27th Jan 2005 15:08
Coburg Group PLC27 January 2005 COBURG GROUP PLC Directors' Report Coburg PLC made a loss of £233,000 in the six months to 30th November 2004 asagainst a profit of £5,000 for the corresponding period in 2003. Over the periodthe Company increased its turnover by 14% from £1.249m to £1.430m. As was predicted in the Annual Statement in October 2004, although sales were upin the first six months of the year, the Company made a loss as it continuedinvesting in new management and systems to develop the Group into a vibrantcompetitive business. The process of building a professional management team was begun with therecruitment of Nick Robinson from PJ Smoothies to head up our sales operationsand Christopher Birkle previously of United Biscuits and Safeway plc to head upFinance. In addition Bryan Stockley relocated from Ashby's in Colchester to ourWoolwich plant where he took over the factory manager's role. The Directors arepresently looking at implementing incentive schemes for the entire staff. In June 2004, the Group commissioned a new roaster and silo system within itsfactory and this together with a number of other projects has resulted in animprovement in production efficiency. We believe that we now have one of themost up to date coffee roasting facilities in the country. We also invested in anew IT network for our administration and sales team and currently we areinstalling a new accounting and sales order processing system that we hope willimprove our productivity even further. The Directors are committed to a numberof capital expenditure projects that remain to be completed before we can makeup for the many years of underinvestment. These investments will cost in theregion of £150k and management is currently considering how best to finance thisexpenditure. During this period, raw coffee prices rose significantly and as there is anatural time lag in passing on such rises to our customers, we have had toabsorb much of this extra cost. This is reflected in some of the loss during theperiod. We are hopeful that we will be able to return to our previous margin indue course. We have also spent much time consolidating our product range and investingheavily in developing our blends to suit changing tastes in the market. Thisinvestment has already made a return to the Company in the form of a supplyagreement with a large customer just before Christmas to add to our impressiveportfolio of retail customers. The Directors are confident that with thesuperior product we have created and the roll out of the new branding forLangdons and Rizzi, we are producing some of the finest coffee in the UK. The Directors are grateful for all the work that the staff has done and continueto do. Your company consists of a great team of people who are committed tomaking it one of the leaders in the coffee field internationally. Directors COBURG GROUP PLC INTERIM RESULTS 2004 Consolidated Profit and Loss Account Six months Six months Year to 31 October to 31 October to 30 April 2004 2003 2004 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'000 £'000 £'000 Turnover 1,430 1,249 2,684 -------- -------- -------- Operating (loss) /profit (233) 7 (46) Realised & unrealised gains & losseson fixed assets &fixed assetinvestments - - 2 Net Interest (5) (3) (6) -------- -------- --------(Loss) / ProfitBefore Taxation (238) 4 (50) Taxation - - - Minority Interests (1) 1 1 Retained (Loss) / Profit for the financial -------- -------- --------period (239) 5 (49) -------- -------- -------- (Loss) / Profit perOrdinary Share (pence) (1.44) 0.05 (0.35) -------- -------- -------- Notes 1 The results for the 6 month period ended 31 October 2004 and 31 October 2003 are unaudited and have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies disclosed in the Group's 2004 Annual Report and Accounts. The consolidated financial information for the 12 months ended 30th April 2004 is derived from the full audited consolidated accounts (within the meaning of Section 240, Companies Act 1985), which received an unqualified audit report and have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. 2 The profit per share for the period ended 31st October 2004 is calculated on the consolidated loss on ordinary activities after tax of £239,000, divided by 16,590,514 this being the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period. 3 No interim dividend is proposed 4 Further copies of the interim report will be available to the public at the registered office of Coburg Group plc, 3 Harrington Way, Warspite Road, Woolwich London SE18 5NU. COBURG GROUP PLC GROUP BALANCE SHEET Consolidated Balance Sheet As at As at As at 31 October 31 October 30 April 2004 2003 2004 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'000 £'000 £'000 Fixed AssetsTangible 649 451 610Intangible 332 315 344Investments 0 0 0 ------------ -------- ---------- 981 766 954 ------------ -------- ---------- Current AssetsStock 190 239 229Debtors 469 697 472Cash at Bank and inHand 32 18 236 ------------ -------- ---------- 691 954 937 Creditors falling duewithin one year (722) (905) (714) ------------ -------- ----------Net Current Assets (31) 49 223 ------------ -------- ---------- Total Assets lessCurrent Liabilities 950 815 1,177 Creditors falling dueafter more than one year (123) (16) (112) ------------ ------- ---------- 827 799 1,065 Minority Interests (10) (9) (9) ------------ ------- ----------Net Assets 817 790 1,056 ------------ ------- ---------- Capital and Reserves Share Capital 830 630 830Reserves (13) 160 226 ------------ ------- ----------Equity shareholders'funds 817 790 1,056 ------------ ------- ---------- COBURG GROUP PLC GROUP CASH FLOW STATEMENT Consolidated Cash Flow Statement Six months Six months Year to 31 October to 31 October to 30 April 2004 2003 2004 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'000 £'000 £'000 Net Cash (outflow)/inflow from operatingactivities (40) 103 219 Returns on investments and servicing offinanceInterest paid (5) (3) (6) Capital expenditure and financialinvestmentPurchase of fixedassets (119) (70) (313)New finance leases 41 4 -Sale of fixed assetsPurchase of fixedasset investments - - 8 Acquisition and DisposalsPurchase ofsubsidiaryundertaking - (173) (220) --------- --------- -------Net cash(outflow)/inflowbefore financing (123) (139) (312) --------- --------- ------- FinancingProceeds of ordinaryshare issue - - 320 New borrowings - 60 147 Repayment of borrowings (15) (7) - Repayments of finance leases (23) (4) - --------- --------- -------Net cash (outflow) /inflow fromfinancing (38) 49 467 --------- --------- ------- (Decrease) / Increase in cash during the --------- --------- -------period (161) (90) 155 ========= ========= ======= This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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