Nichols PLC
18 March 2008
Date: Embargoed until 07.00am, Tuesday 18 March 2008
Contacts: John Nichols, Non-Executive Chairman
Brendan Hynes, Chief Executive
Nichols plc
Telephone: 01925 222222
Website: www.nicholsplc.co.uk
Alistair Mackinnon-Musson
Nicola Savage Richard Evans
Hudson Sandler Brewin Dolphin Ltd (nominated adviser)
Telephone: 020 7796 4133 Telephone: 0845 270 8600
Email: nichols@hspr.com
Photographs available: On request from Hudson Sandler, as above
Nichols plc
PRELIMINARY RESULTS
'2008 is Vimto's Centenary Year'
Nichols plc, the soft drinks group, announces its preliminary results for the
year ended 31 December 2007.
The Group is a highly focused soft drinks and dispensed cold drinks business,
comprising two operations:
1. Soft Drinks (sales and marketing of the Vimto brand throughout the world,
where it is now available in over 65 countries and of the Panda & Sunkist
brands in the UK) and
2. Dispense Systems (namely the Cabana, Beacon & Cariel cold soft drinks on
draught 'dispense' businesses)
Highlights:
• Group profit before tax and exceptional items up 13.3%
• Group sales up 5.7%
• EPS (pre-exceptional items) up 12.5%
• Proposed total dividend per share up 6.1% for the year
• Core brand - Vimto - again outperformed the UK market and grew its share
• Overseas sales up 30%
Commenting John Nichols, Chairman, said:
'2008 is Vimto's centenary, so I am delighted to report in this very special
year that in 2007 the group continued to perform strongly and we produced an
excellent set of results. We are also confident of delivering further progress
in the coming year'.
Chairman's Statement
In my statement last year I said the group was a stronger, more focused
business, with a stable of well performing brands and that we expected further
progress to be made.
2008 is Vimto's centenary, so I am delighted to report in this very special year
that in 2007 the group continued to perform strongly and we produced an
excellent set of results. This news is particularly pleasing when taken against
the backdrop of extreme wet weather conditions that prevailed throughout last
summer.
In our Soft Drinks Operation, during 2007 our core brand Vimto again grew its
overall UK share in what was a particularly competitive market and
internationally, Vimto's overseas business saw further profitable growth.
When combined with the successful transformation of our Dispense Systems
Operation, I believe our overall progress is testament to the strength of our
businesses. An increasing international presence has also helped our resilience,
especially given the difficult UK trading conditions.
Results
In the year to 31 December 2007, group profit before tax and exceptional items
increased by 13.3% to £9.0 million (2006: £7.9 million), on revenues up 5.7% to
£55.3 million (2006: £52.3 million). Revenue includes £1.4 million of sales
relating to Cariel Soft Drinks Limited acquired in April 2007.
Earnings per share (pre-exceptional items) increased 12.5% to 17.36 pence (2006:
15.43 pence).
An exceptional charge of £0.98 million is shown in the accounts, which includes
the professional charges associated with the lapsed Offer discussions that ended
in September 2007 and the costs of integrating Cariel into our Dispense Systems
Operation.
IAS 19 costs, including interest charges, relate to the group's adoption of the
new accounting standard in relation to the final salary pension scheme, now
closed to new members.
As at 31 December 2007 the group had net positive cash of £7.8 million, up from
£7.5 million in 2006.
Dividend
Given the underlying strength of the business and our confidence in the future,
the Board is pleased to recommend an increase of 6.1% in the final dividend to
6.90 pence per share (2006: 6.50 pence). Together with the Interim dividend,
this would bring the total dividend for the year to 10.40 pence (2006: 9.80
pence), representing an increase of 6.1% on last year.
If approved, the final dividend will be paid on 15 May 2008 to shareholders
registered on 18 April 2008, the ex-dividend date being 16 April 2008.
Operational Review
We are very pleased with the excellent progress made in 2007, with our core
Vimto brand again outperforming the market - despite trading being difficult in
a highly competitive sector, exacerbated by the extremely poor summer weather
last year. We are also pleased with the continuing improvement in our Dispense
Systems Operation, which is now very well positioned as we move into 2008.
Soft Drinks Operation
The Group's Soft Drinks Operation consists of the sales and marketing of the
Vimto brand throughout the world, where it is available in over 65 countries,
along with sales of the Panda and Sunkist brands in the UK.
2007 revenues in the Soft Drinks Operation increased by 4.5% to £41.7 million
(2006: £39.9 million) and operating profits increased by 7.1% to £8.3 million
(2006: £7.7 million). The strong increase was mainly as a result of overseas
growth, particularly in our core Middle East and African markets.
In the UK, the poor summer weather followed by abnormally deep, market wide
promotional activity, presented difficult and challenging conditions for the
sector as a whole. Despite this, we continued to win market share, particularly
in the 'carbonate' and 'ready to drink' categories, although inevitably at lower
margins in order to remain competitive.
We view as exceptional the promotional activity experienced in the UK during
2007, therefore our core strategy of driving volume growth whilst maintaining
margin, remains in place.
As reported previously, we re-launched and re-positioned Panda, our children's
drinks brand in 2006 and it continues to grow its share of the 'still' and '
water' categories. Panda carbonates suffered, however, as a result of the
general trend towards non-fizzy drinks, particularly in the children's category.
Overseas, our expansion into new territories remains a key area of opportunity
and growth and we made good progress in 2007 on a number of fronts. Within the
Soft Drinks Operation, international revenues for 2007 reached a record £8.9
million (2006: £6.8 million) showing very healthy year on year growth of 30%.
Working with our local partners, we were able to create and execute sustainable
brand awareness and increased visibility, which continues to build the Vimto
brand presence abroad. This was reflected in strong volume growth of 12% during
2007, with annualised consumption of the Vimto brand reaching a record 342
million litres during the year (2006: 306 million litres).
In the Middle East, a 'viral' marketing campaign via 'YouTube', as well as more
traditional in-store displays and presentations, helped us reach our target
consumers. The results achieved delivered another record year for sales of Vimto
Cordial in this important territory for us.
We also continue to optimise sales of the Vimto brand in other areas around the
world, through the use of differing products and formats which best meet the
demands of our local consumers. In Africa, for instance, we accelerated the
expansion of locally manufactured carbonated Vimto in PET (plastic) bottles,
with a major launch in Senegal at the end of 2007.
Dispense Systems Operation
This division consists of our Cabana, Beacon and Cariel businesses and is
entirely focused on dispensing cold soft drinks on draught.
In 2007 we began to see the benefits of having transformed the Operation into an
'external distributor model' - designed to reduce operating costs whilst
increasing brand share and penetration. This change means the costs of
providing both the original dispense equipment and its subsequent ongoing
maintenance are now the responsibility of third party distributors.
It is pleasing the switch to this new model is bearing fruit and as a result,
the Dispense Systems Operation increased revenues by 9.7% to £13.6 million
(2006: £12.4 million) and produced operating profits up 75% to £0.7 million
(2006 : £0.4 million).
In April 2007, to strengthen Cabana's presence in Scotland, we acquired Cariel
Soft Drinks and we are now in the process of fully integrating it into our
Scottish operation. Once this has been completed, we will have in place a
national distribution network and the scale to continue to grow market share in
the dispense market.
People
I would like thank our Board, management and employees for the hard work and
commitment shown in the year, particularly during the uncertainty created by the
Offer Period discussions. Our progress stands testament to their combined
efforts, for which I am most grateful.
In November 2007, we announced the Board had accepted my request to move from
being Executive Chairman to become Non-Executive Chairman. At the same time I
was delighted to announce the appointment of Brendan Hynes, formerly Group
Finance Director, to Group Chief Executive. The new structure is working well
and we are in the process of recruiting a new Finance Director to complete the
executive team.
In line with our commitment to the wider community, during 2007 we raised funds
for our chosen charity, the Derian House Hospice, an outstanding organisation
that exists to provide care and support to life threatened children and their
families.
Outlook
These are a strong set of results, especially given the degree of
weather-related difficulty generally experienced by the soft drinks sector
during 2007.
I am also pleased to report we have a strong, focused business that is
generating good returns and positive cash.
Our core brand Vimto is well positioned both in the UK & internationally and it
continues to outperform the market. Our Dispense Systems Operation, which had a
very good year in 2007, is also performing strongly.
Despite the uncertainty around the economic and consumer environment for 2008,
we will maintain our successful strategy of focusing on growing UK market share
while continuing to develop our business overseas.
We are confident these measures will deliver further progress in the coming
year.
John Nichols
Non-Executive Chairman
17 March 2008
Consolidated income statement
Year ended 31 December 2007
Before Exceptional Total Before Exceptional Total
exceptional items exceptional items
items items
2007 2007 2007 2006 2006 2006
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Revenue 55,276 0 55,276 52,296 0 52,296
Cost of sales (27,321) 0 (27,321) (24,764) 0 (24,764)
Gross profit 27,955 0 27,955 27,532 0 27,532
Distribution expenses (3,795) 0 (3,795) (3,721) 0 (3,721)
Administrative expenses (15,418) (978) (16,396) (15,914) (2,482) (18,396)
Operating profit 8,742 (978) 7,764 7,897 (2,482) 5,415
Finance income 291 0 291 156 0 156
Finance expense (7) 0 (7) (98) 0 (98)
Profit before taxation 9,026 (978) 8,048 7,955 (2,482) 5,473
Taxation (2,672) 293 (2,379) (2,296) 1,058 (1,238)
Profit from continuing 6,354 (685) 5,669 5,659 (1,424) 4,235
operations
Profit on disposal of 0 0 0 0 2,038 2,038
discontinued operations
Profit for the financial year 6,354 (685) 5,669 5,659 614 6,273
Earnings per share (basic) - 15.49p 17.10p
all activities
Earnings per share (diluted) - 15.47p 17.08p
all activities
Earnings per share (basic) - 15.49p 11.54p
continuing operations
Earnings per share (diluted) - 15.47p 11.53p
continuing operations
Dividends paid per share 10.00p 9.40p
Consolidated and parent company balance sheets
Year ended 31 December 2007
Group Parent
2007 2006 2007 2006
ASSETS £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 2,448 3,179 638 750
Goodwill 10,910 9,624 5,480 5,480
Investments 0 0 7,696 6,331
Deferred tax assets 1,197 2,201 1,187 2,142
Total non-current assets 14,555 15,004 15,001 14,703
Current assets
Inventories 2,509 2,169 1,546 1,162
Trade and other receivables 13,177 12,364 11,199 11,361
Cash and cash equivalents 7,814 7,460 6,777 6,714
Total current assets 23,500 21,993 19,522 19,237
Total assets 38,055 36,997 34,523 33,940
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 8,828 8,366 7,941 7,553
Current tax liabilities 1,058 598 842 700
Provisions 681 1,211 117 424
Total current liabilities 10,567 10,175 8,900 8,677
Non-current liabilities
Pension obligations 3,635 6,504 3,635 6,504
Deferred tax liabilities 356 309 192 86
Total non-current liabilities 3,991 6,813 3,827 6,590
Total liabilities 14,558 16,988 12,727 15,267
Net assets 23,497 20,009 21,796 18,673
Equity
Share capital 3,697 3,697 3,697 3,697
Additional paid in capital 3,255 3,255 3,255 3,255
Capital redemption reserve 1,209 1,209 1,209 1,209
Other reserves (492) (487) 283 288
Retained earnings 15,828 12,335 13,352 10,224
Total equity 23,497 20,009 21,796 18,673
Consolidated statement of cash flows
Year ended 31 December 2007
2007 2006
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Profit for the financial year 5,669 6,273
Cash flows from operating activities
Adjustments for:
Depreciation 782 794
Loss/(profit) on sale of property, plant and equipment 27 (98)
Sale of discontinued operations 0 (2,038)
Equity-settled share based payment transactions 192 100
Interest receivable (291) (156)
Interest payable 7 98
Tax expense recognised in the income statement 2,379 1,238
Change in inventories (299) 163
Change in trade and other receivables (570) (194)
Change in trade and other payables 159 (2,326)
Change in provisions (530) 2,491
Change in pension obligations (347) (504)
1,509 (432)
Cash generated from operating activities 7,178 5,841
Tax paid (1,800) (1,654)
Net cash generated from operating activities 5,378 4,187
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received 291 156
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment 455 7,474
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment (336) (837)
Disposal of discontinued operation, net of cash disposed of 0 6,455
Acquisition of subsidiary, net of cash acquired (1,365) (120)
Acquisition of subsidiary's net cash overdraft (144) 0
Net cash used in investing activities (1,099) 13,128
Cash flows from financing activities
Interest paid (4) (72)
Repayment of borrowings 0 (6,308)
Repurchase of own shares (224) 0
Dividends paid (3,697) (3,475)
Net cash used in financing activities (3,925) (9,855)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 354 7,460
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January 7,460 0
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 7,814 7,460
Statement of recognised income and expense
Year ended 31 December 2007
2007 2006
£'000 £'000
Group
Defined benefit plan actuarial gain 2,522 91
Deferred taxation on pension obligations (933) (27)
Income and expense recognised directly in equity 1,589 64
Profit for the financial year 5,669 6,273
Total recognised income and expense for the year 7,258 6,337
Nichols plc
NOTES TO THE PRELIMINARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Basis of Preparation
The financial information set out above does not constitute the company's
statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2007 or 2006, but is derived
from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2006 have been delivered to the
Registrar of Companies and those for 2007 will be delivered following the
company's Annual General meeting. The Auditors have reported on these accounts;
their reports were unqualified and did not contain statements under s.237 (2) or
(3) of the Companies Act 1985.
Historically, Nichols plc has prepared its consolidated financial statements in
accordance with UK Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. As a result of AIM
rule changes, Nichols plc has prepared consolidated financial statements in
accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) for the year
ended 31 December 2007. The comparative information has been restated in
accordance with IFRS. The effective date of transition to IFRS was 1 January
2006.
Earnings per Share
The calculation of basic earnings per share is based on earnings attributable to
ordinary shareholders divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue
during the year. Shares held in the Employee Share Ownership Trust and Employee
Benefit Trust are treated as cancelled for the purposes of this calculation.
The calculation of diluted earnings per share is based on the basic earnings per
share adjusted to allow for the assumed conversion of all dilutive options.
Basic earnings per share is 15.49 pence (2006: 17.10 pence)
Basic earnings per share (pre exceptional items) is 17.36 pence (2006: 15.43
pence)
Dividends
The proposed final dividend of 6.90 pence per share (2006: 6.50 pence), if
approved, will be paid on 15 May 2008 to shareholders registered on 18 April
2008. The ex dividend date is 16 April 2008. In addition, an interim dividend
of 3.50 pence was paid on 7 September 2007.
Annual Report
The annual report will be mailed to shareholders on or around 11 April 2008.
Copies will be available after that date from: The Secretary, Nichols plc,
Laurel House, Woodlands Park, Ashton Road, Newton-le-Willows, WA12 0HH.
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting will be held at the Registered Office, Laurel House,
Woodlands Park, Ashton Road, Newton-le-Willows, WA12 0HH on 14 May 2008 at 11.00
a.m.
Copies of the announcement can be found on the Investors Relations section of
the company's website: www.nicholsplc.co.uk
- ENDS -
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