23rd Mar 2011 07:00
23 March 2011
21st Century Technology plc ("21st Century", "the company" or "the group")
Preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2010
21st Century, the supplier and installation service provider of public transport CCTV and vehicle monitoring systems, today announces its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2010.
Financial highlights
·; CCTV sales up 9% to £5.9m (2009: £5.4m)
·; EcoManager sales of £0.9m (2009: £Nil) into mainland Europe
·; Operating profit up over 300% to £0.8m (2009: £0.3m)
·; Profit after tax from continuing operations up 24% at £0.6m (2009: £0.5m)
·; Net profit up to £0.6m (2009: £0.0m)
·; Earnings per share on continuing operations up 20% at 0.67p (2009: 0.56p)
·; Bank debt repaid and net cash at bank up to £1.1m from £0.5m at the start of the year
Operational highlights
·; New on bus CCTV business awarded by FirstGroup UK Bus
·; New station platform CCTV business awarded by Govia
·; EcoManager sales remain strong with first sales into mainland Europe
·; EcoManager wins prestigious safety award in the UK
Strong start to 2011
·; £7.2m contract awarded by Keolis in Sweden
·; The group's freehold property is being actively marketed for sale
Commenting on the results, Jan Holmstrom, Chairman of 21st Century, said:
"21st Century has established a solid position in its home market and is now preferred supplier to Arriva UK Bus and The Go-Ahead Group in the UK and an approved supplier to FirstGroup UK Bus. Sales into mainland Europe continue to improve and, in 2010, the group made its first sales of EcoManager on the continent. We have also made an excellent start to 2011, having won a substantial on bus CCTV contract with Keolis in Sweden. We are looking forward to building on this success over the remainder of the year."
A copy of this preliminary results announcement is available on the company's website: www.21stplc.com
Enquiries:
21 Century Technology plc | Wilson Jennings | Tel: 020 8710 4016 |
www.21stplc.com | Finance Director | |
Daniel Stewart & Company plc (Nomad & Broker) | Paul Shackleton/ Noelle Greenaway | Tel: 020 7776 6550 |
MHP Communications | Barnaby Fry/Vicky Watkins | Tel: 020 3128 8100 |
Notes to editors:
21st Century Technology plc is the preferred supplier of on-board CCTV systems for Arriva UK Bus and the Go-Ahead Group in the UK and an approved supplier to FirstGroup UK Bus. 21st Century is also the preferred supplier of station platform CCTV systems for the three major UK rail franchises operated by Govia (the joint venture between Go-Ahead and Keolis).
The company has pioneered the use of WiFi with on-board CCTV systems and Transport for London commissioned the company to undertake a trial of 'LiveView' - a system which transmits live CCTV pictures from on board the bus to a public transport and police control centre. 21st Century was also the first company to successfully launch Automatic Video Downloads and a bus CCTV monitoring system (HeartbeatTM) which allow the CCTV manager to remotely download CCTV footage from the bus to his computer and check that all the CCTV systems fitted to his buses are fully operational, without leaving his desk. The company's overhead camera passenger counting device, known as PAS - Passenger Analysis System, links to the ticket machine and enables bus operators to analyse specific bus route ticket sales and passenger numbers.
21st Century's EcoManager product has made a significant contribution to sales since its launch in July 2008. The EcoManager black-box system is aimed at reducing fuel and maintenance costs, reducing emissions and improving safety for bus operators by monitoring individual driving styles against fuel consumption. Following a successful trial, in April 2009 Arriva UK committed to install the device on all their new buses and to retrofit a large proportion of their existing fleet. In November 2009 Arriva North West and Merseytravel won the industry recognised Alexander Dennis Award for Innovation following their installation of the EcoManager system which yielded fuel savings of up to 12%, associated CO2 emission reductions and a 62% reduction in accidents. This was followed in 2010 with a driver safety award for EcoManager presented by the road safety charity, Brake.
For further information go to www.getecomanager.com.
Chairman's statement
Trading results
I am pleased to report that the group results from continuing activities for the year show an increase in profit from continuing operations of 24% to £0.6m (2009: £0.5m). We have also increased our cash position significantly at the year end to £1.1m compared to £0.5m at the start of the year.
Group - continuing operations
| 2010 £m | 2009 £m |
Revenue | 10.8 | 10.5 |
Gross profit | 6.3 | 6.3 |
Gross profit percentage | 58% | 60% |
Net operating expenses | (5.4) | (5.6) |
Operating profit from continuing operations | 0.9 | 0.7 |
Finance costs | - | - |
Profit before taxation | 0.9 | 0.7 |
Taxation | (0.3) | (0.2) |
Profit on continuing operations after tax | 0.6 | 0.5 |
Loss for the period from discontinued operations | - | (0.5) |
Profit from continuing and discontinued operations | 0.6 | - |
Earnings per share | Pence | Pence |
- Continuing operations | 0.67p | 0.56p |
- Continuing and discontinued operations | 0.61p | 0.02p |
Following the disposal of the last remaining legacy distribution business at the end of 2009 and the cessation of our loss making Vehicle Installation Services for insurance customers at the beginning of 2010, the principal activities of the company are now focused on the supply of monitoring systems to the public transport market. These embrace the supply and installation of mobile (on vehicle) and fixed (on premises) CCTV, EcoManager driver monitoring and our passenger counting system, "PAS" (Passenger Analysis System).
CCTV
Despite a tough economic backdrop, the division reported a good performance, with CCTV sales for the year reaching £5.9m up 9% on the prior year. We added FirstGroup UK Bus to our customers during the year and this contributed £0.9m to total sales. In addition we expanded the services we provide to Go-Ahead through the supply of station platform CCTV equipment and the management of the installation program at the three UK train companies operated by Govia - the Go-Ahead and Keolis joint venture. This new income source contributed £1.4m in additional sales in the year.
EcoManager
EcoManager is our driver monitoring device which utilises a red, amber, green in-cab display to assist bus drivers to reduce fuel consumption and improve safety by moderating their driving style. The deployment of EcoManager has resulted in fuel savings of 12% and over 60% reduction in accidents. In 2009 EcoManager won the industry recognised Alexander Dennis Award for Innovation and this was followed in 2010 with a UK driver safety award presented by the road safety charity, 'Brake'. Arriva have now almost completed the roll out of the system across their UK fleet. EcoManger sales for the year reached £4.9m, in line with the previous year. The significant aspect of this is that these sales included £0.9m of sales in to mainland Europe - specifically Holland, Italy, Spain and France and we believe that the European export market may represent a major opportunity for growth.
Contract wins and major customers
We have made significant progress since the period under review. In January 2011 we were awarded Swedish contracts worth £7.2m by Keolis Sverige AB to supply CCTV systems, related maintenance and depot infrastructure for a total of 1,475 buses which Keolis operates under the 'Busslink' trading name in Stockholm. Around £6.3m of this business is expected to be delivered in 2011.
The group continues to build momentum by developing leading positions with major customers across the UK and Europe. We are now an approved supplier for on board CCTV to First Group UK Bus, preferred supplier to Arriva and Go-Ahead in the UK and preferred supplier to Keolis in Stockholm.
Cash flow
The final instalment of the bank term loan was repaid in February 2010 and the group has maintained a positive cash position of £1.1m at the end of the year, up from £0.5m at the start of the year.
Land and buildings
The group owns its head office premises in Mitcham Surrey, which comprises 51,000 sq ft of office and warehouse space on a 3.2 acre site. Since the disposal of the group's legacy distribution businesses, which was completed at the end of 2009, the head office site has been underutilised and so we are now actively marketing the property for sale. Consequently, in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position as at 31 December 2010, the carrying value of the land and buildings has been reclassified from non-current assets in to current assets classified as held for sale.
Dividends
To date the company has not been in a position to pay dividends because of the level of bank debt in the business and the losses of the company accumulated in its formative years. The bank debt has now been repaid but the company still has a deficit on its reserves. To address this, a resolution will be put forward for consideration by shareholders at our next AGM to enable the company to offset its share premium against its prior year accumulated losses so that future profit is available for distribution by way of dividend.
Current trading and outlook
We have made a good start to 2011, with the award of the Keolis contracts and we are trading in line with expectations. We are hopeful of adding to this early success during the remainder of the current year.
Jan G Holmstrom
Chairman
22 March 2011
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the year ended 31 December 2010 | Notes |
2010 £'000 |
2009 £'000 |
Continuing operations | |||
Revenue | 2 | 10,840 | 10,470 |
Cost of sales | (4,550) | (4,143) | |
Gross profit | 6,290 | 6,327 | |
Other operating income | 88 | 93 | |
Administrative expenses | (5,508) | (5,675) | |
Operating profit | 870 | 745 | |
Finance costs | (10) | (54) | |
Profit before taxation | 860 | 691 | |
Taxation | (240) | (192) | |
Profit for the year from continuing operations | 620 | 499 | |
Discontinued operations | |||
Loss for the year from discontinued operations | 3 | (57) | (481) |
Profit for the year being total comprehensive income | 563 | 18 | |
Earnings per share | 4 | ||
From continuing operations | |||
Basic and diluted | 0.67p | 0.56p | |
From continuing and discontinued operations | |||
Basic and diluted | 0.61p | 0.02p |
Consolidated statement of financial position as at 31 December 2010 | Notes | 2010 £'000 | 2009 £'000 |
Assets | |||
Non-current assets | |||
Goodwill | 4,318 | 4,318 | |
Other intangible assets | 183 | 247 | |
Property, plant and equipment | 5 | 115 | 2,820 |
Deferred tax asset | 160 | 200 | |
4,776 | 7,585 | ||
Current assets | |||
Inventories | 1,058 | 1,658 | |
Trade and other receivables | 1,840 | 1,874 | |
Cash and cash equivalents | 1,146 | 773 | |
4,044 | 4,305 | ||
Assets classified as held for sale | 6 | 2,592 | - |
6,636 | 4,305 | ||
Total assets | 11,412 | 11,890 | |
Liabilities | |||
Current liabilities | |||
Trade and other payables | (1,937) | (2,785) | |
Current tax liabilities | (282) | (180) | |
Bank loans and overdrafts | - | (251) | |
Provisions | (173) | (72) | |
(2,392) | (3,288) | ||
Net current assets | 4,244 | 1,017 | |
Non-current liabilities | |||
Provisions | (60) | (205) | |
Deferred tax liabilities | (362) | (362) | |
(422) | (567) | ||
Total liabilities | (2,814) | (3,855) | |
Net assets | 8,598 | 8,035 |
| 2010 £'000 | 2009 £'000 | ||
Shareholders' equity | ||||
Share capital | 9,223 | 9,223 | ||
Share premium account | 3,387 | 3,387 | ||
Special reserve and other reserve | 1,249 | 1,249 | ||
Retained earnings | (5,261) | (5,824) | ||
Total equity | 8,598 | 8,035 | ||
Consolidated statement of cash flows for the year ended 31 December 2010 |
Notes |
2010 |
2009 | |
£'000 | £'000 | |||
Net cash generated from operating activities | 7 | 690 | 1,535 | |
Cash flow from investing activities | |||
Disposal of discontinued operations | 100 | 425 | |
Purchases of property, plant and equipment | (11) | (81) | |
Purchases of intangible fixed assets | (155) | (212) | |
Purchase of shares in subsidiary | - | (1,054) | |
Net cash used in investing activities | (66) | (922) |
Cash flow from financing activities | |||
Repayment of borrowings | (250) | (250) | |
Decrease in bank overdrafts | (1) | (1,469) | |
Dividend paid to non-controlling interest | - | (293) | |
Net cash used in financing activities | (251) | (2,012) |
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | 373 | (1,399) |
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year | 773 | 2,172 |
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year | 1,146 | 773 |
Other than the disposal proceeds disclosed above there was no cash flow from investing activities relating to the discontinued operations. Cash flows from operating and financing activities attributable to the discontinued operations cannot be meaningfully distinguished from those relating to continuing operations.
The cash in flow from disposal of discontinued activities in 2010 was in respect of deferred consideration on disposals made in 2009.
Notes to the preliminary results announcement for the year ended 31 December 2010
1. Basis of preparation
While the financial information included in this preliminary results announcement has been computed in accordance with EU endorsed International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) on a basis consistent with that adopted in the previous year, this announcement does not in itself contain sufficient information to comply with IFRSs.
The financial information contained in this preliminary announcement does not constitute statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2010 or 31 December 2009. The financial information for the years ended 31 December 2010 and 31 December 2009 is derived from the statutory accounts for those periods which include audit reports which are unqualified and do not contain a statement under either Section 498(2) or Section 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006 and did not include references to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2009 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2010 will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the company's Annual General Meeting
2. Segmental reporting
Geographical Segments | ||
Revenue by location of customer:
Continuing operations |
2010 £'000 |
2009 £'000 |
UK | 9,804 | 9,887 |
Holland | 486 | - |
Italy | 272 | - |
Spain | 176 | - |
Scandinavia | 90 | 581 |
France | 12 | - |
Other EC | - | 2 |
10,840 | 10,470 | |
Discontinued operations | ||
UK | 66 | 2,824 |
Netherlands | - | 38 |
France | - | 15 |
USA | - | 6 |
Other EC | - | 14 |
66 | 2,897 | |
Total revenue | 10,906 | 13,367 |
3. Discontinued operations
On 15 December 2009, the group entered into a sale agreement to dispose of its Datatool motorcycle security and accessories division. The disposal was completed on this date and from this date control of this division passed to the acquirers. On the same day the company announced that it would cease its insurance Vehicle Installation Services ("VIS") early in the New Year. A relatively small amount of sales and cost activity carried over into January 2010 and is disclosed under discontinued operations for 2010.
The results of these discontinued operations which have been included in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the year were as follows:
2010 £'000 | 2009 £'000 | |
Revenue | 66 | 2,897 |
Expenses | (123) | (3,771) |
Loss before and after tax* | (57) | (874) |
Profit on disposal of discontinued operations | - | 393 |
Net loss attributable to discontinued operations | (57) | (481) |
\* There was no tax payable on discontinued operations.
4. Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share ("EPS") is calculated by dividing the earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year.
For diluted earnings, the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue is adjusted to assume conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares. None of the company's share options were dilutive as the option prices were all above the year end market value of the shares.
2010 | 2009 | |||
Earnings £'000 | Per share amount Pence | Earnings £'000 | Per share amount Pence | |
From continuing and discontinued operations | ||||
Basic EPS | ||||
Earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders |
563 |
0.61 |
18 |
0.02 |
Diluted EPS | ||||
Earnings | 563 | 0.61 | 18 | 0.02 |
From continuing operations | ||||
Basic EPS | ||||
Earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders |
563 |
0.61 |
18 |
0.02 |
Adjustment to exclude loss from discontinued operations |
57 |
0.06 |
481 |
0.54 |
Earnings from continuing operations | 620 | 0.67 | 499 | 0.56 |
Diluted EPS | ||||
Earnings from continuing operations (as above) |
620 |
0.67 |
499 |
0.56 |
Details of the weighted average number of ordinary shares used as the denominator in calculating the basic and diluted earnings per ordinary share is given below:
2010 '000 | 2009 '000 | |
Weighted average number of shares | 92,229 | 89,226 |
5. Property, plant and equipment
2010 movements | Freehold land and buildings £'000 | Plant and equipment
£'000 | Total
£'000 |
Cost: | |||
At 1 January 2010 | 3,786 | 2,649 | 6,435 |
Additions | - | 11 | 11 |
Transferred to assets classified as held for sale (note 6) |
(3,786) |
- |
(3,786) |
At 31 December 2010 | - | 2,660 | 2,660 |
Depreciation: | |||
At 1 January 2010 | 1,140 | 2,475 | 3,615 |
Charge for the year | 54 | 70 | 124 |
Transferred to assets classified as held for Sale (note 6) |
(1,194) |
- |
(1,194) |
At 31 December 2010 | - | 2,545 | 2,545 |
Net book amounts: | |||
At 31 December 2010 | - | 115 | 115 |
At 31 December 2009 | 2,646 | 174 | 2,820 |
The freehold property has been transferred to assets classified as held for sale (see note 6).
6. Assets classified as held for sale
Assets held for sale, which were previously classified under property, plant and equipment in non-current assets are as follows:
2010 movements | Freehold land and buildings £'000 |
Balance brought forward at 1 January 2010 | - |
Transferred from property, plant and equipment (note 5) |
2,592 |
Balance carried forward at 31 December 2010 | 2,592 |
The group owns its head office premises in Mitcham Surrey, which comprises 51,000 sq ft of office and warehouse space on a 3.2 acre site. Since the disposal of the group's legacy distribution businesses, which was completed at the end of 2009, the head office site has been underutilised and so the company is now actively marketing the property for sale. Consequently, the carrying value of the land and buildings has been reclassified from non-current assets in to current assets classified as held for sale.
7. Reconciliation of operating profit to net cash inflow from operating activities
2010 £'000 | 2009 £'000 | |
Profit for the year | 563 | 18 |
Adjustments for: | ||
Finance costs | 10 | 54 |
Income tax expense | 240 | 192 |
Gain on disposal of discontinued operations | - | (393) |
Goodwill written off on disposal of discontinued operations | - | 532 |
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment | 124 | 175 |
Amortisation of intangible fixed assets | 219 | 337 |
Share based payment expense | - | 19 |
Decrease in provisions | (44) | (70) |
Operating cash flows before movement in working capital | 1,112 | 864 |
Decrease/(increase) in inventories | 600 | (157) |
(Increase)/decrease in receivables | (66) | 853 |
(Decrease)/increase in payables | (808) | 35 |
Cash inflow from operations | 838 | 1,595 |
Income taxes paid | (98) | - |
Interest paid | (50) | (60) |
Net cash inflow from operating activities | 690 | 1,535 |
Related Shares:
Journeo