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:
 chief executive’s review
12 tibbett  britten group plc annual report and accounts 2002
this together with our clear
strategic focus and key market
leadership positions continues
to represent a sound basis for
sustained growth
during 2002 we further
strengthened our management
teams and streamlined our
organisational structures 
the appointment of saad
hammad to lead the european
team will facilitate the
integration of our activities
across europe we continue
to invest in information
technology and in the
development of our people
macroeconomic and 
geopolitical changes drive the
development of transnational
manufacturing and retailing
global sourcing and the
complexities of the extended
supply chain add further to
the potential for outsourcing
and change management in
both our established core
markets and our strategic
development markets like
china and latin america
the americas
operations in the americas
continue to show strong
growth at constant exchange
rates turnover was up by
11 to £6053m and operating
proﬁt before goodwill
amortisation increased by 8
to £159m during the year
organic growth of £560m
more than replaced the
turnover from the kmart
contract discontinued in 
may 2001 and the oshawa
contract which was taken in
house following its acquisition
by sobey’s the dimalsa
business in mexico acquired
in march 2002 is meeting
expectations and before
goodwill amortisation
contributed £19m to
operating proﬁt 
in north america we continue
to reinforce our market
leadership position in grocery
retail whilst extending our
presence in the nonfood
retail and fast moving
consumer product
manufacturing sectors
in the united states we
expanded our activities in 
hams hall
extending the customer
franchise sainsbury’s 
giant hams hall ‘fulﬁlment
factory’ just outside
birmingham uk is shown
in the ﬁnal stage of
construction this
automated 855000 sq ft
ambient and chilled
distribution centre is now
the largest operated by the
group in the uk and ireland
mike arrowsmith 
chief executive
the group’s emphasis on mass consumer related
sectors and our openbook business model which
accounts for 70 of activities provides resilience
against a general economic slowdown tibbett  britten group plc annual report and accounts 2002 13
the grocery sector with a full
year of operations for two 
7eleven regional distribution
centres we have also
enhanced our position in 
the consumer product
manufacturing sector with 
the startup of four new sites
for procter  gamble and the
operation of three facilities for
conagra – one of the largest
food manufacturers in the
united states during the year
we commenced operations 
at two sites for jc penney
reinforcing our presence 
in the clothing sector 
within the americas we
continue to invest in
information technologies 
to increase efﬁciency across
the supply chain the
deployment of sophisticated
demandplanning tools 
have successfully reduced
customer inventories and
increased service levels 
and the implementation of
our webbased electronic
procurement programme has
led to signiﬁcant purchasing
savings for a number of
clients our transport
management solution
freightsmart is using the
latest technology to reduce
costs and increase service
levels the webenabled
liquorconnectcom initiative
has resulted in more than
75 of our western canadian
licensed liquor business being
booked in real time over the
internet with resultant savings
throughout the supply chain
in canada a third new one
million sq ft distribution centre
for walmart was completed
early in the year and already
the ﬁrst two sites are being
extended we delivered the
paid consultancy project for
the canadian department 
of national defence dnd 
on the beneﬁts of outsourcing
their military supply chains
and this work conﬁrmed the
savings indicated by the
earlier pilot study regrettably
the canadian government has
chosen not to proceed with
the project
the acquisition of the dimalsa
business in mexico and puerto
rico was completed at the
end of march we have
successfully translated 
our customer franchise 
into mexico and since the
acquisition have opened three
procter  gamble regional
distribution sites the
relationship with kelloggs 
has been extended with 
the opening of a new site 
in mexicali and additional 
new business has been won
with rubbermaid and hamilton
beach to commence in 2003
during the year we improved
operational efﬁciencies 
through deployment of
management and systems
expertise from our north
american business 
after restructuring early 
in the year the business 
in argentina is now trading
proﬁtably
europe
our european business
outperformed a generally
slower market with turnover
at constant exchange rates
increasing by 9 to £8378m
however operating proﬁt
before goodwill amortisation
declined by 15 to £181m
due mainly to the costs
associated with closing the
shareduser uk fashion
network and increased
insurance premiums across
europe these events
masked the good progress
being made in developing 
the underlying businesses
in the uk and ireland we
continued to reinforce our
market position extending
our partnerships with major
clients and broadening 
our overall customer base
through the application of
innovative solutions to their
supply chain needs during
the year we strengthened 
the management team and
established a single support
infrastructure to serve all 
our uk activities 
the 9 turnover growth in
uk and ireland is supported
by the fullyear contribution 
of the new tesco distribution
centre at thurrock and the
bq import warehouse 
at scunthorpe in addition 
a number of new operations
commenced during the year
including the sainsbury’s
distribution centre at corby
the bq distribution centre 
at radlett and new operations
for ben sherman gap 
and lvmh
in august after providing
support services to
remington since may 2001
the group was awarded an
exclusive long term logistics
contract in early 2003 our
relationship with the big food
group was enhanced by the
award of a long term contract
to manage the warehousing
and delivery for both booker
cash  carry and iceland
supermarkets throughout
scotland northern england
and northern ireland
after the closure of the
shareduser network
operations the ukbased
fashion business has been
reshaped and is actively
scm
in canada member company
scm completed the third new
one million sq ft distribution
centre for walmart the world’s
largest retailer scm has
provided exclusive warehousing
and distribution services to
walmart in canada since 1994
and in germany since 1999
mexico
since the acquisition of dimalsa
– mexico’s largest logistics
service provider – in march 
the group has introduced both
management and systems
from the north american
business as a result we are
already successfully translating
our customer franchise
macroeconomic and geopolitical changes
drive the development of transnational
manufacturing and retailing global sourcing
and the complexities of the extended supply
chain add further to the potential for
outsourcing and change management chief executive’s review continued
14 tibbett  britten group plc annual report and accounts 2002
developing into mainland
europe where there is an
identiﬁed pipeline of new
business opportunities 
we are also working to
extend our supply chain offer
and consolidate our position
in key offshore manufacturing
centres in romania morocco
turkey and china 
in april 2002 a full actuarial
valuation conﬁrmed that the
uk deﬁned beneﬁt pension
scheme was fully funded
under the minimum funding
requirement regulations
mfr we have now closed
the deﬁned beneﬁt scheme 
to new entrants and increased
employee contributions
under frs 17 accounting
rules the scheme showed 
a net deﬁcit of £721m at 
31 december 2002
in mainland europe turnover
at constant exchange rates
increased by 12 to £2253m
as we continued to develop
our operations in france
benelux spain and eastern
europe following a strong
start operating proﬁt declined
in the second half due to
higher insurance costs and
the exceptionally poor summer
that affected our closedbook
drinks and icecream
operations in france and spain
during the year we extended
our fashion sector expertise
and customer franchise across
europe major new business
included an operation to 
coordinate plan and manage
all primary transport across
europe and the middle east
for levi strauss  co and 
the startup of a major textile
distribution centre supporting
over 2300 retail outlets
nationwide for intermarché
other additions in the fashion
sector included hugo boss
and gap in france forum and
women’s secret in spain and
a further corteﬁel business
which will commence in 2003
in the grocery sector we
strengthened our relationships
with major transnational
operators such as auchan
opening new operations in
both france and hungary 
we continued development in
the fresh produce sector with
the extension of the valencia
site in spain in germany a
second distribution centre for
walmart became operational
in march 2003 in benelux we
successfully reduced our cost
base and further improved
customer service levels
in central and eastern europe
our hungarian business
performed exceptionally 
well and successfully opened
new operations for delhaize
auchan and added bestfoods
in the czech republic we
commenced operations for
interspar but in poland the
difﬁcult economic situation
depressed customer volumes
resulting in our closed book
operation at raciborz
operating below capacity 
international
our international operations 
in asia the middle east and
africa continue to develop
rapidly at constant exchange
rates turnover was up by 42
to £738m and operating proﬁt
increased by 113 to £13m 
in china a key emerging
market for the group our
5050 joint venture with
unilever
rfid ‘smart tagging’ trials were
undertaken in 2002 involving 
the distribution of sixpacks of
lynx deodorant for lever 
fabergé – unilever’s home and
personal care products company
during the year we extended our fashion
sector expertise and customer franchise
across europe major new business included
an operation to coordinate plan and manage
all primary transport across europe and the
middle east for levi strauss  co
remington
after a successful 15month
project to streamline its uk
supply chain the group was
awarded a new long term
logistics contract by remington tibbett  britten group plc annual report and accounts 2002 15
hutchison whampoa
continues to grow rapidly
operations include the
management of an asset
light national distribution
network already delivering to
over 350 cities across china –
mainly on behalf of major
international manufacturers
including procter  gamble
warner lambert and siemens
over the past three years 
we have also established 
a signiﬁcant presence in the
management of domestic
supply chains within the retail
sector for customers including
bq park ‘n’ shop and 
wu mei during the year 
we commenced warehouse
operations for pg at chengdu
and tianjin earlier this year
we opened a major purpose
built warehouse for retailer
huapu and in april 2003 
we will take over the
management of a third pg
warehouse in shanghai there
is a strong pipeline of new
business from both retailers
and manufacturers
we have extended our
activities into other parts 
of asia through the
establishment of a joint
venture in thailand with
david’s asia and in malaysia
with kontena nasional 
these joint ventures
complement our existing
activities in taiwan hong
kong and singapore 
in the middle east our
partnership with the olayan
group in saudi arabia is well
established and is providing
supply chain management
services to a wide range 
of consumer product
companies including colgate
palmolive henkel kimberly
clark and kraft foods in
dubai we have taken over the
management of the al futtaim
logistics operations which
provide supply chain
management support to 
a range of franchisee
operations in the region
the south africa business
continues to develop
satisfactorily helped by 
the fullyear contribution from
the kinesis business that
specialises in supply chain
management services for
ethical pharmaceutical 
and personal healthcare
manufacturers the i2
technologies transport
management software is now
fully deployed and is not only
reducing costs but is also a
major source of new business
other new business during
the year included taking over
the management of the kraft
national distribution centre
near johannesburg
mike arrowsmith
chief executive
olayan
the olayan tibbett  britten
joint venture at al khobar
saudi arabia extended its
customer base elsewhere
tibbett  britten middle
east was formed as a wholly
groupowned entity
responding to increasing
opportunities for further
growth in the region
corteﬁel
our fashion sector operations
continue to grow across
europe and elsewhere 
during the year we were
appointed by corteﬁel group
women’s secret to manage
a central warehouse serving 
the prominent spanish fashion
company’s domestic and
international stores
operations include the management of
an asset light national distribution network
already delivering to over 350 cities across
china – mainly on behalf of major
international manufacturers