tibbett  britten group plc annual report and accounts 2002
wwwtibbettbrittencom
annual report and accounts 2002
wwwtibbettbrittencom
in partnership with 
our customers 1 overview
2 chairman’s statement
4 tibbett  britten at a glance
5 concentrating on our customers
6 exploring new markets
8 proactive customer solutions
10 strong customer relationships
12 chief executive’s review
16 financial review
18 our people –
improving your service
20 board of directors 
21 report of the directors
23 directors’ remuneration report
29 corporate governance
31 directors’ responsibility for ﬁnancial reporting
and internal control
32 consolidated proﬁt and loss account
33 consolidated balance sheet
34 company balance sheet
35 consolidated statement of total recognised
gains and losses
35 note of historical cost proﬁt and losses
36 consolidated cash ﬂow statement
36 reconciliation of cash ﬂow to movement 
in net debt
37 notes to the consolidated cash ﬂow statement
39 notes to the accounts
59 report of the independent auditors
60 financial record
ibc directors secretary and advisors
shareholder information and ﬁnancial calendar
directors secretary and advisers
shareholder information and ﬁnancial calendar
for the year ending 31 december 2003
chairman
j a harvey cbe ba fcit filt
chief executive
m r arrowsmith bsc fcma
directors
s hammad ba mba
m w j sprague ma
m a whiteling mcom
nonexecutive directors
c w e r buchan bsc fca
w a c thomson
r w wood bsc
secretary
n l smith llb
registered ofﬁce
centennial park
elstree
hertfordshire wd6 3tl
united kingdom
tel 020 8327 2000
fax 020 8327 2199
registered number
1838882 england
auditors
bdo stoy hayward
8 baker street 
london w1u 3ll
solicitors
denton wilde sapte
1 fleet place
london ec4m 7ws
registrar and transfer ofﬁce
lloyds tsb registrars
the causeway worthing
west sussex bn99 6da
tel 0870 6003970
principal clearing bankers
lloyds tsb bank plc
city ofﬁce
1115 monument street
london ec3v 9ja
stockbrokers
dresdner kleinwort
wasserstein
20 fenchurch street
london ec3p 3db
merchant bankers
dresdner kleinwort
wasserstein
20 fenchurch street
london ec3p 3db
shareholder enquiries
if you have any queries about the administration of shareholdings such as change of address transfer of ownership dividend mandate forms
or dividend payment please contact the registrar at the address given above the best way to ensure that dividends are received as quickly as
possible is to instruct the registrar to pay them directly into your bank account tax vouchers are then posted to you separately see the registrar’s
website wwwshareviewcouk for further details
share price information
the middle market price of a tibbett  britten group plc share on 31 december 2002 was 3825p during the year the share price ﬂuctuated
between 8075p and 3825p the company’s share price is available from the group’s website wwwtibbettbrittencom with a 15 minute delay
and from the london stock exchange website wwwpriceslondonstockexchangecom with a similar delay prices are also published in most
newspapers and also on ceefax and teletext in the uk
financial calendar
annual general meeting 21 may 2003 proposed 2002 ﬁnal dividend payment date 28 may 2003
exdividend date for 2002 ﬁnal dividend 30 april 2003 announcement of 2003 interim results september 2003
record date for 2002 ﬁnal dividend payment date 2 may 2003 proposed 2003 interim dividend payment date november 2003
analysis of shareholdings as at 31 december 2002
range nos of holders  of holders nos of shares  of shares
1 to 1000 1613 7279 520312 107
1001 to 5000 324 1462 685766 141
5001 to 10000 57 257 425761 088
10001 to 50000 103 465 2452197 504
50001 to 100000 41 185 2833083 583
100001 and over 78 352 41717714 8577
totals 2216 10000 48634833 10000
number of individuals – 1664 7448 representing 3745200 shares 769
number of institutions – 552 2552 representing 44889633 shares 9231
this document has been printed on paper manufactured from 50 tcf pulps from plantation forests and 50 recycled and deinked ﬁbres from pre and post
consumer waste no chlorine has been used in the deinking process
designed and produced by linnett associates printed by empress litho ltd overview
tibbett  britten group plc annual report and accounts 2002 1
financial highlights
turnover up 8 to
£15169m
†
operating proﬁt down 6 
to £353m
†
proﬁt before tax down 10 
to £294m
earnings per share of 387p
increased ﬁnal dividend 
of 174p 2001 – 168p
†
continuing operations
before goodwill and exceptionals

2001 has been restated for frs 17
and frs 19 adjustments
operational highlights
††
employees 38500
operational sites 370
countries of operation 34
warehousing million sq m 50
vehicles and trailers 15435
retailers 78
suppliers 22
††
as at 31 december 2002
tibbett  britten is a ukbased international group of companies providing supply chain
and logistical support services for major retailers and manufacturers it focuses on the
consumer sector and has established a strong presence in the food and beverage fashion
and consumer nonfood markets
the group’s objective is to develop strategic partnerships with its customers and
consolidate its position as an international leader in logistics services and supply chain
management through the translation of experience and transfer of customer franchise
across territorial and sector boundaries
highlights


Summary:
 chairman’s statement
2 tibbett  britten group plc annual report and accounts 2002
the group made good underlying progress in more uncertain trading
environments and despite a poor european summer saw a welcome
improvement in second half year trading as over 70 of our turnover
derives from north american and uk markets we are less exposed to
the difficulties of the major euro zone countries
furthermore our strategic
focus on consumer related
sectors coupled with long
term contractual relationships
has proved more resilient than
transactionally based network
and industrially related
operations the stability and
focus of the group are
providing real competitive
advantage
over 75 of growth was
organic with all regions
increasing turnover we
achieved a strong rate of
contract renewal and added
£212m of annualised revenue
from new contract startups
free cash ﬂow increased by
over 70 from the previous
year in addition a number 
of legacy issues were
successfully resolved and in
mexico dimalsa was acquired
in march and is being
successfully integrated into
the group 
despite the strength of
sterling the north american
business contributed 40 
of operating proﬁt the uk
achieved a good second half
performance despite increased
insurance costs mainland
europe whilst growing
substantively was impacted
by poor performances
particularly in france and
poland 
outside our core markets 
of europe and the americas
the emergent international
operations including china
delivered a third successive
year of improvement in
turnover and proﬁt in march
we were proud to receive 
the queen’s award for
international trade initiative 
in recognition of the group’s
success in translating its skills
into overseas markets
financial results
in the year ended 31
december 2002 at constant
exchange rates turnover was
up 11 to £152bn 2001 –
£135bn and operating proﬁt
down 3 to £353m 2001 –
£374m adjusted earnings
per share of 387 pence 
2001 – 431 pence were
correspondingly lower and
also impacted by the increase
in the headline tax charge
the group’s operations
remain strongly cash
generative with operating
cash ﬂow of £746m 2001 –
£736m free cash ﬂow 
john harvey 
chairman tibbett  britten group plc annual report and accounts 2002 3
after the payment of interest
taxation and dividends
improved by £135m to
£321m after investments 
in dimalsa and david’s of
thailand year end net debt
was £672m 2001 – £541m
the free cash ﬂow plus
existing borrowing facilities
continue to provide a platform
for sustainable investment
dividend
the board is recommending 
a ﬁnal dividend of 174 pence
per ordinary share 2001 –
168 pence for the year ended
31 december 2002 to be 
paid on 28 may 2003 to
shareholders on the register
at 2 may 2003 the interim
dividend of 79 pence 
per share was paid on 
11 november 2002 this brings
total dividends for the year 
to 253 pence 2001 – 244
pence up 4 and marks 
the seventh successive year
of increase 
organisation and people 
the board has been
restructured with a smaller
corporate board addressing
strategy and corporate
governance and an enlarged
operating board under 
mike arrowsmith running 
the operations 
as a consequence of these
changes martin graham 
and david musgrave have
resigned from the corporate
board to concentrate on their
responsibilities within the
operating board mike evans
after 28 years retired at the
end of the year and on behalf
of all his colleagues i should
like to thank mike for his 
long contribution in building
today’s robust and successful
business i also welcome
saad hammad who joined us
in february 2003 to lead the
european team
these changes will enhance
our focus on the strategic
development of the business
and reinforce the development
of customer partnerships
tibbett  britten remains
dependent on the
commitment skills and
experience of over 38000
people in 34 countries 
i should like to pay tribute
again to their achievements
enterprise – not least
resilience – and acknowledge
with gratitude the support 
so freely given
outlook
generally this year has
started positively despite
weak volumes in mainland
europe there is some
evidence that deferred
outsourcing projects have
been reactivated and we
expect continued growth 
in our major markets despite
the current political and
economic uncertainties
new logistics opportunities
are inherent in extended
supply chains as the
accelerating global migration
of manufacturing and the
development of transnational
retailing gathers pace as 
a result of our sector
concentration on consumer
markets and our strategic
geographic presence we are
particularly well placed to
exploit these opportunities
our business strategy built
primarily on organic growth
has enabled the group to
develop successfully in north
america and mainland europe
with limited capital
commitment this process 
is now being replicated in
china and other international
markets
ja harvey cbe
chairman