MediaZest Plc
Half-yearly results for the six months ended 30 June 2008
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
Introduction
The results for MediaZest Plc ("MediaZest", the "Company", and collectively
with the Subsidiary Companies, the "Group") reflect the six-month period to 30
June 2008. They incorporate the results of its subsidiaries, all of which are
wholly owned.
Results for the Period
Revenue for the period was £2,145,000 (2007 - £1,806,000) and the Group made a
loss for the period, after taxation, of £342,000 (2007 - £223,000) after
finance costs of £7,000 (2007 - £3,000) and having paid administrative expenses
of £1,072,000 (2007 - £1,003,000). The basic and fully diluted loss per share
was 1 pence (2007 - 1 pence). The Group had cash in hand of £67,000 (2007 - £
251,000) at the period end.
Overview
Although the Group continued to make progress in revenue generation during the
period, difficult trading conditions were experienced by both operational
subsidiaries, MediaZest Ventures Limited ("MediaZest Ventures") and Touch
Vision Limited ("Touch Vision").
April and May 2008 proved to be slow trading months and as a result of this,
continued investment in the medium to long term future, and lower margins as a
result of a greater proportion of revenue in the period being generated from
the Education market, the Group made a loss for the period of £342,000.
Several projects expected to complete in the first half of the year were
delayed by clients into July 2008. Coupled with improved trading in the third
quarter of 2008, this gives the Directors confidence for a better performance
during the second half of the year.
Revenues continue to grow significantly even in a difficult macroeconomic
environment, and were up 19% on the comparative period in the prior year. In
particular, Touch Vision had a very strong first quarter in the Education
Sector which was particularly pleasing as we continue to focus on developing
this division in tandem with, but counter-cyclical to, our retail offering.
Cost control continued to be of importance, however increased overheads for the
first half of the year also reflect additional investment by the Group to
deliver future business. We have boosted our corporate sales function in the
Touch Vision business to provide further opportunity in a lucrative sector in
which we have previously not been particularly successful. We expect to begin
seeing results from this investment in the final quarter of 2008 and in 2009.
In addition, we have strengthened the MediaZest Ventures business by adding an
experienced and dedicated project management resource. This operational
improvement has enabled us to increase the number of client projects we can
undertake at any one time and allowed us to deliver several multi-national jobs
during the third quarter of the year.
In February 2008, Touch Vision entered into an invoice discounting facility
agreement with its bankers which has generated further working capital to fund
the growth of the business. This has been extremely successful in reducing the
time lag between payment to suppliers and receipts from customers which is
traditionally difficult to manage in this business. As a result, the Directors
are in negotiations to provide a similar facility for MediaZest Ventures.
MediaZest Ventures
As is to be expected, in current retail conditions, the year started slowly for
MediaZest Ventures. Following a successful stand at the 2008 In-Store Show in
May, incoming leads and business opportunities have increased considerably and
several of these have already come to fruition in the second half of the year.
We provided innovative technology for clients at multiple retail sites
including JD Sports, O2 and Nike during July and August 2008.
Now that a number of our clients have already invested in our technology, they
are enjoying the benefits of re-using it in future campaigns and we anticipate
several pieces of repeat business during Q4 2008 as a result. We are also
noticing a growing trend amongst our client base of retailers working together
with suppliers to invest in and utilize technology to improve sales and
branding and share the associated costs.
The advent of these investments leaves us for the first time in the position of
running small in-store media networks for several retail customers. Each has
the scope to expand over time as their success in generating revenue,
operational efficiencies and branding improvements and opportunities is
established by the client.
Quality of earnings has improved, and is a key priority for management. We
continue to work with a major UK high street bank providing cutting edge
technology for flagship branches in 10 global locations. In 2008, this work has
taken us into Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. We also continue to
provide ongoing maintenance plus content management services to these sites and
have been invited to pitch for further work as new flagship stores are
launched.
MediaZest Ventures continues to receive a high level of interest from potential
customers all around the world. In order to meet this demand, the Group is in
discussions with several parties with a view to taking our offering to overseas
markets with a locally based partner. In addition, the Group's relationships
with major suppliers such as Cisco, 3M and Panasonic is bringing us access to a
number of long term opportunities in this market as our partners look to
utilize the our creative offering in order to drive their own business in the
digital out of home sector.
Touch Vision
2008 started well for our Education business as Touch Vision won its largest
ever Education project, for one of the London universities that it works with
under an existing tender contract. Following successful delivery of this
project, further orders from the same customer have been received delivering
significant additional revenue in June, July and August 2008.
The quality of our offering in this sector has enabled us to continue to win
new business and deliver on existing relationships. We continue to work with
two other high profile universities under tender contracts and on a regular
basis with over a dozen other educational institutions and are currently
pitching for several substantial new projects in this sector.
Although margins in this market remain tight, it is strategically important for
the Group to provide counter-cyclical revenue streams to our Retail business.
It also enables us to increase our scale, which in the audio-visual supply and
installation market is essential to gain the best discounts available and to
allow operational efficiency in our engineering function.
Significant investment in our corporate offering has added to overhead costs
during the first half of 2008 but we believe this was essential to improve and
develop our presence in this market. During the third quarter of 2008, this
investment has begun to generate some revenues and we expect this to continue
and increase over the next 12 months.
Finally, in the retail sector we continue to work closely with long term
customers such as HMV and The Co-Operative Group. We have provided our digital
media and display solutions for several new and upgraded HMV stores as part of
their future store project with an increasing number in the second half of 2008
as they gear up for the crucial Christmas trading period.
Our work with The Co-Operative Group centres around the provision of
Anti-Social Behaviour prevention systems in convenience retail stores. Our
system invites genuine customers into the stores with soothing classical music
that in turn discourages anti-social behaviour outside of the premises, in
contrast to more obtrusive alternatives. It has been very successful in
improving loss prevention without damaging the retailer's business. We are
presently in negotiations with two supermarket retailers to trial the system
elsewhere.
Outlook
Despite the economic downturn, we are still experiencing a growing demand for
digital out-of-home media. We further believe that these difficult market
conditions are encouraging retailers to look for alternatives to traditional
methods and to investigate further our services.
The strategic partnerships we have formed with manufacturers, agencies, peers
and other retail suppliers have established a strong base to develop future
business. These partners recognise our leadership in this market and see future
opportunities for themselves in bringing our technology to their own customer
bases.
We expect an improved performance in the second half of the year. The Directors
anticipate that the longer term opportunities we have cultivated over the last
two years will begin to bear fruit in 2009. However, the out-of-home market
remains in its development stage and therefore particularly vulnerable to the
vicissitudes of the unprecedented market and financial conditions the whole
economy is experiencing currently.
Lance O'Neill
Chairman
26 September 2008
CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
Half Year Half Year Year Ended
Notes 30-Jun-08 30-Jun-07 31-Dec-07
£'000 £'000 £'000
Continuing Operations
Revenue 2,145 1,806 3,857
Cost of sales (1,408) (1,023) (2,328)
Gross profit 737 783 1,529
Administrative expenses (1,072) (1,003) (2,024)
Operating Loss (335) (220) (495)
Finance costs (7) (3) (2)
Loss before taxation (342) (223) (497)
Taxation - - -
Retained loss on ordinary activities (342) (223) (497)
after taxation
Loss per ordinary 10p share
Basic 2 £0.01 £0.01 £0.02
Diluted 2 £0.01 £0.01 £0.02
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
Half Year Half Year Year Ended
30-Jun-08 30-Jun-07 31-Dec-07
£'000 £'000 £'000
Non-current assets
Goodwill 2,772 2,772 2,772
Plant and equipment 84 99 107
Total non-current assets 2,856 2,871 2,879
Current assets
Inventories 310 234 172
Trade and other receivables 1,038 1,012 1,052
Cash and cash equivalents 67 251 34
Total current assets 1,415 1,497 1,258
Current liabilities
Financial liabilities - (290) - -
borrowings
Bank overdraft - (86) -
Trade and other payables (1,028) (745) (917)
Current tax liabilities (170) (138) (95)
Total current liabilities (1,488) (969) (1,012)
Net current assets / (73) 528 246
(liabilities)
Net assets 2,783 3,399 3,125
Equity
Share Capital 2,283 2,283 2,283
Share premium account 3,211 3,211 3,211
Other reserves 7 7 7
Retained earnings (2,718) (2,102) (2,376)
Total equity 2,783 3,399 3,125
CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
Half Year Half Year Year Ended
Note 30-Jun-08 30-Jun-07 31-Dec-07
£'000 £'000 £'000
Net cash used in operating activities 3 (248) (368) (470)
Investing activties
Purchase of property, plant and (2) (33) (67)
equipment
Proceeds from disposal of property, - - 4
plant and equipment
Net cash generated from / (used in) (2) (33) (63)
investing activities
Financing activities
Debt financing - invoice discounting 290 - -
Interest paid (7) (3) (2)
Net cash generated from / (used in) 283 (3) (2)
financing activities
Net increase / (decrease) in cash and 33 (404) (535)
cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning 34 569 569
of period
Cash and cash equivalents at end of 67 165 34
period
NOTES
1. Basis of preparation
The Group's annual financial statements are prepared in accordance with
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted for use in the EU
applied in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Acts applicable to
companies preparing financial statements under IFRS.
Accordingly, the interim financial information in this report has been prepared
using accounting policies consistent with IFRS. IFRS is subject to amendment
and interpretation by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and
the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) and
there is an ongoing process of review and endorsement by the European
Commission. The financial information has been prepared on the basis of IFRS
that the Directors expect to be applicable as at 31 December 2008.
The financial information has been prepared under the historical cost
convention as modified by the revaluation of available-for-sale investments.
The principal accounting policies set out below have been consistently applied
to all periods presented.
This interim report does not comply with IAS 34 "Interim Financial Reporting",
as is currently permissible under the rules of the AIM market.
Non-statutory accounts
The financial information for the year end 31 December 2007 set out in this
interim report does not comprise the Group's statutory accounts as defined in
section 240 of the Companies Act 1985.
The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2007, were prepared under
IFRS, and have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditors
reported on those accounts; their report was unqualified and did not contain a
statement under either Section 237 (2) or Section 237 (3) of the Companies Act
1985.
The financial information for the 6 months ended 30 June 2008 and 30 June 2007
is unaudited and does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of
section 240 of the Companies Act 1985.
2. Loss per share
Basic loss per share is calculated by dividing the loss attributed to ordinary
shareholders of £342,000 (2007 £223,000) by the weighted average number of
shares during the period of 22,825,327 (2007 - 22,825,327). The diluted loss
per share is identical to that used for basic loss per share as the exercise of
warrants would have the effect of reducing the loss per share and therefore is
not dilutive under International Accounting Standard 33 "Earnings per Share".
3 Cash used in operations
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
Half Year Half Year Year Ended
30-Jun-08 30-Jun-07 31-Dec-07
£'000 £'000 £'000
Operating loss (335) (220) (495)
Share option charge - 2 2
Depreciation of tangible assets 25 39 61
Decrease/(increase) in stock (138) (92) (30)
Increase/(decrease) in creditors 186 380 509
Decrease/(increase) in debtors 14 (477) (517)
Cash generated from / (used in) (248) (368) (470)
operations
Tax paid - - -
(248) (368) (470)
Enquiries:
Geoff Robertson, Chief Executive Officer, 020 7724 5680
MediaZest Plc
Liam Murray, Dowgate Capital Advisers Limited 020 7492 4777
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