95 Wigmore Street
London W1U 1HH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 19 2005
ADVENTIS GROUP PLC
Interim Results 2005
V11 13 9 05
Adventis Group plc, the specialist multi-media marketing and advertising agency, today announces its results for the half-year ended 30 June 2005.
· Profit before exceptionals up 57% at £516k (2004 - £328k)*
· Turnover up by 75% to £10.7m (2004 - £6.1m)*
· Interim dividend per share up 5% to 0.21p (2004 - 0.2p)
· Profit from new ventures in 2005 totalling £151k (2004 - £nil)
· Acquisition of Affiniti (UK) Ltd, a specialist UK healthcare advertising agency, completed last January
· Successful launch of Adgenda Media Ltd, a media planner and buyer last March
· Strong balance sheet to support further acquisitions
· Major client wins include GAB Robins, Invesco Perpetual, ABN AMRO, Savills Private Finance and Lincoln Financial
*The figures quoted are after being restated on the adoption of IFRS by the Adventis Group, see below for further details.
Peter Mitchell, Chairman of Adventis Group plc, commented:
“The first six months of 2005 presented an uncertain environment for many businesses so it is very gratifying to see our business structure is sufficiently robust to produce such significant growth both organically from our existing business and by acquisition. During this period the Group also enjoyed income from its new additions of Affiniti (UK) Ltd. from January 4th and, from Adgenda Media Ltd. from March 30th. These two additions to the Group have performed very well in 2005.
The Group aims to build its marketing services offering to property, pharmaceuticals and financial services clients whilst evaluating profitable opportunities in other niches.
We continue to actively seek such growth both organically and by acquisition. We remain focused on achieving the best possible deals, as stated at the time of the Group’s flotation on AIM in July 2004, by seeking diversification into a number of different but related business streams. In 2005 the management has already evaluated in excess of 25 business opportunities and is selectively pursuing only the very best.
The Board is pleased to increase the interim dividend by 5% and I am confident that 2005 will see further announcements of our continued growth as proposed transactions come to fruition. A positive start to trading has been made in the second half of the current year.”
For further information, contact:
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Adventis Group plc |
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Charles Phillpot, Chief Executive Officer |
020 7034 4750 |
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Seymour Pierce |
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John Depasquale |
020 7107 8010 |
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Citigate Dewe Rogerson |
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Sarah Gestetner, Justin Griffiths, Fiona Mulcahy |
020 7638 9571 |
Chief Executive’s Statement
Our first twelve months as a publicly quoted company have been extremely encouraging with not only a significant rise in both turnover and profit, but also with the achievement of the early part of our long-term strategy through the announcement of a significant joint venture and a major acquisition.
It is pleasing to note that both continued successful business performance and long term strategic development have been achieved. This is encouraging for our future business plans and reflects the strength of talent within Adventis. Today, the Group consists of six operating companies in three locations, in London and Chesham, employing 85 people providing a broad range of marketing services to a large range of clients.
In January – June 2005 the financial services business has continued to invest time and effort in achieving a place on the marketing supplier roster of major financial institutions and progress has been made in this area with appointments by GAB Robins, Invesco Perpetual, ABN AMRO, Savills Private Finance and Lincoln Financial.
The acquisition of Affiniti (UK) Ltd, a specialist UK healthcare advertising agency, was completed in January 2005 and both income and profit have exceeded expectations. It strengthens the group’s presence in this profitable market and is likely to act as the vehicle for all future healthcare activity.
Affiniti (U.K.) Ltd’s clients include Allergan, Sanofi Pasteur MSD, Chiron Vaccines, Eden Biopharm, Leo Pharma, Napp and Serono.
Adgenda Media, the specialist Media Planning & Buying company has enjoyed substantial income from launch on March 30th 2005 and is already generating sales in excess of £700k per month. This niche business has exceeded expectations.
After a difficult start to 2005, when comparing like for like businesses and excluding exceptional items from 2004, our original businesses are now performing well in two out of three areas, with the third remaining steady.
Adventis Group was a private company in the comparative financial period of 2004. Comparisons with earnings per share are not that meaningful, given the dilutive effect of the significant share issue following a placing of 10.53 million shares at 28.5p per share on AIM in July 2004, which raised £2.67 million net of expenses. Cash balances were temporarily depressed by an increase in working capital in June, in particular with the rapid scale up of Adgenda Media, but now stand at in excess of £3.2m.
The Group comprises a talented and commercial team. The past year has been a turning point for the Group in terms of funding and strategy. Trading in 2005 has made a positive start and the outlook for the balance of 2005 remains encouraging while recognising the uncertainties of the markets in which we operate. Our existing businesses continue to perform well and we look forward to announcing further corporate activity in the near future.
Charles Phillpot
Chief Executive
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Adventis Group Plc |
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Group income statement |
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6 months to |
6 months to |
12 months to |
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30 June |
30 June |
31 December |
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2005 |
2004 |
2004 |
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(restated) |
(restated) |
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Note |
£'000 |
£'000 |
£'000 |
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Turnover |
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Continuing operations |
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7,305 |
6,121 |
12,087 |
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Acquisitions |
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3,394 |
- |
- |
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10,699 |
6,121 |
12,087 |
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Operating profit |
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Continuing operations |
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320 |
325 |
626 |
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Acquisitions |
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151 |
- |
- |
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Profit on ordinary activities before interest |
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471 |
325 |
626 |
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Net interest receivable |
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45 |
3 |
64 |
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Profit on ordinary activities before taxation |
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and interest on dividends recovered |
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516 |
328 |
690 |
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Interest on dividends recovered |
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- |
84 |
84 |
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Profit on ordinary activities before taxation |
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516 |
412 |
774 |
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Taxation on profit on ordinary activities |
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(164) |
(96) |
(185) |
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Taxation on interest on dividends recovered |
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- |
(25) |
(25) |
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Total taxation |
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(164) |
(121) |
(210) |
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Profit for the period |
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352 |
291 |
564 |
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Attributable to: Equity holders of the parent |
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363 |
291 |
563 |
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Minority interest |
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(11) |
- |
1 |
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Profit for the period |
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352 |
291 |
564 |
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Earnings per share (“EPS”) |
3 |
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Basic earnings per share |
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Average number of shares in issue (number) |
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32,509,248 |
20,000,000 |
25,789,474 |
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EPS (pence) |
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1.1 |
1.5 |
2.2 |
Fully diluted earnings per share |
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Fully diluted average number of shares in issue (number) |
33,337,748 |
20,000,000 |
26,617,974 |
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EPS (pence) |
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1.1 |
1.5 |
2.1 |
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Adventis Group Plc |
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Group balance sheet |
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As at 30 June 2005 |
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30 June |
30 June |
31 December |
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2005 |
2004 |
2004 |
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(restated) |
(restated) |
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Note |
£'000 |
£'000 |
£'000 |
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ASSETS |
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Non-current assets |
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Property, plant and equipment |
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207 |
174 |
184 |
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Goodwill |
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2,707 |
259 |
259 |
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2,914 |
433 |
443 |
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Current assets |
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Work in progress |
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1 |
- |
5 |
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Trade and other receivables |
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5,698 |
3,262 |
2,218 |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
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1,643 |
496 |
3,183 |
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7,342 |
3,758 |
5,406 |
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Total assets |
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10,256 |
4,191 |
5,849 |
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EQUITY |
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Capital and reserves attributable to equity holders of |
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the parent |
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Share capital |
2 |
81 |
50 |
79 |
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Share premium account |
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2,862 |
- |
2,563 |
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Capital redemption reserve |
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200 |
200 |
200 |
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Other reserves |
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20 |
20 |
20 |
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Retained earnings |
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1,379 |
942 |
1,214 |
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4,542 |
1,212 |
4,076 |
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Minority Interest |
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(13) |
- |
1 |
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Total equity |
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4,529 |
1,212 |
4,077 |
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LIABILITIES |
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Non-current liabilities |
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Obligations under finance leases - due in more than one year |
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15 |
15 |
10 |
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Provisions for other liabilities and charges |
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- |
- |
5 |
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Deferred consideration |
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1,569 |
- |
- |
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1,584 |
15 |
15 |
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Current liabilities |
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Trade and other payables |
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3,816 |
2,877 |
1,571 |
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Current income tax liabilities |
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174 |
78 |
153 |
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Borrowings |
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- |
- |
9 |
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Obligations under finance leases - due in less than one year |
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2 |
9 |
11 |
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Provisions for other liabilities and charges |
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26 |
- |
13 |
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Deferred consideration |
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125 |
- |
- |
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4,143 |
2,964 |
1,757 |
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Total liabilities |
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5,727 |
2,979 |
1,772 |