In the 1999 Annual Report and Accounts of Associated British Ports Holdings plc, the directors report earnings per share — basic, and earnings per share — underlying, as follows:

Reconciliation of profit used for calculating the basic and underlying earnings per share:

The directors state that the underlying basis is a more appropriate basis for comparing performance between periods.
Discuss the relevance of the basic figure of |.6p reported for 1999.

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Exceptional Total Underlying Goodwill amortisation items 1999 1998 m m m m Em Profit on ordinary activities after tax attributable to shareholders 86.3 (3.8) (76.9) 5.6 84.1 Dividends (39.4) = (39.4) (37.2) Retained profit/(loss) 46.9 (3.8) (76.9) (33.8) 46.9 Earnings per share - basic 24.6 (1.1) (21.9) 1.6p 22.4p Earnings per share - underlying 24.6p 22.4p