For immediate release 29 June 2009
InterBulk Group plc
("InterBulk" or the "Group")
Interim Results for the six months ended 31 March 2009
InterBulk Group plc (AIM: INB), a leading provider of global intermodal
logistics solutions for the movement of liquid and dry bulk materials,
announces its interim results for the six month period ended 31 March 2009.
Interim Highlights
* Operating profit (before exceptional items and amortisation) increased 30%
to £9.0m
* Profit before tax (before all exceptional items and amortisation) increased
92% to £3.4m
* Adjusted EPS increased by 88% to 0.81p for the 6 month period to 31 March
2009
* Significant new business wins with Syngenta, AkzoNobel and Lucite
International
* Swift implementation of contingency plan for overall cost reduction
* InterBulk well placed to benefit when the general economic climate improves
Commenting on the results, Chairman of InterBulk, David Rolph said:
"We are proud to be able to report a strong performance during what has been a
difficult trading environment. As anticipated the period has been challenging,
resulting in some of our customers in certain industries being particularly
affected by the downturn. Despite this, through a combination of our resilient
business model and swift action taken by management to implement cost
reductions, InterBulk remains well positioned in our chosen markets. We have
made good progress towards achieving our vision to be a global leader in
intermodal logistics solutions for liquid and dry bulk materials. "
For further information, please contact:
InterBulk Group plc Tel: 01355 575 000
David Rolph, Non-Executive Chairman
Koert van Wissen, CEO
Scott Cunningham, Finance Director
Dowgate Capital Advisers (NOMAD) Tel: 020 7492 4777
James Caithie
Arden Partners Tel: 020 7398 1600
Chris Hardie
Buchanan Communications Tel: 020 7466 5000
Charles Ryland, Jeremy Garcia, Ben Romney
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
I am pleased to present the interim results for InterBulk Group plc for the 6
months to 31 March 2009, a period in which InterBulk Group plc has delivered a
strong performance in a challenging economic environment. We have made good
progress towards achieving our vision to be a global leader in intermodal
logistics solutions for liquid and dry bulk materials.
Last December our outgoing chairman anticipated a challenging year ahead. This
has proven to be the case. Our customers in the chemical and polymer industry
have been significantly impacted by the downturn in the global economy.
However, I can report that our business has coped well in this challenging
environment with further growth in operating profit during the period. Our
outsourced international business model, together with prompt implementation of
tough but necessary actions to trim overheads has allowed us to manage the
impact of the lower activity level. The response from our team has been
excellent.
Financial Highlights
6 months to 6 months to
31 March 31 March Change %
2009 2008
£'000 £'000
Revenue 116,940 121,696 -4%
Gross profit 19,325 17,456 +11%
EBITDA before exceptional items 13,343 10,915 +22%
Operating profit before exceptional items 9,029 6,942 +30%
and amortisation
Profit before tax before all exceptional 3,403 1,776 +92%
items and amortisation
Profit / (loss) before tax 1,847 (1,622)
Net debt 114,695 105,756
* 4% reduction in revenue due to falling market activity worldwide
* EBITDA (before exceptional items) increased 22% to £13.3m
* Operating profit (before exceptional items and amortisation) increased 30%
to £9.0m
* Profit before tax (before all exceptional items and amortisation) increased
92% to £3.4m
* Exceptional items of £0.4m are reported within the operating profit and £
0.9m within finance expenses
* Adjusted EPS increased by 88% to 0.81p for the 6 month period to 31 March
2009
* Increase in net debt due solely to currency effect with period end exchange
rate of €1.08/£
Our Strategy
InterBulk is a leading provider of intermodal logistics solutions to the
chemical, polymer, food and mineral industries. We have a well established
network and a partnership approach with our customers in Europe, Asia and the
Americas. We are recognised for excellent service and cost effective, inventive
solutions while achieving high standards of safety and environmental
protection.
We are building a high performance InterBulk global team to reinforce this base
and to:
* Expand our operations in the growth regions of China , the Middle East, and
Russia
* Increase our inter-regional and export liquid bulk activity in the Americas
and South East Asia
* Establish solutions for deep sea dry bulk and develop our terminal network
* Grow our business in the food and minerals sectors
* Promote the sustainability of Intermodal transport and lead the development
of the market
* Create strategic alliances with logistics service providers in key markets
* Enhance our leading IT platform to maximise operational efficiency
Our Performance
Liquid Bulk
The European Liquid Bulk business which serves the chemical industry has been
substantially impacted by the economic conditions. Domestic business has been
affected more than deep sea export. The volume reduction was offset by the
favourable translational impact of EUR and USD denominated business and this
has resulted in stable revenue. Our team in St Petersburg has made a good start
to our market entry into Russia.
Two customer successes have been publicised in the 6 month period. A 3 year
contract for logistic services has been agreed with AkzoNobel for the
distribution and collection of varnishes, lacquers and resins in bulk for their
facility in Birmingham, UK. The contract is expected to have a value of £9m
over 3 years. We have also extended the contract for logistics services with
Lucite International to 2011 with a value of £7m per annum. This is one of our
largest contracts for the intermodal transportation of liquid chemicals in
tankcontainers. These two successes are testament to our high quality service
and track record. During June 2009 we also announced that we had been awarded
new business as a result of a global tender by Syngenta. We have been working
very closely with this leading customer to demonstrate our capabilities, and
have now increased our business to an estimated £3m per annum.
Asia has been the most resilient of our markets. Revenue and margins were up
against prior period with an even split between inter Asian traffic flows and
business to and from Europe and the Americas. We have expanded our China team
and infrastructure during the last 6 months. The local domestic business is at
an early stage of development. The international business is fully integrated
with our global operations. We have confirmed the significant market
opportunity which exists in China both with our existing customer base and new
Asian customers. Further growth of our business in China is a strategic
priority.
Our Liquid Bulk business in the Americas has delivered impressive results. The
strengthening of the US$ has made a material impact, but the underlying
performance has also been good. We have seen a reduction in the number of
export moves performed, which is also linked to prevailing exchange rates, but
this was partially compensated by an increase in the level of temporary storage
income. Our South American team has performed well, with positive results
achieved in Brazil in particular. In terms of our global fleet, imbalances in
the USA continue to be an operational challenge. This is an industry wide issue
with the slowdown in exports from the USA resulting in surplus stocks of
tankcontainers in the region.
We have decided to exit the Asian Flexi-tanks business due to weak margins
which continued with a loss of £0.1m in the current 6 month period to 31 March
2009. In the current economic climate we decided that management time and
resources could be better employed on other growth opportunities. We will
retain the capability to provide a Flexi-tank solution as part of an integrated
supply chain solution but we no longer treat it as a focus area, certainly for
the immediate future.
Dry Bulk
The major part of our Dry Bulk business serves the European polymer industry.
An important focus in the last 6 months has been to adapt our business to the
significant changes affecting our customers. They have witnessed an
unprecedented fall in demand for their products combined with a 3 month
(November to January) period of deep destocking as the sudden fall in oil price
triggered a reduction in the value of stocks through the various value chains.
Since January, the demand for polymer has remained depressed with no end yet in
sight to the challenges of a range of end use sectors including construction
and automotive. The very large consumer packaging sector has on the other hand
remained reasonably resilient.
During the last 6 months we have successfully retained our high customer
service levels. This has been the foundation to gain ground in tender processes
and new business development despite the highly competitive state of the
marketplace. We will continue on this basis and the impact of the good work of
our team will be seen as the new gains become operational.
Across the Group the European polymer business has been the area most impacted
by the economic situation with an 18% reduction in revenue. Prompt action to
manage costs has meant that our operating profit in this area has held up well
with only a small decrease in margin to 6.1% compared to 6.5% in the prior
period.
Our reliance on the polymer market is recognised and we have a strategy to
diversify into other markets. Food and minerals are the two main areas where
our intermodal solutions have the greatest opportunity for providing cost
effective and safe logistics solutions. These markets contributed £7.0m of
revenue in the 6 months to 31 March 2009 and have good potential.
We are building Dry Bulk business outside of Europe from scratch. We achieved £
1.1m of revenue from non-European business in the 6 months to 31 March 2009.
However, our pipeline of projects is growing. Recently we secured a £1m
contract for the sale of dry bulk liners for sugar exports from Mauritius to
Europe, and we have also made our first delivery of Polymer from North America
to Europe. We are building our team and capability for this area and these
business wins are encouraging at this stage.
Our ISO-Veyor technology is aimed at the market for cement and related
products. This market in particular has been impacted by global economic
conditions and the slump in construction. As a result, the excellent prospects
for business at the beginning of this year did not materialise and commercial
success has been delayed. We have scaled back our direct sales and marketing
efforts accordingly, but we remain committed to this innovative solution and
the value it can bring when conditions improve in the construction industry.
The business unit reported a small operating loss of £0.3m in the 6 month
period and we expect that the full impact of cost management in the second half
will result in a breakeven position in this unit.
Logistics terminals
We currently operate six logistics terminals in Europe which are connected to
our customer's manufacturing plants and play a vital role in our ability to
deliver logistics solutions by providing on and off site support to production
and material handling. Due to the current low throughput from our customers
using these terminals, our profitability is running at a reduced level.
Meanwhile, we are working with our partners to complete our largest tri-modal
terminal for intermodal shipments in the Port of Duisburg, Germany. This
project has been delayed slightly and the opening should now take place in
October 2009. Our focused approach on terminal operations are currently opening
up a new pipeline of growth opportunities with our existing customer base.
Contingency Planning
The last 6 months have been very demanding on our operations. Our variable cost
model gives us a competitive advantage compared to companies with a high fixed
cost base. Nevertheless, we have promptly implemented our contingency plan for
overall cost reduction comprising:
* Reduction of operational cost base (third party trucking, rail and
shipping) to align with lower demand
* Closure of our UK liner manufacturing site which commenced in September
2008
* Workforce reductions in Europe, supported by some reorganisation of our
regional offices
* Exit from Asian Flexi-tank business
* Programme to review asset utilisation with return of hired tank containers
and tight controls for capital expenditure
* Tight control of discretionary spend
* Continued focus on credit control procedures and managing cash
In summary, our management moved quickly and we have already adapted our
business model to react to market conditions. Importantly this was achieved
without impacting the success already made in improving our customer
relationships by providing an excellent service.
Net Debt
The Group has net debt (defined as bank loans, overdrafts and obligations under
finance leases less cash and cash equivalents) at 31 March 2009 of £114.7m (30
September 2008: £104.2m).
This net debt position is split as follows:
31 March 2009 30 September
2008
£'000
£'000
Bank of Scotland senior debt 89,219 82,378
Other bank loans 2,655 2,466
Asset finance lease creditor 32,912 28,717
Less: Cash and cash equivalents (10,091) (9,317)
114,695 104,244
During the 6 months to 31 March 2009 we have continued to make all scheduled
loan repayments. The increase in our net debt position is driven by the EUR/GBP
exchange rate movement as the majority of our financial liabilities are EUR
denominated. The movement in our net debt (see note 9) includes a £13.3m
negative impact due to this currency impact. If the 31 March 2009 net debt was
retranslated at €1.17/GBP being the actual exchange rate on the 24 June 2009
then there would be a reduction of approximately £6.2m from that reported
above.
The age profile of our debt is shown below.
Less than 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 More
1 year years years years years than
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 5 years
£'000
Bank of Scotland 3,625 3,992 4,602 3,671 29,026 44,303
senior debt
Other bank loans 569 615 754 615 102 -
Asset finance lease 6,142 6,555 4,946 5,057 3,673 6,539
creditor
10,336 11,162 10,302 9,343 32,801 50,842
The Group has a long term debt package which includes a committed revolving
credit and ancillary facility of £10m for working capital purposes until 31
March 2013. The Board is satisfied that our debt obligations can be met and
that we require no additional working capital facility or any extension of bank
facilities for the foreseeable future. The Group achieved all covenant tests
during the period.
The Group's covenants include provisions to increase the levels of the tests
over time. We have examined a range of forecast scenarios and in certain
circumstances some future covenant tests may not be fully met. The Group has
recently entered into discussions with its bankers to establish revised
covenant tests which the Board believe will provide a better match to the
Group's future growth plans, updated in the light of the current global
economic conditions and potential further volatility in exchange rates. These
discussions are progressing on a constructive basis and we expect to reach a
satisfactory conclusion in the near future.
Outlook
Our well established European customer base is going through a very challenging
period of low demand, overcapacity and margin pressure. They anticipate neither
a near term nor a rapid recovery and have introduced wide reaching
reorganisations including plant closures as the weakest operations fall by the
wayside. We expect more announcements in this vein and are monitoring and
managing as far as possible our exposure to such changes.
For our European business we believe that activity levels in polymers have now
stabilised, albeit at a lower level and with limited recovery likely in the
short-term. Conditions in these markets will remain tough as competitors from
all modes of transport attempt to maintain asset utilisation. Our liquid
chemicals business has been resilient, particularly in the Americas and we
expect this good performance to be maintained. Our team is focused on service
excellence to protect and where possible grow our market share, while at the
same time ensuring the optimisation of our operations in the next 6 months.
The chemical and polymer industry has made and will continue to make very large
investments in the growth economies of the world and in regions with major
feedstock advantage. China and the Middle East feature prominently among these.
InterBulk does have growth opportunities which are linked to bringing the
intermodal logistics solutions to these markets and our key actions are spelt
out in our updated strategy. Delivery of these strategic elements will not have
a major financial impact in the remainder of this year, but they represent
increasingly a major source of growth in years to come.
Our business model is flexible and management has reacted well to the current
unprecedented economic conditions and despite this challenging environment we
have grown our profitability. This foundation, along with our updated strategy,
leave us well positioned to benefit when the general economic climate improves.
David Rolph
Non-Executive Chairman
29 June 2009
Consolidated Income Statement
For the 6 months ended 31 March 2009 (unaudited)
Notes 6 months to 6 months to Year to
31 March 2008
31 March 2009 30 September
2008
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£'000 £'000 £'000
Revenue 3 116,940 121,696 250,167
Cost of sales (97,615) (104,240) (213,102)
Gross profit 19,325 17,456 37,065
Administrative expenses (10,478) (10,705) (22,323)
Operating profit before 8,847 6,751 14,742
exceptional items
Analysed as:
Operating profit before 13,343 10,915 23,301
exceptional items,
depreciation &
amortisation
Depreciation of (4,314) (3,973) (8,196)
tangible assets
Amortisation of (182) (191) (363)
intangible assets
Exceptional items 6 (446) - (441)
Operating profit 3 8,401 6,751 14,301
Finance income 27 167 241
Finance expenses 4 (5,653) (5,333) (10,378)
Profit before taxation, 2,775 1,585 4,164
and finance expense
exceptional items
Exceptional finance 4 (928) (3,207) (3,445)
expenses
Profit/(loss) before 1,847 (1,622) 719
taxation
Taxation 7 (640) 486 112
Profit /(loss) for the 1,207 (1,136) 831
period
Earnings per share
(pence)
- Basic 5 0.40p (0.37p) 0.27p
- Diluted 5 0.40p (0.37p) 0.27p
- Adjusted (Basic and 5 0.81p 0.43p 1.31p
Diluted)
Consolidated Statement of Recognised Income and Expenses
For the 6 months ended 31 March 2009 (unaudited)
6 months to 6 months to Year to
31 March 2009 31 March 2008 30 September
2008
(unaudited) (unaudited)
(audited)
£'000 £'000
£'000
Net exchange difference on
retranslation of foreign 6,640 4,097 3,805
operations
Net losses on net investment hedge
taken to equity net of tax (6,183) (1,470) (1,232)
Net losses on cash flow hedge (2,614) (558) (41)
taken to equity, net of tax
Actuarial gains/(losses) on 22 81 (118)
retirement
benefit obligations
Movement of deferred tax on
retirement benefit obligations (6) 28 31
Net (losses)/gains not recognised
in
income statement (2,141) 2,178 2,445
Profit/(loss) for the financial 1,207 (1,136) 831
period
Total recognised (expense)/income
for the period (934) 1,042 3,276
Consolidated Balance Sheet
At 31 March 2009 (unaudited)
31 March 31 March 2008 30 September
2009 2008
Notes (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£'000 £'000 £'000
ASSETS
Non-current assets
Goodwill 126,406 118,922 118,397
Other intangible assets 3,891 4,222 4,074
Property, plant and equipment 69,822 62,935 64,790
Deferred tax assets 821 434 821
Investments - 46 -
200,940 186,559 188,082
Current assets
Inventories 2,256 4,607 3,308
Trade and other receivables 36,191 40,701 39,978
Current tax - 943 -
Cash and cash equivalents 10,091 7,243 9,317
48,538 53,494 52,603
Total assets 249,478 240,053 240,685
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities
Financial liabilities (10,526) (11,220) (10,270)
Trade and other payables (54,324) (60,769) (58,891)
Current tax liabilities (470) - (97)
(65,320) (71,989) (69,258)
Non-current liabilities
Financial liabilities (118,680) (103,286) (104,081)
Deferred tax liabilities (4,406) (5,002) (5,359)
Retirement benefit obligations (43) (75) (38)
(123,129) (108,363) (109,478)
Total liabilities (188,449) (180,352) (178,736)
Net assets 61,029 59,701 61,949
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Ordinary shares 10 30,289 30,289 30,289
Share premium 10 26,431 26,431 26,431
Consideration warrants 10 1,424 1,424 1,424
Retirement benefit obligations 10 (11) 169 (27)
reserve
Share option reserve 10 69 41 55
Cumulative translation reserve 10 3,021 2,618 2,564
Hedge reserve 10 (3,101) (1,004) (487)
Retained earnings 10 2,907 (267) 1,700
Total equity attributable to 61,029 59,701 61,949
shareholders
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
For the 6 months ended 31 March 2009 (unaudited)
Notes 6 months to 6 months to Year to 30
31 March 31 March September
2009 2008 2008
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£'000 £'000 £'000
Cash flows from
operating
activities
Cash generated from 8 11,713 10,608 21,091
operations
Tax (paid)/received (261) 215 509
Net cash flow from 11,452 10,823 21,600
operating
activities
Cash flows from i
nvesting activities
Interest received 27 167 241
Sale of property, 219 29 384
plant and equipment
Payment of deferred - (543) (543)
consideration
Purchases of (1,348) (1,326) (2,189)
property, plant and
equipment (net of
finance lease)
Payments to acquire (21) (10) (95)
intangible fixed
assets
Net cash flow from (1,123) (1,683) (2,202)
investing
activities
Cash flows from
financing
activities
Interest paid (5,592) (5,405) (10,125)
Repayment of (1,740) (987) (2,807)
borrowings
Repayment of (3,083) (3,281) (5,238)
capital element of
finance leases
Net cash flow from (10,415) (9,673) (18,170)
financing
activities
(Decrease)/increase (86) (533) 1,228
in cash and cash
equivalents
Effect of exchange 860 375 688
rates on cash and
cash equivalents
Cash and cash 9,317 7,401 7,401
equivalents at the
beginning of the
period
Cash and cash 10,091 7,243 9,317
equivalents at the
end of the period
Notes to the Interim Financial Statements
1. Basis of preparation
The interim financial information has been prepared in accordance with the AIM
Rules for companies and has been prepared in accordance with International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted for use in the European Union.
As permitted, the Group has chosen not to adopt IAS 34 - Interim Financial
Reporting, in preparing these interim financial statements, and therefore this
information is not wholly compliant with International Financial Reporting
Standards.
The interim financial statements are unaudited and do not constitute statutory
accounts as defined in section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. The interim
financial report should be read in conjunction with the financial statements
for the year ended 30 September 2008.
The statutory accounts for the year ended 30 September 2008 have been delivered
to the Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditors on those accounts was
unqualified and did not contain a statement under either Section 237(2) or 237
(3) of the Companies Act 1985.
2. Accounting policies
The accounting policies adopted are consistent with those of the financial
statements for the year ended 30 September 2008 and are applied as described on
pages 30 to 36 in those financial statements.
As noted in the Chairman's Statement we recently entered into discussions with
our bank to establish revised future covenant tests in the Group's banking
facilities. The Group requires no extension to bank facilities and the Board is
satisfied that the Group can meet all loan and interest repayments as scheduled
for the foreseeable future. The Directors are confident, based on dialogue with
the Group's bankers to date, that an acceptable conclusion to these discussions
should be reached in the near future. The Directors have concluded after
carefully reviewing the Group's business plan and the constructive nature of
the discussions on changes to future covenant tests, that a satisfactory
conclusion to these discussions will be reached and so continue to adopt the
going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
3. Segment information
The Directors consider that the risks and rates of return are strongly affected
by both differences in its services and differences in the geographical areas
in which it operates. The Directors consider that there are two business
segments being the provision of logistics services for Dry Bulk material and
Liquid Bulk material. Other activities such as capital sales of specialist dry
bulk containers ("ISO-Veyors") are business segments, but are below 10% of the
Group's activity, and therefore are not reportable segments.
The operations are based on three geographical areas. The analysis by
geographical area of the Group's turnover and segment result is set out below.
The sales analysis set out below is based on the location where the order is
received and invoiced and where the assets are located.
6 months to 31 March 2009
Geographic
Europe Americas Asia Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Revenue
Sales to external customers 96,428 12,022 8,490 116,940
Results
Segment result before exceptional items 7,112 1,880 225 9,217
Exceptional items (146) - (300) (446)
Segment result after exceptional items 6,966 1,880 (75) 8,771
Unallocated expenses (370)
Group operating profit 8,401
Net finance expenses (6,554)
Profit before taxation 1,847
Taxation (640)
Net profit for the period 1,207
Business
Dry Bulk Liquid Others Total
Bulk
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Revenue
Sales to external customers 51,274 65,253 413 116,940
Results
Segment result before exceptional items 3,197 6,362 (342) 9,217
Exceptional items (133) (300) (13) (446)
Segment result after exceptional items 3,064 6,062 (355) 8,771
Unallocated expenses (370)
Group operating profit 8,401
Net finance expenses (6,554)
Profit before taxation 1,847
Taxation (640)
Net profit for the period 1,207
6 months to 31 March 2008
Geographic
Europe Americas Asia Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Revenue
Sales to external customers 105,361 9,022 7,313 121,696
Results
Segment result 6,238 582 324 7,144
Unallocated expenses (393)
Group operating profit 6,751
Net finance expenses (8,373)
Loss before taxation (1,622)
Taxation 486
Net loss for the period (1,136)
Business
Dry Bulk Liquid Others Total
Bulk
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Revenue
Sales to external customers 62,154 58,925 617 121,696
Results
Segment result 4,039 3,422 (317) 7,144
Unallocated expenses (393)
Group operating profit 6,751
Net finance expenses (8,373)
Loss before taxation (1,622)
Taxation 486
Net loss for the period (1,136)
4. Finance Expenses
6 months to 6 months to Year to
31 March 31 March 30 September
2009 2008 2008
£'000 £'000 £'000
Interest payable on bank loans 4,361 4,283 8,405
and overdrafts
Amortisation of deferred finance 142 130 265
costs
Finance charges payable under 1,138 916 1,694
finance leases and hire purchase
contracts
Interest on pension scheme 12 4 14
assets / liabilities
Finance expense (before 5,653 5,333 10,378
unrealised exchange loss and
exceptional items)
Unrealised exchange loss on long - 3,207 3,045
term bank debt
928 - 400
Unrealised exchange loss on
translation of asset finance
Total finance expense 6,581 8,540 13,823
Included in the finance expense in prior period was an unrealised non-cash
exchange loss on an element of long-term debt denominated in Euros to create a
hedge against annual Euro trading income. The associated bank loan is repayable
on the 31 March 2014, so any exchange movements are well away from becoming
realised unless an earlier redenomination is deemed appropriate. A change in
designation of this Euro loan to a balance sheet hedge was adopted in the prior
period. The unrealised non-cash exchange loss also includes a £928,000
unrealised exchange loss (year to 30 September 2008: £0.4m) relating to some
asset finance which is maintained in currencies other than sterling to match
cash inflows.
The group's bank loans are borrowed at floating rates of interest and can use
forward rate agreements or interest rate swaps to generate the desired interest
profile and to manage the group's exposure to interest rate fluctuations. At 31
March 2009, 92% (31 March 2008: 91%) of the Group's financial liabilities were
at fixed rates after taking account of interest rate swaps. The interest rate
swaps expire on 30 September 2010 and at 31 March 2009 has a fair value of £
4,420,000 (30 September 2008: £790,000) which is included in the financial
liabilities in the balance sheet.
5. Earnings per ordinary share
The basic earnings per share are calculated by dividing the profit for the
financial period attributable to shareholders by the weighted average number of
shares in issue. In calculating the diluted profit per share, warrants and
options outstanding have been taken into account.
6 months to 6 months to Year to
31 March 2009 31 March 2008 30 September
2008
£'000 £'000 £'000
Profit/(loss) for the period 1,207 (1,136) 831
(£'000)
The weighted average number of 302,892,041 302,892,041 302,892,041
shares were (number)
Adjusted weighted average 302,892,041 302,892,041 302,892,041
number of ordinary shares
(number)
Basic profit/(loss)per share 0.40p (0.37p) 0.27p
(pence)
Diluted profit/(loss) per 0.40p (0.37p) 0.27p
share (pence)
In all of the above periods the effects of outstanding warrants and options
increase the profit per share and thus are anti-dilutive. As a result, the
diluted profit per share is the same as the basic profit per share. The
outstanding warrants and options are not added to the adjusted weighted average
number of ordinary shares.
InterBulk Group plc assesses the performance of the Group by adjusting earnings
per share, calculated in accordance with IAS 33, to exclude items it considers
to be non-recurring and believes that the exclusion of such items provides a
better comparison of business performance. The calculation of earnings per
ordinary share on this basis is based on the following adjusted earnings:
6 months to 6 months to Year to
31 March 31 March 30 September
2009 2008 2008
£'000 £'000 £'000
Profit/(loss) for the period (£ 1,207 (1,136) 831
'000)
Exclude exceptional items (net of 1,073 2,245 2,759
attributable taxation)
Exclude amortisation of intangible 182 191 363
assets
Adjusted earnings 2,462 1,300 3,953
An adjusted earnings per share
figure is presented below:
Adjusted basic earnings per share 0.81p 0.43p 1.31p
(pence)
Adjusted diluted earnings per 0.81p 0.43p 1.31p
share (pence)
6. Exceptional items
Items charged to operating profit:
Exceptional charges of £446,000 in the year relates to a redundancy programme
executed mainly impacting the UK workforce plus exit costs associated with the
closure of the Flexi-tank business in Asia. The exceptional charge of £441,000
in the year to 30 September 2008 related to the closure of the UK factory
involved in the manufacturing of the specialist liners used for the
transportation of dry bulk materials.
Items charged to finance expenses:
Included in the finance expense is an unrealised non-cash loss of £928,000
relating to some asset finance which is in currencies other than sterling to
match cash inflows. The associated asset finance is long term in nature.
In prior periods as well as asset finance items the exceptional items included
unrealised non-cash losses on long-term senior debt denominated in Euros. At
the end of June 2008 these loans were re-designated as a balance sheet hedge
and since that date exchange gains and losses have recorded within a separate
component of equity, the cumulative exchange reserve.
7. Taxation
The taxation charge for the period is based on an estimate of the Group's
expected annual effective rate of tax for the year to 30 September 2009 which
is currently estimated to be 30% (6 months to 31 March 2008: 30%). The
exceptional charge associated with the closure of the flexi-tank business in
Asia has a nil effective tax rate applied due to the existence of tax brought
forward losses. This treatment results in the headline effective rate of 34.7%
on the face of the income statement in the 6 months to 31 March 2009.
8. Cash flows from operations
6 months to 6 months to Year to
31 March 31 March 30 September
2009 2008 2008
£'000 £'000 £'000
Net profit/(loss) before 1,847 (1,622) 719
taxation
Adjustments for:
Depreciation 4,314 3,973 8,196
Amortisation of intangibles 182 191 363
assets: patents
(Profit)/loss on disposal of (22) (29) 34
property plant & equipment
Finance income (27) (167) (241)
Finance expenses 6,581 8,540 13,823
Decrease/(increase) in 950 (1,305) (254)
inventories
Decrease/(increase) in trade 1,399 (3,099) (2,751)
& other receivables
(Decrease)/increase in (3,511) 4,126 1,202
payables
Cash generated from 11,713 10,608 21,091
operations
9. Analysis of net debt
1 October 2008 Cash Exchange Non-cash 31 March 2009
flow differences movements
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Cash and cash 9,317 (86) 860 - 10,091
equivalents
Loans (84,844) 1,740 (8,912) 142 (91,874)
Finance leases (28,717) 3,083 (5,207) (2,071) (32,912)
(104,244) 4,737 (13,259) (1,929) (114,695)
Non-cash movements include £2,071,000 relating to the inception of new finance
leases on the purchase of containers and other direct equipment during the
year. Non-cash movements within loans include amortisation of deferred finance
costs of £142,000 in the period.
Excluded from the analysis of net debt above but included within Financial
Liabilities is a mark to market fair value for the interest rate swap
agreements which expire in 30 September 2010. The balance sheet value at 31
March 2009 was £4,420,000 (30 September 2008; £790,000)
10. Reconciliation of movements in equity
Equity Share Consideration Performance Retirement Cumulative Hedge Retained Total
share premium Share Plan benefit translation reserve earnings
capital account Warrants obligation adjustment equity
reserve
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
As at 31 March 30,289 26,431 1,424 41 169 2,618 (1,004) (267) 59,701
2008
Total recognised - - - - (196) (54) 517 1,967 2,234
income and
expense for the
period
Performance - - - 14 - - - - 14
share plan
As at 30 30,289 26,431 1,424 55 (27) 2,564 (487) 1,700 61,949
September 2008
Total recognised - - - - 16 457 (2,614) 1,207 (934)
income and
expense for the
period
Performance - - - 14 - - - - 14
Share Plan
As at 31 March 30,289 26,431 1,424 69 (11) 3,021 (3,101) 2,907 61,029
2009
11. Interim Statements
This interim statement is being sent to all shareholders and is available on
the Company's website. Copies may be obtained from the Company Secretary at the
Registered Office of the Company: One London Wall, London, EC2Y 5AB.
12. Independent review report to InterBulk Group plc
Introduction
We have been engaged by the directors of InterBulk Group plc (the "Company") to
review the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial
report for the six months ended 31 March 2009 which comprises the consolidated
interim balance sheet as at 31 March 2009 and the related consolidated interim
statement of income, cash flows and changes in statement of recognised income
and expenses for the six months then ended and related notes. We have read the
other information contained in the half-yearly financial report and considered
whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with
the information in the condensed set of financial statements.
Directors' responsibilities
The half-yearly financial report is the responsibility of, and has been
approved by, the directors. The directors are responsible for preparing the
half-yearly financial report in accordance with the AIM Rules for Companies
which require that the financial information must be presented and prepared in
a form consistent with that which will be adopted in the company's annual
financial statements.
This interim report has been prepared in accordance with the basis set out in
Note 1.
Our responsibility
Our responsibility is to express to the company a conclusion on the condensed
set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report based on our
review. This report, including the conclusion, has been prepared for and only
for the company for the purpose of the AIM Rules for Companies and for no other
purpose. We do not, in producing this report, accept or assume responsibility
for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or
into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent
in writing.
Scope of review
We conducted our review in accordance with International Standard on Review
Engagements (UK and Ireland) 2410, `Review of Interim Financial Information
Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity' issued by the Auditing
Practices Board for use in the United Kingdom. A review of interim financial
information consists of making enquiries, primarily of persons responsible for
financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review
procedures. A review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in
accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) and
consequently does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware
of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly,
we do not express an audit opinion.
Conclusion
Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to
believe that the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly
financial report for the six months ended 31 March 2009 is not prepared, in all
material respects, in accordance with the basis set out in Note 1 and the AIM
Rules for Companies.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants
Glasgow
29 June 2009