We could not find any results for:
Make sure your spelling is correct or try broadening your search.
Share Name | Share Symbol | Market | Type | Share ISIN | Share Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ultimate Fin. | LSE:UFG | London | Ordinary Share | GB0031685414 | ORD 5P |
Price Change | % Change | Share Price | Bid Price | Offer Price | High Price | Low Price | Open Price | Shares Traded | Last Trade | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.00 | 0.00% | 25.00 | 0.00 | 01:00:00 |
Industry Sector | Turnover | Profit | EPS - Basic | PE Ratio | Market Cap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | 0 | N/A | 0 |
Embargoed until 07:00 13th March 2006 Ultimate Finance Group plc ("the Company" or "Ultimate Finance") Interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2005 Highlights: * Invoices assigned in the 6 month period amounted to a record £55.8m (2004 £ 36.1m) * Turnover for the period up 65% to £1,632,000 (2004: £992,000) * Record Net Profit before tax for the 6 month period ended 31st December 2005 £112,000 (2004 loss of £37,000) * Earnings per share of 0.68p compared to a loss per share of (0.18)p for Dec 2004 * Funds advanced increased by 71% to £12.0 million (2004: £7.0m) * At the period end client numbers had increased to 209 (December 2004: 130) an increase of 61%. * Our impressive new business growth has continued with a further 21 new clients added to the portfolio in January/February with a strong pipeline building * After the first year of profit in 2005, (£21,000 for the full year) the profits continue to grow for the first half of 2005/06. * Costs remain tightly controlled * New finance director, Shane Horsell, an experienced FD who will strengthen the management team. * New northern client service office opened in Manchester, which will support growth plans in the north of England. * The directors are confident of further growth in the last 6 months of the financial year ending 30th June 2006. Brian Sumner, chief executive, commented: "I am delighted with this set of results which represents excellent progress for the group. We have increased our profits significantly, grown our client base aggressively and have recently opened our northern client service office. Our target market offers tremendous growth opportunities for the group which we are well positioned to maximise." Enquiries: Brian Sumner, Chief Executive Ultimate Finance Group plc 07976 406 474 Richard Pepler, Managing Ultimate Finance Group plc 07870 212 180 Director Kris McGuire/Adam Reynolds Hansard Communications 0207 2451100 Chairman's statement Results Results for the 6 month period ended 31 December 2005 show a profit before taxation of £112,000, a significant improvement compared with a loss of £37,000 for the six months to 31 December 2004. Earnings per share of 0.68p for the half year compared with a loss per share of (0.18)p for December 2004. In the same period, turnover was £1,632,000 against £992,000 for the six months to 31 December 2004. Client turnover in the period amounted to £55.8 million (31 December 2004: £36.1 million). The number of retained clients continues to grow, from 130 in December 2004 to 209 at the end of December 2005 an increase of 61%. Aggregate advances across the portfolio at the end of the period reached £12.0 million (31 December 2004: £7.0 million). The cost base continues to be contained with the sole justification for increase being to meet the demands of a growing portfolio and expanding business. Working Capital Facilities The £14 million debt facility from Lloyds TSB has provided the group with the flexibility it promised over the last 18 months and has now been increased to £ 18million. Bigger investments, faster decision making and less onerous administration has been a major contributor to the continued success of Ultimate Finance. Of the total funding facility available to us, £9.7 million (net) has been utilised as at 31 December 2005 (31 December 2004: £5.1 million). People As always, the board recognise the importance of an experienced, well-trained and dedicated workforce. The success of Ultimate Finance is entirely attributable to this committed team. Darren Newman resigned as finance director in December 2005 and on the 10th March 2006 the board announced the appointment of Shane Horsell as his replacement. Shane has 19 years experience in various finance roles, latterly as finance director of Blick UK Ltd the major subsidiary of Blick Plc (the formerly FTSE listed company) and as group finance director for Advent Publishing Systems Ltd. Risk management With high standards of underwriting, experienced client management and credit control staff, risk management continues to be the primary focus for control in the business. Our clients continue to offer an excellent spread of risk in terms of size of investment, industry type and geographical location. The single largest investment at the end of December 2005 was £458,000, which constituted less than 4% of total funds advanced. Outlook These results demonstrate further evidence of the strength of Ultimate's offer in a growing market place. Our commitment to building sustainable shareholder value through investment in all facets of our business is delivering results in accordance with our expectations. Current performance is in line with expectations and the board looks forward to the future with confidence. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Chief Executive, Brian Sumner and all his staff for their efforts and continued commitment to the success of the group. Clive R Garston Chairman Chief Executive's review Introduction The company was formed in 2002 by a highly experienced management team to provide bespoke cash flow funding solutions to the SME market. Our excellent progress since inception in 2002 continues. Our turnover is spread both geographically over the whole of England and Wales and over a wide range of market sectors. The ability of the experienced Ultimate new business team to structure deals quickly that work well for the client and then deliver a high quality personal service with full access to the decision makers is providing significant client wins and proving difficult for our competitors to match. The renewal and increase in the Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance borrowing facilities will enable Ultimate to continue to grow its book in the future. The recent investment in our northern client service operation based at Cheadle near Manchester will significantly assist growth plans in that part of the country. It is pleasing to announce that "Business Moneyfacts" magazine recently short-listed Ultimate in the top six for "Best Factoring and Invoice Discounting Provider". People I fully recognise that our staff are our greatest asset and we have been fortunate to be able to assemble and build on such an excellent group of professionals who are all behind our core strategy. At this point I would like to welcome our new financial director, Shane Horsell, to the business. Shane is an experienced FD who has already made a difference to our company. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking Richard Pepler and the sales team and Jeremy Coombes, and the operations group, along with all our support staff for the excellent contribution and delivery of our top line personal service - one which our major competitors are unable to match, resulting in significant client wins particularly over the last year or so. I would also like to thank Clive Garston and our non-executive board directors whose collective experience and encouragement is extremely valuable to us. We are also greatly appreciative of all our introducers of business who range from specialist brokers to accountants and business consultants. Risk management Risk management alongside the provision of a high quality service continues to form the core element of business management within Ultimate Finance. High standards of selection for recruitment combined with continuous training programs are regarded as a corner stone of best practice. The quality of our staff together with the strength of our underwriting procedures continues to reward us with a stable portfolio across England and Wales. The new state of the art client management software which we introduced in May last year has now settled down nicely and will shortly deliver significant productivity improvements. At 31 December 2005 total debts under management were £22.1 million (31 December 2004: £13.4 million), against which we had advanced a total of £12.0 million (31 December 2004: £7.0 million). Our main target market has risen to businesses with an annual turnover of up to £10 million but ranges from quality, well thought out start ups to long established, mature, medium sized businesses. Our products and the marketplace At the end of last year our product range was supplemented by the addition of our new Debtor Protection Facility. This has proved to be of great interest to both new and existing clients and as at December 2005 the take up was 21 clients. The market for factoring and invoice discounting products is far from saturated with just over 40,000 companies using the products against an estimated potential number in excess of 200,000. The products are more and more accepted as part of the financial scene and we believe the market in them will continue to grow at the expense of the more traditional bank overdraft. Conclusion With a growing market to attack, a determined and highly experienced management team focussed on growth, growing portfolio and profits, along with the strength of resource concentrated on risk management and high levels of service, I am confident that the future of Ultimate Finance is secure. Brian Sumner Chief Executive Independent Review Report by KPMG Audit Plc to Ultimate Finance Group plc Introduction We have been engaged by the company to review the financial information set out in the consolidated profit and loss account, the consolidated balance sheet, the reconciliation of movements in shareholders' funds, the consolidated cash flow statement, the reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net funds, the reconciliation of operating profit to net operating cash flows and the notes to the interim report and we have read the other information contained in the interim report and considered whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the financial information. This report is made solely to the company in accordance with the terms of our engagement. Our review has been undertaken so that we might state to the company those matters we are required to state to it in this report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company for our review work, for this report, or for the conclusions we have reached. Director's responsibilities The interim report, including the financial information contained therein, is the responsibility of, and has been approved by, the directors. The directors are responsible for preparing the interim report in accordance with the AIM Rules, which require that the interim report must be presented and prepared in a form consistent with that, which will be adopted in the company's annual accounts having regard to the accounting standards applicable to such annual accounts. Review work performed We conducted our review having regard to the guidance contained in Bulletin 1999/4: Review of interim financial information issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use in the United Kingdom. A review consists principally of making enquiries of group management and applying analytical procedures to the financial information and underlying financial data and, based thereon, assessing whether the accounting policies and presentation have been consistently applied unless otherwise disclosed. A review is substantially less in scope than an audit performed in accordance with Auditing Standards and therefore provides a lower level of assurance than an audit. Accordingly we do not express an audit opinion on the financial information. Review conclusion On the basis of our review we are not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the financial information as presented for the six months ended 31 December 2005. KPMG Audit Plc Chartered Accountants 1 The Embankment Neville Street Leeds LS1 4DW 10 March 2006 Consolidated profit and loss account Half year to Half year to Year to 31 Dec 05 31 Dec 04 30 Jun 05 £'000 £'000 £'000 Turnover 1,632 992 2,310 Administrative expenses (1,247) (883) (1,948) Operating profit 385 109 362 Other interest receivable and similar 3 3 5 income Interest payable and similar charges (276) (149) (346) Profit/(loss) before taxation 112 (37) 21 Tax on profit on ordinary activities 24 0 71 Profit/(loss) after taxation 136 (37) 92 Basic and fully diluted profit/(loss) 0.68p (0.18)p 0.46p per share There are no recognised gains and losses in the period other than those reported in the profit and loss account. Consolidated balance sheet Half year to Half year to Year to 31 Dec 05 31 Dec 04 30 Jun 05 £'000 £'000 £'000 Fixed Assets 105 98 105 Current Assets Debtors (see note 5) 12,241 7,088 10,209 Cash at bank 149 267 600 12,390 7,355 10,809 Current Liabilities Amounts due in less than one year (10,319) (5,543) (8,874) Net current assets 2,071 1,812 1,935 Net assets 2,176 1,910 2,040 Shareholders' funds Called up share capital 1,000 1,000 1,000 Share premium account 1,949 1,949 1,949 Profit and loss account (773) (1,039) (909) Total shareholders' funds 2,176 1,910 2,040 Reconciliation of movements in shareholders' funds Half year to Half year to Year to 31 Dec 05 31 Dec 04 30 Jun 05 £'000 £'000 £'000 Opening shareholders' funds 2,040 1,947 1,948 Profit/(loss) for the period 136 (37) 92 Closing shareholders' funds 2,176 1,910 2,040 Consolidated cash flow statement Half year to Half year to Year to 31 Dec 05 31 Dec 04 30 Jun 05 £'000 £'000 £'000 Net cash flow from operating activities (1,449) (1,722) (4,375) Returns on investments & servicing of (273) (146) (342) finance Capital expenditure (19) (69) (93) Cash outflow before financing (1,741) (1,937) (4,810) Financing Increase in debt 1,435 1,877 5,167 (Decrease) / Increase in cash (306) (60) 357 Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net funds Half year to Half year to Year to 31 Dec 05 31 Dec 04 30 Jun 05 £'000 £'000 £'000 (Decrease) / Increase in cash (306) (60) 357 Cash inflow from increase in debt (1,435) (1,877) (5,167) Movement in net debt in the period (1,741) (1,937) (4,810) Net debt at the beginning of the period (7,953) (3,143) (3,143) Net debt at the end of the period (9,694) (5,080) (7,953) Reconciliation of operating profit to net operating cash flows Half year to Half year to Year to 31 Dec 05 31 Dec 04 30 Jun 05 £'000 £'000 £'000 Operating profit 385 109 362 Depreciation charges 19 14 31 Decrease / (Increase) in debtors (2,008) (1,868) (4,917) (Decrease) / Increase in creditors 155 23 149 Net cash outflow from operating (1,449) (1,722) (4,375) activities Notes to the interim report 1. The results for the half year to 31 December 2005 and the comparative six month trading period to 31 December 2004 are unaudited and have been prepared using accounting policies consistent with those set out in the Directors' Report and Consolidated Financial Statements for the period ended 30 June 2005. The figures for the financial period ended 30 June 2005 are taken from the statutory accounts for that period, which have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and upon which an unqualified audit report was given. 2. The basic profit per share has been calculated from the profit after taxation of £136,401 and on the 19,997,018 ordinary shares in issue at 31 December 2005. The fully diluted earnings per share is also 0.68p, taking into account the fair value of share options issued. 3. These interim financial statements were approved by the board of directors on 10 March 2006. 4. Accounting policies The following accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items which are considered material in relation to the company's financial statements. Basis of preparation These unaudited financial statements do not constitute statutory accounts. They have, however, been reviewed by the auditors whose report is included. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards, and under the historical cost accounting rules. Fixed assets and depreciation Depreciation is provided to write-off the cost less the estimated residual value of tangible fixed assets by equal instalments over their estimated useful economic lives as follows: Office equipment incl. network equipment - 5 years Computer equipment excl. network equipment - 3 years. Turnover Turnover represents fees (excluding value added tax) and discount income. Fees are recognised when service is provided and discount income is recognised on funds advanced to clients as it becomes due. Cash and liquid resources Cash, for the purpose of the cash flow statement, comprises cash in hand and deposits repayable on demand, less overdrafts payable on demand. Introducer commissions Commissions payable to the introducers of business are charged to the profit and loss account over the minimum period of the service contract. In the event of early termination, any commission not already charged to the profit and loss account will be written off in full. Net client commitments Amounts due to clients under recourse factoring agreements are offset against the related trade debtors. The resulting balance represents net client commitments and is included in debtors. 5. Debtors Half year to Half year to Year to 31 Dec 05 31 Dec 04 30 Jun 05 £'000 £'000 £'000 Gross factored debts receivable 22,107 13,394 18,589 Due to clients on collection (10,080) (6,425) (8,634) Client Commitments 12,027 6,969 9,955 Other debtors 129 32 111 Prepayments and accrued income 85 87 143 Debtors 12,241 7,088 10,209 6. Taxation A deferred tax asset has been valued at £96,000 (Dec 2004 £0) at 31st Dec 2005, as the directors believe it is more probable than not that it will be recovered in the future. An amount of £146,921 (2004: £305,000) has not been recognised as the directors have not concluded that it is more likely than not that there will be sufficient taxable profits from which the future reversal of the underlying timing differences can be deducted. 7. Interim Report Copies of this report are being sent to shareholders. Additional copies may be obtained from the Ultimate Finance Group plc registered office: Bradley Pavilions, Pear Tree Road, Bradley Stoke, Bristol BS32 0BQ. END
1 Year Ultimate Finance Chart |
1 Month Ultimate Finance Chart |
It looks like you are not logged in. Click the button below to log in and keep track of your recent history.
Support: +44 (0) 203 8794 460 | support@advfn.com
By accessing the services available at ADVFN you are agreeing to be bound by ADVFN's Terms & Conditions