Year ended 31 July 2006
8. Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share of 90.77 pence (2005: 81.61 pence) is calculated on the profit for the year attributable to equity shareholders of £537 million (2005: £479 million) on a weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year of 592 million (2005: 587 million). As detailed in note 9 below, the Group believes that profit measures before the amortisation of acquired intangibles provide valuable additional information for users of the financial statements. Basic earnings per share, before the amortisation of acquired intangibles, has, therefore, been presented in the following table.
| 2006
£m |
2005
£m |
|
|---|---|---|
| Before amortisation of acquired intangibles | 98.90p | 82.60p |
| Add back: amortisation of acquired intangibles | (8.13)p | (0.99)p |
| Basic earnings per share | 90.77p | 81.61p |
The impact of all potentially dilutive share options on earnings per share would be to increase the weighted average number of shares in issue to 597 million (2005: 593 million) and to reduce basic earnings per share to 90.02 pence (2005: 80.75 pence). Diluted earnings per share before amortisation of acquired intangibles is 98.08 pence (2005: 81.74 pence).
