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PLA Plastics Cap.

112.00
0.00 (0.00%)
19 Apr 2024 - Closed
Delayed by 15 minutes
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Plastics Cap. LSE:PLA London Ordinary Share GB00B289KK20 ORD 1P
  Price Change % Change Share Price Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  0.00 0.00% 112.00 110.00 114.00 0.00 01:00:00
Industry Sector Turnover Profit EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap
0 0 N/A 0

Plastics Capital PLC Final Results (1626T)

02/07/2018 7:00am

UK Regulatory


Plastics Capital (LSE:PLA)
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TIDMPLA

RNS Number : 1626T

Plastics Capital PLC

02 July 2018

2nd July 2018

Plastics Capital plc

("Plastics Capital", the "Company" or the "Group")

Results for the year ended 31 March 2018

Plastics Capital plc (AIM: PLA), the niche plastics products manufacturer, announces its audited results for the year ended 31 March 2018, which are in line with consensus market expectations.

Financial highlights

 
                                 Year ended       Year ended 
                                   31 March    31 March 2017 
                                       2018           GBP000       % 
                                     GBP000                      Change 
 Revenue                             76,726           65,785    16.6% 
                                -----------  ---------------  --------- 
 Adjusted EBITDA*                     7,032            6,900     1.9% 
                                -----------  ---------------  --------- 
 Adjusted Profit before tax*+         4,185            4,348    -3.7% 
                                -----------  ---------------  --------- 
 Adjusted EPS (p)*                     9.5p            11.5p    -17.4% 
                                -----------  ---------------  --------- 
 DPS (p)                              0.00p            1.46p      na 
                                -----------  ---------------  --------- 
 

* excluding amortisation of intangibles and deal fees, exceptional costs, unrealised foreign exchange translation derivative losses and share-based incentive scheme charges

+ also excludes non-controlling interests

Financial highlights

-- GBP3.54 million, net of expenses, raised in June 2017 through a placing with institutional investors

   --     Allocation of internally generated cash flow increased towards organic growth 

Operational highlights

   --     Strong like-for-like organic revenue growth - 13.0% annually 
   --     Record year for Films Division; like-for-like increase in sales 27% and EBITDA* 26% 
   --     Films Division now combined under one management structure 
   --     Record year for mandrel business; sales up 24%, EBITDA* up 17% 
   --     US mandrel factory established and production commenced 
   --     Matrix business increases stake in CCM in USA to 51% 
   --     US and Italian matrix production relocated and consolidated to UK 
   --     Production in China also relocated and harmonised with UK 
   --     Bearings business converts new business worth GBP17.7m of lifetime sales 
   --     GBP1.7 million invested in capacity expansion projects 

Commenting on these results, Faisal Rahmatallah, Chairman, said:

"FY2018 has been an outstanding year for organic growth, particularly in our films businesses. To capitalise on this, we have recruited and trained new staff, invested in new facilities and equipment, and raised equity capital to make sure that we have scope for further growth as we move into the next financial year. As a result, our operating profit margin has reduced somewhat during the year but we consider this to be a sensible trade-off for the creation of long term shareholder value.

We continue to have a number of exciting projects that we will be investing in as the current financial year progresses. We believe these projects will help us to deliver good growth over the next few years and we anticipate that this year will be another year of good progress."

 
 Plastics Capital plc             Tel: 020 7978 0574 
 Faisal Rahmatallah, Chairman 
 Nick Ball, Finance Director 
 
 Cenkos Securities (Nomad and     Tel: 020 7397 8900 
  Joint Broker) 
 Mark Connelly 
 Callum Davidson 
 
 Allenby Capital Limited (Joint   Tel: 020 3002 2074 
  Broker) 
 David Hart 
 
 

Notes to Editors

Plastics Capital is a niche manufacturer of specialist plastic products. Applications for these products vary widely and examples include:

   --     Packaging for the food manufacturing and distribution - films, sacks and pouches 

-- Steering columns and instrument control knobs in the automotive industry - plastic ball bearings

   --     Hydraulic and industrial rubber hose manufacture - various types of plastic mandrel 
   --     Cardboard box manufacture - plastic creasing matrices 

Plastics Capital's business model is based on understanding customers' problems in depth, and then developing and mass producing proprietary, technical solutions for these problems.

The business operates through two divisions, Films and Industrial, and has the majority of its production in six UK based factories, with a further two factories in Asia and one in the United States of America. Approximately 50 per cent. of its GBP77 million sales are made outside the UK to more than 80 countries.

Further information can be found on www.plasticscapital.com

Chairman's Statement

Review of FY2018

Financial Performance

FY2018 has been a year of record organic revenue growth. Sales have increased 16.6% overall, of which:

   --     3.4% was due to acquisitions completed part of the way through the prior year, 
   --     0.2% was due to exchange rate fluctuation, and 
   --     13.0% was due to organic revenue growth. 

Profitability, measured in terms of EBITDA* to sales ("EBITDA* margin"), has not followed revenue growth largely due to business mix. We generate higher EBITDA* margins in our Industrial Division than our Films Division, and this year revenue growth has been strongest in the Films Division, which has therefore reduced the overall EBITDA* margin down from 10.5% to 9.2%. In addition, our bearings business which has high operational gearing has had a poor year and this has also affected the overall EBITDA* margin negatively.

In terms of organic revenue growth, the Films Division has led the way with 23.2% year-on-year growth. We successfully developed and converted a number of important key accounts during the year. This is driven primarily by having superior products and providing superior service, but we have also benefitted from having added a large amount of new extrusion and conversion capacity in the last two years, and the failure mid-year of a competitor in certain of our sectors.

The EBITDA* margin in the Films Division was unchanged overall year-to-year in spite of fluctuations in raw material prices. Meanwhile, during the year the Films Division recruited and trained 26 new members of staff representing circa 23% of our production workforce. We have also installed and commissioned machinery that has expanded capacity by 24% of the prior year total. The management effort and time required to accomplish all this, whilst customer demand is very strong, is considerable and reflects very favourably on our teams involved

In terms of revenue growth, in the Industrial Division, we achieved a 6.5% increase year-on-year of which 2.3% was due to organic growth, 3.7% was due to acquisitions carried out in the prior year and 0.5% was due to foreign exchange.

Of our three Industrial businesses:

-- The mandrel business performed strongest achieving 22.2% organic revenue growth at constant foreign exchange rates. This followed prior year organic growth of 40%. This business has expanded 70% in two years, adding capacity, recruiting and training staff and setting up manufacturing in West Virginia, USA. The EBITDA* margin slightly reduced as costs have been incurred ahead of sales but overall the management team in this business has done an excellent job to keep up with demand growth.

-- Our matrix business increased sales 11.4% on the prior year, although organic growth only contributed 1.5% of this; acquisitions accounted for 9.6% and foreign exchange rate movements for 0.3% of the remainder. The EBITDA* margin in this business was negatively affected by the full year impact of the acquisitions of CCM and Mito which are primarily distribution businesses, which have intrinsically lower profitability, and by product mix.

* All references to EBITDA are adjusted measures

"EBITDA" is stated before LTIP charges and exceptional costs

See page 13 (Financial Review) for reconciliations of (i) presented non-GAAP measures to the GAAP measures including adjusted EBITDA, (ii) net debt; and (iii) organic sales growth.

"Adjusted" means excluding amortisation, exceptional costs, unrealised foreign exchange derivative and loan gains / losses, and LTIP charges

"like-for-like" means comparison between years applying a constant exchange rate (i.e. applying the same foreign exchange rates to both years) and assuming no impact from acquisitions

"pro-forma" means comparison between years assuming no impact from acquisitions

-- The bearings business had a disappointing year with sales down 4%, after the 20.5% like-for-like increase in sales enjoyed in the prior year. The reduction in sales was largely attributable to two major projects for key accounts that encountered delays after strong sales in the prior year. Some of this was due to supply-chain pipeline filling in the prior year, and some due to unexpected difficulties that our key accounts experienced in the sales ramp up of these new products. Because we had geared up for growth, the EBITDA* margin for this business fell significantly.

Overall therefore, Group EBITDA* only increased by 1.9% during the year as strong performance in the Films Division was negated by weak performance in our bearings business, which dragged down the Industrial Division.

Depreciation increased GBP0.4 million or 23.2% on the prior year because of increased capital expenditure during FY2017 and FY2018. Interest costs increased GBP0.1 million or 7.6% due to a higher average debt level, and a higher lending margin. Our tax charge has increased as we now exceed 500 employees, which is the limit for attaining the maximum benefit from the government's R&D tax credit scheme. As a result, adjusted EPS decreased by 2.0p or 17.4% over the prior year.

Exceptional costs of GBP1.5 million arose due to certain adjustments to the value of CCM's property, plant and equipment, inventory and liabilities recorded at the date of acquisition and restructuring of certain manufacturing facilities within the Industrials Division.

Working capital was 11.9% of sales at year end, down from 12.6% in the prior year, benefitting from the shorter working capital cycle in our faster growing Films Division. In May 2017 we raised GBP3.74 million (GBP3.54 million, net of expenses) through the placing of 3,194,445 new ordinary shares at 117 pence per share, a discount of 4.5% to the prevailing price. Overall net debt at the end of the year was GBP15.1 million, which was a reduction of GBP1.2m over the financial year. Net debt leverage was 2.1x, which was slightly above the range we target over the long run of 1.5-2x. Interest cover remained comfortable at 11.7x.

New Business Performance

Revenue from new business entering production over the last year was GBP3.9 million up from GBP2.2 million in FY2017. We have seen new business entering production in our specialist sacks and mandrels businesses in particular. Lost business in the year was low, accounting for less than 1% of turnover, reflecting very high levels of customer satisfaction and therefore retention across the Group.

Although our bearings business had a difficult year in terms of invoiced sales, project conversions were strong at nearly GBP18 million of lifetime sales. We have reassessed the future value of the two projects that have caused the sales shortfall in FY2018 for the bearings business, which has reduced the annual sales value of the pipeline of projects that have been converted but not yet reached full production by GBP0.3 million. Together with the new business converted in FY2018 this pipeline now amounts to GBP5.2 million. The pipeline was GBP5.5 million at the end of FY2017 and so remains strong; we expect this pipeline to take 3-5 years to come through.

Acquisitions and Investments

No new acquisitions or investments were made in FY2018. However, investment expenditure continued on the three acquisitions we have most recently completed.

In July 2017, we paid GBP0.31 million deferred consideration for Synpac, which was acquired in July 2016 for GBP3.1 million of which 10% was deferred for 12 months. Sustainable EBITDA* was estimated at the time to be GBP0.6 million. Synpac which operationally has become part of Flexipol has enjoyed strong growth since its acquisition and has exceeded our expectations. Further development is underway.

We increased our stake in CCM, based in West Virginia, from 10% to 51% at a cost of GBP0.92 million. The remaining 49% will be bought after three years with the amount payable in total depending on performance in the meantime. CCM's performance has been a little disappointing since our first investment, but there is time to improve this before our investment is complete. We are, however, very pleased with the manufacturing rationalisation steps that have taken place to bring matrix production back to the UK and replace it with mandrel production in West Virginia.

We also transferred the manufacturing assets of Mito, which was acquired in FY2017, from Italy to Wellingborough. This went very smoothly and production of Mito's excellent range of matrix products is now part of C&T's overall offering to its worldwide distributors.

Banking

We have made various minor changes to our facilities with Barclays to accommodate the investments being made across our businesses. Barclays have been good business partners helping us to manage growth and the risks associated with this. Current facilities are GBP21 million in total and extend to June 2021. The cost of borrowing over the year averaged approximately 350bps over LIBOR and will reduce as leverage decreases.

Capital Allocation

In my report last year, I articulated four areas for investment during FY2018, as follows:

-- Customer specific projects - in FY2017 our bearings business won a significant project requiring two new injection moulding machines estimated to amount to GBP0.3 million. This expenditure was incurred in FY2018 as planned with a slight saving. The project is now up and running as forecast.

-- Capacity expansion - GBP1.8 million was invested in capacity expansion during the year, which was GBP0.3 million more than anticipated, reflecting the strong growth we have achieved during the year. In the Films Division:

o We upgraded four extrusion lines at Palagan and one at Flexipol.

o We also added a new conversion machine at Flexipol.

In the Industrial Division:

o We added two new extrusion lines for our mandrels business and expanded into premises adjacent to our existing factory; additionally, in the US, we installed two new mandrel extrusion lines.

o Two injection moulding machines were added at the bearings business in anticipation of growing demand.

o We added a new extrusion line to our Chinese matrix operations and capacity in the UK matrix operations to incorporate Mito's matrix business.

-- New product introduction - GBP0.7 million was invested as planned during FY2018 in product and capability development, with the two thirds going to the Films Division where the opportunities for new products and capabilities are closer to commercialisation.

-- Corporate - as discussed above, we invested GBP1.2 million in increasing our stake in CCM to 51% and in discharging the deferred consideration on Synpac. Further expenditure was incurred in restructuring manufacturing operations between Mito, CCM and C&T in Wellingborough as well as between Bell and CCM. GBP0.2 million of this has been taken to exceptional items. We therefore underspent in this area by GBP0.4 million compared to expectation at the same time last year.

In total, therefore we have spent approximately GBP4.1 million in these investment areas compared to the GBP4.3 million estimated 12 months ago. In addition, maintenance capital expenditure amounted to GBP0.9 million compared to the GBP1.0 million we estimated a year ago. An additional GBP0.8 million further expense was incurred on one-offs to restructure and relocate matrix operations from the USA and Italy to the UK, to set up mandrel production in the USA, restructure the production team at Palagan and for the costs associated with the investments we have made in FY2018. This amounts to a total of GBP5.8 million invested during the year and was funded by free cash flow (before maintenance capex) of GBP3.5 million, and an equity raise of GBP3.5 million, with the balance reducing net debt by GBP1.2 million.

Strategy & Growth

Plastic Waste

There has been considerable publicity about the need to reduce plastic waste, particularly in our oceans. This has given many people, including us, pause for thought. Most of this concern has centred around single-use consumer plastics such as plastic bottles, carrier bags, straws and the like. None of our products fall into this category as they are either components or consumables supplied to other businesses early in the supply chains of finished products. Consequently, we believe that this is an issue which we must respond to but not one which materially threatens our business. So, we have reassessed our approaches to plastic waste in all our businesses and have developed strategies for increasing recycling and reusability in each. Certain of these initiatives are to increase internal recycling of our own waste, whilst others are to assist our customers to achieve higher levels of recycling with the products we supply. The latter particularly offers many technical challenges but we believe that over time significant improvements will be made, many of which will offer us opportunity for product differentiation and added value.

Key Initiatives

In early FY2016 we launched a five-year plan with the target of doubling EBITDA* over the subsequent five years. This strategic goal links to the LTIP Growth Share awards announced on 2 October 2015 for the senior executive teams across the Group's subsidiaries. We are behind our target but with good potential to catch up and to achieve it.

Within the five-year plan, we have a number of strategic initiatives that are continuously monitored and reviewed every six months by the Board. As we move forward some initiatives are completed, some evolve into new areas while others are brought forward, approved and incorporated into our strategy. Our goal is to manage our businesses dynamically towards achieving our long- term objectives and not to fall into the trap of rigidly managing to a strategic plan.

The most important initiatives within the latest plan in terms of impact over the five-year period to 2020 are:

-- In our Films Division - expanding sales of specialist sacks, liners and pouches. This initiative has received considerable additional resource over the last two years and is achieving strong sales growth supported by efficient operational performance. We have added to the product range and plan to continue to invest to develop the range further.

-- Developing new bearings projects with major OEMs and bringing already won business successfully into production. This initiative has had mixed results to date. We have converted many new projects into won business over the last three years, sufficient to drive strong growth in the next few years. However, we have had some setbacks in bringing previously won business into production at the expected rates. In particular, two projects with large OEMs, one for ATMs and the other for domestic appliances have not yet achieved the sales levels that were forecast by our customers. We have reassessed these projects in terms of what we now believe they will deliver and incorporated all recently won business into our pipeline of business that is won, but not yet into full production. This now stands at GBP5.2 million of annualised sales value, all of which should come through over the next three to five years. This is GBP0.3m lower than compared to twelve months ago. However, further excellent project opportunities with key accounts are in the pipeline for conversion. The initiative hinges on key account management and development, as well as clever design engineering and technical support.

-- Developing new business in mandrels globally through the provision of in-depth technical service and product customization. This initiative is progressing well. We have achieved considerable growth over the last two years through new customers, particularly in North America. We need to continue to develop superior technical solutions for our customers generally and find ways to expand sales in the Asia Pacific region, particularly China.

-- Forward integration and product range diversification in matrix. This initiative is on track in terms of sales growth but not, so far, in terms of profitability. The businesses we have invested in, such as CCM and Mito, have intrinsically lower profit margins than our manufacturing businesses. Although this is in their nature, we believe that because our acquisition strategy involved deferred contingent payments over a number of years there is a high degree of "self-correction" with respect to the investment returns that will be achieved on these investments. Nevertheless, we are targeting margin improvements in this area, some of which we hope will come from new products that have been introduced this year.

Obviously, any programme of initiatives, such as those listed above, has risks associated to their achievement. For example, we routinely face the possibility of customer inflicted delays and unforeseen technical difficulties, notwithstanding the management processes we have put in place to avoid or mitigate such issues. Attrition (i.e. customer losses) is also a factor that we have considered and made allowances for, but this allowance could be insufficient. Finally, the most unpredictable and impactful risk is what happens in the global economy. Our working assumptions over the long term are for slow growth (c.2-3% annually) and that current exchange rates remain broadly unchanged. We believe that both these assumptions are reasonable but they may prove to be incorrect, particularly over short periods.

Capital Allocation - Looking Ahead

The investment pipeline during FY2019 supports our growth strategy and can be set out under the same headings as above:

-- Customer specific projects - With the investments made over recent years and having had a weaker than expected year in FY2018, our bearings business has sufficient capacity to cope with its anticipated growth over the next twelve months. Our other businesses do not invest for specific customer specific projects.

-- Capacity - We need to continue to add capacity, particularly in the Films Division, as we continue to win and develop new business. We would also like to manufacture certain films we currently purchase and convert because we do not have sufficient extrusion capacity. Finally, we would also like to make some investments to increase the interchangeability of production between our factories in Dunstable (Palagan) and Haslingden (Flexipol) to improve efficiencies. There is also some investment needed to conclude the expansion of mandrel production we have made over the last two years. In total about GBP1.8 million is earmarked for these areas during FY2019.

-- New Products - Some of the capacity improvement investment described above will bring improved processing capabilities, so enabling the introduction of new products, such as "superstrong" films, or sacks with barrier properties. We have allocated GBP1.1 million expenditure to enable new products to be developed and introduced during FY2019 and beyond.

-- Corporate - No corporate investments are in the pipeline for the current year. We are not due to increase our stakes in CCM or Mito during the current financial year. Other interesting opportunities are some way off being consummated. We are, however, establishing a 50/50 joint venture for matrix and consumables sales in the Shanghai region with a local Chinese partner, which may require some investment. GBP0.1 million start-up costs are expected.

The total capital required, if all these expenditures come through as anticipated, would be approximately GBP3.0 million. Added to this, in FY2019 we expect a further GBP1.0 million of replacement and/or efficiency improvement capital expenditure. All of this expenditure can be accommodated by the cash flow we expect to generate during the year and our current debt facilities leaving some financial flexibility for other contingencies.

Dividend

We have considered whether to reintroduce dividend payments but given the strong organic growth we are achieving and the potential for making further investments for acquisitive and/or organic growth, we believe it would be unwise to do so at the present time. This will be kept under review.

Outlook

Trading in Q1 FY2019 has been relatively good, making up for weak momentum at the end of FY2018. The bearings business has not suffered the same disappointing start to the year as in FY2018, although there is still some way to go for us to be satisfied that the right momentum is being achieved in this business.

In the Films Division, since production capacity between our businesses was increasingly being shared, we have decided to bring them together under one management team. This will enable us to utilise capacity in the most efficient way possible and to improve margins across the division.

We will see also some improvement to margins as losses, that we have incurred over the last two years, from currency hedges taken out pre-Brexit, fall away.

Finally, and most importantly, we have spent some considerable time across the entire Group endeavouring to articulate the "core values" of Plastics Capital; a one-page version of these is included at the front of this annual report and can be found on our website. This started with the entire senior management team of some 40 people and has now extended through the entire organisation. We believe these values, which are already held strongly throughout the organisation will enable day-to-day decisions and activities to be undertaken in the right way for the long-term health of the business and its stakeholders as we continue to grow.

The Board wishes to extend its sincere thanks to the Group's employees, who have responded to new challenges extremely well. It has been a very busy year and a huge amount of hard work has been put in by all. I am pleased to report that we continue to be highly profitable and cash generative as a Group and that we are now on a growth track. We look forward to another year of good progress in FY2019.

Faisal Rahmatallah

Chairman

Operational Review

 
                                                  2018     2017 
                                                GBP000   GBP000 
Industrial Division                             34,464   32,472 
Films Division                                  42,262   33,313 
 
Turnover per consolidated income statement      76,726   65,785 
                                               =======  ======= 
 

Industrial Division

Bell Plastics ("Bell") had another record year of sales growth, having achieved 24% growth over the prior year, driven by strong demand and winning new customers for hose mandrels in Europe and the USA. Sales growth in North America exceeded 60% and the business there is now underpinned by a mandrel manufacturing capability based in our Martinsburg facility in West Virginia which came on stream at the end of the financial year.

In addition to the mandrel capacity installed in the USA, we added a further 20% mandrel capacity into the UK, to improve lead times and to facilitate growth going forward. We also invested considerable time and effort in a programme to improve output by reducing unplanned machine downtime and by increasing running speed. There is now sufficient capacity for Bell's foreseeable future demand over the next two years.

The growth achieved has necessitated steps being taken to enlarge and strengthen our operational team. We have added 30% new production staff, all of whom have required training in Bell's bespoke production technology. We expect to continue to strengthen the operational management structure over the next year in order to consolidate the improvements made.

New product development is an important factor of Bell's future growth plans. Two important products were developed and added to the portfolio; a new mandrel material which improves our customers' hose manufacturing process, notably around mandrel ejection. The second product, a new abrasion resistant film, Ultra XLPE, has been developed to help improve hydraulic and industrial hose abrasion resistance, whilst enabling hose cost reduction. Importantly, Ultra XLPE has shown significant promise for improving the anti-abrasion performance of rubber materials in other applications, notably for conveyor and transmission belts. A patent application for this product has been filed.

Bell's strategy is based on continuing support for existing and new customers to assist them to improve their products and manufacturing processes. The USA market will be a particular focus, supported by the mandrel manufacturing facility there, and so will Asia be through local warehousing. Ultra XLPE film is being introduced to existing and new customers in the core hose market and the significant potential in rubber belt applications will continue to be explored.

BNL (UK) Limited ("BNL"), which manufactures plastic ball bearings and related assemblies, had a disappointing year with product sales down 2.8% on the previous year (4.3% at constant exchange rates). In the first half of FY2018, the business suffered from delays in the ramp-up of two large projects for major multi-national customers. The final quarter of the year saw volumes and turnover increase within these key accounts, moving closer to expectation. It is also worthy of note that the slightly disappointing result followed a year of outstanding growth in FY16-17 and the three-year cumulative annual growth rate remains above 11%.

New business wins in the year were again healthy, with newly converted projects expected to deliver over GBP17.7 million in lifetime sales; a third consecutive year when conversion of projects has been significantly ahead of current annual turnover. Project wins were spread broadly across our geographic markets but were strongest within Europe and Asia. The most significant new business was again with a UK based manufacturer within the domestic appliance sector. This second significant project win with this customer illustrates the improvement in the business's approach to Key Account Management as a result of previous investments in the management team.

It is pleasing to report that our business in Japan provided a significant contribution to new business conversions during the year; a turnaround in this key market. A wider spread of key accounts within the Asian region is being sought to ensure less dependency on any one customer/sector in the future.

The newly converted business pipeline remains healthy, with projects won but not yet in full production (or not at full production rate) at just over GBP4.6 million. This business is expected to flow through over the next three to four years. In addition, the future business pipeline of projects nearing conversion remains very healthy.

Growth in the second half of the year saw ongoing investment in capacity to meet the needs of customers. Installations of two further injection moulding cells represented an uplift in capacity of 5%. In addition, as part of the overall operational excellence strategy, a "Lean Manufacturing" initiative was introduced with a formal continuous improvement process and the roll out of various Lean tools. It is expected that the combination of investment in capacity and minimisation of waste should support the anticipated growth in the coming year without further major capital investment.

Previous investment in a "catalogue range" of standard bearings has proven valuable. Whilst sales through third-party distribution remain slower than originally planned, the presentation of this standard range within existing Key Accounts is gaining traction. Several customers had these standard bearings in their test cycles at the end of the financial year; a key target for the coming year is to convert these opportunities into ongoing supply.

Further progress was also made on our Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Bradford University. Improvements in product capability have been proven within our state of the art test facilities and the final quarter of the year saw the first presentations of this capability to several key accounts. These investments in R&D will enable new products to be introduced to work at significantly higher temperatures, loads and speeds, widening the envelope of addressable applications. This progress has re-emphasised BNL's technical expertise in this niche market, ensuring that we continue to be recognised as the global technology leader for bespoke polymer bearing solutions.

C&T International ("C&T"), the world's largest manufacturer of creasing matrix, increased turnover 11.4% chiefly through full year contributions from acquisitions made in the prior year. Thanks to investments made in recent years, we have manufacturing operations in UK and China, and sales and distribution businesses in the UK, USA, Italy, India and China. We also have an enviable network of distributors with whom we have long term relationships and who operate in over 80 countries throughout the world.

In the UK, we have continued to build market share through our direct technical sales approach and by gradually broadening the range of die supply products to both box convertors and die makers. We strengthened our UK sales team during the year, leading to further sales growth, particularly in the North of England, Scotland and Ireland.

In China, our move from Beijing to a new factory in Tianjin has, after some initial teething problems, reached the quality and service standards needed, and has allowed us to achieve significant cost savings thanks to the new factory layout and more efficient use of labour. At the beginning of FY2019 we established a new joint venture with a highly regarded local partner to strengthen our sales and distribution effort in the Shanghai region and we anticipate volume growth within this territory throughout the year.

In the US and Italy, we have increased our shareholding in CCM and Mito respectively and have spent much time with the local management teams to improve the sales and profitability of these companies. A key strategy has been the centralisation of all manufacturing to our UK facility to allow CCM and Mito to focus on sales development. A significant improvement has been made to the financial performance of these companies in H2 and we anticipate continued progress in FY2019.

Product innovation is a key element of C&T International's growth plans and we launched the new Speedpin and Kingpin products to considerable acclaim in our industry during FY2018. Both these products bring important production cost savings to the box convertor by reducing machine downtime and improving throughput. Initially launched in the UK, we will also be launching these new products in Europe and overseas in Q1 of FY2019.

C&T's future growth will come from continual improvement of its technical sales service, further broadening of its product range and forward integration in key territories through acquisition or joint ventures.

Films Division

Flexipol Group ("Flexipol") has had a record year with revenue up 26.4% as the business took full advantage of industry capacity constraints created by the demise of a significant competitor in August 2017. Thirteen new key accounts, that is customers with annual sales of more than GBP0.1 million per annum, were converted during the year, which is also a record.

New capacity, which was installed during the early part of FY2018, enabled Flexipol to react quickly to this situation winning considerable amounts of new business which has been converted to strong, long term trading relationships with selected new customers. The level of revenue growth mentioned above which mainly occurred in just eight months of the year put very heavy demands on the operational side of the business. A total of 26 new staff were recruited during the year, all of who needed training and development to work to our operating standards.

Toward the latter part of the financial year, it became necessary to work closely with Palagan to ensure that overall demand for both businesses could be met from the two factories to the extent considered optimal. Harmonisation of operating and logistics standards has been necessary, and there will be an increasing need for this moving forward. By combining the strengths of the two businesses under one management structure, it is expected that the businesses will learn for one another and improve substantially.

Sales activities have been extended into Australia and New Zealand, a process which started by following one of our key accounts with operations in that region. Flexipol have been successful in converting several major blue-chip food companies in this region who have been interested in gradually moving away from paper sack packaging to speciality polythene sack alternatives.

Towards the end of the financial year, we invested in a high quality eight colour printing press enabling Flexipol to move into market sectors which it was previously unable to supply. Going forward, further investment in extrusion and conversion capacity will ensure that this growth opportunity can be maximised.

Synpac has also had a very strong year with top line sales increasing by 19.6%, mainly due to the enthusiasm and commitment of the dedicated sales team. The strong Euro has been detrimental to Synpac's margins as its products are made from barrier films generally bought in from European suppliers. Nevertheless, Synpac has contributed well with profitability in line with expectations. Going forward, new product development work utilising Flexipol's barrier film capability will help Synpac to differentiate its product range as well as grow and increase gross profit margins.

Palagan Limited ("Palagan") recovered well from a decline in sales in FY2017; both volume and revenue were up by 15% and 18% respectively. Some of this increase was due to work transfer from Flexipol in the wake of Flexipol's surge in volume during H2 FY2018. However, on its own account Palagan also did well to build sales with new business wins and new products contributing approximately GBP0.8 million of sales. An internal sales team was introduced last year to handle much of the day-to-day account management and this has enabled the external sales team to increase its focus on winning new customers.

The workforce and operational management team has been transformed during the year following the senior management changes made in the prior year. The factory is making improvements in all areas - people, equipment and systems. Productivity has increased by 20%, scrap has reduced, and quality has been maintained at high standards. The business is now being positioned to manufacture higher value-added products, which are gradually being introduced.

Palagan's growth is being supported by a GBP1m investment in five new bespoke bag making machines which will improve output further and enable the manufacture of higher value-added products and very high strength products. The first two of these machines have already been largely installed, with the other three due to be installed in H2 FY2019.

Palagan is the centre of the Group's drive to increase internal recycling; equipment has recently been installed there from Flexipol to carry this out for the Films Division. 9% of what the Group produces is scrap and the majority of this created in the Films Division and has in the past gone to recyclers. This will change over the next two years as the Group's target is to reach 50% internal recycling this year and the following year (i.e. FY2020) to reach 80%. It is a key part of the programme that the Group is developing to reduce waste and improve recycling.

Financial Review

 
                                           2018    2017  Change 
                                         GBP000  GBP000       % 
 
Revenue                                  76,726  65,785   16.6% 
--------------------------------------  -------  ------  ------ 
Gross profit                             24,088  21,129   14.0% 
--------------------------------------  -------  ------  ------ 
Operating profit                          3,369   3,303    2.0% 
--------------------------------------  -------  ------  ------ 
 
Add back: Depreciation                    2,119   1,720 
Add back: Amortisation                    1,118     805 
Add back: LTIP charge                        94     165 
Add back: Exceptional administrative 
 costs                                    1,452     907 
Less: Foreign exchange non-cash 
 realised gain                          (1,120)       - 
 
Adjusted EBITDA                           7,032   6,900    1.9% 
--------------------------------------  -------  ------  ------ 
 
Profit before tax                         2,762     766 
 
Add back: Amortisation of intangible 
 assets                                   1,118     805 
Add back: Amortisation and write 
 off of capitalised deal fees                89     568 
Add back: LTIP charge                        94     165 
Add back: Exceptional costs               1,452     907 
Add back: Unrealised foreign 
 exchange & derivative (gain)/loss        (263)   1,244 
Less: Foreign exchange non-cash 
 realised gain                          (1,120)       - 
Add back: Non-Controlling interests 
 charge / (credit)                          353   (107) 
Less: Non-controlling interest's 
 exceptional charge                       (300) 
 
Adjusted Profit before tax*               4,185   4,348   -3.7% 
--------------------------------------  -------  ------  ------ 
 
Current year tax charge+                  (525)   (227) 
 
Adjusted Profit after tax*                3,660   4,121  -11.2% 
--------------------------------------  -------  ------  ------ 
Basic adjusted EPS*+                       9.5p   11.5p  -17.4% 
--------------------------------------  -------  ------  ------ 
Basic EPS                                  5.7p    1.5p  280.0% 
--------------------------------------  -------  ------  ------ 
Capital expenditure                       3,705   3,499   -5,9% 
--------------------------------------  -------  ------  ------ 
Net debt                                 15,125  16,322    7.3% 
--------------------------------------  -------  ------  ------ 
 

* excluding amortisation of intangibles and deal fees, exceptional costs, unrealised foreign exchange translation derivative gains and losses and share-based incentive scheme charges and non-controlling interests

+ applying an underlying tax charge of 13% (2017: underlying tax charge of 6.5%) and based on weighted average shares in issue in the year. The underlying tax charge for 2018 excludes deferred tax, overseas tax and any prior year adjustments which management believe is a truer representation of the tax attributable to the 2018 Adjusted profit.

Revenue

Revenue for the year was GBP76.7 million which was an increase of 16.6% from GBP65.8 million in 2017. On a like-for-like basis (i.e. adjusting for the Synpac, CCM and Mito acquisitions and at constant exchange rates i.e. applying the same foreign exchange rates to both years), revenue increased by approximately 13%.

 
 Alternative Performance Measure: Organic Revenue    GBP000      Change 
  Growth reconciliation                                        on Prior 
                                                                   year 
                                                                      % 
 Actual Revenue 2017                                 65,785 
                                                    -------  ---------- 
 Synpac acquisition (acquired July 2016)              1,211 
                                                    -------  ---------- 
 CCM acquisition (acquired May 2016)                    356 
                                                    -------  ---------- 
 Mito acquisition (acquired December 2016)              670 
                                                    -------  ---------- 
 Proforma Revenue 2017                               68,022        3.4% 
                                                    -------  ---------- 
 Foreign Exchange impact                                152 
                                                    -------  ---------- 
 Proforma and Constant Foreign Exchange Revenue 
  2017                                               68,174        0.2% 
                                                    -------  ---------- 
 Organic revenue                                      8,552 
                                                    -------  ---------- 
 Actual Revenue 2018                                 76,726       13.0% 
                                                    -------  ---------- 
 

Gross profit

Gross profit was GBP24.1 million (margin: 31.4%) in 2018 against GBP21.1 million (margin: 32.1%) in 2017. After adjusting for the foreign exchange non-cash realised gain of GBP1.1 million, the gross profit margin decreased primarily due to the impact of business mix as a higher proportion of sales related to the Films Division and the investments in CCM and Mito, which are lower margin businesses.

Exceptional costs

Exceptional costs incurred and included in administrative expenses in the year predominantly relate to:

   --     redundancy and restructuring costs associated with the Palagan production team; 

-- professional and legal costs associated with the acquisitions of Channel Creasing Matrix ("CCM") and Mito;

   --     business-wide restructuring of production operations within the Industrial Divisions; and 

-- an exercise undertaken in 2017-18 to assess the fair value of assets and liabilities on the opening balance sheet of CCM, following Plastics Capital initial 10% investment as at May'16. This highlighted certain adjustments to the value of property, plant & equipment, inventory and liabilities recorded at the date of acquisition. The impact has been recorded as an exceptional charge of GBP0.6 million in the 2018 consolidated income statement.

It is anticipated that this adjustment to CCM's net assets, as recorded at the date of acquisition, will be taken into account in the agreement of the final purchase price to be paid for the remaining 49% in CCM in 2021.

Profitability

EBITDA before LTIP charge, exceptional costs and non-cash realised gains was GBP7.0 million which is 1.9% higher than in 2017.

Profit before taxation of GBP2.8 million compares with the prior year equivalent of GBP0.8 million, which is an increase of 261%.

Adjusted profit before taxation (excluding amortisation of intangibles and deal fees, exceptional costs, unrealised foreign exchange translation derivative losses and share-based incentive scheme charges) of GBP4.2 million compares with the prior year equivalent of GBP4.3 million, which is a decrease of 3.7%.

Taxation

The Group's tax charge for the year was GBP0.9 million which compares with a tax charge of GBP0.2 million in 2017.

Earnings per share

Basic earnings per share were 5.7p compared to 1.5p in 2017.

Capital expenditure

Capital expenditure was GBP3.7 million in 2018 which compares with GBP3.5 million in 2017. As in the previous year, significant investment has been made to increase capacity and capabilities across the Group for future growth. Specific capital expenditure in the year included:

-- additional capacity in the Films division through upgrades of existing extrusion lines, a new conversion line and print press;

-- adding new extrusion lines at Bell Plastics to meet increased demands from existing and new customers; and

-- adding new injection moulding machines for a new bearings project and further investment in tooling.

Cash flow

In the year, cash generated from operations amounted to GBP4.5 million (2017: GBP6.2 million). There was a decrease in cash and cash equivalents of GBP0.5 million in the year (2017: increase of GBP0.2 million).

Equity

On 31st May 2017, the Company undertook a share placing to raise approximately GBP3.74 million, before expenses, by way of issuing 3,194,445 new ordinary shares at GBP1.17 per share.

The net proceeds of the placing (approximately GBP3.54 million), were applied towards the increase of the Company's stake in the CCM and to invest in further growth capital expenditure to increase capacity to satisfy increasing demand for the Group's products and thereby accelerate organic growth.

On 3rd October 2017, Andrew Walker, Non-Executive Director, exercised options over 50,000 ordinary shares of 1p each in the Company at an exercise price of GBP1.00 per new Ordinary Share pursuant to the Options Agreement dated 27 November 2007. Following Admission on 9 October 2017, the total number of shares in the Company was 38,995,151.

Net debt

Net debt at the year-end was GBP15.1 million (2017: GBP16.3 million), a decrease during the year of GBP1.2 million as debt. As at 31 March 2018 net debt leverage was approximately 2.1x based on the current EBITDA of the Group.

 
                                                                  2018      2017 
   Alternative Performance Measure: Net debt reconciliation     GBP000    GBP000 
 Cash and cash equivalents                                     (4,854)   (4,914) 
                                                              --------  -------- 
 Current Liabilities: Interest bearing loans 
  and borrowings                                                 7,206     6,199 
                                                              --------  -------- 
 Non-current Liabilities: Interest bearing loans 
  and borrowings                                                12,771    15,037 
                                                              --------  -------- 
 Net Debt                                                       15,123    16,322 
                                                              --------  -------- 
 

Consolidated Income Statement

for year ended 31 March 2018

 
                     Note                              2018          2018          2018       2018          2017          2017          2017       2017 
                                                                                                          Before 
                                                     Before                                              foreign 
                                                    foreign                                             exchange 
                                                   exchange       Foreign                                 impact 
                                                     impact      exchange                                     on       Foreign 
                                             on derivatives        impact                            derivatives      exchange 
                                                        and            on                              and loans        impact 
                                                      loans   derivatives                                      &            on 
                                              & exceptional           and   Exceptional              exceptional   derivatives   Exceptional 
                                                      items         loans         items      Total         items     and loans         items      Total 
                                                     GBP000        GBP000        GBP000     GBP000        GBP000        GBP000        GBP000     GBP000 
 
 Revenue                                             76,726             -             -     76,726        65,785             -             -     65,785 
 
 Cost of 
  sales               3                            (53,146)           508             -   (52,638)      (43,703)         (953)             -   (44,656) 
 
 Gross profit                                        23,580           508             -     24,088        22,082         (953)             -     21,129 
 
 Distribution 
  expenses                                          (3,542)             -             -    (3,542)       (3,100)             -             -    (3,100) 
 
 Administration 
  expenses            3                            (15,727)             -       (1,452)   (17,179)      (13,852)             -         (907)   (14,759) 
 
   Other income                                           2             -             -          2            33             -             -         33 
 
 Operating 
  profit                                              4,313           508       (1,452)      3,369         5,163         (953)         (907)      3,303 
                      4 
 Finance               / 
  credit/(expense)     5                              (870)           263             -      (607)       (1,293)       (1,244)             -    (2,537) 
 
 Net financing 
  costs                                               (870)           263             -      (607)       (1,293)       (1,244)             -    (2,537) 
 
 
 Profit/(loss) 
  before 
  tax                                                 3,443           771       (1,452)      2,762         3,870       (2,197)         (907)        766 
 
 Tax charge                                           (945)             -             -      (945)         (227)             -             -      (227) 
 
 Profit 
  for the 
  year                                                2,498           771       (1,452)      1,817         3,643       (2,197)         (907)        539 
 
 
 Attributable 
  to: 
 Equity 
  holders 
  of the 
  Parent                                              2,551           771       (1,152)      2,170         3,536       (2,197)         (907)        432 
 Non-controlling 
  interest                                             (53)             -         (300)      (353)           107             -             -        107 
                           --------------------------------  ------------  ------------  ---------  ------------  ------------  ------------  --------- 
 Profit 
  for the 
  year                                                2,498           771       (1,452)      1,817         3,643       (2,197)         (907)        539 
 
 Basic earnings 
  per share 
  attributable 
  to equity 
  shareholders 
  of the 
  Company             8                                                                       5.7p                                                 1.5p 
 
 Diluted 
  earnings 
  per share 
  attributable 
  to equity 
  shareholders 
  of the 
  Company             8                                                                       5.6p                                                 1.5p 
 

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

for year ended 31 March 2018

 
                                                            2018           2017 
                                                          GBP000         GBP000 
 
Profit for the year                                        1,817            539 
 
Other comprehensive income 
 Items that may be reclassified subsequently 
 to profit or loss: 
 
Foreign currency translation differences 
 for foreign currency operations                           (267)            607 
 
Total comprehensive income                                 1,550          1,146 
 
Total recognised income and expense 
 for the year is attributable to: 
   Equity holders of the parent                            1,903          1,039 
   Non-controlling interest                                (353)            107 
 
 
 

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Shareholders' Equity

for year ended 31 March 2018

 
                          Share      Share   Translation        Reverse    Retained     Total           Non-     Total 
                        Capital    Premium       Reserve    Acquisition    earnings    parent    Controlling    equity 
                         GBP000     GBP000        GBP000        Reserve      GBP000    equity       interest    GBP000 
                                                                 GBP000                GBP000         GBP000 
 Balance at 31 March 
  2016                      353     20,951           639          2,640       1,740    26,323              -    26,323 
                      ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------  ----------  --------  -------------  -------- 
 Total recognised 
  income 
  and expense for 
  the year                    -          -           607              -         539     1,146          (107)     1,039 
                      ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------  ----------  --------  -------------  -------- 
 Elimination of 
  non-controlling 
  interest                    -          -             -              -           -         -          (182)     (182) 
                      ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------  ----------  --------  -------------  -------- 
 Issue of share 
  capital                     4        445             -              -       (449)         -              -         - 
                      ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------  ----------  --------  -------------  -------- 
 Dividends paid               -          -             -              -     (1,110)   (1,110)              -   (1,110) 
                      ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------  ----------  --------  -------------  -------- 
 LTIP charge                  -          -             -              -         165       165              -       165 
                      ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------  ----------  --------  -------------  -------- 
 Settlement of LTIP 
  2011                        -          -             -              -       (394)     (394)              -     (394) 
                      ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------  ----------  --------  -------------  -------- 
 Balance at 31 March 
  2017                      357     21,396         1,246          2,640         491    26,130          (289)    25,841 
                      ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------  ----------  --------  -------------  -------- 
 
                          Share      Share   Translation        Reverse    Retained     Total           Non-     Total 
                        Capital    Premium       Reserve    Acquisition    earnings    parent    Controlling    equity 
                         GBP000     GBP000        GBP000        Reserve      GBP000    equity       interest    GBP000 
                                                                 GBP000                GBP000         GBP000 
                      ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------  ----------  --------  -------------  -------- 
 Balance at 31 March 
  2017                      357     21,396         1,246          2,640         491    26,130          (289)    25,841 
                      ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------  ----------  --------  -------------  -------- 
 Total recognised 
  income 
  and expense for 
  the year                    -          -         (267)              -       2,170     1,903          (353)     1,550 
                      ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------  ----------  --------  -------------  -------- 
 Transactions with 
  non-controlling 
  interest                    -          -             -              -       (584)     (584)            643        59 
                      ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------  ----------  --------  -------------  -------- 
 Issue of share 
  capital                    32      3,564             -              -           -     3,596              -     3,596 
                      ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------  ----------  --------  -------------  -------- 
 LTIP charge                  -          -             -              -          94        94              -        94 
                      ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------  ----------  --------  -------------  -------- 
 Balance at 31 March 
  2018                      389     24,960           979          2,640       2,171    31,139              1    31,140 
                      ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------  ----------  --------  -------------  -------- 
 

Transactions with non-controlling interests

-- The GBP584,000 parent equity transactions comprise the purchase of additional equity interest in CCM from the NCI upon exercise of a call option of GBP897,000 (see note 32) less the associated reduction in NCI share of CCM from 90% to 49% of GBP313,000.

   --      The GBP643,000 transactions with NCI include: 

-- an adjustment to the NCI share of intangible assets (GBP1,141,000 - see note 7) and associated deferred tax (GBP178,000) which was in relation to a prior year acquisition (net GBP956,000).

   --     net of the associated reduction in NCI share of GBP313,000 noted above. 

Consolidated Balance Sheet

at 31 March 2018

 
 
                                         Note    2018    2017 
                                               GBP000  GBP000 
Non-current assets 
   Property, plant and equipment               12,444  11,057 
   Intangible assets                        6  26,989  26,376 
 
                                               39,433  37,433 
 
Current assets 
   Inventories                                  8,656   6,657 
   Trade and other receivables                 16,979  15,482 
   Other financial assets                         421       - 
   Cash and cash equivalents                    4,854   4,914 
 
                                               30,910  27,053 
 
Total assets                                   70,343  64,486 
 
Current liabilities 
   Interest-bearing loans and 
    borrowings                                  7,206   6,199 
   Trade and other payables                    16,949  14,502 
   Corporation tax liability                      922     448 
 
                                               25,077  21,149 
 
Non-current liabilities 
   Interest-bearing loans and 
    borrowings                                 12,771  15,037 
   Other financial liabilities                      -   1,277 
   Deferred tax liabilities                     1,355   1,182 
 
                                               14,126  17,496 
 
Total liabilities                              39,203  38,645 
 
Net assets                                     31,140  25,841 
 
Equity attributable to equity 
 holders of the parent 
   Share capital                            7     389     357 
   Share premium                               24,960  21,396 
   Translation reserve                            979   1,246 
   Reverse acquisition reserve                  2,640   2,640 
   Retained earnings                            2,171     491 
 
Total parent equity                            31,139  26,130 
Non-controlling interest                            1   (289) 
 
Total equity                                   31,140  25,841 
 
 
 

Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

for year ended 31 March 2018

 
 
                                               2018     2017 
                                             GBP000   GBP000 
 
Profit after tax for the year                 1,817      539 
   Adjustments for: 
   Income tax charge/(credit)                   945      227 
   Depreciation and amortisation              3,237    2,525 
   Financial expense                            607    2,537 
   Foreign exchange non-cash realised 
    gain                                    (1,120)        - 
   Loss/(gain) on disposal of plant, 
    property and equipment                      125     (18) 
   LTIP charge                                   94      165 
 
   Changes in working capital 
   (Increase) in trade and other 
    receivables                             (1,497)  (2,020) 
   (Increase) in inventories                (1,998)    (796) 
   Increase in trade and other payables       2,284    3,080 
 
Cash generated from operations                4,494    6,239 
   Interest paid                              (780)    (725) 
   Income tax paid                            (566)    (474) 
 
Net cash inflow from operating 
 activities                                   3,148    5,040 
 
Cash flows from investing activities 
   Acquisition of subsidiary and 
    fees (net of cash acquired)             (1,207)  (4,095) 
   Acquisition of property, plant 
    and equipment                           (3,705)  (3,499) 
   Development expenditure capitalised        (496)    (539) 
   Proceeds from disposal of property, 
    plant and equipment                           -       26 
   Dividend received                              2       15 
 
Net cash (outflow) from investing 
 activities                                 (5,406)  (8,092) 
 
Cash flows from financing activities 
   Net proceeds from new loan                   572    5,512 
   Issue of share capital                     3,546        - 
   Repayment of borrowings and fees         (2,393)  (1,131) 
   Dividends paid                                 -  (1,110) 
 
Net cash inflow from financing 
 activities                                   1,725    3,271 
 
(Decrease)/increase in net cash 
 and overdraft                                (533)      219 
   Net cash at 1 April                        4,914    5,488 
   Overdraft at 1 April                     (4,511)  (5,304) 
 
Net cash and overdraft at 31 March            (130)      403 
 
 

Notes

   1          Financial information 

The financial information set out above does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 March 2018 or 2017. Statutory accounts for 2017 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies, and those for 2018 will be delivered in due course. The auditor has reported on those accounts; their reports were (i) unqualified, (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditors drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report and (iii) did not contain a statement under section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006 in respect of the accounts for 2018.

Going concern

The Financial Reporting Council issued "Guidance on the Going Concern Basis of Accounting and Reporting on Solvency and Liquidity Risks - Guidance for directors of companies that do not apply The UK Corporate Code" in April 2016 and the Directors have considered this when preparing the financial statements. These have been prepared on a going concern basis and the Directors have taken steps to ensure that they believe the going concern basis of preparation remains appropriate. The Group has banking arrangements with Barclays until June 2021 which include an overdraft facility, revolving credit facility, senior loans and asset finance. These facilities together with the strong cash generation of the business are felt adequate to provide the Group with the necessary headroom.

The Directors have considered the position of the trading companies in the Group to ensure that these companies are in a position to meet their obligations as they fall due.

There are not believed to be any contingent liabilities which could result in a significant impact on the business if they were to crystallise.

Accounting estimates and judgements

The Company makes estimates and assumptions regarding the future. Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. In the future, actual experience may differ from these estimates and assumptions. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities or to the financial statements in general within the next financial year are discussed below:

Intangible assets

Intangible assets are recognised on business combinations if they are separable from the acquired entity or give rise to other contractual/legal rights. The amounts ascribed to such intangible assets are arrived at by using appropriate valuation techniques.

Acquired intangible assets recognised by the Group have a finite useful life and are carried at cost, less accumulated amortisation and impairment losses. Their useful economic lives and the methods used to determine the cost of intangible assets acquired in a business combination are as follows:

Intangible asset Useful economic life Valuation method

Trademarks and brands 5 - 20 years Relief from royalty

Intellectual property rights 7 years Replacement cost

Distributor and customer relationships 7 - 15 years Excess earnings

Technology 5 - 7 years Relief from royalty

Goodwill

The Group is required to test, on an annual basis, whether goodwill has suffered any impairment. Goodwill is assigned by the Company to its cash-generating units, the allocation of which is a judgement based on the knowledge of the business. The recoverable amount is determined based on value in use calculations. The use of this method requires the estimation of future cash flows, growth rates and the choice of a discount rate based on knowledge of the cost of capital in order to calculate the present value of the cash flows. Actual outcomes may vary.

Notes (continued)

Inventory

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

In determining the cost of raw materials, consumables and goods purchased for resale, the weighted average purchase price is used. For work in progress and finished goods, cost is taken as production cost, which includes an appropriate proportion of attributable overheads.

Exceptional costs, foreign exchange costs and presentation of the financial statements

The Group is required to make judgements in determining its policy for the disclosure and presentation of exceptional costs and foreign exchange costs. These judgements are made in order to facilitate the understanding of the performance of the Group.

   2          Accounting policies 

Plastics Capital plc (the "Company") is a public company incorporated in England and Wales, with subsidiary undertakings in the UK, Italy, Japan, Thailand, India, China and the United States of America.

The Group financial statements consolidate those of the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the "Group"). The Group financial statements have been prepared and approved by the directors in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the EU ("Adopted IFRSs"). The accounting policies have been applied consistently to all periods presented in these Group financial statements.

   3              Exceptional items 
 
Administrative expenses 
                                   2018    2017 
                                 GBP000  GBP000 
 
Redundancy and restructuring 
 costs (i)                          192      79 
Professional and legal costs 
 (ii)                               278     314 
Factory relocations and 
 set-ups (iii)                      362     395 
Restatement of CCM's opening 
 balance sheet (iv)                 620 
Other                                 -     119 
 
                                  1,452     907 
 
 

Exceptional costs incurred and included in administrative expenses in the year relate to:

(i) redundancy and restructuring costs associated with the Palagan production team (and in the prior year costs in other subsidiaries);

(ii) professional and legal costs associated with the acquisitions of CCM and Mito (and CCM, Mito and Synpac in the prior year);

(iii) business wide restructuring within the Industrial Divisions (and relocation of two Chinese factories in the prior year); and

(iv) an exercise was undertaken in 2017-18 to assess the fair value of assets and liabilities on the opening balance sheet of CCM, following Plastics Capital initial 10% investment in May 2016. This highlighted certain adjustments to the value of property, plant & equipment, inventory and liabilities recorded at the date of acquisition. The impact has been recorded as an exceptional charge of GBP0.6 million in the 2018 consolidated income statement - if this exercise had occurred within 12 months then the opening balance sheet would have been restated.

It is anticipated that this adjustment to CCM's net assets, as recorded at the date of acquisition, will be taken into account in the agreement of the final purchase price to be paid for the remaining 49% in CCM in 2021.

Notes (continued)

   4              Finance expense / (credit) (excluding foreign exchange) 
 
                                              2018           2017 
                                            GBP000         GBP000 
 
Bank interest                                  789              725 
Interest received                              (8)                - 
Write off of bank arrangement fees               -              208 
Amortisation of bank arrangement fees           89              360 
 
Financial expenses                             870            1,293 
 
 
 
   5              Finance (credit) / expense included within foreign exchange costs 
 
                                                 2018    2017 
                                               GBP000  GBP000 
 
Net foreign exchange loss                         315     382 
Unrealised (gains) / losses on derivatives 
used to manage foreign exchange risk            (578)     862 
 
                                                (263)   1,244 
 
 
   6              Intangibles 
 
                        Goodwill   Technology   Intellectual      Distributor    Trademarks   Development     Total 
                          GBP000       GBP000       Property       & customer    and brands         Costs    GBP000 
                                                      Rights    Relationships        GBP000        GBP000 
                                                      GBP000           GBP000 
 Cost 
                       ---------  -----------  -------------  ---------------  ------------  ------------  -------- 
 Balance at 31 March 
  2016                    18,458        3,146          1,175            8,691         2,007         1,423    34,900 
                       ---------  -----------  -------------  ---------------  ------------  ------------  -------- 
 Acquisitions              1,739            -              -            1,670           437             -     3,846 
                       ---------  -----------  -------------  ---------------  ------------  ------------  -------- 
 Additions                     -            -              -                -             -           539       539 
                       ---------  -----------  -------------  ---------------  ------------  ------------  -------- 
 
 Balance at 31 March 
  2017                    20,197        3,146          1,175           10,361         2,444         1,962    39,285 
                       ---------  -----------  -------------  ---------------  ------------  ------------  -------- 
 Additions                     -            -             94              982           159           496     1,731 
                       ---------  -----------  -------------  ---------------  ------------  ------------  -------- 
 
 Balance at 31 March 
  2018                    20,197        3,146          1,269           11,343         2,603         2,458    41,016 
                       ---------  -----------  -------------  ---------------  ------------  ------------  -------- 
 
 Amortisation & 
  impairment 
                       ---------  -----------  -------------  ---------------  ------------  ------------  -------- 
 Balance at 31 March 
  2016                       313        2,848          1,175            5,336         1,807           625    12,104 
                       ---------  -----------  -------------  ---------------  ------------  ------------  -------- 
 Amortisation for 
  the year                     -           52              -              427            93           233       805 
                       ---------  -----------  -------------  ---------------  ------------  ------------  -------- 
 
 Balance at 31 March 
  2017                       313        2,900          1,175            5,763         1,900           858    12,909 
                       ---------  -----------  -------------  ---------------  ------------  ------------  -------- 
 Amortisation for 
  the year                     -           52              3              612           137           314     1,118 
                       ---------  -----------  -------------  ---------------  ------------  ------------  -------- 
 
 Balance at 31 March 
  2018                       313        2,952          1,178            6,375         2,037         1,172    14,027 
                       ---------  -----------  -------------  ---------------  ------------  ------------  -------- 
 
 At 31 March 2018         19,884          194             91            4,968           566         1,286    26,989 
                       ---------  -----------  -------------  ---------------  ------------  ------------  -------- 
 At 31 March 2017         19,884          246              -            4,598           544         1,104    26,376 
                       ---------  -----------  -------------  ---------------  ------------  ------------  -------- 
 

Additions to distributor and customer relationships of GBP982,000 and trademarks and brands of GBP159,000 relate to an adjustment in respect of a prior year acquisition. Additions to distributor and customer relationships of GBP982,000 and trademarks and brands of GBP159,000 relate to an adjustment in respect of a prior year acquisition. The additions to intangible assets in the prior year accounted for the Group's ownership percentage of intangibles rather than 100% of the fair value of the intangible asset. This adjustment increases the value of intangible assets with a corresponding credit entry to NCI. This adjustment has been treated as a current year item, on the basis that the net adjustment to intangible assets and NCI is has no overall material impact on the prior year reported numbers.

Notes (continued)

                 Discount               Discount 
                                                                                                                                                   factor     2018       factor      2017 

Goodwill is allocated to the following cash generating units ("CGU"): % GBP000 % GBP000

Bell Plastics 10.3 4,529 10.3 4,529

BNL Group 10.5 1,178 10.5 1,178

C&T International 11.3 9,042 11.3 9,042

Palagan 11.6 3,563 11.6 3,563

Flexipol Group 11.6 1,572 11.6 1,572

                                                                                                                                                                19,884                   19,884 

Management have performed impairment reviews on the carrying value of goodwill as at 31 March 2018. For the purpose of impairment testing goodwill is allocated to each CGU which represent the lowest level within the Group at which goodwill is monitored for internal management purposes. The carrying amounts of goodwill for each CGU are as above. Value in use was determined by discounting the future cash flows generated from the continuing use of the unit.

The calculation of the value in use was based on the following key assumptions:

-- Cash flow projections covering a four-year period to 31 March 2022 - the projections are based on the budget for 2019. This has been prepared using a bottom-up approach for each subsidiary with sales and gross margins determined on a product by product basis. Sales growth rate assumptions, based on sensitised historic growth rates, have been applied to all CGUs as follows:

o Bell Plastics - 5%

o BNL Group - 4%

o C&T International - 4%

o Palagan - 5%

o Flexipol Group - 6%

o After the fourth year then a sales growth rate of 3% has been applied in perpetuity.

   --      The above discount factors have been applied in determining the recoverable amounts. 

-- Management have performed a sensitivity analysis and, in most CGUs, a reasonable possible change in key assumptions would not lead to an impairment. The following changes to discount rates would lead to an impairment:

o Bell Plastics - 15.4%

o BNL Group - 14.2%

o C&T International - 12.0%

o Palagan - 14.0%

o Flexipol Group - 22%

Sales growth would have to reduce below zero in all CGUs to cause an impairment other than in C&T International where sales growth of <2.5% would lead to an impairment.

   7              Capital and reserves 

Share capital

 
                                                                               Ordinary shares of 1p each 
In thousands of shares                                          2018                                     2017 
 
In issue at 1 April                                           35,751                                   35,345 
Shares issued during the 
 year                                                          3,244                                      406 
 
In issue at 31 March - 
 fully paid                                                   38,995                                   35,751 
 
 

Notes (continued)

 
                                            2018    2017 
                                          GBP000  GBP000 
 
Allotted, called up and fully paid 
38,995,151 (2017: 35,750,706) ordinary 
 shares of 1p each                           389     357 
 
                                             389     357 
 
 

On 26 May 2017, the Company undertook a Placing to raise GBP3.74 million, before expenses, by way of a Placing of 3,194,445 new Ordinary Shares at GBP1.17 per Placing Share. Following Admission of the Placing Shares on 31 May 2017, the total number of shares in the Company was 38,945,151.

On 3 October 2017, Andrew Walker, Non-Executive Director, exercised options over 50,000 ordinary shares of 1p each in the Company at an exercise price of GBP1.00 per new Ordinary Share pursuant to the Options Agreement dated 27 November 2007. Following Admission on 9 October 2017, the total number of shares in the Company was 38,995,151.

The following describes the nature and purpose of each reserve within owners' equity:

 
 Reserve               Description and purpose 
 Share premium         Amount subscribed for share capital in excess 
                        of nominal value 
 Retained earnings     Cumulative net gains and losses recognised in 
                        the consolidated income statement 
 Translation reserve   The translation reserve comprises all foreign 
                        exchange differences arising from the translation 
                        of the financial statements of foreign operations 
 Reverse acquisition   Arises on the reverse acquisition accounting 
  reserve               applied to the share for share exchange of Plastics 
                        Capital Trading Limited by the Company 
 
 
   8              Earnings per share 
 
                                                   2018         2017 
                                                 GBP000       GBP000 
Numerator 
Earnings used in basic and diluted 
 EPS 
 
Profit for the year attributable 
 to the equity holders of the parent              2,170          539 
Adjusted Earnings used in adjusted 
 EPS (see Financial Review)                       3,660        4,121 
 
Earnings used in adjusted EPS have been based on the adjusted 
 profit before tax as detailed in the Financial Review section 
 on page 13. To this has been applied the actual corporation 
 tax charge to calculate the adjusted profit after tax. 
 
Denominator 
Weighted average number of shares 
 used in basic and EPS *                     37,922,211   34,957,994 
Weighted average number of shares 
 used in diluted EPS *+                      39,043,589   36,632,457 
 
 

* - excludes shares held by Plastics Capital (Trustee) Limited for the LTIP. Treasury shares are not counted under IAS33.

+ - includes effects of share option schemes

Notes (continued)

Earnings per share

                                                                                                                                                             2018           2017 
                                                                                                                                                             pence          pence 

Basic 5.7p 1.5p

Diluted 5.6p 1.5p

Adjusted 9.5p 11.5p

   9              Annual General Meeting 

It is intended that the Annual General Meeting ("AGM") will take place at Plastics Capital, Room 1.1, London Heliport, Bridges Court Road, London, SW11 3BE at 2.00pm on Monday 30 July 2018. Notice of the AGM will be sent to shareholders with the financial statements.

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

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