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Share Name | Share Symbol | Market | Type |
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Altea Green Power Spa | BIT:AGP | Italy | Ordinary Share |
Price Change | % Change | Share Price | Bid Price | Offer Price | High Price | Low Price | Open Price | Shares Traded | Last Trade | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
-0.04 | -0.48% | 8.28 | 8.17 | 8.44 | 8.33 | 8.17 | 8.30 | 16,801 | 16:40:00 |
RNS Number:3860S AIT Group PLC 24 November 2003 24 NOVEMBER 2003 AIT GROUP PLC ("AIT" or "the Company") Interim Results for 6 months ended 30 September 2003 AIT provides a range of software products which make corporate users more successful by enabling them to interact more effectively with their customers and respond to their changing needs. KEY POINTS: Financial * Turnover increased by 19 per cent to #10.0m (2002: #8.4m) * Pre tax profit of #0.35m before exceptional items (2002: loss #14.75m before exceptional items) * After exceptional items, pre-tax profit of #1.0m (2002:pre-tax loss of #37.8m) * Fully diluted earnings per share of 3.59p (2002: loss per share of 1,556.5p) * Cash at bank of #4.2m (2002: #5.2m) Operational * Maintained strong position in niche Customer Interaction market * Series of new initiatives to broaden sales channel and develop product, including new agreement with Fiserv CBS Worldwide * Growing global network of alliances * New vertical market - Emergency Services market * Sales organisation restructured and strengthened * Positive outlook for second half of financial year and beyond Nick Randall, Chief Executive of AIT, said today: "In today's markets, knowing and retaining your customers is an essential part of staying competitive. Users of our product know that they can respond to their end customers more efficiently than before. The all round flexibility and adaptability of our product mean that it can be applied in a growing number of areas. There are various sales initiatives that are creating a healthy pipeline of prospects. We are therefore confident of a satisfactory outcome for the current financial year." ENQUIRIES: AIT Group plc Tel. 01491 416600 Nick Randall, Chief Executive Officer Matthew White, Chief Financial Officer ICIS Limited Tel. 020 7628 1114 Archie Berens Caroline Evans-Jones AIT GROUP PLC Interim Results for 6 months ended 30 September 2003 CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT Introduction I am pleased to report that in the first six months of its current financial year, AIT has achieved an increase in sales, has traded profitably and is recovering from the difficulties it encountered last year. Excellent progress has been made by the new management team led by Nick Randall, the Chief Executive. In his statement below, he describes in more detail how this has been achieved and how this momentum is to be maintained. Financial Results In the six months ended 30 September 2003, turnover was #10.0 million (2002: #8.4 million), representing an increase of 19 per cent on the first six months of the previous financial year. This increase can be attributed to the substantial growth in licence sales and related maintenance revenues which increased 39 per cent to #5.3 million from #3.8 million in the comparable period last year. Services revenue also performed strongly and improved upon the comparable period at #4.7 million (2002: #4.6 million). We are committed to maintaining expenditure on research and development at sustainable levels to provide focused product enhancements and market specific offerings. Research and development expenditure in the period was 24% of turnover. Pre-tax profit before exceptional items was #0.35 million (2002: loss before exceptional items #14.75 million). The return to profitability is encouraging news and reflects the hard work put in by the new management team and by all staff throughout the Company. Operating costs (excluding exceptional items) have been reduced from #22.8 million in the corresponding period last year to #9.5 million in the six months ended 30 September 2003. This supports the statement made in our Annual Report that we had achieved the objectives of Stage 1 of our turnaround plan by the end of the last financial year and that we are now trading with a realistic cost base. As a result of a property disposal, the Company has benefited from a one-off exceptional provision release of #180,000. During October 2003 we completed negotiations with a former associate company and received #500,000 cash in settlement of their obligations to the Group. As this amount had been fully provided within investments in the prior financial year, we have written back #500,000 against the carrying value of this investment as an exceptional gain in the six months ended 30 September 2003. Pre-tax profits were #1.0 million for the period (including the aforementioned exceptional items), compared to a loss before tax of #37.8 million last year. Fully diluted earnings per share were 3.59p (2002: loss per share of 1,556.5p). Balance Sheet During the period, AIT raised #5 million of funding (before costs) through the issue of convertible loan notes. The convertibility of the loan notes was approved by shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Company on 16 September 2003. All of the convertible loan notes have now been converted into ordinary shares. During the period we were also able to convert approximately #0.8 million of the Company's debt, comprising loans made during 2002 by myself and two former directors of the Company, into ordinary shares. As referred to in the Annual Report, we were further able to secure agreement from the Group's bankers to defer some #1.125 million of scheduled debt repayments. We also rescheduled the unsecured IMA loan notes on more favourable terms including a significant waiver of interest. In addition we took the opportunity to reschedule our commitments under various equipment operating leases with the result that these were converted into finance leases and capitalised accordingly. The result of these various arrangements is that the Company's financial position has been strengthened significantly. We continue to look for ways to further improve the Company's balance sheet. Cash Flow Net cash outflow before financing was #2.7 million (2002: #12.4 million). This includes #2.3 million outflow arising from a reduction in deferred income in respect of prepaid support and maintenance and #0.9m cash outflows following a reduction of creditors and accruals since last year end. At the end of the interim period, we had #4.2 million of cash at bank and in hand. Outlook I am pleased with the progress made by the new management team in implementing the recovery plan. Much has already been achieved in a relatively short space of time, probably more than at one time seemed possible. There still remains a great deal to be done to attain significantly higher sales and earnings. However, the commitment and ability of management and staff, together with the inherent power of AIT's product offering, are good reasons for believing that this ambition can be fulfilled. Richard Hicks Chairman 24 November 2003 AIT GROUP PLC Interim Results for 6 months ended 30 September 2003 CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REVIEW Results The financial performance of AIT for the six months ended 30 September 2003 reflects the steps taken by the Company's new management team during the last year to reposition AIT as a leader in the Customer Interaction Management market. Sales of #10.0 million (2002: #8.4 million) for the period are ahead of the target we originally set ourselves. This demonstrates that, despite the earlier problems encountered by the business, AIT's reputation in its marketplace remains strong. With the cost base down to a manageable level, the business is now on a more stable footing. As we stated at our Annual General Meeting, AIT is now modestly profitable, a significant turnaround compared to the trading position last year. Although we see this performance as a vindication of the recovery plan devised last year, we recognise that there remains a considerable amount of work still to be done. We remain fully committed to this task. Market Positioning AIT has now focused its business activities in the Customer Interaction marketplace. Specifically, our aim is to provide customers with leading edge software products which enable them to manage their (ever more complex) customer interactions across multiple contact channels successfully. The software we provide - the leading edge of which is our flagship product, Portrait - is easy to use at the point of contact and helps our customers in the following vital areas:- - Customer satisfaction and corresponding retention - Increasing sales - Reducing costs - Entering new markets or launching new products - Being responsive to change - Compliance The real heart of our offering is its flexible and easily configurable Rules Based Business Process Engine. This enables our clients to develop and trial business processes quickly, in order to drive key initiatives in all six of the above areas. Portrait is designed to be scalable, with the ability to start off small, solving a particular problem, or to be rolled out as a full enterprise solution. Portrait Reference Sites We have an outstanding reference site at Nationwide Building Society in the UK, where Portrait is fully operational across over 12,000 users who are already experiencing positive business benefits by utilising Portrait across their multiple channels. In addition we are now operational at Rainier Pacific Bank in US. Our Japanese partners have configured a Japanese version of Portrait for a specialised application, and this has been developed in close collaboration with Ricoh. New Initiatives Strategic Partnership with Fiserv An important initiative is AIT's strategic partnership with Fiserv CBS Worldwide ("Fiserv"), which was formalised last month. Under the terms of this partnership, Fiserv will adapt and integrate AIT's flagship product, Portrait, into its end-to-end marketing, sales and servicing solutions for clients in the financial services industry worldwide. This agreement expands upon a long-standing relationship with Fiserv which goes back almost 10 years. Fiserv markets business and technology solutions to financial institutions in more than 50 countries throughout Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, the Caribbean and North America. Emergency Services - A New Vertical Market As we reported earlier this year, we have been awarded a new order for Portrait from the Metropolitan Police for a major emergency and non-emergency contact handling system. This application is quite separate from our mainstream Financial Services activities, and is an exciting new area for our Portrait platform, clearly demonstrating how our innovative concept can work in other market sectors where client interaction and a Rules Based Process Engine are vital requirements. The Metropolitan Police have one of the largest emergency and non-emergency contact centres in Europe and once this system is fully operational, we expect to see other opportunities developing in this market, both domestically and internationally. Extend & Evolve Edge Our global base of EDGE call centre customers continues to be an important source of opportunity. Our Extend & Evolve programme allows EDGE call-centres to incrementally build on their investment with new capabilities and business functionality. Unisys Our partnership with Unisys has been in existence for some time and we continue to work closely with them, throughout the world. Unisys is our Global Systems Integration Partner in the financial services sector. Additionally, more recently, we have agreed to expand this collaboration into other market areas, including the Government sector, where Unisys enjoys a strong reputation. Working closely with Unisys, we have also been awarded an important new order for Portrait from a Slovenian Bank called Nova KBM. This will provide another important reference site during the second half of the current financial year. Other Alliances A vital part of our effort to further penetrate the exciting Customer Interaction marketplace is the formation and development of a series of local alliances with organisations around the world. By working closely with such organisations, we believe we can increase the overall exposure of our products to an increasing base of potential customers, across a variety of vertical industry sectors. Sales Organisation Keith Waterman joined the new AIT team in July, with responsibility for Worldwide Sales and Marketing. Keith has over fifteen years experience in the software industry, specifically in the Financial Services marketplace, and he represents an important addition to our new Executive Team. In addition to taking overall responsibility for Worldwide Sales, Keith will be helping us to define our new Portrait product initiatives. Our worldwide sales team working both directly and with our partners has developed a healthy pipeline of Portrait opportunities. Outlook Whilst the general market for software sales remains challenging, we believe that the Customer Interaction Management market will expand and that we are well positioned to exploit this opportunity. We therefore remain confident in our ability to continue the progress made so far. Nick Randall Chief Executive 24 November 2003 AIT GROUP PLC Interim Results for 6 months ended 30 September 2003 CONSOLIDATED PROFIT & LOSS ACCOUNT 6 months to 6 months to Year to 30 September 30 September 31 March 2003 2002 2003 unaudited unaudited audited Notes #'000 #'000 #'000 Turnover 10,031 8,417 17,584 --------- --------- -------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating profit/(loss) before exceptional items 523 (14,395) (16,669) Exceptional income/(charges) 1 680 (22,679) (23,520) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating profit/(loss) after 1,203 (37,074) (40,189) exceptional items Share of losses of associates - (141) (141) Exceptional loss on disposal of associate 1 - (382) (382) Finance charges (173) (212) (515) --------- --------- -------- Profit/(loss) on ordinary activities before taxation 1,030 (37,809) (41,227) Taxation - 77 405 --------- --------- -------- Profit/(loss) on ordinary activities 1,030 (37,732) (40,822) after taxation Dividends 2 - - - --------- --------- -------- Retained profit/(loss) for the period 1,030 (37,732) (40,822) --------- --------- -------- Basic earnings/(loss) per share 3 3.96p (1,556.5)p (306.0)p --------- --------- -------- Fully diluted earnings/(loss) per share 3 3.59p (1,556.5)p (306.0)p --------- --------- -------- AIT GROUP PLC Interim Results for 6 months ended 30 September 2003 CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET As restated As at as at as at 30 September 30 September 31 March 2003 2002 2003 unaudited unaudited audited Notes #'000 #'000 #'000 Fixed assets Intangible assets 2,180 2,444 2,297 Tangible fixed assets 1,444 1,409 1,302 Investments 501 3 1 ---------- ---------- --------- 4,125 3,856 3,600 Current assets Debtors 2,910 2,686 4,114 Cash receivable from rights issue - 3,604 - Cash at bank and in hand 4,209 5,243 2,735 ---------- ---------- --------- 7,119 11,533 6,849 Current liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 5 (2,636) (5,632) (4,220) ---------- ---------- --------- Net current assets 4,483 5,901 2,629 ---------- ---------- --------- Total assets less current liabilities 8,608 9,757 6,229 Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year 5 (8,021) (9,132) (7,851) Provisions for liabilities and charges (5,229) (6,195) (6,853) Accruals and deferred income 6 (7,488) (10,494) (10,364) ---------- ---------- --------- Net assets/(liabilities) (12,130) (16,064) (18,839) ---------- ---------- --------- Capital and reserves Called up share capital 3,182 2,656 2,655 Share premium 24,967 19,592 20,042 Other reserves 563 470 336 Merger reserve (1,162) (1,162) (1,162) Profit and loss account (39,680) (37,620) (40,710) ---------- ---------- --------- Shareholders'funds/(deficit) (12,130) (16,064) (18,839) ---------- ---------- --------- AIT GROUP PLC Interim Results for 6 months ended 30 September 2003 CONSOLIDATED CASHFLOW STATEMENT 6 months 6 months Year to to to 30 30 31/3/03 September September 2003 2002 2003 unaudited unaudited audited Notes #'000 #'000 #'000 NET CASH OUTFLOW FROM 8 (2,867) (12,523) (16,766) OPERATING ACTIVITIES Returns on investments and servicing of finance Net interest paid (107) (212) (515) Taxation Corporation tax received 250 1,076 1,077 Capital expenditure Net payments to acquire tangible fixed assets - (87) (75) Proceeds from the sale of tangible fixed assets - 25 59 --------- --------- -------- - (62) (16) Acquisitions Investments in associated undertakings - (700) (710) Proceeds from the sale of investments - 9 10 --------- --------- -------- - (691) (700) --------- --------- -------- CASH OUTFLOW BEFORE FINANCING (2,724) (12,412) (16,920) Financing Issue of new shares (net of expenses) - 14,760 18,310 Repayment of bank loan - (2,000) (2,000) Loans received from director and former directors - 753 754 Repayment of loan note - - (1,518) Issue of convertible loan note (net of expenses) 4,656 - - Finance lease payments (458) (40) (73) --------- --------- -------- Net cash inflow from financing 4,198 13,473 15,473 --------- --------- -------- INCREASE / (DECREASE) IN CASH 1,474 1,061 (1,447) IN THE PERIOD --------- --------- -------- AIT GROUP PLC Interim Results for 6 months ended 30 September 2003 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 1. Profit/(loss) on ordinary activities before taxation is stated after the exceptional (income)/charges shown below: 6 months to 6 months to Year to 30 September 30 September 31 March 2003 2002 2003 unaudited unaudited audited #'000 #'000 #'000 Write down of purchased goodwill - 10,434 10,434 Write downs and losses relating to investments and associates - 2,682 2,705 Write back of provision against loan due from former associate (500) - - Restructuring and reorganisation costs - 4,862 5,376 Onerous leases and other commercial liabilities (180) 4,701 5,005 ---------- --------- -------- (680) 22,679 23,520 Loss on disposal of associate - 382 382 ---------- --------- -------- (680) 23,061 23,902 ---------- --------- -------- 2. No interim dividend is payable for the period. 3. Basic earnings per share of 3.96p (2002: loss per share 1,556.5p) is based on the profit after tax of #1,030,000 (2002: loss #37,732,000) and on a weighted average of 26,038,307 (2002: 2,424,196) shares. Fully diluted earnings per share of 3.59p (2002: loss per share 1,556.5p) is based on the basic EPS earnings above with a weighted average of 28,685,220 (2002: 2,424,196) shares. 4. The results of the year ended 31 March 2003 are extracts from the published financial statements as filed with the Registrar of Companies. These were audited and reported on without qualification by Deloitte and Touche. 5. The Balance Sheet as at 30 September 2002 has been restated to reflect a reclassification of accruals and deferred income adopted by the Group during financial year ended 31 March 2003. At 30 September 2002, accruals of #4,585,000 and deferred income of #5,123,000 were previously included within creditors due within one year, and deferred income of #786,000 was previously included within creditors due after more than one year. 6. Accruals and Deferred Income As at As at As at 30 September 2003 30 September 2002 31 March 2003 unaudited unaudited audited #'000 #'000 #'000 Accruals 2,156 4,585 2,640 Deferred income falling due within one year 5,027 5,123 7,218 ---------- --------- -------- 7,183 9,708 9,858 Deferred income falling due after one year 305 786 506 ---------- --------- -------- 7,488 10,494 10,364 ---------- --------- -------- 7. Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses 6 months to 6 months to Year to 30 September 30 September 31 March 2003 2002 2003 unaudited unaudited audited #'000 #'000 #'000 Profit / (loss) for the financial period 1,030 (37,732) (40,822) Exchange translation differences 227 227 261 ---------- --------- -------- Total recognised gains and losses in the period 1,257 (37,505) (40,561) ---------- --------- -------- 8. Reconciliation of operating profit / (loss) to net cash outflow from operating activities 6 months to 6 months to Year to 30 September 30 September 31 March 2003 2002 2003 unaudited unaudited audited #'000 #'000 #'000 Operating profit / (loss) 1,203 (37,074) (40,189) Depreciation 189 614 685 Amortisation/ Impairment of goodwill 117 10,679 10,825 Loss / (profit) on sale of fixed assets 8 - (6) Write down on associate investments - 2,156 2,156 Write back on loan due from former associate (500) - - Provision against own shares - 526 528 Decrease in debtors 953 5,971 4,874 (Decrease) / increase in creditors, accruals and deferred income (3,308) 1,291 286 (Decrease) / increase in provisions (1,625) 3,315 4,044 Other movements 96 (1) 31 ---------- --------- -------- Net cash outflow from operating activities (2,867) (12,523) (16,766) ---------- --------- -------- 9. Analysis of movement in net debt Equipment At 30 At Cash leases Interest Equity Foreign September 1 April 2003 flow capitalised role up Conversion exchange 2003 #'000 #'000 #'000 #'000 #'000 #'000 #'000 Cash at bank and in hand 2,735 1,474 - - - - 4,209 Bank term loan (6,000) - - - - - (6,000) IMA Loan Notes (2,222) - - - - 131 (2,091) Convertible Loan Notes - (4,656) - - 4,656 - - Finance Leases - 458 (1,270) (24) - - (836) Director's and former directors' loans (754) - - (42) 796 - - ------ ------ ------- ------ ------- ------- ------- Net debt (6,241) (2,724) (1,270) (66) 5,452 131 (4,718) ------ ------ ------- ------ ------- ------- ------- 10. The interim report will be posted to shareholders on 1st December 2003 and copies are available from the Group's head office at The Smith Centre, Fairmile, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 6AB 11. The financial information contained in this statement does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of section 240 of the Companies Act 1985, and has not been audited or reviewed. The unaudited accounts for the half years ended 30 September 2003 and 30 September 2002 have been prepared on a basis consistent with the statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2003. These statutory accounts received an unqualified auditor's report and have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. 12. The interim report was approved by the Board of Directors on 21 November 2003. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END IR PUGRAGUPWGQG
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