RNS Number:9585X
Total Systems PLC
01 July 2002
FOR RELEASE 7:00AM 1 JULY 2002
TOTAL SYSTEMS plc
Preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2002
Performance in line with market expectations
Total Systems plc ("Total" or "the Company"), suppliers of established software
products and services to the insurance, warranty and pension fund sectors of the
financial services market and related industries, announces its preliminary
results in respect of the full year ended 31 March 2002.
Commenting on the Company's impressive results, Terry Bourne, the Chairman,
said:
"Performance for the financial year 2002 has been in line with both the
Company's and market expectations. Ultima, our flexible open software product
for the insurance and related industries, continues to attract strong interest.
The Company has maintained its growth path with a strong increase in both
turnover and profits."
Highlights
• Turnover up 40% to £5.38m (2001: £3.85m)
• Profit before tax has seen a significant increase to £1,415,606 (2001:
£717,337)
• Earnings per share increased by 92% to 9.50p (2001: 4.94p)
• Final dividend of 1.55p per share, making a total dividend of 2.45p
per share (2001: 2.20p)
• Zero gearing and increased net assets of 34.08p per share (an increase
of 26%), of which 28.74p is represented by cash
• Continuing investment in Ultima keeping it at the forefront of "wall
to wall" insurance/warranty systems that are so much more efficient and cost
effective than competitors' modular systems
• Use of Ultima as the software behind new generation fully integrated
and fully functional systems opens up new business opportunities in sectors
other than purely insurance, such as utilities
• Renewed interest in Optima2000+, Total's software system for the
Pension Funds industry, on account of its rich functionality and user friendly
nature
Regarding the Company's current trading and outlook, Terry Bourne added:
"While the Board has good reason to be optimistic, business conditions continue
to be challenging with many uncertainties destabilising the markets...Delays are
still being experienced in gaining new contracts but the Board is confident of
success...Given the timescales usually involved in converting prospects to sales
we anticipate that the second half of the current year will be stronger than the
first half. However, your Company is in a sound financial state enabling it to
take advantage of any improvement in the market place when this occurs and to
embark on a sustainable growth path over future years."
E-mail: info@totalsystems.co.uk web site: www.totalsystems.co.uk
Enquiries:
Terry Bourne, Chairman Total Systems plc 020 7294 4888
Granville Harris, Finance Director Total Systems plc 020 7294 4888
Simon Ellis/Peter Binns Binns & Co. PR Ltd 020 7786 9600
An analyst briefing will be given by Terry Bourne and Granville Harris at the
offices of Binns & Co. PR, 16 St. Helen's Place, London EC3 on Monday 1 July
2002 at 11:00am
Notes for City Editors:
Based in the City of London, Total provides cost effective open software systems
for the financial services sector, primarily in the insurance, warranty and
pension fund management sectors, as well as relevant IT Consultancy and General
Support Services. The Company gained a Full Listing on the London Stock Exchange
in 1995.
Significant investment has been made by the Company in developing further both
Ultima (the General Lines Insurance System) and Optima2000+ (the Investment
Management & Accounting System) such that each is regarded as an established
software product. Examples of Total's clients in the insurance/warranty market
are: Axa Insurance Services (Denplan), Bluesure, Dixons, Fortis, UIA and Zurich
Insurance Company (Navigators & General); whilst in the financial services
market they include: Kvaerner Investment Management, Shell Pension Fund and West
Yorkshire Pension Fund.
PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2002
Chairman's Statement
RESULTS
Performance for the financial year 2002 has been in line with both the Company's
and market expectations. Ultima, our flexible, open software product for the
insurance and related industries, continues to attract strong interest. The
Company has maintained its growth path with a strong increase in both turnover
and profits. Turnover for the year was £5,384,299, an increase of 40% over the
previous year (2001: £3,849,292). Profit before tax has seen a significant
increase to £1,415,606 (2001: £717,337) resulting in earnings per share of 9.50p
(2001: 4.94p), an improvement of 92%.
FINANCIAL
Zero gearing and net assets of 34.08p per share (2001: 27.04p), of which 28.74p
per share (2001: 21.04p) is represented by cash, demonstrate our financial
strength. Dividend is covered 3.87 times (2001: 2.24 times) and return on
capital employed is 39.54% (2001: 25.38%).
DIVIDEND
Your Board proposes the payment of a final dividend of 1.55p per share, an
increase of 11% over last year's final dividend of 1.4p per share. This makes
the total dividend for the year 2.45p per share compared to 2.20p per share for
the previous year.
The dividend will be paid on 12 August 2002 to all shareholders on the register
on 12 July 2002.
STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Company's main focus continues to be on the UK insurance and warranty
sectors of the financial services and related industries. Further significant
development of Ultima, our product for these industries, has provided growth
opportunities. We aim for Ultima to be the software system of first choice in
the provision of new generation fully integrated and fully functional systems
for the insurance industry, as well as other sectors such as utilities. It is
our intention to keep this product at the forefront of "wall to wall" insurance
/warranty systems that are so much more efficient and cost effective than
competitors' modular systems.
Our rapid product development tool, Product Developer Plus, enables users to
develop new products quickly and cost effectively irrespective of the currency
and language.
Technology for its own sake is of no value but when real business benefits are
delivered more innovative and profitable insurance companies are created. Laying
patchwork solutions or modern front ends onto old legacy systems does nothing to
improve a company's efficiency. Only the implementation of modern systems that
are significantly more flexible and cheaper to run will deliver real business
benefits. There is a growing body of evidence that this is now being recognised
by the senior management of insurance companies. Ultima is such a system
providing sophisticated straight through wall to wall processing, while
supporting all channels of distribution for insurance products.
PRODUCTS
Ultima, available on all leading versions of UNIX, is written in
the most effective Relational Database and 4GL Technology, and incorporates WEB
and EDI capability. This product has a low cost of ownership and negligible
database administration costs due to the incorporation of "near-lights-out"
management tools. External system interfaces enable Ultima to co-habit with a
wide range of other platforms and applications. Ultima provides the ideal
platform to enable companies to meet the prerequisites for survival. Robust
reliable technology and cost effectiveness are two compelling criteria for
choosing database technology. Combine this with a much lower cost of ownership
than any competitor for the underlying embedded database software, then the way
forward is clear.
Optima2000+ is our product for Investment Management, Accounting
and Administration for Pension Funds. It is multi currency and has extensive
performance measurement, compliance and reporting facilities, external links for
information about securities, security prices and exchange rates. Information on
the structure of the standard index and benchmark portfolios is also provided.
The rich functionality of this product makes it one of the most user friendly,
comprehensive and completely integrated products of its type available in the
market today.
MARKET PLACE
The Board believes that the current financial year will continue to see low
levels of spending on information technology in the financial services sector,
with some possibility of improvement in the 2003 calendar year. Any immediate
upturn in demand is difficult to forecast due to continued uncertainties.
Strong long term client relationships have enabled us to secure a larger share
of available budgets while it actively seeks to expand the client base.
Product investment has been, and will continue to be a priority,
to meet the requirements of both existing and new clients and to maintain market
advantage. Total Systems "fast track" development process enables us to rapidly
translate original ideas into deliverable solutions and the modern methodologies
we adopt allow us to implement our fully integrated systems quickly and
efficiently. These are the key differentiators that lead discerning clients to
choose Total Systems.
STAFF
The strength of our business depends on the quality of our people. Our
training programmes are being continually developed and expanded as we strive
for continuous improvement. A career development strategy has been put in place
to ensure that we maximise the talents of our highly skilled personnel. I would
like to thank all our staff for their loyalty and commitment over the past year.
Without their dedication and enthusiasm the growth achieved would not have been
possible.
CURRENT TRADING AND OUTLOOK
While the Board has good reason to be optimistic, business conditions
continue to be challenging with many uncertainties destabilising the markets.
The economic and political climate is still turbulent but your Company is in an
exceptionally strong position to take advantage of any improvement in trading.
Delays are still being experienced in gaining new contracts, but the Board is
confident of success in this area as interest in our Ultima product continues to
grow, both in relation to internet trading and generally.
Trading progress in the current year has been satisfactory although in present
market conditions it is unlikely that there will be opportunities to improve on
the performance for the year being reported on. Given the timescales usually
involved in converting prospects to sales we anticipate that the second half of
the current financial year will be stronger than the first half.
However, your Company is in a sound financial state enabling it to
take advantage of any improvement in the market place when this occurs and to
embark on a sustainable growth path over future years.
Terry Bourne
Chairman
1 July 2002
Consolidated Profit and Loss Account for the year ended 31 March 2002
Note 2002 2001
£ £
TURNOVER 2 5,384,299 3,849,292
======== ========
OPERATING PROFIT 1,302,785 622,871
Interest receivable 112,821 94,466
------------- -------------
PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES BEFORE TAXATION 1,415,606 717,337
TAX CHARGE ON
PROFIT ON ORDINARY
ACTIVITIES (422,068) (201,248)
------------- -------------
PROFIT ON ORDINARY
ACTIVITIES AFTER TAXATION 993,538 516,089
DIVIDENDS (256,895) (229,957)
------------- -------------
AMOUNT TRANSFERRED
TO RESERVES 736,643 286,132
======== ========
Basic earnings per share 5 9.50p 4.94p
Diluted earnings per share 9.44p 4.90p
Dividend per share 6 2.45p 2.20p
Consolidated Balance Sheet
At 31 March 2002
2002 2001
£ £ £ £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 731,109 749,323
Current assets
Debtors 1,223,890 905,263
Cash at bank and in hand 3,018,627 2,198,746
4,242,517 3,104,009
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year (1,390,050) (1,026,488)
Net current assets 2,852,467 2,077,521
Total assets less current 3,583,576 2,826,844
liabilities
Provisions for liabilities and
charges
Deferred taxation 3,682 -
-------------- --------------
Net assets 3,579,894 2,826,844
======== ========
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital 525,173 522,628
Share premium account 80,189 66,327
Profit and loss account 2,974,532 2,237,889
-------------- --------------
Equity shareholders' funds 3,579,894 2,826,844
======== ========
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement for the year ended 31 March 2002
2002 2001
Note £ £ £ £
Operating activities
Cash received from customers 6,099,131 3,997,170
Cash payments to suppliers (780,402) (881,067)
Cash payments to employees (2,019,891) (1,376,374)
Cash paid for PAYE and National
Insurance (1,122,714) (794,671)
Cash paid for VAT (865,056) (460,896)
Other business payments (118,439) (145,705)
Net cash inflow from operating (a)
activities 1,192,629 338,457
Return on investments and servicing of
finance
Interest received 112,821 94,466
Net cash inflow from returns on
investments and servicing of finance 112,821 94,466
Taxation
Corporation tax (payment)/refund (199,386) 159,035
Capital expenditure and financial
investment
Purchase of tangible fixed assets (78,811) (82,503)
Sale of tangible fixed assets 16,648 123
--------- ---------
Net cash outflow from capital
expenditure and financial investment (62,163) (82,380)
Equity dividends paid (240,427) (83,621)
Cash inflow before use of liquid
resources and financing 803,474 425,957
Financing
Proceeds from exercise of share options (d) 16,407 200
------------ -----------
Increase in cash in the period (c) 819,881 426,157
======= ======
Notes to Cash Flow Statement
(a) Reconciliation of operating profit to net cash inflow from operating activities
2002 2001
£ £
Operating profit 1,302,785 622,871
Depreciation charges 92,534 106,320
(Profit)/Loss on sale of tangible assets (12,157) 202
Increase in debtors (318,627) (651,373)
Increase in creditors 128,094 260,437
-------------- -----------
1,192,629 338,457
======== ======
(b) Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net funds
2002 2001
£ £
Increase in cash in the year and change in net funds 819,881 426,157
Net funds at 1 April 2,198,746 1,772,589
-------------- --------------
Balance at 31 March 3,018,627 2,198,746
======== ========
(c) Analysis of changes in net funds
2002 Change in year 2001 Change in year 2000
£ £ £ £ £
Cash at bank and in hand 3,018,627 819,881 2,198,746 426,157 1,772,589
(d) Analysis of changes in financing during the year
Share capital Share capital
(including premium) (including premium)
2002 2001
£ £
Balance at 1 April 588,955 588,755
Cash inflows from employees exercising share options 16,407 200
------------ ----------
Balance at 31 March 605,362 588,955
======= ======
General Notes:
1. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2001 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and
those for 2002 will be delivered following the Company's Annual General Meeting. The auditors have reported
on those accounts; their reports were unqualified and did not contain statements under Section 237(2) or
Section 237(3) of the Companies Act 1985.
2. The Group's turnover is derived from the writing and supply of computer software and supply of third party
software both with related hardware in the United Kingdom. All activities derive from continuing operations.
3. The financial information contained in this statement does not constitute the statutory accounts for the
years ended 31 March 2002 and 2001, as defined in Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985, but is derived from
those accounts.
4. The announcement has been prepared on the basis of accounting policies as per the prior year, with the
exception of FRS19, which has been fully adopted this year. This has had no impact on the figures reported in
the prior year.
5. The calculation of basic earnings per share is based on a profit after taxation of £993,538 (2001: £516,089)
and a weighted average of 10,464,209 shares (2001: 10,452,529) in issue during the period.
6. An interim dividend of 0.9p per share was paid to shareholders on 23 January 2002. A final dividend of 1.55p
per share is proposed making the total dividend per share for the year 2.45p.
7. It is intended to post the Annual Statement and Report to shareholders on 4 July 2002. Copies will then be
available from the Registered Office of the Group at 394 City Road, London EC1V 2QA.
8. The Annual General Meeting will be held at 394 City Road, London EC1V 2QA on Monday 29 July 2002 at 10.00
a.m.
ENDS
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
Total Systems (LSE:TTS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Total Systems (LSE:TTS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024
