RNS Number:3434M
CybIT Holdings PLC
16 June 2003
CYBIT HOLDINGS PLC
PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2003
HIGHLIGHTS
Cybit Holdings plc, one of the fastest growing and most innovative telematics
service providers, today announces its preliminary results for the year ended
31 March 2003.
Audited Audited
year ended 31 March 15 months ended 31
2003 March 2002 #'000
#'000
Turnover 5,066 623
Operating profit/(loss) before depreciation and goodwill 461 (1,518)
amortisation and interest and tax (EBITDA)
Loss before taxation (787) (1,654)
Cash 470 214
Key points
* Turnover growth in excess of 800%.
* Cash generative for the full year, with an operating cash inflow of #1.2
millionm.
* Group delivering profits on an EBITDA basis.
* Acquisition of Drive-IT fully integrated into the Cybit structure by
January 2003 with operational efficiencies being achieved.
* Strategic partnerships now delivering significant business opportunities.
Neil Johnson, Chairman of Cybit commented:
"We have made substantial progress this year and have delivered an excellent set
of results. I believe that Cybit is a well-managed company with an excellent
product portfolio and dedicated staff. We have established the company as a
major player in the marketplace and are now positioned to capitalise on
opportunities for growth."
For further information please contact:
Richard Horsman Chief Executive, Cybit Holdings Plc 01480 389 100
Jonathon Brill / Charlotte Bell Pottinger Financial 020 7861 3232
Kirkham
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
Our second full year of trading has seen Cybit make substantial progress towards
on-going and sustainable profitability. Turnover for the 12 month period stands
at #5.07 million representing over 800% growth over the previous period. More
importantly however, at the trading level, the loss on ordinary activities
before taxation for the year reduced to #787,000 showing a substantial reduction
over the prior period notwithstanding difficult global and national economic
climates. Cybit is now therefore positioned as one of the fastest growing
telematics service providers (TSPs) in the UK, and a leading provider in the
telematics-enabled fleet management market place.
During the year the company continued to focus on providing services to fleet
operators and further expanded its sales teams focusing on business to business
and partnership accounts. We ended the trading year with over 6,000 vehicles
using our services (2002: 2,500). These vehicles are operated by in excess of
400 customers coming from a wide range of business sectors.
In December 2002 Cybit acquired Drive-IT Systems AB, a Swedish company. This has
given us our first toe-hold in the Continental European market and has extended
our product offering into new and emerging sectors. Whilst we did not expect
substantial revenue growth from the Drive-IT business in the short term, its
additional products and services will deliver long-term strategic value to the
business.
Our passion for customer service, and an increasingly broadening product
portfolio, together these have continued to develop high levels of repeat
business from our existing customers. Our focus on helping them to develop their
businesses, and delivering tangible returns on their investments, has led to the
conversion of a number of customers who have transferred their allegiance to
Cybit from other telematic suppliers. This is good news. We have also continued
to develop a number of key strategic partnerships in the industry and this
philosophy has been rewarded through success in attracting significant business
opportunities through partnerships.
During the past 12 months there have been a number of changes to your Board. At
last year's AGM, Robin Bligh stepped down from the Board. I should like to thank
Robin for his hard work during the early establishment of the company. Two
executive directors were appointed to the Board during the year. Kevin Lawrence
has become Finance Director, and John Wisdom has joined as Director for Sales
and Marketing. I am also pleased to announce that David Robins, a senior partner
at the City law firm of Berwin Leighton Paisner, has joined the Board as a
non-executive Director.
Much progress has been achieved over the past 12 months and I should therefore
like to thank, on behalf of all shareholders in the business, our Chief
Executive Richard Horsman and his dedicated team for achieving so much. In a
difficult business environment the Cybit team have generated a very successful
result for the company.
Outlook
Since the end of the last financial year the company has continued to make
progress, despite continued economic difficulties in the marketplace. Trading in
the first few months of the new financial year has been excellent and a number
of substantial orders have been secured. The company continues to develop a
strong forward order book, and first half performance appears at present to be
in line with expectations.
We continue to develop the existing product portfolio and will be adding new
initiatives and partnerships which should enable the company to further
accelerate growth with the aim of achieving trading profitability during the
current financial year.
I believe that Cybit is a well-managed company with an excellent product
portfolio and dedicated staff. We have established the company as a major player
in the marketplace and are now positioned to capitalise on opportunities for
growth.
Neil Johnson
16 June 2003
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S STATEMENT
Operating Review
2002/3 was a highly successful trading year for Cybit Holdings plc during which
the company achieved full year revenues of over #5 million, representing in
excess of 800% growth over the prior period.
Much of the growth can be attributed to the launch of new products and services
that make the Cybit solutions portfolio a more compelling proposition for
multi-site companies with larger fleets of vehicles which has resulted in an
increase in average order size.
The company added to its solutions portfolio with the acquisition of Drive-IT
Systems AB in Sweden, a leading developer of solutions for the emerging car pool
market. This acquisition has also provided the company with an existing customer
base in Europe.
Customers
As at 31 March 2003, the company had approximately 400 live customers,
representing more than 6,000 assets under management. Levels of repeat business
from existing customers have increased during the period: a direct result of our
focus on delivering world-class customer service.
The company is also leveraging the Fleetstar customer base that it acquired from
Trafficmaster Plc in March 2002. A number of these customers have either elected
to renew their existing Fleetstar contracts for a further term or have upgraded
to the internet-based Fleetstar-online product launched by the company during
the year. The Board expects renewal and upgrade revenues from the existing
customer base to increase over the coming year.
Our focus on delivering value to both fleet operator and driver has allowed us
to achieve particular success in the service sector with organisations such as
Steill, a division of Alfred McAlpine, Titan Travel and John Youngs. Fleet sizes
in this sector are typically larger than the traditional haulage market and this
has had the effect of increasing the average installed customer fleet size using
Fleetstar-online to more than 20 vehicles.
The company has also achieved early success with its real-time General Packet
Radio System (GPRS) based solutions in the fleet sector. The company now has a
number of live customers utilising this technology and the Board expects this
area of the business to experience substantial growth during the current year.
In addition to an increase in recurring revenues received from cybitfleet.com
and Fleetstar-Online, the company is starting to develop revenues from
consulting and training. As larger customers start to appreciate the return on
investment potential that can be achieved from the implementation of Cybit
solutions, there is an increasing opportunity to derive revenues from a range of
services that can help customers realise this potential on an on-going basis.
The company will look to further develop these services during the coming year.
Technology Development
Cybit has continued to lead the way through innovation in both hardware and
software. The company made significant new product introductions during the year
and added a number of technology enhancements to the existing cybitfleet.com
solution.
The main achievement was the introduction of Fleetstar-Online, an internet
version of the Fleetstar solution that was launched in June 2002. Take-up of
this product has been exceptional and the company announced #1million in orders
achieved during the first six weeks from launch. I am delighted to report that
this success has continued such that the company had approximately 100 live
customers representing over 2,000 vehicles at 31 March 2003. The company also
ended the year with a healthy back order book and strong forward pipeline of
future business for this product.
Soon after its launch, Cybit added further competitive advantage to
Fleetstar-Online with the integration of Smartnav off-board satellite navigation
capability licensed from Trafficmaster Plc. The company is planning to launch
further functional enhancements to this service in the coming year.
Another milestone during the year was the introduction of GPRS support within
cybitfleet. GPRS offers low cost "always on" technology that is the basis for
the development of remote worker applications requiring either near real-time or
real-time, cost effective transfer of volume data. The initial launch is focused
on the logistics and distribution sector and the company intends to enhance this
service further during the coming year.
Cybit has also collaborated with existing Drive-IT customers in the on-going
development of the car sharing solution and will be launching enhancements to
this service during the first half of the current year.
Progress with Partnerships
During the year, the company announced a number of new partnerships including
Lex Vehicle Leasing, one of the UK's leading car rental companies;, brs, the
UK's largest commercial truck rental company and Mandata, a leading software
provider to the haulage and logistics industry. All of these partnerships have
delivered revenues to the company during 2002 with expected growth during 2003.
The company continues to build upon its existing relationship with Norwich Union
and is actively involved with a number of risk management oriented programmes
within the insurance sector.
Cybit believes that third party channels to market will be a key factor towards
telematics solutions achieving substantial penetration within the fleet sector
and therefore focuses strongly on this area of the business.
The company expects to announcewill be announcing additional partnerships during
2003 and expects the percentage of revenues achieved from third party sources to
increase substantially during the coming year.
Acquisition of Drive-IT Systems AB
On 13 December 2002, Cybit acquired 100% of the capital of Drive-IT Systems AB
in Sweden. Based in Gothenburg, Drive-IT is a leading developer of innovative,
telematics based applications for the growing car share and car pool management
marketplace.
The Drive-IT solution comprises in-vehicle hardware providing smart-card access
control, mileage reporting and booking management, a GSM communications gateway
and an Application Service Provider (ASP) internet booking system to support
either direct end-user bookings or centralised administration function.
Drive-IT has 12 customers based in Sweden, Norway and Germany. The current
European customer base is mainly local authority and private car pool operations
who between them have implemented the Drive-IT technology into approximately 250
vehicles with in excess of 2,000 members using the internet booking system to
rent vehicles.
In the UK, Drive-IT has a partnership with Smart Moves Limited who are the UK's
largest service provider of city car clubs. Smart Moves are using Drive-IT
technology to support a number of car clubs throughout the UK including Bristol
and Edinburgh. In particular, Smart Moves has been commissioned by the London
Boroughs' city car club consortium to establish car clubs in seven London
boroughs - Brent, Camden, Ealing, Kensington & Chelsea, Islington, Lambeth and
Merton. This is supported for the first two years by funding from Transport for
London.
Although currently a small market segment, Cybit expects to see growth through
further initiatives of this kind developing as local authority representatives
recognise the role of car clubs in tackling issues such as traffic congestion,
pollution, parking and social exclusion. There is also an increasing interest in
this technology from large commercial organisations as part of an overall
strategy of social responsibility within their local community.
Financial review
The year has been one of rapid development for the group. The loss before
taxation amounted to #787,000, a significant reduction on the loss recorded in
the prior period of #1,654,000. Of even greater significance is that at the
EBITDA level (Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation), the
group generated a profit of #461,000 compared to a loss in the prior period of
#1,518,000. The most encouraging aspect of this performance was that this
profitability was achieved on a monthly basis over 8 months of the year giving
the Board confidence that the group is moving towards sustainable profitability.
Throughout the year the Board has paid particular attention to cash and working
capital management. As a result, I am pleased to report that we increased our
cash position from #214,000 to #470,000 at 31 March 2003. This was achieved
through a combination of strict working capital management and a focus on
developing recurring revenue and cash generating opportunities. At an operating
level the group generated a positive cash flow of #1.2 million before finance
and interest charges.
Strategy and vision
Cybit's strategy of maintaining an absolute focus on telematics-based solutions
that deliver tangible benefits to customers and partners backed up by
world-class customer support has allowed the company to win important new
customers and take market share from the competition. The Board believes that
this aggressive go-to-market strategy coupled with continued innovation within
its solutions portfolio will ensure a leadership position as growth within the
telematics market accelerates.
The company will also look to leverage its investment in Drive-IT through both
existing and new partnerships.
The future
Cybit's focus over the next 12 months is to build upon the success experienced
over the past 12 months such that the company will move into consistent monthly
profitability during the current year.
Furthermore, as predicted in last year's annual report, there has been
substantial consolidation within the Ttelematics and internet-based content
segments with more expected to follow in the coming year. Your Board will
therefore continue to assess opportunities for growth through organic and
acquisition activity whilst taking full consideration of market conditions and
available resources.
Finally, I would like to endorse the Chairman's thanks to our growing team of
professionals who have been key to the success that we have achieved during our
second year as an AIM listed company.
Richard Horsman
16 June 2003
CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
Year ended 31 March 2003 15 months ended
31 March 2002
Continuing Acquisitions Total Total
operations (continuing)
# # # #
Turnover 5,055,675 10,188 5,065,863 623,463
Cost of sales (1,277,931) (16,164) (1,294,095) (327,459)
Gross profit/ (loss) 3,777,744 (5,976) 3,771,768 296,004
Administrative expenses
Other operating expenses (3,234,306) (76,667) (3,310,973) (1,814,145)
Depreciation and goodwill amortisation (372,474) (16,971) (389,445) (119,137)
Total administrative expenses (3,606,780) (93,638) (3,700,418) (1,933,282)
Operating profit/(loss) 170,964 (99,614) 71,350 (1,637,278)
Net interest and financing costs (857,945) (16,554)
Loss on ordinary activities before (786,595) (1,653,832)
taxation
Tax on loss on ordinary activities 125,000 -
Retained loss set against reserves (661,595) (1,653,832)
Loss per share - basic (0.10p) (0.27p)
Reconciliation of movements in shareholders' funds
The group The group 15
Year ended 31 March months ended 31 March
2003 2002
# #
Loss for the financial year/period (661,595) (1,653,832)
Issue of shares in the year/period - 3,072,175
Other recognised gains and losses in the year/period 3,912 -
Other reserve arising on merger with subsidiary undertaking - 1,309,130
Net (decrease)/increase in shareholders' funds (657,683) 2,727,473
Shareholders' funds at 1 April 2002 2,107,782 (619,691)
Shareholders' funds at 31 March 2003 1,450,099 2,107,782
Attributable to:
Equity shareholders 1,450,099 2,107,782
Statement of total recognised gains and losses
The group Year ended The group 15 months
31 March ended 31 March
2003 2002
# #
Loss for the financial year/period (661,595) (1,653,832)
Exchange adjustments offset in reserves 3,912 -
Total recognised losses for the year (657,683) (1,653,832)
CONSOLIDATED AND COMPANY BALANCE SHEET AT 31 MARCH 2003
The The
Group Group
2003 2002
# #
Fixed assets
Intangible assets 839,091 858,232
Tangible assets 369,984 544,959
Investment in subsidiaries - -
Total fixed assets 1,209,075 1,403,191
Current assets
Stocks, being goods for resale 145,688 110,116
Debtors: amounts falling due after more than one year 865,178 282,420
Debtors: amounts falling due within one year 1,092,621 982,731
Called up share capital not paid 8,260 8,260
Amounts owed by group undertakings - -
Cash at bank and in hand 470,016 214,309
2,581,763 1,597,836
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year (1,582,810) (688,703)
Net current assets 998,953 909,133
Total assets less current liabilities 2,208,028 2,312,324
Creditors: amounts falling due
after more than one year (687,929) (64,542)
Provisions for liabilities and charges (70,000) (140,000)
Net assets 1,450,099 2,107,782
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital 6,725,444 6,725,444
Share premium account 1,746,731 1,746,731
Other reserve (4,090,553) (4,090,553)
Profit and loss account deficit (2,931,523) (2,273,840)
Shareholders' funds 1,450,099 2,107,782
CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
Year ended 31 15 months ended
March 31 March
2003 2002
# #
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities 1,184,111 (2,450,871)
Returns on investments and servicing of finance
Interest received 7,085 79,808
Finance costs of assigning debts to finance companies (860,066) (95,502)
Interest paid (4,964) (860)
Net cash outflow from returns on investments and servicing of finance (857,945) (16,554)
Taxation - (193)
Capital expenditure
Purchase of tangible fixed assets (35,570) (111,748)
Purchase of intangible fixed assets (73,188) (130,582)
Sale of tangible fixed assets 60,250 -
Net cash outflow from capital expenditure (48,508) (242,330)
Acquisitions
Purchase of business (100,000) (704,803)
Purchase of subsidiary undertaking (21,901) -
Net overdrafts acquired with subsidiary undertaking (28,193) -
Net cash outflow from acquisitions (150,094) (704,803)
Financing
Issue of shares - 2,565,303
Pre-merger issue of shares by subsidiary undertaking - 1,360,317
Expenses paid in connection with share issues - (324,315)
Funds raised on sale and leaseback of fixed assets 100,000 -
Net cash inflow from financing 100,000 3,601,305
Increase in cash 227,564 186,554
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities
Year ended 31 15 months ended
March 31 March
2003 2002
# #
Operating profit/(loss) 71,350 (1,637,278)
Depreciation and amortisation 389,445 119,137
Decrease/(increase) in stock 9,291 (36,894)
Increase in debtors (596,835) (460,051)
Increase/(decrease) in creditors 816,996 (465,785)
Increase in deferred income 563,864 -
Decrease in provisions for liabilities and charges (70,000) -
Issue of shares in lieu of bonus - 30,000
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities 1,184,111 (2,450,871)
RECONCILIATION OF NET CASH FLOW TO MOVEMENT IN NET FUNDS
2003 2002
# #
Increase in cash in the year/period 227,564 186,554
Net debt acquired with subsidiary (56,291) -
Exchange adjustments (4,850) -
Inception of new finance leases (100,000) -
Movement in the year/period 66,423 186,554
Net funds at 31 March 2002 214,309 27,755
Net funds at 31 March 2003 280,732 214,309
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1. The financial information set out in this preliminary announcement does not
constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 240 of the Companies Act
1985.
2. The financial information has been extracted from the group's 2003 financial
statements. Those financial statements have not yet been delivered to the
Registrar, however the group's auditors have given an unqualified audit
opinion on those financial statements.
3. Basis of preparation
The preliminary results have been prepared under the historical cost
convention and in accordance with applicable accounting standards up to and
including FRS 19. The principal accounting policies of the group are set out
in the group's 2002 annual report and financial statements. The policies in
this preliminary announcement have remained unchanged from those 2002
financial statements.
4. Loss per share
The calculation of the basic loss per share is based on the losses
attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by the weighted average
number of shares in issue during the year. On 13 March 2003, the company
subdivided each issued and unissued ordinary share of 1p into one
ordinary share of 0.1p and one deferred share of 0.9p. All loss per
share information is based on ordinary shares of 0.1p each this year,
and ordinary shares of 1p each in the comparative period.
In accordance with FRS 14, the adjustment for fully diluted loss per
share is ignored as it results in a reduced loss per share.
Loss attributable
Year ended 31 15 months ended
March 31 March
2003 2002
Loss (661,595) (1,653,832)
Per share amount (0.10p) (0.27p)
Weighted average number of shares 672,544,350 605,232,741
5. Copies of the company's Annual Report and Accounts will be available from
the company's registered office.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
FR UOOBROSRNAAR