Financial highlights

£14.5bn

Group turnover

2008: £13bn +12%

Group turnover grew 12%, due to industry leading like-for-like store sales growth and strong fuel sales.

+7.9%

Like-for-like sales (ex-fuel)

2008: +4.6%

Like-for-like sales, the measure of growth in existing stores, increased by 7.9%.

£636m

Underlying profit

2008: £563m +13%

Underlying profit before tax increased by 13%, driven by the strong like-for-like sales performance and ongoing delivery of the Optimisation Plan.

£642m

Net debt

2008: £543m +£99m

Net debt has only slightly increased in the year despite increased capital investment of £678m.

£678m

Capital expenditure

2008: £402m +£276m

Capital expenditure has increased, reflecting additional focus on growing the estate and supporting the Optimisation Plan.

5.8p

Total dividend

2008: 4.8p +21%

Total dividend for the year has increased 21%, making dividend cover 2.9 times.