Preliminary Results

09 March 2010

STM Group Plc (AIM:STM), the cross border financial services provider, announces its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2009.

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Year end highlights

Financial

Operational

Board

Tim Revill, founder of STM's first acquisition, Fidecs Group Limited, has today announced that he will be stepping down from his current role as Chief Executive Officer but will remain on the board as Deputy Chairman. Colin Porter, currently Chief Operations Officer will take up the role of Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.

Commenting on the results, Tim Revill, Deputy Chairman, said: "The early part of 2009 saw the economies of the world and the global banking system at their most depressed and unstable level in living memory. Most entrepreneurs deferred decisions, whilst they waited to see the outcome. STM's business is to provide financial advice and appropriate administrative structures for investors and entrepreneurs making cross-border commitments. The lower level of client activity, the slower take-up of our new financial products and consequently the Group's revenue in 2009 did not reach our expectations at the beginning of the year.

"However, our business has now stabilised and we see that confidence and financial activity is gradually returning to near normal levels. This, together with STM's wider international presence and the Group's new products, gives the Board confidence that 2010 should show considerable improvement in our results."

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Chairman's statement

Overview

It has been a frustrating and challenging year for STM. Despite our core Corporate and Trustee Service divisions ("CTS") delivering robust revenues in line with expectations and profitability, the new initiatives of STM Swiss and STM Life have experienced slower than expected take up, and a number of one-off factors have diminished a significant amount of that profitability.

The positives are that the Group's recurring revenue business model remains strong, even in these times of unprecedented economic crisis, and this gives us confidence for the future performance of STM. The Board believes that both the STM Life insurance wrapper product and the jurisdictional importance of Switzerland justify the short-term cost of entry into areas that will prove profitable for the business going forward.

The Group has also seen a significant number of senior management changes, not least with the announcement today that Tim Revill, currently Chief Executive Officer and founder of STM's first acquisition, Fidecs Group Limited, will be stepping down to become Deputy Chairman. Tim's continued vision and energy will be focused into business development and marketing, and the Board looks forward to benefiting from this in the coming years. Colin Porter, currently Chief Operations Officer takes up the role of Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. Colin joined STM in 2008 and is ideally suited to drive the Group's operational growth during 2010 and beyond.

The STM "buy and build" strategy in 2008 and previously, coupled with the Group's Luxembourg acquisition announced in July 2009 has meant that STM can justifiably say that it has a significant international presence. STM now has offices in Gibraltar, Spain, Jersey, Switzerland, Luxembourg (subject to regulatory approval) and British Virgin Islands, and is poised to benefit from the ability to cross-sell to clients across the jurisdictions. Such a footprint not only increases STM's product range but also geographically diversifies the Group's client portfolio thus decreasing its business risk profile.

The Board views 2010 as a year in which to consolidate the initiatives of previous years in order to deliver profitable growth. Acquisition activity will be limited in 2010, once the correct target in Jersey is secured which will allow STM to achieve critical mass in that jurisdiction as well as allowing the office to achieve its full potential. Any such acquisition will be earnings enhancing in its own right.

2010 will see a focus on business development to increase STM's market share of the CTS sector, as well as targeted marketing of the Group's newly launched products. Our Group-wide IT platform will be in place during 2010, which is expected to increase efficiencies.

STM is a people and relationship business and its strength is in the quality of its management and staff. On behalf of the whole Board, I would like to express thanks for their continued dedication, professionalism and hard work over the last year.

Bernard Gallagher
Non-Executive Chairman
9 March 2010

 

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Deputy Chairman's Review

Introduction

2009 has been an extremely frustrating and challenging year for STM, which has not been immune from the global crisis. Certain divisions of the Group performed relatively well, despite the general lower levels of activity across financial markets, but, as previously flagged, the Group experienced a slower than expected take up in its new initiatives and a number of one-off factors that have impinged on the overall profitability of the Group. That said, activity levels appear to be improving and the Board anticipates that the investments undertaken in 2009 will begin to bear fruit in 2010.

Group revenue of £8.5 million for 2009 held up reasonably well compared to £9.2 million for 2008, particularly as treasury management income in 2009 was approximately £0.6 million lower than 2008.

Encouragingly, within the operational review of the business, it is apparent that the Corporate Trustee Services (CTS) revenue, the core "engine" of STM's business, has demonstrated a comparable fee level for 2009 as compared to 2008, despite the adverse economic conditions that have prevailed.

The expensed start up costs of over £0.5 million in relation to two of STM's new initiatives in 2009, STM Swiss and STM Life further impacted on the Group's profitability but are investments that will be beneficial to the future of STM, giving further product and jurisdictional advantage when compared to our competitors. In addition, there were one-off costs of £0.3 million in relation to reorganising the management structure and recruiting a business development team that will benefit 2010 profitability but curtailed that of 2009.

Stability of STM's business model

The Group's business is the custodianship and administration of clients' assets within a variety of "wrappers": including companies and trusts in various jurisdictions; pension schemes; unit-linked life assurance policies; and foundations.

The Group's income is mainly derived from fixed and time-based administration fees from each entity and is not generally linked directly to the value of the assets under our custody. Importantly, a high proportion is repeat income. The Group's earnings are therefore largely predictable and a function of the number of entities under administration, the fees per entity and the productivity of STM's staff.

Acquisition activity during 2009

The hard work performed behind the scenes by the Group's small acquisition team is not immediately apparent, particularly in 2009.

In July 2009, STM announced, subject to regulatory approval, the purchase of a CTSP in Luxembourg, the Citadel Group, that fitted our model and expectations. This approval has not yet been received but is anticipated in the very near future. STM will benefit from the results of the Citadel Group from the date of the approval. In addition, the team continues to seek out and assess a suitable acquisition target in Jersey that would add critical scale to our business there, but the overriding focus will centre on delivering integration gains on existing acquisitions for 2010 rather than specifically looking for further acquisition targets in new jurisdictions.

Product and business development

STM's purpose is to provide innovative and unbiased financial solutions to High Net Worth Individuals ("HNWI"), who are investing or moving cross-border or opening a business overseas. The Group's objective is to ensure that its clients' assets are secure, their wealth is preserved and the transfer to the next generation and/or to philanthropic causes is planned for and executed efficiently.

The business model of STM is designed to take advantage of a highly fragmented CTSP sector both from a buy and build philosophy as well as by being able to service the needs of its clients. To be able to do this, STM has needed a geographical spread that fulfils the requirements of its clients. In 2009, STM has achieved this spread with a small but stable Jersey operation, a Luxembourg acquisition and a small Swiss office start up which complements the existing profitable offices in Gibraltar and Spain. STM is now able to keep in-house significantly more of a HNWI's expenditure on wealth preservation and asset administration, rather than out-sourcing to other providers. This leads to new business from existing clients as the STM service is able to cater for the ever increasing financial sophistication of our clients.

Profitability during a recession is dependant on increasing market share. For this reason, STM has invested further in business development in 2009. This comprises strengthening the marketing support as well as building the Group's business development team both at a client level as well as at an intermediary level. The full benefit of this investment should become apparent in 2010.

STM has also invested in product development. Again, this is aimed at offering a wider service and accommodating the needs of both existing and new clients. STM has developed products in the area of Jersey foundations, retirement benefits, pension transfers, life bonds for expatriates returning to the UK, and an integrated inheritance management solution for expatriates in Spain. Whilst the cost of such development is expensed in 2009, the anticipated revenue benefit will commence in 2010.

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Operational Review

For the purposes of reporting the Group's performance during 2009, the principal trading divisions were Corporate and Trustee Services ("CTS") and Insurance Management ("STM FIM"), as well as a number of "Other Divisions" offering complementary services.

Group turnover for 2009 amounted to £8.5 million compared to £9.2 million in 2008. The drop is partly as a result of the loss of the treasury management fee income of £0.6 million between 2009 and 2008 due to the worldwide uncertainty surrounding the banking system that resulted in clients requesting individual bank accounts rather than a pooled client account.

However, as can be seen from the more in-depth review of STM's CTS division below, the main engine of the Group's business continues to perform in line with the Board's expectations. The challenges that have arisen are from some of STM's smaller divisions that have struggled to maintain their turnover compared to 2008 as more fully explained below, and this, coupled with the expensed costs of £0.5 million for the Group's two new start up divisions, STM Life and STM Swiss has significantly eroded profitability.

In addition, there has been a significant amount of restructuring and reorganisational costs in the form of redundancies and recruitment amounting to circa £0.3 million, which are one-off costs in 2009. These decisions have been made in 2009 so as to bring together a stronger management team that is more focussed on business development which will stand the Group in good stead for 2010.

Board Changes

Colin Porter joined STM in July 2008 as CEO of the Gibraltar and Jersey trading division, and was appointed to the Plc Board in July 2009 as Chief Operating Officer.

Tim Revill, founder of STM's first acquisition, Fidecs Group Limited, has today announced that he will be stepping down from his current role as Chief Executive Officer but will remain on the Board as Deputy Chairman, with specific responsibility for growing STM Swiss and business development throughout the Group. Colin Porter, currently Chief Operations Officer will take up the role of Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.

Corporate and Trustee Services ("CTS")

CTS is the core revenue stream of the Group, with revenue in 2009 being generated from both Gibraltar and Jersey. STM's CTS fees comprise a fixed annual fee per entity plus time charges for ongoing administration fees and are not based on the value of assets under management. Therefore the administration revenue stream has not been significantly affected by the instability experienced in the wider financial markets during 2009. Management noted that there was a lower level of new instructions and new clients during most of 2009 as entrepreneurs held back on their decision making process. This resulted in a marginally lower than anticipated administration fees revenue. Activity levels are, however, now beginning to recover.

The only area within the CTS revenue that was materially affected related by the wider economy was treasury management fee income, which fell from £0.6 million in 2008 to £nil in 2009, as clients requested separate bank accounts rather than a pooled client account.

The Group is pleased to say that the turnover of STM CTS revenue, excluding treasury management fees, rose from £4.6 million in 2008 to £5.3 million in 2009. Approximately £0.4 million of this can be attributed to the full year contribution of the 2008 acquisition of St George Financial Services ("St George"), but the underlying organic growth demonstrates that the principal revenue stream of the business remains robust and predictable.

CTS Gibraltar revenue, excluding treasury management fees, amounted to £4.5 million in 2009 compared to £4.2 million in 2008, a pleasing increase in revenue of 7% and is a direct like for like comparison.

CTS Jersey revenue rose from £0.4 million to £0.85 million in 2009, the increase being primarily a full year contribution from St George.

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The number of entities administered at 31 December 2009 is set out below:

             
    Trusts   Companies   R.O. and
            Co sec.
             
Gibraltar   509   904   206
Jersey   211   101   108
    720   1,005   314

The number of entities under management remains similar to that of 2008 on a like for like basis, with an increase in trusts, but a small reduction of lower fee paying companies. These figures demonstrate a healthy spread of revenue across a large portfolio of entities thus contributing to the predictability and robustness of the CTS business.

The standard attrition rate for CTSP client portfolios throughout the sector, which also applies to STM, is approximately 10% per annum.

Insurance Management ("STM FIM")

STM FIM has had a difficult 2009. Market conditions in the general insurance sector have meant that no new clients were signed up during the year. The lack of capital available to the sector as a whole has meant that potential new start-ups have been few and far between. This, coupled with the anticipated loss of one client comprising two insurance companies that set up its own Gibraltar infrastructure early in 2009, resulted in STM FIM's turnover amounting to approximately £1.0 million compared to £1.4 million in 2008. To combat this fall in revenue STM FIM has restructured its division during the latter part of 2009 resulting in a significant staff cost reduction going into 2010.

Average annual fees for the management of a third party insurance client are in excess of £100,000 per annum and remain sustainable going forward. With a solid platform of clients going into 2010 and the cost reductions mentioned above, STM FIM's profitability is anticipated to return to a similar level to that of 2008.

In addition, on a further positive note, investment market conditions in 2009 have meant that insurance companies can no longer rely on investment income to generate their business profits. This has forced the premium rates to harden generally in the latter part of 2009 and 2010, thus driving up underlying underwriting profitability and making investment in the insurance sector more attractive. This has fed through to a number of new enquiries in early 2010. The challenge for STM FIM is to ensure that these turn into new clients in the second half of the year, thus increasing revenue and profitability further.

Other Divisions

The divisions of the STM business below are all complementary to the core business of the Group, being the administration of clients' assets. These divisions either provide advisory and structuring support, or offer client asset administration through another form of "wrap", such as a life assurance bond.

STM Nummos

STM Nummos' business is the provision of legal services, including conveyancing, tax planning, tax and accounting compliance to expatriates resident in Spain and to non-residents investing in Spain. In 2009, fee and commission income for STM Nummos increased slightly from £0.6 million in 2008 to £0.7 million for 2009. This was in line with management's expectations and a positive result given the difficult state of the Spanish economy.

In addition, in late 2008 STM Nummos Life was licensed by the Spanish regulator, the DGSFP, to undertake insurance intermediary business, particularly private medical insurance, throughout Spain. The Group subsequently completed the purchase of a portfolio of over 600 BUPA clients mainly resident in Spain. This portfolio of business generated circa £0.2 million of revenue in 2009 and has performed according to expectations.

The strategy behind securing the BUPA agency is that it should lead to considerably increased 'footfall' of HNWI expatriates to STM's offices, to whom the Group will cross-sell the full range of STM services, and these are initiatives that will be promoted during 2010.

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Pensions

This division was launched during 2007 and has rapidly established a reputation as the pension specialists in Gibraltar. STM Fidecs Life, Health and Pensions ("FLHP") and its associated trust company provides advice on structuring pensions, acts as a registered Pensioneer Trustee (professional trustee) and provides administration services both in the local market and for international pension schemes. Overseas Pension Transfers are a fast expanding market and STM has promoted itself and Gibraltar as a preferred jurisdiction.

During 2009 FLHP revenue remained similar to that of 2008 at circa £0.3 million. New business generation was slow principally due to the ongoing debate with HMRC as to the tax treatment of pension income on Gibraltar QROPS. FLHP has been key in discussions between Gibraltar and the UK in settling this matter, and it is anticipated that the relevant legislation will be passed into Gibraltar law in the near future. In the meantime, FLHP has been developing other retirement benefit products along side QROPS that will complement its existing product offerings. With new products and new marketing initiatives for 2010, the management of FLHP are expecting a significant increase in revenue during 2010.

Tax and Financial Advisory

The Tax and Financial Advisory division had a difficult year, which was not helped by the continuing economic uncertainty which meant that entrepreneurs were delaying their business decisions. Annual income decreased to £0.2 million from £0.4 million the previous year.

STM Group has spent significant amounts of management time in repositioning the Tax and Financial Advisory division. The division is a centre of excellence for the benefit of the whole Group and will in future be used significantly more for in-house product development across all the jurisdictions. The benefit of such product development will be received in other divisions.

Other initiatives

In 2009, some £0.5 million was spent on developing the STM Life Assurance PCC Plc ("STM Life") business and the STM Swiss start up jurisdiction. These costs were expensed in the year, with minimal revenue offsetting these costs. The Board believes that both these operations will add significant value to the Group going forward. STM Life's "wrapper" product has some clear advantages over its competitors and has now been marketed through various IFA networks in the UK and has been well received, with new policies and illustrations now being issued. STM Life's platform and ability to write business in other EU jurisdictions mean that it will be able to market its bond in other jurisdictions at a very low cost of entry. Initial opportunities exist in Spain, Belgium and Holland. In a similar vein, STM Swiss has now started to generate revenue in 2010 and is deemed by management to be a key jurisdiction in which to have an STM presence. STM Swiss is targeted with being break even on a monthly basis by mid 2010.

Financial Review

For the year to 31 December 2009, the Group recorded turnover of £8.5 million (2008: £9.2 million) and a profit after tax of £0.64 million (2008: £2.60 million). Turnover excluding treasuring management fees was in line with the Board's revised expectations and that of 2008, but the margin at profit before tax ("PBT") level was a mere 8.0% (2008: 30.9%). The margin at PBT level has been significantly eroded because of a number of factors, as disclosed above. These include the loss of the very high margin treasury management fee revenue, the significant start up costs of STM Life and STM Swiss which has resulted in some £0.5 million of additional costs with the revenue stream yet to come to fruition as at 31 December 2009. STM's taxation charge for the year was on budget at £0.04 million (2008: £0.16 million). Basic EPS for the year was 1.57 pence (2008: 6.48 pence).

In line with all CTS businesses, the Group had accrued income, in the form of work performed for clients but not yet billed at the balance sheet date, of £2.3 million (up from £1.6 million at 31 December 2008). The increase in accrued income is in part, due to the build up of pension's work that is awaiting HMRC approval and increases in the Spanish and Jersey accrued income. This also provides some immediate visibility of billable fees in the early part of 2010.

Trade receivables as at the 31 December 2009 amounted to £3.3 million, down from £3.5 million at 31 December 2008. The decrease is partially due to the effort put in during the year to accelerate cash collection. Deferred income, representing fees billed in advance, yet to be credited to profit and loss account were comparable year on year at £1.0 million reflecting the stable portfolio of the core CTS business.

Pleasingly, cash generated from operating activities during 2009 increased to £0.9 million (2008 £0.4 million).

The Group ended the year with cash of £3.8 million (2008: £4.9 million), having paid out further consideration on 2008 acquisitions amounting to £0.5 million and reducing the bank loan facility that is used to support STM Life by £0.4 million and a further £0.2 million has been spent on the I.T. platform. In addition dividends of £0.26 million were paid during 2009.

Since year end, cash collected from operations amounts to approximately £1.5 million.

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Group financing

At 31 December 2009, the Group had bank borrowings of £1.29 million (2008: £1.73 million), being a loan from RBS International Limited ("RBSI") to provide part of the solvency capital required for STM Life. The term of the loan is for five years from March 2008. The loan is secured on a blocked cash deposit of £2.45 million.

At 31 December 2009, net debt (excluding finance leases) amounted to £nil. Bank gearing as a percentage of shareholder funds at the year end was 5.5% (2008: 7.5%). Bank interest cover from continuing activities before amortisation was approximately 23 times (2008: 31 times).

The loan from shareholders of £1.36 million (including accrued interest) (2008: £ 1.37 million), which has existed since the Group's listing in March 2007, remained outstanding on 31 December 2009.

Since the year end, RBS International Limited has provided STM with an, as yet, undrawn £0.4 million facility to fund the Luxembourg acquisition that is currently awaiting regulatory approval, with a three year term, amortised over five years, with a bullet payment of the balance owing after three years.

Dividends

In recognition of the Directors' positive outlook on the Group's prospects, the Board is pleased to propose a final dividend of 0.4 pence per share, which, when added to the interim dividend already paid, totals 0.6 pence per share for 2009 (2008: 0.6 pence per share). Subject to shareholder approval, the final dividend will be paid on 4 June 2010 to shareholders on the Register on 14 May 2010. It is the Board's intention to continue a dividend policy subject to the Group's ongoing performance.

Current trading and outlook

2009 was a difficult and frustrating year for STM with both external and internal factors impacting on the Group's business and affecting profitability. It is clear from both the interim and full year results of STM that profitability increased significantly in the second half year compared to that of the first half year of 2009. This trend is expected to continue into 2010, as the management decisions and costs savings that took place in the latter part of 2009 take effect in 2010.

The Board are of the view that the focus for 2010 will be to deliver profitability from an increased revenue base at margins comparable to 2007 and 2008. This will entail continuing to challenge productivity levels of staff and to ensure that process efficiencies continue to improve, particularly in light of the new IT system.

The core CTS business has proved itself to be predictable and robust even in difficult economic conditions and this visibility and predictability is expected to continue into 2010 and beyond. Specific management initiatives for 2010 include bringing STM Life and STM Swiss to a break-even basis as soon as possible in 2010. Management will also devote a significant amount of time on product and business development, differentiating STM from its competitors and building an increased pipeline of new business instructions. Going into 2010, STM has a broad geographical spread of offices in different jurisdictions, and the ability to cross-market between these various jurisdictions is a real opportunity to expand the revenue base from the Group's existing clients.

It is anticipated that regulatory approval for the purchased Luxembourg business will be forthcoming shortly, and management will dedicate resources to ensure that this is integrated smoothly into the Group, so that the full benefit of the acquisition is received as soon as is commercially possible.

In addition, and as explained within the acquisitions strategy above, the Board continues to look to acquire a "pathfinder" CTSP business in Jersey. The rationale for this is that the existing Jersey business does not yet have adequate critical mass, and physically there is sufficient office space already available that will allow for a pathfinder to be relocated within the Group's existing infrastructure resulting in material cost savings. This will give STM a second "engine room" as well as critical mass, which will deliver both economies of scale and a number of integration savings in relation to office overheads. Any acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing.

The Board know that 2010 will be an important year. The Board is focused on delivering operational improvement and predictable sustainable results.

Timothy Revill
Deputy Chairman
9 March 2010

 

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Consolidated Income Statement
for the year from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009

    Unaudited
Year ended
31 December 2009		 Audited
Year ended
31 December 2008
  Notes £000 £000
Revenue 7 8,521 9,190
Administrative expenses 8 (7,726) (6,256)
Operating profit 9 795 2,934
Finance Costs   (120) (172)
Profit on ordinary activities before taxation   675 2,762
Income tax expense 10 (36) (158)
Profit on ordinary activities after taxation   639 2,604
Dividends 15 (257) (85)
Retained profit for the year attributable to equity shareholders   382 2,519
Earnings per share basic (pence) 16 1.57 6.48
Earnings per share diluted (pence) 16 1.53 6.40

There has been no discontinued activities in the year. Accordingly, the above results relate solely to continuing activities.

The notes on pages 21 to 37 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

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Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
For the year from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009

    Unaudited
Year ended
31 December 2009 		Audited
Year ended
31 December 2008
  Notes £000 £000
Profit for the period   382 2,519
Other comprehensive income      
Foreign currency translation differences for foreign operations   (2) 74
Other comprehensive income for the period, net of income tax   (2) 74
Total comprehensive income for the period   380 2,593
       
Attributable to:      
Owners of the Company   380 2,593
Total comprehensive income for the period   380 2,593

The notes on pages 21 to 37 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

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Consolidated Balance Sheet
as at 31 December 2009

 

Notes		 Unaudited
31 December 2009
£000		 Audited
31 December 2008
£000
ASSETS      
Non-current assets      
Property, plant and equipment 11 1,316 504
Intangible assets 12 16,886 16,562
Other investments   - 45
Total non-current assets   18,202 17,111
Current assets      
Accrued income   2,286 1,594
Trade and other receivables 13 5,140 5,380
Cash and cash equivalents 14 3,768 4,942
Total current assets   11,194 11,916
Total assets   29,396 29,027
EQUITY      
Called up share capital 15 43 43
Share premium account 15 19,011 18,896
Reserves   4,469 4,096
Total equity attributable to equity shareholders   23,523 23,035
LIABILITIES      
Current liabilities      
Liabilities for current tax   321 304
Trade and other payables 17 4,714 4,393
Total current liabilities   5,035 4,697
Non current liabilities      
Borrowings 18 838 1,295
Total non-current liabilities   838 1,295
Total liabilities and equity   29,396 29,027

The notes on pages 21 to 37 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

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Company Balance Sheet
as at 31 December 2009

 

Notes		 Unaudited
31 December 2009
£000		 Audited
31 December 2008
£000
ASSETS      
Non-current assets      
Property, plant and equipment 11 851 3
Investments in subsidiaries 6 15,231 14,907
Total non-current assets   16,082 14,910
Current assets      
Accrued income   25 25
Trade and other receivables 13 6,031 4,132
Cash and cash equivalents 14 18 1,125
Total current assets   6,074 5,282
Total assets   22,156 20,192
EQUITY      
Called up share capital 15 43 43
Share premium account 15 19,011 18,896
Reserves   471 390
Total equity attributable to equity shareholders   19,525 19,329
LIABILITIES      
Current liabilities      
Trade and other payables 17 2,631 863
Total liabilities and equity   22,156 20,192

The notes on pages 21 to 37 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

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Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
for the year from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009

  Unaudited
Year ended
31 December 2009
£000 		Audited
Year ended
31 December 2008
£000
Reconciliation of operating profit to net cash flow from operating activities    
Profit for the year before tax 675 2,762
Adjustments for:    
Loss on sale of investments - 7
Depreciation 139 138
Shares issued for services performed 40 82
Taxation paid 19 12
Decrease / (increase) in trade and other receivables 242 (1,851)
(Increase) / decrease in accrued income (692) 18
Increase / (decrease) in trade and other payables 490 (798)
Net cash from operating activities 913 370
Investing activities    
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment (951) (139)
Acquisition of treasury shares - (129)
Acquisition of investments – cash consideration (438) (1,628)
Cash acquired as part of acquisitions - 1,161
Net cash used in investing activities (1,389) (735)
Cash flows from financing activities    
Bank loan repayments / (advance) (441) 1,729
Cash consideration from shares issued net of issuance costs - 2,692
Dividend paid (257) (85)
Net cash from financing activities (698) 4,336
(Decrease) / increase in cash and cash equivalents (1,174) 3,971
Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net funds    
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents during the year    
Balance at start of year 4,942 971
(Decrease) / increase in cash and cash equivalents (1,174) 3,971
Balance at end of year 3,768 4,942

The notes on pages 21 to 37 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

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Statement of Consolidated Changes in Equity
for the year from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009

             
  Share
Capital
£000		 Share
premium
£000		 Retained
earnings
£000		 Treasury
Shares
£000		 Translation reserve
£000		 Total
£000
Balance at 1 January 2008 38 15,898 1,647 (68) - 17,515
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE PERIOD
Profit for the year - - 2,604 - - 2,604
Other comprehensive income
Foreign currency translation differences - - 74 - - 74
Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity
Shares issued in the year 5 2,998 - - - 3,003
Treasury shares purchased - - - (76) - (76)
Dividend paid - - (85) - - (85)
At 31 December 2008 43 18,896 4,240 (144) - 23,035
Balance at 1 January 2009 43 18,896 4,240 (144) - 23,035
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE PERIOD
Profit for the year - - 639 - - 639
Other comprehensive income
Foreign currency translation differences - - (2) - - (2)
Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity
Shares issued in the year - 115 - - - 115
Dividend paid - - (257) - - (257)
Exchange loss on equity - - - - (7) (7)
At 31 December 2009
(Unaudited)		 43 19,011 4,620 (144) (7) 23,523

The notes on pages 21 to 37 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

Statement of Company Changes in Equity
for the year from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009

         
  Share Capital
£000		 Share premium
£000		 Retained earnings
£000		 Total
£000
Balance at 1 January 2008 38 15,898 (198) 15,738
Profit for the year - - 673 673
Shares issued in year 5 2,998 - 3,003
Dividend paid - - (85) (85)
31 December 2008 43 18,896 390 19,329
Balance at 1 January 2009 43 18,896 390 19,329
Profit for the year - - 338 338
Shares issued in year - 115 - 115
Dividend paid - - (257) (257)
31 December 2009 (Unaudited) 43 19,011 471 19,525

During the year the company paid a dividend of 0.6 pence per share being 0.4 pence proposed at last year's annual general meeting and 0.2 pence per share interim dividend. A further 0.4 pence per share has been proposed by the directors and will be put to the shareholders at the Annual General meeting.

 

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Notes

The notes are available in the printable pdf of the results. To download it, please click here

 

Page last up-dated: 9 March 2010