5th Mar 2014 07:00
Belgravium Technologies plc
Preliminary results for the
year ended 31 December 2013
The Board of Belgravium Technologies plc ((AIM:BVM) 'Belgravium' or 'the Group'), suppliers of mobile data computing solutions and managed services to a variety of industrial sectors, is pleased to announce its final results for the year ended 31 December 2013.
2013 Highlights:
- Result in line with market expectations
- Revenues of £8,425,000 (2012: £8,669,000)
- Adjusted profit after tax* of £400,000 (2012: £336,000)
- Profit after tax of £219,000 (2012: £336,000)
- Proposed maintained dividend of 0.1p (2012: 0.1p)
- Adjusted EPS* of 0.40p (2012: 0.33p)
- Basic EPS of 0.22p (2012: 0.33p)
- Acquisition of Feedback Data already contributing to profits
- Balance sheet remains debt free
* Calculated before exceptional items
Commenting today, John Kembery, Chairman of Belgravium, said:
"2013 was a year of consolidation in the core business supplemented by the successful acquisition of Feedback. In 2014 we expect to make further and accelerated progress. The economic outlook is at long last improving and we expect this to encourage our customers to start spending more readily. We believe the measures we have taken over the last few years to reduce costs and enhance our product offering have placed Belgravium in a good position to capitalise on this change and that 2014 will prove to be a significantly more successful year."
For further information please contact:
Belgravium Technologies Plc | John Kembery: 07770 731021 |
W H Ireland - Nominated Adviser | Mike Coe: 0117 945 3472 |
WH Ireland - Investor Relations | Jessica Metcalf: 0113 394 6623 |
Information on Belgravium Technologies plc can be seen at: www.belgravium-technologies.comCHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT 2013
I am pleased to report that, as anticipated, the second half of the year has been stronger than the first and that our overall result for the year, before exceptional costs, is broadly in line with expectations. It has been another tough year for sales in the continuing business but measures to increase margins and reduce administrative costs have been successful. During the year we also completed the acquisition of Feedback Data which is already producing profits.
Revenues for the year were £8,425,000 compared to £8,669,000 in 2012, a fall of 2.8%. Adjusted operating profit was £333,000 before tax and exceptional costs, compared to £287,000 in the previous year, an increase of 16%. Gross profit margin increased significantly from 45.3% of revenue in 2012 to 49.6% in 2013. Exceptional costs totalling £211,000 were incurred. These comprised the acquisition costs, redundancy, legal and other costs associated with the restructuring of the sales team and re-organisation in our mobile retail operation in Leamington.
Due to our continued investment in research and development there is a tax credit for the year of £94,000. Adjusted earnings for the year were, therefore, £400,000 compared to £336,000 in 2012 making adjusted earnings per share 0.40p per share against 0.33 per share in 2012, an increase of 21% on last year.
BALANCE SHEET
The Group's balance sheet remains strong and debt free.
At the year end the cash balance was £219,000 compared to £1,614,000 at the end of 2012. The decrease was mainly attributable to the purchase of Feedback Data for cash, the pay-out of a dividend to shareholders and an increase in trade receivables during 2013. The fact that sales were high in the last quarter meant that, at the year end, trade receivables were £2,443,000, an increase of £614,000. Trade receivables are expected to return to normal levels during the first quarter of 2014.
DIVIDEND
Despite the use of some cash reserves during 2013 for acquisition, the Board remains committed to the policy of a dividend. Subject to shareholder's approval at the AGM, it is our intention to pay a maintained dividend of 0.10 pence per ordinary share on 25 June 2014 to shareholders on the register on 23 May 2014. The 'ex' dividend date will be 21 May 2014.
THE MARKET
Belgravium designs, installs and maintains data capture systems for a variety of industries. Over the past few years Belgravium has seen changes in its market place as customers demand complete solutions. As a result Belgravium has adapted its product set and forged strong partnerships to suit this demand. Belgravium has moved a long way from its original role as a hardware manufacturer and is now involved in packaged software, as well as in-vehicle telematics and tracking services. We also offer fully managed support services, tailored to customer demands and the ability to maintain and support customer's outsourced software, where the source code is under their ownership.
Naturally such a change means different skills, particularly in selling and re-structuring to this effect has been achieved in 2013. Some of the costs of this process are shown as exceptional in the financial statements.
OPERATIONAL REVIEW
Sales in the logistics side of the business showed growth in 2013 but this was offset with a quieter year in the mobile retailing market - this was not unexpected as 2011 and 2012 were buoyant in this area.
Our focus on product development and in offering broader solutions is demonstrated by some of our recent contract gains:
· NWC Group, the UK's leading independent window cleaning provider for whom we have installed an online cloud-based scheduling and tracking system allowing them to manage and progress their jobs with real time visibility with a tracking and monitoring device on each cleaner's vehicle.
· Corrib Oil selected Belgravium for the supply of their complete in-cab computer solution. The system incorporates 'driver performance' statistics, together with the proof of delivery software application and vehicle tracking of their fleet.
· During the course of 2013, the addition of offering vehicle tracking and telematics to our solution has culminated in us securing 12 new customers.
· Hermes parcel delivery service have expanded their use of our system where we provide a complete managed service now using over a 1,000 of our Atlanta hand-held devices to control and monitor distribution of parcels between their hubs and depots.
· Peters Foods also signed a 5 year managed service deal which included an upgrade of our Van Sales/Distribution software across their entire fleet.
· Port of Tyne selected the recently released Vienna vehicle mounted devices using GPRS communications across the whole site. Installed in their dock side cranes and using GPRS allowed a faster implementation at a much reduced capital cost, compared with installing a complex Wi-Fi network.
· In South Africa our partner Aquillon, who installed their first system with us in 2012, has now won a second and significant contract with Engen using our solution within their 200 vehicle petrol forecourt distribution fleet.
· Belgravium was also successful in winning a significant contract in Australia, regaining an old customer, Jetstar, who are operating with over 300 devices for both domestic and international flights.
During the second half of 2013, we re-structured and strengthened elements of our mobile retail team. In particular, a new General Manager was recruited with relevant and previous experience in the airline industry. We expanded the software development team adding new programmers to cope with the technical requirements of adapting to new platforms such as Android and Apple iOS. It is pleasing to report that the new members have integrated well with the existing team, and higher sales are forecast for 2014 with some contracts already being installed.
ACQUISITIONS
A year ago we stated that whilst we aimed to grow organically and would shape our organisation to do this, organic growth alone was unlikely to be sufficient. We set out certain criteria for acquisition and are pleased to report one valuable addition has been made during the year.
At the end of May we completed the acquisition of Feedback Data for £243,000 plus the injection of £368,000 to pay off inter-company loans and provide working capital. As has already been reported, this company is consistent with our strategy of providing complete data capture solutions but in this case, directed to Access Controls and Time and Attendance systems. The company has a small leased office in Sussex and we have retained key employees at that base whilst making some changes in the sales force and administrative organisation. The costs associated with these changes have been treated as exceptional and making due allowance for this, Feedback made a contribution to Group profits in its seven months of trading post acquisition. We also made good progress in technical integration with the Group by jointly developing a new Time and Attendance terminal for outdoor use and a mobile GPRS communications device to allow for remote terminal installation in temporary or 'hard to cable' installations.
The budget for 2014 anticipates that Feedback will consolidate on the work done since acquisition and continue to provide profits, as well as being cash generative. We are confident that this small acquisition will prove to be a very good addition to the Group.
However, this is by no means the end of the quest for growth. We have set out our strategy as offering complete solutions in logistics and although we have many of the components of the solutions in house, we do need better leverage on our new supply of tracking and scheduling software and a 2014 objective will be to strengthen this position. We will also be considering further development in the security market, where technical expertise can help to secure sales.
OUTLOOK
2013 was a year of consolidation in the core business supplemented by the successful acquisition of Feedback. In 2014 we expect to make further and accelerated progress. The economic outlook is at long last improving and we expect this to encourage our customers to start spending more readily. We believe the measures we have taken over the last few years to reduce costs and enhance our product offering have placed Belgravium in a good position to capitalise on this change and that 2014 will prove to be a significantly more successful year.
J P Kembery
Executive Chairman
4 March 2014
Audited consolidated income statement for the year ended 31 December 2013
|
| 2013 | 2012 |
| ||||||
|
| Continuing operations £000
| Acquisitions £000 | Total£000 | Total£000 |
| ||||
Revenue |
| 7,522 | 903 | 8,425 | 8,669 |
| ||||
Cost of sales |
| (3,881) | (368) | (4,249) | (4,738) |
| ||||
Gross profit |
| 3,641 | 535 | 4,176 | 3,931 |
| ||||
Distribution costs |
| (117) | (5) | (122) | (122) |
| ||||
Administration expenses |
| (3,497) | (435) | (3,932) | (3,522) |
| ||||
Operating profit before exceptional items |
| 192 | 141 | 333 | 287 |
| ||||
Exceptional costs included in administration expenses |
| (165) | (46) | (211) | - |
| ||||
Operating profit |
| 27 | 95 | 122 | 287 |
| ||||
Finance income |
|
|
| 7 | 1 |
| ||||
Finance expense |
|
|
| (4) | (6) |
| ||||
Profit before income tax |
|
|
| 125 | 282 |
| ||||
Income tax credit |
|
|
| 94 | 54 |
| ||||
Profit for the year attributable to the owners of the parent |
|
|
| 219 | 336 |
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Earnings per ordinary share (pence) attributable to owners of the parent during the year: | ||||||||||
2013 | 2012 | |||||||||
Basic | 0.22p | 0.33p | ||||||||
Adjusted | 0.40p | 0.33p | ||||||||
Audited consolidated statement of changes in equity for the year ended 31 December 2013
| Share capital | Share premium account | Capital redemption reserve | Profit and loss account | Total |
| £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 |
Balance at 1 January 2012 | 5,047 | 2,932 | 2,100 | 817 | 10,896 |
Comprehensive income | |||||
Profit for the year and comprehensive income | - | - | - | 336 | 336 |
Dividend | - | - | - | (101) | (101) |
Balance at 31 December 2012 | 5,047 | 2,932 | 2,100 | 1,052 | 11,131 |
Comprehensive income |
|
| |||
Profit for the year and total comprehensive income
| - | - | - | 219 | 219 |
Dividend | - | - | - | (101) | (101) |
Balance at 31 December 2013 | 5,047 | 2,932 | 2,100 | 1,170 | 11,249 |
Audited consolidated balance sheet as at 31 December 2013
| 2013 | 2012 | |
| £'000 | £'000 | |
Non-current assets |
|
| |
Goodwill | 9,495 | 9,124 | |
Development expenditure | 556 | 281 | |
Total intangible assets | 10,051 | 9,405 | |
Property, plant and equipment | 213 | 263 | |
Deferred income tax assets | 66 | - | |
| 10,330 | 9,668 | |
Current assets |
| ||
Inventories
| 1,774 | 1,454 | |
Trade and other receivables | 2,681 | 2,106 | |
Cash and cash equivalents | 219 | 1,614 | |
| 4,674 | 5,174 | |
Total assets | 15,004 | 14,842 | |
Current liabilities |
| ||
Trade and other payables | 2,962 | 2,643 | |
Deferred income tax liabilities | - | 28 | |
Borrowings | 13 | 12 | |
Short term provisions | 7 | 22 | |
| 2,982 | 2,705 | |
Non-current liabilities |
| ||
Deferred income | 750 | 970 | |
Borrowings
| 23 | 36 | |
Total liabilities | 3,755 | 3,711 | |
Capital and reserves attributable to owners of the parent | |||
Share capital | 5,047 | 5,047 | |
Share premium account | 2,932 | 2,932 | |
Capital redemption reserve
| 2,100 | 2,100 | |
Profit and loss account | 1,170 | 1,052 | |
Total equity | 11,249 | 11,131 | |
Total equity and liabilities | 15,004 | 14,842 | |
Audited consolidated cash flow statement for the year ended 31 December 2013
| 2013 £'000 | 2012 £'000 |
Cash flows from operating activities |
|
|
Operating profit | 122 | 287 |
Depreciation | 120 | 184 |
Amortisation | 209 | 139 |
Movement in: |
| |
Provisions | (15) | 9 |
Inventories | (197) | 90 |
Trade and other receivables | (221) | 900 |
Trade and other payables | (426) | (655) |
Cash (used in) / generated from operations | (408) | 954 |
Interest received | 7 | 1 |
Interest paid | (4) | (6) |
Corporation tax paid | - | (145) |
Net cash (used in) / generated from operating activities | (405) | 804 |
Cash flows from investing activities |
| |
Acquisition of subsidiary undertakings (net of cash acquired) | (232) | - |
Amount paid to clear inter-company balances | (368) | - |
Purchase of intangible assets | (220) | (147) |
Purchase of property, plant and equipment | (57) | (64) |
Net cash used in investing activities | (877) | (211) |
Cash flows from financing activities |
| |
Repayments of finance lease contracts | (12) | (11) |
Repayment of bank borrowings | - | (87) |
Equity dividends paid to shareholders | (101) | (101) |
Net cash used in financing activities | (113) | (199) |
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents | (1,395) | 394 |
Cash and cash equivalents at start of the year | 1,614 | 1,220 |
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year | 219 | 1,614 |
1. General information
Belgravium Technologies plc is a public company limited by share capital incorporated and domiciled in the United Kingdom. The Company has its listing on the Alternative Investment Market. The address of its registered office is 1 George Square, Glasgow, G2 1AL.
2. Basis of preparation
The financial information set out in this document does not constitute the Group financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2013 or 31 December 2012. The annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2013 were approved by the Board of Directors on 4 March 2014 along with this preliminary announcement, but have not yet been delivered to the Registrar of Companies.
The auditors' report on the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2013 was unqualified and did not contain a statement under section 498 of the Companies Act 2006.
The audited consolidated financial statements from which these results are extracted have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union, IFRIC interpretations and those parts of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under IFRS.
The accounting policies set out below represent an extract of the policies set out in the consolidated financial statements. There have been no changes in accounting policies in the year.
3. Critical accounting estimates and assumptions
The Group makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are discussed below.
(a) Estimated impairment of goodwill
The Group tests annually whether goodwill has suffered any impairment, in accordance with the accounting policy stated above. The recoverable amounts of cash-generating units have been determined based on value-in-use calculations. These calculations require the use of estimates, both in arriving at the expected future cash flows and the application of a suitable discount rate in order to calculate the present value of these flows.
(b) Development expenditure
The Group recognises costs incurred on development projects as an intangible asset which satisfy the requirements of IAS 38. The calculation of the costs incurred includes the percentage of time spent by certain employees on the development project. The decision whether to capitalise and how to determine the period of economic benefit of a development project requires an assessment of the commercial viability of the project and the prospect of selling the project to new or existing customers.
4. Audited reconciliation of net funds
|
| 2013 £'000 | 2012 £'000 |
Reconciliation of net funds |
|
|
|
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents |
| (1,395) | 394 |
Net change in bank loans and finance leases |
| 12 | 98 |
Movement in net funds |
| (1,383) | 492 |
Net funds at beginning of year |
| 1,566 | 1,074 |
Net funds at end of year |
| 183 | 1,566 |
5. Earnings per share
| 2013 | 2012 |
Basic earnings per ordinary share | 0.22p | 0.33p |
Adjusted earnings per ordinary share | 0.40p | 0.33p |
Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year.
For adjusted earnings per share, the earnings are adjusted for exceptional items.
Reconciliations of the earnings and weighted average number of shares used in the calculation are set out below:
| 2013 | 2012 | ||
| Earnings £'000 | Weighted average number of shares (in thousands) | Earnings £'000 | Weighted average number of shares (in thousands) |
Basic EPS |
|
|
|
|
Earnings attributable to owners of the parent | 219 | 100,937 | 336 | 100,937 |
Effect of exceptional items | 211 | - | - | - |
Tax effect of exceptional items | (30) | - | - | - |
Adjusted earnings | 400 | 100,937 | 336 | 100,937 |
*Exceptional items comprising of the following: |
|
|
|
|
Restructuring costs | 148 |
|
|
|
Deal costs | 63 |
|
|
|
| 211 |
|
|
|
\* There were no exceptional items in 2012.
Exceptional costs totalling £211,000 (2012: £nil) were incurred, these comprised the acquisition costs, redundancy costs and legal and other costs associated with the restructuring of the sales team and re-organisation in the mobile retail operation in Leamington.
|
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