Spectrum Interactive Share Discussion Threads

[outsider] 27/3/2008 11:29

Heathrow's T5 open to passengers

British Airways will move most of its flights over the next year
Heathrow's new Terminal 5 has opened to the public as British Airways begins operating from the building.

A BA flight from Hong Kong was the first to arrive at the £4.3bn facility. The first departure was at 0620 GMT, when a service left for Paris.

Both BA and the airport operator BAA are promising a better passenger experience and fewer delays.

Anti-airport expansion groups hope 500 people will take part in a "flash mob" protest at the terminal at 1100 GMT.

Demonstrators opposed to plans for a third runway and sixth terminal at Heathrow said they would carry out a peaceful protest, but BAA said it was not expecting disruption.

Planes moved

There were some teething problems at the airport on Thursday morning.

Passengers were experiencing difficulties collecting their bags, and there were reports of delays in luggage being loaded onto planes.

Some passengers waited two hours for their bags from a Frankfurt flight that landed at around 0830 GMT.

One unlucky passenger was Jenny Uhl, travelling with her friend, Verena Keller.

Ms Uhl said: "The terminal looks nice, but the bag situation is not good."

Another passenger, Klaus Hausler, said he had been delayed.

"I waited an hour and a half for my bags but could get no information from anyone. It was not good,"

There were also complaints about confusing road signs for T5, problems for some people attempting to pay at a car park, and a previously working escalator that had broken down.

But other passengers praised the terminal and both BA and BAA have warned passengers it will take time for such a huge project to "bed down".

BA chief executive Willie Walsh said "I'm absolutely delighted with the way things have gone so far. I think it's great."


BA TERMINAL CHANGES
27 March: Domestic and most European flights move from Terminal 1 to T5
27 March: Long-haul flights from Terminal 1 move to T5
27 March: Miami service moves from Terminal 3 to T5
30 March: Algiers moves from Gatwick to T5
30 April: All Terminal 4 long-haul go to T5 (except Singapore, Bangkok and Sydney)
17 Sept: Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Nice and Helsinki move from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3
Early 2009: Singapore, Bangkok and Sydney move from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3
Source: BA

Until Wednesday, BA services were spread across three of Heathrow's terminals.

The airline has had to embark on a major exercise overnight to move aircraft and handling equipment to the new terminal.

Initially, BA will operate domestic and European services from Terminal 5, as well as long-haul flights that currently operate from Terminal 1.

Meanwhile, BAA has had to drop controversial plans to fingerprint domestic passengers after the information commissioner expressed concerns about the move.

The airport operator said fingerprinting was needed for border security. Instead it will take photographs while the proposal is discussed with the commissioner's office.

Environmental protests

While BAA says the opening of Terminal 5 will not see any more flights operating to and from Heathrow, environmental groups are not convinced.

John Stewart, from anti-expansion group Hacan ClearSkies, said: "The real reason it [Terminal 5] was built was to provide the terminal capacity to allow more flights on the existing runways, which will mean more noise, more pollution and more stress for those living under the flight paths."

Willie Walsh, writing in the airline's staff newspaper, also admitted that Terminal 5 would not "solve our problems".

"There continue to be problems at Heathrow with a lack of runway capacity and T5 will do nothing to sort this out," he said.

Once BA has completed its terminal changes, BAA plans to start moving other carriers to Terminals 1, 3 and 4, where they will be grouped according to airline alliances.

Terminal 2 will then be demolished, to pave the way for a new facility - Heathrow East - which BAA hopes will be ready in time for the London Olympics in 2012.

[battlebus] 26/3/2008 12:08

Well what about those little trades not sells after all.

[outsider] 26/3/2008 11:57

Exactly, me & you both see it, others haven't, but patience will reward us both, claerly in an uptrend from 9p, despite the AIM index falling off a cliff, when the AIM index turns too, Spectrum shares will gallop.

[battlebus] 26/3/2008 11:55

Don't see anydown side at present.More and more to come online and loss making payphones to be reduced further. Once they are out of the way profits should soar.

[outsider] 26/3/2008 11:51

Yup either that or market maker(s) going long, looks a sure-fire bet with the long term contracts thay have.

[battlebus] 26/3/2008 11:46

Must be a buy or two in the background as the bid stayed at 13.5p after a 21000 sale.

[battlebus] 26/3/2008 11:44

Yes i think from the statement no divi this year means one next year.Good to see a buy recommendation from SYP.

[outsider] 26/3/2008 11:30

SYP have prodced a research flash, with PTP upgraded to 0.8m. so I guess EPS if it moves in line will be c 2.35p.

They are going to produce a more detailed report later including forecasts for 2009, which will be most interesting.


Not bothered about the divi, like to see the debt reduce further, but I wouldn't be surprised with the postive outlook that it may recommence in 2009.


SYP say BUY.

[battlebus] 26/3/2008 10:09

Sellers again this A.M. I couldn't sell at 13.4p with all the upside to come.

[battlebus] 26/3/2008 10:04

Oh forgot to mention that line. We expect to exceed market expectations!

[battlebus] 26/3/2008 09:50

Hi Outsider just got back in and guess what results a day early! Quick read and i'm very pleased.Interactive now counts for 42% of the business and possibly more than 50% buy year end. I think we'll find that to be underestimated. Net debt up buy 0.8million but only to be expected with the wi fi roll out.Wifi growing every month and with Premier inns and the contract at Heathrow 5 the next few years look great.Only downside for me is that dividends won't happen this year but let's hope the share price makes up for that.Wonder how many desks had to move for security reasons and how many are back online? Anyhow a great improvement on 12 months ago, still very happy to hold.

[outsider] 26/3/2008 09:15

Right the Englishman must go out and get some french bread, here in Philippines! also a pineapple (about 35p) and maybe some buko juice (cocunut water about 20p, direct from fresh green coconuts)


but I notice from Digital look the forecast is:
30-Jun-08 17.00 0.70 2.00p


Well 17m turnover should be beaten.

the 700k pre-tax expected for the full year has already been matched in the first half....so maybe 1.6m to 2m pre-tax for the full year, I notice the tax charge very high first half, so this may evenout in second half, giving extra EPS. Also further interest rate cuts which are almot certain, will help, but more next finincial year than this.


Battlebus I was expecting results on 27th, must have got mixed up, maybe you have too, not seen your commets yet, expect you will be delighted like me!

[outsider] 26/3/2008 08:11

still analysing results we have an extra 352 hotels coming on stream for a whole six months and one would think a sharp drop in capex now that the big contract has been completed which should feed down to bottom line.

[outsider] 26/3/2008 08:04

only buy 5000 online now at 14.31p...was considering buying 25k if available.

can sell 10000 at 13.15p

[outsider] 26/3/2008 07:46

Excellent well above my expectations, furthermore would have been much more than 1p eps for the weaker first half had they not had the 50k aborted acquisition charges or the higher tax under new IFRS rules,


With a stronger second half, all the new Wi-fi completed by year end in travelodge to feed through, I wouldn't be surprised to see upto 3p eps for the full year. Not only that, when the drag of loss making German payphones are gone expect it to shoot up sharply afterwards.....maybe 5 or 6p.


Good to see another 50 hotels also to be added to the wi-fi estate.


Very Very pleaaed I hold a large number of shares.

[chris1981] 26/3/2008 07:07

Interim Results for the six months to 31 December 2007

Interim Results for the six months to 31 December 2007


STRONG GROWTH IN INTERACTIVE BUSINESS. OVERALL PERFORMANCE IN LINE WITH THE BOARD'S PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED PLANS

Spectrum Interactive plc, (LSE: SIN), the leading interactive and payphone services provider, announces its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2007.

Financial highlights:

* Total revenue down 7% from £9.8m to £9.1m; * Interactive revenues up 32% to £3.8m and now represent 42% of total revenues; * Payphone revenues down 24% to £5.3m; * Capital expenditure of £1.5m of which over 90% was on the interactive business; * Administrative expenses reduced by 9% (approximately £0.3m) compared with prior period; * Gross debt of £6.0m (as at 31 December 2006: £5.9m). Net debt of £5.5m (as at 31 December 2006: £4.7m); * EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) £1.8m (six months to 31 December 2006: £2.1m); * Profit before tax and amortisation charges down from £1.0m to £0.8m; * Seasonality of the business is changing because of growth of WiFi services. Last year the result for the second half of the year, prior to German write downs, was a loss of £0.5m, resulting in a profit before tax and German write downs for the full year of £0.3m. This year is expected to see a profit in the second half with the consequent improvement in full year profitability; and * Financial statements presented for the first time under IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) - the main differences are the elimination of the goodwill amortisation charge (£0.2m charge in the first half of the prior year under UK GAAP compared with no charge under IFRS) and the full recognition of the deferred tax asset, which is then leading to a deferred tax charge (£0.4m in the current period and £0.3m in the prior period compared with no charge under UK GAAP).

Operational highlights:

* Completion of the rollout of WiFi services to Travelodge, installing into over 300 hotels by 31 December 2007; * In conjunction with Travelodge in February 2008, launch of an online pre-pay purchase scheme for WiFi vouchers - initial results have been very positive; * Consolidation as the leading provider of interactive services to airports with a new contract win for internet terminals and WiFi at Birmingham Airport and the installation of internet terminals at Heathrow Terminal 5, which opened in March 2008; * Roll out of WiFi services to 25 Greene King hotels and over 100 Greene King pubs with orders to install WiFi into a further 50 Premier Inn hotels; * Acceleration of the rationalisation of the payphone base, removing over 1,500 unprofitable units during 2007, leaving 7,156 payphones in total in the UK and Germany; and * Completion of the transfer of the media operation to Clear Channel in respect of the 1,800-strong street payphone estate.

Commenting on the results, Lord Young of Graffham, Chairman, said:

"Overall, Spectrum Interactive is delivering on the plans announced in 2007. While our financial performance in the first half of the current year was below that of the prior period, the smoothing of our seasonality caused by our growing WiFi business leads us to expect a relatively stronger second half in comparison with the same period in the prior year. As a result we expect to exceed current market expectations for the full year."

Enquiries

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Spectrum Interactive |Citigate Dewe Rogerson | |plc |tel: [phone] | |tel: [phone] |Sarah | |Mark Lewarne |Gestetner | |Chief Executive |George Cazenove | |Officer | | |Philip Congdon | | |Chief Financial Officer|Seymour Pierce Limited | | |Tel: [phone] | |Daniel Gray |Mark Percy | |Head of Group Marketing| | |& Communications | | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+

Spectrum Interactive plc - Interim Results Six months to 31 December 2007

Chairman's Statement I am pleased to announce the first half results for the financial year 2007-8. The Group has continued its clear strategy which is to re-invest profits from its declining payphone business into its growing interactive digital services business, most notably in airports and hotels. The rationalisation of the payphone business has been accelerated to reflect its continuing decline.

Demand for interactive services has continued to grow quickly and this has been reflected in increased installations, particularly into hotels. As a result, although revenue was down 7% overall on the comparative period, in the first half of the current year revenues from interactive products grew by 32% and now constitute 42% of total revenue, a figure we expect to rise to over 50% within the next year.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) were £1.8m (£2.1m in the six months to 31 December 2006) and profit before tax and amortisation in the six month period was £0.8m, down from £1.0m in the prior period. The growth in the WiFi business is smoothing the previous seasonality of the overall business- last year prior to impairment charge there was a second-half loss of £0.5m, whilst this year, based on the results already seen from the first two months, there is expected to be a profit in the second half.

With interactive revenues continuing to grow, our objective for 2008 is to continue to compete for new contracts and to develop new products and services to deploy into our key target markets of airports and hotels in the UK. As I mentioned in the November AGM statement it is the Group's intention to disinvest itself of its German payphone operation.

FINANCIAL RESULTS Revenue was £9.1m in the period, down 7% on the same period last year. As already mentioned, we are seeing a marked change in seasonality within the business with the growth of WiFi improving the performance in the January to June period. However, the business will continue to have seasonal variation, with the summer months continuing to make the July to December period the stronger of the two half years.

Revenue in the interactive business grew strongly by 32% to £3.8m, reflecting both like-for-like growth in usage from existing sites and the effect of new installations into hotel sites in the six-month period. The split of revenue within the interactive business was £2.4m from internet terminals and £1.4m from WiFi services.

Revenue in the payphone business fell by 24% overall to £5.3m (£6.9m in the six months to 31 December 2006). The decline was similar in both the UK and Germany as users opted for alternative methods of making voice calls. It is also important to note that revenues from freephone calls (PAC) fell by 27% in comparison with the prior period. Revenues from advertising on payphone kiosks increased by 36% compared with last year.

Gross profit fell 13% on the prior period to £3.7m. As a percentage of sales gross profit fell from 43% to 41% which can principally be attributed to the loss of PAC revenue.

Administrative expenses were down £0.3m or 9% on the prior period.

This reflects the general reduction of overheads in the business, both in the UK and Germany, which we have implemented in view of the ongoing decline in the payphone business.

Net interest payable was up 9% on the prior period, reflecting mainly higher bank interest rates in the period.

Because of the full recognition of the deferred tax asset (previously only partially recognised) under IFRS, there is a deferred tax charge in the period of £0.4m. This reflects the reversal of timing differences and the decreased value of the tax losses and tax writing down allowances as the tax rate reduces from 30% to 28%.

The overall debt position on the Group remained broadly neutral in the six month period with £0.7m of bank debt and £0.2m of finance leases repaid in the period. This was matched with an overall similar amount of new debt (£0.4m of bank debt and £0.5m of finance leases), which was secured to finance the investment in the Travelodge WiFi estate. Gross debt at 31 December 2007 was £6.0m (£4.7m of bank debt and £1.3m of finance leases), and net debt (gross debt less cash) was £5.5m.

Capital expenditure in the period was £1.5m the majority of which fell in two areas: the installation of WiFi services into approximately 400 hotels, and the installation of payphones and internet terminals into Heathrow Terminal 5.

This is the first time that the financial statements have been prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

The prior periods have been restated, as has the balance sheet at the date of transition, 1 July 2006. The main impact of IFRS has been as follows:

* Amortisation of goodwill - automatic amortisation no longer required under IFRS but goodwill subject to annual impairment review. Amortisation of goodwill last year under UK GAAP was £0.4m for the full year.

* Deferred tax - full recognition in the balance sheet of the value of losses and writing down allowances, but leading to a charge in the income statement as those benefits are used - hence the £0.4m deferred tax charge in the income statement for the six months to December 2007.

* Borrowing costs - where a loan or lease relates directly to an asset the lifetime interest costs are capitalised and depreciated over the asset life. This does not have a material impact on the results but does lead to a shift from interest expense to depreciation.

* Holiday pay - no account was previously taken of the timing difference between holiday being earned and taken. Under IFRS an accrual is made to recognise this, leading to a small increase in costs in the January -June period and a corresponding decrease in the July-December period.

OPERATIONAL REVIEW The Interactive business continues to grow quickly, with revenues up 32% on the prior period. Desk revenue rose from £2.2m to £2.4m and the average monthly revenue per terminal rose from £192 to £211, an increase of 10%. WiFi growth was even more impressive, rising from 575 hotspots in December 2006 to 927 at the end of 2007. WiFi revenues increased by 109% from just under £0.7m to £1.4m as a result of rapid deployment into new hotels, good marketing and most importantly the increasing appetite from business users for this service. Like for like WiFi revenues have been growing almost every month, a trend which is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

The launch in December 2007 of an online website in conjunction with Travelodge for purchasing WiFi in advance of the hotel visit is proving very popular with customers and is also enhancing monthly revenues.

WiFi services were also installed into 25 Greene King hotels, and we have orders for over 50 new Premier Inn hotels. The Group sees this as evidence of a progressively maturing market with hotel visitors expecting WiFi as a standard feature of their hotel stay.

We have completed the installation of interactive services into Birmingham Airport as part of a new contract where we provide both internet terminals and WiFi.

We continue to work closely with our airport partners, and we expect that the opening of Heathrow Terminal 5 in March 2008 will assist us in further increasing our high visibility locations. Airports are being required to increase the amount of space dedicated to security, and this has forced us to de-install internet desks at some locations, but we expect to identify new alternative locations and believe that there is still considerable revenue growth possible.

The payphone base fell by 1,716 units since 31 December 2006 to 7,156, of which 5,496 are in the UK and the remainder in Germany.

This deliberate rationalisation process has been concentrated on the UK managed estate where contracts have either been renegotiated or terminated. This policy will continue in 2008 so that by the end of the current calendar year we expect to reduce our payphone base to just 5,000 units. This strategy is enabling the Group both to reduce operational costs and focus its commercial activities on the growing interactive business.

Our German business is generating cash despite a further 22% decline in payphone revenues in the period. We have reduced our operating expenses in line with this decline. Our interactive revenues in Germany have risen with airport contracts in particular proving to be a growing source of income.

ACQUISITIONS The Group pursued one overseas acquisition during the period but withdrew from the deal in November 2007. We incurred a cost of circa £50k as a result of this aborted transaction. We have since decided to focus our strategic initiatives on opportunities within the UK for the immediate future.

OUTLOOK The outlook for the second half of the current year is good in comparison with the same period last year. We are seeing now in the early months of 2008 the impact of the 352 new WiFi hotel sites installed over the last six months, and this is expected to result in continued growth in interactive revenues during the second half of the financial year. Although further reductions in payphone revenues are expected, the Group will continue its rationalisation process and also intends to disinvest itself of its payphone operation in Germany, as already announced.

We have implemented a number of key initiatives aimed at growing our interactive business, including investing in new people and new innovations for the long term. We are beginning to realise some additional media revenues from our interactive estate and this, coupled with new deployments and innovative new services (eg PrintSpectrum), should enable us to increase yield from existing and new sites.

Overall, Spectrum Interactive is delivering on the plans announced in 2007. While our financial performance in the first half of the current year was below that of the prior period, the smoothing of our seasonality caused by our growing WiFi business leads us to expect a relatively stronger second half in comparison with the same period in the prior year. As a result we expect to exceed current market expectations for the full year.

[battlebus] 25/3/2008 17:09

Too soon to return to dividends this time but maybe a firm intention would be welcomed by long term holders who had the patience to stick with it.

[outsider] 25/3/2008 16:50

Yup its the underlying profit that's key not one-off charges.

[battlebus] 25/3/2008 12:57

Yes and lets hope that even if no profit is made this time round that substansial progress has been made !

[outsider] 25/3/2008 12:50

2 days and we will be better informed where we are heading

[outsider] 20/3/2008 11:50

You have a link Jdhurry please?

Satellite laptops?

How much do they cost to connect?

[jdhurry] 20/3/2008 11:26

What about these new laptops being snapped up by business folk that don't need wi-fi connection?

[outsider] 20/3/2008 08:35

Spectrum in the new T5

[outsider] 20/3/2008 08:05

LOL pleasantly though!

[battlebus] 20/3/2008 08:01

Hey for once your behind the times!