Bunzl plc Another good set of results with adjusted earnings per share up 12%

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Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL), the specialist international distribution and services Group, today published its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2018.

Financial results	2018	2017	Growth as reported	Growth at constant exchange
Revenue	£9,079.4m	£8,580.9m	6%	9%
Adjusted operating profit*	£614.0m	£589.3m	4%	7%
Adjusted profit before income tax*	£559.0m	£542.6m	3%	6%
Adjusted earnings per share*	129.6p	119.4p	9%	12%
Dividend for the year	50.2p	46.0p	9%

Statutory results
Operating profit	£466.2m	£456.0m	2%
Profit before income tax	£424.8m	£409.3m	4%
Basic earnings per share	98.4p	94.2p	4%

Bunzl plc, the specialist international distribution and services Group, today publishes its annHighlights include:

· Good increases in revenue, adjusted operating profit* and adjusted profit before income tax*

· Adjusted earnings per share* increased by 12% at constant exchange rates to 129.6p

· Strong organic revenue growth of 4.3% with all business areas contributing growth of 4% or more

· Group operating margin* of 6.8%, down 10 basis points principally due to decreases in North America and UK & Ireland, partly offset by increases in Continental Europe and Rest of the World

· Committed acquisition spend of £183 million, following a record year in 2017 (committed spend of £616 million), and the acquisition of Liberty Glove & Safety announced today

· Return on average operating capital of 50.7% with return on invested capital of 15.0%

· Continued strong cash conversion* of 94%

· 26 year track record of dividend growth continues with a 9% increase in the dividend for the year

* Alternative performance measure (see Note 1)

Commenting on today’s results, Frank van Zanten, Chief Executive of Bunzl, said:

“Bunzl has once again delivered another good set of results with adjusted earnings per share up 12% at constant exchange rates. The strength, resilience and reliability of our consistent business model and strategy, together with the compounding effect of our ability to reinvest our strong cash flow to take advantage of market consolidation opportunities, have enabled Bunzl to produce a strong long term performance.

Looking forward, despite mixed macroeconomic conditions, with an active pipeline of acquisition opportunities we believe that the prospects of the Group are positive due to its strong market position and well established and successful strategy to grow the business both organically and by acquisition.”

Business area highlights:al results for the year ended 31 December 2018.

	Revenue (£m)		Growth at constant	Adjusted operating profit* (£m)		Growth at constant	Operating margin*
	2018	2017	exchange	2018	2017	exchange	2018	2017
North America	5,277.8	5,061.1	8%	317.1	318.3	3%	6.0%	6.3%
Continental Europe	1,797.5	1,610.4	12%	176.8	151.1	18%	9.8%	9.4%
UK & Ireland	1,263.6	1,190.8	6%	86.8	88.5	(2)%	6.9%	7.4%
Rest of the World	740.5	718.6	12%	56.4	53.9	15%	7.6%	7.5%

North America (58% of revenue and 50% of adjusted operating profit†)

· Revenue increase driven by strong organic growth and impact of acquisitions

· Reduction in margin from significant business previously won in grocery and operating cost pressures

· More focused and streamlined organisation structure implemented in grocery and redistribution

· DDS successfully integrated with synergies achieved

· Strong growth in safety from improving market conditions, boosted by acquisition of Revco

· Growth in agriculture supported by acquisition of Monte Package Company

Continental Europe (20% of revenue and 28% of adjusted operating profit†)

· Substantial increases in revenue and profit with operating margin up

· Significant growth in France due to integration of Hedis and strong performances in safety and foodservice, partly offset by weaker performance in cleaning & hygiene and disposal of OPM

· Good performance in the Netherlands from new customer wins and acquisition of QS

· Expansion in Scandinavia with entry into Norway through acquisition of Enor and purchase of CM Supply in Denmark

· Strong performances in Spain and Turkey with increased levels of profitability

UK & Ireland (14% of revenue and 13% of adjusted operating profit†)

· Strong revenue growth but operating margin impacted by challenging market conditions

· Trading in safety affected by difficult market but good performance in cleaning & hygiene

· Strong revenue growth in grocery and retail across all businesses, partly offset by sale of non-core marketing services business

· Growth in hospitality from existing customers and the acquisition of Aggora

· Growth in healthcare despite changing market in NHS acute sector

· Strong growth in Ireland

Rest of the World (8% of revenue and 9% of adjusted operating profit†)

· Strong overall sales and profit growth with operating margin up