Eckoh Technologies PLC
30 October 2006
For immediate release 30 October 2006
Eckoh Technologies PLC
AGM Statement
Peter Reynolds, the Chairman of Eckoh Technologies PLC ("Eckoh"), commented at
the AGM today:
"I am very pleased to report a year of significant strategic progress, and
strong operating performance in all areas of activity. For the year ended 31
March 2006, Group turnover increased by 59% to £127.1m for the year, generating
pre-tax profits of £2.3m before intangible asset amortisation, restructuring
charges and discontinued operations. The profit before taxation was £1.1m and
Group cash balances were £12.7m at the year end.
During the year, our successful Speech Solutions business merged with IVR Client
Services under the "Eckoh" brand. This operation generated combined revenues in
excess of £50m last year. However, following the renewal of the ITV and BT
contracts, and the recent launch of a number of new and exciting "participation
TV" channels - including ITV Play - we expect revenues to be significantly
higher next year.
We have rebranded our Advertised Services division as "Connection Makers", which
now operates as a stand-alone entity within the Group under the direction of an
experienced management team. Connection Makers continued to operate profitably
during the year, and is looking to expand its range of consumer entertainment
services over the next twelve months.
The Board continues to believe that Eckoh's share price does not fully reflect
the value of the Group's constituent businesses and assets, and as such remains
committed to pursue a strategy to unlock value for Eckoh shareholders.
As part of this strategy, on 18 July 2006 the offer by Redstone plc for the
entire issued share capital of Symphony Telecom Holdings plc ("Symphony") at a
price of 54.5p in cash, for each Symphony ordinary share was declared
unconditional in all respects. Consequently the Company's holding of 20,099,999
ordinary shares in Symphony has been disposed, the proceeds of which have been
placed on deposit.
The Company believes that it will not need all of the proceeds from the sale of
Symphony to satisfy current operations and the Board are therefore considering
how to best utilise its additional cash resources.
As announced on 19 October, the Company has progressed well during the first six
months of the financial year and is trading comfortably ahead of market
expectations. The Group is also pleased with recent commercial contract
successes, including Parcelforce Worldwide, National Rail Enquiries and renewal
of the Vue Entertainment contract and ongoing discussions with a number of
potential new clients.
Over the coming year we intend to focus both our resources and management on the
continuing development of Eckoh and Connection Makers. The Board is continuing
to evaluate a number of strategic options, and we will be making further
announcements in due course.
Finally, I would like to thank our staff for their continuing loyalty,
dedication and hard work over the past twelve months, as we all look forward to
another interesting year ahead."
For further enquiries, please contact:
Eckoh Technologies plc Tel: 08701 100 700
Nik Philpot, Chief Executive Officer
Adam Moloney, Group Finance Director
Buchanan Communications Tel: 020 7466 5000
Mark Edwards/Jeremy Garcia
Corporate Synergy Tel: 020 7448 4400
Brian Stockbridge
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
Please note, this site uses cookies. Some of the cookies are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but if you do, parts of the site may not work. To find out more about the cookies used on Investegate and how you can manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy
To continue using Investegate, please confirm that you are a private investor as well as agreeing to our Privacy and Cookie Policy & Terms.