9 Earnings per share

Basic

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit attributable to equity shareholders of the Company by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year, excluding ordinary shares purchased by the Company and held as treasury shares.

Diluted

Diluted earnings per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary shares to take account of all dilutive potential ordinary shares and adjusting the profit attributable, if applicable, to account for any tax consequences that might arise from conversion of those shares.

Adjusted

In order to show results from operating activities on a comparable basis, an adjusted earnings per share is presented.

The following items are excluded in the calculation of adjusted earnings:

Other gains and losses represent profits and losses on the sale of subsidiaries, joint ventures, associates and other financial assets that are included within operating profit or represent the profit or loss on sale of a discontinued operation. Such profits and losses are considered to distort the performance of the Group.

Amortisation of acquired intangibles is the amortisation of intangible assets acquired through business combinations. The amortisation charge is not considered to be fully reflective of the underlying performance of the Group.

Other net finance income/costs are foreign exchange and other gains and losses that represent short-term fluctuations in market value and foreign exchange movements on transactions and balances that are no longer in a hedge relationship. These gains and losses are subject to significant volatility and may not be realised in due course as it is normally the intention to hold these instruments to maturity. Other net finance costs of Group companies are included in finance costs or finance income as appropriate. Other net finance costs of joint ventures and associates are included within the share of results of joint ventures and associates within operating profit.

Tax on the above items is excluded from adjusted earnings. The Company has also excluded tax benefits from the recognition of its tax losses which due to their size and non-recurring nature are not considered to be fully reflective of the underlying tax rate of the Group.

Minority interest for the above items is excluded from adjusted earnings.

The Company's definition of adjusted earnings per share may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures reported by other companies.