2009 Currency Guidance

In order to help analysts and investors estimate the impact of changing exchange rates on sales and earnings, the Company provides an annual 'currency sensitivity guide', alongside the rates upon which its earnings guidance is based.  

The latest guide, intended to help estimate the impact of currency movements for 2009, is an update of the 2008 guidance given in January 2008.

As a reminder, the Company's currency sensitivity guidance has previously given the estimated impact on sales and earnings of a 10% strengthening of our Main Currencies (sterling, euro, Swedish krone), plus a basket of Other Currencies to which we are exposed, against the US dollar. 

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Currency sensitivity guide (PDF - 20.1 kb)

The 2009 guide reflects the following revisions:

• The Company has changed the “earnings” element to reflect Core rather than Reported earnings in order to align the estimated impact of currency movements with our principal earnings guidance measure.
• The Company has expanded the number of individual currency sensitivities, through the separate inclusion of the Japanese yen, and has recalibrated the basket of remaining Other Currencies.  This recalibration of Other Currencies reflects their increasing importance as the Company continues to implement its Emerging market strategy and restructure its cost base.
• The Company has quantified the relative movement of the basket of Other Currencies when looking at full year 2008 average exchange rates and the January 2009 average rates (to 28th Jan) upon which its 2009 guidance is based.