Half Year 2024 Bunzl plc Earnings Presentation Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Annelies Vermeulen - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Hi, good morning, Frank. Good morning, Richard. Can you hear me okay?

Question: Annelies Vermeulen - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Great. Thank you. So I have two questions, please. So firstly, just on the margin guidance, I think this is the second or third margin guidance increase that we've seen over the last few months. I know historically you've been a little bit unwilling to commit on margins beyond 2024. But based on what you've seen today and assuming all else equal, can we assume that margins will stay at this sort of higher plus 8% plus level beyond 2024, if you can comment on that? And as part of that also, could you give an update on the progress of your own brand penetration over the first half and how that's developed? And then secondly, on the capital allocation policy, you've announced today, again, historically, I think your acquisition spend has been lumpy and difficult to predict in terms of timing. I appreciate the GBP700 million may not all go towards deals as you say, but I'm just wondering if anything has changed in terms of your visibility of the pipeline or how you're approaching those deals that gives you the confidence in that spend going forward? And similarly, should we expect similar average acquisition multiples relative to history as part of that? Sorry, that might have been two and a half, sorry.

Question: Annelies Vermeulen - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Okay. Very clear. Thank you.

Question: Suhasini Varanasi - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : That's very clear. Thank you very much.