The table below details for the stated periods the average or the high and low Noon Buying Rates (i.e. the Noon Buying Rate in New York City for cable transfers in foreign currencies as announced for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York) for pounds sterling expressed in US dollars Rate.
Exchange Rates
| Financial Year (a) |
High
US$ |
Low
US$ |
Average (b) |
| 2001 |
– |
– |
1.44 |
| 2002 |
– |
– |
1.51 |
| 2003 |
– |
– |
1.64 |
| 2004 |
– |
– |
1.84 |
| 2005 September |
1.84 |
1.76 |
– |
| October |
1.79 |
1.75 |
– |
| November |
1.76 |
1.71 |
– |
| December |
1.77 |
1.72 |
– |
| Full year |
|
|
1.81 |
| 2006 January |
1.79 |
1.74 |
– |
| February |
1.78 |
1.73 |
– |
| March (to 13 March) |
1.75 |
1.73 |
– |
(a) The Company's financial year ends on the Sunday nearest to 31 December.
(b) Calculated by using the average of the exchange rates on the last day of each month during the period.
On 30 December 2005, the last dealing day of the Company's financial year, the noon buying rate for pound sterling was £1.00 = $1.72. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between pound sterling and the US dollar will affect the US dollar equivalent of the pound sterling prices of the Company's ordinary shares listed on the London Stock Exchange and, as a result, are likely to affect the market price of the ADR's in the US. Such fluctuations will also affect the US dollar amounts received by holders of ADR's on conversion by the Depository of cash dividends paid in pounds sterling on the ordinary shares represented by the ADR's.
