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FRAN Franchise Brands Plc

202.00
4.50 (2.28%)
26 Apr 2024 - Closed
Delayed by 15 minutes
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Franchise Brands Plc LSE:FRAN London Ordinary Share GB00BD6P7Y24 ORD 0.5P
  Price Change % Change Share Price Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  4.50 2.28% 202.00 200.00 205.00 202.50 197.50 197.50 78,919 16:35:01
Industry Sector Turnover Profit EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap
Offices-holdng Companies,nec 99.15M 8.29M 0.0636 31.84 263.88M

Franchise Brands PLC Half-year results (7956V)

26/07/2018 7:01am

UK Regulatory


Franchise Brands (LSE:FRAN)
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TIDMFRAN

RNS Number : 7956V

Franchise Brands PLC

26 July 2018

26 July 2018

FRANCHISE BRANDS PLC

("Franchise Brands", "the Group" or "the Company")

Half year results for the six months ended 30 June 2018

A very positive outlook for the Group as Metro Rod strategy delivers

Franchise Brands plc (AIM: FRAN), a multi-brand international franchisor, is pleased to announce its unaudited half year results for the period ended 30 June 2018.

Financial highlights

   --     Statutory revenue up 88% to GBP16.8m (H1 2017: GBP8.9m). 

-- Recurring Management Service Fee ("MSF") income up 86% to GBP5.4m (H1 2017: GBP2.9m) and is now 64% of total fee income (H1 2017: 57%).

   --     Adjusted EBITDA* increased by 46% to GBP1.8m (H1 2017: GBP1.3m). 
   --     Adjusted profit before tax* up 41% to GBP1.4m (H1 2017: GBP1.0m). 
   --     Profit before tax of GBP1.4m (H1 2017: loss of GBP0.2m). 
   --     Statutory profit after tax of GBP1.2m (H1 2017: loss of GBP0.2m). 
   --     Cash generated from operating activities of GBP1.5m (H1 2017: GBP0.7m). 
   --     Strong cash conversion of 83% (H1 2017: 54%). 
   --     Net debt of GBP5.5m at 30 June 2018 (31 December 2017: GBP6.3m). 

o Gearing at 30 June 2018 of 23% (31 December 2017: 27%).

   --     Basic and adjusted EPS* of 1.5p (H1 2017: basic loss of 0.40p; adjusted profit of 1.3p). 
   --     Interim dividend of 0.21p per share declared, an increase of 24% (H1 2017: 0.17p per share). 

Operational highlights

   --     41 new franchisees recruited (H1 2017: 49). 

-- Continuing significant investment in IT: included new telephone technology and works management automation.

   --     Launch of Metro Rod "Vision 2023" to accelerate business growth. 
   --     Establishment of Exeter as Metro Rod corporate franchise. 

-- Completion of 88,000 jobs at Metro Rod, an increase of 15% from the equivalent period in 2017.

*Adjusted items are before costs of acquisitions of subsidiaries, costs of transition of subsidiaries, exceptional bad debt provision and IPO expenses and, in relation to EBITDA only, share-based payment expense.

Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman, commented:

"The first half of 2018 has been a period of pleasing progress for Franchise Brands with the business as a whole performing as expected. Metro Rod is capable of significant growth and I am very encouraged that we have started to see the benefits coming through of the new strategy. The investment we are making will help unlock Metro Rod's potential; new technology is already allowing us to automate processes, reduce costs and provide a superior customer experience.

"ChipsAway, Ovenclean and Barking Mad have performed solidly, delivering high levels of cash conversion. It is encouraging to see further growth in high-margin MSF income across all these brands.

"The outlook for the Group remains very positive and I look forward to the remainder of 2018 with confidence."

Enquiries:

 
                                                +44 (0) 1562 
 Franchise Brands plc                            826705 
 Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman 
 Chris Dent, Chief Financial Officer 
  Julia Choudhury, Corporate Development 
  Director 
 
 Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser     +44 (0) 203 328 
  and Joint Broker)                              5656 
 Jeremy Porter/ Liz Kirchner 
 
                                                +44 (0) 203 903 
 Dowgate Capital Stockbrokers (Joint Broker)     7715 
 James Serjeant / Colin Climie 
 
                                                +44 (0) 203 128 
 MHP Communications (Financial PR)               8100 
 Katie Hunt 
 

Executive Chairman's statement

The first six months of 2018 has seen the continuing implementation of the strategy for Metro Rod that was formulated following its acquisition in April 2017. All elements of this strategy are working well and are beginning to deliver improvements which will benefit this business in the longer term. ChipsAway, Ovenclean and Barking Mad had a satisfactory six months, and whilst franchise recruitment slowed, investment in new territories by existing franchisees increased with strong underlying trading, thereby driving Management Service Fee ("MSF") income.

Metro Rod

The strategy formulated for Metro Rod has the central objective of making franchisees more independent and responsible for building their own businesses by giving them the IT, sales and marketing support needed to achieve this. Significant progress has been made with our IT systems, which have now been transitioned onto a cloud-based platform. This has improved the speed and reliability of the existing works management system ("WMS"). Franchisees have also been given far greater access to the WMS which allows them to more fully manage both existing and new work. Substantial progress has also been made in automating the call centre, which has improved efficiency and enhanced customer service by putting the customers and franchisees in direct contact with each other. Finally, we have started to put in place a "dashboard" which provides management information, giving us and our franchisees a much greater insight into the business.

Some progress has also been made in sales and marketing support for the Metro Rod franchisees following the launch of a National Advertising Fund ("NAF") in January 2018. A Sales & Marketing Director was appointed at Metro Rod in May 2018 following the establishment of a marketing team earlier in the year. Whilst it is early days, the co-ordination of the sales and marketing function, together with the newly established ability to train the franchisees' marketing personnel, is beginning to improve top-line sales. As this new team becomes established we are anticipating a more rapid increase in sales, although this will depend on the franchisees' appetite and operational capacity to service this additional volume.

To give added focus to the development of the franchisees' businesses, a new initiative - "Vision 2023" - was recently launched which sets out the market opportunity for the business as a whole and how we, in partnership with our franchisees, intend to capture it. Vision 2023 was launched at a national conference in June and has been widely welcomed by our franchisees. It has also helped us to identify where a change of franchisee may be needed if we are to fully exploit the market opportunity.

The first such change occurred during the period with the departure of our franchisee in Exeter. This territory is now operated as a corporate franchise and will be used to trial some of the new initiatives set out in Vision 2023. We anticipate investing in other strategic partnerships with existing franchisees in different areas of the country to provide an example of the ways in which the business can be developed.

Metro Plumb has continued to grow sales and these have now reached critical mass for a growing number of franchisees. The revised strategy is to focus our sales effort on those areas where we think we can develop critical mass and to offer this franchise opportunity independently of Metro Rod. The first such sale is anticipated in August/September 2018. Kemac had a much-improved performance over the period. This resulted from a combination of the actions taken at the end of 2017 to reduce the cost base and a pick-up in work from water utilities as a result of several emergency situations.

ChipsAway, Ovenclean and Barking Mad

ChipsAway and Ovenclean, which are effectively run as one business out of our Kidderminster location, had a satisfactory performance in the first half of the year. Whilst ChipsAway franchise recruitment slowed, investment in additional territories by existing franchisees increased, with 7% of the network buying additional territory, demonstrating their confidence in the business. As more ChipsAway franchisees move towards Car Care Centres and multiple van operations, they begin paying an MSF based on actual turnover (rather than a fixed monthly fee) and therefore the growth in this source of income, albeit still small, almost doubled year-on-year. Ovenclean's MSF income also improved as a result of an increase in the monthly fee that became effective at the end of the first half in 2017. Marketing at ChipsAway and Ovenclean, which is funded through their NAFs, continued to deliver a strong pipeline of consumer leads to franchisees.

Barking Mad has seen a good progression in the first half of the year. New franchisee recruitment increased from last year and operationally, Easter was particularly buoyant with customer bookings up by 26% on the same period last year. As Barking Mad franchisees pay a 10% MSF on turnover, this source of income grew reasonably well during the period.

Group trading summary

Overall the Group has had a pleasing start to the year with the business as a whole performing as expected. The Group has returned to profitability at every level, compared to the losses in 2017 resulting from the exceptional costs incurred relating to the acquisition of Metro Rod. The annualisation of the equity dilution resulting from the fundraising in April 2017 to finance the Metro Rod acquisition has, as expected, diluted earnings per share, but with profit after tax ahead by 46%, we are pleased to report EPS on underlying profits ahead by 15% and an interim dividend increase of 24%. Strong cash generation in the first half of the year is leaving us with available cash and unused facilities of GBP5.3m at 30 June 2018, which gives us significant optionality should the right opportunity present itself.

Conclusion

The outlook for the Group remains very positive. Metro Rod is capable of significant growth and the investment required to unlock this potential is underway and bearing fruit. In the first half of 2018 we have started to see the benefits of the new Metro Rod strategy outlined at the end of 2017. The management changes made last year and the subsequent further strengthening of the team is now paying real dividends both in terms of financial results but also in the spirit and motivation of franchisees and Support Centre team members alike.

ChipsAway, Ovenclean and Barking Mad are all well managed established brands in niche sectors that will continue to grow at a more modest but stable rate and are highly cash generative.

I would like to end by thanking my colleagues and franchisees across the Group for their continued hard work and support as we continue building a business we can all be proud of.

Stephen Hemsley

Executive Chairman

Chief Financial Officer's review

 
                                                                           Restated 
                                                H1 2018                 (Unaudited) 
                                            (Unaudited)                     H1 2017                    Change   Change 
                                                GBP'000                     GBP'000                   GBP'000        % 
----------------------  -------------------------------  --------------------------  ------------------------  ------- 
 Statutory revenue                               16,844                       8,937                     7,907      88% 
 Franchise payments                             (8,395)                     (3,850)                   (4,609)     118% 
 Fee and direct labour 
  income                                          8,449                       5,087                     3,298      66% 
----------------------  -------------------------------  --------------------------  ------------------------  ------- 
 Other cost of sales                            (1,972)                     (1,168)                     (804)      69% 
 Gross profit                                     6,477                       3,919                     2,558      65% 
----------------------  -------------------------------  --------------------------  ------------------------  ------- 
 GP margin on fee 
  income                                            77%                         77% 
 
 Administrative 
  expenses                                      (4,657)                     (2,669)                   (1,988)      74% 
 Adjusted EBITDA                                  1,820                       1,250                       570      46% 
----------------------  -------------------------------  --------------------------  ------------------------  ------- 
 Depreciation                                      (61)                        (47)                      (14)      30% 
 Amortisation of 
  intangibles                                     (108)                        (48)                      (60)     125% 
 Share-based payment                               (81)                        (56)                      (25)      45% 
 Finance expense                                  (172)                       (104)                      (68)      65% 
 Adjusted profit 
  before tax                                      1,398                         995                       403      41% 
----------------------  -------------------------------  --------------------------  ------------------------  ------- 
 Tax expense                                      (235)                       (196)                      (39)      20% 
 Adjusted profit after 
  tax                                             1,163                         799                       364      46% 
----------------------  -------------------------------  --------------------------  ------------------------  ------- 
 Non-recurring items 
  (net of tax)                                        -                     (1,041)                     1,041    -100% 
 Statutory 
  profit/(loss)                                   1,163                       (242)                     1,405     581% 
----------------------  -------------------------------  --------------------------  ------------------------  ------- 
 

Note: "Adjusted" items are before costs of acquisitions of subsidiaries, costs of transition of subsidiaries, exceptional bad debt provision and IPO expenses and, in relation to EBITDA only, share-based payment expense.

In 2018 we continue to feel the transformational effect of the acquisition of Metro Rod in April 2017. The half year figures for 2018 contain a full six months of all of our brands, whereas the comparative figures for 2017 contain almost three months of trading of Metro Rod, and a full six months for ChipsAway, Ovenclean and Barking Mad. The 2017 numbers have been re-stated following accounting changes to revenue due to our adoption of IFRS15.

Statutory revenue & fee and direct labour income

Statutory consolidated revenue has increased 88% from GBP8.9m to GBP16.8m with all the additional revenue coming from Metro Rod. Statutory revenue is made up of a number of different income streams that have differing accounting policies and is not, therefore, a KPI that management track on a consolidated basis. The KPIs used by management to track our sales performance vary between the brands depending on the manner in which MSF is derived.

The Group as a franchisor has three main fee income streams: MSF received from our existing franchisees either based on fixed monthly fees or as a percentage of system sales; fees generated from the sale or resale of franchise territories; and income from the sale of products to franchisees. The Group also has two direct labour divisions, Kemac and our Metro Rod corporate franchise in Exeter, which comprise a separate category of direct labour income.

During H1 2018 MSF income increased to 64% of total fee income, from 57% in H1 2017. The increase in recurring MSF income reflects our focus on improving the quality of our income stream to one which is more aligned to the growth in franchisees' sales, rather than recruitment income from the sale and resale of franchise territories. Income from area sales has fallen from 19% to 11%, and product sales from 13% to 6%, following the acquisition of Metro Rod. Conversely direct labour income has increased from 11% to 19% with the inclusion of Kemac for a full six months. Overall fee and direct labour income has increased 66% from GBP5.1m to GBP8.4m.

Our fee and direct labour income generates a high level of gross margin, and this has remained at 77% in both current and comparative periods. Overall, gross profit increased by 65% from GBP3.9m to GBP6.5m.

Trading results

Metro Rod, which includes Metro Plumb, made an EBITDA contribution of GBP0.9m in the period, up from GBP0.4m for the almost three months of ownership in H1 2017. On a 'pro-forma' basis Metro Rod would have contributed around GBP0.8m in H1 2017 if it had been owned for six months, which gives an implied organic EBITDA growth of 13%. This growth has been driven by the increase in our MSF income on system sales from our national network of 41 franchisees, including our corporate franchise in Exeter.

System sales at Metro Rod grow through a combination of demand and supply side factors. The demand for drainage and plumbing services is driven by external factors such as (but not limited to) adverse weather conditions and also increases in operational capacity. Metro Rod completed 88,000 jobs during the period, up 15% from the equivalent period in 2017. In particular, the thawing of the "Beast from the East" in early March caused the network to enjoy its busiest ever period of trading. However, the average job value reduced as capacity was taken up by a larger number of reactive jobs, rather than the higher value repair work. As such, system sales grew only 3% from GBP17.4m to GBP18.0m over the same period in 2017. Within the overall increase, the local sales made by franchisees in their territories and Metro Plumb drove the growth, increasing by 6% and 27% respectively. A key part of the Vision 2023 strategy is for local sales by franchisees to become a higher proportion of total sales so this pattern is encouraging.

We are pleased that trading has improved at Kemac following a very disappointing 2017. In H1 2017 it made a minimal contribution, whereas in H1 2018 it contributed GBP0.2m to Group profits.

ChipsAway, Ovenclean and Barking Mad increased their EBITDA contribution by 2% growing to GBP1.3m from GBP1.27m. The total number of franchisees in these networks increased by 2% from 397 at the year end to 404 at the end of June 2018. Recruitment has had a slow start to the year with 41 new franchisees recruited compared to 49 in the previous year. However, growth in these businesses has been driven by growing MSF from existing franchisees in line with our focus on improving the quality of our income streams.

Group overheads increased from GBP0.4m to GBP0.6m, mostly as a result of the annualisation of the cost increases which took place following the acquisition of Metro Rod.

Adjusted EBITDA for the Group increased by 46% to GBP1.8m from GBP1.3m in the previous year.

Earnings and dividend

Amortisation costs have increased to GBP0.1m, due to a full six months' amortisation of the intangible assets arising from the acquisition of Metro Rod. The finance charge of GBP0.2m is up 65%, representing an interest rate of 3.9% on our gross debt.

Profit before tax was GBP1.4m which is a 41% increase when compared to the underlying profits before tax in H1 2017 of GBP1.0m. The tax charge for the period at 16.8% was lower than the statutory rate of 19% owing to an adjustment in respect of previous years. As a result, the Group made a statutory profit after tax in the period of GBP1.2m compared to a loss of GBP0.2m in 2017.

The number of shares in issue during the period was 77,732,033, resulting in a statutory and adjusted earnings per share of 1.5p. In H1 2017 the average number of shares in issue was 61,239,907, as the shares issued in respect of the Metro Rod acquisition were only issued part way through the period which resulted in adjusted earnings per share of 1.3p. Therefore, adjusted earnings per share increased by 15% or 0.2p.

Financing and cash flow

The Group generated cash from operating activities of GBP1.5m (H1 2017: GBP0.7m). During the period we repaid GBP1.3m of debt, reducing the gross level of debt from GBP9.5m at 31 December 2017 to GBP8.2m at 30 June 2018. Of the GBP1.3m repayment, GBP0.3m was scheduled and GBP1.0m was a reduction in the drawing on the revolving credit facility ("RCF").

At 30 June 2018 we had utilised GBP2.5m of our GBP5m RCF and had cash-in-hand of GBP2.8m (31 December 2017: GBP3.2m), meaning that we had available cash and facilities of GBP5.3m (31 December 2017: GBP4.7m). Shareholders' funds at 30 June 2018 were GBP24.2m (31 December 2017: GBP23.2m) against net debt of GBP5.5m (31 December 2017: GBP6.3m), giving modest gearing of 23% (31 December 2017: 27%).

Dividend

The Board is pleased to announce an interim dividend of 0.21 pence per share (H1 2017: 0.17 pence per share), an increase of 24%. The cost of the interim dividend is GBP163,000. The interim dividend for the period is seven times covered by profit after tax. The interim dividend will be paid on 13 September 2018 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 24 August 2018.

Chris Dent

Chief Financial Officer

Franchise Brands plc

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

for the six months ended 30 June 2018

 
                                                                Restated     Restated 
                                                   Unaudited   Unaudited    Unaudited 
                                                    6 months    6 months 
                                                       ended       ended   Year ended 
                                                     30-June     30-June       31-Dec 
                                                        2018        2017         2017 
                                                     GBP'000     GBP'000      GBP'000 
------------------------------------------------  ----------  ----------  ----------- 
 
 Revenue                                              16,844       8,937       24,867 
 
 Cost of sales                                      (10,367)     (5,018)     (15,152) 
                                                    ________    ________     ________ 
 
 Gross profit                                          6,477       3,919        9,715 
 
 Adjusted earnings before interest, 
  tax, depreciation, amortisation, share-based 
  payments & non-recurring items ("Adjusted 
  EBITDA")                                             1,820       1,250        2,696 
 Depreciation                                           (61)        (47)         (96) 
 Amortisation of intangible fixed assets               (108)        (48)        (156) 
 Share-based payment expense                            (81)        (56)         (58) 
 Costs of acquisition of subsidiaries                      -     (1,140)      (1,144) 
 Costs of transition of subsidiary                         -        (58)        (734) 
 Bad debt provision                                        -           -        (316) 
------------------------------------------------  ----------  ----------  ----------- 
 
 Total administrative expenses                       (4,907)     (4,020)      (9,522) 
 
 Operating profit/ (loss)                              1,570        (99)          193 
 
 Finance expense                                       (172)       (104)        (277) 
                                                    ________    ________     ________ 
 
 Profit/(loss) before tax                              1,398       (203)         (65) 
 
 Tax expense                                           (235)        (39)         (43) 
                                                    ________    ________     ________ 
 Profit/(loss) for the period and comprehensive 
  income attributable to equity holders 
  of the Parent Company                                1,163       (242)        (128) 
                                                    ________    ________     ________ 
 
 
 All amounts relate to continuing operations 
 
 Earnings per share 
 Basic                                                  1.50      (0.40)       (0.19) 
 Adjusted basic                                         1.50        1.30         2.44 
 Diluted                                                1.43      (0.40)       (0.19) 
 Adjusted diluted                                       1.43        1.29         2.44 
 

Franchise Brands plc

Consolidated statement of financial position

as at 30 June 2018

 
                                                            Restated 
                                             Unaudited     Unaudited 
                                               30-June        31-Dec 
                                                  2018          2017 
                                               GBP'000       GBP'000 
------------------------------------------  ----------  ------------ 
 Assets 
 Non-current assets 
 Intangible assets                              27,621      27,658 
 Property, plant and equipment                     252         162 
                                              ________    ________ 
 
 Total non-current assets                       27,873      27,820 
                                              ________    ________ 
 Current assets 
 Inventories                                       276         252 
 Trade and other receivables                     9,779       8,144 
 Cash and cash equivalents                       2,751       3,245 
                                              ________    ________ 
 
 Total current assets                           12,806      11,641 
                                              ________    ________ 
 
 Total assets                                   40,679      39,461 
                                              ________    ________ 
 Liabilities 
 Current liabilities 
 Trade and other payables                        7,705       6,406 
 Loans and borrowings                            3,378        4164 
 Obligations under finance leases                   23          21 
 Current tax liability                             235           - 
                                              ________    ________ 
 
 Total current liabilities                      11,341      10,591 
                                              ________    ________ 
 Non-current liabilities 
 Loans and borrowings                            4,744        5255 
 Obligations under finance leases                   76          65 
 Deferred tax liability                            355         374 
                                              ________    ________ 
 
 Total non-current liabilities                   5,175       5,694 
                                              ________    ________ 
 
 Total liabilities                              16,516      16,285 
                                              ________    ________ 
 
 Total net assets                               24,163      23,176 
                                              ________    ________ 
 Issued capital and reserves attributable 
  to owners of the Parent 
 Share capital                                     388         388 
 Share premium                                  22,621      22,621 
 Share-based payment reserve                       169          88 
 Merger reserve                                    396         396 
 Retained earnings                                 589        -317 
                                              ________    ________ 
 Total equity attributable to equity 
  holders                                       24,163      23,176 
                                              ________    ________ 
 

Franchise Brands plc

Consolidated statement of cash flows

for the six months ended 30 June 2018

 
                                                               Restated    Restated 
                                                  Unaudited   Unaudited   Unaudited 
                                                   6 months    6 months        Year 
                                                         to          to       Ended 
                                                    30-June     30-June      31-Dec 
                                                       2018        2017        2017 
                                                    GBP'000     GBP'000     GBP'000 
-----------------------------------------------  ----------  ----------  ---------- 
 Cash flows from operating activities 
 Profit/(loss) for the period                         1,163       (243)       (131) 
 Adjustments for: 
 Depreciation of property, plant and equipment           61          47          96 
 Amortisation of intangible fixed assets                108          48         156 
 Share-based payment expense                             81          56          58 
 Finance expense                                        172         104         277 
 Income tax expense                                     235          40          47 
                                                   ________    ________    ________ 
                                                      1,820          52         503 
 Increase in trade and other receivables            (1,613)       (879)     (1,210) 
 Increase in inventories                               (24)        (15)        (17) 
 Increase in trade and other payables                 1,299       1,761       1,629 
                                                   ________    ________    ________ 
 Cash generated from operations                       1,482         919         905 
 Income taxes repaid/(paid)                              48       (179)       (204) 
                                                   ________    ________    ________ 
 Net cash generated from operating activities         1,530         740         701 
 Cash flows from investing activities 
 Purchases of property, plant and equipment            (26)        (93)        (98) 
 Purchase of software                                  (81)           -        (21) 
 Gain on disposal of assets                               -           -          13 
 Acquisition of subsidiary including costs, 
  net of cash acquired                                    -    (28,487)    (28,403) 
                                                   ________    ________    ________ 
 
 Net cash used in investing activities                (107)    (28,580)    (28,509) 
 
 Cash flows from financing activities 
 Bank and other loans - repaid                      (1,300)       (417)     (6,417) 
 Bank and other loans - received                          -      11,830      15,330 
 Bank and other loans- provided                       (193)           -           - 
 Interest paid - bank and other loans                 (146)        (96)       (186) 
 Interest paid - finance leases                         (6)           -        (10) 
 Proceed from issue of shares                             -      20,000      20,000 
 Share issue expenses and other expenses 
  of IPO                                                  -       (444)       (444) 
 Dividends paid                                       (257)        (81)       (213) 
 Capital element of finance lease repaid               (15)         (6)         (6) 
                                                   ________    ________    ________ 
 
 Net cash (used in)/ generated from financing 
  activities                                        (1,917)      30,786      28,054 
 
 Net (decrease)/ increase in cash and 
  cash equivalents                                    (494)       2,946         246 
  Cash and cash equivalents at beginning 
   of year                                            3,245       2,999       2,999 
                                                   ________    ________    ________ 
 
  Cash and cash equivalents at end of 
   year                                               2,751       5,945       3,245 
                                                   ________    ________    ________ 
 

Franchise Brands plc

Consolidated statement of changes in equity

for the six months ended 30 June 2018

 
                           Share      Share   Share-based     Merger    Retained     Total 
                         capital    premium       payment    reserve    earnings 
                                    account       reserve 
                         GBP'000    GBP'000       GBP'000    GBP'000     GBP'000   GBP'000 
---------------------  ---------  ---------  ------------  ---------  ----------  -------- 
 At 1 January 
  2017                       239      3,214            30        396          24     3,903 
 Loss for the 
  period                       -          -             -          -       (242)     (242) 
 Dividend paid                 -          -             -          -        (81)      (81) 
 Acquisition of 
  a subsidiary               149     19,407             -          -           -    19,556 
 Share based payment           -          -            56          -           -        56 
 At 30 June 2017 
  (Restated)                 388     22,621            86        396       (299)    23,192 
---------------------  ---------  ---------  ------------  ---------  ----------  -------- 
 Profit for the 
  period                       -          -             -          -         114       114 
 Dividend paid                 -          -             -          -       (132)     (132) 
 Share based payment           -          -             2          -           -         2 
 At 1 January 
  2018 (Restated)            388     22,621            88        396       (318)    23,175 
---------------------  ---------  ---------  ------------  ---------  ----------  -------- 
 Profit for the 
  period                       -          -             -          -       1,163     1,163 
 Dividend paid                 -          -             -          -       (257)     (257) 
 Share based payment           -          -            81          -           -        81 
 At 30 June 2018             388     22,621           169        396         589    24,163 
---------------------  ---------  ---------  ------------  ---------  ----------  -------- 
 

Franchise Brands plc

Notes forming part of the financial statements

for the six months ended 30 June 2018

1. Accounting policies

Basis of preparation

The consolidated financial statements for the six months ended 30 June 2018 and 2017 are unaudited and were approved by the Directors on 25 July 2018. They do not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2017 were prepared in accordance with IFRS and have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditor on those financial statements was unqualified and did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis of matter.

Applicable standards

These unaudited consolidated interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union, under the historical cost convention. They have not been prepared in accordance with IAS 34, the application of which is not required to the interim financial statements of AIM companies. The interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in the Group's Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017, with the exception of the changes due to the adoption of IFRS15, which are discussed in note 3 below, and the application of IFRS9, which has not resulted in any material changes. The Board is currently considering the impact of IFRS16.

Basis of consolidation

The Group's financial statements consolidate the financial statements of Franchise Brands plc and its subsidiaries.

Going concern

The condensed financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. At the period end the Group was profitable, cash generative on an operating level, and had cash and cash equivalents of GBP2.8m. The Directors are satisfied that there are sufficient resources available for the Group to continue for the foreseeable future.

2. Earnings per share

Basic earnings per share amounts are calculated by dividing profit for the period attributable to equity holders of the parent by the weighted average number of Ordinary Shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent by the weighted average number of Ordinary Shares outstanding during the year plus the weighted average number of Ordinary Shares that would have been issued on the conversion of all dilutive potential Ordinary Shares into Ordinary shares at the start of the period or, if later, the date of issue.

Adjusted earnings per share

During the comparative period, the Group incurred significant exceptional costs associated with the acquisition of Metro Rod and transitional costs following acquisition. If these costs of GBP1,198,000, of which GBP382,000 were not deductible for corporation tax, were added back and the resultant profit taxed at 19.25% being the Group's estimated underlying tax rate for the full year, the profit attributable would be GBP799,000.

Earnings per share

 
                                    Six months      Six months     Year ended 
                                         ended           ended    31 December 
                                  30 June 2018    30 June 2017           2017 
                                       GBP'000         GBP'000        GBP'000 
------------------------------  --------------  --------------  ------------- 
 Profit/(loss) attributable 
  to owners of the parent                1,163           (242)          (128) 
 Exceptional items, net 
  of tax                                     -           1,041          1,849 
------------------------------  --------------  --------------  ------------- 
 Adjusted profit attributable 
  to owners of the parent                1,163             799          1,721 
------------------------------  --------------  --------------  ------------- 
 
                                        Number          Number         Number 
------------------------------  --------------  --------------  ------------- 
 Basic weighted average 
  number of shares                  77,732,033      61,239,907     69,553,746 
 Dilutive effect of share 
  options                            3,395,460         827,475        741,726 
------------------------------  --------------  --------------  ------------- 
 Diluted weighted average 
  number of shares                  81,127,493      62,067,382     70,295,472 
------------------------------  --------------  --------------  ------------- 
 
                                         Pence           Pence          Pence 
------------------------------  --------------  --------------  ------------- 
 Basic earnings per share                 1.50          (0.40)         (0.19) 
 Diluted earnings per share               1.43          (0.40)         (0.19) 
 Adjusted earnings per share              1.50            1.30           2.44 
 Adjusted diluted earnings 
  per share                               1.43            1.29           2.44 
------------------------------  --------------  --------------  ------------- 
 
 

3. Restatement due to IFRS15

At the beginning of the period the Group adopted IFRS15 Revenues from Contracts with Customers, the new accounting standard on revenue. There have been 2 key changes derived from the adoption of the standard:

-- Metro Rod revenue recognition: the introduction of IFRS15 has resulted in a minor shift of the revenue recognition point based on the assessment of control being transferred and when the Company has a legal and enforceable right for payment. The Directors believe that invoicing is a key service which we undertake on behalf of our franchise network and customers. Furthermore, given the invoicing requirements of our Facilities Management customers, the Directors believe that revenue will only be received once invoicing has been completed in accordance with these requirements. Therefore, our revenues should only be recognised at the point at which the invoice has been raised. Given the nature of the work performed at Metro Rod - being a large number of small value jobs - the shift has not had a significant impact in terms of the financial statements as the Company will see approximately the same number of jobs being reported into the relevant period as previously. For the six months ended 30 June 2017, the restatement decreased revenue by GBP22k (FY2017: GBP65k), decreased cost of sales by GBP15k (FY2017: GBP46k), and decreased the tax expenses by GBP1k (FY2017: GBP4k), having a total effect on profit after tax of a decrease of GBP5k (FY2017: GBP16k).

-- National advertising funds: the national advertising funds for our different networks have not previously been recognised as revenue under IAS18. The Directors did not believe that the Group met the criteria for recognising revenue due to fact that the Group is not exposed to the risks and rewards of the transactions. The management of the funds does not result in any profit or loss for the Group as all funds received are expended on behalf of the networks. With the adoption of the precepts of IFRS15 with its control-based approach, the Directors have concluded that the Group will recognise the costs expended by the funds in the year within the costs of the business, and will recognise an equal amount as revenue, with any difference from the amount of cash received from our franchisees as accrued or deferred revenue within the balance sheet. Therefore, there is no effect on profit. In the current period the inclusion of the fund expenditure as income has increased revenue by GBP498k (H1 2017: GBP320k) and has increased administration expenses by the same amount of GBP498k (H1 2017: GBP320k). The revenue which we are recognising in respect of the national advertising fund is included in the total of MSF for the purposes of income categorisation.

In line with the transitional arrangements within IFRS15 we have re-stated our previous period figures to show the effect of the new standard.

 
 Six months ended 30 June         Original        IFRS15      Final 
  2017                             numbers    adjustment    numbers 
                                   GBP'000       GBP'000    GBP'000 
 Revenue                             8,639           298      8,937 
 Cost of sales                     (5,033)            15    (5,018) 
 Total administrative 
  expenses                         (3,699)         (320)    (4,019) 
 Finance expense                     (104)             0      (104) 
 Tax expense                          (40)             1       (39) 
  Profit after tax                   (237)           (5)      (242) 
-------------------------------  ---------  ------------  --------- 
 
 Year ended 31 December           Original        IFRS15      Final 
  2017                             numbers    adjustment    numbers 
                                   GBP'000       GBP'000    GBP'000 
 Revenue                            24,292           575     24,867 
 Cost of sales                    (15,198)            46   (15,152) 
 Total administrative 
  expenses                         (8,882)         (640)    (9,522) 
 Finance expense                     (277)             0      (277) 
 Tax expense                          (47)             4       (43) 
  Profit after tax                   (112)          (16)      (128) 
-------------------------------  ---------  ------------  --------- 
 
                                  Original        IFRS15      Final 
                                   numbers    adjustment    numbers 
 Assets                            GBP'000       GBP'000    GBP'000 
 Intangible assets                  27,025           633     27,658 
 Property, plant and equipment         162             0        162 
 Inventories                           252             0        252 
 Trade and other receivables         9,670       (1,526)      8,144 
 Cash                                3,245             0      3,245 
 Trade and other payables          (7,132)           726    (6,406) 
 Loans and borrowings              (9,419)             0    (9,419) 
 Obligations under finance 
  leases                              (86)             0       (86) 
 Deferred tax liability              (526)           152      (374) 
 Total net assets                   23,191          (16)     23,175 
-------------------------------  ---------  ------------  --------- 
 
 

4. Dividend

On 25 July 2018 the Board declared an interim dividend of 0.21 pence per share (H1 2017: 0.17 pence per share). The interim dividend will be paid on 13 September 2018 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 24 August 2018.

5. Availability of this report

This half year results report will not be sent to shareholders but is available on the Company's website at https://www.franchisebrands.co.uk/key-documents/.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

END

IR ZMGZNNKKGRZM

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July 26, 2018 02:01 ET (06:01 GMT)

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