Interim Results

Ingenta PLC 09 June 2003 Date: Embargoed until 07.00am, Monday 9 June 2003 Contacts: Ingenta Website: www.ingenta.com Mark Rowse, Chief Executive Tel: 020 7796 4133 (9/06/03) Tel: 01865 799000 (thereafter) Martyn Rose, Non-Executive Chairman Tel: 020 7796 4133 (9/06/03) Tel: 020 7408 0792 (thereafter) Hudson Sandler Alistair Mackinnon-Musson Tel: 020 7796 4133 Philip Dennis email: ingenta@hspr.co.uk Meetings: A presentation for analysts and a separate briefing for press will be held today. For further information regarding these briefings, please contact Hudson Sandler, as above, on 020 7796 4133. Ingenta plc Interim Results The Board of Ingenta plc, the global market leader in creating Internet versions of professional and academic research publications, announces its interim results for the 6 months to 31 March 2003. This research content - 14.5 million articles from over 5,700 online publications and over 20,000 fax delivered publications - is accessed by over six million researchers a month via www.ingenta.com and the group's Specialist Websites. Highlights • Sales increase 7% to £4.6m (2002: £4.3m) • 24% reduction in overheads to £4.7m (2002: £6.2m) • EBITDA losses reduced by £1.5m to £(1.3)m (2002: £(2.8)m) • Loss before tax reduced by £4.8m to £(1.8)m from £(6.6)m • Board confident of continued substantial progress in the current year Commenting on the results, Martyn Rose, Non-Executive Chairman, said: 'Ingenta continues to make progress towards profitability. As we indicated following our reorganisation of the business last year, the combination of increased sales and sharply lower costs has already provided substantial improvements in financial performance. Overheads are still declining and, together with the benefit of recurring and deferred revenue to be recognised in the second half, and continuing new business wins, the Board is confident that further progress will be made.' Mark Rowse, Chief Executive, added: 'Ingenta has been successful in retaining customers and attracting significant new business in its core markets despite difficult trading conditions. A strong forward order book, and lower overhead base, provides confidence that the group can make further progress towards profitability.' Notes to Editors Ingenta is the global market leader in creating the Internet versions of professional and academic research publications. As well as managing and distributing published scientific, professional and academic research via the Internet, it also develops and maintains Specialist Websites for publishers, self-publishing societies and libraries. For publishers of scientific, professional and academic periodicals, journals and reference works, Ingenta provides a suite of Publisher Services including data conversion, secure online hosting, access control and distribution services. This research content - 14.5 million articles from over 5,700 online publications and over 20,000 fax delivered publications - is accessed by over six million researchers a month via ingenta.com and its Specialist Websites. Ingenta's revenue streams derive from: • Fees paid by customers for Publisher Services. • Fees paid by customers for Specialist Website build and maintenance. • A share of Pay-Per-View article purchases and website subscription revenues. For more information, see www.ingenta.com. Interim results for the six months to 31 March 2003 Financial Review Ingenta continued to make progress towards profitability in the 6 months to 31 March 2003. Following the changes in the application of the group's accounting policies announced in December 2002, the interim results for the 6 months to 31 March 2002 have been restated to an equivalent basis of preparation. On the revised accounting basis, sales increased by 7% in the period compared with the first half of the 2002 fiscal year to £4.6m (2002: £4.3m). Despite slightly reduced gross margins at 74% (2002: 79%) gross profit was maintained at £3.4m (2002: £3.4m). In addition, the group benefited from a substantially lower cost base following the reorganisation undertaken in September 2002. Overheads fell by £1.5m, or some 24%, to £4.7m in the 6 months to 31 March 2003 (2002: £6.2m). The reduction in goodwill amortisation resulting from the Board's decision to write off all outstanding goodwill at 30 September 2002 assisted in reducing retained losses after tax by £4.8m or 73% to £(1.8)m (2002: £(6.6)m). The balance sheet was strengthened by the successful Placing and Open Offer undertaken in February 2003 and the group had cash resources of £1.6m at 31 March 2003 (30 September 2002: £1.3m). As a result of the changes described above, revenue on long term contracts is now recognised over the life of the contract even where a substantial proportion of the work has been completed and the customer has been invoiced. As a result, turnover for the comparative period has been reduced and this is offset by an increased amount of deferred revenue on the balance sheet, representing invoiced work which has been completed but not yet recognised in the profit and loss account. Further work on new contracts won, but not yet recognised as turnover, has continued to be generated during the period and as a result the deferred revenue balance has remained broadly stable at £4.1m (30 September 2002: £4.2m). An estimated £3.0m of this will be recognised as turnover over the next 12 months, and in addition to this the group will benefit from recurring contracts and repeat business not yet invoiced. A summary of the activities in each of the group's main business areas is set out below. Operational Review Ingenta's revenue is derived from three core areas, namely: 1) contractual fees from scientific, professional and academic publishers and self-publishing societies for the ongoing conversion of their journals and other publications into a suitable format and for hosting and managing access to that content over the Internet - Publisher Services; 2) contractual fees from scientific, professional and academic publishers, self-publishing societies and libraries for the development, long term operation, hosting and maintenance of custom-developed websites and related online services, and a share of subscription revenue paid by third party end-users to access those websites - Specialist Websites; and 3) revenue from libraries and end-users on a per-article basis for downloading material to which they do not currently have free access - Pay-Per-View. Publisher Services The number of publishers working with Ingenta increased again from around 230 to almost 260, including seven of the world's top eight scholarly publishers. Overall, some 60 new contracts were concluded with existing and new customers during the period. Renewal rates were encouraging, with 98% of customers whose contracts expired during the period choosing to renew. Although in some cases renewals were achieved for a lower level of service, and hence lower revenues, this was more than offset by higher revenues gained from increasing service levels for other customers, together with new business acquired during the period. As a result, revenues from Publisher Services grew by 6% to £2.0m (2002: 1.9m), representing 44% of turnover. New customers in the period included substantial and prestigious national bodies such as the American Society of Investigative Pathologists, the National Association of Social Workers and the American Sociological Association. Specialist Websites The number of Specialist Websites being operated on behalf of publishers, self-publishing societies and libraries rose during the period from 220 to 238. Revenues from Specialist Websites were flat overall at £1.8m (2002: £1.8m), representing 40% of turnover, despite a lower number of new sites launched in this period. The quality of earnings in this area improved as a reduction in revenue recognised from one-off build fees on the 18 site launches was more than offset by an increase in annual recurring income from ongoing service provision for the 220 sites already live. In accordance with the group's revenue recognition policies, work undertaken on a number of new contract wins during the period has not yet been recognised as turnover in these results but will contribute to the substantial amount of pre-contracted sales and revenue to be recognised in the second half of the financial year and beyond. Highlights of the period included major new sites being constructed for customers including the World Bank and Oxford University Press. Pay-Per-View Demand for Ingenta's online document purchasing services continued to rise with turnover from this activity up by 32% to £0.8m in the six months to 31 March 2003, representing some 16% of turnover (2002: £0.6m). This result has benefited both from underlying growth and from a contribution from the HERON course pack business acquired in May 2002. Overall cost of sales is reducing as users choose to switch from low margin fax delivery of articles to higher margin online delivery, thereby increasing the average gross margin contribution to the group. Operations and Staff Significant progress was made in consolidating and streamlining operations at the group's UK and US locations following the reorganisation announced in September 2002. Overall this resulted in overheads being reduced by £1.5m when compared with the same period the previous year. The reorganisation was focused on improving the efficiency of the group's operations and through this delivering higher levels of service at a lower overall cost. In particular, a dedicated client management team has been established to service the needs of the group's substantial and growing base of publisher customers. Elsewhere, the benefits of past investment have begun to flow through in lower costs of technology support functions. This includes improved efficiency of processing and loading content received from publishers, and ensuring that new Specialist Websites can be created for clients more efficiently. Overall staff numbers reduced from 166 at 30 September 2002 to 146 at 31 March 2003, in line with the cost reduction plans outlined above. The delivery of increasing turnover from a smaller staff indicates not only the benefit of the reorganisation undertaken, and the effects of continuing investment in R&D, but also the dedication of our staff, whom the Board would like to thank for their continuing hard work in delivering high levels of service to our customers in a period of substantial change. William Finlay has notified the Board of his decision to step down from the role of Finance Director for personal reasons. The Board would like to express their appreciation for all his hard work in recent months. To effect an orderly handover, the post of Finance Director is being filled on an interim basis by a finance director experienced in our industry and AIM listed companies until the Board secures a permanent replacement. Current Trading and Prospects The group enters the second half of the 2003 fiscal year with the benefit of a substantial amount of revenue which is contracted, or already invoiced, but not yet recognised as turnover. This will be recognised as turnover in the second half of the year and beyond. In addition, continuing downward pressure on operating costs has resulted in further savings which will also benefit the second half of the year. As a result of these factors, together with a contribution from ongoing new business wins, the Board is confident the group will make continued substantial progress towards profitability in the second half of the current year. Martyn Rose Mark Rowse Non-Executive Chairman Chief Executive 9 June 2003 Ingenta plc Consolidated Profit and Loss Account for the 6 months ended 31 March 2003 Restated 6 months ended 6 months ended Year ended 31 March 2003 31 March 2002 30 September 2002 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'m £'m £'m Turnover 4.6 4.3 9.3 Cost of sales (1.2) (0.9) (1.9) Gross profit 3.4 3.4 7.4 Overheads (4.7) (6.2) (13.6) EBITDA (1.3) (2.8) (6.2) Depreciation (0.5) (0.6) (1.1) Loss before tax and goodwill amortisation (1.8) (3.4) (7.3) Other income - 0.2 0.3 Goodwill amortisation - (3.4) (19.4) Loss before tax (1.8) (6.6) (26.4) Tax - - 0.6 Loss for the financial period (1.8) (6.6) (25.8) Loss and diluted loss per share (3)p (12)p (45)p Loss and diluted loss per share before goodwill (3)p (6)p (11)p amortisation Ingenta plc Consolidated Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2003 Restated As at 31 March As at 31 March As at 30 September 2003 2002 2002 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'m £'m £'m Fixed Assets Intangible assets - 16.0 - Tangible assets 1.3 2.2 1.7 Investments 0.2 0.2 0.3 1.5 18.4 2.0 Current assets Stocks and work in progress - 0.3 - Debtors 2.4 2.1 2.5 Cash at bank and in hand 1.6 2.9 1.3 4.0 5.3 3.8 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (7.6) (9.0) (7.5) Net current liabilities (3.6) (3.7) (3.7) Total assets less current liabilities (2.1) 14.7 (1.7) Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year (0.8) (0.2) (1.1) Provisions for liabilities and charges (0.6) - (0.7) Net (liabilities)/assets (3.5) 14.5 (3.5) Capital and reserves Called up share capital 5.2 3.0 3.1 Share premium account 17.8 17.0 18.1 Merger reserve 11.0 11.0 11.0 Reverse acquisition reserve 12.7 12.7 12.7 Profit and loss account (50.2) (29.2) (48.4) Equity shareholders' (deficit)/funds (3.5) 14.5 (3.5) Ingenta plc Consolidated Cash Flow 6 months ended 31 March 2003 Restated 6 months ended 6 months ended Year ended 31 March 2003 31 March 2002 30 September 2002 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'m £'m £'m Cash flow from continuing operating activities Operating loss (1.8) (6.6) (26.4) Depreciation charge 0.5 0.6 1.1 Amortisation of goodwill - 3.4 19.4 Profit on disposal of fixed assets - - (0.2) Foreign exchange adjustment - (0.5) (0.2) Decrease in stocks and work in progress - - 0.2 (Increase) / decrease in debtors 0.1 (0.1) (0.5) Increase in creditors - 1.5 1.5 Increase/(decrease) in provisions (0.1) - 0.6 Net cash outflow from operating activities (1.3) (1.7) (4.5) Tax received - 0.1 0.7 Capital expenditure and financial investments Purchase of tangible fixed assets - (0.2) (0.2) Net cash (outflow)/inflow from acquisitions - (0.2) 0.1 Net cash outflow before financing (1.3) (2.0) (3.9) Financing Issue of shares net of expenses 1.8 2.8 3.2 Repayment of principal under finance leases (0.2) (0.1) (0.3) Net cash inflow from financing 1.6 2.7 2.9 Increase / (decrease) in cash in the period 0.3 0.7 (1.0) Statement of group total recognised gains and losses for the six months ended 31 March 2003 Restated 6 months ended 6 months ended Year ended 31 March 2003 31 March 2002 30 September 2002 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'m £'m £'m Loss for the financial period (1.8) (6.6) (25.8) Currency translation differences on foreign currency - (0.4) (0.3) net investments Total recognised losses for the period (1.8) (7.0) (26.1) Ingenta plc Notes to the Unaudited Interim Report for the six months ended 31 March 2003 1 Basis of preparation The Interim Financial Information has been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies set out in the Group's Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 30 September 2002. 2 Reconciliation of reported share capital in the consolidated balance sheet £'000 Allotted, called up and fully paid share capital of Ingenta plc at 1 October 2002 3,091,469 Issue of 41,314,981 ordinary shares for cash on 24 March 2003 2,065,749 Shares issued on exercise of share options during the period 7,155 Allotted, called up and fully paid share capital of Ingenta plc at 31 March 2003 5,164,373 3 Publication of Non-Statutory Accounts The financial information contained in this interim report is unaudited and has not been reviewed by the auditors. It does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The restated comparative financial information for the six months ended 31 March 2002 was neither audited nor reviewed by the auditors. Statutory accounts for the year ended 30 September 2002 incorporating an unqualified audit report have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. 4 Basis of EPS Calculation The basic loss per share has been calculated by dividing the loss for the period by the weighted number of ordinary shares of 63,764,927 (6 months ended 31 March 2002: 55,164,498; year ended 30th September 2002: 57,749,565) in issue during the six month period to 31 March 2003. The Company had no dilutive ordinary shares in any of the periods and there is therefore no difference between the loss per ordinary share and the diluted loss per ordinary share. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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