EMIS Group PLC Trading Statement (3072L)

TIDMEMIS

RNS Number : 3072L

EMIS Group PLC

18 July 2017

18 July 2017

EMIS Group plc

("EMIS Group" or "the Group")

Trading update

Notice of half year results

EMIS Group plc (AIM: EMIS.L), the UK leader in connected healthcare software and services, today announces a trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2017.

Overview

Trading for the half year has been in line with the Board's expectations with revenue slightly ahead of the comparative period as the Group continued to benefit from growing recurring revenue, strong market shares and good momentum in its order books and pipelines. This was achieved despite the uncertainty created by the general election and the ongoing slower rate of contract awards in larger NHS procurements. Since the appointment of Andy Thorburn as Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") on 1 May 2017, the previously announced internal reorganisation programme has been expanded, with the cost-savings from the programme providing benefit from the second half onwards. Overall, the Board's expectations for the full year remain unchanged.

Divisional review

As previously announced, the Group has changed its segmental reporting to reflect its evolving business structures. A separate announcement this morning contains the details of the changes and restated comparative figures.

In Primary, Community & Acute Care, the Group's leading primary care market share has been maintained. In Northern Ireland, implementation of EMIS Web for primary care is progressing well and in Scotland the process for the procurement of EMIS Web has now begun. The Group's Child, Community and Mental Health (CCMH) market share grew with two further contract wins in the period. The acute care market was again constrained by NHS funding pressure, which is set to continue.

As well as maintaining a leading market share and a pipeline of opportunities in Community Pharmacy, the roll out of ProScript Connect, the Group's next generation pharmacy dispensary management product, has continued in the independent estate, with roll out into Celesio sites expected to start in the second half of the year.

Specialist & Care performed in line with expectations, successfully implementing in the period five new diabetic eye-screening contracts which had been won in 2016. As part of its turnaround plan, the business also gave 12 months' notice to withdraw from one unprofitable screening contract which will improve profitability from the second half of 2018.

In Patient, the business plan to grow the publishing/media business and to expand into e-commerce platform clinical services has begun to be executed. The business is on track to deliver the key milestones of fully-responsive, multi-device user-experiences for both Patient.info and Patient Access by the end of the year and will be achieving this at a lower cost than previously guided as a result of securing more cost-effective development channels.

Financial position

The Group's net cash at 30 June 2017 was GBP10.5m (31 December 2016: net debt of GBP0.4m). The Group has successfully concluded its scheduled refinancing, securing a new revolving credit facility of up to GBP60m with Barclays and Lloyds for an initial three year period.

Notice of half year results

The Group intends to announce its results for the half year ended 30 June 2017 on 1 September 2017.

Andy Thorburn, CEO of EMIS Group, said:

"EMIS Group has continued to deliver results in line with our expectations. In my early weeks in the business I have been encouraged by the dedication of our people to delivering ever better digital technology and patient information. I believe this commitment and the existing strong market shares provide a firm base for the Group to continue to generate good levels of growth in the years ahead, despite the challenging funding environment in the NHS. The Board therefore remains confident in the outlook for the business."

For further information, contact:

EMIS Group plc Tel: [phone]

Andy Thorburn, CEO

Peter Southby, CFO

www.emisgroupplc.com

   Numis Securities Limited (Nominated Adviser & Broker)            Tel: [phone] 

Oliver Hardy/Simon Willis/James Black

MHP Communications Tel: [phone]

Reg Hoare/Giles Robinson/Charlie Barker

Notes to Editors

EMIS Group is the UK leader in connected healthcare software and services. Its solutions are widely used across every major UK healthcare setting from primary, community & acute care, to high street pharmacies and specialist care services. EMIS Group helps healthcare professionals in over 10,000 organisations share vital information, facilitating better, more efficient healthcare and supporting longer and healthier lives.

EMIS Group serves the following healthcare markets under the EMIS Health brand:

-- Primary, Community & Acute Care, as the UK leader in clinical management systems for healthcare providers and commissioners. EMIS Health products, including the flagship EMIS Web, hold over 40 million patient records and are used by more than 100,000 professionals in nearly 6,000 healthcare organisations.

-- Community Pharmacy, with the UK's single most used integrated community pharmacy and retail system.

   --     Specialist Care, as England's leading provider of diabetic eye screening software and other ophthalmology-related solutions. 

These markets are also supported by other EMIS Group businesses:

-- under the Patient brand, the UK's leading independent provider of patient-centric medical and well-being information and related transactional services.

-- under the Egton brand, providing specialist ICT infrastructure, hardware and engineering services, and non-clinical software into health and social care.

-- under the EMIS Care brand, providing healthcare screening programmes such as diabetic eye screening.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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July 18, 2017 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)