TIDMECK
RNS Number : 1620X
Eckoh PLC
22 November 2017
22 November 2017
Eckoh plc
("Eckoh" or the "Group")
Unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 September
2017
Continued double digit growth and strong US payments momentum,
in line with the Board's expectations
Eckoh plc (AIM: ECK), the global provider of secure payment
products and customer contact solutions, is pleased to announce its
unaudited results for the six months to 30 September 2017.
Financial Highlights:
-- Revenue increased by 10.0% to GBP14.8m (H1 FY17: GBP13.5m)
o US operations grew by 36% to GBP5.4m (H1 FY: GBP4.0m)
representing 37% of Group revenues
o Group recurring revenue strengthened to 78% (H1 FY17: 76%)
-- Gross profit increased 25% to GBP11.0m (H1 FY17: GBP8.8m)
-- Adjusted(1) Operating Profit increased 66% to GBP2.0m (H1 FY17: GBP1.2m)
-- Adjusted(1) EBITDA increased 34% to GBP2.6m (H1 FY17: GBP2.0m)
-- Profit before tax increased to GBP1.5m (H1 FY17: GBP0.2m loss)
-- Strengthened balance sheet with net cash GBP1.7m (H1 FY17: net debt of (GBP2.1m))
Operational Highlights:
-- US Secure Payments business continues to build with seven
contracts won in H1 with total contract value of $5.1m (H1 FY17:
three contracts with $2.7m contract value)
-- Order book for US payments revenue to be recognised over
future periods has increased to $9.3m (FY17 $6.5m)
-- New three-year UK payments contract for large high street retailer won through partner BT
-- Three-year contract renewals with TenPin and PowerNI
-- Post period end:
o Two new 20-year US patents to be awarded underpinning US
payments revenue
1. Adjusted Operating Profit and EBITDA excludes expenses
relating to share option schemes, non-recurring items and expenses
relating to acquisitions
Nik Philpot, Chief Executive Officer, commented today:
"The clear progress we have made in the US in a short period of
time, combined with the size of the opportunity in that market,
continues to support our belief that it will surpass the UK. Eckoh
remains at the forefront of contact centre security and our
patents, including those that are to be newly awarded, now underpin
all of our US payments revenue creating a key differentiator and
barrier to future competitors.
As we enter the second half, taking into account the contracts
we have already won so far this year, and the strong near-term
sales pipeline, we are anticipating a second half in line with
current expectations."
For more information, please contact:
Eckoh plc
Nik Philpot, Chief Executive Tel: 01442
Officer 458 300
Chrissie Herbert, Chief Financial
Officer
www.eckoh.com
FTI Consulting LLP Tel: 020 3727
1000
Ed Bridges / Emma Hall / Darius
Alexander
eckoh@fticonsulting.com
N+1 Singer (Nomad & Joint Broker)
Shaun Dobson, Lauren Kettle Tel: 020 7496
3000
www.n1singer.com
Berenberg (Joint Broker)
Ben Wright, Chris Bowman, Mark Tel: 020 3207
Whitmore 7800
www.berenberg.de/en
About Eckoh plc
Eckoh is a global provider of secure payment products and
customer contact solutions, supporting an international client base
from its offices in the UK and US.
Our secure payments products, help our customers take payments
securely from their clients through multiple channels. Our products
which include the patented CallGuard, can be hosted in the Cloud or
deployed on the client's site and remove sensitive personal and
payment data from contact centres and IT environments. Our products
offer merchants a simple and effective way to reduce the risk of
fraud, secure sensitive data and become compliant with the Payment
Card Industry Data Security Standards ("PCI DSS") and wider data
security regulations. Eckoh has been a PCI DSS Level One Accredited
Service Provider since 2010, processing over $1bn in card payments
annually.
Eckoh's customer contact solutions enable enquiries and
transactions to be performed on whatever device the customer
chooses, allowing organisations to increase efficiency, lower
operational costs and provide a true Omni-channel experience. We
also assist organisations in transforming the way that they engage
with their customers by providing support and transition services
as they implement our innovative customer contact solutions.
Our large portfolio of clients come from a broad range of
vertical markets and includes government departments, telecoms
providers, retailers, utility providers and financial services
organisations.
Introduction
I am pleased to report that the first six months of the
financial year has seen a 10% increase in Group revenue, with 12%
organic growth(1) at constant exchange rates. Furthermore, gross
profit grew by 25% extending Eckoh's track record of double-digit
growth in these two measures.
Growth has been driven from the US, in particular the on-going
delivery of our Secure Payments strategy, which has seen the
Group's recurring revenue rise to 78%. Adoption of SaaS-style
pricing has continued, delivering higher levels of revenue
visibility following successful tendering and securing new US
contracts. The US operation now accounts for 37% of Group revenues
and the expectation is that the US operation will in time become
larger than the existing UK business.
In the UK, revenue was marginally lower but gross profit
slightly higher year on year. As highlighted in the full year
results we have restructured the UK sales function to ensure a
greater focus on larger strategic accounts and channel sales.
Whilst the positive impact of this change has yet to be seen in the
numbers, we have built a stronger pipeline of business and it's
anticipated that the benefits will start to be seen in the second
half, subject to the unpredictability of timing when closing larger
deals.
Overall, we anticipate that full year results will be in line
with market expectations.
1. Organic growth excludes in the UK the Klick2Contact business
in H1 2017 and in the US the closed Professional Services in H1
2016
A clear growth strategy
Our stated strategic objectives for this year and going forward
underpin our desire to become the global leader in our specialist
areas, but in particular, secure payments. These objectives
include:
-- Continuing to integrate and leverage the assets of the businesses acquired in recent years
-- Expanding our US footprint to capitalise on the fast-growing
market for secure payment opportunities
-- Increasing US recurring revenues by favouring SaaS style pricing
-- Broadening channel partnerships in both UK and US markets
-- Continuing to invest in R&D to underpin next generation
product development and maintain market leading position
-- Maximising client value through cross-selling
-- Continuing to evaluate acquisition opportunities that can support our growth strategy
Operational Review
US Division (37% of Group revenue, 58% recurring revenue)
The US division achieved revenue of $7.0m in the period, an
increase year on year of 28% (H1 FY17: $5.5m). This growth was
achieved despite the planned closure of the Professional Services
activities, which had generated $1m of revenue in the prior
period.
The Group's US focus remains on three sales activities where it
has the greatest differentiation and the least competition, being
Secure Payments, Support (of contact centre infrastructure) and
Product (notably Coral, an Omni-channel contact centre agent
desktop product). All three revenue streams have grown in the
period.
-- Secure Payments revenue grew fourfold to $2.4m, representing
35% of the US division's revenue compared to $0.6m and 11% for the
same period last year.
-- Support revenue accounted for 45% of revenue in the period at
$3.2m and grew by 14% year on year (H1 FY17: $2.8m).
-- Coral product had revenue of $0.9m in the period and grew by
3% year on year (H1 FY17: $0.9m) and other product revenues in the
period of $0.5m (H1 FY17: $0.2m).
Included in the results for the same period last year was the
Professional Services activity which has since been discontinued
(H1 FY17: $1.0m), if this was excluded the US division grew by 58%
year on year.
The first six months of this year has built on the success and
strong second half of last year. Seven new Secure Payments
contracts have been successfully secured during the period with a
total value of $5.1m compared to three in the same period last year
with a total value of $2.7m. The number of payments contracts won
in the US since Eckoh entered the market in 2014 is now 30.
We have moved our contracts predominantly to the 'SaaS style'
(which we refer to as 'Opex' pricing) as our preferred model, and
in the period, all of the new contract wins were of this nature.
With this model, typically 15-25% of the contract value is
recognised over the implementation period, which can be between six
to eight months for our patented on-site tokenisation solution,
CallGuard, which is selected by the vast majority of our clients.
The balance of the recurring revenue is recognised equally each
month over the remainder of the contract once the solution is
operational, which is generally three years. This is compared to
the 'Capex pricing', where customers would pay 65-70% of the
contract up front for the implementation of their service followed
by a three-year annual support and maintenance contract
representing the remaining 30-35%. Although the Opex method of
pricing leads to lower revenues in the year that the contract is
signed, it provides the Group with greater visibility on future
revenues and higher levels of recurring revenue in line with the UK
financial model.
The change in strategy for payment clients from the Capex style
contracts to the Opex pricing has been extremely successful as
shown in the table below:
Contract Total Contract Average Capex Opex
wins Value Contract Pricing Pricing
Value
--------- --------- --------------- ---------- --------- ---------
FY16 9 $1.6m $173k 8 1
--------- --------- --------------- ---------- --------- ---------
FY17 9 $8.3m $918k 2 7
--------- --------- --------------- ---------- --------- ---------
H1 FY17 3 $2.7m $912k 1 2
--------- --------- --------------- ---------- --------- ---------
H1 FY18 7 $5.1m $724k 0 7
--------- --------- --------------- ---------- --------- ---------
Eckoh has made good progress in converting its contracts
pipeline; both the number of contracts won and their total contract
value are significantly higher than in the same period last year.
The average contract value is as expected lower than the same
period last year and the full year ended 31 March 2017. As
previously indicated, in the financial year ended 31 March 2017
there were two large payments contracts, which increased the
average contract value over and above the level management deem as
normal. The Group's largest Secure Payments contract won in this
period was a three-year contract with a global Healthcare business
worth $1.6m, which was won against the Group's main competitor.
With all contracts secured under the Opex pricing model, the end of
the period order book of unrecognised revenue, which will be
recognised largely over the next three years, stood at $9.3m (end
of FY17 $6.5m).
Recurring revenues for the year in the US were 58% (H1 FY17:
57%) and we anticipate this to grow further as the as the
proportion of revenue from Secure Payments increases. Progress has
been made on broadening our partner channels for Secure Payments, a
number of referral arrangements have been signed with specialist
consultancies and other arrangements are in discussion.
In Support, where our service provides third party guidance
within large Contact Centre operations for customers such as Avaya,
Cisco, Genesys and Aspect, the division has grown 14% principally
due to the large contract signed last year with a major US
telecommunications company, which went live in June 2016. We
continue to pursue new Support opportunities and see this activity
as a key part of our US strategy as we seek to leverage the team
who work in Support across our other sales channels. The customers
for whom we provide support can also be excellent prospects for
both our Secure Payments and Coral product, as seen from the
lucrative contracts the Group has won through cross-selling.
In the period there have been no additional licence sales
achieved for the Coral product, however as explained previously,
the sale of the licenses are somewhat ad hoc in nature. Coral is a
browser-based agent desktop tool to increase efficiency by bringing
all their communications into a single screen. It also enables
organisations, particularly those who have grown by acquisition, to
standardise their Contact Centre facilities, as Coral can be
implemented in environments that operate on entirely different
underlying technology. Eckoh has been the exclusive reseller for
Coral since the product was launched some years ago and in the
period the contract has been renewed for a six-year period, with
the exclusive arrangement in place until at least 2021. We are also
in the process of fully integrating the Klick2Contact (K2C) product
set into the desktop capability, which we believe will enhance the
product offering.
UK Division (63% of Group revenue, 89% recurring revenue)
In the UK, unlike the US, the Group sells its full portfolio of
services and over the last 15 years has built up a large client
base of customers, with many having been with the Group for more
than a decade. In the period, revenue for the UK division decreased
by 1% to GBP9.4m (H1 FY17: GBP9.5) whilst gross profit has
increased 2% to GBP7.8m (H1 FY17: GBP7.7m). Gross margins in the UK
have increased to 84% (H1 FY17: 81%) and recurring revenue has
increased to 89% from 85% in the same period last year.
We now have 87 UK clients who generate more than GBP25k per
annum of revenue (H1 FY17: 74 clients). The largest contract to be
renewed during the period was with Tenpin, which has been renewed
for a further three years running up to October 2020 to provide
both Secure Payments and Customer Contact Services. Through our
long-standing partner BT we have also secured a three-year contract
with a large high street retailer to provide Secure Payments, which
we hope to go live in the second half. Our contract with PowerNI
through BT has also been renewed for a further three years taking
the relationship to more than a decade.
Looking at the segmentation of UK revenue for these 87 clients,
27% (FY17: 23%) came from Payment services, 26% (FY17: 33%) from
Customer Contact Solutions and the remaining 46% (FY17: 44%) from
those clients where we provide a combination of both solutions. The
average client contract value currently stands at GBP260k per
annum, and GBP530k for clients we service with both solutions,
significantly higher than those we service with just Secure
Payments or Customer Contact Services. Our model of cross-selling
to existing clients remains a key part of the Eckoh strategy, not
just to generate incremental revenue but also to continue the trend
of strong client retention and to further increase the lifetime
value of the Group's customers.
Partnerships arrangements remain an important channel to market
and we have recently started working on a new client with Capita,
who have proven to be an important driver of large customers
historically. Our relationship with Teleperformance has
strengthened and in June we announced the first contract to be won
through them to deliver solutions from both the Eckoh and K2C
portfolio into Her Majesty's Passport Office. We have since begun
providing services to another new Teleperformance customer in the
insurance sector, who we also expect to take a cross-section of
solutions.
Research commissioned recently by Eckoh with ContactBabel has
identified that there are 572m card payments made annually over the
phone through UK contact centres, on average one payment a month
for every adult in the country. With GDPR taking effect from April
2018 organisations face the prospect of very significant fines for
non-compliance and need to take even greater steps to secure their
customer's personal data, and Eckoh is well placed to assist in
that regard.
Innovation
As announced on November 9(th) 2017 we received notification
from the US Patent and Trademark Office that two new 20-year
patents will be granted for Eckoh's industry-leading contact centre
security solution, CallGuard.
In 2015, Eckoh was awarded a US patent for part of its CallGuard
offering but these new awards will ensure that all current Eckoh US
payments revenue and future contracted payments revenue will be
protected by at least one Eckoh patent. With over $13m of US
payments contracts having been won in the last 18 months, and the
US market growing rapidly, this protection of Eckoh's intellectual
property is strategically vital in ensuring we continue to lead
this key market.
The first new CallGuard patent to be awarded is for Eckoh's
tokenisation process that automatically replaces real card payment
data or other personal data such as Social Security numbers with
valueless 'placeholders' thereby encrypting and protecting
customer's sensitive data. These placeholders can flow safely
through a contact centre's telephony and data networks, reducing
the risk of hacking and ensuring agents are not exposed to
customers' sensitive data.
The second US patent that will be awarded is for
transformational technology that not only provides a secure way for
merchants to take a phone payment but also identify potentially
fraudulent callers. Eckoh's advancement here uses both voice
biometrics to authenticate a caller, and a phone 'footprint' to
authenticate the caller's mobile device. This dual authentication
mechanism will provide a more secure way for merchants to verify
that the caller is the genuine cardholder. Today, a fraudster may
be in possession of stolen card details, but they are highly
unlikely to pass a voice biometric check and to also be calling
from the cardholder's own mobile phone. As such, Eckoh's
new-patented approach could reduce the risk of fraud
substantially.
With incoming regulation such as the Payments Services Directive
2 (PSD2) demanding tighter security via two-stage authentication,
Eckoh's newly patented dual authentication transaction process
demonstrates the Group's innovation to bring to market a solution
that meets industry and customer needs for the long term. Securing
these two new patents strengthens the Group's industry-leading
position in offering the consumer an enhanced user experience,
whilst maintaining the highest levels of data security.
Finally, on November 16(th) at the 2017 Payment Awards Eckoh was
the winner of the Payment Innovation of the Year Award for our
ground-breaking solution to enable a secure payment to be made
using Apple Pay over a phone call. This innovation was first
announced in October 2016 and was then subsequently implemented
into our first live client Thames Water in June.
Board Changes
In June 2017 Christopher Humphrey was appointed as Non-executive
Director and following the AGM in September, he became Chairman. In
May 2017, Chrissie Herbert was appointed to the role of Chief
Financial Officer.
Current Trading and Outlook
Given the nature of its business, Eckoh has always operated a
model where the second half of the financial year is significantly
more profitable than the first and this factor remains.
The clear progress we have made in the US, combined with the
size of the opportunity in that market, continues to support our
belief that, in time, it will surpass the UK. Eckoh remains at the
forefront of contact centre security and our patents, including
those that are to be newly awarded, now underpin all of our US
payments revenue creating a key differentiator and barrier to
future competitors.
As we enter the second half, taking into account the contracts
we have already won so far this year, and the strong near-term
sales pipeline, we are anticipating a second half in line with
current expectations.
Financial Review
Revenue
Revenue for the period was 10% higher than the prior financial
year at GBP14.8m (H1 FY17: GBP13.5m). Movements in revenue between
the US and UK divisions have been addressed in the Operational
Review above.
H1 FY18 H1 FY18 H1 FY18 H1 FY17 H1 FY17 H1 FY17
(UK)
GBP000 (US) Total (UK) (US) Total
GBP000 GBP000 GBP000 GBP000 GBP000
-------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- --------
Revenue 9,367 5,442 14,809 9,459 4,001 13,460
Gross Profit 7,824 3,178 11,002 7,700 1,132 8,832
Gross margin 84% 58% 74% 81% 28% 66%
-------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- --------
Gross profit margin increased from 66% for the first half 2017
to 70% for the year ended March 2017 and with continued improvement
during the first half 2018, to 74%. Margins have increased in both
the UK and US. In the UK margins have increased to 84%, by 1% from
the full year results to March 2017. In the US the increase is as
expected following the closure of the Professional Services
division and the increase in the US Secure Payments business. We
expect the gross profit margin to continue to grow as the Secure
Payments business continues to grow in the US.
Profitability Measures
Adjusted EBITDA for the period rose by 34% to GBP2.6m (H1 FY17:
GBP2.0m), in the previous year there were losses of GBP0.6m
incurred for the now closed Professional Services division. In the
first half 2018, the deferred consideration in relation to the K2C
earn-out has been released.
Six months Six months Year
ended ended ended
30 Sept 30 Sept 31 March
2017 2016 2017
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
---------------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------
Profit / (loss) before
tax 1,538 (170) 1,623
Amortisation of intangible
assets 1,219 1,254 2,619
Depreciation 485 562 1,058
Transactions relating
to acquisitions 0 243 319
Expenses relating to
share option schemes 315 2 24
Interest receivable (3) (5) (43)
Finance income (975) - -
Finance expense 47 70 205
---------------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------
Adjusted EBITDA 2,626 1,956 5,805
---------------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------
Finance income
In the six months ended 30 September 2017 finance income
includes a credit of GBP975k relating to the K2C contingent
consideration.
Finance expense
For the financial period ended 30 September 2017, the net
interest charge was GBP44k (H1 FY17: GBP65k). In the full year
ended 31 March 2017, included within finance expenses was a charge
of GBP63k relating to the unwinding of the discount on the
contingent consideration for the acquisition of K2C. No such
charges were incurred in for the financial period ended 30
September 2017.
Cashflow and liquidity
Net cash at 30 September 2017 was GBP1.7m, an improvement of
GBP3.8m to the previous year and an improvement from 31 March 2017
of GBP1.5m. In the period the Company has repaid GBP0.7m of the
loans outstanding to Barclays Bank in accordance with the terms of
the loan. During the period, there has been a net cash outflow for
trade debtors and trade creditors of GBP0.4m (H1 FY16:
(GBP3.3m)).
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
for the six months ended 30 September 2017
Six months Six months Year
ended ended ended
30 September 30 September 31 March
2017 2016 2017
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
-------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Continuing operations
Revenue 14,809 13,460 29,078
Cost of sales (3,807) (4,628) (8,751)
--------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Gross profit 11,002 8,832 20,327
Administrative expenses (9,049) (7,655) (16,013)
--------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Adjusted Operating Profit 1,953 1,177 4,314
Amortisation of acquired
intangible assets (1,031) (1,037) (2,186)
Expenses relating to share
option schemes (315) (2) (24)
Transactions relating to
acquisitions - (243) (319)
--------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Profit / (loss) from operating
activities 607 (105) 1,785
Interest payable (47) (70) (205)
Finance income 975 - -
Interest receivable 3 5 43
Profit / (loss) before
taxation 1,538 (170) 1,623
Taxation (177) (94) (184)
Total comprehensive income
/ (loss) for the period 1,361 (264) 1,439
================================= ============== ============== ==========
Profit / (loss) per share
expressed in pence
-------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Basic 0.55 (0.11) 0.60
Diluted 0.53 (0.10) 0.56
--------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Consolidated statement of financial position
as at 30 September 2017
30 September 30 September 31 March
2017 2016 2017
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
----------------------------- ------------- ------------- ----------
Assets
Non-current assets
Intangible assets 8,811 11,296 9,991
Tangible assets 4,818 5,122 5,023
Deferred tax asset 3,139 4,516 3,578
------------------------------ ------------- ------------- ----------
16,768 20,934 18,592
----------------------------- ------------- ------------- ----------
Current assets
Inventories 622 999 713
Trade and other receivables 9,805 9,809 11,557
Cash and cash equivalents 6,909 4,447 6,083
------------------------------ ------------- ------------- ----------
17,336 15,255 18,353
----------------------------- ------------- ------------- ----------
Total assets 34,104 36,189 36,945
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables (6,975) (7,959) (9,155)
Other interest-bearing
loans and borrowings (1,300) (1,300) (1,300)
------------------------------ ------------- ------------- ----------
(8,275) (9,259) (10,455)
----------------------------- ------------- ------------- ----------
Non-current liabilities
Other interest-bearing
loans and borrowings (3,900) (5,200) (4,550)
Contingent consideration - (912) (975)
Deferred tax liability (976) (1,599) (1,238)
------------------------------ ------------- ------------- ----------
(4,876) (7,711) (6,763)
----------------------------- ------------- ------------- ----------
Net assets 20,953 19,219 19,727
------------------------------ ------------- ------------- ----------
Shareholders' equity
Share capital 630 603 611
ESOP Reserve (158) (7) (83)
Capital redemption
reserve 198 198 198
Share premium 2,641 3,010 2,660
Merger reserve 2,697 2,353 2,697
Currency reserve 263 337 472
Retained earnings 14,682 12,725 13,172
------------------------------ ------------- ------------- ----------
Total shareholders'
equity 20,953 19,219 19,727
------------------------------ ------------- ------------- ----------
Consolidated interim statement of changes in equity
as at 30 September 2017
(unaudited)
Capital Total
Share ESOP redemption Share Merger Retained Currency shareholders'
capital Reserve reserve premium reserve earnings reserve equity
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Balance at
1 April 2016 600 (17) 198 2,612 2,353 12,942 157 18,845
Total comprehensive
expense for
the period - - - - - (264) - (264)
Shares issued
on acquisition
of Klick2Contact
(EU) Ltd 2 - - - 344 - - 346
Shares transacted
through Employee
Benefit Trust - 10 - 5 - (8) - 7
Shares issued
under the share
option schemes 1 - - 49 - - - 50
Retranslation - - - - - - 180 180
Share based
payment charge - - - - - 55 - 55
Balance as
at 30 September
2016 603 (7) 198 2,666 2,697 12,725 337 19,219
-------------------- --------- --------- ------------ --------- --------- ---------- --------- ---------------
Balance as
at 1 October
2016 603 (7) 198 2,666 2,697 12,725 337 19,219
Total comprehensive
income for
the period - - - - - 1,703 - 1,703
Shares issued
on acquisition
of Klick2Contact
(EU) Ltd - - - - - - - -
Shares transacted
through Employee
Benefit Trust - 6 - - - (6) - -
Purchase of
own shares - (82) - - - - - (82)
Dividends paid
in the year - - - - - (1,084) - (1,084)
Shares issued
under the share
option schemes 8 - - (6) - - - 2
Retranslation - - - - - - 135 135
Share based
payment charge - - - - - 77 - 77
Deferred tax
on share options - - - - - (243) - (243)
Balance at
31 March 2017 611 (83) 198 2,660 2,697 13,172 472 19,727
-------------------- --------- --------- ------------ --------- --------- ---------- --------- ---------------
Balance at
1 April 2017 611 (83) 198 2,660 2,697 13,172 472 19,727
-------------------- --------- --------- ------------ --------- --------- ---------- --------- ---------------
Total comprehensive
income for
the period - - - - - 1,361 - 1,361
Shares transacted
through Employee
Benefit Trust - 1 - - (8) - (7)
Purchase of
own shares - (76) - - - - - (76)
Dividends paid
in the year - - - - - - - -
Shares issued
under the share
option schemes 19 - - (19) - - - -
Retranslation - - - - - - (209) (209)
Share based
payment charge - - - - - 157 - 157
-------------------- --------- --------- ------------ --------- --------- ---------- --------- ---------------
Balance at
30 September
2017 630 (158) 198 2,641 2,697 14,682 263 20,953
-------------------- --------- --------- ------------ --------- --------- ---------- --------- ---------------
Consolidated statement of cash flows
for the six months ended 30 September 2017
Six months Six months Year
ended ended ended
30 September 30 September 31 March
2017 2016 2017
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
--------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated / (utilised)
from operations 1,922 (1,580) 2,475
Taxation - (15) (263)
--------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Net cash generated / (utilised)
from continuing operating activities 1,922 (1,595) 2,212
--------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant
and equipment (280) (286) (598)
Purchase of intangible fixed
assets (39) (107) (200)
Proceeds from sale of intangible
fixed assets - - 18
Interest paid (47) (70) (142)
Interest received 3 5 43
Acquisition of subsidiary, net
of cash acquired - (1,920) (1,860)
--------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Net cash utilised in continuing
investing activities (363) (2,378) (2,739)
--------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid - - (1,084)
Proceeds from new loan - 2,000 6,500
Repayment of borrowings (650) (250) (5,400)
Purchase of own shares (76) - (82)
Issue of shares - 51 52
Shares acquired by Employee
Benefit Trust (7) 2 7
--------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Net cash (utilised) / generated
in continuing investing activities (733) 1,803 (7)
Increase / (decrease) in cash
and cash equivalents 826 (2,170) (534)
Cash and cash equivalents at
the start of the period 6,083 6,617 6,617
--------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Cash and cash equivalents at
the end of the period 6,909 4,447 6,083
--------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Notes to the interim financial statements
For the six months ended 30 September 2017
1. Basis of preparation
These consolidated interim financial statements have been
prepared in accordance with international Financial Reporting
Standards ("IFRS") as adopted by the European Union and on a
historical basis, using the accounting policies which are
consistent with those set out in the Group's annual report and
accounts for the year ended 31 March 2017.
The unaudited interim financial information for the period ended
30 September 2017 does not constitute statutory accounts within the
meaning of Section 435 of the Companies Act 2066. The comparative
figures for the year ended 31 March 2017 are extracted from the
statutory financial statements which have been filed with the
Registrar of Companies and contain an unqualified audit report and
did not contain statements under Section 498 to 502 of the
Companies Act 2006.
The statutory financial statements for the year ended 31 March
2017 detail the IFRSs which will be effective in the financial
year's ending 31 March 2018, 31 March 2019 and 31 March 2020. The
statutory financial statements for the year ending 31 March 2017
included a description of the impact on the Group of IFRS 15
Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The Group has continued to
analyse the impact of IFRS15. In the UK business, where recurring
revenues are high as a proportion of total revenue and the business
is mature, it is anticipated that there will be minimal impact of
deferring revenue and costs to future periods. In the US business
where the Secure Payments business is less mature and there are
lower recurring revenues as a proportion of total revenue, it is
anticipated that there will be a more material impact with the
deferral of revenue and costs into future periods. As the business
continues to grow and secure more Secure Payments contracts the
impact will continue to be monitored. In both the UK and US
business it is unlikely that there will be an impact on cashflow
from the implementation of IFRS 15 from 1(st) April 2018.
The directors are satisfied that the Group has adequate
resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable
future, a period of not less than 12 months from the date of this
report. The Group's liquidity and going concern review can be found
in the Management Report on page 7.
2. Significant Accounting Policies
The accounting polices applied are consistent with those of the
annual financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2017, as
described in those financial statements.
In the six months ended 30 September 2017 Finance income
includes a credit of GBP975k relating to the K2C contingent
consideration.
3. Dividends
The proposed dividend of GBP1.2m for the year ended 31 March
2017 of 0.48p per share was paid on 27 October 2017.
4. Earnings per share
The basic and diluted earnings per share are calculated on the
following profit and number of shares. Earnings for the calculation
of earnings per share is the net profit attributable to equity
holders of the parent.
Six months Six months Year
ended ended ended
30 September 30 September 31 March
2017 2016 2017
GBP000 GBP000 GBP000
--------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Earnings for the purposes of
basic and diluted earnings per
share 1,361 264 1,439
--------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Six months Six months Year
ended ended ended
30 September 30 September 31 March
2017 2016 2017
Denominator '000 '000 '000
-------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Weighted average number of shares
in issue in the period 245,641 238,660 241,550
Shares held by employee ownership
plan (550) (9) (323)
Shares held in Employee Benefit
Trust - (2) (2)
-------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Number of shares used in calculating
basic earnings per share 245,091 238,649 241,225
Dilutive effect of potential
shares and share options 10,902 13,648 15,281
-------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Number of shares used in calculating
diluted earnings per share 255,993 252,297 256,506
-------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
5. Cash flow from operating activities
Six months Six months Year
ended ended ended
30 September 30 September 31 March
2017 2016 2017
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
----------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Profit after taxation 1,361 (264) 1,439
Interest income (3) (5) (43)
Finance income (975) - -
Interest payable 47 70 142
Taxation 177 94 184
Depreciation of property, plant
and equipment 485 562 1,058
Exchange differences (209) 180 226
Amortisation of intangible assets 1,219 1,254 2,619
Share based payments 157 55 132
----------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
Operating profit before changes
in working capital and provisions 2,259 1,946 5,757
Decrease/ (increase) in inventories 91 (251) 35
Increase in trade and other receivables 1,752 (495) (2,243)
Increase in trade and other payables (2,180) (2,780) (1,074)
Net cash generated in operating
activities 1,922 (1,580) 2,475
----------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ----------
6. Contingent liabilities
In the statutory financial statements for the year ended 31
March 2017, there were details of a claim that had been lodged
against the Group which relates to a project that has been
discontinued. The Group do not believe the claim is valid and
continues to vigorously defend the claim and as such no liability
has been recognised in the interim financial statements for the
period ended 30 September 2017.
7. Subsequent events to 30 September 2017
As at the date of these statements there were no such events to
report.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
IR VFLFLDFFLFBK
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