Interim Results

Thomson Intermedia PLC 20 September 2000 Thomson Intermedia plc ('Thomson Intermedia' or the 'Group') ------------------------------------------------------------ Interim Results for the six months to 31st July 2000 ---------------------------------------------------- Chairman's review ----------------- We are pleased to announce our interim results for the six months ended 31st July 2000. The period since the admission of the Group to AIM in May of this year has been marked by significant investment in infrastructure, technology and personnel which the Board believes will provide a solid platform for the future development of Thomson Intermedia. Turnover in the period amounted to some £1.0 million which, after adjusting for a one-off IT development contract completed in the equivalent period last year, represents an increase of 30 per cent. over the turnover achieved in the six months to 31st July 1999. As envisaged, Thomson Intermedia made a loss in the six months ended 31st July 2000 of some £0.39 million (profit of £0.29 million: 1999) reflecting an increase of £0.9 million in operating expenses as the Group made the investment necessary to fulfill the objectives set out at flotation. Gross margins were held at 81 per cent. while loss per share equalled 1.2p which compares to earnings per share of 1.1p to 31st July 1999. As at 31st July 2000 cash balances stood at £6.95 million. Trading and Business Review --------------------------- Thomson Intermedia has three core media monitoring products ART, DART and Newsmetrics, each of which is distributed to or accessed by subscribers via the internet and all three have continued to grow satisfactorily since 31st January 2000. ART monitors on a daily basis, advertisements, loose inserts and other media insertions from over 275 newspapers and periodicals. As at 31st July 2000 the number of corporate clients subscribing to ART had risen to 189, representing an increase of 20 per cent. over the 6 month period. DART monitors the direct mail receipts and purchasing habits of a nationally representative panel of approximately 6,000 individuals. As at 31st July 2000, the number of corporate clients subscribing to DART had risen by 26 per cent. to 122. Thomson Intermedia's Newsmetrics product provides an online news feed summarising each day's articles in national newspapers and trade publications relating to the financial services industry and, by the use of a statistical formula, enables subscribers to chart the media performance of both their own company and their competitors'. The planning for the expansion of the Newsmetrics product into additional industry sectors has now been completed and we believe that implementation will take place in the second half of this financial year. As at 31st July 2000, the number of corporate clients subscribing to Newsmetrics had risen to 33 from 17 as at 31st January 2000. On 11th September 2000 Thomson Intermedia 'soft launched' free2look.co.uk and the formal marketing and advertising of the site begins on 1st October. Free2look currently provides consumers with information on over 20,000 companies and their products and is updated daily with new press advertisements. Thomson Intermedia has so far created partnerships with 156 corporate advertisers which enables them to manage their own advertisements on the website, monitor the number of visitors and analyse the results and behaviour of prospective consumers viewing their advertisements. An integral part of free2look and an area which the Directors believe will be a main source of future revenue for the Group, is the provision of syndicated research reports which use demographics, lifestyle and pre-purchasing data captured from visitors to free2look. In order to develop these products the research division of Thomson Intermedia was established shortly after our admission to AIM and we expect to have collated sufficient data to commence the marketing of research reports in November. We believe that revenue from partnership packages with corporate advertisers and banner advertising will commence in the second half of this year. The significant development in infrastructure has included an increase in the number of employees (full time equivalents) from 53 as at 31st January 2000 to 115 as at 31st July 2000. In particular, a number of new senior appointments have been made, including a Director of Sales and Marketing, a Director of Operations, a Director of Research, a free2look brand manager and a free2look sales manager. Other new appointments include seven corporate sales executives, three IT programmers and three research executives. The Group has also secured appropriate London offices to allow expansion of the sales and marketing team and secured additional production office space in Bromley. Prospects --------- The strength of the Group remains in its expertise in internet and database technology. We are committed to ensuring that we stay at the forefront of technology in our future strategic plans. The free2look brand has been launched with a positive impact, and we intend to capitalise upon the success of this website and further develop the brand to its full potential. We also continue to develop new corporate media monitoring products, such as internet, television and outdoor advertising monitoring, and have been in early discussions with third parties with regard the possibility of expanding our products or licencing our technology abroad. The Directors believe that the outlook for the Group is extremely encouraging, both in terms of further product developments and sales growth and we would expect the benefits of the investment in infrastructure to begin to be realised from the second half of this year. Thomson Intermedia plc For the six months ended 31st July 2000 Group Profit and Loss Account For the six months ended Unaudited Unaudited Audited 31st July 2000 Six months ended Six months ended Year ended 31-Jul-2000 31-Jul-1999 31-Jan-2000 £000's £000's £000's Turnover 1,008 878 1,747 Cost of sales (192) (180) (315) Gross Profit 816 698 1,432 Operating expenses (1,316) (411) (950) Operating profit / (loss) (500) 287 482 Interest receivable 115 4 8 Interest payable (1) (2) (3) Profit / (loss) on (386) 289 487 ordinary activities before taxation Taxation 79 (66) (131) Profit / (loss) on (307) 223 356 ordinary activities after taxation Dividends 0 (65) (250) Retained profit / (loss) (307) 158 106 transferred to reserves Retained profit brought 114 8 8 forward Retained profit / (loss) (193) 166 114 carried forward Earnings per share (pence) Basic (1.2) 1.1 1.8 Diluted (1.2) 1.1 1.8 All amounts relate to continuing activities. All recognised gains and losses are included in the profit and loss account. Thomson Intermedia plc Group Accounts For the six months ended 31st July 2000 Group Balance Sheet Unaudited Unaudited Audited As at 31st July 2000 31-Jul-2000 31-Jul-1999 31-Jan-2000 £000's £000's £000's Fixed Assets Tangible fixed assets 265 109 132 Current Assets Debtors 1,216 584 714 Cash at bank 6,950 519 603 8,166 1,103 1,317 Creditors Amounts falling due (1,617) (1,042) (1,318) within one year Net Current Assets / 6,549 61 (1) (liabilities) Total Assets Less 6,814 170 131 Current Liabilities Creditors: Amounts falling due after (13) 0 0 more than one year Provision for (4) (4) (4) liabilities and charges Net Assets 6,797 166 127 Capital and Reserves Share capital 7,155 5,000 5,250 Share premium 5,072 0 0 Share scheme reserve 13 0 13 Merger reserve (5,250) (5,000) (5,250) Profit and loss (193) 166 114 Equity shareholders' funds 6,797 166 127 Group Cash Flow Statement Unaudited Unaudited Audited For the six months ended Six months ended Six months ended Year ended 31st July 2000 31-Jul-2000 31-Jul-1999 31-Jan-2000 £000's £000's £000's Cash flow from operating (465) 348 625 activities Returns on investments and servicing of finance 66 2 5 Taxation Corporation tax paid 0 4 (3) Capital expenditure (153) (10) (55) Net cash flow (552) 344 572 Equity dividends paid (75) (50) (190) Net cash inflow before (627) 294 382 financing Financing Issue of shares 8,000 0 0 Flotation costs offset (1,023) 0 0 against share premium Capital element of (3) (2) (6) finance lease payments Cash flow from financing 6,974 (2) (6) Increase in cash 6,347 292 376 Notes to the Group Cash Flow Statement: (a) Reconciliation of operating profit / (loss) to operating cash flow 31-Jul-2000 31-Jul-1999 31-Jan-2000 £000's £000's £000's Cash flow from operating activities Operating profit / (loss) (500) 287 482 Depreciation 35 20 40 Share scheme reserve 0 0 13 (Increase) in debtors (376) (135) (266) Increase in creditors 376 176 356 Net cash flow from (465) 348 625 operating activities (b) Analysis of net funds Opening Other Closing balance non-cash balance 01-Feb-2000 Cashflow changes 31-Jul-2000 £000's £000's £000's £000's Cash at bank and in hand 603 6,347 0 6,950 Finance Leases (27) 3 (15) (39) Total 576 6,350 (15) 6,911 Notes to Accounts 1. Basis of Preparation The financial information set out above is based on the consolidated financial statements of Thomson Intermedia plc and its subsidiary Thomson Intermedia Associates Limited (together referred to as the 'Group'). The accounts of the Group for the six months ended 31st July 2000, which are unaudited, were approved by the Board on 19th September 2000. These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in the Report and Accounts of Thomson Intermedia Limited for the year ended 31st January 2000, and have been subject to review by BDO Stoy Hayward, Chartered Accountants. The accounts to 31st July 1999 have been extracted from Thomson Intermedia Limited's management accounts. The financial information shown for the 6 month periods ended 31st July 2000 and 31st July 1999 is unaudited and does not constitute statutory accounts of the Group within the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. Only the accounts for the year ended 31 January 2000 have been audited. During the period, a group re-organisation took place whereby a new holding company, Thomson Intermedia plc, was incorporated. It holds all the shares in Thomson Intermedia Associates Limited (formerly Thomson Intermedia Limited). The results have been prepared as if the Group had been in existence throughout the period. The consolidated financial statements incorporate the results of Thomson Intermedia plc and its subsidiary undertaking as at 31st July 2000 using the merger method of accounting. 2. Earnings (loss) per share Basic earnings (loss) per share are calculated on loss on ordinary activities after tax of £0.31 million (1999: profit £0.22 million) apportioned over the weighted average number of ordinary shares that were in issue for the period of 24,662,394 (1999: 20,000,200). Calculation of fully diluted earnings per share is based upon a fully diluted weighted average number of ordinary shares, taking into account options over ordinary shares, of 25,122,974 (1999: 20,000,200). 3. Dividend As set out in the prospectus at flotation, the Group is seeking primarily to achieve capital growth for its shareholders, and no interim dividend is being proposed. 4. Interim report Copies of the interim report for the six months ended 31st July 2000 will be sent to shareholders. Further copies will be available from the Company Secretary at the registered office. Independent Review Report to Thomson Intermedia plc Introduction We have been instructed by the company to review the financial information set out in the profit and loss account, balance sheet, cash flow and notes to the accounts above and we have read the other information contained in the interim report and considered whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the financial information. Directors' responsibilities The interim report, including the financial information contained therein, is the responsibility of, and has been approved by the directors. The Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority require that the accounting policies and presentation applied to the interim figures should be consistent with those applied in preparing the preceding annual accounts except where any changes, and the reasons for them, are disclosed. Review work performed We conducted our review in accordance with guidance contained in Bulletin 1999/4 issued by the Auditing Practices Board. A review consists principally of making enquiries of Group management and applying analytical procedures to the financial information and underlying financial data and based thereon, assessing whether the accounting policies and presentation have been consistently applied unless otherwise disclosed. A review excludes audit procedures such as tests of controls and verification of assets, liabilities and transactions. It is substantially less in scope than an audit performed in accordance with Auditing Standards and therefore provides a lower level of assurance than an audit. Accordingly we do not express an audit opinion on the financial information. Review conclusion On the basis of our review we are not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the financial information as presented for the six months ended 31 July 2000. BDO Stoy Hayward Chartered Accountants London 20th September 2000

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