Preliminary Results
Ideal Shopping Direct PLC
04 March 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4 March 2008
IDEAL SHOPPING DIRECT PLC
PRELIMINARY RESULTS
For the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2007
Ideal Shopping Direct Plc ("Ideal"), Britain's leading independent TV shopping
and online business, today reports preliminary Group figures for 2007 (under
IFRS).
Highlights
2007 2006
£'million £'million Growth %
Sales 96.9 85.6 13.1%
Gross Margin 42.2% 41.3% +86bps
Like for like underlying profit 10.7 7.4 44.6%
Profit before tax 5.8 6.1 (6.2%)
Earnings per share (basic) 13.9 15.0 (7.3%)
Dividend declared per share 5.5p 4.25p 29.4%
• 14.6% like-for-like sales increase, led by craft and leisure categories
• Sustainable cost base established with broadcast and systems infrastructure
now in place
• Gross margin enhanced, in part reflecting the benefits of sourcing through
Superstore
• Strong cash flow resulted in cash balances of £16.7million despite
significant investment in the Group's infrastructure.
• Encouraging start to 2008 with sales +6.4% over 2007
• Uniquely positioned for further growth in digital retailing
• Agreement with BT Vision to carry video on demand content announced today
David Williams, Chairman, commented:
"I am delighted that, in a year when we have been putting in place the key
foundations for our future, we have still been able to drive strong growth in
sales and underlying profitability. As a digital retailer, Ideal is perfectly
placed to benefit from the continuing drive towards convergence of broadcast and
online media. The BT Vision contract evidences our ability to take advantage of
this trend.
"This year has started well and we are confident that the investments made in
2007 position us to make good progress in 2008 and beyond."
Enquiries:
Ideal Shopping Direct plc:
Andrew Fryatt, Chief Executive Officer Tel: 08700 780704
David Blake, Finance Director
Buchanan Communications: Tel: 020 7466 5000
Richard Darby/Nicola Cronk
Chairman's statement
I am delighted to report that the Group has delivered a strong set of results
for the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2007. Our overall sales growth of 13.1% at
improved margins has generated a pre-tax profit of £5.8 million, resulting in
earnings per share of 13.9p. Excluding exceptional items and the changes in
Freeview carriage, this is equivalent to a 44.6% increase in underlying
profitability. This is a particularly impressive performance when you consider
that our main goal for 2007 was to put in place some of the key strategic
components that will underpin our future growth: our carriage contracts with
Freeview and Virgin Media, and our new IT systems.
Our main TV channel, Ideal World, can now be viewed by over 21 million
households, and this will rise to almost 26 million in the next four years as
the digital switchover completes, mainly via Freeview. We have secured our
carriage on Freeview until 2018, and subsequent renegotiations by other channels
show that we have done so at a price well below the current market rate.
Last year's replacement of our IT systems will allow us to expand the business
with ever increasing efficiency, whilst responding more effectively to the needs
of our customers. In particular, it facilitates significant development in our
online capability in 2008, led by our new Head of eCommerce.
Our investment in Superstore, our sourcing and wholesale business, is now
producing margin improvements, and we are managing working capital tightly. Our
cash balances at year end were £16.7million.
As we progress towards the convergence of broadcast and online, Ideal's role as
a digital retailer means that we are well positioned to build on our 2007
growth. Nonetheless, we operate in what is perhaps the fastest-paced sector of
the retail market, and, since becoming Chairman, I have initiated a strategic
review to ensure that we continue to maximise our opportunities in this exciting
and rapidly evolving market.
Dividend
These results, together with our confidence in the business model, enable the
Board to recommend a final dividend of 3.75p, which takes the total dividend for
the year to 5.5p representing 29% growth over last year's dividend of 4.25p.
This moves the Group onto a progressive and sustainable dividend policy for the
future.
Board Changes
During the year, we have completed a restructuring of the Board in order to
support the next stage of the Group's growth. Paul Wright and Val Kaye, Ideal's
co-founders, stepped down as non-executive Directors in the first half, having
already relinquished their executive responsibilities the previous year. Jim
Hodkinson resigned as Chairman in July 2007, and became Chairman on that date.
David Blake joined us as Finance Director, taking over from Mike Camp in July
2007. I would like to thank all of our current and previous directors for the
contribution they have made to the growth and development of the Group.
Colleagues
I am extremely grateful for the hard work and dedication of the whole team in
generating these strong results, in a challenging retail environment. I would
like to thank all of our employees on behalf of the Board and our shareholders.
Outlook
Despite the toughening retail environment, 2008 has started well with good
growth on what was a very strong start to 2007. Our sales for the first nine
weeks of the new financial year are 6.4% ahead of 2007, and 27% ahead of 2006.
In more difficult times, our consumers increasingly enjoy the convenience of
being able to shop from their homes, and we are confident that the investments
made in 2007 position us to make good progress in 2008 and beyond."
Finance Director's Report
The Group's results for the year have been prepared under IFRS for the first
time.
Financial Results
Group sales for the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2007 were £96.9million (2006
£85.6m), an increase of 13.1%, and a 14.6% increase on a like-for-like basis.
Gross margin was £40.9million (2006 £35.4million), or 42.2% of revenues (2006
41.3%), reflecting the positive combined impact of our improved sourcing and
purchasing and the removal of Freeview commission, partially offset by increased
promotional activity.
Overheads, excluding exceptionals, were 18.2% higher at £35.3million (2006
£29.8million), mainly due to the impact of the new carriage agreements for the
extended Freeview contract and the addition of the Telewest base to the Virgin
Media Group's network in January 2007. A significant portion of our overheads
are contracted (Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media etc) and are subject to RPI
increases, with few directly-variable costs. This means that, by driving sales,
we are able to leverage the operational effects of a robust and stable cost
base, and deliver strong bottom line growth. Our operational gearing (overheads
as a percentage of sales) was 36.4% versus 34.8 % for 2006. However, on a
comparable basis, underlying overheads increased by only 1.4% from £26.0million
to £26.4million, which reflects our tight cost controls.
Reported profit before exceptionals and tax was £6.3million compared to
£6.1million in the prior year; which represents a 3.0% increase. The exceptional
items of £0.6million comprise Board restructuring costs (£0.4million) and the
relocation of Superstore's Manchester office to Peterborough (£0.2million)
during the year.
Reported profit after exceptionals before tax was £5.8million compared to
£6.1million in the prior year. On a comparable basis, profit before tax was
£10.7million v £7.4million which represents a 44.6% increase.
Taxation
The taxation charge for the financial year was £1.6million (2006 £1.7 m)
resulting in a full year effective tax rate of 28.3% (2006 28.2%).
Earnings Per Share
Basic earnings per share (EPS) were 13.9p (2006 15.0p), with diluted EPS at
13.8p and 14.8p.
Cash Flow, Debt and Capital Structure
We finished the year strongly with £16.7million of gross cash (2006
£18.7million) following rigorous management of stock, debtors and creditors.
This was after significant increases in cash outflow for tax and dividend
payments, and capital expenditure on new IT systems and TV.
Stock levels increased 28% to £6.8million (2006 £5.3million), reflecting
appropriate stock investment in directly-sourced own brand goods and wholesale
ranges for Superstore's third party business. Although both these activities use
working capital, the cost of this is more than offset by the increased margin we
obtain from these products, and the Group still operates a negative working
capital model.
Cash deposit rates are reviewed weekly to maximise returns on a variety of time
length deposits. To minimise currency fluctuations, more than 75% of our
forecast US$ and Euro€ denominated purchases have already been forward hedged
for the year.
Capital Expenditure & Revaluations
Capital expenditure for the year was £2.7million, of which £1.4million was
IT-related and £0.8million was Broadcast-related. During the year, we revalued
our land and buildings, resulting in an increase of £2.3million in their value,
reflecting the growth in the Peterborough commercial property market.
Dividend
The Board is recommending a final dividend of 3.75p per share (2006 2.75p),
giving a total dividend of 5.5p (2006 4.25p).
Subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting ('AGM') the final
dividend will be paid on 27 June 2008 to shareholders on the register at the
close of business on 6 June 2008.
Chief Executive's Review
Market trends
It is estimated that in 2007 the UK television shopping market generated sales
of over £950 million, with annual growth of between 5% and 7%. Our market share
is in excess of 10%.
Growth in the market is being driven by:
• Growth in access to digital television
As the analogue to digital switchover occurs, all viewers must adopt Freeview,
satellite or cable television, which will automatically give them access to
Ideal World and, if they do so via Sky, to our other channels.
• Growth in internet sales
The number of UK households with a broadband connection continues to grow
rapidly, and is approaching 16 million (source: IMRG). UK Online sales are
estimated to have exceeded £46 million in 2007, an increase of more than 50% in
the year. As online usage grows, the profile of the online population is
evolving to more closely match that of our existing customer base.
• Growing craft market
We estimate that the UK craft market is worth in excess of £2 billion per year
at retail sales value. This market is very fragmented, and we estimate that we
are amongst the top 4 players in the market, after only 5 years of operation.
Operational review
With the move onto new Freeview and Virgin contracts, and the introduction of
new systems, 2007 was a year in which we put in place the foundations to
underpin our future growth. The benefits of this began to be realised in the
second half of the year, when we delivered like-for-like sales growth in excess
of 16%. This was despite the toughening of the underlying retail market, and
reflects both underlying productivity improvements and a strong promotional
focus. Our like-for-like sales growth exceeded 14% for the full year, with
growth in all our key categories.
During the year we have continued our strategy of focusing on the following key
elements:
O Ideal World
O Create and Craft
O Superstore
O Infrastructure
Ideal World
At the start of 2007 we successfully launched the Ideal World channel onto the
Telewest cable base (which, together with the former NTL cable business, is now
branded Virgin Media). This added around 1.3 million new Virgin Media households
which can receive our channel 24 hours a day. In addition, according to figures
produced by Ofcom, through the first nine months of 2007 1.6 million additional
households gained access to Freeview, and hence to our main channel, Ideal
World. This means that today we broadcast into over 21.5 million homes,
representing 86% of all UK households.
We have focused on three key sales tools: driving underlying productivity,
better use of promotions, and continuing our programme of sourcing and
developing new ranges.
Productivity has been driven by the use of our improved IT systems which give us
greater analytical ability. This data enables us to more actively manage our
schedules, thereby maximising sales productivity and increasing our margins.
For example, with the recent trends in the retail jewellery market, coupled with
the increase in gold prices, we have actively reduced the airtime given to
jewellery, reducing its sales and gross margin, but enhancing sales and margin
overall.
Sales by category % sales growth
Leisure 80%
Craft 14%
Home 10%
Health & Beauty 7%
Fashion 6%
Jewellery (11%)
In several of our categories, sales and margin benefited from our continuing
focus on developing our own product brands. These include; "Simply Yoghurt"
yoghurt making kits, the "Skin Naturally" skincare range, and "Flex & Soft"
comfort and fashion footwear.
Our promotional programme has been highly effective, primarily utilising
multibuy offers and free or discounted postage offerings. Despite these offers,
we are pleased that margins have still increased.
During 2007 we brought almost 5,000 new products to air, continually refreshing
our on-air offer.
This combination of driving existing ranges, over 90 new products each week, and
compelling promotional offers, has combined to achieve outstanding sales results
in the second half of the year, and achieve record levels of new customer
acquisition. 380,000 new customers were added in 2007, with the monthly rate of
acquisition increasing steadily through to the end of the year.
Create and Craft
Our second channel, Create and Craft, has a very strong brand presence in the UK
craft market, which is worth in excess of £2 billion per year. This market is
very fragmented, such that we are in the top four craft retailers in the UK.
The Create and Craft brand addresses the needs of regular and dedicated
crafters, who prefer to buy from retailers that really understand their needs,
and who can provide inspiration for their crafting projects.
Our craft offer includes live shows on Ideal World, pre-recorded shows on the "
Create and Craft" channel (on Sky), a standalone retail website, a
subscription-based craft club, with over 23,000 members, and a range of "Create
and Craft" branded products sold on air and wholesaled to independent craft
retailers.
The growth in the Create and Craft Club, from just over 10,000 members at the
start of 2007, has been a key driver of our craft sales. We plan to grow this
substantially in 2008.
Our craft model combines the benefits of a strong brand and a truly multichannel
proposition, and the success of this approach suggests that it could be
applicable to other categories in the future.
Superstore
The acquisition of Superstore in 2006 was designed to rapidly enhance our direct
sourcing capability, and in 2007 we put in place the additional resources in
China to support this. We now have 15 employees there who seek out products on
our behalf and work "hands on" to ensure that strict quality controls are always
met. Initially, the main category focus has been on craft products, but we are
beginning to source for other categories too. The direct sourcing model does
increase the amount of stock that we purchase on firm sale (as opposed to our
more traditional 'sale or return basis'), but it remains a single digit
percentage of our business, and the small increase in stock is significantly
outweighed by the enhanced margins and better quality assurance.
In May 2007, Superstore began delivering craft ranges into Wilkinsons. This
complements our supply of craft products to Asda, which began in 2006. Whilst
this national account business supports the volumes of our internal craft
purchasing, the strategic benefits of the Superstore business remain the margin
enhancement from direct sourcing and the increased reach of the "Create and
Craft" brand.
Infrastructure
During the first half of the year, we completed the improvement and upgrade of
our IT systems (ISIS) in order to handle significantly higher volumes in the
business. This has been an important long-term project and our new platform has
significantly greater data storage capacity and performance capability. We have
also upgraded our automated call centre facility (IVR), to offer "upsells" to
customers and allow them to trace the status of their order. Further
enhancement is planned for 2008.
With the rapid growth of new business, 2008 is the year in which we must
determine the longer term solution to our warehousing requirement. We have
applied for planning permission to extend our current warehouse facilities, but
are continuing to review this opportunity against other warehousing solutions in
the first half of 2008.
New Opportunities
As previously announced, we began discussions with BT Plc last year, to become
the flagship TV shopping channel on BT Vision. We are pleased to report that a
formal agreement was signed in January 2008, and we expect to launch onto this
new exciting IPTV platform with a video on demand offer in quarter 3 2008.
We believe that our online growth opportunity may even exceed the potential from
TV shopping, and we are committed to realising this. In January 2008, we
appointed a new Head of eCommerce, and have commenced a programme to overhaul
our websites by the middle of this year. Already more than 20% of our sales are
taken online, and we anticipate that our online sales will approach 30% of the
mix by the end of this year.
In November 2007, we opened an "Ideal World" outlet store in Peterborough,
enabling us to clear end of line stocks above cost prices.
Future prospects
Having put the foundations in place during 2007, we anticipate continued growth
in 2008. On Ideal World, we will continue to drive the introduction of own
brands and directly sourced products, so as to drive margins and increase
loyalty, and we will test new categories of products and services that we
believe are relevant to our customers. Our Create and Craft brand will continue
to benefit from our truly multichannel approach, with increased airtime and
online focus, and growth in Club membership.
In Superstore, the main focus is on doubling the volume of directly sourced
merchandise for Ideal, with commensurate margin benefits. In third party sales,
we are focused on driving the efficient use of working capital in supporting our
key accounts, whilst we roll out our Create and Craft branded offer to
independent craft stockists.
In terms of infrastructure, we continue to develop both our IT and telephony
systems. By the end of 2008 we plan to repatriate our customer service centre
from India, and utilise both IVR and web to enhance our ordering and customer
service capabilities.
"Convergence" of digital technologies has been referenced in the media for the
last few years, but 2008 looks as if it will be the first year that it will
reach some critical mass. We are perfectly placed to exploit the integration of
broadcast and online media, and our launch onto the BT Vision platform later
this year is a key step in our evolution as a digital retailer.
The operational gearing of the business means that growing our sales and margin
produces a disproportionate benefit to profit, and with our significant
investments in infrastructure now complete, we expect to drive up net margins in
2008.
Financial statements
Consolidated Income Statement
52 weeks 52 weeks
ended ended
30 December 31 December
2007 2006
£'000 £'000
Notes
Sales Revenue 96,871 85,638
Cost of Sales (56,008) (50,255)
Gross profit 40,863 35,383
Distribution costs (3,639) (3,027)
Administrative expenses
Exceptional items 2 (570) 0
Other (31,362) (26,397)
Other expenses (283) (417)
Operating profit 5,009 5,542
Finance costs (69) (97)
Finance income 485 594
Other financial result 332 101
Profit from continuing operations 5,757 6,140
Profit from continuing operations before
exceptional items 6,327 6,140
Tax expense net 3 (1,628) (1,733)
Net profit for the period 4,129 4,407
Attributable to equity shareholders of Ideal
Shopping Direct plc 4,129 4,407
Earnings per share
Continuing operations:
Basic 4 13.9 15.0
Diluted 4 13.8 14.8
The company has not presented its own income statement as permitted by section
230 of the Companies Act 1985. The parent company's profit attributable to
shareholders amounted to £3.5m (2006: £4.8m).
Consolidated Balance Sheet
30 December 2007 31 December 2006
£'000 £'000
Assets
Non-current
Goodwill 1,523 1,523
Other intangible assets 3,083 1,510
Property, plant and equipment 9,904 9,420
Deferred tax assets 71 94
14,581 12,547
Current
Inventories 6,766 5,310
Trade and other receivables 5,616 2,595
Current tax assets 97 0
Cash and cash equivalents 16,697 18,684
29,176 26,589
Total assets 43,757 39,136
Equity
Equity attributable to shareholders of Ideal Shopping Direct Plc
Share Capital 894 888
Share Premium 308 193
Other reserves 2,642 2,166
Retained earnings 19,423 16,496
Total equity 23,267 19,743
Liabilities
Non-current
Borrowings 1,863 2,202
Deferred tax 705 486
liabilities
Obligations under finance leases 0 260
2,568 2,948
Current
Provisions 449 340
Trade and other payables 16,253 14,860
Borrowings 339 339
Current tax 572 424
liabilities
Obligations under finance leases 309 482
17,922 16,445
Total liabilities 20,490 19,393
Total equity and liabilities 43,757 39,136
Statement of changes in equity
Group statement of changes in equity: 2007
Share Share Other Retained Total
Capital Premium reserves earnings Equity
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
1 January 2007 888 193 2,166 16,496 19,743
Revaluation of Land and Buildings - - 439 - 439
Deferred Tax Adjustment - - - (22) (22)
Income taxes relating to
items charged or credited to equity - - (40) - (40)
Net income recognised
directly in equity 888 193 2,565 16,474 20,120
Profit for the 52 weeks ended
30 December 2007 - - - 4,129 4,129
Total recognised income
and expense for the period 888 193 2,565 20,603 24,249
Employee share based compensation 6 115 - - 121
Dividends - - - (1,333) (1,333)
Increase in Share Option Reserve - - 77 153 230
30 December 2007 894 308 2,642 19,423 23,267
Group statement of changes in equity: 2006
Share Share Other Retained Total
Capital Premium reserves earnings Equity
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
1 January 2006 887 180 1,643 13,152 15,862
Revaluation of Land and Buildings - - 257 - 257
Income taxes relating to
items charged or credited to equity - - (13) (33) (46)
Net income recognised 887 180 1,887 13,119 16,073
directly in equity
Profit for the 52 weeks ended
31 December 2006 - - - 4,407 4,407
Total recognised income
and expense for the period 887 180 1,887 17,526 20,480
Employee share based compensation
1 13 - - 14
Increase in share option reserve - - 279 - 279
Dividends - - - (1,030) (1,030)
31 December 2006 888 193 2,166 16,496 19,743
Consolidated statement of cash flows
For the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2007
2007 2006
£'000 £'000
Operating activities
Result for the period after tax 4,129 4,407
Adjustments 2,506 2,236
Change in inventories (1,385) 159
Change in trade and other receivables (3,021) 191
Change in trade and other payables 1,393 (550)
Change in provisions 109 (139)
Cash generated from operations 3,731 6,304
Income tax paid (1,482) (3,026)
Net cash from operating activities 2,249 3,278
Investing activities
Additions to property, plant and equipment (808) (582)
Additions to other intangible assets (1,860) (450)
Acquisition of Superstore TV net of cash acquired 0 (1,720)
Interest received 485 594
Net Cash used in Investing Activities (2,183) (2,158)
Financing activities
Repayment of bank loans (339) (337)
Discharge of finance lease liability (433) (543)
Interest paid (69) (97)
Dividends paid (1,333) (1,030)
Financing outflows (2,174) (2,007)
Proceeds from share issue 121 14
Net change in cash and cash equivalents (1,987) (873)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 18,684 19,557
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period 16,697 18,684
Notes
1) Basis of preparation
The financial statements set out above in respect of 30 December 2007 does not
constitute statutory accounts as defined in Section 240 of the Companies Act
1985. The financial information contained in this announcement has been
extracted from the 2007 financial statements upon which the auditor's opinion is
unqualified and does not include any statement under Section 237 of the
Companies Act 1985.
The preliminary announcement has been prepared under the historical cost
convention, except it has been modified to include the revaluation of certain
non-current assets, financial assets and liabilities. A policy of revaluation
in respect of property has been adopted as at 30 December 2007 as the directors
consider this the most appropriate policy. This policy has been applied
retrospectively, and where appropriate the 2006 comparatives have been amended
accordingly.
The 2007 financial statements are the first financial statements prepared by the
group in accordance with accounting standards as adopted for use in the EU and
as such take account of the requirements and options in IFRS 1 (First-time
Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards) as they relate to the
2006 comparatives included therein.
2) Exceptional items
The following amounts have been included in the income statement line for the
reporting periods presented;
2007 2006
£'000 £'000
Board Restructuring Expenses 420 -
Superstore TV Limited Relocation Costs 150 -
570 -
3) Income tax expense
The relationship between the expected tax expense based on the effective tax
rate of the Group at 30% (2006: 30%) and the tax expense actually recognised in
the income statement can be reconciled as follows;
2007 2006
£'000 £'000
Result for the year before 5,757 6,140
tax
Tax rate 30% 30%
Expected tax expense 1,727 1,842
Adjustment for tax-rate differences (29) -
Adjustment in respect of prior periods (14) (86)
Other temporary differences 40 (76)
Utilisation of tax losses (178) -
Share options 43 16
Other non-deductible expenses 39 37
Actual tax expense, net 1,628 1,733
Comprising
Current tax expense 1,509 1,791
Deferred tax (expense), income, resulting from the
- origination and reversal of temporary differences 119 (58)
Total 1,628 1,733
4) Earnings per share and dividends
Both the basic and diluted earnings per share have been calculated using the net
results attributable to shareholders of the Group as the numerator. None of the
dilutive shares relate to interest or similar expense recognisable in profit or
loss for 2006 or 2007.
To calculate the diluted earnings per share figure, the weighted average of
dilutive employee share options expected to vest have been added. The number
represents management's best estimate at the balance sheet date, which is also
used for calculating employee remuneration expense relating to share based
payment transactions.
2007 2006
Number Number
Reconciliation of average number of shares used for
basic and diluted earnings per share
Weighted average number of ordinary shares
used for basic earnings per share 29,663,505 29,431,917
Weighted average number of dilutive
shares under option 235,269 406,035
Weighted average number of ordinary shares
for diluted earnings per share 29,898,774 29,837,952
During 2007 the Group paid dividends of £1,333,000 to its shareholders (2006
£1,030,035). This represents a payment of 4.50p per share (2006 3.50p per
share).
The Directors propose final dividend payment of £1,112,381 (3.75p per share)
resulting in a full year dividend of 5.5p for 2007. As the distribution of
dividends by the Group requires approval of the shareholders' meeting, no
liability in this respect is recognised in the 2007 consolidated financial
statements. No income tax consequences are expected to arise as a result of this
transaction.
5) Cash flow statement
The following non-cash flow adjustments have been made to the pre-tax profit for
the year to arrive at Group operating cash flow;
2007 2006
£ '000 £ '000
Depreciation & Amortisation and impairment
charges of tangible and intangible assets 1,064 721
Employee equity-settled share options 230 279
Tax expense net 1,628 1,733
Finance Income (485) (594)
Finance Cost 69 97
2,506 2,236
Copies of the annual report and accounts will be posted to the shareholders in
due course
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting will be held on 7 May 2008 at 10.00 a.m. at the
offices of Buchanan Communications, at 45 Moorfields, London, EC2Y9AE
Notice is sent to shareholders separately with this report.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange