in energy prices of more than 100%. Despite these pressures, Domino made considerable progress in recovering the market share which it had previously lost.
The capital investment at the Baltimore and Brooklyn refineries was completed, with Brooklyn now being supplied with partially processed sugar liquor by barge from Baltimore. Significant reductions in energy consumption and other operating costs were achieved. The strike at Brooklyn was settled on satisfactory terms during March 2001.
Western, the US beet sugar business, also incurred losses and the results deteriorated in line with the decline in white sugar prices. Efforts by the US Government to support the market had very limited impact on white sugar prices. Western participated in two schemes, effectively resulting in sales to the Government of surplus stocks at prices somewhat higher than market levels. There was a significant increase in sales to industrial customers, again recovering market share which had been previously lost. The recent campaign has been difficult, with adverse weather conditions affecting the quality of the crop. Factory costs increased due to the higher price of natural gas.
Occidente, our joint venture sugar business in Mexico, incurred a loss due to lower domestic prices, higher export tonnage at lower margins and the effect of a national strike. The new Mexican Government has started to take action to resolve some of the issues. The level of increased access to the US market under the NAFTA agreement remains to be resolved by the two governments.
Sweeteners and Starches – Europe
Profits before exceptional items and interest from continuing businesses fell by 33% from Pound 112 million to Pound 75 million, of which Pound 3 million was due to exchange rate movements.
Amylum
Amylum’s cereal sweetener and starch businesses had a difficult year in EU countries. High energy costs impacted the business directly, increasing by Pound 16 million, or almost 40%. These costs also contributed to increased expenditure on transport. The poor summer in Europe reduced beverage and ice cream consumption.
Volumes increased by 10%. Most of this increase was in Central Europe due to increased high fructose corn syrup capacity and demand. Raw material costs, particularly wheat, fell but the cost of ingredients increased.
On the positive side the strengthening European economy improved demand for industrial starches. Alcohol prices improved as demand increased. The pricing round in January 2001 saw selling price increases of around 10% for sweeteners and starches on most product lines.
The joint-venture businesses in the EU candidate countries of Central Europe had a good year. A drought in Central Europe last summer pushed up maize prices towards the end of the year.
The integration strategy aimed at delivering significant profit improvement was vigorously progressed. From April 2000 Amylum’s operations in five EU countries were reorganised as a single business, and many functions were transferred to a shared service centre during the year. Some initial extra costs were incurred as a result.
Orsan, the glutamate business based in France suffered from lower prices due to the availability of cheap imports, mainly from Asia. Some improvement in price occurred at the year end, as the supply situation tightened up. The glutamate businesses in China and Vietnam performed well.
Tate & Lyle Europe
The UK sugar refining business increased sales volumes and performed well, despite the continued weakness of the euro, which reduced operating profits by Pound 9 million, and difficult market conditions in both retail and industrial markets.
Marketing initiatives included the launch of an organic range of sugars and the convenient Shake and Pour packs. Operational costs reduced as a result of various initiatives, whilst the impact of high energy prices was mitigated by forward contracting before prices started increasing.
Capital investment concentrated on two main initiatives; the Pound 8 million move of the Millwall speciality syrups plant from the Isle of Dogs site in London to the Thames refinery site at nearby Silvertown, and the centralisation of all UK-based Tate & Lyle Europe support staff on one site. The latter initiative is part of the UK Business Improvement Project, one of the aims of which is to create a single management team for Tate & Lyle Europe.
The Portuguese cane refining profits were slightly lower due to higher energy costs and market pressures. Capital investment concentrated on product quality improvements and cost reduction. Work continues on the sale of surplus assets.
Sugar trading profits were slightly lower due to reduced throughput in Brazil following drought conditions and the decision to exit the Russian market. A specialist trading software package is planned as a further improvement in business processes.
Eastern Sugar
The Eastern Sugar Group, our beet sugar joint venture, had successful campaigns despite drought conditions in Hungary and Slovakia and increased energy costs. Although domestic volumes reduced and consequently export volumes increased, improved selling prices led to a profit performance well ahead of expectations.
Working towards EU accession in 2005, Hungary has prepared a draft sugar market regulation. A sugar regime is being developed in the Czech Republic, but needs further refinement to comply with EU regulations. In Slovakia, safeguard measures limiting sugar imports have been introduced.
In March 2001, Eastern Sugar announced the closure of the Zvoleneves factory north of Prague and the transfer of beets and production to its other factories in Bohemia and Moravia.
Sweeteners and Starches – Rest of the World
Profits before exceptional items and interest from continuing businesses were unchanged at Pound 9 million. Net profits from the discontinued businesses rose from Pound 3 million to Pound 5 million with profits from Zambia Sugar partially offset by losses from Bundaberg Sugar. Adverse exchange rate movements reduced profit by Pound 2 million.
Zimbabwe – ZSR Corporation
The year was characterised by extremely difficult trading conditions. Inflation was very high at over 50% for most of the financial year, and the economy was starved of foreign currency. Nevertheless profit increased in local currency, although it was impacted by adverse exchange rate movements on translation.
Sales of refined sugar at 210,000 tonnes fell by less than 10%. ZSR maintained its share of export markets in Botswana and Namibia. The export revenues were used to import essential raw material for the packaging division and fuel for the transport division.
Redstar Wholesalers expanded its branch network through an acquisition from 30 to 39 outlets.
Asian Sugar Businesses
Nghe An Tate & Lyle’s cane sugar business in Vietnam, in its third season, produced 76,000 tonnes of sugar, up from 33,000 tonnes. The mill has reached design capacity ahead of plan. The cane crop was successfully developed, and effort was also concentrated on developing the local market. Nghe An Tate & Lyle sugar is of high quality and enjoys preferred quality status. Prices have more than doubled from the lows of 2000 and the business was profitable before interest for the first time.
UFIC, in which the Group has a 20% shareholding, remained profitable after servicing its restructured debt. It remains the pre-eminent sugar producer in Thailand and amongst the best in south east Asia.
The Group purchased Swire’s minority holding in one of its investments in China. The other Chinese investment, controlled by Mitr Phol, performed well and expanded production.
The Group’s 15% share of the United Sugar Company, a refinery in Saudi Arabia, was diluted to 10%, following a share issue not taken up by the Group.
Animal Feed and Bulk Storage
Profits before exceptional items and interest from continuing businesses fell by 18% from Pound 17 million to Pound 14 million. Losses from discontinued businesses were Pound 5 million (2000 – Pound 6 million).
Molasses Trading
Molasses trading profits were affected by increased worldwide freight costs, which were compounded in Europe by animal disease outbreaks including BSE and swine fever. The foot and mouth outbreak in the UK is not expected to affect results adversely, as the impact is not being felt in the dairy sector which is the main market. SAP was implemented, and the business relocated to the Silvertown site in March 2001.
Other Businesses and Activities
The net losses in this segment, which now consists primarily of head office costs, rose by 15% from Pound 13 million to Pound 15 million before taking account of discontinued businesses, where profits fell from Pound 6 million to Pound 1 million.
Speciality Sweeteners
A major regulatory milestone was passed in September 2000 when the EU Scientific Committee on Food completed its safety evaluation of sucralose and recommended that it be added to the list of permitted sweeteners. The EU Commission is currently drafting the proposed legislation for approval by the EU Parliament and the Council of Ministers. A permit has been issued for the sale of sucralose tabletop products in Germany.
The UK Food Standards agency has accepted a petition seeking sucralose approval in the UK, in parallel with the EU process. This offers the possibility of gaining a national approval in the UK in advance of the amendment to the EU Sweeteners Directive being adopted.
Our supply of sucralose is produced by Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil Specialty Products Company, which is in the process of starting up its new Alabama manufacturing facility.
Tate & Lyle Reinsurance
The Group’s Bermuda captive reinsurance company experienced a difficult year as a result of continuing adverse underwriting conditions, increased claims from Group businesses and the effects of marking its investment portfolio to market. Nevertheless, the medium-term outlook is favourable given expected improvements in reinsurance market conditions. The company continues to write Group and third party reinsurance contracts within strictly controlled exposure limits.
Costs
Costs totalling Pound 3 million associated with the UK Business Improvement Project have been charged in the year. Cash payback is within the two-year target expected from the project.
Interest
The net Group interest charge was Pound 72 million (2000 – Pound 75 million). Average net debt for subsidiaries was Pound 41 million lower. The interest rate for the year when measured against average net debt was 7.6% (2000 – 7.0%).
Profit Before Tax
Loss before tax was Pound 228 million. Before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items, profit before tax was Pound 113 million, a reduction of Pound 96 million or 46% on the prior year. Exchange rate movements increased profit by Pound 5 million.
Taxation
The Group taxation charge was Pound 35 million. The underlying rate of tax, on profit before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items, was 28.3% (2000 – 26.7%). The increase was due to lower profits in low tax jurisdictions.
Dividend
A final dividend of 12.3p (18.2(cent)) will be recommended as an ordinary dividend to be paid on August 8, 2001 to shareholders on the register on July 13, 2001. An interim dividend of 5.5p was paid on 16 January 2001. Dividend cover is 0.9 times before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items.
Cash Flow and Debt
Operating cash flow totalled Pound 219 million ($324 million) (2000 – Pound 450 million). Pound 125 million (2000 – Pound 191 million) was paid to providers of finance as dividends and interest. Taxation paid was Pound 36 million (2000 – Pound 44 million).
Plant replacement, improvement and expansion expenditure of Pound 124 million was below depreciation of Pound 132 million. Investment expenditure was Pound 224 million of which Pound 212 million related to the cash element of the purchase of Amylum and Staley minorities. Disposals of fixed assets and investments generated cash of Pound 186 million. Focus on these issues was assisted by Economic Value Added (EVA) techniques. Exchange translation, and other non-cash movements, increased debt by Pound 54 million. The Group’s net borrowing rose from Pound 805 million to Pound 963 million.
The gearing ratio rose to 83% at 31 March 2001 (2000 – 64%). The average debt for the year was Pound 885 million (2000 – Pound 926 million). Net debt peaked at Pound 982 million in January 2001 (June 1999 during the 12 months ended March 2000 – Pound 1,016 million). Interest cover before exceptional items and goodwill amortisation decreased to 2.3 times (2000 – 3.6 times).
Funding
In March 2001, Tate & Lyle completed a Pound 280 million three year syndicated facility. The proceeds of this facility were used to refinance existing debt obligations. At March 2001 the long-term credit ratings from Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s were Baa2 and BBB+ respectively.
At the year-end the Group held cash and current asset investments of Pound 117 million (2000 – Pound 261 million) and had undrawn committed multicurrency facilities of Pound 569 million (2000 – Pound 378 million). These resources are maintained to meet the projected maximum cash outflow from debt repayment and seasonal working capital needs foreseen until the end of the next calendar year. Group policy is to ensure that, after subtracting the total of undrawn committed facilities, no more than 30% of gross debt matures within 12 months and at least 50% has a maturity of more than two and a half years. The maturity profile of the Group’s debt has lengthened so that at the year-end the results of these calculations were 0% (so that the debt maturing within 12 months is fully backed by undrawn committed facilities) and 64% respectively (2000 – 10% and 61%).
Euro borrowings were increased to match the increased exposure to euro assets following the purchase of the Amylum minority. The proceeds were converted into sterling and US dollars to reduce borrowings. The proportion of Group net debt denominated in US dollars and Canadian dollars fell from 69% on 25 March 2000 to 53% on 31 March 2001. Following the sale of Bundaberg the Group has no debt denominated in Australian dollars. Debt in euros rose from 13% to 32%.
Share Issue
24,083,913 new ordinary shares valued at Pound 69 million were issued as part consideration for the acquisition of the Amylum and Staley minorities in August 2000.
Disposals
The major disposal was Bundaberg, the Australian sugar and rum group, which was completed in July. Proceeds were Pound 160 million, Pound 6 million higher than assumed when the loss on sale was provided for in last year’s accounts. Disposals in the Animal Feed segment involved the Grains business and the Sweetlix blocks business in the US and Rumenco (animal feed), UMT (feed mill engineering) and ABS (dry storage) in Europe.
In the Other Segment, we sold our joint venture agribusinesses Fletcher Smith and Booker Tate, and a charcoal business. Total proceeds from disposals were Pound 180 million.
Pensions
The valuation of the UK pension fund at 31 March 2001 will be completed in late summer. The results are likely to indicate a need for the resumption of contributions to the fund at an annual rate of around Pound 10 million. This will impact cash flow but not profit.
Post balance sheet event
Zambia Sugar, in the Rest of the World segment, was sold for Pound 8 million in April 2001, after the year end.
In June 2001 a conditional agreement was entered into for the disposal of Western Sugar for Pound 68 million.
Simon Gifford
Group Finance Director
June 6, 2001
The Tate & Lyle Group, with headquarters in the UK, operates in over 50 countries. It produces and processes sugar from cane and beet, and processes cereals (predominantly maize and wheat) into sweeteners and starches and other products.
Tate & Lyle ordinary shares trade on the London Stock Exchange and may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbol Tate LN, on the Reuter Equities 2000 Service under TATE.L and on Quotron under TATEU.EU. In the US its ADRs trade on the NASD OTC Bulletin Board under TATYY (each ADR is equal to four ordinary shares).
TATE & LYLE
GROUP PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
Results for the 53 weeks to March 31, 2001
Audited for the 53 weeks to March 31, 2001
Total Dis-
Ongoing US sugar(1) continuing continued(2)
activities activities activities activities
Pound Pound Pound Pound
million million million million
Sales (Note 5)
Group subsidiaries 2,983 684 3,667 160
Share of joint ventures 291 — 291 4
Share of associates 24 — 24 —
—— —— —— ——
3,298 684 3,982 164
====== ====== ====== ======
Group operating profit
before goodwill
amortisation 176 (20) 156 —
Goodwill amortisation (5) — (5) —
—— —— —— ——
Group operating profit 171 (20) 151 —
Share of operating
profits of joint
ventures 25 — 25 1
Share of operating profits
of associates 3 — 3 —
—— —— —— ——
Total operating
profit: Group and
share of joint ventures
and associates
(Note 6) 199 (20) 179 1
Exceptional write
downs on planned
sales of businesses (3) (338) (341) (4)
Exceptional profit on sale
of businesses 6 — 6 3
Exceptional profit
on sale of fixed
assets — — — —
—— —— —— ——
(Loss)/profit
before interest
(Note 6) 202 (358) (156) —
Unaudited Audited
52 weeks 78 weeks
Total Total to 25 to 25
$ million(a) Pound March March
million 2000 2000
Pound Pound
million million
Sales (Note 5)
Group subsidiaries 5664 3,827 3,738 5,646
Share of joint ventures 437 295 323 491
Share of associates 35 24 29 46
—— —— —— ——
6136 4,146 4,090 6,183
====== ====== ====== ======
Group operating profit
before goodwill
amortisation 231 156 237 352
Goodwill amortisation (7) (5) — —
—— —— —— ——
Group operating profit 224 151 237 352
Share of operating profits
of joint
ventures 38 26 44 64
Share of operating profits
of associates 4 3 3 4
—— —— —— ——
Total operating
profit: Group and
share of joint
ventures and associates
(Note 6) 266 180 284 420
Exceptional write
downs on planned
sales of businesses (510) (345) (50) (50)
Exceptional profit on sale
of businesses 13 9 25 25
Exceptional profit
on sale of fixed
assets — — 7 12
—— —— —— ——
(Loss)/profit
before interest
(Note 6) (231) (156) 266 407
—— —— —— ——
Interest receivable
and similar income 47 32 27 37
Interest payable
and similar charges (146) (99) (92) (139)
Share of joint
ventures’ interest (6) (4) (7) (14)
Share of associates’
interest (1) (1) (3) (4)
——— ——— ———— ———–
(Loss)/profit
before taxation (337) (228) 191 287
Taxation (52) (35) (63) (89)
——— ——— ———— ———–
(Loss)/profit
after taxation (389) (263) 128 198
Minority interests (11) (7) (17) (14)
——— ——— ———— ———–
(Loss)/profit
for the period (400) (270) 111 184
Dividends paid
and proposed (127) (86) (99) (124)
——— ——— ———— ———–
Retained (loss)/profit (527) (356) 12 60
========= ========= ============ ===========
(Loss)/earnings
per share
– basic (84.7)(cent)(57.2)p 24.3p 40.3p
– diluted (84.5)(cent)(57.1)p 24.2p 40.2p
Before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items
Profit before taxation
(Pound million) 113 209 300
Diluted earnings per share (pence) 15.7 29.9 45.2
(1) It is planned to dispose of these businesses, which are therefore
shown separately. The write-down is based on estimated sale proceeds.
(2) `Discontinued’ only includes profits and losses of businesses sold
which constitute a significant part of their segment.
(a) US Dollar conversions are provided at the average exchange rate
for the period of $1.48 = Pound
TATE & LYLE
GROUP BALANCE SHEET
Summarised balance sheet as at March 31, 2001
March 31, 2001 March 31, 2001 March 25,
$ million Pound million 2000
Pound million
Fixed assets
Intangible assets 229 155 1
Tangible assets 2,145 1,449 1,678
Investments 300 203 175
2,674 1,807 1,854
Current assets
Stocks 736 497 479
Debtors 886 599 535
Investments and cash at
bank and in hand
(Note 3) 173 117 261
1,795 1,213 1,275
Creditors – due within
one year
Borrowings (Note 3) (630) (426) (434)
Other (730) (493) (530)
Net current assets 435 294 311
Total assets less
current liabilities 3,109 2,101 2,165
Creditors – due after
more than one year
Borrowings (Note 3) (968) (654) (632)
Other (4) (3) (12)
Provisions for
liabilities and charges (429) (290) (257)
Total net assets 1,708 1,154 1,264
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital 182 123 117
Share premium account and
other reserves 743 502 445
Profit and loss account 703 475 539
Shareholders’ funds 1,628 1,100 1,101
Minority interests 80 54 163
1,708 1,154 1,264
Year end exchange rates
US Dollar Pound 1 = $ 1.42 1.59
Euro Pound 1 = E 1.61 1.64
TATE & LYLE
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
For the 53 weeks to March 31, 2001
Audited Unaudited Audited
2001 2000 2000
53 weeks 52 weeks 78 weeks
to to to
31 March 25 March 25 March
Pound Pound Pound
million million million
Net cash inflow from
operating activities
(Note 2) 219 450 544
Dividends from joint
ventures and associates 9 12 15
Returns on investment and
servicing of finance
Interest paid (97) (84) (140)
Interest received 33 22 39
Dividends paid to
minority interests in
subsidiary undertakings (2) (6) (7)
———- ———- ———-
(66) (68) (108)
Taxation paid (36) (44) (80)
Capital expenditure and
financial investment
Purchase of tangible
fixed assets (124) (126) (179)
Sale of tangible
fixed assets 5 23 34
Purchase of fixed
asset investments (a) (2) (11) (11)
Sale of fixed asset
investments 1 2 2
———- ———- ———-
(120) (112) (154)
Acquisitions and
disposals
Purchase of businesses
and subsidiaries
(net of cash acquired) (217) (2) (19)
Sale of businesses (b) 165 9 9
Refinancing of existing
joint ventures (a) (5) (8) (16)
Sale of interests in
joint ventures
and associates 15 68 68
Capital repayments
by joint ventures – 1 34
———- ———- ———-
(42) 68 76
Equity dividends paid (68) (135)(c) (135)
———- ———- ———-
Net cash (outflow)/inflow
before financing and
management of liquid
resources (104) 171 158
========== ========== ==========
(a) In addition to Pound 16 million direct equity refinancing of joint
ventures,Pound 4 million increase in loans to joint ventures
represented refinancing in the 78 weeks to March 2000.
(b) In addition,Pound 8 million of borrowings were transferred out of
the Group as part of the disposal of subsidiaries in the 53 weeks
to 31 March 2001 (78 weeks to 25 March 2000- Pound 1 million of
deposits).
(c) Because the payment of the final dividend for the year ended
September 1998 was delayed by two months, saving advance
corporation tax, this figure includes an extra final dividend.
TATE & LYLE
COMBINED STATEMENT OF RECOGNISED GAINS AND
LOSSES AND RECONCILIATION OF MOVEMENTS
IN SHAREHOLDERS’ FUNDS
For the 53 weeks to March 31, 2001
Audited 2001 Unaudited 2000 Audited 2000
53 weeks to 52 weeks to 78 weeks to
March 31 March 25 March 25
Pound million Pound million Pound million
(Loss)/profit
for the period (270) 111 184
Currency difference
on foreign currency
net investments 100 (1) 41
Reversal of past
revaluation (7) – –
———– ———– ———–
Total recognised
(losses)/
gains for the period (177) 110 225
———– ———– ———–
Dividends (86) (99) (124)
Issue of shares 69 2 4
Adjustments to goodwill
arising on acquisitions
prior to
September 1998 – – (2)
Goodwill transferred to
profit and loss account 193 67 67
———– ———– ———–
Net (reduction)/increase
in shareholders’ funds (1) 80 170
Opening shareholders’ funds 1,101 1,021 931
———– ———– ———–
Closing shareholders’ funds 1,100 1,101 1,101
=========== =========== ===========
BASIS OF PREPARATION
This preliminary announcement is prepared using accounting
policies consistent with those set out in the Annual Report for the
period ended March 25, 2000.
TATE & LYLE
NOTES TO STATEMENTS
For the 53 weeks to March 31, 2001
Audited 2001 Unaudited 2000 Audited 2000
53 weeks to 52 weeks to 78 weeks to
March 31 March 25 March 25
1. Cash flow/net debt Pound Pound Pound
reconciliation million million million
Net cash (outflow)/inflow
before financing and
management of
liquid resources (104) 171 158
Raised on issue of
share capital – 2 4
Changes in debt not involving
cash flow:
– Assumed on acquisition
of subsidiaries (1) – –
– Reduction/(increase) on
disposal of subsidiaries 8 (1) (1)
– Exchange movements (59) 10 (9)
– Amortisation of bond discount (2) (1) (2)
(Increase)/reduction in net
borrowings (158) 181 150
Net borrowings at start
of period (805) (986) (955)
Net borrowings at end of period (963) (805) (805)
2. Analysis of net cash inflow
from operating activities
Operating profit 151 237 352
Depreciation of tangible
fixed assets 132 136 206
Amortisation of goodwill 5 – –
Change in working capital (69) 79 (13)
Provisions against fixed
asset investments – (2) (1)
Net cash inflow from
operating activities 219 450 544
31 March 2001 25 March 2000
3. Analysis of net debt Pound million Pound million
Investments and cash at bank and in hand 117 261
Borrowings due within one year (426) (434)
Borrowings due after more than one year (654) (632)
(963) (805)
4. Average exchange rates
– US Dollar 1.48 1.61 1.63
– Euro 1.63 1.56 n/a
– Belgian Franc 65.8 62.9 61.3
TATE & LYLE
NOTES TO STATEMENTS (continued)
For the 53 weeks to March 31, 2001
5. Analysis of sales
Ongoing US sugar(1) Total
activities activities continuing
53 weeks to March 31, 2001 Pound Pound Pound
million million million
Sweeteners and starches
– Americas 1,201 684 1,885
– Europe 1,186 – 1,186
– Rest of the world 507 – 507
2,894 684 3,578
Animal feed & bulk storage 320 – 320
Other businesses and activities 84 – 84
3,298 684 3,982
Discontinued Total
Pound million Pound million
Sweeteners and starches
– Americas – 1,885
– Europe – 1,186
– Rest of the world 73 580
73 3,651
Animal feed & bulk storage 86 406
Other businesses and activities 5 89
164 4,146
52 weeks to March 25, 2000 Ongoing US sugar(1) Total
(unaudited) activities activities continuing
Pound Pound Pound
million million million
Sweeteners and starches
– Americas 1,124 578 1,702
– Europe 1,167 – 1,167
– Rest of the world 353 – 353
2,644 578 3,222
Animal feed & bulk storage 274 – 274
Other businesses and activities 84 – 84
3,002 578 3,580
Discontinued Total
Pound million Pound million
Sweeteners and starches
– Americas – 1,702
– Europe – 1,167
– Rest of the world 167 520
167 3,389
Animal feed & bulk storage 321 595
Other businesses and activities 22 106
510 4,090
78 weeks to March 25, 2000 Ongoing US sugar(1) Total
activities activities continuing
Pound Pound Pound
million million million
Sweeteners and starches
– Americas 1,681 902 2,583
– Europe 1,782 – 1,782
– Rest of the world 494 – 494
3,957 902 4,859
Animal feed & bulk storage 422 – 422
Other businesses and activities 118 – 118
4,497 902 5,399
Discontinued Total
Pound million Pound million
Sweeteners and starches
– Americas – 2,583
– Europe – 1,782
– Rest of the world 248 742
248 5,107
Animal feed & bulk storage 505 927
Other businesses and activities 31 149
784 6,183
(1) It is planned to dispose of these businesses, which are
therefore shown separately.
Included in the analysis of total sales are the following amounts
relating to associates and joint ventures:
Unaudited
2001 2000 2000
53 weeks to 52 weeks to 78 weeks to
March 31 March 25 March 25
Pound Pound Pound
million million million
Sweeteners and starches
– Americas 158 159 249
– Europe 119 104 148
– Rest of the world 33 31 47
310 294 444
Animal feed & bulk storage 4 33 56
Other businesses and activities 5 25 37
319 352 537
‘Discontinued’ only includes sales of businesses sold which
constitute a significant part of their segment, as required by UK
accounting standards. Sales from other businesses sold are included in
‘Ongoing activities’ as follows:
Sweeteners and starches
– Americas – 31 49
– Europe – 4 6
– Other businesses – – –
– 35 55
Animal feed & bulk storage – 15 27
Other businesses and activities 10 20 33
10 70 115
TATE & LYLE PLC
NOTES TO STATEMENTS (continued)
For the 53 weeks to March 31, 2001
6. Analysis of profit before interest
Total
Ongoing US sugar(c) Continuing
activities activities activities
53 weeks to March 31, Pound million Pound million Pound million
2001
Sweeteners & starches
-Americas 116(a) (20) 96(a)
-Europe 75(b) – 75(b)
-Rest of the world 9 – 9
200 (20) 180
Animal feed & bulk
storage 14 – 14
Other businesses and
activities (15) – (15)
199 (20) 179
Before Excep- After
Discontinued exceptional tional Exceptional
activities items items items
Pound million Pound million Pound million Pound million
Sweeteners
& starches
-Americas – 96(a) (338) (242)(a)
-Europe – 75(b) (2) 73(b)
-Rest of
the world 5 14 3 17
5 185 (337) (152)
Animal feed
& bulk
storage (5) 9 (5) 4
Other businesses
and
activities 1 (14) 6 (8)
1 180 (336) (156)
(a) These profit figures include Pound 2 million of goodwill
amortisation.
(b) These profit figures include Pound 3 million of goodwill
amortisation.
Total
Ongoing US sugar(c) Continuing
52 weeks to March 25, activities activities activities
2000 (unaudited) Pound million Pound million Pound million
Sweeteners and starches
– Americas 171 (15) 156
– Europe 112 – 112
– Rest of the world 9 – 9
292 (15) 277
Animal feed & bulk
storage
17 – 17
Other businesses & activities
(13) – (13)
296 (15) 281
Before Excep- After
Discontinued exceptional tional Exceptional
activities items items items
Pound million Pound million Pound million Pound million
Sweeteners
and starches
– Americas – 156 14 170
– Europe – 112 9 121
– Rest
of
the
world 3 12 (13) (1)
3 280 10 290
Animal feed
& bulk storage
(6) 11 (28) (17)
Other businesses
& activities
6 (7) – (7)
3 284 (18) 266
No goodwill amortisation was charged in the year ended March 2000.
Total
Ongoing US sugar(c) Continuing
78 weeks to March 25, activities activities activities
2000 Pound million Pound million Pound million
Sweeteners and starches
– Americas 230 (5) 225
– Europe 157 – 157
– Rest of the world 3 – 3
390 (5) 385
Animal feed & bulk storage
21 – 21
Other businesses and activities
(12) – (12)
399 (5) 394
Before Excep- After
Discontinued exceptional tional Exceptional
activities items items items
Pound million Pound million Pound million Pound million
Sweeteners
and starches
– Americas – 225 19 244
– Europe – 157 9 166
– Rest of
the world 13 16 (13) 3
13 398 15 413
Animal feed
& bulk
storage
4 25 (28) (3)
Other
businesses and
activities
9 (3) – (3)
26 420 (13) 407
(c) It is planned to dispose of these businesses, which are therefore
shown separately.
`Discontinued’ only includes profits and losses of businesses sold
which constitute a significant part of their segment, as required by
UK accounting standards. Profits and losses from other businesses sold
are included in `Ongoing activities’ as follows:
2001 Unaudited 2000 2000
53 weeks to March 31 52 weeks to March 25 78 weeks to March 25
Pound million Pound million Pound million
Sweeteners
and starches
– Americas – 5 7
– Europe – – –
– Rest of
the world – – –
– 5 7
Animal feed
& bulk storage – 2 4
Other businesses
& activities 2 2 3
2 9 14
TATE & LYLE
NOTES TO STATEMENTS (continued)
For the 53 weeks to March 31, 2001
7. Net margin analysis
2001 Unaudited 2000
53 weeks to March 31 52 weeks to March 25 78 weeks
Ongoing All Ongoing All to March
activities activities activities activities 25
% % % % %
Before goodwill
amortisation and
exceptional items
Sweeteners and
starches
– Americas 9.8 5.2 15.2 9.2 8.7
– Europe 6.6 6.6 9.6 9.6 8.8
– Rest of the
world 1.8 2.4 2.5 2.3 2.2
Sweeteners and
starches average 7.1 5.2 11.0 8.3 7.8
Animal feed &
bulk storage 4.4 2.2 6.2 1.8 2.7
Group 6.2 4.5 9.9 6.9 6.8
After goodwill
amortisation and
exceptional items
Sweeteners and starches
– Americas (12.8) 10.0 9.4
– Europe 6.2 10.4 9.3
– Rest of the world 2.9 (0.2) 0.4
Sweeteners and starches average (4.2) 8.6 8.1
Animal feed & bulk storage 1.0 (2.9) (0.3)
Group (3.8) 6.5 6.6
TATE & LYLE
NOTES TO STATEMENTS (continued)
For the 53 weeks to March 31, 2001
8. Ratio analysis
Unaudited
2001 2000 2000
53 wks to 52 wks to 78 wks to
March 31 March 25 March 25
Gearing
Gearing = net borrowings 963 805
————— — —
Total net assets 1,154 1,264
= 83% = 64%
Interest Cover – Tate & Lyle PLC and its subsidiaries
= Operating profit before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items
——————————————————————-
Net interest payable
156 237 = 352
— — —
67 65 102
= 2.3 times = 3.6 times = 3.5 times
Dividend Cover before goodwill amortisation and
exceptional items
= EPS (basic)
———-
Total ordinary dividend/share
15.7 30.0 45.3
—- —- —-
17.8 21.4 26.9
= 0.9 times = 1.4 times = 1.7 times
Return on Net Operating Assets
= Profit before interest, tax and exceptional items
————————————————-
Average net operating assets*
180 284 420
— — —
2,090 2,123 2,061
= 8.6% = 13.4% = 13.6%
Net operating assets are calculated as:
Total net assets 1,154 1,264 1,264
Add back: Net borrowings 963 805 805
Deduct unallocated assets – dividends
& tax (3) (4) (4)
Net operating assets 2,114 2,065 2,065
Average net operating assets 2,090 2,123 2,061
TATE & LYLE
NOTES TO STATEMENTS (continued)
For the 53 weeks to March 31, 2001
9. Earnings per share
Shares in issue
Opening 457,594,347
Closing (excludes 686,993 shares held in an ESOP trust) 480,999,263
————
a) Average (weighted by days in issue) 472,105,697
============
Pound million
Earnings
Loss after tax (263)
Minority interests (7)
————
b) Losses attributable to ordinary shareholders (270)
============
BASIC LOSSES PER SHARE is b/a or 57.2 pence/share
Dilutive options and convertible preference shares
outstanding at March 31, 2001
SAYE scheme 2,175,410
Less notional shares repurchased (1,630,217)
———–
545,193
Add average shares in issue 472,105,697
———–
c) Adjusted number of shares 472,650,890
===========
No adjustments are needed to basic earnings for the purpose of
calculating diluted earnings per share
DILUTED LOSSES PER SHARE is b/c or 57.1 pence/share
TATE & LYLE
NOTES TO STATEMENTS (continued)
For the 53 weeks to March 31, 2001
10. Earnings per share before goodwill amortisation and
exceptional items
Shares in issue
Opening 457,594,347
Closing (excludes 686,993 shares held in an ESOP trust) 480,999,263
———–
a) Average (weighted by days in issue) 472,105,697
===========
Pound million
Earnings before goodwill amortisation and
exceptional items
Goodwill amortisation 5
Exceptional costs 336
Tax on exceptional costs 3
———-
Exceptional costs net of tax and minorities 344
Basic Earnings after goodwill amortisation and exceptional
items (270)
———-
b) Basic Earnings before goodwill amortisation and
exceptional items 74
==========
BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE is b/a or 15.7 pence/share
Dilutive options and convertible preference shares outstanding
at March 31, 2001
SAYE scheme 2,175,410
Less notional shares repurchased (1,630,217)
———–
545,193
Add average shares in issue 472,105,697
———–
c) Adjusted number of shares 472,650,890
===========
No adjustments are needed to basic earnings for the purpose of
calculating diluted earnings per share
DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE BEFORE GOODWILL AMORTISATION AND
EXCEPTIONAL ITEMS is b/c or 15.7 pence/share
