Park Group PLC - Interim Results
03 Diciembre 1999 - 1:02AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:8806B
Park Group PLC
3 December 1999
INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE HALF YEAR
ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 1999
3 December 1999
Summary Half Year Half Year Year to
to 30.9.99 to 30.9.98 31.3.99
Turnover #22.8m #25.3m #208.8m
Loss before taxation #(7.1)m #(7.1)m #(5.5)m
Dividend per share - 1.10p 1.45p
Earnings per share - - (3.21)p
* Seasonal loss unchanged at half year
* Successful integration of Cash Savings and Voucher
operations brings greater efficiency benefits
* Park Online boosts turnover as quality of its business
improves
* Park Direct Credit sees strong turnover growth from
launch a year ago
* #1.5m investment to upgrade group systems
Enquiries: Alastair Kerr
Chief Executive
Park Group plc
Tel: 0151 653 1700
Issued on behalf of Park Group plc by Tavistock Communications
Limited (contact: Keith Payne, tel: 0171 600 2288)
Interim Statement
Results
The group reports the normal seasonal loss at the half year
which at #7.1m was the same as a year ago. As advised at the
time of the annual general meeting in September, the board
confirms its decision not to declare an interim dividend.
Financial Services - Cash Collection
Following the integration earlier this year of the cash
collection and voucher operations the period up to Christmas
1999 has proceeded smoothly. The reorganisation is also
producing the hoped for improvements in efficiency levels.
Nevertheless overall sales are likely to be lower than last
year. The group has also had to absorb in the first half a
goodwill cost of #516,000, incurred on the surrender to the
company of hamper franchises and charged to profit and loss
account in accordance with accounting standards. In view of
these two factors results from this business will be lower
than were achieved in the previous year.
Looking ahead, the 2000 promotional campaign has been launched
with a number of innovations though it is too soon at this
stage to assess the impact on next year's order book.
Several new retailers have been added to the list of High
Street Vouchers' redeemers, adding further to the
attractiveness of the UK's leading multi-redemption voucher.
Financial Services - Home Collected Credit
Park Direct Credit, the group's home collected credit
operation, was launched just over a year ago and is, it is
believed, already the sixth largest participant in this
market.
The pace of growth to date has been rapid. Park Direct Credit
was launched in three regions - the North West, Scotland and
Yorkshire - and a fourth, the North East, was added in the
Spring of this year. The aim has been to achieve a critical
mass as soon as possible. The company has completed over
70,000 loan agreements, is represented in over 50,000
households and employs over 450 collection agents.
The company is now in the process of carrying out a complete
review and upgrade of its systems and is using the time this
allows to check the quality of the loan book and to select the
customers with whom it wishes to develop a long term
relationship. Inevitably the fall-out expected from this will
require a level of bad debt provisioning somewhat higher than
the industry average. In anticipation, the group has charged
to profit and loss account in the first half an extra half a
million pounds to ensure that cover is more than adequate.
The board feels that this cost is far less than the goodwill
write-off which would have been necessary had the company
sought to purchase loan books of an equivalent size.
Marketing Services
Park Online, the group's 'one stop shop' for data capture and
database management linked to call centre operations and
fulfilment support, continues to improve the quality of its
business. Turnover at #5.77m, from a slimmed down customer
base, increased by 17 per cent compared with the same period
last year. The new call centre, opened in Birkenhead in the
last weeks of December 1998, is working well. To date this
year it has provided over 300 new jobs and has sufficient
capacity to more than double that number.
Margins are slightly down but this is because the company has
had to absorb the costs of developing to profitability the new
call centre and of winding down operations at Altrincham
ahead of the termination of the lease on the premises there at
the end of this year.
In recent months companies responsible for three leading world
brands have selected Park Online as a business partner.
The results of Jetlag International are included in this
business sector for the first time. The difficult issues
Jetlag is having to address in its airline amenity kit
business have been reported on previously. Turnover, as
expected, is down in the first half at #5.0m, with the
provision of gift sets for major high street retailers for the
first time taking the greater part of the company's sales.
Overall margins improved sharply to 10.8 from 7 per cent in
the like period of last year, helped by a programme of
rigorous control of overheads.
Cash and Interest
Cash balances peaked at #90m in the middle of last month,
against #95m at the same time last year, reflecting
principally investment in the Park Direct Credit loan book.
As a result of lower cash balances and the reduced interest
rates prevailing in the early part of the year, interest
receivable in the first six months at #364,000 was just under
half that earned a year ago.
Investment in the Future
As the process of change continues, Park Group is moving
closer to its aim of becoming a significant provider of
financial and marketing services to specialist markets. To
this end it will be spending of the order of #1.5m in the next
year on re-equipping its information and processing systems
with the very latest technology.
Peter Johnson Alastair Kerr
Chairman Chief Executive
RESULTS FOR THE HALF YEAR TO 30 SEPTEMBER 1999
Half Year Half Year Year to
to 30.9.99 to 30.9.98 31.3.99
#000 #000 #000
Turnover
Continuing
operations 22,798 25,109 208,378
Discontinued
operations 31 145 420
------ ------ ------
22,829 25,254 208,798
===== ===== =====
Operating (Loss)/Profit
Continuing operations (7,426) (6,715) 4,287
Discontinued operations (13) (1,177) (2,217)
------ ------ ------
(7,439) (7,892) 2,070
Loss on termination of
operations - - (9,639)
------ ------ ------
Loss on ordinary
activities before
interest (7,439) (7,892) (7,569)
Investment income 370 804 2,184
Interest payable (6) (28) (109)
------ ------ ------
Loss on ordinary activities
before taxation (7,075) (7,116) (5,494)
Taxation - - 289
------ ------ ------
Loss attributable to
shareholders (7,075) (7,116) (5,205)
===== ===== =====
Earnings per share
- basic and diluted - - (3.21)p
Dividend per share - 1.10p 1.45p
Cost of dividend - #1,787,000 #2,366,000
* There were no recognised gains or losses other than the
results stated above.
* As in previous years, the Board considers it misleading,
in the light of profit expectations for the full year, to
include in the half-year statement notional tax credit
and earnings per share information.
* The above unaudited results are not the company's
statutory accounts, a copy of which for the year ended 31
March 1999 has been delivered to the Registrar. The
unqualified audit report on those accounts contained no
statement under Section 237 of the Companies Act 1985.
* A copy of this announcement will be mailed to
shareholders on 6 December 1999 and copies will be
available for members of the public at the company's
registered office - Valley Road, Birkenhead, Merseyside
CH41 7ED and also at the offices of the company's
registrars, Computershare Services PLC, Caxton House,
Redcliffe Way, Bristol, BS99 7NH.
RESULTS FOR THE HALF YEAR TO 30 SEPTEMBER 1999
SEGMENTAL ANALYSIS
Half Year Half Year Year to
to 30.9.99 to 30.9.98 31.3.99
#000 #000 #000
Turnover
Financial services
- cash collection 10,514 11,460 183,278
Financial services
- home collected
credit 1,706 42 681
Marketing services 10,578 13,607 24,419
Discontinued
operations 31 145 420
------ ------ ------
Sales to third
parties 22,829 25,254 208,798
===== ===== =====
Operating (Loss)/Profit
Financial services
- cash collection (6,823) (7,469) 3,648
Financial services
- home collected
credit (1,453) (260) (1,053)
Marketing services 850 1,014 1,692
Discontinued operations (13) (1,177) (2,217)
------ ------ ------
(7,439) (7,892) 2,070
Loss on termination of
food manufacturing - - (9,639)
------ ------ ------
(7,439) (7,892) (7,569)
===== ===== =====
END
IR NFXAAEDANFFN
Appreciate (LSE:APP)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Jun 2024 a Jul 2024
Appreciate (LSE:APP)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Jul 2023 a Jul 2024
