Trading Update

RNS Number : 1620B

Malvern International PLC

08 January 2018

 

8 January 2018

MALVERN INTERNATIONAL PLC

("Malvern" or the "Company")

Trading Update 

Malvern International plc (AIM: MLVN), provider of educational services in the UK, Europe and Asia, is pleased to provide the trading update for its financial year ended 31 December 2017.

·    Turnover for the second half of the year is expected to be more than £2.4 million (H2 2016: £1.9 million), up over 25% on the equivalent period last year.

·    The losses for the second half of the year are expected to be reduced to £0.2 million (H2 2016: losses of £0.9 million).

·    The annual turnover for 2017 is expected to be slightly higher than 2016 at around £4 million, with significant reduction in losses before tax to approximately £0.6 million (2016: £1.3 million).

·    Students numbers are running ahead of last year.

·    The school in London has been leading the progress with record sales and is expected to break even for the year.

·    The newly acquired school in Singapore is progressing well, already attracting market attention and seeing an  improvement in sales.  

·    Significant growth is expected in 2018 with higher student numbers anticipated in both the UK and Singapore.

·    Attractive and profitable new acquisitions are being considered in the UK, Singapore and New Zealand - to be progressed in 2018.

·    New initiatives in relation to online products are expected to be introduced to the market from January 2018.

The outcome for the second half of 2017 will demonstrate significant growth in turnover from the first half of the year and also in comparison to the same period in 2016. The increase in revenue in the second half compared to last year is mostly attributable to the significant improvement in London's performance where turnover is up around 80% year-on-year.  

The losses in the second half are expected to have narrowed further to £0.2 million (H2 2016: loss £0.9 million). This is despite incurring costs on changing the Group's organisational shape and investing and working on a number of new commercial initiatives.

Outlook

The Company will enter its new financial year with its various divisions well placed for further growth. Steady growth is expected in Malaysia. London is expected to continue with its improved performance and build upon its achievement from this year.  

In Singapore, Malvern is expecting to experience significant growth in Singapore through the combination of the acquisition of SAA-GE and growth in Malvern's existing Singapore business. Malvern is delighted with the progress made in relation to its newly acquired school in Singapore, SAA Global Education (SAA-GE - www.saage.edu.sg) where the leadership team at Malvern and SAA-GE has spent the last two months strengthening SAA-GE's relationship with its stakeholders and education partners while making improvement and heightening efficiencies in the areas of operations, quality assurance and marketing.

Overall, the Group's traditional school offerings will be complemented in 2018 with the online products that have been developed through 2017. The first mobile games designed to help students to learn English (English is Fun - co-branded with Oxford University Press) are expected to be offered to the market by March 2018. The online and digital division of the Group is currently working on other products that will be introduced to the market from early 2018.

Malvern believes 2018 will be an exciting year for the Group with the potential for both organic and acquisitive growth.

Gopinath Pillai, Chairman, stated:

"2017 as a whole, and in particular the second half, has seen improvement in the Group's performance and an upward trajectory is now discernible. This has been due to three main factors. First, a stronger management has been in place which will be strengthened further as we go forward. Secondly, the agent network has been reorganised successfully. Thirdly, our offerings now cover a wider range of products. In addition to these factors, I am optimistic that the first major acquisition which we  completed  in November 2017 will have a significantly positive impact not only on the operations of Singapore but also for our global platform."

This announcement includes inside information as defined in Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation No. 596/2014 and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of those Regulations

Contacts:
Malvern International plc	www.malverninternational.com
Haider Sithawalla Dr Sam Malafeh	[phone] [phone]
WH Ireland Limited	www.whirelandcb.com
Mike Coe, Ed Allsopp	[phone]

 

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