11 March 2020 – final results
Results for the year ended 31 December 2019 have been released. Revenue was £7.76bn versus £7.51bn restated a year earlier. Group revenue growth was 4.7% with Secure Solutions revenue growth of 4.7%, Retail Technology Solutions up 18.0% and Conventional cash up 1.0%. A statutory loss of £91m was incurred versus earnings of £81m a year earlier, reflecting a £291m charge for goodwill impairment. Cash business disposal proceeds of around £670m and profit on sale of approximately £300m will be accounted for in 2020. Operating cash flow was £633m (2018: £582m) representing cash conversion of 126% (2018: 118%). Net debt to EBITDA was 2.88x (2018: 2.75x). The final dividend was held at 6.11p per share. The announcement was closely followed by some sizeable director purchases, which provides confidence in the future. We rate the shares as a BUY.