15th Oct 2007 07:01
Brulines (Holdings) PLC15 October 2007 Press Release 15 October 2007 Brulines (Holdings) plc ("Brulines" or "the Group") Trading Update Brulines (Holdings) plc (AIM:BRU), the leading provider of volume and revenueprotection systems for draught alcoholic drinks in the UK licensed on-trade,announces an update on the Group's acquisition of Nucleus Data ("Nucleus") andits trading performance for the half year ended on 30 September 2007. The acquisition, which is conditional on the Office of Fair Trading ("OFT") notreferring the proposed merger to the Competition Commission, is under review bythe OFT. This review has been voluntarily migrated from the fixed timelines ofa 'statutory' review process to an 'administrative' review process, which allowsthe OFT sufficient time to consider the full merits of the merger. Assuming nosuch referral is made under the new timelines, it is anticipated that completionof the acquisition will take place in December 2007. The proposed acquisition of Nucleus is an important strategic development in theGroup's growth plans as it enhances product development, further strengthens thesenior team and provides a solid commercial platform from which to accelerateour entry into new markets, whilst the Board believes the financial synergies oncore operations will make the acquisition earnings enhancing in the nextfinancial year. Encouragingly, customers of both Nucleus and Brulines have reacted positively tothe acquisition announcement. The Board is also pleased to announce that trading, in the first half of thefinancial year, has been as anticipated. Consequently, the Group's InterimResults for the half year ended 30 September 2007 are expected to be in linewith market expectations. New installations, system replacements and upgrades have progressedsatisfactorily and continue to generate an ongoing year-on-year growth inrecurring revenue and the higher margins associated with support services.Increased market penetration and broadening of our customer base for dispensemonitoring have been the primary drivers of this growth. The Group has made solid progress on the commercial development of its BrandQuality Monitoring product range within both the national tenanted and managedsectors, including the completion of 100 new installations for Punch Taverns,and expects to commence further commercial installations during the course ofthe second half year. Machine Insite, the AWP data management business, with its industry leadingdatabase and data management software that includes web based reporting, hascontinued to trade profitably and has grown its contribution to Group profitwith further new business gains. The integration into the Machine Insite business of the operations andtechnology acquired with Coin Metrics is progressing well, creating excellentprospects for enhanced AWP monitoring products, such as remote data capture andadvanced machine reporting across customers within the pub, club and leisuremarkets. The Group is strongly positioned to accelerate the growth of its AWPdata management business to a market leading position through real-time remotedownload of data from AWP machines, whilst also opening up new applications andmarkets, such as vending for the next generation of wireless data capturesystems. The Directors intend to seek authority from shareholders to purchase the Group'sown shares at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Group, notice of which isexpected to be sent to shareholders shortly. The Directors would use the sharepurchase authority with discretion and purchases would only be made from fundsnot required for other purposes and in the light of market conditions prevailingat the time. In line with its stated intent at the time of the flotation, the Board intendsto declare a dividend in respect of its Interim Results for the half year ended30 September 2007. These results will be announced on Tuesday, 11 December 2007. An analyst briefing on the Interim Results, given by James Dickson (ChiefExecutive) and Mark Foster (Finance Director) will be held at 9.30am on Tuesday,11 December 2007 at Abchurch Communications, 5th Floor, 100 Cannon Street,London, EC4N 6EU. - Ends - Enquiries: Brulines (Holdings) plcJames Dickson, Chief ExecutiveMark Foster, Finance Director Tel: +44 (0) 1642 358 800mark.foster@brulines.com www.brulines.com Grant Thornton UKGerry BeaneyFiona Kindness Tel: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100 www.gtuk.com Media enquiries: AbchurchJustin Heath / Emma Johnson Tel: +44 (0) 113 203 1340emma.johnson@abchurch-group.com www.abchurch-group.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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