Trading Statement

 

TIDMVMG 
 
RNS Number : 9337O 
Vision Media Group (Intl) PLC 
17 March 2009 
 

 
 
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| Press Release                      |                      17 March 2009 | 
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Vision Media Group (International) plc 
 
 
("VMG" or "the Company") 
 
 
Trading Update 
 
 
Vision Media Group (International) plc (AIM:VMG), the outdoor media contractor, 
provides the following update on its operations. 
 
 
The development of the Company's ten year contract with Clear Channel UK 
("CCUK") has begun to impact on the Company's national sales revenue line with 
CCUK already achieving 102 per cent. of the agreed Quarter One target for each 
new Iconic Pod panel installed.  The Company has now installed its first 50 new 
Iconic Pod portrait panels into the Westfield shopping mall portfolio and other 
leading centres. 
 
 
The installation process has been slower than planned due to the logistical 
challenges in gaining access to sites during the pre and post Christmas retail 
sale periods and taking into account the intensive trialling period required by 
CCUK for the new remote delivery technology now in place.  All installations and 
technical delivery have been faultless and the remaining panels awaiting 
installation are now scheduled for roll out commencing in March 2009. 
 
 
The Company is pleased to report that total advertising spend on bookings 
received to date by CCUK exceeds the entire national sales shopping mall 
advertising revenue earned by the Company in 2008 and that the available airtime 
for national advertising on its new portrait panels is sold out for 
March.  Demand for the Iconic Pod panels has been brisk with national brands 
such as SkyTV, Unilever, Fox Films, 3-Mobile, "3" and UK Living all running 
campaigns and with the UK media buying agencies demonstrating an increasing 
appetite for using the digital panels as an accepted media format. 
 
 
In addition to the emerging national sales revenue, the local sales activity, 
now outsourced to WRT Group, is showing encouraging early results.  Furthermore, 
the Company has reached an agreement for the existing landscape screen network 
to be sold to national advertisers via a third outsourced partner.Continued 
focus on cost savings is positively reducing overheads with both the Cheadle 
operations centre and the London head office being in the process of relocation 
to less costly premises.  The combination of these two office moves and the 
successful completion of the sale of the TrainFX business will generate overhead 
savings to the Company of approximately GBP500,000 per annum. 
 
 
The growth in top line revenue and the reduction in the cost base of the Company 
have created a much more acceptable business model for the future.  In parallel 
with these positive developments, the Company continues to experience 
significant liquidity challenges as it trades through to the point where the 
enlarged network of portrait panels will produce sufficient revenue and cash 
flow for the Company to trade profitably. 
 
 
Mike Cottman, Executive Chairman, of VMG, said: "With the upcoming disposal of 
our TrainTV business and these final two office moves, VMG has 
achieved significant organisational restructuring.  Just over two years ago, at 
the beginning of this turnaround, we had an overhead burn of approximately 
GBP550,000 per month and this has now been reduced to just under GBP150,000 per 
month before any financing charges.  Our top line revenue streams, driven by our 
ground breaking ten year contract with Clear Channel, have begun delivering 
consistent and growing income.  The result of dramatically reducing our costs 
and introducing a number of new outsourced revenue streams is that we have a 
radically different business model which is now extremely scalable and can now 
be leveraged into a growing and profitable business. 
 
 
"The Company remains optimistic that it can meet the current liquidity 
challenges of the next few months and trade through to reach the point in the 
Company's history where it can develop sufficient cash to leverage the new model 
into a growing and profitable business." 
 
 
- Ends - 
 
 
For further information: 
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| Vision Media Group (International) |                                    | 
| plc                                |                                    | 
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| Mike Cottman, Executive Chairman   |          Tel: [phone] | 
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| [e-mail]      |        www.visionmediagroupplc.com | 
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| Seymour Pierce Limited                       |                         | 
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| Stuart Lane / John Depasquale, Corporate     |    Tel: [phone] | 
| Finance                                      |                    8000 | 
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| [e-mail]                 |   www.seymourpierce.com | 
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Media enquiries: 
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| Abchurch                                     |                         | 
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| Henry Harrison-Topham / Jack Ballantyne      |    Tel: [phone] | 
|                                              |                    7714 | 
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| [e-mail]           |  www.abchurch-group.com | 
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This information is provided by RNS 
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange 
   END 
 
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