Interim Results
Leeds Group PLC
10 May 2006
Issued on behalf of Leeds Group plc
Date: Wednesday, 10 May 2006
Embargoed: 7.30am
Leeds Group plc
Interim Results for the six months ended 31st March 2006
STATEMENT BY THE GROUP CHAIRMAN, VIN MURRIA
Group Results
I am pleased to report that the Group's profit before tax and exceptional items
for the six months ended 31 March 2006 was £514,000, an improvement of 65% over
the corresponding period last year. It should be noted that these results
contain only one month of trading for our former subsidiary Leeds Leasing prior
to its sale on 31 October 2005.
Profit before tax and exceptional items in the continuing operations was
significantly higher than the comparative period last year, up from £63,000 to
£493,000, and compares favourably with the £338,000 reported for the 2005
financial year as a whole.
Cost reductions and the interest earned on the proceeds of the sale of Leeds
Leasing led to a reduction of £86,000 in Central costs; however the principal
cause of the improvement in profitability can be attributed to Hemmers-Itex, our
German operation, where following a strong recovery in the second half of our
last financial year, further progress has been achieved to record a pre-tax
profit of £511,000 in the first half of this year (2005: £167,000). This
reflects both improved trading conditions generally, and also the success of
Hemmers' strategy to directly target manufacturers of ready-made items in
addition to our traditional customer base of fabric retailers.
The sale of Leeds Leasing gave rise to an exceptional loss, inclusive of
disposal costs, of £837,000. The Group's tax charge increased in line with the
profitability of Hemmers-Itex, and the overall loss after tax amounted to
£561,000 (2005: profit £240,000).
In the six months ended 31 March 2006, the Group purchased through its buy-back
programme 800,000 ordinary shares at a cost of £161,000, bringing the total
number of shares held in treasury to 1,250,000 or 3.4% of the total shares in
issue.
Strategy & Outlook
We remain confident about the prospects of our continuing operations, where the
order book continues to run at record levels. Following a movement in net debt
in the period of £19.7 million, most of which related to the sale of Leeds
Leasing, the Group's balance sheet is strong with net funds exceeding £3.3
million, equivalent to 9.2 pence per share. The Board continues to explore
opportunities to re-invest these funds wisely; in the meantime we will continue
our policy of buying in Group shares to be held in treasury when this is
considered to be in the best interests of shareholders.
Dividend
Although at this stage in the Group's development there is no interim dividend
being paid, the Directors will give further consideration to dividend policy
later this year taking into account the results for the year as a whole and the
possible acquisition opportunities that by then may have been identified.
Enquiries:
Vin Murria / Ewen Wigley Fiona Tooley
Leeds Group plc Citigate Dewe Rogerson Ltd
Tel: 020 7831 5088 / 020 7256 3956 Tel: 0121 455 8370
Mobile: 07785 703523
-2-
Leeds Group plc
Interim Results
Consolidated Profit and Loss Account
Unaudited - six months to 31 March 2006 Unaudited - six months to 31 March 2005
Continuing Discontinued Total Continuing Discontinued Total
operations operations £000 operations operations £000
£000 £000 £000 £000
Turnover 8,755 255 9,010 6,548 1,506 8,054
Cost of sales (6,569) (24) (6,593) (4,886) (135) (5,021)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gross profit 2,186 231 2,417 1,662 1,371 3,033
Distribution
costs (468) - (468) (402) - (402)
Administrative
expenses (1,253) (125) (1,378) (1,188) (671) (1,859)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating
profit 465 106 571 72 700 772
Exceptional
loss on sale
of a business
operation (837) - (837) - - -
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Loss)/profit
before
interest (372) 106 (266) 72 700 772
----------------------- -----------------------
Net interest
payable (57) (460)
-------- -------
(Loss)/profit
on ordinary
activities
before
taxation (323) 312
Taxation on
(loss)/profit
on ordinary
activities (238) (72)
-------- -------
(Loss)/profit
for the period (561) 240
-------- -------
Basic and diluted (loss)/earnings per share
before exceptional items 0.7p 0.7p
exceptional items (2.3)p -
-------- -------
after exceptional items (1.6)p 0.7p
-------- -------
Consolidated statement of total recognised gains and losses
(Loss)/profit for the period (561) 240
Foreign currency translation differences 124 26
-------- -------
Total recognised gains and losses for the period (437) 266
-------- -------
-3-
Leeds Group plc
Interim Results
Consolidated Profit and Loss Account
Unaudited - six months to 31 March 2006 Audited - year to 30 September 2005
Continuing Discontinued Total Continuing Discontinued Total
operations operations £000 operations operations £000
£000 £000 £000 £000
Turnover 8,755 255 9,010 14,113 3,075 17,188
Cost of sales (6,569) (24) (6,593) (10,483) (287) (10,770)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Gross profit 2,186 231 2,417 3,630 2,788 6,418
Distribution
costs (468) - (468) (937) - (937)
Administrative
expenses (1,253) (125) (1,378) (2,327) (1,402) (3,729)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating
profit 465 106 571 366 1,386 1,752
Exceptional
(loss)/profit
on sale of a
business
operation (837) - (837) 135 - 135
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(Loss)/profit
before
interest (372) 106 (266) 501 1,386 1,887
------------------------ ------------------------
Net interest
payable (57) (952)
-------- -------
(Loss)/profit
on ordinary
activities
before
taxation (323) 935
Taxation on
(loss)/profit
on ordinary
activities (238) (236)
-------- -------
(Loss)/profit
for the period (561) 699
-------- -------
Basic and diluted (loss)/earnings per share
before exceptional items 0.7p 1.5p
exceptional items (2.3)p 0.4p
-------- -------
after exceptional items (1.6)p 1.9p
-------- -------
Consolidated statement of total recognised gains and losses
(Loss)/profit for the period (561) 699
Foreign currency translation differences 124 (25)
-------- -------
Total recognised gains and losses for the period (437) 674
======== =======
-4-
Leeds Group plc
Interim Results
Consolidated Balance Sheet
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
As at As at As at
31st March 31st March 30th September
2006 2005 2005
£000 £000 £000
Fixed assets
Intangible
assets 825 909 853
Tangible
assets 303 451 449
---------- ---------- -----------
1,128 1,360 1,302
Current assets
Stock 4,297 3,616 4,170
---------- ---------- -----------
Debtors 3,646 3,963 5,062
Deferred
taxation 52 875 875
Finance lease
debtors - 19,110 20,606
---------- ---------- -----------
Total debtors 3,698 23,948 26,543
Cash at bank
and in hand 4,878 812 756
---------- ---------- -----------
12,873 28,376 31,469
Creditors:
amounts
falling due
within one
year (2,955) (11,851) (13,676)
---------- ---------- -----------
Net current
assets 9,918 16,525 17,793
Of which:
---------- ---------- -----------
due within one year 9,866 4,510 4,708
due after more
than one year 52 12,015 13,085
---------- ---------- -----------
---------- ---------- -----------
Total assets
less current
liabilities 11,046 17,885 19,095
Creditors:
amounts
falling due
after more
than one year - (6,588) (7,451)
---------- ---------- -----------
Net assets 11,046 11,297 11,644
========== ========== ===========
Share capital and
reserves
Called up
equity share
capital 4,392 4,392 4,392
Profit and
loss account 6,654 6,905 7,252
---------- ---------- -----------
Equity
shareholders'
funds 11,046 11,297 11,644
========== ========== ===========
Reconciliation of movements in equity shareholders' funds
(Loss)/profit
for the period (561) 240 699
Purchase of
own shares (161) - (61)
Foreign currency
translation
differences 124 26 (25)
---------- ---------- -----------
Net transfer
(from)/to
equity
shareholders'
funds (598) 266 613
Equity
shareholders'
funds at
beginning of
the period 11,644 11,031 11,031
---------- ---------- -----------
Equity
shareholders'
funds at end
of the period 11,046 11,297 11,644
========== ========== ===========
-5-
Leeds Group plc
Interim Results
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
Six months to Six months to Twelve months to
31st March 2006 31st March 2005 30th September 2005
£000 £000 £000
Cash
inflow/(outflow) from
operating
activities 818 1,005 (626)
Returns on
investments
and servicing
of finance (57) (460) (952)
Taxation (361) (263) (266)
Capital
expenditure
and financial
investment (23) (11) (129)
Acquisitions
and disposals 4,847 - 135
---------- ---------- -----------
Net cash
inflow/(outflow) before
financing 5,224 271 (1,838)
Financing (939) (437) 1,279
---------- ---------- -----------
Increase/(decrease) in cash
in the period 4,285 (166) (559)
========== ========== ===========
Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net debt
Increase/(decr
ease) in cash
in the period 4,285 (166) (559)
Net
decrease/(increase)
in loans 778 437 (1,340)
---------- ---------- -----------
Change in net
debt resulting
from cash
flows 5,063 271 (1,899)
Net debt
disposed of
with
subsidiary 14,726 - -
Foreign
currency
translation
differences (56) (12) 11
---------- ---------- -----------
Movement in
net debt in
the period 19,733 259 (1,888)
Net debt at
the beginning
of the period (16,382) (14,494) (14,494)
---------- ---------- -----------
Net
funds/(debt)
at the end of
the period 3,351 (14,235) (16,382)
========== ========== ==========
Reconciliation of operating profit to net cash
inflow/(outflow) from operating activities
Operating
profit 571 772 1,752
Depreciation
of fixed
assets 55 122 235
Amortisation
of goodwill 48 47 93
Loss on sale
of tangible
fixed assets - 1 4
(Increase)/decrease in
stocks (30) 272 (321)
Decrease/(increase) in
debtors 600 921 (215)
(Decrease)/increase in
creditors (396) (348) 104
Increase in
finance lease
debtors (30) (782) (2,278)
---------- ---------- -----------
Net cash
inflow/(outflow) from
operating
activities 818 1,005 (626)
========== ========== ===========
-6-
Leeds Group plc
Interim Results
Notes to the accounts
1. The financial information in this report does not constitute statutory
accounts within the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The
interim accounts for the six months ended 31st March 2006 and 31st March 2005
are unaudited. The comparative figures for the financial year ended 30th
September 2005 are not the Group's statutory accounts, but have been extracted
from those accounts, which have been filed with the Registrar of Companies and
on which the Group's auditor gave an unqualified report that did not contain
statements under Section 237 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. The interim
accounts have been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies set out in
the 2005 Annual Report.
2. Earnings per share have been calculated on an average of 36,061,790 (2005:
36,598,603) ordinary shares of 12 pence each in issue during the period.
3. The table below sets out a segmental analysis of the Group's operations.
Turnover Profit before taxation
Six Six Twelve Six Six Twelve
months months months to months months months to
to to to to
31st 31st 30th 31st 31st 30th
March March September March March September
2006 2005 2005 2006 2005 2005
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Hemmers-Itex 8,755 6,548 14,113 612 247 741
Central - - - (147) (175) (375)
costs ----------------------------------------------------------------
Continuing 8,755 6,548 14,113 465 72 366
operations
Leeds 255 1,506 3,075 106 700 1,386
Leasing ----------------------------------------------------------------
9,010 8,054 17,188 571 772 1,752
==============================
Exceptional
(loss)/profit
on sale of a
business
operation (837) - 135
---------------------------------
(Loss)/profit
before
interest (266) 772 1,887
Interest
--------------------------------
Hemmers-Itex (101) (80) (168)
Holding
companies 129 71 140
Leeds Leasing (85) (451) (924)
--------------------------------
Net interest
payable (57) (460) (952)
--------------------------------
(Loss)/profit
before
taxation (323) 312 935
================================
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