Half Year Results

Wednesday 12 December 2012

Strategic Review and Statement of Results for the six months ended 31 October 2012

Strategic Review - 'Nouvelle Confiance'

·; Creating value as the leading cross-channel retailer of technology products and services in our core markets of France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

·; Losses to be eliminated in non-core markets of Italy, Spain, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Turkey kept under review.

·; Net operating cost savings of c.€20m p.a. within three years.

·; Surplus property disposals expected to release c.€35m of net proceeds.

Statement of Results for the six months ended 31 October 2012

Financial Summary

·; Group revenue of €1,842.7 million (2012: €1,884.5 million), a decline of 2.3% in constant currency1 and 1.7% on a like-for-like basis.

·; Group retail loss2 of €3.9 million (2012: retail profit €16.5 million).

·; Adjusted3 Group loss before tax of €10.8 million (2012: profit €12.1 million). Reported loss before tax €7.3 million (2012: profit €0.8 million).

·; Adjusted loss per share of 2.3 cents (2012: earnings per share 1.0 cents). Basic loss per share of 1.5 cents (2012: continuing loss per share 1.1 cents).

·; Net cash outflow of €59.6 million (2012: outflow €85.1 million) with net debt at the end of the period of €187.8 million (2012: net cash €38.6 million).

·; The Board has declared an interim dividend of 0.875 cents, to be paid on 3 April 2013.

Operational Summary

·; Market share held or gained in our major markets.

·; Web-generated sales up over 10 percent.

·; Continued strong performance in Belgium and loss reduction at the Developing businesses.

·; New Darty Telecom agreement completed and cash received.

·; Agreement reached for the disposal of Darty Italy.

Alan Parker, Chairman, commented:

"When I became Chairman in August this year I announced three priorities for Darty, namely to restore shareholder value, to review our markets and operations, and to renew the Board.

"Today we are announcing the results of that strategic review - 'Nouvelle Confiance'. We will strengthen our position in France, Belgium and the Netherlands and drive greater efficiency at reduced cost across the Group. We will deliver a step change in performance, and eliminate the losses in our non-core markets of Italy, Spain, Czech Republic and Slovakia. We continue to keep Turkey under review.

"We have substantially renewed our Board by the appointment of four new non-executive Directors with wide experience of European consumer markets. We are also making good progress with our recruitment of a new Chief Executive; in the interim Dominic Platt our current Finance Director will be acting Chief Executive.

"Current market conditions remain challenging and have been deteriorating in recent months, but we have taken short term actions and continue to plan prudently. Our plan will nevertheless deliver an improvement in earnings over the medium term and in the light of this the Board has declared an interim dividend of 0.875 cents and, subject to full year performance, intends to maintain the dividend for the full year."

1 Constant exchange rate of 1 Euro = GBP 0.7990, Czech Kr 25.1765, Turkish Lira 2.2858

2 Retail profit/(loss) represents total operating profit/(loss) before the share of joint venture and associates' interest and taxation, movement in options and related charges over non-controlling interests, impairment of available for sale financial assets, exceptional costs, profit on disposal of business operations and amortisation and impairment of acquisition related intangible assets.

3 Excludes the share of joint venture and associates' interest and taxation, the effects movement in options and related charges over non-controlling interests, profit on disposal of business operations, impairment of available for sale financial assets, exceptional costs and amortisation and impairment of acquisition related intangible assets..

There will be a presentation to analysts and institutions at 08.30 today at UBS, 1 Finsbury Avenue, London, EC2M 2PP.

A live audio webcast of the event will be available via our website www.dartygroup.com, and recorded for access later in the day.

Darty plc will issue an Interim Management Statement on 15 February 2013 for the third quarter trading period of 1 November 2012 to 31 January 2013.

Enquiries

France

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Anne-France Malrieu +33 1 53 70 74 66/+33 6 89 87 61 18

Caroline Simon +33 1 53 70 74 65/+33 6 89 87 61 24

Certain statements made in this announcement are forward looking statements. Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any expected future results in forward looking statements. Unless otherwise required by applicable laws, regulations or accounting standards, Darty plc does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

NOUVELLE CONFIANCE

At the time of the appointment of a new Chairman in August this year we announced a review of the Group, its markets and its operations in order to restore profitability and establish the foundations for long term success and rebuilding shareholder value. This work is now substantially complete.

The consumer electricals market is tough across all countries in Europe and no respite is assumed in the near future. We do have opportunities however - the growth in cross-channel shopping and the consumers' desire for technology solutions fit well with the Darty brand recognition as a trusted advisor. A step change however is required across Darty Group in how we adapt and respond to the challenges of this operating environment, in terms of speed of execution and increase in performance.

Our expansion into new European markets has been unsuccessful and expensive. At the same time, while our core business has maintained market leadership, profitability has been eroded by price pressure and cost inflation.

We have identified four key conditions for success in choosing our core markets:

·; A fundamentally sound market - large markets which have growth prospects with a sizeable profit pool

·; The Darty DNA resonates with consumers - demand for a high service proposition

·; Current business built on a solid platform - relevant local market share and cross-channel capabilities

·; A clear path to future profit growth opportunities - to grow profitable market share and develop new revenue streams

We have concluded that, while our businesses in France, Belgium and the Netherlands meet each of these conditions, our businesses in Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic and Slovakia do not.

Our business in Italy was sub-scale with limited brand recognition in a difficult market. The proposed disposal of the operations of Darty Italy announced on 21 November safeguards most of the business in Italy and demonstrates our commitment to eliminating losses and focusing on our core businesses, with a rapid impact on financial performance at a reasonable cost.

In Spain, we have been growing market share and building our service credentials but we remain sub-scale, and developing our position alone will be a long and expensive journey. We have been successful in the Czech and Slovak markets, but they are relatively small and generate modest profits for the Group, with limited opportunity for significant profit growth.

In Turkey, the market is large and dynamic, but its structure between specialist retailers and distributors impairs our ability to grow profitable market share. However, should this structure change, the market could quickly become very attractive such that our continuing operation in this country remains under review.

'Nouvelle Confiance' - our commitment to action

'Nouvelle Confiance' is our plan to build a newly confident business. We have identified five unique competitive strengths at the heart of our business that provide a platform for our future growth:

·; Market leadership

·; Established brand equity

·; A powerful online business

·; Service leadership

·; Leading cross-channel retailer with national reach and unrivalled infrastructure

Darty France will be the key driver of our future profitability. Here, we are the leader in the consumer electricals market with scope to grow; we have huge brand equity with 82 per cent recognition of the Contrat de Confiance; we have a large and a growing share of the online market; more customers than for any of our peers rate Darty's service proposition as #1; and, we have national reach and infrastructure.

We will leverage these strengths further and our review has identified a number of immediate opportunities for improvement, as well as some longer term options.

'Nouvelle Confiance' is a three-stage plan to capitalise on these opportunities, in France and applicable across all our core markets: 

1. Refocus on core markets with new commercial initiatives;

2. Create value from our market leadership and efficiency savings; and

3. Future growth opportunities.

1. Refocus on core markets with new commercial initiatives

We will improve our price perception and get full credit for our value proposition. New advertising campaigns have already been launched to improve Darty's price perception.

Our store experience is being revitalised to provide a modern experience that befits our position as market leader and makes it easier for customers to buy. For example, we have rolled out a self-service offer across a number of product categories, improving our ability to capture impulse buyers and have introduced improved in-store merchandising in the majority of stores, particular in Multimedia.

We will defend margin by better sourcing and growing our service revenues. In sourcing we already have a better partnership with suppliers and greater co-branding with leading manufacturers. Further work is ongoing to develop exclusive, own label and licensed products where the margin can be significantly higher. In services the extended warranty and credit offers are being modernised and premium services developed. A new credit offer has been introduced, with both improved integration into the sales process and communication. Our national infrastructure has been leveraged to provide a premium paid-for delivery service, which was launched in the Paris region over the summer.

We have been successful as a cross-channel retailer, growing our web generated sales faster than the market and delivering a positive net contribution ahead of the stores. We will further leverage our infrastructure as a cross-channel retailer and are accelerating our online offer through improving site traffic; developing accessory bundles; a greater emphasis on the service offering; and a focus on under-represented categories such as Multimedia.

2. Creating Value From Our Market Leadership and Efficiency Savings

Beyond these immediate improvements, we have a range of opportunities to go further in creating value from our leadership in our core markets, building on our five competitive strengths.

We have also identified annual cost savings of €50 million per annum from delivering a more efficient operating model, continuing to adapt our cost structure and leveraging synergies between our operating companies. After inflation, we expect these savings to deliver annual retail profit improvement of c.€20 million per annum within the next three years, with a total implementation cost of c.€30 million.

There is also scope to improve our balance sheet efficiency. Our freehold property underpins the operating and credit strength of the Group, supporting the good relationships with our suppliers and finance providers. It also provides flexibility to adapt our store portfolio as the business evolves but it requires active management to ensure maximum value to the Group. A major sale and leaseback option has been investigated but we have concluded that it is not in the long-term interests of the business and its stakeholders. We have however identified non-core property disposals which we expect to release c.€35 million of net proceeds, largely funding the cost savings programme.

3. Develop Future Growth Opportunities

The review of our operations also demonstrated how we can build on our competitive strengths to generate new profit streams for the Group. Our kitchens business is one example of our ability to move into a new product area, build a relevant market position and drive profitability. We believe there are further similar opportunities to develop new revenue and profit streams, which are complementary to the core business.

Conclusion

A new confidence at the heart of our Group - 'Nouvelle Confiance' - which will restore shareholder value by eliminating losses at our non-core businesses, increasing profitability in our core businesses from our market leadership and developing future growth initiatives, and by improving efficiencies in the cost base.

These plans allow us to maintain, subject to trading, our current dividend and over the medium term having regard for an appropriate capital structure and shareholder returns, to adopt a dividend policy reflecting the progress we make as we execute our plans.

OUTLOOK

Current trading conditions remain challenging and have deteriorated in recent months. We have taken short-term actions and are planning prudently in this environment.

Our review of the business however has identified plans that will deliver an improvement in earnings over the medium-term.

GROUP OVERVIEW

Results

* BCC, Vanden Borre and Datart.

** Darty Italy, Darty Turkey and Darty Spain.

Financial review

Revenue and retail profit

Group revenue at €1,842.7 million, was 2.2 per cent on a reported basis and 2.3 per cent in constant currency, lower than the same period last year. On a like-for-like basis Group revenue fell by 1.7 per cent, with a deterioration in trading conditions in our markets towards the end of the first half. We saw growth in White Goods and Multimedia. Vision volumes however remained very weak, particularly in France. We continue to grow web-generated sales successfully with overall growth of over 10 per cent, now representing over 11 per cent of total product sales.

Whilst gross margin saw an improving trend in the second quarter, it declined by 100 basis points for the period. This reflected product category margin pressure in challenging market conditions, alignment of store and web prices and strong performance of lower margin Multimedia and Communications in the sales mix.

Total costs were down over 2 per cent. This reduction however was insufficient to off-set revenue and gross margin pressures. Consequently group retail loss for the period was €3.9 million compared to a retail profit of €16.5 million for the same period last year. On a segmental basis, this reduction was primarily due to reduced profits at Darty France and the Other established businesses with some small off-set from reduced losses at the Developing businesses.

Net interest

The net interest cost increased to €6.9 million (2012: €4.4 million), principally comprising interest on financing of €5.6 million and IAS 19 notional pension interest of €1.4 million. The €2.5 million increase on the prior year was largely due to the increase in net debt following the disposal of Comet in February 2012.

Adjusted profit before tax

The adjusted loss before tax was €10.8 million (2012: profit €12.1 million).  

Exceptional items

During the period, exceptional charges totalling €6.1 million were incurred. Adapting our structure in France has resulted in costs totalling €2.0 million in Darty France and €2.8 million in Head Office off-set by pension curtailment gains relating to departing executives totalling €1.9 million and €0.4 million respectively. In addition, fees totalling €1.5 million had been accrued at 31 October relating to the disposal of the Darty Italy operations. Finally, as a result of Comet's administration we have booked provisions relating to €1.3 million of trade receivables and €0.8 million of other related losses and costs.

 An exceptional profit of €9.4 million was recorded on the sale of Darty Telecom to Bouygues Telecom, which completed on 24 July 2012.

Profit before tax

As a result of the exceptional charges detailed above, the reported loss before tax was €7.3 million (2012: profit €0.8 million).

Taxation

As required by IAS34, the tax charge of €3.2 million for the first half reflects the phasing of profits and losses within the year, a €0.5 million credit relates to the exceptional items. For the full year on a Continuing Group basis (excluding Darty Italy) the effective tax rate is expected to be around mid-40's per cent, taking into account all known changes to French corporation tax.

Earnings per share

Adjusted loss per share was 2.3 cents (2012: earnings per share 1.0 cents) and basic diluted loss per share was 1.5 cents (2012: continuing loss per share 1.1 cents).

Net debt

Closing net debt was €187.8 million compared to €126.5 million net debt on 30 April 2012. As at 31 October 2012 €260 million of the Group's €455 million revolving credit facility was drawn down (31 October 2011: €160 million).

Cash flow

Free cash outflow4 was €56.5 million (2012: €17.6 million). Cash generated from operations was an outflow of €64.8 million (2012: €35.1 million inflow) reflecting the lower retail profit and the in year phasing of stock and creditor payments in the period which we expect to unwind in the second half. Net capital expenditure and investments was €30.8 million (2012: €52.7 million), before the €39.1m received for the new Darty Telecom agreement. Net cash outflow was €59.6 million, an improvement of €25.5 million on the prior year. This reflected cash tax received of €8.7 million (2012: €39.2 million paid) due to the unwinding of payment phasing in France and the lower dividend payment of €6.6 million (2012: €25.0 million) following the reduction in final payment to 1.25 cents from 4.75 cents.

Retirement benefit obligations

The IAS19 net pension liability increased from €69.6 million at the year end to €87.9 million (31 October 2011: €61.8 million),split €50.7 million in the UK and €37.2 million in France. This was principally due to lower than expected asset returns, a significant fall in corporate bond yields leading to lower discount rates, and exchange rate movements in sterling's favour. The increase in the defined benefit obligation in the France schemes is mainly due to the lower discount rates which apply in October 2012.

Dividends

The Board has declared an interim dividend of 0.875 cents per share. The ex dividend date will be 6 March 2013, the record date 8 March 2013 and the payment date will be 3 April 2013.

4 Free cash flow defined as cash generated from operations and sale of business operations less net capital expenditure.

BUSINESS REVIEW

Darty France

At Darty France total revenue was down 3.9 per cent and by 2.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis, in line with a weakening market. Completion of the Darty Telecom agreement at the end of the first quarter led to a 2 per cent reduction in total revenue for the period, and will have an estimated 2.5 percent impact for the full year. At a product category level, growth in White Goods, Multimedia and Communications was more than off-set by the very weak Vision market following last year's digital switch over. Web-generated sales continued to outperform the market, up nearly 10 per cent to over 13 per cent of total product sales. The website won the 'Favori' customer award for the best website in its category.

Overall for the period gross margin was down 50 basis points reflecting competitive market conditions, ongoing price alignment and a relatively strong first half last year. The trend however improved in the second quarter, against a weaker comparative and benefitting from the new Darty Telecom agreement.

Total costs reduced by nearly 2 per cent, more than off-setting inflationary pressures and new space increases. Significant efficiencies have been made to the store back office and after sales services operations. These cost measures however were insufficient to compensate for the fall in revenue, and gross margin erosion in the period, leading to a decline in retail profit to €24.4 million compared to €43.5 million in the prior year.

During the period Darty opened two new stores. One further new store, one relocation, three refurbishments/extensions and three closures are planned for the second half of the year. The successful in store kitchen offer was rolled out to a further 6 stores in the period, bringing the total to 46, with an additional 5 planned for the second half of the financial year.

The new telecom agreement with Bouygues completed on 24 July. Darty editions of the Bbox Sensation quadruple play offer and Eden mobile offer have been introduced to all stores and web site. Both new and existing subscribers continue to be provided with Darty's market leading service support, including phone assistance 24 hours a day/7 days a week and home assistance as necessary within 48 hours.

* BCC, Vanden Borre and Datart.

At our Other established businesses, BCC, Vanden Borre and Datart, total revenue increased by 4.3 per cent in constant currency and by 3.0 per cent on a like-for-like basis. Growth was seen in Belgium for the period, ahead of its market. BCC and Datart held share in their respective markets although sales and market conditions weakened towards the end of the half, particularly in the Netherlands. Overall, web-generated sales grew by 9 per cent, to over 9 per cent of total product sales.

General market conditions and negative sales mix effect from very strong growth in Multimedia resulted in gross margin being down 200 basis points.

With four additional stores compared to last year, total costs increased by 1.5 per cent. As a result of the gross margin pressure there was a retail loss for the period of €1.4 million compared to a retail profit of €3.7 million in the prior year.

In the period three new stores were opened, two closed and two refurbished. Overall a further two new stores are planned for the second half of the year plus one relocation and one refurbishment.

Developing businesses**

** Darty Italy, Darty Turkey and Darty Spain.

At our Developing businesses, Darty Italy, Darty Turkey and Darty Spain, revenue fell by 4.3 per cent in constant currency and by 4.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis. In Spain the sales growth continued to outperform the market. In Italy total sales declined as a result of closing a further 5 stores at the beginning of the second quarter in addition to the four closed in the second half of the prior year. In Turkey total sales were flat and declined on a like-for-like basis reflecting a competitive market, together with a focus on margin. Overall for the three businesses, web-generated sales grew by over 60 per cent to over three percent of total product sales.

Overall gross margin saw an improving trend in the second quarter against an easier comparative but was down 130 basis points for the period overall, impacted by an adverse sales mix from strong growth in lower margin Multimedia and increased promotional activity in the Turkish market.

In Italy there was a reduction in losses as a result of the restructuring actions taken to close underperforming stores. In Spain, there was a small loss reduction from an improved revenue performance. In Turkey losses increased as a result of the impact on gross margin from a very competitive, discount driven market. The overall retail loss for the segment reduced from €22.1 million to €19.8 million.

In the period the store portfolio continued to be improved with the closure or relocation of underperforming stores. There were five closures in Italy, three in Spain and one in Turkey. Darty Spain and Darty Turkey opened two new stores each.

KEY EVENTS

David Newlands retired as Chairman on 9 August 2012 and was succeeded by Alan Parker. On 13 September 2012, Non-Executive Director, Andrew Robb retired at the Annual General Meeting, it was also announced that Chief Executive, Thierry Falque-Pierrotin would leave the Group on 4 January 2013. On 15 October 2012, Antoine Metzger and Pascal Bazin were appointed as independent Non-Executive Directors; it was also announced that Non-Executive Director, Bernard Dufau would retire from the Board on 31 December 2012. On 30 October 2012, Agnès Touraine and Carlo D'Asaro Biondo were appointed as independent Non-Executive Directors.

POST BALANCE SHEET EVENTS

On 21 November 2012 it was announced that through its subsidiary Kesa Sourcing Limited, the Group had entered an agreement with Italian electricals retailer DPS Group s.r.l., to contribute the 20 Darty Italy stores and staff together with a cash contribution of €3 million for a 15 per cent share of DPS's share capital. Kesa Sourcing Limited will retain responsibility for closure of the Darty Italy head office. The cost of closure along with certain working capital adjustments on completion is expected to cost around €11 million. The agreement is subject to approval of the Group's Ordinary Shareholders, plus union consents and is expected to complete at the end of February 2013.

NON- GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

The Group has prepared its consolidated financial statements under International Financial Reporting Standards for the 6 months ended 31 October 2012. The basis of preparation is outlined in Note 1 to the Financial Information on page 23. The Group has identified certain measures that it believes provide additional useful information on the underlying performance of the Group. These measures are applied consistently but as they are not defined under GAAP they may not be directly comparable with other companies' adjusted measures. The non-GAAP measures, and their definitions, are outlined in Note 1 to the Financial Information on page 23.

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND GOING CONCERN

The risks to achieving the objectives for the remainder of the financial year remain those more fully set out in the Directors' report on pages 28 and 29 of the 2011/12 Annual report, and as updated in an appendix to this statement.

The Group meets its day-to-day working capital requirements through its bank facilities. The Group's forecasts and projections, taking account of reasonably possible changes in trading performance, show that the Group should be able to operate within the level of its current facilities. After making enquiries, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The Group therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its condensed consolidated interim financial statements.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this half-yearly report are forward-looking. Although the Group believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. Because these statements involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The Company and Group undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

DIRECTORS' RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT

The Directors confirm that this condensed set of financial statements has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 as adopted by the European Union, and that the interim management report herein includes a true and fair review of the information required by DTR 4.2.7 and DTR 4.2.8.

The narrative of this half year report includes a fair review of the business and of any required related party disclosures.

The Directors of Darty plc are listed in the (Kesa Electricals plc) Annual Report for 2011/12, with the exception that in the period Chairman David Newlands retired on 9 August 2012 to be replaced by Alan Parker and Non-Executive Director, Andrew Robb retired at the Annual General Meeting on 13 September 2012. Antoine Metzger and Pascal Bazin were appointed as independent Non-Executive Directors on 15 October 2012 and Agnès Touraine and Carlo D'Asaro Biondo were appointed as independent Non-Executive Directors on 30 October 2012. A list of current directors is maintained on the Darty plc website: www.Dartygroup.com.

The taking of risk is an inherent part of doing business and the skill in business is to manage risk effectively. The Board and Senior management have invested time to identify and assess the key risks facing the business and actively manages those risks. Risk management is performed from both a top-down and a bottom-up perspective, ensuring that strategic and operational risks are appropriately addressed.

The principal risks and uncertainties are set out below together with an illustration of what actions are being taken to mitigate them.

APPENDIX - PRINCIPAL RISKS (continued)

INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT TO DARTY PLC

Introduction

We have been engaged by the company to review the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 31 October 2012, which comprises the consolidated income statement, consolidated statement of comprehensive income, consolidated statement of financial position, consolidated statement of changes in equity, consolidated statement of cash flows and related notes. We have read the other information contained in the half-yearly financial report and considered whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the information in the condensed set of financial statements.

Directors' responsibilities

The half-yearly financial report is the responsibility of, and has been approved by, the directors. The directors are responsible for preparing the half-yearly financial report in accordance with the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Services Authority.

As disclosed in note 1, the annual financial statements of the group are prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union. The condensed set of financial statements included in this half-yearly financial report has been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34, "Interim Financial Reporting", as adopted by the European Union.

Our responsibility

Our responsibility is to express to the company a conclusion on the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report based on our review. This report, including the conclusion, has been prepared for and only for the company for the purpose of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the Financial Services Authority and for no other purpose. We do not, in producing this report, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.

Scope of review

We conducted our review in accordance with International Standard on Review Engagements (UK and Ireland) 2410, 'Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity' issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use in the United Kingdom. A review of interim financial information consists of making enquiries, primarily of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures. A review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) and consequently does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion.

Conclusion

Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 31 October 2012 is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34 as adopted by the European Union and the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Services Authority.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLPChartered Accountants11 December 2012London

DARTY PLC (formerly Kesa Electricals plc)