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In the 12 months to September 12th, the firm - which owns the Primark fashion retailer - said the figure climbed to 57.7p.
This beat forecasts made in a poll conducted by Reuters, which saw analysts predict a figure of 51.6p.
The firm's shares rose in early stock market trading on the back of the news, jumping 41p to 875p at 07:53 GMT.
However, this was reversed in the afternoon session, with stock in the company being priced at 819.00p at 15:15 GMT - a decline of 14p.
It also revealed a four per cent increase in adjusted profit before tax - which rose to £655 million - while group revenue was up 12 per cent at £9.3 billion.
"We have consistently developed the group through investment and this year it enabled the delivery of good results in difficult economic times," commented chief executive George Weston.
Posted by Clive Arneil
