Tesco Regulatory News (TSCO)

15 February 2019

TESCO PLC: INTRODUCING IFRS 16

Tesco PLC is hosting a briefing for analysts and investors at 9.00am UK time today relating to the introduction of IFRS 16, the new financial reporting standard on accounting for leases. Tesco will explain the nature of the standard and the associated changes to the presentation of the Tesco financial statements and performance measures using its most recently reported 1H 2018/19 results.

The standard has no economic impact on the Group. It has no effect on how the business is run, nor on cash flows for the Group. It does however have a significant impact on the way the assets, liabilities and the income statement of the Group are presented, as well as the classification of cash flows relating to lease contracts.

IFRS 16 is effective for all accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019. As such, Tesco's first reported accounting period under IFRS 16 will be the 2019/20 financial year, which runs from 24 February 2019 to 29 February 2020. As previously indicated, the Group intends to adopt the standard fully retrospectively.

In summary, IFRS 16 seeks to align the presentation of leased assets more closely to owned assets. In doing so, a right of use asset and lease liability are brought on to the balance sheet, with the lease liability recognised at the present value of future lease payments. Whilst the right of use asset is matched in value to the lease liability at inception, it differs in value through the life of the lease.

From an income statement perspective, the pre-IFRS 16 rental charge is replaced by depreciation and interest. IFRS 16 therefore results in a boost to operating profit, which is reported prior to interest being deducted. Whilst depreciation reduces on a straight-line basis, interest is charged on outstanding lease liabilities and therefore for any given lease, interest is higher in the earlier years and decreases over time. As a result, the impact on the income statement below operating profit is highly dependent on average lease maturity. For an immature portfolio, depreciation and interest are higher than the rent they replace and therefore IFRS 16 is dilutive to EPS. For a mature portfolio, they are lower and therefore IFRS 16 is accretive.

Our 1H 2018/19 financial statements, restated for IFRS 16, will form the prior period comparative numbers for the first published IFRS 16 accounts in October 2019. The headline impacts of IFRS 16 on these statements can be summarised as follows:

· Group sales and total cash flow are completely unaffected.

· Group operating profit1 increases by £188m to £1,121m as rent is removed and only part-replaced by depreciation; Group operating margin2 increases by 59 basis points to 3.53%.

· Profit before tax and Diluted EPS3 both decrease, by £(101)m and (0.91)p respectively, due to the combination of depreciation and interest being higher than the rent they replace. This is due to the relative immaturity of the Group's lease portfolio, with leases being around one-third expired on average. The proportion of EPS dilution will reduce as the portfolio matures and, most notably, as underlying earnings increase.

· Net assets reduce by £(1.4)bn to £13.0bn, as a 'new' lease liability of £(10.6)bn and 'new' right of use asset of £7.8bn are recognised and onerous lease provisions and other working capital balances are derecognised.

· Total indebtedness increases by £(3.3)bn to £(15.8)bn due to lease extensions and contingent commitments being included and lease-specific discount rates being applied.

Further detail on the impact of IFRS 16 on our 1H 2018/19 financial statements can be found in Note 1.

The introduction of IFRS 16 has no bearing on the plans or financial ambitions Tesco has shared with the market. We will continue to provide sufficient disclosure to translate progress against our 2019/20 ambitions back to a pre-IFRS 16 basis.

Our 2018/19 preliminary results will continue to be reported on a pre-IFRS 16 basis, accompanied by a headline summary of the impact of the new standard. The full 2018/19 financial statements prepared on an IFRS 16 basis will be shared shortly after the preliminary results.

Contacts

1. Excludes amortisation of acquired intangibles and exceptional items

2. Group operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles divided by Group Sales

3. Excludes exceptional items, amortisation of acquired intangibles, net pension finance costs and fair value re-measurements of financial instruments

Today's briefing will include a short presentation and Q&A. Access will be by invitation only. There will be a live webcast available on our website at www.tescoplc.com/investors. This will include all Q&A and will be available for playback after the event. All presentation materials, including a transcript, will be made available on our website. No new material disclosures will be made during the event.

This document may contain forward-looking statements that may or may not prove accurate.  For example, statements regarding expected revenue growth and operating margins, market trends and our product pipeline are forward-looking statements.  Phrases such as "aim", "plan", "intend", "should", "anticipate", "well-placed", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target", "consider" and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is expressed or implied by the statements. Any forward-looking statement is based on information available to Tesco as of the date of the statement. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Tesco are qualified by this caution.  Tesco does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in circumstances.

These condensed consolidated financial statements for the 26 weeks ended 25 August 2018 and as at 25 August 2018 and 24 February 2018 do not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. A copy of the statutory accounts for the 52 weeks ended 24 February 2018 has been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The auditor's report on those accounts was not qualified, did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying the report and did not contain statements under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

Income Statement restatement for the 26 weeks ended 25 August 2018 (unaudited)

1. £(101)m PBT impact comprises: £522m rental charge removal, £(340)m additional depreciation, £(287)m additional net interest charge and £4 million other net gains.

Balance Sheet restatement at 25 August 2018 (unaudited)

1. The right of use asset of £7,878m includes £109m assets held under finance leases, previously included in 'PP&E'.

2. Total lease liabilities of £(10,687)m include £(125)m finance lease liabilities previously included in borrowings.

3. Net debt comprises bank and other borrowings, lease liabilities, net derivative financial instruments, joint venture loans and other receivables/payables, offset by cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. It excludes the net debt of Tesco Bank (which has lease liabilities of £35m).

4. Total indebtedness pre-IFRS 16 comprises Net debt plus the IAS 19 deficit in the pension schemes (net of associated deferred tax) plus the present value of future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases. Post-IFRS 16, lease liabilities are included in Net debt, replacing the present value of future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases. 

Summary Retail Cash Flow Restatement for the 26 weeks ended 25 August 2018 (unaudited)

1. Retail cash flow has been redefined to include repayments of obligations under leases due to IFRS 16. This results in a minor adjustment of £7m, restating reported retail cash flow of £404m to a represented retail free cash flow of £397m. There is no overall impact to cash / cash equivalents at the end of the period.

Transition Balance Sheet restatement at 24 February 2018 (unaudited)

1. Net debt comprises bank and other borrowings, lease liabilities, net derivative financial instruments, joint venture loans and other receivables/payables, offset by cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. It excludes the net debt of Tesco Bank (which has lease liabilities of £36m).

2. Total indebtedness pre-IFRS 16 comprises Net debt plus the IAS 19 deficit in the pension schemes (net of associated deferred tax) plus the present value of future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases. Post-IFRS 16, lease liabilities are included in Net debt, replacing the present value of future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases.