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:
 tibbett  britten at a glance
4 tibbett  britten group plc annual report and accounts 2002
although originally founded in the uk tibbett  britten has successfully established two home
markets – europe and north america – whilst selectively developing elsewhere the group
generated 95 of its 2002 turnover of £15bn in its core geographical sectors and now employs
38500 people across 34 countries
geographical turnover
40 americas
15 mainland europe
5 rest of world
40 uk and ireland
sector turnover
34 consumer
merchandise
23 clothing
43 food and beverage
americas europe rest of the world
turnover £6053m £8378m £738m
2001 – £5849m 2001 – £7613m 2001 – £594m
operating proﬁt
†
£159m £181m £13m
2001 – £156m 2001 – £210m 2001 – £08m
number of employees 13400 22200 2900
sites 70 230 70
total warehousing 2100000 2400000 470000
square metres
commercial vehicles 8734 5810 891
and trailers
business heads mike sprague saad hammad david musgrave
operator of the largest
distribution network in
subsaharan africa
logistics market leader
for consumer products
in china and hong kong
principal distributor of frozen food in
central europe biggest drinks and fresh
produce logistics company in france
market leader for consumer logistics in
portugal largest distributor of clothing
home and personal care and technology
products in the uk and ireland
largest specialist distribution business
in canada and mexico and one of the
biggest in the usa – operating from
coast to coast growing interests in
latin america and the caribbean
market positions
bahrain china hong
kong kenya kuwait
malaysia morocco
saudi arabia singapore
south africa taiwan
tanzania thailand
uganda united arab
emirates
austria belgium czech republic
france germany hungary ireland
netherlands poland portugal romania
slovakia spain united kingdom
argentina canada mexico
puerto rico usa
geographic spread
average number
of employees
98 99 00 01 02
27362
29628
33804
33904
38593
net assets


98 99 00 01 02
982
1091
1212
1243
1056

only 2001 has been restated for frs 17
and frs 19 adjustments
excluding pension liability
†
before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items