9. Earnings per share

Basic earnings per share are calculated by dividing the profit attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period. The weighted average number of shares excludes shares held by an Employee Benefit Trust (see note 20) and has been adjusted for the issue/purchase of shares during the period.

For diluted earnings per share, the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue is adjusted to assume conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares. These represent share options granted to employees where the exercise price is less than the average market price of the Company's ordinary shares during the 52 weeks to 29 March 2013.

The Group has also chosen to present an alternative earnings per share measure, with profit adjusted for non-recurring items because it better reflects the Group's underlying performance.

For the period



52 weeks to
29 March 2013
Number of shares
m
52 weeks to
30 March 2012
Number of shares
m
Weighted average number of shares in issue199.1203.8
Less: shares held by the Employee Benefit Trust (weighted average)(4.8)(3.9)
Weighted average number of shares for calculating basic earnings per share194.3199.9
Weighted average number of dilutive shares1.51.0
Total number of shares for calculating diluted earnings per share195.8200.9

 

For the period


52 weeks to
29 March 2013
£m
52 weeks to
30 March 2012
£m
Basic earnings attributable to equity shareholders52.768.4
Non-recurring items (see note 5):
Operating expenses1.0(1.9)
Tax on non-recurring items0.10.9
Underlying earnings before non-recurring items53.867.4

Earnings per share is calculated as follows:

For the period

52 weeks to
29 March 2013
52 weeks to
30 March 2012
Basic earnings per ordinary share27.2p34.2p
Diluted earnings per ordinary share26.9p34.0p
Basic earnings per ordinary share before non-recurring items27.7p33.7p
Diluted earnings per ordinary share before non-recurring items27.5p33.5p