We are a financially focused business.We monitor and challenge financial performance at all levels to probe the health and progress of our businesses and promote accountability. As well as profitability we use a range of financial measures at Group level. Collectively they form an integral part of building value for our shareholders on a consistent basis over the long term.
We particularly focus on 6 KPIs:
| KPIs |
Aim |
Progress |
| |
|
y/e 2006 |
y/e 2005 |
| Operating margins |
Maintain and strengthen margins |
12.9% |
12.8% |
| Free cash flow |
Maintain strong free cash flow |
£154m |
£127m |
| Capital expenditure |
Keep capital expenditure at or below 4% of revenue |
3.6% |
3.7% |
| Return on capital employed (ROCE) |
Achieve steadily increasing ROCE which exceeds our cost of capital |
18.5% |
17.1% |
| Gearing - interest cover |
Maintain a conservative and efficient capital structure, with a relatively low level of gearing |
9x |
13x |
| Economic profit |
Achieve steadily increasing economic profit |
£89m |
£68m |