23rd Jun 2005 07:00
Victoria PLC23 June 2005 Issued by Citigate Dewe Rogerson Ltd, BirminghamDate: Thursday, 23 June 2005 Embargoed: 7.00am Victoria P.L.C. Manufacturers of carpet and carpet yarns through operations in the UK, Australia, Ireland and Canada Preliminary Results for the year ended 2 April 2005 2005 2004 Turnover £53.2m £54.6m Operating Profit on Continuing activities £3.73m £4.75m Profit before tax on Continuing activities £3.07m £4.19m Loss before tax on Discontinued Axminster activities £(1.84)m - Maintained dividend reflects confidence in underlying business 11.5p 11.5p UK and Irish business impacted by decline in consumer confidence and spending. Axminster closure announced in February completed within budget. Investment and initiatives in Australia result in steady performances from thisregion despite market challenges. New strategy for the Canadian business starting to produce both sales and profitgrowth. Acceleration of new product launches providing interest to retailers and customersin an otherwise flat market. On-going investment and new products will enable Victoria to see a profitablegrowth in sales despite the forecast market conditions. "This has been a difficult year, that has seen the demise of several of ourcompetitors and in which we have experienced tougher conditions in each of ourmain markets. We have worked hard to maintain and develop our core business andhave taken the necessary action to deal with the losses we were incurring inAxminster weaving." "With an economic outlook for the UK, Australia and Ireland that is, at best,flat, we do not foresee the return of more favourable economic conditions duringthis financial year. However, even in this climate, we believe we are able todeliver profitable growth through a continuing concentration on customer serviceand an acceleration in the introduction of new product ranges." R M Gilbert, Chairman FULL STATEMENT ATTACHED Enquiries:Alan Bullock, Group Managing DirectorMark Lee, Group Finance Director Fiona Tooley/Katie DaleVictoria P.L.C. Citigate Dewe RogersonToday: 01562 749640 Today: 01562 749640 up to 12 noonMobile: 07785 325701 (AB) Thereafter: 0121 455 8370www.victoria.plc.uk Mobile: 07785 703523 (FMT) -2- Victoria P.L.C. Preliminary Results for the year ended 2 April 2005 STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN, R M GILBERT This has been a difficult year, that has seen the demise of several of ourcompetitors and in which we have experienced tougher conditions in each of ourmain markets. We have worked hard to maintain and develop our core business andhave taken the necessary action to deal with the losses we were incurring inAxminster weaving. ResultsTurnover of £53.2 million in this 52 week period was 2.6% lower than theprevious 53 week period. Discontinued activities produced a pre-tax loss of£1.84 million. Operating profit on continuing operations was £3.73 million(2004: £4.75 million), and profit before tax on continuing operations was £3.07million (2004: £4.19 million). OperationsIn the UK, we saw a slowdown in consumer demand, particularly in the second halfof the year, as consumers started to rein back their expenditure in the face offalling house prices, higher fuel costs and the prospect of increasing taxes.The Irish consumer market was also tough, although the contract market wassteadier. In the UK and Ireland, we also saw an acceleration in the market penetration ofthe low-cost foreign producers of Axminster carpet. As a result of this, werecognised that we were unlikely to again make acceptable returns from our UKmanufacturing base, and took the difficult decision to discontinue Axminsterweaving which had been part of our business for over 50 years. The Board wasextremely sad that it had to take this decision which affected the livelihoodsof so many loyal and skilled people. The decision was announced in February withan anticipation that the cost of closure would run to £1.2 million. Thenecessary redundancies and arrangements for the plant to be sold were made bythe end of March. These accounts include the full anticipated effect of closureand show an exceptional charge of £998,000, which is less than we had originallyexpected. Turnover from the UK and Irish operations was £30.99 million, compared to lastyear's £32.22 million. Including the discontinued activities and the exceptionalcosts of discontinuance, the UK and Ireland operations made a pre-tax loss of£1.27 million (2004: £1.17 million profit). More importantly, the continuing operations in the UK and Ireland remainedprofitable with a pre-tax profit of £0.58 million. In Australia, the buoyant economic conditions that had prevailed in recent yearscame to an end. Notwithstanding this, in what became a highly competitivemarketplace, we managed to maintain our turnover at 99% of last year's level.However, this was to some extent at the expense of margin, and we saw pre-taxprofits from our Australian operation slightly lower at £2.43 million (2004:£2.99 million). In Canada, our associated company, Colin Campbell & Sons, enjoyed a good yearwith solid growth in both turnover and contribution to our Group profits. DividendDespite the reduction in headline profits and earnings, we remain confidentabout our underlying business. Therefore, your Board is pleased to recommend amaintained year-end dividend of 11.5p per share. The proposed dividend is 2.7 times covered by earnings from continuingactivities. Subject to approval at the AGM, the dividend will be paid on 1August 2005 to members on the register at 1 July 2005. continued... -3- EmployeesI would like to thank everyone who has worked in our Group during the year fortheir contribution to the award-winning products and service levels we havecontinued to provide to our customers. OutlookWith an economic outlook for the UK, Australia and Ireland that is, at best,flat, we do not foresee the return of more favourable economic conditions duringthis financial year. However, even in this climate, we believe we are able to deliver profitablegrowth through a continuing concentration on customer service and anacceleration in the introduction of new product ranges. -4- Victoria P.L.C. Preliminary Results for the year ended 2 April 2005 OPERATING REVIEW BY THE GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR, ALAN BULLOCK Following on from the previous year's record results, the Group has had to facedifficult market conditions in all areas in which it operates. Indeed, marketconditions have perhaps been worse than we have experienced over the pastdecade. United KingdomVictoria Carpets in the UK had a difficult year, impacted by a decline inconsumer confidence and reduced levels of consumer spending. During the course of the year there has been a steady and constant stream ofcasualties from within both the manufacturing and distribution sector of thecarpet industry. All of this has resulted in an over supply of carpet at reducedprices into an already depressed market. At the same time as facing the downturn in our domestic market, we have also hadto contend with an increase in import penetration from low cost manufacturers. Our strategy to develop a competitive advantage with our own national deliveryfleet was launched early in 2004. This was timely in the face of the demise ofCarpet Express at the end of 2004 and has allowed us to maintain and continue toimprove our high service levels to customers and to guarantee a secure deliverysystem. With effect from August 2004, we expanded our fleet to cover the whole of the UKmainland and this also enabled us to enter a five year service agreement tocarry and distribute carpets for Greendale Carpets, the UK's foremostIndependent Retail Buying Group. Coincidentally, I am pleased to advise you that Victoria Carpets received theaccolade for the third year in succession as Service Provider of the Year to theGreendale Group. We are grateful for this recognition and it reflects well onour business. Home sales in the United Kingdom were down from £24.6m to £21.7m, with most ofthat decline coming from a fall-off in trade within the wholesale distributionchannel, particularly to other carpet manufacturers who have been buying inproduct from us for resale. Export Sales increased well during the year from £5.12m to £6.31m, with salesmore than doubling to the USA and significantly up to our own subsidiary companyin Ireland. Operationally, at Victoria Carpets, March 2005 saw the closure of Axminsterweaving at the company after over 50 years of production. The company could nolonger see the department making a profit or indeed a reasonable contribution tooverheads and took the decision to concentrate fully on the modern Tufted andspecialist Wilton sides of our business. The costs of closure at £998,000 were below the £1.2 million estimate in ourFebruary 2005 announcement, with slightly fewer redundancies being made thanenvisaged and reasonable values being achieved for disposal of plant, equipmentand stock. Westwood Yarns, in Yorkshire, was kept fully utilised throughout the year, with94% of the capacity being used by Victoria Carpets in the UK. During the year several smaller projects have been successfully completed atWestwood's all aimed at maximising capacity and the quality of the dry woollenspun yarns produced. continued... -5- IrelandThe Group's progress in Ireland during the past twelve months has been good,although at this stage, the full benefits of the Navan acquisition we made inJuly 2003 have still to feed through to the bottom line. Munster Carpets, which we acquired in 2002, specialising predominantly in thecontract carpet market, enjoyed a good year. Sales and profits were up stronglyon the previous year as the investment we have been making on product andmarketing initiatives bore fruit. Navan Carpets had a more difficult time, having to contend with a depressedmarket for residential carpet, somewhat similar to that we experienced in theUK. The year was spent repositioning the product portfolio with the launch orrepatterning of 20 carpet ranges since acquisition. The abnormally high cost ofpatterning, which we always write off in the year of launch, impacted Navan'sbottom line result. Overall, Munster and Navan are re-establishing their presence in the Irishmarketplace and, as we expand more and more of Victoria's UK product portfoliothrough our Irish brands, greater benefits can reasonably be expected for theGroup. AustraliaAs predicted in last year's Operating Review, the Australian economy became lessbuoyant and, as the economy slowed, the housing and property market cooled, withconsumers cutting back on retail expenditure. Despite this, I am pleased to report that our Australian business completedanother successful year's trading, very much in line with our expectations. In a market which was significantly quieter, sales for the year were maintainedat almost the level achieved in the previous record year. Margins, however,during the year were adversely affected by the predatory pricing of ourcompetitors and by the rise in the level of imported synthetic carpets. Under a new Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the United States ofAmerica, imports from the USA since January 2005 attract a duty rate of only 8%,down from a previous 15% level. Imports of carpet into Australia are growing andnow account for around 20% of the market. However, this growth is mainly in thesynthetic end of the market and as we operate primarily in the wool and woolrich segment, we believe that this and other strategies we have should helpprotect us from import penetration. External carpet yarn sales were up in the year, which helped offset the slightreduction in carpet sales. Overall sales for the year were A$54.2 millioncompared to A$54.0 million last year. Net Profit before tax was 17% lower at A$5.95 million. We believe that this is an excellent achievement given the extent of the marketdownturn and the news coming out of competitors over recent months. During the year we have continued to invest in new tufting and finishingequipment at our Dandenong carpet manufacturing plant. A further two high speedTufters featuring the very latest technology have been added, along withsophisticated finishing equipment. We continue to invest in the latest highproductivity machinery to enable us to remain competitive and to offer ourcustomers products of differentiation, keeping us at the forefront of carpetmanufacturing in Australia. Both of the spinning mills at Castlemaine and Bendigo have performed well duringthe past year, producing quality yarn for both our own usage and for someexisting external customers. continued... -6- Victoria's principal sales market remains Australia; however, the Company hasmade good progress in its export activities, particularly to New Zealand, wherewe have opened stocking warehousing facilities during the past year, which haveenabled us to increase our sales by 27% on the back of higher levels of serviceto our customers. CanadaColin Campbell & Sons, our associate company in Canada has enjoyed a good year,with the new strategy now starting to deliver good top line sales growth andbottom line profits. Sales in the year were increased by 27% to C$7.1 million, with almost C$1million of rug sales being added to our existing broadloom business. During theyear Campbell's also launched a new initiative called "Urban Line" which is aprogramme of Wool products, aimed at expanding its distribution business to thecarpet retailers in Western Canada. Campbell's have also recently significantly expanded their showroom in Calgary,with the additional square footage allowing us greater scope to develop stillfurther our profitable rug sales in Alberta. The Western Canadian economy in the high-end residential and contract markets isso far proving resilient to the economic downturn we are experiencing in otherparts of the world, which may well be as a result of a strong Oil Industry aswell as expansion plans for the Winter Olympics scheduled to be held inVancouver in 2010. OutlookIn the United Kingdom we feel that the slow-down in the housing market, worriesabout pensions and possible tax increases are all likely to see consumersspending less and reducing borrowings. We are certainly assuming that the marketwill continue to be difficult for the rest of 2005 and possibly well into 2006. There are, however, we believe, some positive features that are likely toinfluence and affect our success in the forthcoming year: • The shake-out of weaker players that has occurred over the last two years, leaving retailers looking to dependable, quality manufacturers. • The reliable service to customers provided by our national delivery fleet. • The acceleration of our new product launch programme, providing interest for retailers and their customers in an otherwise flat marketplace We believe that the strength of the investment and of these new products willenable us to see growth in sales in this year irrespective of the overall marketconditions. In Ireland, we expect to benefit from the recently expanded product offeringfrom Munster Carpets, whilst at Navan Carpets, who are more dependent on theresidential market, the market conditions are likely to remain similar to thoseto be faced in the UK. Most of the new products being launched in the UK willalso be channelled through Navan into the Irish market and as we rebuild salesNavan should start to make the kind of returns to which we aspire. We envisage Westwood Yarns being kept busy on the back of both existing and newproducts. We are currently installing additional plant, which will provideadditional capacity and increased productivity. The economic picture in Australia at the moment is still of a difficult market.Aggressive price discounting by our competitors and growing imports are likelyto persist for a time yet, but we again have a good track record of managingwell in difficult conditions and have the team, the products and theinfrastructure to make the best out of whatever conditions the market throws atus. In our associate company in Canada we are looking at a continuing growth insales and profitability. -7- Victoria P.L.C. Preliminary Results for the year ended 2 April 2005 FINANCIAL REVIEW BY THE GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR, MARK LEE Summary of ResultsThe Group results for the current year show a 2.6% fall in turnover to £53.2million (2004: £54.6 million) and a fall in pre-tax profits from £4.19 millionlast year to £1.23 million this year. However, these results contain the pre-taxloss of £1.84 million from the discontinued Axminster manufacturing activity.Stripped of this amount, the pre-tax profit from continuing activities was £3.07million. Turnover and Operating ProfitsDiscontinued operations - Axminster weavingFollowing the closure of our Axminster weaving department, Axminstermanufacturing is shown in the Group profit and loss account as a discontinuedactivity, which highlights the significant pre-tax loss of £1.84 million fromthis activity in the year, including the exceptional closure cost of £998,000.The closure cost represents redundancy payments and write-down of stock andplant. The sale of plant and release of working capital will more than cover thecash costs of closure and will release funds that will be redeployed in ourprofitable activities. UK & Ireland - Continuing activitiesThe UK and Irish domestic markets became markedly slower in the second half ofthe financial year, as both consumer spending and activity in the housing marketwere affected by lower consumer confidence. We warned in September 2004 that themarket was showing reduced activity, and explained in the interim statement inlate November that sales were not up to the levels of the previous year. Thisremained the picture up to the end of the financial year in March. Turnover from the continuing activities in the UK and Ireland was down 3.85% at£30.99 million (2004: £32.23 million). Transport and distribution costs rose following the demise of Carpet Expressduring the year, as we increased the size of our own transport fleet to coverover 90% of our sales to the UK mainland. This cost increase is offset to anextent by the increasing transport and logistics revenues we are receiving fromthird parties. Operating profits from the continuing activities in the UK and Ireland were£1.04 million (2004: £1.48 million). AustraliaThe Australian economy cooled considerably during the year, in comparison to theboom the year before, which reduced consumer demand for carpet, leading toheightened price competition between suppliers. We worked hard to maintain salesand, as a result, our turnover was virtually level at A$54.2 million (2004:A$54.0 million), but our operating profit margin fell from 14.6% to 12.1% andoperating profit dropped from A$7.89 million to A$6.57 million. Grants under the Australian Government's Strategic Investment Programmeaccounted for A$1.06 million of operating profit, compared to A$1.37 million theprevious year when we benefited considerably from grants arising from ourinvestment in the Bendigo Spinning Mill. InterestInterest costs increased from £0.59 million to £0.75 million due to a slightlyhigher average level of debt during the year, and the effects of increasedinterest rates in each of the Group's main currencies. continued... -8- Share of Profits and Associated CompanyThe implementation of the new strategy started to show positive results at ColinCampbell and Sons, our 50% Associate in Canada. Turnover increased by 27% andthe Group's share of pre-tax profit increased to £61,000 (2004: £19,000). Exceptional Closure CostsAs described above, £998,000 has been charged in the profit and loss account asan exceptional cost of closing our Axminster weaving operations. Profit before taxationProfit before tax for the year was £1.23 million (2004: £4.19 million). Of this,the loss before taxation on the discontinued activity was £1.84 million. Afterseparating this out, the profit before tax on continuing operations was £3.07million. TaxThe overall tax charge for the year was an effective rate of 31.7%, slightlyhigher than recent years. The effective tax charge on continuing activities was30.0%. Earnings per ShareEarnings attributable to shareholders were 12.08 pence per share. Thediscontinued activities generated a loss of 18.88p per share, but adjustedearnings (i.e. earnings from continuing activities) were a positive 30.96p pershare. DividendA final dividend of 11.5p per share is proposed in respect of the year. Thedividend is 2.7 times covered by the earnings from continuing operations. FinancingThe Group balance sheet remains strong with net assets of £25.26 millionrepresenting 364 pence per share (2004: £25.33 million and 365 pence per share). Net borrowings at the year end were £11.92 million, and net gearing was 47.2%(2004: £11.16 million and 44%). Borrowings are expected to reduce as the capitalthat had been tied up in the discontinued Axminster manufacturing activity isreturned in cash. There was a net cash outflow of £731,000 during the year before financing (2004:£2,686,000). Accounting Standards and PoliciesThe Group's accounting policies are unchanged from last year. This is the last set of Victoria P.L.C. accounts that will be prepared under UKGAAP, and starting with the interim accounts for the six months to September2005, we will be reporting under International GAAP, following the InternationalAccounting Standards and International Financial Reporting Standards approved bythe EU. Our work on preparing for the changeover is well advanced and we expect topublish an opening balance sheet (as at 3 April 2004) and comparative Profit andLoss statements in advance of our interim results announcement which will be inlate November. -9- Victoria P.L.C. Preliminary Results for the year ended 2 April 2005 GROUP PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT Notes 52 weeks ended 2 April 53 weeks ended Discontinued Continuing 3 April 2004 Operations Operations 2005 2005 2005 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Turnover 1 3,302 49,880 53,182 54,622Cost of sales (3,516) (34,669) (38,185) (38,808)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gross profit (214) 15,211 14,997 15,814Distribution costs (516) (9,708) (10,224) (8,948)Administrative expenses (87) (2,815) (2,902) (3,199)Other operating income - 1,040 1,040 1,085---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Operating profit (817) 3,728 2,911 4,752 Exceptional cost ofdiscontinuance (998) - (998) - Interest payable andsimilar charges (27) (718) (745) (586) Share of profits ofassociated undertaking - 61 61 19---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Profit on ordinaryactivities beforetaxation (1,842) 3,071 1,229 4,185 Taxation 531 (921) (390) (1,180)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Profit after taxation (1,311) 2,150 839 3,005 Dividends paid andproposed - (799) (799) (799)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Retained profit (1,311) 1,351 40 2,206---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Earnings per share -basic and diluted (18.88)p 30.96p 12.08p 43.28p--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses 2005 2004 £'000 £'000---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Profit after taxation 839 3,005 Currency translation differences on foreign currency netinvestments (113) 673---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total gains relating to the year 726 3,678---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total gains recognised since last annual report 726 3,678--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note of Historical Cost Profits and Losses 2005 2004 £'000 £'000---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Reported profit on ordinary activities before taxation 1,229 4,185---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Historical cost profit on ordinary activities before 1,229 4,185taxation---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Historical cost profit for the year retained aftertaxation 40 2,206and dividends--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -10- Victoria P.L.C. Preliminary Results for the year ended 2 April 2005 CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET 2 April 2005 3 April 2004 £'000 £'000-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Fixed assetsIntangible assets 545 563Tangible assets 22,925 23,592Investments 354 306------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23,824 24,461-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Current assetsStock 14,686 14,908Debtors 9,648 9,795Cash at bank and in hand 369 308-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24,703 25,011--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Less: current liabilitiesCreditors - amounts falling due within one year 16,268 16,052--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net current assets 8,435 8,959--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total assets less current liabilities 32,259 33,420 Less: creditors - amounts falling due after morethan one year 6,104 7,033 Provisions for liabilities - deferred taxation 897 1,056--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net assets 25,258 25,331--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Capital and reserves (equity)Share capital 1,736 1,736Share premium 829 829Revaluation reserve 2,132 2,144Profit and loss account 20,561 20,622--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total shareholders' funds 25,258 25,331-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -11- Victoria P.L.C. Preliminary Results for the year ended 2 April 2005 GROUP CASH FLOW STATEMENT Note 52 weeks ended 53 weeks ended 2 April 2005 3 April 2004 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net cash inflow from operatingactivities 2 3,622 4,460 Returns on investment and servicingof finance Interest paid (519) (357) Interest element of finance lease andhire purchase payments (226) (229) ------ ------- (745) (586)TaxationUK Corporation Tax paid 191 (271)Overseas tax paid (1,196) (985) ------ ------- (1,005) (1,256) Capital expenditure and financialinvestment Payments to acquire tangible fixedassets (1,962) (3,303) Receipts from sales of tangible fixedassets 158 70 ------- ------- (1,804) (3,233)AcquisitionsPayments to acquire the assets of atrade or business - (1,446)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 68 (2,061) Equity dividends paid (799) (625)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (731) (2,686)FinancingIncrease/(decrease) in long-termloans 340 (457) Capital element of finance lease andhire purchase payments (1,093) (923) Receipts from financing of assets 124 1,375 ------- ------- (629) (5)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Decrease in cash (1,360) (2,691)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -12- Victoria P.L.C. Preliminary Results for the year ended 2 April 2005 NOTES1. ANALYSIS OF GROUP TURNOVER AND PROFITThe turnover, contribution to profit and net assets are geographically spread asfollows: 52 weeks ended 53 weeks ended 2 April 2005 3 April 2004 Profit on Profit on ordinary ordinary Turnover activities Net assets Turnover activities Net assets £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------United Kingdom& Ireland 30,993 (1,266) 13,008 32,225 1,173 14,066 Australia &New Zealand 22,189 2,434 11,896 22,397 2,993 10,959 Canada - 61 354 - 19 306--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 53,182 1,229 25,258 54,622 4,185 25,331--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The above results include the Axminster activities discontinued in the yearended 2 April 2005. Apart from this all results are derived from continuingoperations. 2. EXCEPTIONAL ITEMSThe exceptional item relates to the discontinuance of Axminster weaving withinthe Group. The results of the Axminster weaving department of Victoria CarpetsLimited are shown in the "Discontinued Activities" column on the face of theconsolidated profit and loss account. The exceptional item is made up as follows: £'000--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Redundancy costs 438Write-down of plant and machinery 127Write-down of stocks 433-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 998-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The exceptional item reduced the amount charged to the profit and loss accountfor taxation by £278,000. 3. RECONCILIATION OF OPERATING PROFIT TO NET CASH INFLOW FROM OPERATINGACTIVITIES 2005 2004 £'000 £'000--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Operating profit 2,911 4,752Exceptional cost of Axminster weaving discontinuation (998) -Depreciation and amortisation 2,427 2,094(Profit)/loss on sale of fixed assets (57) 13Decrease/(increase) in stocks 222 (3,111)Decrease/(increase) in debtors 292 (443)(Decrease)/increase in creditors (1,209) 897Exchange rate difference on consolidation 34 258--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net cash inflow from operating activities 3,622 4,460-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- continued... -13- 4. RATES OF EXCHANGEThe following year-end exchange rates have been used:Australia: A$2.4441 to one pound sterling (2004: A$2.4099)Euro: €1.4573 to one pound sterling (2004: €1.5074)Canada: C$2.2940 to one pound sterling (2004: C$2.4101 5. The Report & Accounts will be posted to shareholders on 28 June 2005. Furthercopies will be available from the Company's Registered Office: Worcester Road,Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY10 1HL or via the website www.victoria.plc.uk. 6. The Annual General Meeting is being held at the Registered Office of theCompany, as above, at 2.30pm on Tuesday, 26 July 2005. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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