RNS Number:4828T
Forth Ports PLC
25 March 2002
25th March, 2002
RECORD RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER, 2001
Forth Ports today announces record results for the year ended 31st December
2001. The Group owns and operates seven major commercial ports in the UK. In
addition, Forth has significant property interests which it continues to
develop as part of its commitment to focus on improving shareholder returns.
Financial Highlights
* Turnover at £133.8m, an increase of 10% (2000: £121.8m restated)
* Underlying port operating profits up over 10% to £32.6m (2000: £29.6m)
* Profits from property up over 12% to £13.3m (2000: £11.8m)
* Underlying profit before tax up 8% to £39.1m (2000: £36.1m)
* Underlying earnings per share up over 15% to 61.4p (2000 - 53.1p restated)
* Final dividend of 20p brings total for the year to 30p (2000: 27p), up 11%
Operational Highlights
* Underlying port operating profits increased by over 10%
* Freight facilities grant for new Superfast Rosyth - Zeebrugge ferry link
* Ongoing masterplanning of major developments at Leith and Granton - since
the year end, outline planning received for Western Harbour
Christopher Collins, Chairman, said:
"2001 was another record year. Highlights were the strong performance of the
Scottish Ports, the award of a freight facilities grant for the new Superfast
Rosyth - Zeebrugge ferry link, the opening of the Ocean Terminal Shopping
Centre and the ongoing masterplanning of our major developments at Leith and
Granton. We remain confident that 2002 will be another successful year."
Enquiries:
Charles Hammond, Chief Executive Forth Ports PLC Tel: 0207 404 5959
Wilson Murray, Finance Director on 25.3.02
Thereafter 0131 555 8700
Jon Coles/Katharine Sharkey Brunswick Tel: 0207 404 5959
FORTH PORTS PLC
PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2001
Chairman's Statement
2001 was another record year. Turnover increased by 10% to reach £133.8m.
Profit before tax amounted to £39.1m up 8% over the previous record of £36.1m
(pre-exceptional). Underlying earnings per share increased by 15% to reach
61.4p per share (2000 - 53.1p restated). With an increase of over 10% in
underlying Group port operating profits and 12% in property profits, the Group
continued to benefit from its wide spread of business in increasingly more
difficult trading conditions.
The highlights of the year were the strong performance of the Scottish Ports,
the award of a freight facilities grant for the new Superfast Rosyth -
Zeebrugge ferry link, the opening of the Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre and the
ongoing masterplanning of our major developments at Leith and Granton.
The strong performance within the Scottish Ports Division was led by the Port
of Grangemouth which increased its total annual tonnage by 9% to nearly 9.6
million tonnes. Both piped and dry cargo saw good increases which produced an
excellent financial result. In addition, Leith improved its tonnages by 31%
after a relatively poor year in 2000.
We recently announced that we had sold our small container shipping company,
Forthline, to the Simon Group as this was not one of our core activities.
After many years in the planning and with a tight construction timetable, the
Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre opened on time on 4th October 2001. This
magnificent building will contribute significantly to the shopping and leisure
facilities within the City of Edinburgh.
Our outline planning application for Western Harbour Leith was approved by the
Planning Committee on 6th February 2002. We intend to build on this recent
success and are continuing to work with the planners to achieve a substantial
transformation of Edinburgh's Waterfront. We are seeking to strengthen our team
by bringing in a 10% equity and management partner in to our property business.
This move will increase our management resources and provide third party
confirmation of the substantial value of our property assets.
Forth Ports continues to look at acquisition opportunities and during the year
we reached the final stages of the tender process for the Ports Corporation of
South Australia. Our bid was unsuccessful; however, the exercise strengthened
our commercial relationships with South Australia and wine shipments are now
increasing through the Port of Tilbury.
In November 2001, 300,000 shares were bought back by the Company at a cost of
just over £2m. We are seeking a renewed authority to buy back further shares at
our Annual General Meeting. This authority will only be acted upon if the share
buyback is earnings enhancing.
The Directors propose a final dividend of 20p per share giving a total dividend
for the year of 30p per share (2000 - 27p) an overall increase of 11%. The
final dividend, if approved by the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting,
will be paid on 17th May 2002 to all shareholders on the register at 19th April
2002.
We are extremely grateful to all who work for Forth Ports for their efforts and
contributions over the last year.
Having reached the age of 70, Hugh Thompson retires from the Board at the
Annual General Meeting in May. He has made an enormous contribution to Forth
Ports over many years. We wish him well for the future.
While trading conditions have been more difficult in the port business over the
last few months compared with a strong opening performance last year, we remain
confident that 2002 will be another successful year.
Christopher Collins
CHAIRMAN
FORTH PORTS PLC
PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2001
Chief Executive's Statement
Review of Business Activities
Port operating profits increased by over 10% to reach an underlying £32.6m on a
total tonnage up just over 1% at 50.1 million tonnes, continuing our aim of
growing our revenues and profit at a greater rate than our growth in tonnage.
Whereas the piped cargo tonnages were steady year on year at 38.5 million
tonnes, the dry cargo tonnages increased by a healthy 6.5% to reach 11.6
million tonnes. Performance within the Scottish ports was very strong,
particularly at Grangemouth and also at Leith. Tilbury encountered more
difficult trading conditions, but still produced a steady performance.
Our strategy for growing our ports business is straightforward: we identify
growth opportunities within all of our ports and then achieve these through
carefully targeted investments which enhance shareholder value. Our marketing
activities involve understanding the role which our ports play in the overall
supply chain for any particular commodity. This allows us to offer proposals to
our customers which eliminate duplicated or wasted costs and at the same time
enhance opportunities for earning value added revenue. At the same time,
through our process of asset management, we continuously review our cost base
and operating margins to ensure that our assets are producing an acceptable
level of return.
Grangemouth
The tonnage through the port increased by over 9% to reach nearly 9.6 million
tonnes compared with 8.8 million tonnes in 2000. Just over 500,000 tonnes of
this increase related to piped cargo and 250,000 tonnes related to dry cargo.
For the fourth year in succession, containers have increased, with a 13%
increase in throughput being achieved in 2001 to reach just under 90,000 boxes
for the year. As a result of the increasing container traffic, a third
container crane was purchased and became operational in August last year. This
will enable us to meet the needs of our container customers for the next few
years. Our container business has benefited from a growing move to feeder boxes
to deep sea European ports. As the cost of haulage increases and with ongoing
difficulties with rail transport, a trend is developing for deep sea container
lines to move their boxes from Central Scotland through Grangemouth to the
Continent; in this way Grangemouth is being used as a gateway to the world.
Since the beginning of the year, the port has seen two additional container
services start up, one to the Baltic and one from Ireland.
Other notable cargo increases included forest products which increased by 9% to
reach over 264,000 tonnes and iron and steel traffic which increased by 43% to
reach over 123,000 tonnes. Grangemouth did, however, see the loss of one
customer whose business closed down during the year with a resultant loss of
traffic of approximately 50,000 tonnes per annum of dry bulk cargo.
Looking ahead, we remain confident that this should be another record year for
containers at Grangemouth and the port will also benefit from a full year of
the new long-term agreement with BP covering their piped cargo throughputs.
Longer term, with its location in the centre of Scotland, we plan to develop
Grangemouth as a leading distribution hub.
Rosyth
Tonnages again increased at Rosyth with a 48% increase in 2001 over 2000.
Timber and dry bulk continued to improve significantly with the former being
enhanced by our construction of a new timber treatment plant within the port.
This facility has been leased to a customer and we have already seen an
increase in timber imports into the port directly as a result of this value
added investment.
The most important event in Rosyth occurred at the end of last year when it was
announced that Rosyth had been awarded a freight facilities grant of £10.9m
towards the construction of a new ferry terminal facility at the port. The
facilities to be constructed include a new terminal building (which is
scheduled to open in August 2002) and a new double tier linkspan facility
designed for fast access to and from the ferry. In addition, various
infrastructure works are being carried out to enable the facility to be open
for use towards the end of May. The service to Zeebrugge will have one ferry
travelling in each direction on a daily basis and will be run by Attica
Superfast, a well known ferry operator. There has been a high level of interest
from the Scottish public and from the freight industry with over 40,000
bookings received through the website. We are also in discussions with a number
of exporters and trailer operators who wish to take advantage of the new
service. We view this as very positive and are already receiving enquiries from
potential customers who are looking for distribution sites within the port to
utilise this service.
Leith
As expected, the tonnage increased significantly in 2001 with a 31% increase in
throughput to 1.7 million tonnes. Steel pipe traffic for British Pipe Coaters
("BPCL") increased from a low of 94,000 tonnes in 2000 to reach 493,000 tonnes
last year. Tonnages for load out contracts for 2002 have been enhanced by the
coastal shipment of steel pipes from Hartlepool. BPCL's projected order book
for 2003 looks encouraging at this early stage.
The cement export facility at Leith has benefited from the reopening of a rail
spur to the quayside, enabling a significant reduction in related road traffic.
Total cement tonnages remained at around 350,000 tonnes.
For the second year in succession the throughput of piped cargo at Leith
increased with a further 8% being achieved in the year 2001 to reach 285,000
tonnes.
We have identified demand for industrial and distribution related warehousing
facilities within Edinburgh which the port is well placed to satisfy. The first
building covering 2,365 sq.m. will be constructed in 2002. This activity will
start to generate incremental income for the port as well as enhancing the
range of facilities offered.
Dundee
Overall, the tonnages at Dundee increased marginally over last year. Whilst the
piped cargo tonnage increased by nearly 21% to reach 493,000 tonnes, dry cargo
reduced by 47,000 tonnes. More encouragingly the North Sea oil related tonnages
increased with turnover from this activity up by nearly 40%. A number of calls
could not be accommodated due to lack of quayside availability. In addition,
other non-tonnage related income such as cruise and naval calls was also well
up on last year. During the year, the Group concluded a new long-term contract
with one of Dundee's major customers, Norske Skog, the paper producer and
manufacturer.
Looking towards 2002, the Board has recently given approval to extend the
Prince Charles Wharf at Dundee to improve significantly the port's capacity and
facilities for North Sea oil related activities. With back up land of 3 Ha,
this facility should be operational by the end of the year and should
substantially enhance Dundee's capabilities as an oil support facility for the
subsea, logistics and decommissioning sectors.
Overall, the growth prospects within the Scottish ports are encouraging. We
intend to take full advantage of the favourable conditions to increase
short-sea feedering and coastal shipping activity to and from East Coast ports.
This, we believe, will allow us to link traffic flows between Grangemouth and
Tilbury and we are working with several interested parties with this in mind.
Tilbury
Last year proved to be quite challenging at Tilbury. The tonnage at Tilbury
increased by just over 1% to reach 7.4 million tonnes. The overall financial
performance was steady in spite of the increased pension cost of nearly £0.8m
in respect of the Tilbury Pension Scheme.
Once again, the port benefited from the breadth of commodities which it
handles. Bulk cargoes, including scrap, cement and coal increased by nearly 30%
to reach 1.8 million tonnes which contrasted with a 22% reduction in throughput
at the Grain Terminal where there was a 40% reduction in the export of grain
and only a 6% increase in grain imports. The low export tonnages were expected
given the very poor weather conditions during the early part of the planting
season. In contrast, the outlook for the coming harvest year is extremely
positive with a projected exportable surplus at six times the level of the
previous year.
There was a 20% increase in general cargo at Tilbury and in particular, the
ro-ro services to the Middle East and West Africa were very busy.
Disappointingly, the forest products tonnages (including paper) were down by 8%
at 2 million tonnes, however, the overall strength of our paper customers and
our increased focus on marketing Tilbury for paper products should help these
tonnages improve in the medium term.
Unlike the deep sea container ports around the South of England, our Intermodal
Division, which specialises in short-sea container shipping remained steady
with a throughput of 114,000 boxes. Revenue from this activity improved due to
ancillary activities.
At the end of last year, we entered into an agreement with Victa Rail on one of
our intermodal rail sites. Victa Rail offer a wider range of rail services and
have already helped to generate an interest in rail linked warehousing. They
have replaced Freightliner who now operate from their original terminal at
Tilbury.
Our first tenant for the Fortress Distribution Park, Westerlund, took
occupation as expected in September 2001. There has been a lot of interest in
the Distribution Park, particularly in relation to our ability to provide new
warehouses with rail connected facilities.
As was reported at the time of the Interim Results, we have let out the former
Chill Store at Tilbury to London City Bond ("LCB") and I am pleased to report
that this new facility has attracted one of the major South Australian wine
companies to the facility which should help to increase the throughputs through
Tilbury Container Services ("TCS"), our associate company.
The new TCS berth came on stream towards the end of last year. However, there
was a reduction of 4% in throughput which, given the overall downturn in the
deep sea market, was a reasonable result.
As part of our commitment to reviewing costs and margins, we have decided to
outsource plant engineering at Tilbury which will improve service levels at
lower costs.
Overall our strategy of facilitating Tilbury's emergence as a modern
distribution centre is progressing well, with new lettings of distribution
facilities, the creation of a haulage park and a new rail operator. All of
these will enhance revenue through the port.
There is likely to be a record grain harvest this year, which will result in a
significant surplus to be exported, and with the benefit of the additional
rental income from the Fortress Distribution Park and from LCB, the outlook for
Tilbury in 2002 should improve towards the second half of the year.
Marine Terminals
The throughput of crude oil at Hound Point was down by 0.8 million tonnes at
26.4 million tonnes at the end of 2001. At Braefoot Bay, the overall tonnage
was up slightly at nearly 3.6 million tonnes.
Forthline
On 15th February 2002 we announced the disposal of our short-sea shipping line,
Forthline, to Seawheel, an existing customer of the Group at Tilbury and a part
of the Simon Group. Although the performance of this business had improved in
2001, we did not see European door-to-door shipping and transport as part of
our core business. Seawheel have entered into a ten-year stevedoring commitment
at the Port of Grangemouth and have the resources to increase Scottish business
through the port.
Property
Our major joint venture development on the Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre was
opened on time on 4th October 2001. The total let floor area has now risen to
over 80% with GAP, Arcadia and HMV being the latest tenants to enter into
leases. The footfall through the shopping centre is very positive and is in
line with our expectations. In the last annual report, I stated that the Board
would consider, with our partner, Bank of Scotland, whether to retain or sell
this development. Both parties have come to the view that the best course of
action is to retain the development for the time being to maximise its growth
in value.
During the year we sold two sites for housing, one to a local Leith developer
on land at Western Harbour, and the other to Cala Homes around our Head Office
building at Leith. In addition, options were taken on two other sites within
Leith by Cala. At Dundee, the hotel site adjacent the Port Office was sold.
Our three housing joint ventures with Morrison Homes (part of the AWG Group)
have progressed well. At Queen's Quay in Leith, over 70% of the available flats
have been sold prior to the show house being opened; at Newhaven, the first
phase has been sold out, and at Dundee the development has got off to such a
good start that the second phase of 105 flats is about to be started. The
demand for flats within the Edinburgh area shows no sign of diminishing. The
first phase at Kirkcaldy has now been completed and, whilst sales have been
slow, we are confident that the development will be sold out over the course of
this year.
Our strategy on property has been to pursue an integrated plan for the
development of our property assets with a view to realising the best value for
shareholders. Our property team has prepared masterplans for the overall
development of our surplus land, particularly at Leith and Granton, but also
elsewhere within the Group. This long-term masterplanning is now coming to
fruition with the City of Edinburgh Council having resolved to grant, in
February of this year, outline planning approval for the Western Harbour
development in Leith comprising 32.2 Ha of land (both existing and to be
reclaimed) on Edinburgh's Waterfront. This planning approval will cover the
building of up to 3,000 apartments, 50,000 sq.m. of offices and 6,000 sq.m. of
food retail together with the creation of an 8.4 Ha park and the provision of
space for a major cultural building. The value of the completed development is
conservatively estimated by the Directors at over £600m. With the benefit of
planning, we are now in a position to tender residential plots on a selective
basis over several years to ensure that the value of the land being sold is
maximised, and at the same time, increase the value of the residual land in our
ownership.
Our outline planning application in respect of the Granton masterplan is
currently with the planners and covers a potential 22.5 Ha area within which it
is proposed to build up to 3,284 apartments, 34,000 sq.m. of office
accommodation and 11,000 sq.m. of leisure. This planning application will be
determined during the course of the next few months.
We welcome the City of Edinburgh Council's proposal for a tram system for
Edinburgh. As part of our planning applications at Western Harbour and Granton
we have reserved land for a tram depot and for a tram line throughout our
estate. When the tram system comes into operation, it will be a major catalyst
to attract more housing and offices to Leith and Granton and should enable us
to open up more areas for development.
The route of the tram system will allow us to open up a further site for
development known as Edinburgh Harbour. We will be working on proposals over
the next three years to establish this as a major office and housing site for
Edinburgh's Waterfront.
Western Harbour and Granton are significant developments in their own right,
which will each house a population the size of a small Scottish town. Edinburgh
Harbour is a significant new site. These major developments have the potential
to enhance significantly the scale of our property activities. With this in
mind, we are in active negotiations with a development partner. These
negotiations are far advanced and will involve the proposed partner taking a
minority stake of 10% in our development sites and investment properties and a
management involvement in the planning and development of our overall property
activities. Based on our negotiations, we believe that this move will provide
third party confirmation of the substantial value of our property assets. We
believe that the introduction of a development partner will broaden and enhance
our existing property management team and increase the profit potential from
our development activities.
We are confident that our restructured property division, with its new
identity, will achieve significant levels of growth for our shareholders and
will exploit successfully the wide range of development opportunities available
to the Group.
We are currently in discussions with one supermarket operator who wishes to buy
a site at Western Harbour Leith and a site at Grangemouth. We have also
contracted with two house builders in respect of three sites at Western Harbour
and one developer in respect of one site at Granton. These arrangements can be
implemented with minimal upfront infrastructure work.
Our development pipeline will allow us to undertake development on a
significant scale in Edinburgh for at least the next ten years.
Summary
In this, my first year as Chief Executive, I am pleased to record another year
of record turnover, increased profits and continuing growth in earnings per
share. After the significant capital expenditure of the last few years, there
has been a reduction in the past year and more concentration on improving our
relationships with customers and offering added value services. We are
increasing the capability of our information systems to enable us to meet the
challenges of the future and in particular to respond positively and
enthusiastically to customer led requirements and to make our business
processes more efficient. We have identified savings through centralisation of
our finance and administration functions within the Scottish ports which will
be implemented over the course of the next nine months. We have increased our
commitment to health and safety.
We will continue to review the use to which we put our assets in order to
increase the rate of return on them. We will continue to look at acquisition
opportunities but will only pursue those which offer appropriate returns for
our shareholders. We will continue with energy to drive forward our plans for
growth to enhance shareholder returns. Although trading conditions within our
ports are challenging, we believe that our broad business base and range of
growth and value added projects should allow us to make further progress. This,
coupled with the exciting scope of our property activities, will lay a solid
foundation for building future growth. I look forward to the challenges of 2002
and believe that it will be another successful year for the Group.
C.G. Hammond
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
FORTH PORTS PLC
PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2001
Financial Review
Turnover increased to nearly £134m in 2001, up by 10% compared with 2000. Group
operating profit was 10% up compared with the previous year after charging
increased costs for insurance, depreciation and professional fees. The
underlying earnings per share for 2001 amounted to 61.4p compared with a
restated 53.1p in 2000, an increase of over 15%. These figures are based on a
weighted average of ordinary shares in issue of 45 million shares (2000 - 47.4
million shares).
Following a detailed review of our property assets, a major internal
reorganisation involving the ownership and categorisation of these assets was
undertaken. This resulted in the transfer of a net book value of £6.7m of land
and buildings from fixed assets to current assets (property developments and
land held for sale). At the same time, all land held for sale was transferred
to a new wholly owned development company, Forth Property Developments Limited
("FPD"), the intention being to have ownership of FPD and Forth Property
Investments Limited under a new intermediate holding company Forth Property
Holdings Limited.
Towards the end of last year, a further Actuarial Valuation was carried out on
the Tilbury Pension Fund which disclosed a worsening position as regards the
Minimum Funding Requirement ("MFR"). It was not helped that the value of
equities at the time of the valuation had been severely affected by the events
of September 11th. The Actuary advised that the Port of Tilbury's contributions
required to be increased by approximately £90,000 per month and that three
significant cash injections will require to be made in each of the years 2003
to 2005 inclusive. The Government recently announced a relaxation of the
requirements under the current MFR Regulations and so a further valuation will
be carried out next month to determine the exact amount of these three cash
injections. These cash outflows should not affect the port's ongoing operating
profits.
Interest and Gearing
In November, approximately £2m was spent as part of the share buy-back
programme when 300,000 shares were bought back at an average cost of £6.79 per
share (excluding commission and stamp duty).
The net interest charge for the year amounted to £6.5m (2000 - £5.3m). At the
year end the net debt amounted to £101m giving a level of gearing of 53% (2000
restated - 59%). The interest charge was seven times covered.
Taxation
Having adopted FRS19 (Deferred Taxation) the tax charge for the year amounted
to £11.4m giving an effective rate of tax of 29.2% compared with 29.5%
(restated) for 2000.
Cash Flow
The Group's operating cash flow amounted to £49.7m (2000 - £39.9m). 2001 saw a
reduction in the amount of capital expenditure spent during the year with £
16.4m spent wholly on ports. The major items of capital expenditure were the
development of the Fortress Distribution Park at Tilbury, a container crane at
Grangemouth, a pilot boat for the Forth Estuary and the commencement of the
development of the Ferry Terminal at Rosyth.
The Group's total banking facility at the end of the year amounted to £131m of
which £28m was unutilised. £1.3m of the Tilbury loan notes were repaid during
the year leaving £1.7m to be repaid during 2002. The Company will make
available up to £12m of second tranche funding to Ocean Terminal Limited to
take the project through to a fully let position and this, together with an
estimated net spend on capital expenditure of £20m will be funded from existing
resources.
Shareholders' Funds
After restating the shareholders' funds to reflect the new deferred tax
standard, shareholders' funds increased to £189m, an increase of over £12m from
the restated figure at December 2000.
Accounting Standards
FRS17 (Retirement Benefits) was introduced with effect from June 2001 on a
progressive basis from that date. As a result, the Group is required to show in
a note to the accounts, the effect of the new Standard in relation to the net
asset position of its pension funds as calculated under the Standard. This
shows a deficit after taking account of deferred tax, of £6.4m. It was noted
earlier that three substantial cash payments will require to be put into the
Tilbury Pension Scheme to comply with the MFR funding requirements. Those
payments should reduce the deficit referred to above. The Group continues to
account for the pension costs under SSAP24.
As a result of a review to ensure that the Group was using the most appropriate
accounting policies (FRS18 (Accounting Policies)), certain policies have been
clarified in respect of recognition of profit on property transactions, the
capitalisation of interest and accounting for lease incentives. No prior period
adjustments to the Accounts were necessary.
At the time of the Interim Results, it was noted that, following the
introduction of FRS18, the Group had changed its policy on port revenues to
ensure that the port revenues were shown on a consistent basis. As a result,
recoverable charges such as utilities, recoverable overtime and recoverable
plant hire costs are now reflected in turnover and cost of sales at the gross
amounts of these recoverable charges. The effect of this in 2001 is to increase
the turnover and cost of sales by £8.65m and to increase the previous year's
turnover and cost of sales by £7.36m to reflect this change.
FRS19 (Deferred Tax) was implemented with effect from the beginning of the year
producing a prior year adjustment to increase the deferred tax liability at 1st
January 2001 by £9.4m in total.
W.W. Murray
FINANCE DIRECTOR
Consolidated Profit and Loss Account
For the year ended 31st December 2001
2001 2000
Notes £000 £000
(restated)
Turnover 1
Group and share of joint ventures - 145,328 122,342
continuing operations
Less: share of joint ventures turnover (11,554) (532)
_______ ______
Group turnover 133,774 121,810
Cost of sales 76,514 70,539
_______ _______
Gross profit 57,260 51,271
Administrative expenses 14,104 12,006
______ ______
Group operating profit - continuing 43,156 39,265
operations
Share of operating profit - joint 1,101 443
ventures
- associates 1,356 1,686
______ ______
45,613 41,394
Exceptional gains on disposal of fixed - 1,004
assets
______ ______
Profit on ordinary activities before 45,613 42,398
interest
Net interest payable 6,536 5,301
______ ______
Profit on ordinary activities before 39,077 37,097
taxation
Tax on profit on ordinary activities 11,427 10,940
______ ______
Profit for the financial year 27,650 26,157
Dividends 13,439 12,389
______ _____
Retained profit for the Group and its 14,211 13,768
share of joint ventures and associates
====== ======
Basic earnings per share 2 61.4p 55.2p
===== =====
Diluted earnings per share 2 61.0p 54.9p
===== =====
Underlying earnings per share 2 61.4p 53.1p
===== =====
Dividend per share 30.0p 27.0p
===== =====
There are no material discontinued operations.
Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses
2001 2000
£000 £000
(restated)
Profit for the financial year 27,650 26,157
Gain on disposal of shares within the 332 88
Employee Share Option Plan
Revaluation of tangible fixed assets - 26,513
Foreign exchange adjustments - 9
______ ______
Total recognised gains and losses 27,982 52,767
relating to the year ======
Prior year adjustment - FRS19 (9,424)
______
Total gains and losses recognised 18,558
since 1st January 2001 ======
Balance Sheet
At 31st December 2001
2001 2000
£000 £000
(restated)
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 262,936 263,473
_______ _______
Investments:
Other investments 5,204 4,412
Investments in joint ventures:
_________________________
Share of gross assets 85,772 49,046
Share of gross liabilities (79,643) (43,738)
_________________________
6,129 5,308
______ _____
11,333 9,720
______ _____
274,269 273,193
_______ _______
Current assets
Stocks and work in progress 12,523 5,608
Debtors:
Falling due within one year 35,201 38,229
Falling due after more than one year 15,921 8,616
Cash at bank and on deposit 4,877 5,950
______ ______
68,522 58,403
Creditors: amounts falling due within 31,087 30,347
one year
______ ______
Net current assets 37,435 28,056
______ ______
Total assets less current liabilities 311,704 301,249
Creditors: amounts falling due after 103,755 106,115
more than one year
Provisions for liabilities and charges 13,234 12,723
Deferred income 6,018 6,203
_______ _______
Net assets 188,697 176,208
======= =======
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital 22,481 22,631
Share premium account 12,969 12,969
Capital redemption reserve 1,480 1,330
Revaluation reserve 37,641 38,038
Profit and loss account 97,791 84,905
Special reserve 12,521 12,521
Capital reserve 3,814 3,814
______ ______
Equity shareholders' funds 188,697 176,208
======= =======
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
For the year ended 31st December 2001
2001 2000
Notes £000 £000
Net cash inflow from operating 4 49,685 39,859
activities
______ ______
Dividend from associated company - 115
______ ______
Returns on investments and servicing of
finance
Interest received 116 703
Interest paid (6,594) (5,751)
Interest element of finance lease (60) (77)
Rentals
_____ _____
Net cash outflow from returns on (6,538) (5,125)
investments and servicing of finance
_____ _____
Taxation
UK tax paid (8,802) (7,845)
_____ _____
Capital expenditure and financial
investment
Purchase of tangible fixed assets (16,404) (32,860)
Sale of tangible fixed assets 9 29
Deferred income received 54 655
Proceeds from exceptional disposal of - 1,004
fixed assets
Investments in joint ventures and (60) (29)
associated companies
Sale of fixed asset investments 392 100
Loan to joint venture company (1,000) (6,500)
_____ _____
Net cash outflow from capital (17,009) (37,601)
expenditure and investing activities
______ ______
Acquisitions
Purchase of subsidiary undertaking - (231)
Cash acquired with subsidiary - 468
Undertaking
_____ _____
Net cash inflow from acquisitions - 237
_____ _____
Equity dividends paid (12,574) (9,994)
______ _____
Cash inflow/(outflow) before financing 4,762 (20,354)
_____ ______
Financing
Repurchase of own shares (2,054) (17,832)
Net (loans repaid)/new loans (2,000) 43,000
Loan notes repaid (1,281) (1,759)
ESOP loan repaid (250) -
Principal payments under finance leases (250) (228)
_____ ______
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from (5,835) 23,181
financing _____ ______
(Decrease)/increase in cash (1,073) 2,827
===== =====
Reconciliation to net debt 5
Net debt at 1st January (103,448) (65,262)
(Decrease)/increase in cash (1,073) 2,827
Movement in borrowings 3,781 (41,013)
_______ ______
Net debt at 31st December (100,740) (103,448)
======= =======
Notes
1. Segmental analysis by class of business
The analysis by class of business of the Group's turnover, profit before
taxation and net assets is set out below:
2001 2000
£000 £000
(restated)
Turnover
Port operations 117,156 108,103
Investment property and property development 16,618 13,707
- group
- joint ventures 11,554 532
_______ _______
145,328 122,342
======= =======
2001 2000
£000 £000
Profit on ordinary activities before taxation
Port operations- group 30,830 27,867
- associates 1,498 1,687
- exceptional gains on disposal - 1,004
of fixed assets
Investment property and property development 12,326 11,398
- group
- joint ventures 1,101 443
- associates (142) (1)
______ _______
Profit on ordinary activities before interest 45,613 42,398
Net interest
Port operations - group (5,772) (5,142)
- associates 78 127
Investment property and property development (823) (293)
- joint ventures
- associates (19) 7
______ ______
39,077 37,097
====== ======
2001 2000
£000 £000
(restated)
Net assets
Port operations 245,925 241,801
Investment property and property development 37,383 32,547
- group
- joint ventures 67,286 32,814
______ ______
350,594 307,162
Net interest bearing liabilities (100,740) (103,448)
- group
- joint ventures (61,157) (27,506)
______ ______
188,697 176,208
======= =======
Turnover is generated principally in the UK.
As required by FRS18 (Accounting Policies), the Group has reviewed its
accounting policies to ensure that they are the most appropriate for its
particular circumstances.
In order to recognise port revenues on a consistent basis, recoverable charges
such as utilities, recoverable overtime and recoverable plant hire costs have
been reflected in turnover at the gross amounts of these recoverable charges.
As a result of this, turnover and cost of sales for the year ended 31st
December 2001 have increased by £8.65m. Previously reported turnover and cost
of sales for the year ended 31st December 2000 have increased by £7.36m. There
is no effect on reported profit.
The Group's share of joint venture net assets includes capitalised interest of
£3,010,000 (2000 - £766,000).
Notes Continued
2. Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit for the year
attributable to shareholders by the weighted average number of shares in issue
during the year, excluding those held in the ESOP trust which are treated as
cancelled.
For diluted earnings per share, the weighted average number of shares in issue
is adjusted to assume conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares. The
Group has four categories of dilutive potential ordinary shares, being those
share options granted to employees under a SAYE share option scheme, the
Directors' share options first exercisable on 20th October 2001 and 14th
October 2002 and the shares granted to Mr. A. Fleming on 26th April 2000 where
the exercise prices are less than the average market price of the Company's
shares during the year.
Underlying earnings per share excludes exceptional gains and the tax thereon
from the profit for the year attributable to shareholders, with the weighted
average number of shares in issue during the year as per the calculation for
basic earnings per share.
Reconciliations of the earnings and weighted average number of shares used in
the calculations are set out below.
2001 2000
(restated)
Weighted Weighted
Average Earnings Average Earnings
Number of per Number of per
Earnings Shares Share Earnings Shares Share
£000 000 Pence £000 000 Pence
Profit attributable to 27,650 26,157
shareholders
Total shares issued - 45,234 - 47,701
Shares held by ESOP - (235) - (309)
trust ______ ______ ______ ______
Basic EPS 27,650 44,999 61.4 26,157 47,392 55.2
Effect of dilutive - 351 - 224
securities (share _______ ______ ______ ______
options)
Diluted EPS 27,650 45,350 61.0 26,157 47,616 54.9
______ ______
Exceptional items - (1,004)
Tax on exceptional - 11
Items
______ ______
Underlying EPS 27,650 44,999 61.4 25,164 47,392 53.1
______ ______ ______ ______
Notes Continued
3. Dividend
Subject to shareholder approval, the final dividend of 20p per share will be
payable on 17th May 2002 to shareholders on the Register at 19th April 2002.
4. Reconciliation of operating profit to net cash inflow from operating
activities
2001 2000
£000 £000
Operating profit 43,156 39,265
Depreciation on tangible fixed assets 8,977 7,801
Unrealised profit eliminations 254 610
Loss/(gain) on sale of tangible fixed assets 67 (12)
Release of deferred income (261) (242)
Goodwill written off on investments 1 6
Amount written off investments and provision against 89 100
investment in associated company
Fixed assets transferred to stocks and work in progress 6,729 400
(Increase)/decrease in stocks and work in progress (6,915) 698
(Increase)/decrease in amounts owed by joint ventures and (175) 2,072
associated undertakings
Increase in other debtors categories (2,316) (10,040)
Increase/(decrease) in creditors 102 (999)
(Decrease)/increase in provisions (23) 200
______ ______
Net cash inflow from operating activities 49,685 39,859
====== ======
5. Analysis of changes in net debt
At Cash At
1.1.01 flow 31.12.01
£000 £000 £000
Cash at bank and on deposit 5,950 (1,073) 4,877
Debt due within one year (3,033) 1,281 (1,752)
Debt due outwith one year (105,750) 2,250 (103,500)
Finance leases (615) 250 (365)
_______ _____ _______
Total net debt (103,448) 2,708 (100,740)
======= ===== =======
General
6. The Preliminary announcement is an abridged version of the full accounts
upon which the Auditors have given an unqualified opinion. The full
accounts will be filed with The Register of Companies in due course.
7. The annual accounts will be posted to shareholders on 10th April 2002.
Copies will be available from the Company's registered office, Forth
Ports PLC, Tower Place, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 7DB.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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