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Ladies and gentlemen, it has been, in general, a good year for the company. Although overall profits are down compared with last year, they are, I am pleased to be able to announce, higher than we expected at this time last year: this year's figure is 354 million pounds compared with last year's figure of four 451 million pounds. The Board is recommending a final dividend of seven pence per share, which makes a total dividend for the year of ten p per share, identical to last year. The profit is mainly thanks to the company's UK plants, which again put in very strong performances, setting a significant number of production records. Deliveries to markets outside Europe were 12% up on the previous year, largely due to economic conditions outside our control. Operating costs, we are pleased to report, were 2% lower than in the previous year, due mainly to reduced employment costs, as the workforce was cut from 52,000 to 50,000. |
