Final Results Final Results
PRESS RELEASE
Not for release before 0700, 8 July 2004
FLETCHER KING PLC
PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Profit increase of 300% for the year ending 30th April 2004
Fletcher King, the London based property fund managers, asset managers and
chartered surveyors, announces today its preliminary results for the year ended
30th April 2004. As outlined in the trading statement released in April of this
year, the results are better than anticipated due to the early completion
achieved on a large, one off, ratings transaction.
Financial highlights:
- Profit before tax up 300% to £332,000 (2003: £83,000)
- Turnover for the year up 22% at £5.6m (2003: £4.6m)
- Basic earnings per share grew 260% to 2.49p (2003: 0.69p)
- Final dividend up to 1p (2003: 0.75p) for the second half plus an
additional Special Final Dividend of 1p making the total dividend up by 130% for
the year to 2.3p (2002: 1.0p)
Operational highlights:
- The Rating and Valuation department enjoyed another strong year carrying
out sizeable rating contracts for companies including J Walter Thompson and New
Star Asset Management and completing early the contract with Computacenter that
contributed strongly to the group's performance.
- Approximately £15 million already invested for the Bhs Pension Fund
- Stratton House Investment Property Syndicate now nearly fully invested. The
start of fund raising for a second fund is anticipated for the autumn of 2004.
- Four significant new clients secured for the Asset Management department
and further growth anticipated in the coming year.
- Landlord and Tenant completed its first full year as a separate entity
meeting all of its budgets for the year.
- Fletcher King Howard carried out a number of significant projects during
the year and contributed to the group's profits. A number of new commissions
have also been secured.
Commenting David Fletcher, Chairman of Fletcher King said:
"As anticipated our results for the year are ahead of expectations. Although the
improved results are influenced by the early completion of a major rating
contract, we have grown profits, turnover and basic earnings per share by
developing all areas of the group in what remains a difficult trading
environment. We have also managed to raise dividends (by 30% excluding the
Special Final Dividend), linking them to a growth in profit and the underlying
business."
For further information:
David Fletcher, Fletcher King: 020 7493 8400
Tim McCall, mj2 020 7491 7776
FLETCHER KING PLC
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
RESULTS
Trading in the second half of the year was better than anticipated and as a
result we issued a Trading Statement on 20th April 2004 confirming that activity
was ahead of expectations. This was mainly due to the rating contract carried
out on behalf of Computacenter that was completed earlier than anticipated and
under favourable terms.
Turnover for the year was £5.623m (2003 £4.6m) with profits before tax of
£332,000 (2003 £83,000). The board is proposing an Ordinary Final Dividend of
1p (2003 0.75p) together with a Special Final Dividend of 1p to reflect the
positive impact on profitability of the transaction referred to above. These
dividends will be subject to shareholder approval at the annual general meeting
and will be paid on 27th September 2004 to Shareholders on the register at the
close of business on the 3rd September 2004.
With the interim dividend already paid the total dividend for the year will
amount to 2.3p per share (2003 1p per share).
THE COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MARKET
The market during the year has been less volatile than for a number of years as
inflation remains under control. The impact on oil prices of the situation in
Iraq and the Middle East gave cause for concern, but generally, the market has
dismissed any significant increase in prices.
The letting markets, whilst by no means easy, have been generally more positive
throughout the country. Offices in Mayfair and the West End have seen higher
demand and space is now reported to be letting at £80 per sq.ft plus. Whilst
the highest rents are for new Grade A space there is some evidence that well
presented second hand space is letting well and rent free periods are reducing.
There has been more take up in the City of London this year and a number of
transactions in Docklands, although these markets continue to have a significant
overhang and it will be some time before real rental growth returns. The Thames
Valley and western approaches continue to suffer from a surfeit of space and
this is likely to be the position for some time to come.
The industrial market in the regions remains active with interest mainly from
owner occupiers who continue to outnumber those who are seeking to lease space.
Retail warehousing is more active than the high streets and rents have been
pushed higher.
The investment market remains very strong and anecdotal evidence points to
substantial funds entering the market with the resultant downward pressure on
yields. This situation is likely to remain for at least the next twelve months.
THE OUTLOOK FOR 2004/05
I remain optimistic about the Mayfair and West End letting markets but less so
in other parts of the south-east. Rental growth in industrials will continue
slowly and growth in retail warehouse rents is likely to continue.
I believe the investment market will remain buoyant throughout the coming year
and yields are likely to fall further as the year progresses. Falling yields
coupled with rising five and ten year swap rates are putting pressure on the
margin for debt financed investment purchases but any cut back in that sector
will be more than replaced by Institutional investors.
The Stratton House Investment Property Syndicate is now almost fully invested
and we anticipate starting the second Fund in the autumn.
Excluding the Special Final Dividend we have raised the dividend by 30% which is
a reflection of the growth in our underlying business. We have demonstrated
again this year that we endeavour to link dividends to growth in profits.
Everyone within the organisation has worked extremely hard to produce these
results and I thank them for their efforts.
DAVID FLETCHER
CHAIRMAN
8th JULY 2004
DIVISIONAL REVIEW
FLETCHER KING LONDON
Investment and Fund Management
Last year saw another resilient performance from the UK property market. As in
the previous year, the market was driven primarily by overseas and geared
investors, but by the last quarter we began to see a significant shift, with
institutional investors beginning to re-emerge with serious amounts of cash to
invest. Conversely, the debt driven market showed signs of stalling as interest
rates began to climb and yields continued to harden across all sectors.
Many of Fletcher King's clients, particularly our fund management clients, were
very active in the market during the course of the year. Significant purchases
included a Government let office investment near Heathrow for £9 million and
retail warehousing in the north for £10.35 million. Since our appointment at
the beginning of the year as discretionary Fund Managers to the Bhs Pension
Fund, we have invested approximately £15 million, and for the Stratton House
Investment Property Syndicate, approximately £20 million has been spent.
Significant sale instructions included a retail store in Ayr for £10.25 million
and a small shopping centre in the south of England for £9 million.
The coming year will again be very active and already we have a number of major
sale instructions. We also have approximately £70 million to invest for In-
House clients.
Asset Management
The Department met its targets during the year and secured four new clients.
The most significant of these has holdings with a total rent roll in excess of
£1m per annum including multi-let office buildings and two shopping centres.
Government regulations affecting property, including the Disability
Discrimination Act 1995, the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulation 2002, and
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2004, are now coming into full force
and considerable work has been done during the year to ensure all properties
within our Management are compliant and that tenants are aware of their
responsibilities.
Much comment has been made in the trade press regarding the FSA's Regulation of
the Property Industry in respect of insurance products. We are in the process of
applying for clearance from the FSA to carry out insurance business.
Most of our clients are expanding their portfolios and we are anticipating
further growth in the Department during the year.
Rating and Valuation
Rating has been extremely busy this year and it was within this department that
the one-off transaction referred to earlier was achieved.
The notable assessments dealt with during the year included the saving of almost
£1m in rate payments for Computacenter on their UK portfolio, a 41% saving on J
Walter Thompson's London headquarters worth £2.8m over 5 years and in the same
building a saving of in excess of £500,000 in payments for New Star Asset
Management.
During the year a 25% reduction was achieved on Tiffany's unit in The Royal
Exchange and a 17% reduction on the headquarters of Avis in Mayfair.
Current activity is strong and our list of instructions for the 2005 Valuation
List is growing, whilst we still have several hundred appeals on the 2000 Rating
List to be resolved.
Valuations have also been extremely active and we have significantly increased
the volume carried out for both RBS/NatWest and Barclays. As a result of
increased interest from Irish Investors we have been particularly active for the
Irish Banks. Significant valuations carried out in the year include a £40m
office portfolio for Investec Bank and a £37.5m valuation for HSBC on a Central
London residential and commercial portfolio.
Agency
Although agency represents a small part of our turnover it is, nevertheless, an
important service we offer clients . As usual the department's main focus
during the year has been the acquisition of premises for corporate clients.
Acting on behalf of a literary agent we have acquired a new headquarters in
Chelsea, for an international telecommunications company we have acquired two
suites in Victoria and for a major international firm of engineers a project
office in South London.
Despite the poor letting market in the City and Midtown we were successful in
letting a 20,000 sq.ft building in Midtown and selling a freehold City office
building.
The coming year will see further instructions from corporate clients to acquire
new space. The department is also working on development projects which are
likely to come to fruition during the year.
Landlord and Tenant
The department has completed its first full year as a separate entity within the
firm and has met its budgets.
It is handling a diverse range of instructions and this year will be negotiating
reviews and renewals on a rent roll of approximately £5m.
Its most successful transaction during the year was a saving of over £350,000 in
rent for a tenant of a major Mayfair building.
FLETCHER KING HOWARD
Our wholly owned construction services subsidiary continued to run profitably
and its contribution to profit was in line with expectation.
During the year it acted for a diverse range of clients including a fastrack fit
out of offices in Burton upon Trent for Punch Pubs Limited, the completion of a
£5.5m distribution hub for NYK Logistics in Derby , a £2m extension for IVAX at
Runcorn, a £3.5m sports complex and swimming pool for Berkhamstead Collegiate
School and a 80,000 sq.ft warehouse for Holland & Barrett in Burton upon Trent.
Work continued to progress on Frontier Estate's new £24m mixed development at
Hatfield.
The current year begins well and recent commissions include a 70,000 sq.ft.
warehouse for Jordans Cereals Limited, a £2m distribution depot for Carlsberg
Tetley Limited, a £10m medium security Learning Disability Unit in Northampton
for St Andrews Hospital, a 120,000 sq.ft. distribution depot in Daventry for
John Mills Limited and a £3m theatre in Redditch for The Redditch Borough
Council.
We are budgeting for Fletcher King Howard to grow both its own profitability and
its contribution to the Group's profit in the coming year.
FLETCHER KING MANCHESTER
Our Manchester office remains one of the City's leading industrial property
specialists and it is currently involved in over 800,000 sq.ft of new industrial
and warehouse development throughout the North West in areas such as Trafford
Park, Earle, Warrington and Deeside in North Wales.
During the year the office has been involved in advising L'Oreal on two major
schemes in the area one, a 16 acre site for the construction of a new 257,000
sq.ft distribution unit and the other an 85,000 sq.ft facility.
The office has been recently retained by Euro Car Parts, one of the leading
suppliers of car parts to the motor trade, to acquire trade counter units
throughout the UK. To date 6 units have been acquired and a further 9 are
targeted for this year.
The coming year is likely to be very busy and we anticipate a keen occupier
interest in the developments on which the company is acting.
FLETCHER KING PLC
CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT for the year ended 30 APRIL 2004
2004 2003
£000 £000
TURNOVER 5,623 4,614
Staff Costs (3,593) (2,853)
Depreciation (76) (83)
Other operating charges (1,675) (1,628)
OPERATING PROFIT 279 50
Share of results of associated undertakings 9 7
Interest receivable and similar income 47 30
Interest payable and similar charges (3) (4)
PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES BEFORE
TAXATION 332 83
Tax charge on profit on ordinary activities (113) (22)
PROFIT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 219 61
Dividends (203) (88)
RETAINED PROFIT(LOSS) FOR THE YEAR 16 (27)
Earnings per share - basic 2.49p 0.69p
- diluted 2.45p 0.68p
The basic earnings per share is based on the profit for the financial year ended 30th
April 2004 of £219,000 (2003 : £61,000 ) and on 8,807,279 (2003: 8,807,279) ordinary
shares in issue throughout the year. The diluted earnings per share is based on the
profit for the financial year ended 30th April 2004 of £219,000 (2003 : £61,000 ) and
on 8,926,433 (2003: 8,926,433) ordinary shares in issue during the year adjusted for
the weighted average number of options outstanding at the end of each period.
FLETCHER KING PLC
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET as at 30 APRIL 2004
2004 2003
£000 £000
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible Assets 178 221
Investment in associated undertakings 27 19
Other investments 253 253
458 493
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors 1,640 1,496
Cash at bank and in hand 1,836 1,318
3,476 2,814
CREDITORS amounts falling due within
one year (1,537) (907)
NET CURRENT ASSETS 1,939 1,907
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT 2,397 2,400
LIABILITIES
CREDITORS : amounts falling due - (17)
after
one year
PROVISION FOR LIABILITIES AND
CHARGES - (2)
NET ASSETS 2,397 2,381
CAPITAL AND RESERVES
Called up share capital 881 881
Share premium account 76 76
Profit and loss account 1,440 1,424
EQUITY SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS 2,397 2,381
FLETCHER KING PLC
CASHFLOW STATEMENT for the year ended 30 APRIL 2004
2004 2003
£000 £000
Net cash inflow from operating activities 643 375
Dividends received from associated undertakings - 26
Returns on investments and servicing of finance 44 26
Taxation (21) (41)
Capital expenditure and financial investment (35) (262)
Equity dividends paid (92) (88)
Cash inflow before financing 539 36
Financing (21) (23)
Increase in cash in the year 518 13
The financial information set out above does not comprise the company's
statutory financial statements. Statutory financial statements for the previous
financial year ended 30 April 2003 have been delivered to the Registrar of
Companies. The auditors' report on those financial statements was unqualified
and did not contain any statement under section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies
Act 1985. The auditors have not yet reported on financial statements for the
year ended 30 April 2004, nor have any such financial statements been delivered
to the Registrar of Companies.