24th Aug 2007 07:00
Lo-Q PLC24 August 2007 Lo-Q plc ("Lo-Q" or the "Company") Unaudited Interim Results for the six months ending 30 June 2007 Chairman's Statement Although the year started quietly for our Company on the trading front, behindthe scenes we were busy installing three new parks. The R&D department were verybusy finishing off the code for the new VQ2020 system and procurement were busygetting the components, including the newly designed 2020 Q-bot, so that thesystems installation team could complete their work for the opening at thebeginning of each park's season. The Q-bot rental income generated in March and April was at a slow and variablerate, at about the same level as last year, as we were affected by bad weatherduring this period of weekend opening. However trading picked up in May andJune. As such, at the end of the half-year period to 30 June 2007, the resultsof Company were ahead of the same period in the prior year. The inclusion ofthe three new parks in our income figures makes the majority of the difference,but the income from most of the other parks was generally higher than last year.This resulted in a profit on ordinary activities of £14,328 for the six monthsended 30 June 2007. We are in the process of selling and leasing back the systems that we haveinstalled and the income received to date appears as other operating income inthe accounts. This year we are managing the Flash pass (Q-bot) sales facility in all of ourSix Flags parks which has generally helped sales, and, in the case of one parkhas increased revenue so that it is over double that of last year. We have thus had a major increase in responsibility of employing and managingthe large temporary/seasonal staff that is required to fulfil our sales, ridehosting and supervisory duties. This has caused a large rise in the 'cost ofsales' figure in the accounts. I am pleased to report that Steve Drake and histeam in the US have performed these tasks exceptionally well. The new VQ2020 system with its redesigned Q-bot has been introduced into thethree new parks, Dollywood (Tennessee), Six Flags Great America (near Chicago)and La Ronde (Montreal), and are now working well with good levels of both guestand customer satisfaction . The system in Dollywood is producing sales at a level that is higher than thecustomer's expectation though we believe that the level can be even higher. Thenew theatre reservation kiosks are proving successful with the parks guests, andthe park management is very happy with the theatre reservation capacityapplication, which we have specially written for them. We are considering otheruseful areas of this system, outside theme parks. The Company is engaged in discussions with a number of organisations that havetechnology in neighbouring parallel activity areas and we are working towardsbringing these capabilities on stream more efficiently through joint activity inthe near future. Baring any unforeseen difficulties to trade, e.g. weather, we expect that totalgross Q-bot rentals paid by the park's guests will be materially higher thanthat recorded last year. As a consequence of this higher level of income, theCompany is taking the opportunity of carefully increasing its human resources tolargely eliminate the single level of dependency of many of the job functions.It is also in the process of increasing its professional sales staff. With the experience gained from operating Q-bots for over five years, and havingjust introduced a new replacement Q-bot at the end of this period, we believethat our product has proved its commercial viability and will now becapitalising product research and development costs and writing them down overthe expected revenue earning life of that system. This approach is in line withexisting accounting policy and accordingly has been incorporated into thesehalf-year accounts. I am also pleased to report that we have paid back the whole loan that enabledus to pay the settlement to Palmtop at the end of last year. The Company is now searching to build trading relationships with other parkchains so as to capitalise on its in-depth experience of queue line management. Contacts: Jeff McManus, Chairman: 01491 577 201Romil Patel, Blue Oar Securities Plc: 0207 448 4400 LO-Q PLCConsolidated Interim Income Statement Six months to 30 Six months to 30 Jun 2007 Jun 2006 £ £ RevenueIncome derived from Q-Bot Rental 753,380 653,900 Sale & Leaseback income 395,393 Cost of Sales 670,980 162,024 __________ __________ Gross profit 477,793 491,875 Administrative expenses 445,361 554,375 __________ __________ Operating Profit / (loss) 32,432 (62,500) Interest receivable 995 1,772 Interest payable and similar charges (19,100) (172) __________ __________ Profit / (Loss) on ordinary activities before taxation 14,328 (60,900) Taxation on loss on ordinary activities 0 (22,299) __________ __________ Profit / (Loss) on ordinary activities after taxation 14,328 (38,601) __________ __________ Earnings (loss) per share (pence)Basic EPS 0.10 (0.26) Diluted EPS 0.09 (0.25) All amounts relate to continuing activities There are no recognised gains or losses other than those within the profit and lossaccount LO-Q PLC Consolidated Balance Sheet Six months to 30 Six months to 30 Jun 2007 Jun 2006ASSETS £ £ Non-Current AssetsProperty, Plant and Equipment 176,840 16,298 __________ __________ Current AssetsInventories 200,798 258,681Trade and other receivables - Trade receivables 220,418 465,534 - Corporation tax 53,557 32,477 Cash and cash equivalents 237,314 105,140 __________ __________ 712,087 861,832 __________ __________ Total Assets 888,927 878,131 EQUITYIssued capital and reservesCalled up share capital 147,658 147,658Share premium account 4,982,067 4,982,067Other reserves 20,578Profit and loss account (4,617,172) (4,374,929) __________ __________ Total Equity 533,131 767,269 __________ __________ Current LiabilitiesTrade Accounts Payable 256,229 29,282Tax Payable 0 18,951Provisions & Other Liabilities 99,567 62,629 __________ __________ Total Current Liabilities 355,796 110,862 __________ __________ Total Liabilities & Equity 888,927 878,131 __________ __________ LO-Q PLC Consolidated cash flow statement Six months to 30 Six months to 30 Jun Jun 2007 2006 £ £Cash Flows From Operating ActivitiesTotal Operating Profit / (loss) 32,432 (62,500) Non-Cash AdjustmentsDepreciation 15,458 9,168Unrealised gains on foreign currency exchange 5,402 4,935 Non-Cash Adjustments 20,860 14,103 Cash Flows Before Changes in working Capital 53,292 (48,397) Increase in Working CapitalIncrease in inventories (5,572) (50,557)Increase in trade and other receivables (108,461) (419,333)Decrease in trade and other payables (150,531) (20,706)Increase/(Decrease) in tax payable 11 (2,363) Increase in Working Capital (264,553) (492,959) Cash Flows From Operating Activities (211,261) (541,356) Cash Flows From Investing ActivitiesPayments to acquire property, plant and equipment (177,288) (7,163) Cash Flows From Financing ActivitiesGross proceeds from issue of equity share capital - 14,630Interest Received 995 1,772Interest Paid (19,100) (172) Net Cash Flows From Financing Activities (195,393) 9,067 Net Increase in Cash and Cash Equivalents (406,654) (532,289) Cash and Cash equivalents as at 1 January 2007 643,968 637,429 Cash and Cash Equivalents As At 30 June 2007 237,314 105,140 LO-Q PLC Consolidated Statement Of Changes In Equity Issued Share Other Retained Total capital premium reserves earnings equity £ £ £ £ £ Balance at 1 January 2007 147,658 4,982,067 20,578 (4,636,901) 513,402 Total expense for the year recognised - - - 5,401 5,401directly in equity - foreign exchange Profit for the year - - - 14,328 14,328 Balance at 30 June 2007 147,658 4,982,067 20,578 (4,617,172) 533,131 Balance at 1 January 2006 143,478 4,971,617 18,285 (4,324,776) 808,604 Total expense for the year recognised - - - (10,552) (10,552)directly in equity - foreign exchange Loss for the year - - - (38,601) (38,601) Total recognised expense for the year 143,478 4,971,617 18,285 (4,373,929) 759,451 Issue of share capital 4,180 10,450 - - 14,630 Recognition of share-based payments - - 2,293 - 2,293 Balance at 30 June 2006 147,658 4,982,067 20,578 (4,373,929) 776,374 Notes to the Interim Statements 1. These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and show the effects of changes from Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP) previously adopted in the Accounts. The interim statement for the six months are unaudited and do not constitute statutory accounts for the purpose of the Companies Acts. The accounts for the year ended 31st December 2006 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies and the auditors' report on those accounts was not qualified. 2. Due to corporation tax losses available no tax charge has been provided. 3. Earnings per share have been calculated on the profits for the period after taxation and 14,765,837 shares in issue. The diluted earnings per share calculation is based on 15,740,599. 5. The directors have not declared an interim dividend. No dividend is shown in the income statement. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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