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Embargoed until: 0700 hrs, 26 June 2009

Supercart PLC

('Supercart' or the 'Company')

Preliminary Results 

for the Year ended 31 December 2008

Supercart, the UK company involved in the design, marketing and distribution of plastic shopping trolleys, today announces its Preliminary Results for the Year ended 31 December 2008.

Highlights:

• Turnover of £4,809,000 (2007: £3,342,000) up 44%

• Operating expenses up 37% due to an increase in staffing costs

• Market volatility impacted raw material prices and resulted in a reduction in gross profit margin to 18% (2007:19%)

• Acquisition of certain assets of Rehrig International Incorporated, an established trolley manufacturer in North America

• In South Africa, unit sales up more than 30%, gross profits up 33%.

• Net cash balances of £1.025 million as at 31 December 2008 (2007: £1.75 million)

Victor Segal, Chairman of the Company, commented: 'While we continue to make progress in the major markets, albeit not at the rate for which we would wish, I believe the transaction with the Rehrig assets announced on 20 March 2009 will completely transform our position in North America. As a result, I believe we can look forward to a significantly improved performance in 2009 and beyond.'

For further information, please contact:
Supercart plc: Mike Wolfe, Chief Executive Stephen Wright, Finance Director	01732 459 898
Charles Stanley Securities: Nominated Adviser Russell Cook Carl Holmes	020 7149 6000
Tavistock Communications: Matt Ridsdale Andrew Dunn	020 7920 3150

Chairman's Statement

I am pleased to present our results for 2008. Although we have continued to make progress, especially in South Africa, sales levels achieved in our target markets of North America and Europe have not matched our hopes and expectations. Difficult global economic conditions have clearly impacted the rate of progress we have been able to make.

On the other hand, I will also be reporting on important events since year-end which will have a significant beneficial effect on our future profitability and the rate of our penetration into North America. 

In South Africa, aided by the launch of new products to the market, unit sales increased by more than 30% in 2008 over the previous year and gross profits showed an increase of 33%.

In North America, the launch of the new Max trolley attracted extensive retailer attention and trials of this product in some of the larger national chains have gone satisfactorily. 

In Europe we have continued to see retailer interest slowly being translated into sales. 

Results

Our investment in the future of our products and development of markets has resulted in a significant increase in our sales but also higher costs, leading to a group after tax loss of £1.2 million. 

For the year ended 31 December 2008, Supercart generated turnover of £4,809,000 (2007 - £3,342,000) an increase of 44%. The strong increases in world oil prices in 2008 impacted our raw material prices and resulted in a reduction in our gross profit margin to 17.9% (2007 - 19.2%).

Operating expenses increased by 26% during the period due to the increase in staffing costs. The reported loss after tax was £1,207,000 (2007: £929,000). The loss per share was 2.76p (2007 loss of 2.59p).  

Following the Placing of new shares in December 2008 which raised net proceeds of £931,000, Supercart had net cash balances of £1.03 million (2007: £1.75 million) at the year end.

The Directors are not recommending the payment of a dividend in respect of the year ended 31 December 2008.

South Africa

This region continued in 2008 to be the 'engine room' for our business returning an excellent result for the year with a sales increase of in excess of 45% over 2007. We continue to receive strong support from our manufacturer and largest shareholder Venture Holdings in all areas of product development and quality control.

We sell to every major retailer in this market and this has helped us in the development of new trolley and hand basket concepts. Our share of the market in South Africa for all trolley types is now in excess of 60%. I am pleased to report that we achieved our expected delivery date of our most recent trolley, the 'XL200', to the retailer market there by the end of 2008. Together with the 'Nexus' trolley and our 30 litre hand basket, we can now offer our 'family' of trolley and hand basket products with the same 'look and feel' to the South African and European markets; it is this comprehensive product range that will allow us to provide to retailers the complete offering that they require.

North America

We have not yet achieved the sales breakthrough that we had been expecting in 2008. Early store trials of the new 'Max200' trolley went well and additional trolleys have been ordered but not in the quantities for which we had hoped. We have continued with our marketing efforts and further store level trials have been started but not yet completed.

In the last quarter of 2008 we became aware of the financial difficulties of one of our principal competitors, Rehrig International Incorporated (Rehrig), who had previously been the largest manufacturer of plastic/metal hybrid trolleys in the USA. Following Rehrig's liquidation in December 2008 we were successful in acquiring certain of the mould tools, assets and business of Rehrig at an extremely advantageous price from the liquidators. This was announced to the market on 20 March 2009.

We also recruited two senior sales managers and the senior production manager from Rehrig and this has allowed us swiftly to move the moulds from the Rehrig factory in Richmond, Virginia to our manufacturer's new facility in Detroit, Michigan and to maintain the all important contact with the Rehrig customers.

In our announcement of 20 March 2009, we estimated that it would take us until July before we could start manufacture from these moulds. I am pleased to report that we have started selling product 6 weeks earlier than we estimated and we announced this significant first order from a national retail chain on 26 May 2009.

We estimate that there may be somewhere in the region of 10 million Rehrig trolleys currently in use. The annual renewal orders for existing trolleys can be anywhere up to 20%. We therefore believe that the acquisition of these moulds and the legacy sales and retail customers that come with this purchase should take us into a significant position in this crucial retail market.

Europe

European retailers have been impacted as severely as anywhere else in the world by the economic slowdown and this has resulted in a delay to decisions being made through 2008 and into 2009. Nevertheless we are in discussion with every major retailer in the UK and continental Europe and progress has continued to be made with many of them. On 13 May 2009, we announced our first large order from a major Western European retailer and we are hopeful we will be able to announce further positive news later in the year. 

Australia

Despite some modest sales, we have struggled to make progress in Australia. Our strategy in this market will be kept under continuous review.

Outlook

I believe that we have, in the past, underestimated the time it takes to achieve significant penetration of our revolutionary products into major new markets; this has also been exacerbated by the global economic environment in which we find ourselves. What is also clear to me, however - and this is borne out by our excellent progress in South Africa as well as customer feedback in Europe and North America - is that our vision for the future of our products is absolutely correct. 

While we continue to make progress in our major markets, albeit not at the rate for which we would wish, I believe the acquisition of the Rehrig assets announced on 20 March 2009 will completely transform our position in North America. As a result, I believe we can look forward to a significantly improved performance in 2009 and beyond.

Victor Segal

Chairman

26 June 2009

Consolidated Income Statement

Year ended 31st December 2008

	Note	2008	2007
		£'000	£'000
Revenue		4,809	3,342
Cost of sales		(3,948)	(2,699)
Gross profit		861	643
Research & development tax credits		166	-
Administrative expenses		(2,098)	(1,533)
Operating loss		(1,071)	(890)
Investment revenue		57	31
Finance costs		(189)	(53)
Loss before taxation		(1,203)	(912)
Tax		(4)	(17)
Loss for the year attributable to equity holders of the parent		(1,207)	(929)
Earnings per share
Basic and diluted (pence per share)	2	(2.76)	(2.59)
All profits and losses arose from continuing activities.

Consolidated Balance Sheet

At 31st December 2008

	Notes	2008	2007
		£'000	£'000
Assets
Non-current assets
Intangible assets		-	4
Property, plant and equipment	3	3,779	1,821
Deferred tax asset		10	6
Total non-current assets		3,789	1,831
Current Assets
Inventories		65	85
Trade and other receivables	4	1,500	1,185
Cash and cash equivalents		1,025	1,748
Total current assets		2,590	3,018
Total assets		6,379	4,849
Equity and Liabilities
Capital and reserves
Issued share capital		194	174
Share premium account		6,497	5,585
Share option reserve		153	122
Foreign currency translation reserve		(89)	(148)
Retained earnings		(4,724)	(3,517)
Total equity		2,031	2,216
Non-current liabilities
Finance lease obligations	6	1,125	521
Other financial liabilities	7	740	292
Deferred tax liability		32	24
Total non-current liabilities		1,897	837
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables	5	1,875	1,621
Finance lease obligations	6	291	96
Other financial liabilities	7	285	79
Total current liabilities		2,451	1,796
Total liabilities		4,348	2,633
Total equity and liabilities		6,379	4,849

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

Year ended 31st December 2008

	Share capital	Share premium account	Share option reserve	Foreign currency translation reserve	Retained earnings	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Balance at 1st January 2007	142	4,057	75	(146)	(2,588)	1,540
Share based remuneration	-	-	47	-	-	47
Issue of 8 million shares	32	1,568	-	-	-	1,600
Share issue costs	-	(40)	-	-	-	(40)
Exchange differences arising on translation of foreign operations	-	-	-	(2)	-	(2)
Loss for year	-	-	-	-	(929)	(929)
Balance at 1st January 2008	174	5,585	122	(148)	(3,517)	2,216
Share based remuneration	-	-	31	-	-	31
Issue of 5 million shares	20	980	-	-	-	1,000
Share issue costs	-	(68)	-	-	-	(68)
Exchange differences arising on translation of foreign operations	-	-	-	59	-	59
Loss for year	-	-	-	-	(1,207)	(1,207)
Balance at 31st December 2008	194	6,497	153	(89)	(4,724)	2,031

Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

Year ended 31st December 2008

			2008	2007
			£'000	£'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Loss for the year			(1,207)	(929)
Income tax expense			(162)	17
Depreciation			50	37
Loss/(gain) on disposal of property, plant and equipment			12	(4)
Interest income			(57)	(31)
Finance costs paid			189	53
Share based payment charges			31	47
Reversal of impairment			-	(1)
Net foreign exchange gain			(5)	(2)
			(1,149)	(813)
Movements in working capital
	Decrease/(increase) in inventories		20	(74)
	Increase in trade and other receivables		(337)	(197)
	Increase in payables		406	605
Cash used by operations			(1,060)	(479)
Finance costs paid			(189)	(53)
Income tax received			42	62
Net cash used by operating activities			(1,207)	(470)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment			(375)	(410)
Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment			-	17
Interest received			57	31
Net cash used in investing activities			(318)	(362)
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from issue of share capital			1,000	1,600
Payments for share issue costs			(68)	(40)
Repayment of finance lease and instalment sale borrowings			(144)	(131)
Net cash from financing activities			788	1,429
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents			(737)	597
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year			1,748	1,147
Effects of exchange rate changes on the balance of cash held in foreign currencies			14	4
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year			1,025	1,748

Notes to the Accounts

Year ended 31st December 2008

1.     Operating segments

The following information is given regarding the group's reportable segments

	South Africa	USA	Other Segments	Total for reportable segments
2008	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
External segment revenues	4,253	180	376	4,809
Internal segment revenues	-	-	-	-
Total segment revenues	4,253	180	376	4,809
Interest revenue	40	-	-	40
Interest expense	(180)	(5)	-	(185)
Depreciation and amortisation	(24)	(16)	(7)	(47)
Profit/(loss) before tax	234	(566)	(207)	(539)
Non-current assets allocated for the purposes of depreciation and amortisation charges	1,926	201	605	2,732
	South Africa	USA	Other segments	Total reportable segments
2007	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
External segment revenues	2,860	423	59	3,342
Internal segment revenues	-	-	-	-
Total segment revenues	2,860	423	59	3,342
Interest revenue	9	-	1	10
Interest expense	(36)	(9)	-	(45)
Depreciation and amortisation	(18)	(10)	-	(28)
Profit/(loss) before tax	343	(391)	(28)	(76)
Non-current assets allocated for the purposes of depreciation and amortisation charges	1,099	159	-	1,258

2.     Earnings per share

The calculation of loss per share is based on the loss for the financial year of £1,206,682 (2007 - £929,112) and the weighted average number of shares in issue of 43,691,781 (2007 - 35,806,849).

3.     Property, plant and equipment

	Moulds under construction	Moulds	Plant, equipment furniture and fittings	Motor vehicles	Total
Group	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Cost
At 1st January 2007	661	164	54	62	941
Additions	377	576	9	16	978
Disposals	-	-	(2)	(17)	(19)
Reclassification	(490)	490	-	-	-
Translation differences	4	(1)	-	(1)	2
At 1st January 2008	552	1,229	61	60	1,902
Additions	38	1,746	10	29	1,823
Disposals	-	-	(5)	-	(5)
Reclassification	(577)	577	-	-	-
Translation differences	12	158	12	23	205
At 31st December 2008	25	3,710	78	112	3,925
Depreciation
At 1st January 2007	-	20	25	5	50
Charge for the year	-	18	14	5	37
Disposals	-	-	(2)	(5)	(7)
Translation differences	-	1	-	-	1
At 1st January 2008	-	39	37	5	81
Charge for the year	-	23	11	16	50
Disposals	-	-	(5)	-	(5)
Translation differences	-	5	9	6	20
At 31st December 2008	-	67	52	27	146
Net book value
At 31st December 2008	25	3,643	26	85	3,779
At 31st December 2007	552	1,190	24	55	1,821

The net book value of assets held under finance leases and instalment sale agreements, was as follows:

		Moulds	Motor vehicles
Net book value		£'000	£'000
At 31st December 2008		3,577	59
At 31st December 2007		1,050	55

	Moulds under construction	Moulds	Plant, equipment, furniture and fittings	Total
Company	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Cost
At 1st January 2007	373	-	35	408
Additions	347	-	1	348
Transfers to subsidiary undertakings	(168)	-	-	(168)
At 1st January 2008	552	-	36	588
Additions	(164)	1,056	4	896
Transfers to subsidiary undertakings	(363)	(33)	-	(396)
At 31st December 2008	25	1,023	40	1,088
Depreciation
At 1st January 2007	-	-	17	17
Charge for the year	-	-	9	9
At 1st January 2008	-	-	26	26
Charge for the year	-	-	3	3
At 31st December 2008	-	-	29	29
Net book value
At 31st December 2008	25	1,023	11	1,059
At 31st December 2007	552	-	10	562

4.     Trade and other receivables

	2008	2007
	Group	Group
	£'000	£'000
Trade receivables	1,387	1,061
Other receivables	97	104
Prepayments and accrued income	16	20
	1,500	1,185

5.    Trade and other payables

	2008	2007
	Group	Group
	£'000	£'000
Trade payables	1,486	1,172
Taxation and social security	15	17
Other payables	8	20
Research and development tax reclaims	75	221
Accruals and deferred income	174	116
Employee benefits	117	75
	1,875	1,621

6.     Finance lease obligations

	2008	2007
	Group	Group
	£'000	£'000
Minimum lease payments due
- within 1 year	359	163
- later than 1 year not later than 5 years	1,345	652
	1,704	815
Less: future finance charges	(288)	(198)
Present value of minimum lease payments	1,416	617
Present value of minimum lease payments
- within 1 year	291	96
- later than 1 year not later than 5 years	1,125	521
	1,416	617
Included in the financial statements as:
- Current liabilities	291	96
- Non current liabilities	1,125	521
	1,416	617

The group's obligations under finance leases are secured by the lessor's charge over the leased assets. 

7.     Other financial obligations

	2008	2007
	Group	Group
	£'000	£'000
Held at amortised cost
- Liability under instalment sale agreement	1,025	371
Included in the financial statements as:
- Current liabilities	285	79
- Non current liabilities	740	292
	1,025	371

8.     Annual Report

The financial information above does not constitute full accounts within the meaning of Section 240 Companies Act 1985 as amended. 

Copies of the Annual Report will be sent to shareholders in due course and will be available on the Company's website www.supercartplc.com. 

ENDFR DDGDLISDGGCU