TIDMPHTM
RNS Number : 2393R
Photo-Me International PLC
28 October 2019
28 October 2019
Photo-Me International plc
("Photo-Me" or "the Group")
Trading Update
Photo-Me (PHTM.L), the instant-service equipment group,
announces the following trading update covering the period from 1
May 2019 to 30 September 2019.
The Group has continued to make strategic and operational
progress in line with its strategy to diversify its range of
products and services, driven by the expansion of its laundry
business and the acquisition of SEMPA Sarl ("Sempa"), as announced
in April 2019.
In the period to 30 September 2019, overall Group trading has
been in line with expectations, underpinned by continued growth in
Continental Europe and Asia, led by the Laundry business, despite
trading in the Identification division in the UK remaining
challenging. This has been due to continued uncertainty around the
UK's European Union exit negotiations, leading to lower consumer
activity, and the UK Government's decision to allow for photos
taken on a smart device or camera at home to be used for passport
photo identification.
Identification
Excluding the UK, the Group's Identification revenue was stable
(+0.2%) year-on-year, driven by continued solid performance in
France and Japan. Total reported Identification revenue in the
period to 30 September declined by 3.8%, reflecting the decrease in
activity in the UK photobooth market.
In total, the Group now has more than 12,000 photobooths
connected to government organisations for the secure upload of
photo ID in the UK and Continental Europe, and it is anticipated
that this number will continue to grow as discussions with
governments to deploy this technology progress.
Laundry
The expansion of Laundry operations remains a key driver of
growth for the Group and further good progress has been made during
the period, with revenue growth of 23% in the period to 30
September. The rollout of Revolution machines in key geographies
(UK, Ireland, Portugal and Spain), has continued at an average rate
of 50 machines per month. The Group has also continued to build its
laundry presence in newer markets such as Germany, Austria and
Switzerland. In the UK, there has been an improving trend in B2B
activity, albeit this is at an early stage of recovery and is
expected to report growth for the full year.
As anticipated, year-on-year, the Laundry business has continued
to contribute an increasing proportion of the Group's revenue and
profits.
Kiosks
The Kiosk business has continued to perform as expected, with
the majority of operations in France. Capex on the Kiosk business
has been restricted to premium sites as we focus on delivering
growth in the Laundry business.
Food
Following the acquisition of Sempa, which marked the Group's
entry to the fresh fruit and vegetable juice market, the Group has
formed a new segment, called "Food". Going forward, this segment
will be a significant part of the Group's future growth strategy,
alongside Identification and Laundry. In the financial year to
date, this business has performed in line with expectations.
Photo-Me's intention is to become the global leader in the
distribution of self-service fresh fruit juice machines, and its
strategy to achieve this is two-fold, aimed at the B2B and B2C
markets.
In the B2B market, the Group sells self-service juice machines
to organisations such as restaurant, hotels, supermarkets, offices
and small businesses. The majority of machines are sold under lease
finance contracts, with approximately 70% of these lease agreements
renewing every 12-months on average.
For the B2C market, the Group sells fruit juice drinks direct to
consumers via self-service juice vending machines, in locations
such as railway stations. In September, Photo-Me acquired 150 juice
vending machines from L'Orangerie de Paris, enabling the Group to
run a larger scale trial to test the market prior to deploying
vending machines across other geographies. These machines will be
refilled and maintained by Photo-Me's existing network of field
engineers.
In the B2C market, the Group is initially offering fresh orange
juice, though the intention is to extend the product range over
time. The development of machines for apple juice and pineapple
juice is underway and these are expected to be rolled out in
FY2021.
Competition within the self-service juice market is relatively
limited and, by leveraging the Group's existing network of field
engineers, the Board believes this market presents a significant
growth opportunity for the Group in the medium to long term.
Looking forward
While consumer uncertainty continues to weigh on our business in
the UK, we remain confident that overall the Group will continue to
perform well, and in line with market expectations in the current
financial year.
The Group expects to announce its Interim Results for the six
months ended 31 October 2019 on Tuesday 10 December 2019.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse
Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this
announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in
the public domain.
Enquiries:
Photo-Me International plc +44 (0) 1372 453 399 / ir@photo-me.co.uk
Serge Crasnianski, CEO
Stéphane Gibon, CFO
Hudson Sandler +44 (0) 20 7796 4133
Wendy Baker/ Emily Dillon/ Nick photo-me@hudsonsandler.com
Moore
NOTES TO EDITORS
Photo-Me International plc (LSE: PHTM) operates, sells and
services a wide range of instant-service vending equipment,
primarily aimed at the consumer market.
The Group operates approximately 47,000 vending units across 18
countries and its technological innovation is focused on three
principal areas:
-- Identification: photobooths and integrated biometric identification solutions
-- Laundry: unattended laundry services, launderettes, B2B services
-- Kiosks: high-quality digital printing
In addition, the Group operates vending equipment such as
children's rides, amusement machines and business service
equipment.
Whilst the Group both sells and services this equipment, the
vast majority of units are operated and maintained by Photo-Me.
Photo-Me pays the site owner a commission based on turnover, which
varies depending on the country and location of the machine.
The Group has built long-term relationships with major site
owners and its equipment is generally sited in prime locations in
areas of high footfall such as supermarkets, shopping malls
(indoors and outdoors) and public transport venues. The equipment
is maintained and serviced by an established network of 700 field
engineers.
The Company's shares have been listed on the London Stock
Exchange since 1962.
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
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END
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