XML 255 R23.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT

Cash and borrowings

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

15 Cash and borrowings

15.1 Net debt

Net debt comprises borrowings and credit balances on currency swaps less cash and cash equivalents.


	2024	2023
	$ million	$ million
Bank overdrafts, borrowings and loans - current	2	710
Corporate bond	2,498	1,550
Private placement notes	625	625
Borrowings	3,125	2,885
Cash and cash equivalents¹	(619)	(302)
Credit balance on derivatives – currency swaps	1	1
Credit/(debit) balance on derivatives – interest rate swaps	6	(7)
Net debt excluding lease liabilities	2,513	2,577
Non-current lease liabilities	135	144
Current lease liabilities	61	55
Net debt	2,709	2,776

1	In 2024, cash and cash equivalents include cash at bank of $419m and cash equivalents of $200m.

Borrowings are repayable as follows:

Within

Between

one year or

one and

two and

three and

four and

After

on demand

two years

three years

four years

five years

Total

$ million

At 31 December 2024

Bank overdrafts

–

Corporate bond

–

348

–

527

1,623

2,498

Private placement notes

–

140

100

250

625

Lease liabilities¹

207

121

524

644

1,897

3,332

At 31 December 2023

Bank loans

303

–

303

Bank overdrafts

–

Corporate bond

–

1,550

Private placement notes

405

–

140

350

1,030

Lease liabilities¹

210

765

108

165

1,935

3,095

1	The lease liabilities presented above of $207m (2023: $210m) are on an undiscounted basis. The lease liabilities on a discounted basis are $196m (2023: $199m).

Group financial statements continued

Notes to the Group accounts continued

15 Cash and borrowings continued

15.2 Liquidity risk exposures

The Board has established a set of policies to manage funding and currency risks. The Group only uses derivative financial instruments to manage the financial risks associated with underlying business activities and their financing. Liquidity risk is the risk that the Group is not able to settle or meet its obligations on time or at a reasonable price. The Group’s policy is to ensure that there is sufficient funding and facilities in place to meet foreseeable borrowing requirements. The Group manages and monitors liquidity risk through regular reporting of current cash and borrowing balances and periodic preparation and review of short and medium-term cash forecasts, having regard to the maturities of investments and borrowing facilities. The Group has available committed facilities of $4.1bn (2023: $3.6bn). During 2024, the Group issued two corporate bonds of $350m and $650m (before expenses and underwriting discounts) of notes bearing an interest rate of 5.15% and 5.40% repayable in 2027 and 2034. In 2024, the Group repaid $405m of private placement debt.

The interest payable on borrowings under committed facilities is either at fixed or floating rates. Euro floating rates are typically based on EURIBOR and US Dollar rates are typically based on the Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate (Term SOFR). The Company is subject to financial covenants under its private placement agreements. The principal covenant on the private placement debt is a leverage ratio of <3.5 which is measured on a rolling 12-month basis at half year and year end using net debt excluding lease liabilities as set out in note 15.1. The financial covenants are tested at the end of each half year for the 12 months ending on the last day of the testing period. As of 31 December 2024, the Company was in compliance with these covenants. The facilities are also subject to customary events of default, none of which are currently anticipated to occur. As the measure included in the financial covenants represents net debt excluding lease liabilities, the Group also presents the net debt position to provide a complete and comprehensive view of its financial position.

The Group’s $1bn Revolving Credit Facility (“RCF”) matures in 2029 with an option to extend the maturity to 2030.

The Group’s committed facilities at 31 December 2024 and at 31 December 2023 are:


Facility 2024		Date due
$75 million 3.99% Senior Notes		January 2026
$350 million 5.15% US corporate bond		March 2027
$140 million 2.83% Senior Notes		June 2027
$60 million 2.90% Senior Notes		June 2028
$1.0 billion syndicated RCF		October 2029
$100 million 2.97% Senior Notes		June 2029
€500 million 4.565% EUR corporate bond		October 2029
$95 million 2.99% Senior Notes		June 2030
$1.0 billion 2.032% USD corporate bond		October 2030
$155 million 3.09% Senior Notes		June 2032
$650 million 5.40% USD corporate bond		March 2034


Facility 2023		Date due
$100 million 3.89% Senior Notes		January 2024
$305 million 3.36% Senior Notes		November 2024
$75 million 3.99% Senior Notes		January 2026
$140 million 2.83% Senior Notes		June 2027
$60 million 2.90% Senior Notes		June 2028
$1.0 billion syndicated RCF		October 2028
$100 million 2.97% Senior Notes		June 2029
€500 million 4.565% EUR corporate bond		October 2029
$95 million 2.99% Senior Notes		June 2030
$1.0 billion 2.032% USD corporate bond		October 2030
$155 million 3.09% Senior Notes		June 2032

15.3 Year end financial liabilities by contractual maturity

The table below analyses the Group’s year end financial liabilities by contractual maturity date, including contractual interest payments and excluding the impact of netting arrangements:


	Within one	Between	Between
	year or on	one and	two and	After
	demand	two years	five years	five years	Total
	$ million	$ million	$ million	$ million	$ million
At 31 December 2024
Non-derivative financial liabilities:
Bank overdrafts and loans	2	–	–	–	2
Corporate bond	98	95	1,109	1,825	3,127
Trade and other payables	1,082	–	–	–	1,082
Private placement notes	19	92	335	263	709
Acquisition consideration	28	5	165	–	198
Derivative financial instruments:
Currency swaps/forward foreign exchange contracts – outflow	2,869	–	–	–	2,869
Currency swaps/forward foreign exchange contracts – inflow	(2,898)	–	–	–	(2,898)
	1,200	192	1,609	2,088	5,089
At 31 December 2023
Non-derivative financial liabilities:
Bank overdrafts and loans	305	–	–	–	305
Corporate bond	53	53	158	1,614	1,878
Trade and other payables	1,016	–	–	–	1,016
Private placement notes	434	19	317	373	1,143
Acquisition consideration	11	9	2	15	37
Derivative financial instruments:
Currency swaps/forward foreign exchange contracts – outflow	2,913	–	–	–	2,913
Currency swaps/forward foreign exchange contracts – inflow	(2,912)	–	–	–	(2,912)
	1,820	81	477	2,002	4,380

The amounts in the tables above are undiscounted cash flows, which differ from the amounts included in the balance sheet where the underlying cash flows have been discounted.

15.4 Liquidity and capital resources

The Group’s policy is to ensure that it has sufficient funding and facilities to meet foreseeable borrowing requirements.

At 31 December 2024, the Group held $617m (2023: $300m, 2022: $344m) in cash net of bank overdrafts. The Group had committed facilities available of $4.1bn at 31 December 2024 of which $3.1bn was drawn. The $1bn undrawn amount relates to the RCF.

The Group has sufficient liquidity to support all known or expected business requirements for 2025 such as dividend payments, acquisition and disposals of businesses, capital expenditure, working capital fluctuations and trading activity.