Notes to the financial statements
25 Retained earnings
| Group Own shares £m |
Group Profit and loss account £m |
Group Total retained earnings £m |
Company Retained earnings £m |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At 25 March 2007 | (83) | 2,267 | 2,184 | 1,740 |
| Profit for the year | – | 329 | 329 | 89 |
| Dividends paid | – | (178) | (178) | (178) |
| Share-based payment | – | 41 | 41 | – |
| B shares redemption | – | (10) | (10) | (10) |
| Shares vested | 4 | – | 4 | – |
| Allotted in respect of share option schemes | – | (4) | (4) | – |
| At 22 March 2008 | (79) | 2,445 | 2,366 | 1,641 |
At 26 March 2006 |
(84) | 2,032 | 1,948 | 1,692 |
| Profit for the year | – | 325 | 325 | 190 |
| Dividends paid | – | (140) | (140) | (140) |
| Share-based payment | – | 55 | 55 | – |
| B shares redemption | – | (2) | (2) | (2) |
| Shares vested | 1 | – | 1 | – |
| Allotted in respect of share option schemes | – | (3) | (3) | – |
| At 24 March 2007 | (83) | 2,267 | 2,184 | 1,740 |
Own shares held by Employee Share Ownership Plan (“ESOP”) trusts
The Group owned 22,497,295 (2007: 23,567,107) of its ordinary shares of 28 4/7 pence nominal value each. At 22 March 2008, the total nominal value of the own shares was £6.4 million (2007: £6.7 million).
37,627 (2007: 43,450) of the own shares are held by an ESOP trust on behalf of certain Directors and senior employees under the Group’s Performance Share Plan. The remaining 22,459,668 shares (2007: 23,523,657) are held by an ESOP trust for the Executive Share Option Plan. The ESOP trusts waive the rights to the dividends receivable in respect of the shareholder under the above schemes.
The cost of the own shares is deducted from equity in the Group financial statements. The market value of the own shares at 22 March 2008 was £74.9 million (2007: £129.5 million).