Interim Results
Thomson Intermedia PLC
20 September 2000
Thomson Intermedia plc ('Thomson Intermedia' or the 'Group')
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Interim Results for the six months to 31st July 2000
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Chairman's review
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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
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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
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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