Preliminary Results

31st Mar 2009 07:00



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 31 March 2009

 

 

2008 PRELIMINARY RESULTS

  

  

Bond International Software plc, the specialist provider of software for the international recruitment and human resources industries, with operations in the UK, USA, Hong Kong and Australia, today announces its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2008.

 

KEY POINTS 

 

* Adjusted for the amortisation of acquired intangibles and share based payments expense.

Commenting on the results Chief Executive Steve Russell, said: 

 

"Set against a tough economic backdrop I am very pleased with Bond's performance this year. We have once again increased our percentage of recurring sales which has to a large extent sheltered us from the worst effects of the economic downturn. The acquisition the business and assets of Team Spirit Software Ltd and Headcount Services Ltd have further diversified our customer base. Our prospect lists remain in good shape and we have seen no significant drop in the value of orders taken. When the inevitable upturn in the global economy arrives, we will be ideally placed to benefit."

  For further information, please contact:

 

Bond International Software plc:	Tel: 01903 707070 [email protected] www.bondinternationalsoftware.com
Steve Russell: Group Chief Executive
Bruce Morrison: Group Finance Director
Buchanan Communications:	Tel: 020 7466 5000
Tim Thompson
Chris McMahon
Cenkos Securities Limited	Tel: 020 7397 8900
Stephen Keys

  BOND INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE PLC

Chairman's Statement

 

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

I am delighted to present the 2008 results for Bond International Software plc. 2008 and, in particular, the second half of the year has proved to be very challenging for many businesses. This is why I am particularly pleased to be able to report that, despite the onset of the global recession, the group increased revenues by 9% to £31,973,000. Whilst the sale of software and services fell by just under 3%, this was more than made up for by revenues of a recurring nature which increased by 23% to £15,726,000. Of this increase, 14% was organic growth with the balance arising from the acquisition of the business and assets of Team Spirit Software and Headcount Services in June 2008. Recurring revenue represented 49% of total sales, up from 43% in 2007 and covered 66% of overheads compared with 62% in 2007. 

The impact of the global downturn together with the increasing trend of selling software on a rental basis rather than the traditional capital sale model has had an impact on our operating margins which have declined from 24% to 17%.  Included in administrative expenses are one off restructuring costs of £313,000 which will bring a benefit of reduced overheads going forward. As a result, operating profit before amortisation of intangible assets is £5,416,000 compared to £7,133,000 last year.

This, together with increasing amortisation of intangible assets, has also had an impact on earnings per share which fell to 6.10p (2007: 11.66p). In order to assist with understanding the underlying operating performance of the group we have reported adjusted earnings per share excluding the effects of the amortisation of intangible assets arising on acquisitions and the valuation of share based payments. On this basis the adjusted profit after tax was £3,112,000 (2007: £4,550,000) and the adjusted earnings per share were 9.44p (2007:14.56p).

The group improved the cash generated from operating activities to £2,763,000 (2007: £2,036,000) although overall net cash reduced by £1,874,000 following total capital expenditure of £4,368,000 (including acquisitions) and the payment of a dividend of £528,000.

Despite the fall in earnings the directors are pleased to recommend the payment of a dividend of 1.6p per share which is unchanged from last year. The payment which is subject to approval by the shareholders at Annual General Meeting will be made on 4 July 2009 to shareholders on the register at 12 June 2009.  

ACQUISITIONS

On 13 June 2008 the group completed the purchase of the business, assets and certain liabilities of Team Spirit Software Limited and Headcount Services Limited, which were both in administration.  The total cash outlay amounted to just over £1 million. The two related businesses comprise a payroll and HR software business and a payroll bureau. The purchase has strengthened our customer base as well as providing recurring revenue streams from both software support and the operation of regular monthly and weekly payrolls on behalf of clients. 

STAFF

The group now employs nearly 500 staff in our offices around the world. A motivated and committed workforce is vital to the continuing development of the group and, on behalf of the board, I would like to thank all staff for their continuing hard work, dedication and loyalty to the group.

PROSPECTS

The continuing global recession has undoubtedly had an impact on our customer base and in particular on recruitment agencies as unemployment rises and there is less opportunity for these firms to fill either permanent or temporary vacancies. As a result we have seen a drop off in demand for software and services particularly from small and medium sized firms in our existing client base. Having said that the group has continued to sign new clients as some organisations use the quieter times as an opportunity to update or purchase new technology.

Furthermore, the group has to date been sheltered from the worst effects of the economic downturn by virtue of strong recurring revenues and the move to diversify from being purely a recruitment software company through the acquisition of Gowi Group and Strictly Education in 2007 and Team Spirit and Headcount Services in 2008. The result is that only around 60% of revenues originate from staffing firms with the balance being generated from a wide range of customers in both the private and public sectors.

Moving into 2009, revenues and profits have so far held up and compare well with the first quarter of 2008. Our prospect lists remain healthy and we have not seen any significant drop in the overall value of order intake. We therefore believe that we are well placed to benefit when the inevitable upturn arrives. 

Martin Baldwin

Chairman

30 March 2009

  BOND INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE PLC

Group Chief Executive's Report

OVERVIEW

In my report on the 2007 accounts, I highlighted the significant changes that the group had undergone, particularly in the light of the acquisitions of Gowi Group and Strictly Education. This has enabled the group to change from being primarily a supplier of software and services to the recruitment industry into a broader based group serving a much wider range of customers in different market sectors. As a result, the group is more resilient to the impact of the global economic downturn and better able to withstand the ups and downs of the current market. Whilst we have seen a fall in operating profit before amortisation to £5,416,000 (2007: £7,133,000), I believe that this may have been more marked had the group not diversified in the way it has.

The group's operations are organised into four divisions covering recruitment software, HR & payroll software, outsourcing and web services. 

RECRUITMENT SOFTWARE

The recruitment software division, which comprises Adapt Recruitment, Talent and eEmpACT accounted for around 56% of group revenues in 2008 compared with 64% in 2007. Revenues decreased by 4% to £18,066,000 (2007: £18,906,000) and are analysed as follows: 

Revenue by type	2008 £000		2007 £000
Software sales & services	9,391		11,264
Software support	6,273		5,643
Software rental income	2,271		1,672
	17,935		18,579
Hardware and other sales	131		327
	18,066		18,906

Revenue by location of operating company	2008 £000		2007 £000
United Kingdom	10,879		12,185
USA	6,024		5,745
Asia Pacific	1,163		976
	18,066		18,906

The small decline in revenues arises partly as a result of the impact of the global economic downturn, however, as we highlighted in the interim report, it has also become increasingly important for us to make our software available under an ASP model or rental basis as well as through the more traditional sale of licences and subsequent support. Software sold in this way is more affordable for small to medium sized staffing firms and although the transition is very beneficial to the group in the medium to long term, it reduces revenues from the sale of software in the short term.

The impact of the recession on the division varied with geographical area. For example, in the USA where competition to win business has traditionally been much stronger, we have seen a decrease in the number of recruitment companies making decisions to purchase staffing software. Despite this, we have continued to prosper because we are winning a greater share of those deals where companies are making a decision. Many of our US competitors are suffering in the current climate and there is no doubt that our Adapt product has moved ahead of the majority in terms of functionality and technology.

In the UK, where Adapt is unquestionably the market leader, we have seen no drop off in sales enquiries over the last six months. The market can be divided into three distinct parts:

the large recruitment companies (normally 500+ consultants) many of whom are using the quieter market as an to opportunity review their systems and where we continue to sign deals in the UK, and increasingly in continental Europe;

medium sized recruitment companies (20-500 consultants) where there are less companies making investment decisions at the moment; and 

small recruitment companies (less than 20 consultants) where we continue to sign deals albeit at a reduced rate from last year.

The other area of the business which has been affected is the sale of software and services to existing clients as they are no longer expanding at the rate they were prior to the second half of 2008.

On the positive side recurring income from software support and software rental was £8,544,000 in 2008 representing a 17% increase on 2007.

Operating margins were reduced from 32% to 24% reflecting not only a change in the business model from the traditional capital sale to a mixture of software sale and software rental but also the increasing costs associated with the implementation of a new product such as Adapt version 11. The result is that operating profit has reduced from £6,178,000 in 2007 to £4,296,000 in 2008.

Following the success of the Australia and Hong Kong offices we recently took the decision to expand our Asia Pacific operations by establishing a presence in Japan. Four of the top twenty global staffing firms are based there and we believe this market offers significant opportunities for us to expand our overseas operations.

HR AND PAYROLL SOFTWARE

The HR and payroll services division sells a number of products acquired as part of Gowi Group in 2007 and Team Spirit in 2008. Each of those products has an established customer base providing the group with significant recurring revenue streams and it is the group's strategy to continue to support and develop those products to meet customer needs whilst developing a new combined HR and payroll product that customers can upgrade to in the future. As we said in the 2007 accounts we had started the process of consolidating the Recruitment and HR & Payroll divisions under one management structure to focus better on cross selling opportunities. We have some 1,600 customers with only a handful using more than one of our products. This consolidation has also allowed us to reorganise our management structure which will lead to some significant cost savings in 2009.

Revenues increased by 17% to £5,276,000 (2007: £4,494,000) and operating profit before amortisation has increased by 39% to £915,000 (£655,000) although we incurred one-off reorganisation costs of £94,000 without which, operating profit would have been £1,009,000. The growth in revenues arises principally as a result of the acquisition of Team Spirit in June 2008.   

OUTSOURCING 

This division currently comprises two operations. The first is Strictly Education which we acquired in February 2007 and which provides outsourced payroll, HR and other services into the state school sector. The company has contracts with over 400 schools and currently pays around 28,000 staff per month through its bureau operation.  This handles up to £20 million of client monies each month which historically has given rise to significant interest income. Recent cuts in interest rates have started to impact on operating margins and will continue to do so in 2009.  With nearly 30,000 schools in the state sector, there is a significant opportunity to expand this business through increasing the number of customers and range of services offered. In early 2008 the company acquired contracts to provide HR and finance services to 50 schools from a company which was in administration and has recently established a joint venture to provide payroll and other services to over 70 schools in Waltham Forest.

The second operation is Bond Payroll Services which was created through the merger of the payroll bureau acquired in 2007 as part of the Gowi Group and Headcount Services which was acquired in June 2008. Bond Payroll Services now processes around 50,000 payslips per month for around 600 clients with the largest client at 3,500 employees. 

The two operations generated revenues of £4,357,000 in 2008 compared with £2,823,000 in 2007 and made an operating profit before amortisation of £696,000 (2007: £544,000).

WEB SERVICES

Abacus Software is a leading developer of web based products and offers consultancy, design and development services, primarily to the Media and Public Sectors. The publishing industry is increasingly looking online for its revenues and growth and Abacus products and services are ideally positioned to help publishers develop their online properties. The company's success is built around its specialist content management software, Webvision, for which a third major release was successfully implemented in 2008. Two important client wins during 2008 on the back of this launch were EMAP and Centaur, both adopting Webvision as their core platform and commissioning the Abacus design and development team to build their magazine sites.

Abacus has also provided support to other group companies in the design of the latest user interface for Adapt as well as undertaking web design services on behalf of recruitment clients.

To complete the picture Abacus maintained its presence in public sector web development providing e-recruitment solutions to a number of local authorities and other public sector organisations.

Abacus achieved record revenues of £4,274,000 in 2008 (2007: £3,236,000) and made an operating profit of £614,000.

PRODUCT STRATEGY

We continue to invest a significant proportion of our revenue in enhancing our products with expenditure on development rising to £4,633,000 in 2008 which is 14.5% of revenues compared with £4,429,000 in 2007. The group continues to invest in enhancing its flagship product, Adapt, as well as configuring new products using Adapt technology in order to achieve a consistent technical platform across the group's entire product range. 

PEOPLE

As the group has continued to develop the Bond team has grown to nearly 500 staff based in numerous offices here in the UK and around the world. I would like to thank them all for their hard work which I know will continue in the year ahead. 

OUTLOOK

As I have highlighted earlier in my report the outlook is somewhat mixed at the moment. We have strong recurring revenues through software support, software rental and outsourced services and diversification has meant that we are no longer reliant entirely on the recruitment sector for our revenues and profitability. We come into 2009 with some major implementations in progress which will continue to generate revenues over the coming months as the deployments reach their conclusions. We are also working to sign significant deals across all areas of the business and whilst we are experiencing a drop in revenues, the number of major prospects we are working with give us cause for optimism that despite the difficult trading conditions, the impact on 2009 revenues will not be too significant.

Steve Russell

Group Chief Executive

30 March 2009

  BOND INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE PLC 

Consolidated income statement for the year ended 31 December 2008

	Note		2008 £000		2007 £000
Revenue	2		31,973		29,459
Cost of sales			(2,573)		(1,608)
Gross profit			29,400		27,851
Post-acquisition reorganisation costs Administrative expenses			(313) (23,671)		(132) (20,586)
Total administrative expenses			(23,984)		(20,718)
Operating profit before amortisation of intangible assets	2		5,416		7,133
Amortisation of intangible assets			(2,576)		(1,883)
Operating profit			2,840		5,250
Finance income			81		67
Finance costs			(88)		(206)
Profit on ordinary activities before tax			2,833		5,111
Income tax expense	3		(822)		(1,466)
Profit for the year attributable to the equity shareholders of the company	7		2,011		3,645
Earnings per share (pence)	4
Basic Diluted			6.10p 6.04p		11.66p 11.38p

The operating profit for the year arises from the group's continuing operations.

  BOND INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE PLC 

Consolidated statement of recognised income and expense for the year ended 31 December 2008

			2008 £000		2007 £000
Currency translation differences on foreign currency net investments			191		5
Net income recognised directly in equity			191		5
Profit for the year			2,011		3,645
Total recognised income for the year attributable to the equity shareholders of the company			2,202		3,650

  BOND INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE PLC 

Consolidated balance sheet at 31 December 2008

	Note		2008 £000		2007 £000
ASSETS
Non-current assets Goodwill Other intangible assets Property, plant and equipment Deferred tax assets			13,998 16,786 3,075 1,157		13,908 14,053 2,884 835
			35,016		31,680
Current assets Inventories Trade and other receivables Cash and cash equivalents			61 11,565 2,024		60 8,599 1,257
			13,650		9,916
Total assets			48,666		41,596
EQUITY Share capital Share premium account Equity option reserve Currency translation reserve Retained earnings			330 17,879 640 (50) 12,709		328 17,622 441 (241) 11,176
Total equity attributable to the equity shareholders of the company	7		31,508		29,326
LIABILITIES
Non-current liabilities Borrowings Deferred tax liabilities			2,635 3,365		281 2,919
			6,000		3,200
Current liabilities Trade and other payables Current income tax liabilities Borrowings			10,262 715 181		8,538 368 164
			11,158		9,070
Total liabilities			17,158		12,270
Total liabilities and equity			48,666		41,596

  BOND INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE PLC 

Consolidated cash flow statement for the year ended 31 December 2008

	Note		2008 £000		2007 £000
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations Interest paid Income tax paid	6		3,163 (88) (312)		3,195 (206) (953)
Net cash generated from operating activities			2,763		2,036
Cash flows from investing activities Acquisition of subsidiary undertakings net of cash and overdrafts acquired Acquisition of trade and assets Purchase of property, plant and equipment Purchase of intangible assets Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment			- (1,010) (621) (2,788) 51		(8,618) - (535) (2,849) 6
Net cash flow used in investing activities			(4,368)		(11,996)
Cash flows from financing activities Issue of ordinary share capital Increase in bank loans Repayment of bank loans Increase in other loans Repayment of other loans New finance leases Repayment of finance leases Interest received Equity dividend paid	5		259 - (104) 67 (14) 54 (84) 81 (528)		4,992 15 (1,971) - (69) - (55) 67 (427)
Net cash flow from financing activities			(269)		2,552
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents for the year			(1,874)		(7,408)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year			1,257		8,770
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes			215		(105)
Cash, cash equivalents and bank overdraft at end of year			(402)		1,257
Shown as:
Cash and cash equivalents			2,024		1,257
Bank overdraft			(2,426)		-
Cash, cash equivalents and bank overdraft at end of year			(402)		1,257

  BOND INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE PLC

Notes for the year ended 31 December 2008

 

1. Basis of preparation

The financial information set out in this preliminary announcement has been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards adopted for use in the European Union and does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The above figures for the year ended 31 December 2008 are an abridged version of the company's accounts which will be reported on by the auditor, despatched to the shareholders and filed with the Registrar of Companies following the AGM in June 2009, and they do not contain all of the information required to be disclosed in the financial statements prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS").

The audited accounts for the year ended 31 December 2007 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and the report of the auditor was unqualified and did not contain statements under Section 237(2) or (3) Companies Act 1985.

The announcement was approved by the board of directors on 30 March 2009.

 

2. Segmental Review

 

(a) Primary business segment

Segmental information is presented in respect of the group's business segments. The primary business segments are based on the group's reporting structure.

Segment results include items directly attributable to a segment as well as those that can be allocated on a reasonable basis. Unallocated items comprise mainly corporate and head office expenses.

	2008		2007
	£000		£000

Revenue

Recruitment Software		18,066		18,906
HR and Payroll Software		5,276		4,494
Outsourcing		4,357		2,823
Web services		4,274		3,236
		31,973		29,459
Operating profit before the amortisation of intangible assets
Recruitment Software		4,296		6,178
HR and Payroll Software		915		655
Outsourcing		696		544
Web services		614		627
Central departments		(1,105)		(871)
		5,416		7,133
Profit before interest and tax
Recruitment Software		2,879		5,268
HR and Payroll Software		48		(65)
Outsourcing		551		411
Web services		467		507
Central departments		(1,105)		(871)
		2,840		5,250

  BOND INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE PLC

Notes for the year ended 31 December 2008 (cont'd)

 

(b) Segmental analysis of revenues by location of operating company

	2008		2007
	£000		£000

Revenue

United Kingdom		24,786		22,738
North America		6,024		5,745
Asia Pacific		1,163		976
		31,973		29,459

 (c) Revenues by income type are:

				2008 £000		2007 £000
Sales
Software sales & services				15,940		16,322
Hardware and other sales				307		367
				16,247		16,689
Recurring income
Software support				10,228		8,715
Software rental income				2,270		1,367
Software as a service				3,228		2,688
				15,726		12,770
Total revenues				31,973		29,459

3. Taxation

			2008 £000		2007 £000
Current tax expense
UK Corporation tax			843		483
Foreign tax			36		70
Adjustment in respect of prior years			(242)		2
Total current tax			637		555
Deferred tax expense
Origination and reversal of temporary differences			257		64
Tax losses			(72)		847
			185		911
Total taxation expense reported in the consolidated financial statements			822		1,466

 

  BOND INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE PLC

Notes for the year ended 31 December 2008 (cont'd)

4. Earnings per share

The basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit attributable to equity shareholders of the parent company by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year.

The diluted earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit attributable to equity shareholders of the parent company by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year (adjusted for the effects of potentially dilutive share options).

The calculation of earnings per share is based on the following data:

				2008				2007
			Basic	Potentially dilutive share options		Diluted	Basic	Potentially dilutive share options	Diluted
Earnings:
Profit after tax (£'000)			2,011	-	2,011		3,645	-	3,645
Weighted average number of shares (000's)			32,971	310	33,281		31,249	791	32,040
Earnings per share (pence)			6.10	(0.06)	6.04		11.66	(0.28)	11.38

The Chairman's Statement discusses a comparison between the earnings per share adjusted for the impact of the amortisation of certain intangible assets and share based payments. The adjusted earnings per share are based on attributable profit calculated as follows:

		2008	2007
		£000	£000
Profit for the financial period		2,011		3,645
Adjustments:
Amortisation of intangible assets arising on acquisitions		1,183		958
Share based payment expense		249		204
Taxation effect		(331)		(257)
Adjusted profit		3,112		4,550
Adjusted earnings per share Basic Diluted		9.44p 9.35p		14.56p 14.20p

5. Dividends

			2008 £000		2007 £000
Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the period:
Final dividend paid in the year ended 31 December 2008 of 1.6p per share (2007: 1.4p per share)			528		427
Proposed final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2008 of 1.6 per share (2007: 1.6p per share)			528		528

The proposed final dividend, which was approved by the Board of Directors on 30 March 2009, is payable to all shareholders on the Register of Members on 12 June 2009 and is subject to the approval of shareholders at the Annual General Meeting. In accordance with IAS10 'Events after the balance sheet date', the proposed final dividend has not been included as a liability in these financial statements.

 

 

BOND INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE PLC

Notes for the year ended 31 December 2008 (cont'd)

6. Reconciliation of net operating profit to net cash flow from operations

	2008 £000		2007 £000
Operating profit	2,840		5,250
Depreciation of property, plant & equipment	476		401
Amortisation of intangible assets	2,576		1,883
Loss on sale of property, plant & equipment	31		1
Share based payment expense	249		204
Operating cash flow before movements in working capital	6,172		7,739
Decrease/(increase) in inventories	5		(29)
Increase in trade and other receivables	(2,579)		(2,577)
Decrease in trade and other payables	(435)		(1,938)
Cash generated from operations	3,163		3,195

 

7. Consolidated statement of changes in equity

	Share capital £000	Share premium £000	Equity option reserve £000	Currency translation reserve £000	Retained earnings £000	Total £000
At 1 January 2007	281	9,180	266	(246)	7,928	17,409
Currency translation differences	-	-	-	5	-	5
Profit for the financial year	-	-	-	-	3,645	3,645
Total recognised income and expense for the year	281	9,180	266	(241)	11,573	21,059
Dividend paid	-	-	-	-	(427)	(427)
Issue of ordinary shares	47	8,605	-	-	-	8,652
Expenses of share issue	-	(163)	-	-	-	(163)
Share based payment expense	-	-	205	-	-	205
Share options lapsed or exercised	-	-	(30)	-	30	-
At 31 December 2007	328	17,622	441	(241)	11,176	29,326
Currency translation differences	-	-	-	191	-	191
Profit for the financial year	-	-	-	-	2,011	2,011
Total recognised income and expense for the year	328	17,622	441	(50)	13,187	31,528
Dividend paid	-	-	-	-	(528)	(528)
Issue of ordinary shares	2	257	-	-	-	259
Share based payment expense	-	-	249	-	-	249
Share options lapsed or exercised	-	-	(50)	-	50	-
At 31 December 2008	330	17,879	640	(50)	12,709	31,508

  BOND INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE PLC

Notes for the year ended 31 December 2008 (cont'd)

8. Acquisitions

 On 13 June 2008 the group completed the acquisition of the business, assets and certain liabilities of Team Spirit Software Limited and Headcount Services Limited which were both in administration. The impact of the acquisition on the consolidated balance sheet was:

	Net book values	Fair value adjustments	Total
	£000	£000	£000
Intangible assets - customer relationships Intangible assets - software	- -	1,830 18	1,830 18
Property, plant & equipment	31	- --	31
Inventories	6	- --	6
Trade and other payables	(909)	- --	(909)
Fair value of assets acquired	(872)	1,848 8	976
Goodwill			34
Fair value of consideration - cash paid			1,010

The goodwill is attributable to the assembled workforce of the acquired business and the significant synergies and cross-selling opportunities expected to arise after the acquisition.

From the date of acquisition the acquired business contributed revenues of £1,589,000 and made an operating profit before the amortisation of intangible assets of £311,000 which is included in the profit of the group. If the acquisition had occurred on 1 January 2008 the acquired business would have contributed revenues of £2,867,000 and an operating profit before amortisation of £526,000.

9. Report and Accounts

 

Copies of the Report and Accounts will be circulated to shareholders shortly and may be obtained after the posting date from the Company Secretary, Bond International Software plc, Courtlands, Parklands Avenue, Goring by Sea, Worthing, West Sussex, BN12 4NG.

 

ENDFR WUUWGWUPBGRU

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