27th Sep 2012 07:00
For release: 27 September 2012
Park Group plc
("Park" or "the Company"or "the Group")
AGM Statement
At the Company's Annual General Meeting to be held today at 12 noon, at The Vice Presidents Room, Tranmere Rovers Football Club Limited, Birkenhead CH42 9PN, Peter Johnson, Chairman of Park Group plc, will make the following statement:
"Park achieved an excellent set of results in the year to 31 March 2012, demonstrating good progress across the entire Group from both traditional and new business activities. This performance has continued in the current year as we capitalise on our leading market positions and strong customer relationships, all backed by exciting new products.
"In the results for the last financial year, which we announced on 12 June 2012, we outlined the impressive series of new product developments which have been introduced using the flexecash® card platform; the web; and new mobile phone applications. Park's internet, social networking and Smartphone presence continues to advance rapidly and the Company is continuing to invest in the latest technology, systems and know-how in order to stay abreast of developments and maintain our market leading position.
"The current year has seen a continuation of last year's good progress with savings orders for Christmas 2012 currently at circa 6% above the equivalent period last year. Corporate sales are also doing well, currently showing a 13% growth year-on-year while highstreetvouchers.com, our online business, has achieved an impressive 26% year-on-year increase in billings. These figures represent a sound achievement across the Group, delivered against the backdrop of a weak economy and cautious consumer spending with customers understandably demanding increased value for money.
"flexecash®, the prepaid card launched just over two years ago, has been transformational for Park and we are continuing to manage its development in a tightly controlled manner while new applications for the platform are being introduced progressively. Our development teams are building on the experience gained since launching flexecash® to work with customers in providing solutions tailored to meet their individual needs. This is creating new opportunities and delivering additional sales volumes for the Group. The value loaded on to flexecash® cards this year is currently 109% above the same time last year, demonstrating the exciting progress that is being made in the development of this product and the markets it serves. The total value loaded since launch is over £83 million across approximately 1.7 million individual cards. It is important to stress that the majority of flexecash® business is incremental, as demand for our more traditional products is also remaining robust.
"New e-money products launched since the year end include flexebens®, an employee benefit scheme, and flexecodes®, which allows users to make retail purchases online. Both these innovative offerings have been well received. In August we announced that a leading consumer cashback website, TopCashBack, is to begin offering flexecash® cards to its 1.5 million members, making it the first cashback website to offer Park's platform. This is another example of how Park is capitalising on a new business opportunity created by flexecash®. Importantly it also further demonstrates the management's belief in the adaptability of the platform.
"The next three months, running up to Christmas, will be the busiest period of the year and the order position is very encouraging. The board is confident that these positive indications should allow Park to deliver another year of growth, in-line with market expectations."
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For further information please contact:
Park Group plc | Arden Partners plc | Tavistock Communications |
Chris Houghton Martin Stewart | Adrian Trimmings Jamie Cameron | John West Andrew Dunn |
Tel: 0151 653 1700 | Tel: 020 7614 5920 | Tel: 020 7920 3150 |
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