Income taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Feb. 01, 2014

Tax Expense By Jurisdiction

	Fiscal 2014			Fiscal 2013		Fiscal 2012
(in millions)
Income before income taxes:
– US	$	493.7		$	494.3	$	423.2
– Foreign		72.8			62.6		78.9
Total income before income taxes	$	566.5		$	556.9	$	502.1
Current taxation:
– US	$	211.8		$	186.6	$	136.9
– Foreign		7.1			6.1		11.5
Deferred taxation:
– US		(22.8	)		3.1		26.1
– Foreign		2.4			1.2		3.2
Total income taxes	$	198.5		$	197.0	$	177.7

Reconciliation Of Effective Tax Rate

As the statutory rate of corporation tax in Bermuda is 0%, the differences between the federal income tax rate in the US and the effective tax rates for Signet have been presented below:

	Fiscal 2014			Fiscal 2013			Fiscal 2012
	%			%			%
US federal income tax rates		35.0			35.0			35.0
US state income taxes		2.5			2.7			2.7
Differences between US federal and foreign statutory income tax rates		(0.9	)		(0.6	)		(1.0	)
Expenditures permanently disallowable for tax purposes, net of permanent tax benefits		0.6			0.8			1.1
Benefit of intra-group financing and services arrangements		(2.1	)		(2.1	)		(2.0	)
Other items		(0.1	)		(0.4	)		(0.4	)
Effective tax rate		35.0			35.4			35.4

Deferred Tax Assets And Liabilities

Deferred tax assets (liabilities) consisted of the following:

	February 1, 2014									February 2, 2013
	Assets			(Liabilities)			Total			Assets			(Liabilities)			Total
(in millions)
US property, plant and equipment	$	—		$	(70.1	)	$	(70.1	)	$	—		$	(55.8	)	$	(55.8	)
Foreign property, plant and equipment		7.0			—			7.0			6.7			—			6.7
Inventory valuation		—			(169.2	)		(169.2	)		—			(188.6	)		(188.6	)
Allowances for doubtful accounts		39.7			—			39.7			36.6			—			36.6
Revenue deferral		134.3			—			134.3			122.4			—			122.4
Derivative instruments		6.9			—			6.9			—			—			—
Straight-line lease payments		27.5			—			27.5			26.8			—			26.8
Deferred compensation		9.9			—			9.9			7.7			—			7.7
Retirement benefit obligations		—			(12.0	)		(12.0	)		—			(11.2	)		(11.2	)
Share-based compensation		10.3			—			10.3			10.7			—			10.7
US state income tax accruals		5.3			—			5.3			5.6			—			5.6
Other temporary differences		15.0			—			15.0			16.2			—			16.2
Value of foreign capital losses		15.8			—			15.8			16.5			—			16.5
Total gross deferred tax asset (liability)	$	271.7		$	(251.3	)	$	20.4		$	249.2		$	(255.6	)	$	(6.4	)
Valuation allowance		(16.8	)		—			(16.8	)		(17.5	)		—			(17.5	)
Deferred tax asset (liability)	$	254.9		$	(251.3	)	$	3.6		$	231.7		$	(255.6	)	$	(23.9	)
Current assets							$	3.0								$	1.6
Current liabilities								(113.1	)								(129.6	)
Non-current assets								113.7									104.1
Deferred tax asset (liability)							$	3.6								$	(23.9	)

Activity Related To Unrecognized Tax Benefits

The following table summarizes the activity related to unrecognized tax benefits:

	Fiscal 2014			Fiscal 2013			Fiscal 2012
(in millions)
Balance at beginning of period	$	4.5		$	4.8		$	9.0
Increases related to current year tax positions		0.4			0.2			0.3
Prior year tax positions:
Increases		0.2			—			—
Decreases		—			—			(1.4	)
Cash settlements		(0.5	)		—			(2.6	)
Lapse of statute of limitations		—			(0.5	)		(0.5	)
Balance at end of period	$	4.6		$	4.5		$	4.8