Half Yearly Report

RNS Number : 5453Y

ADVFN PLC

01 March 2012

 



 

 

 

 

ADVFN PLC

Unaudited Interim Results for the Six Months Ended 31 December 2011

 

Chief Executive's Statement

ADVFN's half year to the end of December 2011 represents another robust performance especially when set against the background of an unprecedented period of financial dislocation.

ADVFN has come out ahead of its previous sales performance in the first half of last year and overcome a widespread chilling effect created by the uncertainties of the Euro crisis. This strong relative performance augurs well for the future. Meanwhile 2012 has started well. There appears to be no single trigger, but activity levels have made a dramatic rally from the level of the last three months of 2011 when investors were paralysed by the events of the sovereign debt crisis.

2012 has had an extremely strong start and we hope this will create strong support for growth over the coming months.

Without the unfortunate turbulence of 2011 our results would have been significantly stronger.

Our geographic diversity, our strong advertiser base and our subscription model all contributed to neutralising the impact of the Euro crisis.

Meanwhile our initial investment cycle of expanding our global revenue has concluded, with the establishment of sales offices in Japan, India and the Middle East.

While it is hard to predict the market in the best of times, it would appear that 2012 is highly likely to be a strong market for equities. This will be helpful. Meanwhile, we will continue to expand our international reach thus making our revenue model yet more diversified.

It appears likely that the US economy is finally on the road to recovery and, with this, we would expect our US business to expand, perhaps significantly.

2012 appears to be materially different in character from 2009-2011 and in its early stages at least it seems possible that equities may be experiencing a secular shift towards investment in stocks.

This is of course good news for shareholders in general and investors in ADVFN in particular.

Financial performance

Key financial performance for the period has been summarised as follows:

	Six Months ended	Six Months ended	Change
	31 December 2011	31 December 2010
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Turnover	4,584	4,543	41
Loss for the period	(919)	(121)	(798)
Operating Loss	(971)	(147)	(824)
Loss per share	0.15p	0.02p	(0.13)

Clem Chambers

CEO

1 March 2012

Contacts:

 

Clem Chambers                           [e-mail]

Tom Frew PR                               [e-mail] 020 7070 0932

Gerry Beaney/Salmaan Khawaja   0207 383 5100 Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nominated Adviser)

Consolidated income statement
		6 months to  31 Dec	6 months to  31 Dec	12 months to  30 June
		2011	2010	2011
		£'000	£'000	£'000
		unaudited	unaudited	audited
	Notes		restated
Revenue		4,584	4,543	9,167
Cost of sales		(213)	(208)	(538)
Gross profit		4,371	4,335	8,629
Share based payment		(49)	(14)	(84)
Amortisation of intangible assets		(529)	(589)	(1,089)
Other administrative expenses		(4,764)	(3,861)	(8,241)
Total administrative expense		(5,342)	(4,464)	(9,414)
Operating loss		(971)	(129)	(785)
Finance income		-	6	7
Finance expense		-	(24)	(5)
Loss before tax		(971)	(147)	(783)
Taxation		52	26	(79)
Loss for the period		(919)	(121)	(862)
Loss per share from continuing operations
Basic and diluted (pence per share)	4	(0.15)	(0.02)	(0.14)

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
		6 months to  31 Dec	6 months to  31 Dec	12 months to  30 June
		2011	2010	2011
		£'000	£'000	£'000
		unaudited	unaudited	audited
			restated
Loss for the period		(919)	(121)	(862)
Other comprehensive income:
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations		65	14	253
Deferred tax on translation of foreign held assets		(10)	-	(46)
Total comprehensive income for the year		(864)	(107)	(655)

Consolidated balance sheet		31 Dec	31 Dec	30 June
		2011	2010	2011
		£'000	£'000	£'000
		unaudited	unaudited	audited
			restated
Assets
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment		116	85	106
Goodwill		1,733	1,590	1,697
Intangible assets		2,491	2,669	2,584
Trade and other receivables		126	113	119
Total non-current assets		4,466	4,457	4,506
Current assets
Trade and other receivables		1,067	1,133	1,121
Current tax recoverable		75	9	75
Other financial assets (available for sale)		717	729	712
Cash and cash equivalents		959	1,571	1,716
Total current assets		2,818	3,442	3,624
Total assets		7,284	7,899	8,130
Equity and liabilities
Equity
Issued capital		6,250	6,238	6,249
Share premium		7,942	7,902	7,941
Merger reserve		221	221	221
Share based payments reserve		580	499	533
Foreign exchange reserve		236	(12)	181
Retained earnings		(10,924)	(9,302)	(10,007)
Total equity		4,305	5,546	5,118
Non-current liabilities
Deferred tax		477	273	533
Borrowings - obligations under finance leases		2	6	1
Total non-current liabilities		479	279	534
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables		2,497	2,071	2,455
Current tax		-	-	18
Borrowings - overdraft and obligations under finance leases		3	3	5
Total current liabilities		2,500	2,074	2,478
Total liabilities		2,979	2,353	3,012
Total equity and liabilities		7,284	7,899	8,130

 

Consolidated statement of changes in equity

	Share capital	Share premium	Merger reserve	Share based payment  reserve	Foreign exchange	Retained earnings	Total equity
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 1 July 2010 as previously stated	6,238	7,900	221	485	(26)	(8,745)	6,073
Prior year adjustment	-	-	-	-	-	(436)	(436)
	6,238	7,900	221	485	(26)	(9,181)	5,637
Issue of shares	-	2	-	-	-	-	2
Equity settled share options	-	-	-	14	-	-	14
Transactions with owners	-	2	-	14	-	-	16
Loss for the period after tax	-	-	-	-	-	(121)	(121)
Other comprehensive income
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations	-	-	-	-	14	-	14
Total comprehensive income	-	-	-	-	14	(121)	(107)
At 31 December 2010	6,238	7,902	221	499	(12)	(9,302)	5,546
Issue of shares	11	39	-		-	-	50
Exercise of share options	-	-	-	(36)	-	36	-
Equity settled share options	-	-	-	70	-	-	70
Transactions with owners	11	39	-	34	-	36	120
Loss for the period after tax	-	-	-	-	-	(741)	(741)
Other comprehensive income
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations	-	-	-	-	239	-	239
Deferred tax on translation of foreign held assets	-	-	-	-	(46)	-	(46)
Total comprehensive income	-	-	-	-	193	-	193
At 30 June 2011	6,249	7,941	221	533	181	(10,007)	5,118
Issue of shares	1	1	-	-	-	-	2
Exercise of share options	-	-	-	(2)	-	2	-
Equity settled share options	-	-	-	49	-		49
Transactions with owners	1	1	-	47	-	2	51
Loss for the period after tax	-	-	-	-	-	(919)	(919)
Other comprehensive income
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations	-	-	-	-	65	-	65
Deferred tax on translation of foreign held assets	-	-	-	-	(10)	-	(10)
Total comprehensive income	-	-	-	-	55	(919)	(864)
At 31 December 2011	6,250	7,942	221	580	236	(10,924)	4,305

Consolidated cash flow statement
		6 months to  31 Dec	6 months to  31 Dec	12 months to  30 June
		2011	2010	2011
		£'000	£'000	£'000
		unaudited	unaudited	Audited
			restated
Cash flows from operating activities
Loss for the period before tax		(971)	(147)	(783)
Finance costs in the income statement		-	18	(2)
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment		134	64	44
Amortisation		529	589	1,089
Impairment of financial assets		(5)	-	(3)
Share based payments		49	14	84
Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables		47	(243)	(237)
Decrease in trade and other payables		42	19	403
Net cash (used)/generated from operations		(175)	314	595
Interest paid		-	(24)	(5)
Income tax (paid)/received		(22)	40	101
Net cash (used)/generated by operating activities		(197)	330	691
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received		-	6	7
Payments for property, plant and equipment		(144)	(65)	(66)
Purchase of intangibles		(436)	(285)	(571)
Acquisition of investments		-	(20)	-
Net cash used in investing activities		(580)	(364)	(630)
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from issue of equity shares		2	2	52
Loans repaid (finance leases)		(1)	(10)	(13)
Net cash generated/(used) from financing activities		1	(8)	39
Net (decrease)/ increase in cash and cash equivalents		(776)	(42)	100
Exchange movements		19	14	17
Total (decrease)/ increase in cash and cash equivalents		(757)	(28)	117
Cash and cash equivalents at the start of the period		1,716	1,599	1,599
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period		959	1,571	1,716

 

1.  Legal status and activities

ADVFN Plc ("the Company") is principally involved in the development and provision of financial information primarily via the internet and the development and exploitation of ancillary internet sites.

The company is a public limited liability company incorporated and domiciled in England and Wales. The address of its registered office is Suite 27, Essex Technology Centre, The Gables, Fyfield Road, Ongar, Essex, CM5 0GA.

The Company is quoted on the Alternative Investment Market ("AIM") of the London Stock Exchange.

2.  Basis of preparation

The unaudited consolidated interim financial information is for the six month period ended 31 December 2011.  The financial information does not include all the information required for full annual financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements of the Group for the year ended 30 June 2011, which were prepared under IFRS as adopted by the European Union (EU).

The accounting policies adopted in this report are consistent with those of the annual financial statements for the year to 30 June 2011 as described in those financial statements.

The interim financial information has not been audited nor has it been reviewed under ISRE 2410 of the Auditing Practices Board. The financial information presented does not constitute statutory accounts as defined by section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. The Group's statutory accounts for the year to 30 June 2011 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The auditors, Grant Thornton UK LLP reported on these accounts and their report was unqualified and did not contain a statement under section 498(2) or Section 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.

3.  Prior year adjustment

During 2011 the Group upgraded its reporting systems for its subscription website which enabled it to generate more accurate information over the unexpired level of live subscriptions at any period end.  The information generated by the new reports enabled the Group to accurately quantify the level of deferred subscriptions at 30 June 2011 and prior year ends.  In prior years the Group had calculated deferred revenue using the information available to it, together with certain estimation techniques.

The new reports have identified that the deferred income calculated and reflected in the financial statements for prior periods was materially misstated.  In accordance with IAS 8 'Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors' the comparative financial statements have been restated.  The effect of the prior year adjustment on each line item within the prior year financial statements is set out below:

Consolidated income statement
	As originally reported 6 months to 31 December 2010	Prior year adjustment	As restated 6 months to 31 December 2010
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Revenue	4,597	(54)	4,543
Profit for the period attributable to shareholders of the parent	(67)	(54)	(121)
(Loss)/earnings per share - from continuing operations
Basic and diluted (pence per share)	(0.01)	(0.01)	(0.02)

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
	As originally reported 6 months to 31 December 2010	Prior year adjustment	As restated 6 months to 31 December 2010
	£'000	£'000	£'000
			Restated
Total comprehensive income for the year attributable to shareholders of the parent	(53)	(54)	(107)

Consolidated cash flow statement
	As originally reported 6 months to 31 December 2010	Prior year adjustment	As restated 6 months to 31 December 2010
Loss for the period before tax	(93)	(54)	(147)
Decrease in trade and other payables	(35)	54	19
Other movements	442	-	442
Net cash generated from operations	314	-	314

4.  Loss per share

	6 months to  31 Dec	6 months to  31 Dec	12 months to  30 June
	2011	2010	2011
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Loss for the year from continuing operations attributable to equity shareholders	(919)	(121)	(862)
Loss per share from continuing operations
Basic  loss per share (pence)	(0.15)	(0.02)	(0.14)
Diluted loss per share (pence)	(0.15)	(0.02)	(0.14)
	Shares	Shares	Shares
Issued ordinary shares at start of the period	624,914,504	623,764,505	623,764,505
Ordinary shares issued in the period	67,000	50,000	1,149,999
Issued ordinary shares at end of the period	624,981,504	623,814,505	624,914,504
Weighted average number of shares in issue for the period	624,921,422	623,784,614	624,207,656
Dilutive effect of options	-	-	-
Weighted average shares for diluted earnings per share	624,921,422	623,784,614	624,207,656

The diluted loss per share does not differ from the basic loss per share as the exercise of share options would have the effect of reducing the loss per share and is therefore not dilutive under the terms of IAS 33.

5.   Dividends

The directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend.

6.   Financial statements

Copies of this statement are being posted to shareholders shortly and will be available from the company's registered office at Suite 27, Essex Technology Centre, The Gables, Fyfield Road, Ongar, Essex, CM5 0GA.

 

END

 

 

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