Alliance Boots Preliminary Results
17 May 2010
Preliminary results announcement for the year ended 31 March 2010
“A strong performance delivering double digit growth in trading profit”
Highlights:
Group
- Revenue, including share of associates and joint ventures, up 9.6% to £22.5 billion
- EBITDA, including share of associates and joint ventures, up 9.2% to £1,360 million
- Trading profit, including share of associates and joint ventures, up 12.7% to £1,074 million
- Underlying profit (after tax) more than doubled to £602 million
- Cash generated from operations £1,130 million
- Net borrowings reduced by £645 million
Health & Beauty Division
- Revenue up 5.2% – up 4.5% in constant currency
- Trading profit up 8.5%
- Boots UK
- Like for like retail revenue up 3.0%
- ‘your local Boots pharmacy’ roll-out completed
- No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum launched
- Boots Opticians merged with Dollond & Aitchison
Pharmaceutical Wholesale Division
- Revenue up 10.3% – up 5.6% in constant currency
- Trading profit up 17.2%
- Trading profit up 4.4%
- Business improvement programme largely completed
- Further selective deals with manufacturers
Stefano Pessina, Executive Chairman, commented:
“Since taking the company private, this is our third consecutive year of double digit trading profit growth. Having invested more than £1 billion over the period, we are confident that we are building a platform for sustained long term growth.
“Our strong financial position will enable us to continue to grow both organically and through acquisitions. We are increasingly establishing strategic partnerships with other leading businesses to accelerate our development, both in the UK and other markets.”
Commenting on the results, Andy Hornby, Group Chief Executive, said:
“Alliance Boots performed strongly in 2009/10, delivering a double digit trading profit growth, combined with a robust cash flow. This is a particularly good performance, given the challenging economic conditions we faced throughout the year.
“Although we are planning for consumer demand across Europe to remain subdued, we are confident about our prospects for the year ahead.”
Reconciliations of trading profit to profit from operations before associates and joint ventures, and underlying profit to profit for the year, are set out in the financial review section of this announcement.
A glossary of key terms is provided at the end of this announcement.
The Group’s 2009/10 Annual Review, together with the Consolidated Financial Statements, will be published on our website (www.allianceboots.com) on 20 May 2010. In addition, the Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2009/10 will be published on our website at the end of September 2010.
For further information, please contact:
Alliance Boots
Yves Romestan/Zoe Farthing
Tel: +44 (0) 1932 871569
Finsbury
James Murgatroyd/Kirsty Flockhart
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7251 3801
ALLIANCE BOOTS PRELIM RESULTS 2009/10 as a PDF -(120 KB) 
ALLIANCE BOOTS PRELIM RESULTS 2009/10 as a Word document -(655 KB)