Immotion Group PLC Trading Update (4461U)

TIDMIMMO

RNS Number : 4461U

Immotion Group PLC

29 July 2020

Immotion Group plc

("Immotion Group", the "Company")

Trading Update

Immotion Group, the UK-based immersive entertainment group is pleased to update the market on current trading.

We are pleased to report that a growing number of our partner sites are starting to re-open and many are already operating our VR installations. We are delighted to announce that our largest installation to date, the 'Ocean Explorer' Immersive Theatre at Shark Reef Aquarium, Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, is expected to open within the next seven days.

Whilst many partners are still working their way through the social distancing rules and are operating at reduced capacity, we are starting to see encouraging levels of revenue being generated. We are delighted that consumers appear to have appetite for our experiences, with a number of sites showing very high levels of utilisation.

At this stage it is right to remain cautious, but we are enthused by early trading in sites that are fully open, with both Oklahoma Aquarium, and Mystic Aquarium, Connecticut, two new installations completed post lockdown, both operating at almost full capacity. In fact Oklahoma has requested additional seats to cope with very strong demand.

In the UK we have seen brisk trade at our own ImmotionVR centres, and whilst operating on reduced opening hours, both bookings and revenue are very encouraging. Sea Life Blackpool opened last week with the site showing very high levels of utilisation.

The sites that have now opened, or are due to open, and which will be operating our VR installations are detailed below:

   Austin Aquarium, Austin                               Open 
   Blackpool Tower, Blackpool                          Open 
   Brighton Pier, Brighton                                  Open 
   Dubai Aquarium, Dubai                                 Open 
   Lego Discovery Centre, Atlanta                    Open 
   Lego Discovery Centre, Dallas                      Open 
   Lego Discovery Centre, Kansas City             Open 
   Lego Discovery Centre, Manchester           Open 
   Lego Discovery Centre, Phoenix                  Open 
   Lego Discovery Centre, Chicago                  Open 
   Lego Discovery Centre, Shenyang               Open 
   Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas                              Expected within 7 days 
   Mystic Aquarium, Connecticut                    Open 
   Oklahoma Aquarium, Oklahoma                 Open 
   Sea Life, Blackpool                                         Open 
   Sea Life, London                                             Opening 1 August 

In addition, we have opened the following ImmotionVR sites:

   Castleford                            Open 
   Brighton                               Open 
   Bristol                                   Open 
   The O2 London                   Open 

We are optimistic that further existing sites will re-open in the coming weeks. New installations will be on a selective basis, as we want to ensure we install into sites that are showing solid and consistent footfall. We are adapting our operations to the likely level of activity and we expect resultant cost savings. Our immediate priority is to drive the business back towards monthly breakeven; albeit this is likely to be based in the short term on a smaller installed base and reduced operational costs. We currently have cash on hand of circa GBP2m.

We are greatly encouraged by both the imminent opening of Mandalay Bay and other partner sites, although we are of the view that significant disruption will likely continue in our markets for some time to come.

In order to assist our partners getting back to operational normality the Company has successfully designed and sourced its own proprietary headset UV disinfection unit, called Uvisan. The unit has been laboratory tested and allows partners to disinfect up to 30 headsets between uses in a matter of minutes. We are rolling these devices out to our larger partner sites, including Mandalay Bay, as they reopen. The Company is offering the product for sale to third parties in un-related businesses and has seen some early signs of success.

The Company is also developing a retail 'at home' product to leverage our content generation skills and resources and expects to update the market on this exciting product in the next few weeks.

We continue to be alert to the current challenges and to adapt our business accordingly. We believe we have done the right things, and have positioned ourselves as best we can to weather the Covid19 crisis so that we can then capitalise on what we continue to believe is very significant market potential for our business.

Martin Higginson, Immotion Group CEO said: "We are thrilled to see sites re-opening and to see our booking system spring back to life. We are delighted that consumers appear to have appetite for our experiences with a number of sites showing very high levels of utilisation."

"The imminent opening of our flagship installation at Mandalay Bay along with numerous other sites gives us a great deal of confidence. We continue to tread with caution, but we are quietly pleased by the uptake. New installations are moving forward with both Oklahoma, and Mystic our first installs since the pandemic, operating at almost full capacity."

"The development of our Uvisan UV cleansing product puts us on the front foot in terms of reassuring both partners and customers that our offering is safe. It has also given our sales team another revenue generating product from which we are seeing encouraging early sales."

"The development of the retail 'at home' product is making great progress; the beta product is very exciting, and I believe when launched it will have a major impact."

"We have where possible reacted to the challenges enforced upon us by the pandemic. We have reduced costs, and been innovative in our approach to both new products and the market. Our team has devised self-installation systems for new partners, cleansing solutions for existing partners, and a revolutionary new product for the home market."

Enquiries:

For further information please visit www.immotion.co.uk , or contact:

 
 Immotion Group           Martin Higginson   Tel: +44 (0) 161 
                                              235 8505 
 WH Ireland Limited       Adrian Hadden      Tel + 44 (0) 207 
  (Nomad and Joint         Darshan Patel      220 1666 
  Broker)                  Matthew Chan 
 Shard Capital Partners   Damon Heath        Tel: [phone] 
  LLP                      Erik Woolgar       9900 
  (Joint Broker) 
 Alvarium Capital         Alex Davies        Tel: +44 (0) 207 
  Partners                                    195 1433 
 

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July 29, 2020 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)