I am satisfied that it is appropriate to make that return after having taken into account the review of financing, the ability to invest in opportunities within the group to deliver attractive returns, and the need to make additional payments to our group pension schemes.

231

The return to shareholders in any future industry consolidation.

188

The events of September 11 were not helpful for the global economy and it will be harder to maintain our earnings growth of the last two years.

187

These will be achieved without the risk of the integration of a large and disparate brand portfolio into our existing business, which would have disrupted our existing momentum.

168

We have grown our customer numbers (very aggressively in the past) and now have paused to integrate them.

149

We are actively seeking opportunities to improve the return on our existing assets.

138

Despite the cost pressures currently being experienced throughout the sector, the company remains on track to deliver performance for the full year in line with our expectations.

137

We are going through a period of unparalleled volatility.

113

We have seen some signs of slowdown in the second half with conditions difficult in Mexico and certain sectors of the United States.

59