1st Apr 2011 07:00
For immediate release | 1 April 2011
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CSF GROUP PLC
("CSF" or the "Group") (AIM: CSFG)
Pre-Close Trading Update
CSF, a leading provider of data centre facilities and services in South East Asia and the largest provider of data centre services in Malaysia, announces the following pre-close trading statement for the year ended 31 March 2011.
The Group has finished the current year well and the Directors are pleased to announce that the Group's results for the year will be in line with market expectations.
In addition, CSF is pleased to announce that it has signed a significant new tenant for its CX2 data centre. It has entered into a tenancy agreement with Pacific Link Telecom (Asia) Pte Ltd ("PLTA"), a company established by one of the major shareholders of Pacific Link Telecom, Inc. ("PLT"). This agreement is for the rental of 17,500 square feet of space at CX2 for a period of 13 years commencing 1 July 2011. PLTA expects to utilise the data centre space as a hub in Asia for major telecommunication companies ("telcos") and also to establish an internet exchange with these telcos. PLT is principally engaged in managing data centre infrastructure and providing secure co-location space and also operates a data centre located in Los Angeles, USA.
With the execution of this tenancy agreement, all CSF's data centres are now fully occupied.
The development of CX5, which will provide an additional 201,000 sq ft of data centre capacity, remains on schedule and CSF continues to progress with identifying potential customers for Blocks B and C of the facility, with the space for Block A being committed to by the Group's development partner.
CSF's design and fit-out services subsidiary, Atlas is also performing in line with expectations and the pipeline of fit-out contracts continues to remain encouraging.
The Group continues to make progress with its strategy of expansion, and is pleased to confirm that CSF International Limited ("CSFI"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Group, has entered into an agreement-in-principle with PT Karyagraha Nusantara ("KN") to establish a joint-venture company in Indonesia. It is intended that CSFI will hold a 49% interest in the joint venture which will principally be engaged in providing data centre management services in Indonesia.
KN is part of a group of companies considered to be one of the largest and most experienced commercial property developers in Indonesia and has been involved in the development and management of some of Jakarta's most prestigious office buildings including a 32-storey office building known as Cyber 2. Its flagship Cyber 1 building houses more than 200 telcos and is the predominant hub for telco carriers in Indonesia.
It is expected that the joint venture company will lease a newly constructed state of the art purpose-built data centre building from KN on a long term basis. Once the building has been fitted out, the joint venture company will operate and manage the data centre and procure tenants. When formalised, this partnership with KN will increase the Group's data centre capacity by 20%, or by more than 100,000 sq ft. This allows the Group instant access into the largest economy in South East Asia in conjunction with an established Indonesian party with long standing relationships with telcos and access to the Indonesian customer base.
In addition to Indonesia, the Group continues to pursue opportunities in Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.
Adrian Yong, Chief Executive of CSF Group plc, commented:
"The Board believes that the Group is well placed to take advantage of a number of exciting opportunities in our chosen markets and our core business segments of data centre rental and maintenance, and the design and fit-out.
We remain well place to continue to drive the business forward both in terms of revenue generation and geographic expansion. I look forward to providing further details when we announce our preliminary results in July 2011."
For further information:
CSF Group Adrian Yong, Chief Executive
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+603 8318 1313
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Cenkos Securities (Nominated Adviser & Broker) Ian Soanes or Elizabeth Bowman
| +44 (0)20 7397 8900 |
Buchanan Communications Jeremy Garcia / James Strong
| +44 (0)20 7466 5000 |
Notes to Editors:
CSF Group (AIM: CSFG) is a leading provider of data centre facilities and services in South East Asia and the largest provider of data centre services in Malaysia with 35% market share. The Group was established in 1991 and has been involved in the build & fit out of over 200 data centres, including the largest data centre in South East Asia, CX2, at 157,000 net sq. ft. Although its primary focus is the design, development and operation of data centres it also develops data centres on behalf of third party customers. Its customer base comprises global blue chip IT, Telco and Industrial companies to whom it offers a range of highly flexible, scalable services.
The Group listed on AIM on 22 March 2010, raising £28m at 55pence per share which it is using to develop CX5, a 201,000 net sq.ft data centre in Cyberjaya, as well as expand its operations into Vietnam, Thailand and other underdeveloped South East Asian territories.
Related Shares:
CSFG.L