Trading Update

RNS Number : 1922V

Photo-Me International PLC

10 December 2021

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

10 December 2021

Photo-Me International plc

("Photo-Me" or "the Group")

Trading Update

Photo-Me International plc (PHTM.L), the instant-service equipment group, announces an update on the Group's trading for the financial year ended 31 October 2021.

Trading Update

The Group's better than expected trading momentum in May, June and July continued in the fourth quarter of the financial year ended 31 October 2021, driven by continued recovery in photobooth activity and a strong Laundry performance. Consequently, the Board expects that revenue will be slightly ahead of previous expectations of approximately £210 million, and profit before tax (before exceptional items) will come in towards the upper end of previous expectations of between £25 million and £30 million, subject to completion of the FY21 audit process.

The Group continued to see recovery across most of its key markets. Continental Europe once again performed strongly, particularly driven by strong performance in France, and the UK returned to profitability benefitting from completion of the Group's previously-announced restructuring programme. After a significant increase in activity in Japan in the first half due to the My Number card scheme, activity in this market would have returned to more normal levels had it not been for border closures due to Covid restrictions, which resulted in a decrease in revenue in the region. For similar reasons, the market remains challenging in China. Excluding Asia, the Group is making good progress in returning to pre-pandemic performance levels in the last months.

During the year, the Group continued to deliver on its growth strategy, with the ongoing expansion of its Revolution Laundry operations, and extension of its Food business (Feed.ME) through the acquisition of a manufacturer of pizza vending machines. In addition, the Group extended its geographic footprint, taking the first commercial steps into Finland and, via a small vending acquisition, Australia. The rollout of the Group's new corporate brand strategy, ME Group, continues to strengthen its brand position and better reflects the significant diversification of its operations in recent years.

Financial Position

As at 31 October 2021, the Group had a net cash balance of £33.8 million. This is net of acquisitions during the year which amounted to £10.8 million. The Group's gross debt is £65.9m.

Looking forward

The Group has continued to perform strongly over recent months, despite ongoing macro-economic challenges. Most of its key markets have recovered well and business activity is returning to pre-pandemic levels.

The Board remains cautious of the macro-economic challenges, which include rising inflationary cost pressures due to the widely reported issues across the supply chain and the ongoing pandemic. The Board will continue to monitor these closely.

The Group will publish its results for the 12 months ended 31 October 2021 on Wednesday 23 February 2021.

ENQUIRIES

Photo-Me International plc	[phone]
Serge Crasnianski, CEO
Stéphane Gibon, CFO
Hudson Sandler	[phone]
Wendy Baker / Charlotte Cobb / Nick Moore	[e-mail]

NOTES TO EDITORS

Photo-Me International plc (LSE: PHTM) operates, sells and services a wide range of instant-service vending equipment, primarily aimed at the consumer market.

The Group operates vending units across 20 countries and its technological innovation is focused on four principal areas:

· Photo.ME  - Photobooths and integrated biometric identification solutions

· Wash.ME   - Unattended laundry services, launderettes, B2B services

· Print.ME   - High-quality digital printing kiosks

· Feed.ME   - Vending equipment for the food service market

The Group entered the self-service fresh fruit juice equipment market in April 2019, with the acquisition of Sempa, the self-service food equipment will become a key business area alongside Identification, Laundry, and Kiosks, and will be a significant part of the Group's future growth strategy.

In addition, the Group operates other vending equipment such as children's rides, amusement machines, and business service equipment.

Whilst the Group both sells and services this equipment, the vast majority of units are owned, operated and maintained by Photo-Me. Photo-Me pays the site owner a commission based on turnover, which varies depending on the country, location and the type of the machine.

The Group has built long-term relationships with major site owners and its equipment is generally sited in prime locations in areas of high footfall such as supermarkets, shopping malls (indoors and outdoors), public transport hubs, and administration buildings (City Halls, Police etc.). Equipment is maintained and serviced by an established network of 650 field engineers.

The Company's shares have been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1962.

 

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