| 12 months to 31st March | 2004 | 2005 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exceptional items | £36m | £(54)m | |
| Effective tax rate | 30.9% | 29.6% | |
| EPS - Basic | 52.8p | 40.9p | - 22.5% |
| - Pre-exceptional | 48.0p | 45.7p | - 4.8% |
| Dividend per share | 29.8p | 30.1p | +1.0% |
| Dividend | £226m | £217m | - 4.3% |
| Share repurchase | £260m | £300m |
In the year we recognised an exceptional loss on the sale of the dentistry business; exit costs are in line with the provision we made in September.
The effective tax rate was slightly lower at 29.6% due to the successful resolution of prior year items. We expect the rate in future years will be around 31%.
Basic earnings per share were down 22.5% with earning before exceptionals down 4.8%.
The proposed final dividend is 21.0 pence, the same as last year. This gives a dividend in the full year of 30.1 pence an increase of 1.0%. We remain committed to the stated policy of sustainable dividend growth and recognise the importance of the dividend as a means of returning cash to shareholders.
In the year we have repurchased 45.4 million shares at a cost of £300 million. This brings the total cash return to shareholders in the year to more than £500 million.
