TIDMVIS
RNS Number : 2124K
Vitesse Media PLC
23 June 2014
VITESSE MEDIA plc
PRELIMINARY FINAL RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 JANUARY
2014
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
Highlights
-- Revenues up 2%; losses more than halved
-- Revenues in the Events and SME divisions both 20% ahead of the prior year
-- User numbers for the three major websites showed significant
increases during the year - nearly 600,000 extra visitors to the
sites, up 36%
-- Refocusing of the revenue model, with further emphasis on
events income, lead generation and editorially led special
projects, continues
-- Placing completed in January to develop a mobile
crowd-funding platform and modernise the Group's entire technical
platform
-- Appointment of Derek Stewart to strengthen the team and lead
the development of the crowd-funding initiative
Performance during the financial year 2013/14 and plans for
2014/15
While the economic environment remained challenging, I am
pleased to report an improved financial performance, driven by
management's continuing efforts to control costs, meaning that the
loss for the year was more than halved.
The Group also achieved a small increase in revenues and,
importantly, continued to build momentum in refocusing upon digital
delivery and events, by building its audience through its websites.
The success in growing events-based revenues has been particularly
pleasing, and there has also been demonstrable success in
increasing visitors to some of the Company's key websites.
The What Investment website saw visitors up 93%, the Information
Age site grew traffic by 34%, and SmallBusiness.co.uk saw users
increase by 26%. All divisions also increased the numbers of users
in their social media communities. The investment in technology,
which is planned to take place during the coming six to nine
months, will see all of these sites become mobile responsive, and
will refresh the user interface and functionality.
During 2013/14, the Events team secured several contracts for
the management of events, which will impact favourably for the
financial year 2014/15. In addition, overall events revenues were
up 20% on the 2012/13 year, including a 23% increase in table
sales, as the climate for face-to-face events continued to improve.
As a result, the contribution from the Events team increased by
more than 50%.
The Technology division, based around Information Age, saw a
fall in revenues during the year under review. Steps were taken to
turn this trend around, including a change in management and a
reduction in costs. More recently, the new team has focused on the
launch of a white paper platform for lead generation, a redesign of
the magazine and the launch of new events, such as the Women in IT
Awards, as well as continuing to build web traffic. Management
remain confident that this division has the potential to continue
to contribute positively to the Group in the future.
While revenues from the Investment division showed a slight
decline over the year, there were several encouraging factors, such
as the significant increase in web traffic and the implementation
of the Retail Distribution Review. More recently, budget changes
have further improved the trading environment for What Investment.
Plans include the integration of a lead generation platform and the
launch of a Peer-to-Peer Awards event. I am pleased to report that
the large increase in user numbers to this site is feeding through
to increased online revenues for the Investment division for the
first four months of the year 2014/15, albeit starting from a low
base.
The SME division increased revenues by 21% compared with the
2012/13 financial year, and the team continued to work with many
blue-chip clients such as Microsoft, HSBC, Sage, AXA, Lloyds, Amex,
Google and Hewlett-Packard on bespoke integrated packages.
Traffic to the relaunched SmallBusiness.co.uk increased by more
than 25% during the year, and the team is forecasting a further
significant increase for both this site and GrowthBusiness.co.uk,
with the prospect of taking the combined SME user numbers above 2
million.
In the 2014/15 year, the SME team has launched a new membership
service, the Small Business Profit Club, and is developing a white
paper and business guide service providing further revenue streams,
underpinned by data and lead referral. The team is also working on
its first event for the autumn, The Festival of Small Business.
Crowd-funding platform
One of the Group's strengths lies in its connections with SMEs,
high-net-worth individuals and intermediaries. In a review of
opportunities for the business, the board concluded that entry to
the fast-growing peer-to-peer lending or crowd-funding sector could
add a complementary layer of revenues in an expanding market that
could be incorporated into the Group's activities in a
cost-effective manner.
New technology platform
The Group is to further integrate key areas of the business in
order to create a coherent digital strategy that is fit for the
future and will deliver both cost savings and growing revenues. The
business will be more integrated, automated and agile, allowing us
to adapt to change faster. This will improve our visibility across
the business to our entrepreneurial and investor audience.
As a result of the development, the business will have more
knowledge and expertise in-house, reducing the reliance on third
parties, while providing efficiencies in processes, data
management, marketing communications and product development.
Change of status for director
David Smith has indicated that he wishes to become non-executive
from 1 August, and we are delighted that we will retain his
expertise in his continuing role as deputy chairman.
Trading in the first four months and the outlook for the
half-year to the end of July
The trading to May has continued to show improvement in sales,
and the half year should once again be ahead of last year.
Outlook for the Group
Management have worked hard to turn around the fortunes of the
Group, and have now achieved stability across most divisions, with
encouraging growth in some areas. With the launch of the
crowd-funding platform into a rapidly growing market, we are
confident that the business will move to delivering its full
revenue and profit potential.
Notice of AGM and publication of Annual Report
The AGM will be held on 31 July at 10am at the offices of
Westhouse Securities, Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, London, EC2N
4AY. A notice of meeting together with the Annual Report &
Accounts will be dispatched to shareholders early July.
A copy of this Chairman's Report and audit financial statements
will be posted today on the Company's website at
www.vitessemedia.com, as will the Annual Report & Accounts when
published in due course.
The audited financial information for the years ended 31 January
2014 and 31 January 2013 contained in this document do not
constitute statutory accounts as defined in the Companies Act 2006.
The comparative financial information is based on the statutory
accounts for the financial year ended 31 January 2013. Those
accounts, upon which the auditors issued an unmodified opinion with
an emphasis of matter paragraph relating to going concern, have
been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The financial
information for the year ended 31 January 2014 has been extracted
from the audited financial statements of Vitesse Media Plc which
will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies in due course. The
auditors have issued an unmodified opinion on the financial
statements for the year ended 31 January 2014 which includes an
emphasis of matter paragraph in respect of going concern and does
not include any statement under Section 498 (2) or (3) of the
Companies Act 2006. The preliminary announcement was approved by
the Board of Directors and authorised for issued on 20 June
2014.
For further information, please contact:
Vitesse Media Plc
Executive Chairman: Sara Williams
Chief Executive: Niki Baker
020 7250 7010
020 7250 7043
Westhouse Securities Limited
Martin Davison
020 7250 7042
Kreab Gavin Anderson
Robert Speed
020 7074 1800
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
for the year ended 31 January 2014
2014 2013
GBP GBP
Revenue 2,109,690 2,064,667
Cost of sales (571,588) (593,904)
________ ________
Gross profit 1,538,102 1,470,763
Administrative expenses (1,705,907) (1,808,067)
Share-based payments (1,975) (26,582)
Impairment of goodwill and other intangible
assets - (130,917)
________ ________
Operating loss (169,780) (494,803)
Finance costs (7,728) (7,296)
Finance income - 41
________ ________
Loss before tax (177,508) (502,058)
Tax expense - -
________ ________
Loss for the year attributable to owners
of the parent (177,508) (502,058)
Total comprehensive income for the year
attributable to owners of the parent (177,508) (502,058)
Loss per share
Basic and diluted (0.47p) (1.44p)
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
at 31 January 2014
2014 2013
GBP GBP
Non-current assets
Goodwill 729,332 729,332
Other intangible assets 1,367,007 1,391,333
Property, plant and equipment 3,286 3,535
Trade and other receivables - 21,139
________ ________
2,099,625 2,145,339
________ ________
Current assets
Inventories 16,216 19,504
Trade and other receivables 318,214 332,908
Cash and cash equivalents 227,479 -
________ ________
561,909 352,412
________ ________
Total assets 2,661,534 2,497,751
________ ________
Equity
Share capital 2,778,994 2,684,063
Share premium account 3,209,166 3,095,249
Share option reserve 132,516 132,120
Other reserves 103,904 103,904
Retained earnings (4,676,960) (4,501,031)
________ ________
Total equity attribUtable to OWNERS OF
THE PARENT 1,547,620 1,514,305
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 815,583 789,151
Borrowings 188,331 194,295
________ ________
1,003,914 983,446
NON CURRENT LIABILITIES
Borrowings 110,000 -
________ ________
Total liabilities 1,113,914 983,446
________ ________
Total equity and liabilities 2,661,534 2,497,751
________ ________
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
for the year ended 31 January 2014
2014 2013
GBP GBP
CASH FLOWS USED IN OPERATING ACTIVITIES (46,074) (144,541)
Interest received - 41
Interest paid (7,728) (7,296)
------- -------
NET CASH USED IN FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES (53,802) (151,796)
------- -------
INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Purchases of property, plant and equipment (3,557) (959)
Purchases of intangible assets (28,046) (61,096)
______ ______
NET CASH USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES (31,603) (62,055)
______ ______
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from issue of ordinary shares 208,848 350,000
Share issue costs - (12,590)
Bank loan received 55,000 -
Repayment of invoice discounting facility
and bank loan (35,437) (119,623)
Proceeds from long-term borrowings 110,000 -
------ ------
NET CASH GENERATED FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES 338,411 217,787
______ ______
NET INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS 253,006 3,936
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT BEGINNING
OF YEAR (25,527) (29,463)
_______ _______
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT END OF YEAR 227,479 (25,527)
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
for the year ended 31 January 2014
ATTRIBUTABLE TO OWNERS OF THE PARENT
Share-based
Share Share payment Other Retained
capital premium reserve reserves earnings Total
GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP
As at 1 February 2012 2,610,379 2,831,523 170,108 103,904 (4,063,543) 1,652,371
Loss for the year - - - - (502,058) (502,058)
Total comprehensive
income for the year - - - - (502,058) (502,058)
TRANSACTIONS WITH OWNERS
IN THEIR CAPACITY AS
OWNERS
Issue of share capital 73,684 276,316 - - - 350,000
Issue costs - (12,590) - - - (12,590)
Total transactions with
owners in their capacity
as owners 73,684 263,726 - - - 337,410
Recognition of share-based
payments - - 26,582 - - 26,582
Share options lapsed - - (64,570) - 64,570 -
As at 31 January 2013 2,684,063 3,095,249 132,120 103,904 (4,501,031) 1,514,305
Loss for the year - - - - (177,508) (177,508)
Total comprehensive
income for the year - - - - (177,508) (177,508)
TRANSACTIONS WITH OWNERS
IN THEIR CAPACITY AS
OWNERS
Issue of share capital 94,931 113,917 - - - 208,848
Total transactions with
owners in their capacity
as owners 94,931 113,917 - - - 208,848
Recognition of share-based
payments - - 1,975 - - 1,975
Share options lapsed - - (1,579) - 1,579 -
As at 31 January 2014 2,778,994 3,209,166 132,516 103,904 (4,676,960) 1,547,620
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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