12th Dec 2005 07:01
Treatt PLC12 December 2005 TREATT PLC PRELIMINARY STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2005 Treatt PLC, the manufacturer and supplier of flavour and fragrance ingredients,primarily natural essential oils and natural extracts, announces today itspreliminary results for the year ended 30 September 2005. Summary Profit before tax and exceptional items up 49.8% to £3.46 million (2004: £2.31million)EBITDA up 36.3% to £4.51m (2004: £3.31m)Group turnover increased by 2.2% to £32.5 million (2004: £31.8 million)Significant one-off stock gains on orange and grapefruit oilDividends increased 8% to 9.5p per share (2004: 8.8p)Earnings per share before exceptional items increased 48% to 23.7p (2004:16.0p) Edward Dawnay, Chairman commented:"The Group has again performed well over the last year with both the UK and USsubsidiaries benefiting from significant one-off orange and grapefruit oil stockprofits. The prospects for the coming year are good with Treatt USA expectedto continue its growth and the Group expecting further benefits from itsEnterprise Resource Planning system." Enquiries:Treatt plc Tel: 01284 702 500Hugo Bovill Managing DirectorRichard Hope Finance Director (Mobile on 12 December 2005: 07881 508437) CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT______________________________________________________________________________ "Group profit before tax and exceptionals increased by 50% due to somesignificant one-off stock gains" 2005 saw Group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisationincrease by 36% to £4.51 million (2004: £3.31 million) with profit before taxand exceptional items for the year increasing by 50% to £3.46 million (2004:£2.31 million). Group turnover for the year rose by 2.2% to £32.52 million(2004: £31.81 million) whilst earnings per share before exceptional itemsincreased by 48% to 23.7 pence (2004: 16.0 pence). The level of the Group's netdebt/equity ratio ended the year at just 11% (2004: 9%). The Board is recommending a final dividend of 6.4 pence (2004: 6.1 pence),increasing the total dividend for the year by 8% to 9.5 pence (2004: 8.8 pence)per share. The final dividend will be payable on 10 March 2006 to allshareholders on the register at close of business on 10 February 2006. Whilst the underlying performance of the Group's two subsidiaries, R C Treattand Treatt USA, were good, the increase in profits for the year, as previouslyreported in the Interim Statement published in May 2005, was largely due tosignificant one-off orange and grapefruit stock gains and the absence of lastyear's orange stock losses. The orange and grapefruit oil profits arose as aresult of some sharp price increases following last year's Florida hurricanescombined with the impact of lower than expected production volumes of orange oilin Brazil. As a result, orange oil prices strengthened during the financialyear. Following several very challenging years, 2004/5 has proved to be a very goodyear for R C Treatt. Although turnover only increased by 3.7% to £25.1m (2004:£24.2m), profits rose by 77% partly assisted by one-off gains from orange andgrapefruit oil, the profit growth was achieved across a wide range of valueadded products. At the same time the turnover and contribution from our aromachemical business has also shown some modest growth despite the continuingpressure on prices in the first six months of the year. In the second half thecompany benefited from a general trend for increased prices across a broadspectrum of raw materials as a result of the higher cost of petroleum and areduction in the supply of certain materials caused by farmers in some parts ofthe world switching to more profitable crops. An important factor in theimproved performance of R C Treatt was the impact of this being the first fullfinancial year for the new J D Edwards Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)system. The ERP system has had a significant effect on the profitability ofR C Treatt by streamlining systems, improving stock management procedures andenhancing the company's ability to manage many thousands of items. Treatt USA again performed well with profits up by 41% reaching another all-timehigh, and turnover increasing by 2% to $13.8 million. The profitability ofTreatt USA grew sharply largely as a result of the high, one-off, marginsattributable to orange and grapefruit oil which, as expected, were offset by a43% increase in payroll, overhead and depreciation expenses. These expenses,which totalled $3.9m (£2.1m), were budgeted as part of Treatt USA's growthstrategy in order to build the infrastructure to support Treatt USA's currentand future growth potential. In July 2005 Treatt USA implemented the full ERPsystem on schedule thus completing the total integration of the Group'smanufacturing systems. Sales of our innovative TreattaromeTM ('From The NamedFood') products continued to perform well with year on year growth of 18%.Following the substantial organic growth of the last two years, the Boardbelieve that Treatt USA is now a well established business with a high qualitycustomer base. USA Property During the year the opportunity arose to acquire the neighbouring site to TreattUSA's main Lakeland premises and the Board moved quickly to acquire a furthersix and a half acre site. Further details are provided in the Operating Review Prospects Despite the relatively depressed state of the flavour and fragrance industry weexpect Group sales to increase over the coming year although we do expectoperating margins to tighten significantly in some areas and we anticipate thatEurope will continue to prove the most difficult region, whilst we remainoptimistic about the prospects for growth in North America. We will alsocontinue to look for further opportunities to increase the Group's activity andprofitability in the Far East. Over the coming year the Group will continue to benefit from the new ERP systemthrough a process of continuous improvement aimed at providing the best possibleservice to our customers and maximising the company's operational efficiency.Treatt USA will continue to expand its range of innovative products and takeadvantage of local taste trends. Overall, we expect that essential oil prices will remain steady, with orange oilremaining firm whilst grapefruit oil prices are not expected to fall fromcurrent levels in the near future following the impact of the 2005 hurricaneseason in Florida which was, as expected, one of the worst on record. As a leading independent manufacturer of natural ingredients for the flavour andfragrance industry, with a presence both in Europe and the United States, TreattPlc remains in a strong position to grow its business on both sides of theAtlantic. People As ever, our employees in England and the United States have contributed greatlyto the success of the Group over the last year and the Board would like to placeon record its sincere gratitude to our colleagues for their tremendousdedication and hard work over the last twelve months. During the year Robin Mears retired as Operations Director having worked for theGroup for sixteen years and we would like to place on record our thanks to Robinfor the important contribution he made during that time. In particular, we aregrateful to Robin for the work he undertook to ensure a successfulimplementation of the ERP system. It is also with sadness that we bid farewellto Geoffrey Bovill, who retired from the Board on 30 September 2005, havingserved as a Director for 57 years. Geoffrey has played a significant role overthis time and his wise counsel will be greatly missed. EDWARD DAWNAYChairman9 December 2005 OPERATING REVIEW 2005________________________________________________________________________________ "The ERP system has been central to a significant enhancement in operationalperformance at R C Treatt" 2005 was a year of operational improvement throughout the Treatt Group. Inparticular the UK subsidiary, R C Treatt, has obtained significant benefits fromthe Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The Group's investment in ERP of £1.2 million is being depreciated over sevenyears and has now started to provide significant added value to the business.Initially, there were some considerable efficiency savings in IT, finance andshipping and this has been followed by operational enhancements through greaterorder visibility from order intake to customer shipment. This has enabledR C Treatt to shorten lead times to customers still further and for seniormanagement to be able to control and improve the business through a wide rangeof real time key performance indicators. Following on from the successful R C Treatt implementation, Treatt USA went livewith the full ERP system on 1 July 2005 in order to increase the globalisationof Treatt's service to its customers. The new system has settled in well andprovides Treatt USA with an excellent infrastructure which will make it easierto process the expected increase in volumes over the coming years. As reported in the Chairman's Statement, during the year an opportunity arose toacquire the neighbouring site to Treatt USA's current premises. Consequently,the company acquired an additional 6.5 acre property most of which has anexisting concrete base, together with 9,000 sq ft of warehousing and 2,500 sq ftof office space. The total consideration was $570,000 (£308,000) and nowincreases the Group's total manufacturing facility in the US to 76,000 sq ft.This capital expenditure was funded from Treatt USA's own working capital. Treatt continues to buy from and sell to almost one hundred countries around theworld and, thereby, provide a truly global service to many of its multinationalcustomers. Treatt has developed, through the ERP system, an infrastructure withthe ability to comply with the many complex legislative requirements necessaryfor exporting and importing goods throughout the world, enabling it to provideinformation to customers efficiently as required. Increasingly, legislative and regulatory pressures have placed Treatt's QualityControl laboratories at the forefront of the industry's analytical systems andtechniques, and they are therefore able to provide the added value service whichcustomers now require. However, we are concerned at the increasing legislativeburdens being placed upon our industry and will continue to play our part inscrutinising forthcoming regulations and persuading governmental bodies tomodify their proposals where appropriate. Treatt continues to play an activerole in trade organisations throughout the industry, with the Group's ManagingDirector currently holding the position of President of the InternationalFederation of Essential Oils and Aroma Trades (IFEAT). Trading After the decreases in early 2004 we have seen the price of orange oil, anorange juice by-product, increase again over the last twelve months, from lessthan $1/kg to around $2.25-$2.50/kg. This increase, together with the absenceof last year's losses, has had a significant impact on the financial results forthe year. In addition, the four hurricanes which swept through Florida betweenAugust and October 2004 caused a great deal of damage to Florida's grapefruitcrop, reducing grapefruit volumes to the lowest since 1936. Consequently,grapefruit oil prices rose sharply, which has been reflected in our sellingprices. R C Treatt Sales increased by 4% whilst volumes rose by 2% with sales to the top tencustomers again representing just over one third of turnover. Overall, thecustomer base remains widely spread both in terms of size and location, therebyproviding a well balanced risk profile. Gross margins for the year increasedsharply due to the one-off stock gains referred to earlier. This was furthersupported by generally rising essential oil and raw material prices followingthe significant rise in petroleum prices. Treatt USA 2005 was a year of consolidation with US Dollar sales increasing by 2% duringthe year, having increased by 41% the year before. TreattaromeTM productscontinued to provide a strong engine for growth. Again margins weresubstantially higher due to the impact of orange oil and grapefruit oil. Investment for the future R C Treatt As expected, the level of capital expenditure has now returned to historicallymore normal levels with the focus of investment being on enhancements to ourlaboratory capabilities, implementing a bar coding system and maximising theefficient use of space at our Bury St. Edmunds site. The bar coding system willbe fully integrated with the ERP system and will further enhance the company'soperational efficiencies and customer service. Implementation on a phased basisis scheduled to commence in 2006. The Company keeps under constant review thefacilities and logistical set up at its plant in England and will makeappropriate investments as and when required. The Company will also continue toinvest where required in order to increase capacity, improve efficiency or takeadvantage of market opportunities. Constant changes to legislation both in theUK and EU are also likely to result in further capital expenditure requirements. Treatt USA In addition to the acquisition of the new site adjacent to our existing site,Treatt USA will continue to develop and maximise the efficiency of its existingpremises. The new premises will require further investment as it is developedto meet the needs of the business. Although this latest expansion reduces thelikelihood of imminent development of the company's existing five acre greenfield adjacent to the existing plant, the Board will keep this under regularreview. Research and Development Both Treatt USA and R C Treatt continue to develop and enhance their researchand development activities, through the employment of skilled personnel andinvestment in technology. In particular, over the last year Treatt USA hasexpanded its R&D function in order to maximise the growth opportunities in NorthAmerica. The Group also carries out a significant amount of global researchinto new and changing raw materials from around the world and continues todevelop close partnerships with companies in producing countries in order todevelop new sources of raw materials on a financially sustainable basis. Markets Despite an increase in turnover in Europe, this market area has generally provedto be the most difficult in which to achieve growth. This is largely due to thelevel of industry consolidation which has taken place over the last decade.Similarly, turnover in the UK fell by 6%, although this still remains thelargest individual territory. The company also benefited from strong sales inthe Far East. Products Turnover of orange oil based products fell by 13% largely due to comparison withthe previous year when significant de-stocking was taking place. As a result,orange oil now represents approximately 17% of Group turnover. Treatt USA's growth continues to be spread across a wide product range withsignificant growth in both value added citrus products and the TreattaromeTMrange of natural distillates. Personnel In order to assist us in meeting fluctuations in demand and ensure greaterflexibility, we have agreed changes in our contracts of employment withoperations personnel in the UK. As a result of the recent growth anddevelopment at Treatt USA the Human Resources function has been formalised andthe company has undertaken a programme of management and supervisor training androle evaluations in order to create career paths within the organisation.Standard terms and conditions of employment operate for all staff, which do notdiscriminate against any individual or group of people. FINANCIAL REVIEW 2005______________________________________________________________________________ "EBITDA increased by 36% and dividends up 8%" Performance AnalysisProfit and Loss account Group turnover increased by 2.2% during the year to £32.52 million (2004: £31.81million). In constant currency, sales at our USA subsidiary, Treatt USA,increased in US Dollars by 2%, whilst R C Treatt's sales rose by 3.7%. Earningsbefore interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the year grew by 36.1%to £4.51 million (2004: £3.31 million) and Group profit before tax, beforeexceptional items, rose by 49.8% to £3.46 million (2004: £2.31 million). The total dividend for the year has been increased by 8.0% to 9.5 pence pershare, resulting in dividend cover of 2.5 times earnings. The increase in profitability came from both R C Treatt and Treatt USA who bothbenefited from the increase in prices for both orange and grapefruit oil basedproducts. This was further supported by continued strong growth in theTreattaromeTM product range in the US whilst sales of aroma chemicals byR C Treatt held up well despite stiff international competition. Gross margins of 32.5% were achieved this year (2004: 26.6%) largely due to theincreased margins which arose on orange and grapefruit oil products. Over theyear there was a very small strengthening of the US Dollar/Sterling exchangerate although there was a 13% range of $1.73 to $1.95 during the year. Assistedby the ERP system, aroma chemical margins were maintained through improvedcontrol of the purchasing and selling of thousands of chemicals. The Group's operating costs increased by 16.6% to £7.0 million (2004: £6.0million). This increase was expected as Treatt USA had reached a level ofactivity which required a stepped increase in its overhead costs in order tosupport the growth which had taken place and to ensure it was well placed tomanage the expected growth of the next few years. As a result total staffnumbers across the Group increased to 173 employees, having grown by 5.5% on theprevious year. This increase in headcount was predominately a consequence ofthe growth at Treatt USA. (See Operating Review for further explanation). The Group's net interest payable fell by 27% to £90,000 (2004: £123,000) havingfallen by 41% the year before as a consequence of the elimination of any shortterm debt. This leaves an outstanding balance of £2.3 million relating to the 20year Industrial Development Loan which was used to finance the purchase of theLakeland facilities for Treatt USA. Earnings per share before exceptional items increased by 48.1% to 23.7 pence pershare (2004: 16.0 pence). The earnings per share after exceptional itemsincreased by 42.8%. Both measures have been shown in order to provide aconsistent measure of performance over time and excludes those shares which areheld by the Treatt Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) since they do not rank fordividend. 2005 was the second year of the Group's new programme of offering share savingschemes on an annual basis for staff in the UK and USA. This was the first yearin which Treatt USA staff were able to exercise their options, whilst the UKschemes provide for three-year savings plans. As part of this programme,options were granted over a further 42,000 shares during the year. Followingits establishment in 2004, the EBT acquired a further 200,000 shares during theyear in order to satisfy future option schemes without causing any shareholderdilution. Cashflow The cash position for the year was strong with a net outflow of £0.5m in spiteof an increase in stock investment of £3m and capital expenditure of £0.9m. Cashinflow from operating activities was £2.6 million (2004: £5.0 million) with thereduction being attributable to significant stock increases. This investment instock followed the reduction in 2004 when orange oil prices fell sharply and wasmore in line with the levels seen in 2003. Capital expenditure for the year increased to £0.9m (2004: £0.6m) due to theacquisition of the second site in Lakeland, Florida, details of which areprovided in the Operating Review. Balance Sheet Over the year Group shareholders' funds have grown to £18,538,000 (2004:£17,325,000), with net assets per share increasing to £1.80 (2004: £1.68). Thisrepresents an increase of 19% over the last five years. Net current assetsrepresent 64% of shareholders' funds and the Group's land and buildings are allheld at historical cost. It should be noted, however, that net assets have beenreduced by £625,000 as a result of the purchase of shares by the EBT due to theaccounting requirements of UITF Abstract 38. This impact will be reversed whenthese shares are used to satisfy employee share saving schemes. Group Tax Charge The Group's current year tax charge of £1,107,000 represents an effective taxrate of 32% (2004: 29%). The overall tax charge of £1,082,000 has increasedfaster than the increase in profits as more of the Group's profit is beingsubject to USA state and federal taxes at a combined marginal rate ofapproximately 38%. The US tax charges have also increased disproportionatelydue to the expiry of certain capital tax relief in relation to the Lakelandproperty. Treasury Policies The Group operates a conservative set of treasury policies to ensure that nounnecessary risks are taken with the Group's assets. No investments other than cash and other short-term deposits are currentlypermitted. Where appropriate these balances are held in foreign currencies, butonly as part of the Group's overall hedging activity as explained below. The nature of Treatt's activities is such that the Group could be affected bymovements in certain exchange rates, principally between Sterling and the USDollar. This risk manifests itself in a number of ways. Firstly, the value of the foreign currency net assets of Treatt USA canfluctuate with Sterling. Currently these are not hedged, as the risks are notconsidered to justify the cost of putting the hedge in place. Secondly, with R C Treatt exporting to over 80 countries, fluctuations inSterling's value can affect both the gross margin and operating costs. Salesare principally made in three currencies in addition to Sterling, with the USDollar being by far the most significant. Even if a sale is made in Sterling,its price may be set by reference to its US Dollar denominated commodity priceand therefore have an impact on the Sterling gross margin. Raw materials arealso mainly purchased in US Dollars and therefore a US Dollar bank account isoperated, through which Dollar denominated sales and purchases flow. If thereis a mismatch in any one accounting period and the Sterling to US Dollarexchange rate changes, an exchange difference will arise. Hence it is Sterling'srelative strength against the US Dollar that is of prime importance. As well as affecting the cash value of sales, US Dollar exchange movements canalso have a significant effect on the replacement cost of stocks, which affectsfuture profitability and competitiveness. The Group therefore has a policy of maintaining the majority of cash balances,including the main Group overdraft facilities, in US Dollars as this is the mostcost effective means of providing a natural hedge against movements in the USDollar/Sterling exchange rate. Currency accounts are also run for the othermain currencies to which R C Treatt is exposed. This policy will protect theGroup against the worst of any short-term swings in currencies. International Financial Reporting Standards As a company listed on the London Stock Exchange, Treatt is required toimplement International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) with effect fromaccounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2005. Therefore the next setof full financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2006 will be thefirst time the Group's results will be published using IFRS. Preliminary workhas been completed to assess the full impact of IFRS on the Group's balancesheet and profit and loss account, the result of which is that the Board believethat the most significant effect will flow from IAS19: Employee Benefits whichwill require the surplus or deficit in the defined benefit pension schemeoperated by R C Treatt to be brought on to the balance sheet using similarcalculations as prescribed by FRS17 (see note 21). The deficit of the scheme asat 30 September 2005 was £2.3 million (net of deferred tax). TREATT PLC PRELIMINARY STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2005 GROUP PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT 2005 2004 Notes £'000 £'000 Turnover - continuing operations 1 32,521 31,809 Cost of sales (21,952) (23,354) ______ ______ Gross profit 10,569 8,455 Net operating costs - exceptional items 2 - (70) - other operating costs (7,023) (6,025) ______ ______ Operating profit 3,546 2,360 Exceptional profit on sale of fixed assets 2 - 131 ______ ______ Profit on ordinary activities before 3,546 2,491 interest Net interest payable (90) (123) ______ ______ Profit on ordinary activities before taxation 3,456 2,368 Tax on profit on ordinary activities 3 (1,082) (669) Profit on ordinary activities after ______ ______ taxation 2,374 1,699 Dividends 4 (937) (893) ______ ______ Retained profit for the year 1,437 806 ______ ______ Dividends per ordinary share 4 9.5p 8.8p Earnings per share - Basic - after exceptional items 5 23.7p 16.6p - before exceptional items 5 23.7p 16.0p - Diluted 5 23.6p 16.6p GROUP STATEMENT OF TOTAL RECOGNISED GAINS AND LOSSES 2005 2004 £'000 £'000 Profit for the financial year 2,374 1,699 Exchange differences on foreign currency net investments 123 (431) ______ ______ Total recognised gains and losses 2,497 1,268 ______ ______ The figures for the years ended 30 September 2005 and 2004 are an abridgedversion of the group's audited financial statements, these are not statutoryaccounts. The figures for the year ended 30 September 2004 have been deliveredto the Registrar of Companies. These statements received an unqualified auditopinion and the auditors' report contained no statement under section 237(2) or237(3) of the Companies Act 1985. TREATT PLC PRELIMINARY STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2005 GROUP BALANCE SHEET 2005 2004 £'000 £'000 Tangible fixed assets 9,374 9,536 Current Assets Stocks 11,395 8,355 Debtors 5,718 6,007 Cash at bank and in hand 297 809 ______ ______ 17,410 15,171 ______ ______Creditors: amounts falling due withinone year Loan (144) (141) Other creditors (5,472) (4,451) ______ ______ (5,616) (4,592) ______ ______ Net current assets 11,794 10,579 Total assets less current ______ ______liabilities 21,168 20,115 Creditors: amounts falling due aftermore than one year Loan (2,179) (2,271) Deferred tax (451) (519) ______ ______Net assets 18,538 17,325 ______ ______ Capital and reservesShare capital 1,029 1,029Share premium account 2,143 2,143Own shares in share trust (625) (278)Profit and loss 15,991 14,431account Shareholders' funds Equity ______ ______ Interests 18,538 17,325 ______ ______ TREATT PLC PRELIMINARY STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2005 GROUP CASH FLOW STATEMENT 2005 2004 £'000 £'000 Cash inflow from operating activities 2,630 4,952 Return on investments and servicing of finance (90) (123) Taxation (812) (312) Capital expenditure and financial investment (862) (646) Equity dividends paid (895) (861) ______ ______Cash (outflow)/inflow before financing (29) 3,010 Financing - net acquisition of own shares by share trust (347) (278) - decrease in debt (144) (142) (Decrease)/increase in cash in the ______ ______year (520) 2,590 ______ ______ RECONCILIATION OF NET CASH FLOW TO INCREASE IN DEBT (Decrease)/increase in cash in the year (520) 2,590 Cash outflow from change in net debt 144 142 Exchange difference (47) 203 (Increase)/decrease in net debt in the ______ ______year (423) 2,935 Net debt at 1 October 2004 (1,603) (4,538) ______ ______Net debt at 30 September 2005 (2,026) (1,603) ______ ______ TREATT PLC PRELIMINARY STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2005 NOTES TO THE PRELIMINARY STATEMENT 2005 2004 £'000 £'000 1 Turnover by destination : United Kingdom 6,314 6,725 Rest of Europe 9,331 8,674 The Americas 8,816 8,756 Rest of the World 8,060 7,654 ______ ______ 32,521 31,809 ______ ______ 2 Exceptional items : The exceptional items referred to in the Group Profit and Loss Account are categorised as follows : 2005 2004 £'000 £'000 Reorganisation costs - 70 ______ ______ Profit on the sale of fixed assets - (131) ______ ______ 2005 2004 £'000 £'000 3 Taxation: UK current year corporation tax 784 395 Overseas current year tax 375 109 Transfer (from)/to deferred tax (52) 176 UK prior year corporation tax (3) (10) Overseas prior year tax (1) 18 Prior year deferred tax (21) (19) ______ ______ 1,082 669 ______ ______ 2005 2004 £'000 £'000 4 Dividends: Interim declared of 3.1p (2004: 2.7p) per share 310 278 Final proposed of 6.4p (2004: 6.1p) per share 639 615 Over accrual from previous year (12) - ______ ______ Total for the year 937 893 ______ ______ Subject to approval at the Annual General Meeting on 27 February 2006, the final dividend for the year ended 30 September 2005 will be payable on 10 March 2006 to those shareholders on the Register at the close of business on 10 February 2006 (ex-dividend date 8 February 2006). 5 (a) Basic earnings per share: Basic earnings per share is based on the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue and ranking for dividend during the year of 10,024,533 (2004 :10,248,749) and earnings of : - £2,374,000 (2004 : £1,699,000), being the profit on ordinary activities after taxation and exceptional items - £2,374,000 (2004: £1,643,000) being the profit on ordinary activities, after taxation excluding the net impact of exceptional items (2004:£61,000) and tax thereon (2004: £5,000). The weighted average number of shares excludes shares held by the Treatt Employees' Share Trust. (b) Diluted earnings per share: Diluted earnings per share is based on the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue and ranking for dividend during the year, adjusted for the effect of all dilutive potential ordinary shares, of 10,050,258 (2004 :10,259,601), and the same earnings as above. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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