21/09/2021
Interim results for the 26 week period ended 25 June 2021
New strategy in place and already underway to enable the Group to realise its significant unlocked value. Well prepared for CMA obligations and FCA regulation
Dignity plc (Dignity, the Company or the Group), the UK's only listed provider of funeral related services, announces its unaudited interim results for the 26 week period ended 25 June 2021.
| 26 week period ended 25 June 2021 |
26 week period ended 26 June 2020 restated |
(Decrease) /Increase per cent |
|
| Underlying revenue (£million) | 169.4 | 169.1 | - |
| Underlying operating profit (£million) (2) (3) | 37.8 | 41.9 | (10) |
| Underlying profit before tax (£million) (2) (3) | 23.2 | 27.0 | (14) |
| Underlying earnings per share (pence) (2) (3) |
36.2 | 42.4 | (15) |
| Underlying cash generated from operations (£million) (2) (3) | 56.6 | 62.3 | (9) |
| Revenue (£million) | 189.0 | 197.1 | (4) |
| Operating profit (£million) (2) | 40.8 | 44.2 | (8) |
| Profit/(loss) before tax (£million) (2) | 50.5 | (12.1) | |
| Basic earnings/(loss) per share (pence) (1) (2) | 62.4 | (22.6) | |
| Cash generated from operations (£million) (2) | 49.0 | 41.8 | 17 |
| Number of deaths | 340,000 |
368,000 | (8) |
Prior year adjustments
A number of prior year adjustments have been made as follows:
(1) A prior year restatement has been made to the magnitude of £2.2 million to increase the June 2020 taxation charge and increase the corresponding corporation tax liability. This follows the finalisation of the Group’s 2019 detailed corporate interest restriction return and an increase to the Group’s interest disallowance as a result of the inclusion of the fair value movements on the Trusts debt investments. See note 1 for further details.
(2) A prior year restatement has been made of a £1.2 million credit to correctly reflect the application of IFRS 16 in June 2020. See note 1 for further details.
(3) Underlying performance measures throughout this announcement for June 2020 have been restated to reflect the application of IFRS 16, Leases. This standard was adopted in 2020 using the modified retrospective adoption which meant 2019 comparatives were not restated. As a result, the Group chose to exclude it from its underlying performance measures reported in 2020 in order to retain comparability. Therefore, the underlying performance measures reported above in both periods includes the application of IFRS 16. See note 1 for further details.
Alternative performance measures (APMs)
All measures marked as underlying in the table above and throughout this announcement are alternative performance measures. The Board believes that whilst statutory reporting measures provide financial performance of the Group under GAAP, APMs are necessary to enable users of the financial statements to fully understand the trading performance and financial position of the business. The APMs provided are aligned with those used in the day-to-day management of the business and allow for greater comparability across periods. For this reason, the APMs provided exclude the impact of consolidating the Trusts and the changes which relate to the application of IFRS 15, all of which are considered to mask the underlying trading performance of the Group, as well as non-underlying items comprising certain non-recurring and non-trading transactions. Further detail may be found on pages 45 to 51.
Key points
- New strategy in place and already underway, which will enable the Group to realise its significant unlocked value for the benefit of clients, employees, shareholders and wider stakeholders
- Delivered a complex programme of work to ensure regulatory preparedness in time for the Competition and Markets Authority (‘CMA’) statutory deadline
- Reviewed and adapted the Group’s pricing strategy, launching competitively priced funeral services in the UK to truly lower the cost of dying for families
- Regulatory preparedness for Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) regulation picked up pace as we neared the authorisation window, which was opened by the regulator in September. A major programme is underway within the business, across all areas of the organisation, to ensure we have the right governance, processes, products and infrastructure to meet our regulatory requirements
- As announced at the AGM, we’ve also looked at how we can improve efficiency through a new organisational structure so we can truly operate as one company. We have reviewed how our regions are structured, resulting in the creation of 12 new regions
- Initiatives are underway to place those colleagues that serve our communities and clients first in all we do. Part of this strategy is the development of our Principles to reset organisational culture, which will help guide how we make decisions, how we treat each other and our clients, and how we behave as a business
Gary Channon, Chief Executive of Dignity plc, commented:
“There are a number of significant projects underway at Dignity that we are committed to delivering. Importantly we must take all of our stakeholders along on this journey, including our colleagues, clients and shareholders.
Our focus is to build a successful and growing business by empowering our colleagues and giving them the tools to succeed which include competitive prices, the authority to act with local autonomy, great products and investment in people and premises. Our most ambitious goal though is to cultivate a culture that will be our true differentiator. Successful execution of our strategy will unlock the significant value in our business.”
For further information please contact:
| Gary Channon, Chief Executive Dean Moore, Interim Chief Financial Officer Dignity plc |
+44 (0)20 7466 5000 |
|
Richard Oldworth |
+44 (0) 207 466 5000 Dignity@buchanan.uk.com |