| 6 months to 30th September |
2003 £M |
2004 £M |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating profit | 268 | 205 | - 23.6% |
| Working capital | (150) | (276) | - 84.0% |
| Capital expenditure | (88) | (140) | - 58.7% |
| Depreciation | 63 | 67 | |
| Tax paid | (87) | (60) | |
| Other items | 22 | 3 | |
| Free cash flow | 28 | (201) |
Group cash flow in the first six months was an outflow of £201M, £229 million more than last year.
This substantial outflow is due to the lower operating profit from price investment and the cost of growth programmes, a £126 million higher year on year increase in working capital and a substantial increase in capital expenditure in our stores and IT systems.
