Final Results

microgen 18 February 2004 Information Management Solutions www.microgen.co.uk Microgen plc Preliminary Audited Results for the Year ended 31 December 2003 Microgen plc, the IT services and solutions group which provides consultancy, managed services and software, announces preliminary audited results for the year ended 31 December 2003 in line with expectations. Highlights * Preliminary results in line with expectations * Operating profit* from Continuing Operations increased by 16% to £2.4m (2002 : £2.0m) * Operating margin* on Continuing Operations increased to 11.3% (2002 : 8.0%) * Total revenue of £26.4 million (2002 : £25.3 million) * Profit before tax* increased by 12.5% to £2.5m (2002 : £2.2m) * Adjusted earnings per share* up 11.5% to 2.9p (2002 : adjusted eps of 2.6p) * Loss before tax of £2.4 million (2002 : £2.0 million) after goodwill amortisation of £2.2 million and net exceptional charges of £2.7 million. Net loss per share of 3.2p (2002 : loss per share of 4.2p) * Net cash inflow from operations of £4.8 million in the period. * Gross cash at 31 December 2003 of £10.5 million and net free cash of £8.2 million. * before tax, goodwill amortisation and exceptional items * Acquisition of MMT Computing plc completed in November. Operational improvements in MMT are already delivering tangible results, including increase in consultant fee rates and £2.2 million cash inflow from working capital management. Operational integration on track, including the exit and consolidation of 4 office facilities. * Acquisition of Imago QA Limited in December. Integration complete. Martyn Ratcliffe, Executive Chairman commented: 'Despite the difficult market conditions, Microgen's disciplined management approach has again produced strong results, showing operating margin improvement and underlying eps growth for the third successive year. The acquisitions of MMT Computing plc and Imago QA Limited have significantly increased the scale of the Group and the benefits anticipated at the time of the acquisitions are being achieved.' Contact : Martyn Ratcliffe, Executive Chairman 01753-847122 Mike Phillips, Group Finance Director Giles Sanderson, Financial Dynamics 020-7831-3113 Ben Way, Financial Dynamics A results presentation will be available from www.microgen.co.uk. Chairman's Statement In terms of both operating results and the strategic development of the Group, 2003 has been one of considerable success. Despite the continuing difficult market environment, the Board of Microgen reports a strong performance for the year ended 31 December 2003 for the continuing businesses, due to the disciplined management approach maintained during the period. The two acquisitions completed towards the end of the year have substantially increased the size of the Group, providing an expanded customer base and broader product and service offerings. In both acquisitions, the integration has been rapid and effective to reduce the cost base and realise the benefits from the increased scale. The challenging market conditions in the IT sector in recent years have been well documented. The ability to report a further improvement in operating margin and adjusted earnings per share, while continuing to invest in new product development, reaffirms the Board's strategy and the execution of that strategy. FINANCIAL SUMMARY For the year ended 31 December 2003, Microgen increased operating profit before exceptional items and goodwill amortisation from Continuing Operations to £2.4 million on revenue of £21.0 million (2002: £2.0 million on revenue of £25.3 million). Including the two acquisitions made towards the end of the year, (which contributed £3.2 million of revenue and an operating loss of £0.1 million), profit before tax, goodwill amortisation and exceptional items increased by 12.5% to £2.5 million (2002 : £2.2 million). Adjusted earnings per share (to reflect the underlying operating performance) was 2.9p, an 11.5% increase on prior year (2002: 2.6p). After including goodwill amortisation and net exceptional items the Group produced an operating loss for the year of £2.6 million (2002: operating loss of £2.2 million), and after interest and tax the net loss for the year was £2.0 million (2002 : net loss of £2.6 million) producing a fully diluted loss per share of 3.2p (2002 : loss per share of 4.2p). The net exceptional items include a one-time exceptional charge arising from the integration of the acquisitions of £3.3 million partially offset by a one-off project undertaken by a major customer that contributed an exceptional operating profit of £1.2 million. As a result of the acquisitions, headcount, including external associates and contractors at 31 December 2003 was 581 (31 December 2002 : 289). Significant further reductions have been made in consolidating and integrating the acquisitions and by 31 January 2004 headcount had been reduced to 529. The Group produced a positive operating cash flow of £4.8 million and has maintained a strong balance sheet. Following the two acquisitions the Group had a gross cash balance of £10.5 million with net free cash of £8.2 million at 31 December 2003. (The difference in gross cash and net free cash takes account of loan notes/deferred consideration and restructuring charges associated with acquisitions, and net corporation tax recoverable. At 31 December 2003 all deferred considerations had been finalised.) After careful consideration, the Board has concluded not to recommend a dividend (2002 : nil) and continues to consider that further investment in the strategic development of the Group offers greater opportunity for shareholders in the current market. OPERATIONAL REVIEW The acquisitions completed during 2003 have significantly changed the structure of the Group. The Microgen approach to the integration of acquisitions is to retain the customer focus (sales, marketing and delivery) in each business unit, but realise the benefits of scale by the consolidation of support staff and infrastructure. Segmentation increases the customer and operational focus, while the Group's active pursuit of cross-selling opportunities increases the inter-relationships and benefits from the acquisitions. As a result, it is now more appropriate to discuss the Group in terms of the services provided, rather than the historic divisional structure. However, for comparison purposes, figures are also provided on the previous divisional basis. Overall, the market for IT consultancy and solutions has continued to be unpredictable throughout the past year. The Board anticipated this difficult environment and has consistently taken early action, enabling the business to reduce overhead costs and deliver a strong performance despite the market conditions. The Group's operational discipline and strategy continues to deliver results. CONSULTANCY The Group's consultancy services now contribute the greatest proportion of revenue to Microgen. These activities include IT consultancy services such as information management, integration and software testing & acceptance, but also include more business-specific consultancy services associated with IT, particularly in the financial services sector where the deployment of Microgen's software applications typically require both technical and domain expertise. The acquisition of MMT Computing plc ('MMT') also brought business expertise in the insurance sector into the Group. During 2003, the difficult market environment had an impact on most consultancy businesses and for the period ended 31 December, revenue was £8.9 million (2002 : £10.0 million). However, there have been some significant new developments during the year, including the establishment of the Emergency Services business unit which delivered strong revenue growth in the year. MANAGED SERVICES Microgen provides added-value transactional services in billing, payment and hosted database and document management, where Microgen adds value by processing, distributing, storing and analysing data for a wide variety of applications, including the Group's e-billing services. Combined with the Group's legacy print & mail operations, Microgen now offers a multi-channel billing solution which has continued to show good progress during the past year. This ability to provide the full spectrum of output requirements (print, e-bill, e-analysis and document storage) from a single billing data feed has proven to be a key differentiator in this market. Within Managed Services the Group also provides an applications management service, primarily supporting consultancy projects post-implementation. MMT also had an established applications management business and these two operations have been integrated. For the year ended 31 December 2003, revenue from these business areas was £5.4 million (2002: £4.4 million). In addition, the revenue and profit were enhanced by a material one-off project undertaken by a major customer which delivered exceptional operating revenue of £2.2 million and an exceptional operating profit of £1.2 million. SOFTWARE Microgen is a leading provider of BACS payment software and solutions in the UK. With the launch of BACS-IP, all UK customers using BACS payment transfers will need to upgrade their software over the next two years and Microgen has developed a completely new range of products at the Group's development facility in Poland to maximise the potential from this opportunity. The Group's other major software offerings (prior to recent acquisitions) are derived from the Business Rules application, which is forming the core of the Group's future product strategy. At present, these products are primarily deployed within the financial services sector, but with a number of potential applications in other market segments. The acquisition of MMT brought software applications into the Group targeted at the Derivatives (London Metal Exchange) and Energy Deregulation market sectors. The Derivatives product requires updating and a new development using the Business Rules core application is under consideration. The Energy product range has been the subject of very substantial investment in recent years and a new product was launched in 2003. Prior to the acquisition of MMT, the Group's software development activities were consolidated into the Group's development centre in Poland. This approach enabled development headcount to be increased while reducing the cost of the development operations by £0.5 million (excluding costs associated with acquisitions). For the year ended 31 December 2003, revenue from software and maintenance was £4.2 million (2002: £4.4 million). ACQUISITIONS The Microgen Board has been consistent in advocating consolidation within the IT sector. With the slowdown in the IT market in recent years, the benefits from merger and acquisition activity, reducing overhead costs and broadening product and service offerings to a wider customer base are readily apparent. Microgen has proven its ability to efficiently and effectively acquire and integrate IT companies, eliminating duplicate cost structures and producing consistent improvements in operating profitability. The Board anticipates continuing this strategy. MMT COMPUTING PLC On 10 October 2003, Microgen made an Offer for MMT, which was declared wholly unconditional on 7 November. Compulsory purchase provisions were later implemented and Microgen has now acquired 100% of the share capital. Excluding transaction fees, the acquisition cost was £17.6 million, comprising £5.2 million of cash and £12.4 million in new Microgen shares. At completion, MMT had net assets of £10.8 million, including net free cash of £5.5 million and £ 3.0 million of freehold and/or long leasehold property assets. (Based on an independent, post-acquisition valuation of the property assets.) Prior to the acquisition by Microgen, MMT was structured as a number of independent businesses and the Board of Microgen immediately initiated a strategic review of each area, integrating the consultancy and application management businesses, exiting the low value-add contractor placement sector, restructuring the MMT Energy operations and consolidating support/staff functions. As a result of these restructuring actions an exceptional charge of £2.1 million has been taken in the period to 31 December 2003, including provisions for the properties vacated through the consolidation of facilities. In the period from 7 November to 31 December 2003, the MMT acquisition contributed £3.2 million in revenue and an operating loss before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items of £112,000. The improvements in management discipline have already started to produce tangible results. Consultancy fee rates are being increased and, in the period from acquisition to 31 December, improved working capital management produced an enhanced cash flow of £2.2 million, primarily through a reduction of 15 debtor days as Microgen's policies and practices were introduced. The integration of MMT is now almost complete and the business units from this acquisition are anticipated to be fully integrated into the Microgen Group by the end of the first quarter of 2004. Since MMT was slightly larger in revenue than the Microgen Group, the Board is pleased with the rapid progress of the integration. MMT has now been renamed Microgen Solutions plc and the subsidiaries have been rebranded under the Microgen brand. IMAGO QA LIMITED On 30 December 2003, Microgen acquired Imago QA Limited, now renamed Microgen-IQA Limited, ('IQA') for £1.11 million (excluding transaction fees), together with debt of £0.64 million, which has now been repaid. IQA is a leading UK provider of IT consultancy services for software acceptance and managed risk-based testing. The integration of IQA into the Microgen Group is operationally complete. Through this process, headcount was reduced, mainly in support functions, and the IQA business has been relocated into the Group's existing London offices, producing a significant saving in overhead costs. As a result, an exceptional charge of £1.2 million has been incurred in the period to 31 December 2003, including provisions associated with vacating the former IQA London offices. FUTURE PROSPECTS Market conditions for IT companies continue to be unpredictable and the Board of Microgen continues to manage the business accordingly. In planning for 2004, the Board has done so on the assumption that market conditions will not improve in the near term. Despite the difficult conditions, Microgen has again delivered operating results in line with expectations and further improvement in key operating metrics. The strategic development of the Group has also made significant progress during the past year. The two acquisitions completed have significantly changed the scale of Microgen and with both acquisitions being almost fully integrated, the Group is well positioned entering 2004. The Board believes that the IT sector is likely to consolidate further and will continue to explore strategic opportunities for the development of Microgen. In summary, despite the challenging market environment, Microgen has delivered a very respectable operating performance, producing growth in operating income and adjusted earnings per share, together with strong positive cash flow. The Board is satisfied with this performance and with the organic and strategic development of the Group. Martyn Ratcliffe Executive Chairman MICROGEN PLC Group Profit and Loss Account for the year ended 31 December 2003 Audited Audited Audited Audited Audited Audited 2003 2003 2003 2002 2002 2002 Before Goodwill Total Before Goodwill Total goodwill amortisation goodwill amortisation amortisation and amortisation and and exceptional and exceptional exceptional items exceptional items items items Notes £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Turnover Continuing 1 20,991 2,200 23,191 25,332 - 25,332 operations Acquisitions 1 3,225 - 3,225 - - - 24,216 2,200 26,416 25,332 - 25,332 Operating costs Continuing (18,625) (3,750) (22,375) (23,300) (4,206) (27,506) operations Acquisitions (3,337) (3,328) (6,665) - - - (21,962) (7,078) (29,040) (23,300) (4,206) (27,506) Operating profit/ (loss) Continuing 1 (b) 2,366 (1,550) 816 2,032 (4,206) (2,174) operations Acquisitions 1 (b) (112) (3,328) (3,440) - - - Operating profit/ 2,254 (4,878) (2,624) 2,032 (4,206) (2,174) (loss) Net finance income 268 - 268 210 - 210 Profit/(Loss) on 2,522 (4,878) (2,356) 2,242 (4,206) (1,964) ordinary activities before tax Tax on profit/(loss) 2 384 (616) on ordinary activities Profit/(Loss) on (1,972) (2,580) ordinary activities after taxation and transferred to reserves Earnings per share 3 Basic and diluted (3.2)p (4.2) p Adjusted earnings per 3 share (before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items and with normalised tax charge) Basic and diluted 2.9 p 2.6 p MICROGEN PLC Group Balance Sheet Audited Audited 31 Dec 2003 31 Dec 2002 Notes £'000 £'000 Fixed assets Intangible assets 44,435 37,149 Tangible assets 4,088 1,349 Investment in own shares 293 282 48,816 38,780 Current assets Stocks - raw materials 111 86 Debtors 4 10,878 6,439 Cash at bank and in hand 10,457 9,848 21,446 16,373 Creditors: due within one year 5(a) (13,295) (8,115) Net current assets 8,151 8,258 Total assets less current liabilities 56,967 47,038 Creditors: due after more than one 5(b) - (650) year Provisions for liabilities and charges 6 (2,604) (2,628) Net assets 54,363 43,760 Capital and reserves Called up share capital 7 4,330 2,920 Share premium account 8 39,849 29,011 Shares to be issued 185 - Other reserves 8 616 616 Profit and loss account 8 9,226 11,213 Equity shareholders' funds 54,206 43,760 Minority Interest 157 - Capital employed 54,363 43,760 MICROGEN PLC Group Cash Flow Statement for the Year Ended 31 December 2003 Audited Audited Year ended Year ended 31 Dec 2003 31 Dec 2002 Notes £'000 £'000 Net cash flow from operating activities 9(i) 4,800 2,640 Returns on investments and servicing of finance Interest received 356 404 Interest paid (38) (248) 318 156 Taxation (436) (475) Capital expenditure and financial investment Purchase of tangible fixed assets (598) (367) Sale of tangible fixed assets 9 1 (589) (366) Acquisitions and disposals Purchase of subsidiary undertakings 10 (7,488) (4,108) Net cash acquired with subsidiary 5,505 122 undertakings Repayment of subsidiary debt acquired (644) - Adjustment to consideration on purchase of 41 100 subsidiary undertaking (2,586) (3,886) Equity dividends paid to shareholders - - Cash inflow/(outflow) before financing 1,507 (1,931) Financing Issue of share capital 2 4,165 Buyback of share capital - (1,960) Purchase of shares for Trust - (200) Redemption of loan notes (650) (3,394) Payment of deferred consideration (250) - (898) (1,389) Decrease in cash in the period 9(ii) 609 (3,320) 1. Turnover and segmental analysis 1(a) Turnover by service type Continuing Continuing Acquisitions Audited Audited operations operations - exceptional £'000 Year Year £'000 operating Ended Ended turnover 31 Dec 31 Dec £'000 2003 2002 £000 £000 - Managed Services 5,333 2,200 71 7,604 4,437 - Consultancy 7,184 - 1,688 8,872 10,007 - Software and 3,606 - 551 4,157 4,417 Maintenance - Legacy 4,868 - 915 5,783 6,471 20,991 2,200 3,225 26,416 25,332 1 (b) Segmental Analysis During the year the Group completed two acquisitions, MMT Computing plc and Imago QA Limited, which are included within Microgen Solutions Division. The profit and loss performance of the acquisitions during the period from acquisition to 31 December 2003 is shown below: Acquisitions Microgen Solutions 2003 2003 £'000 £'000 Turnover 3,225 Operating costs before goodwill and (3,337) exceptional charges Operating loss before goodwill and (112) exceptional charges Goodwill amortisation (70) Exceptional charges - Vacant property provision (1,006) - Restructuring charges (2,252) (3,258) Goodwill and Exceptional charges (3,328) Operating loss after goodwill amortisation (3,440) and exceptional charges As previously announced, Microgen Telesmart benefited from a one off project undertaken by a customer that due to the size of the project gave rise to exceptional operating revenue. The operating profit impact of this exceptional revenue is shown below: Exceptional item Microgen Telesmart 2003 2003 £'000 £'000 Turnover 2,200 Operating costs before goodwill and exceptional charges - Divisional costs (740) - Group costs (295) (1,035) Exceptional operating profit arising from 1,165 exceptional revenue The segmental analysis for the Continuing operations of the two divisions is shown below, together with the comparative figures for 2002. 2003 2003 2002 2002 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Turnover Microgen Solutions 10,181 14,430 Microgen Telesmart 10,810 10,902 20,991 25,332 Operating costs before goodwill and exceptional charges Microgen Solutions (8,315) (11,732) Microgen Telesmart (8,608) (9,475) (16,923) (21,207) Operating profit before group costs Microgen Solutions 1,866 2,698 Microgen Telesmart 2,202 1,427 4,068 4,125 Group costs (1,702) (2,093) Operating profit before goodwill amortisation 2,366 2,032 and exceptional items Goodwill amortisation Microgen Solutions (1,983) (1,863) Microgen Telesmart (158) (848) Goodwill amortisation (2,141) (2,711) Exceptional charges Microgen Solutions - Vacant property provision (127) (1,471) - Restructuring charges (447) (24) (574) (1,495) Goodwill and Exceptional charges (2,715) (4,206) Operating loss after goodwill amortisation (349) (2,174) and exceptional charges Exceptional operating profit from continuing operations Microgen Telesmart 1,165 Operating profit/(loss) from continuing 816 (2,174) operations In summary, the net exceptional items for the year comprise: 2003 2003 2002 2002 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Exceptional operating profit 1,165 - Vacant property provision: - Continuing operations (127) (1,471) - Acquisitions (1,006) - (1,133) (1,471) Restructuring charges - Continuing operations (447) (24) - Acquisitions (2,252) - (2,699) (24) Net exceptional items (2,667) (1,495) 2. Taxation The taxation charge for the year comprises: Audited Audited Year ended Year ended 31 Dec 2003 31 Dec 2002 Current Tax £'000 £'000 UK corporation tax charge at 30% (252) (692) Foreign corporation Tax (19) (36) Current year taxation charge (271) (728) Tax credit on exceptional items 29 449 UK corporation tax prior year charge (41) (196) Total current taxation charge (283) (475) Deferred taxation Deferred tax credit/(charge) for the year 667 (141) Total taxation credit/(charge) on loss on ordinary 384 (616) activities The UK group of Microgen plc has a deferred tax asset of £1,488,000 (2002: £ 796,000) due to timing differences relating to accounting provisions and capital allowances. In addition the UK group had a cumulative unprovided deferred tax asset of £1,754,000 (2002: £430,000) relating to taxable trading losses carried forward which has not been recognised in the accounts. The differences between the total current tax charge and the amount calculated by applying the United Kingdom corporation tax rate of 30% to the loss on ordinary activities before tax is as follows: Audited Audited Year ended Year ended 31 Dec 2003 31 Dec 2002 £'000 £'000 Loss on ordinary activities before tax (2,357) (1,964) Corporation tax credit at standard rate of tax of 30% 707 589 Adjustment for the effects of: Brought forward trading losses not recognised for 189 - deferred tax Unrelieved overseas trading losses - (178) Goodwill amortisation not tax deductible (663) (813) Other amounts not taxable/(deductible) 84 (73) Capital allowances in excess of depreciation 147 196 Other timing differences (706) - UK corporation tax prior year charge (41) (196) Group current tax charge for the period (283) (475) 3. Earnings per share To provide an indication of the underlying operating performance per share the adjusted profit after tax figure shown below excludes goodwill amortisation, exceptional items, prior year tax charges and credits and the impact of adopting FRS 19 Deferred Tax. Year ended Year ended 31 Dec 2003 31 Dec 2002 £'000 £'000 Profit before tax, goodwill amortisation and 2,522 2,242 exceptional items Normalised tax charge at 30% (757) (673) Adjusted Profit on ordinary activities after tax 1,765 1,569 Adjustment to actual current year tax charge 486 (55) Goodwill amortisation (2,211) (2,711) Exceptional items net of tax (2,638) (1,046) Prior Year tax charge (41) (196) Deferred tax credit/(charge) 667 (141) Loss on ordinary activities after tax (1,972) (2,580) 2003 2003 2003 Earnings Basic Diluted EPS EPS £'000 Pence Pence Loss on ordinary activities after tax (1,972) (3.2)p (3.2)p Adjustment to actual current tax charge (486) (0.8)p (0.8)p Goodwill amortisation 2,211 3.6p 3.6p Exceptional Items net of tax 2,638 4.3p 4.3p Prior Years tax charge 41 0.1p 0.1p Deferred tax credit (667) (1.1)p (1.1)p Adjusted profit on ordinary activities after 1,765 2.9p 2.9p tax Adjusted earnings per share are calculated using the adjusted profit after tax and the weighted average number of shares in issue during the year of 60,712,928 (2002: 61,308,631). Diluted earnings per share calculations are based on 61,007,318 (2002: 61,536,117) ordinary shares calculated as the basic weighted average number of ordinary shares plus 294,390 (2002: nil) dilutive share options. 4. Debtors Audited Audited 31 Dec 2003 31 Dec 2002 £'000 £'000 Trade debtors 6,852 4,467 Corporation tax recoverable 400 105 Other debtors 390 132 Prepayments and accrued income 1,748 939 Deferred tax asset 1,488 796 10,878 6,439 5. Creditors Audited Audited 31 Dec 2003 31 Dec 2002 (a) due within one year £'000 £'000 Trade creditors 996 710 Other taxes and social security costs 839 834 Other creditors 377 392 Deferred consideration - 250 Loan notes payable 652 652 Accruals and deferred income 10,431 5,277 13,295 8,115 (b) due after more than one year Loan notes - 650 6. Provisions for liabilities and charges Provisions for liabilities in respect of surplus properties. Audited Audited 31 Dec 2003 31 Dec 2002 £'000 £'000 Balance brought forward 2,628 1,273 Credited to the profit and loss account (41) (131) Charged to profit and loss account - 29 Exceptional charge to the Profit and 1,133 1,471 Loss account Utilised in the year (1,166) (54) Amortisation of discount 50 40 Balance carried forward 2,604 2,628 7. Share Capital The movement in authorised and issued Ordinary Share Capital of 5 pence each during the period is detailed below. Authorised Issued and fully paid Number Amount Number Amount At 1 January 2003 90,000,000 £4,500,000 58,409,085 £2,920,455 Increase in authorised share 44,000,000 £2,200,000 capital on 5 November 2003 Movement in issued share capital in the year: Issued on exercise of share 5,147 £257 options Issued to the shareholders of 28,178,622 £1,408,931 M.M.T. Computing plc At 31 December 2003 134,000,000 £6,700,000 86,592,854 £4,329,643 8. Movement on reserves Share Other Profit and Reserves Account Premium Account £'000 £'000 £'000 At 1 January 2003 29,011 616 11,213 Retained loss for the - - (1,972) year Exchange rate adjustments - - (15) Shares issued on exercise 1 - - of share options Shares issued to the 10,837 - - shareholders of MMT Computing plc At 31 December 2003 39,849 616 9,226 9. Notes to the Group Cash Flow Statement (i) Reconciliation of operating loss to net cash inflow from operating activities Audited Audited year ended year ended 31 Dec 2003 31 Dec 2002 £'000 £'000 Operating loss (2,624) (2,174) Depreciation 692 775 Goodwill amortisation 2,211 2,711 Loss on disposal of fixed assets 234 25 (Increase)/decrease in stock (25) 5 Decrease in debtors 4,616 1,300 Decrease in creditors (304) (2) Net cash inflow from operating 4,800 2,640 activities 9. (ii) Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in funds/(debt) Audited Audited Year ended Year ended 31 Dec 2003 31 Dec 2002 £'000 £'000 Increase/(decrease) in cash in the 609 (3,320) period Change in net funds resulting from cash 609 (3,320) flows Issue of loan notes - (4,471) Redemption of loan notes 650 3,394 Movement in net funds in the period 1,259 (4,397) Net funds at beginning of the period 8,546 12,943 Net funds at end of period 9,805 8,546 9. (iii) Analysis of net funds At Other non At 1 Jan 2003 Cash flow Cash 31 Dec 2003 changes £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Cash at bank and in 9,848 609 - 10,457 hand Debt due within 1 (652) 650 (650) (652) year Debt due after 1 year (650) - 650 - Total 8,546 1,259 - 9,805 The net free cash figure of £8.2 million referred to in the Chairman's Statement is arrived at after deducting accrued restructuring costs of £2.0 million and adding back £0.4 million of corporation tax recoverable from the net funds figure shown above. 10. Acquisition of Subsidiaries The group made two acquisitions during the year for a total consideration including transaction fees of £20,181,000. The total adjustments required to the net book values of the assets and liabilities acquired in order to present the net assets of those companies acquired at fair value were £847,000 details of which are set out below together with the resulting amount of goodwill arising. Both of these purchases have been accounted for as acquisitions. (a) Acquisition of MMT Computing plc On 10 October 2003 the Boards of Microgen and MMT Computing plc announced the recommended offer for the entire issued share capital of MMT Computing plc, subject to shareholder approval. Shareholders' approval was obtained at the EGM on 5 November 2003 and the Offer was declared wholly unconditional on 7 November 2003. The key financial details in respect of the acquisition are scheduled below. £000 Consideration and cost in respect of the acquisition: Cash 5,168 Ordinary Shares 12,432 Initial consideration 17,600 Fees and costs in respect of the 1,364 acquisition 18,964 Net assets Fair Value Provisional Acquired Adjustments Fair Values £000 £000 £000 Fixed Assets 2,531 486 3,017 Debtors 7,093 (291) 6,802 Cash 5,503 - 5,503 Creditors (3,516) (1,006) (4,522) Taxation 167 - 167 Minority Interest (157) - (157) Net Assets 11,621 (811) 10,810 Goodwill on acquisition 8,154 Total consideration and 18,964 costs The provisional fair value adjustments consist of Fixed Debtors Creditors Total Assets £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 (1) Accounting Policy alignments - - (815) (815) (2) Revaluations 486 - - 486 (3) Other adjustments - (291) (191) (482) 486 (291) (1,006) (811) (b) Acquisition of Imago QA Limited On 31 December 2003 the company announced the acquisition of Imago QA Limited which had been formally completed on 30 December 2003. The key financial details in respect of the acquisition are scheduled below. £000 Consideration and cost in respect of the acquisition: Initial cash 1,106 consideration Fees and costs in respect of the 111 acquisition 1,217 Net Fair Value Provisional liabilities acquired Adjustments Fair Values £000 £000 £000 Fixed Assets 86 - 86 Debtors 1,255 (36) 1,219 Cash 2 - 2 Creditors (1,650) - (1,650) Net Liabilities (307) (36) (343) Goodwill on acquisition 1,560 Total Consideration and 1,217 costs From the dates of acquisition to 31st December 2003 the acquisitions have contributed £3,225,000 to turnover and an operating loss before interest, goodwill amortisation and exceptional items of £112,000. 11. Statement by the directors The figures in the Group Profit and Loss Account and Balance Sheet do not amount to full accounts within the meaning of Section 254 of the Companies Act 1985. The Annual Report for the period ended 31 December 2003 will be posted to shareholders in due course and will also be available on the investor relations page of our web site (www.microgen.co.uk). Further copies will be available on request and free of charge from the Company Secretary at 11 Park Street, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1LU. The comparative figures for 2002 have been extracted from the annual report for the year ended 31 December 2002.
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