Final Results

Pittards PLC 13 March 2008 Pittards plc Pittards plc produces technically advanced leather for many of the world's leading brands of gloves, shoes, luxury leathergoods and sports equipment. 12 March 2008 Results for the year ended 31 December 2007 Summary Year ended Year ended 31 December 2007 31 December 2006 (restated) £m £m Revenue 28.9 39.4 Percentage export 90% 90% Operating loss before exceptional items (1.9) (1.4) Profit on sale of property 0.4 0.8 Fundamental reorganisation (0.3) 0.2 Write back of deficit on pension scheme - 26.9 Operating (loss) profit (1.8) 26.5 Finance costs and gains on derivatives (0.4) 0.9 (Loss) profit on ordinary activities before tax (2.2) 27.4 Net assets 2.8 5.0 Stephen Boyd, Chairman of Pittards, commented: '2007 has turned out to be a year of two very different halves.' - ends - For further information, please contact: Reg Hankey, Chief Executive Pittards plc Tel: 01935 474321 Jill Williams, Finance Director Pittards plc Tel: 01935 474321 John Wakefield Blue Oar Securities Plc Tel:0117 933 0020 Preliminary announcement of results for the year ended 31 December 2007 Chairman's statement As noted in my interim statement in 2007, this is the first full year for which we have had to prepare our financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This is now compulsory for AIM listed companies but I will, as at the interim stage, comment on a UK GAAP basis to enable an effective year on year comparison to be made. 2007 has turned out to be a year of two very different halves. In the first half we reported the successful integration of the Leeds business into the Yeovil site and a small operating profit of £0.058m on a UK GAAP basis. In the second half we sustained a loss of £1.234m, due mainly to the weakness of the US Dollar (which was in line with my concerns expressed at the 2007 AGM), resulting in an operating loss for 2007 of £1.176m. After bank interest of £0.466m (2006 - £0.866m) the loss before taxation was £1.642m (2006 - £1.324m before an exceptional gain of £26.9m on the resolution of the pension deficit and other exceptional items). Under IFRS accounting rules the operating loss of £1.176m translates into a loss of £1.783m for the year because under IAS 39 gains on derivative financial instruments used to hedge 2007 foreign currency expenses (mainly dollar related) have been accounted for in the restated 2006 figures. Revenue for the year was £29.6m (IFRS £28.9m), a reduction of £10.6m from 2006's £40.2m, due in the main to the decision to close our Leeds factory in 2006, transferring some of the bovine production to Yeovil. The revenue derived from selling away wet blue (part processed) hides from the tanning business was lost as we now only buy hides at the wet blue stage to fit our production, thus improving cashflow in the business. Of this turnover 90% is derived from sales to customers overseas (2006 - 90%). Glove leather sales reduced by 10% compared to 2006, most of the shortfall occurring in the first half due to the effect of the mild winter on sales of dress gloves. Revenue was adversely impacted by the weaker dollar, particularly in the second half. Sports glove sales were strong across all sectors including golf. Business in the military gloves sector remains steady. Sales of bovine leather for the shoe and leathergoods markets manufactured in Yeovil represented 29% of turnover with sports footwear particularly strong and exceeding expectations. Saddlery sales have picked up steadily as production from Yeovil has become established and quality expectations have been met. We are now working on a new range of leathergoods leathers to be introduced at the Hong Kong leather fair. In addition, bovine leather production at our Taiwanese partner, Teh Chang, totalled just under 11/2m square feet for 2007, in line with expectations. The relationship has settled down well and we look forward to progressing this in 2008. In Ethiopia, Ethiopia Tannery Share Company (ETSC) is now producing significant quantities of finished leathers following the installation of new equipment and a training programme run by staff from Pittards Yeovil. The Ethiopian Government has announced that increasingly prohibitive tariffs on the export from Ethiopia of part processed hides and skins will shortly be introduced. As a result of the development of our crust and finished leather capabilities within Ethiopia this should represent a further opportunity for us. New leathers including sheepskins for shoe uppers and linings and products utilising local hides for gloves and linings have been developed. More products are scheduled to be transferred from Yeovil over the next few months. This transfer of products is in line with our strategy to move production offshore where the costs of manufacture are lower and in a currency which matches our predominantly dollar revenue. Our ongoing strategy to reduce our UK cost base in response to global conditions has resulted in a restructuring within the Yeovil workforce. Agreement was reached in December 2007 that up to 50 employees would leave the Company by virtue of redundancy during the first quarter of 2008 and this programme is now well underway. Wherever possible we have accommodated volunteers to reduce the impact on the workforce. The expected costs of the redundancy exercise have been provided for in the 2007 result. Net assets at 31 December 2007 were £2.884m (£2.808m under IFRS) compared to £4.486m in 2006 (IFRS £4.973m). This is principally due to the sale and leaseback of the Yeovil factory which was completed in July 2007. The factory was sold for £3.1m which realised a net profit of £0.428m and the proceeds were applied to repay the loan plus accrued interest due to the trustees of the Pittards pension schemes as part of the agreement reached with the Pension Protection Fund in 2006. The lease is for a term of 10 years at an annual rent of £254,000 and the initial rent free period of six months was beneficial for cashflow during 2007. Net borrowings at the year end were £3.5m, an improvement on £5.0m in 2006 which included the Trustees' loan. The losses sustained in the second half due to the effect of the weak dollar, and the continued phased settlement of closure costs from the Leeds operation have absorbed cash within the operation. However the Company's bankers are supportive of the Company's strategy and have put in place an increased facility. As we announced last year, Lindsey Blackford resigned from the board on 1 June 2007 and was replaced by Jill Williams as Finance Director on that date. Stephen Boyd changed from Executive to Non-Executive Chairman on 7 December 2007 and Lars Fex resigned as a non-executive director. We are grateful to both Lindsey and Lars for their contributions to the board during their periods of office. The loyalty and commitment of our employees is much appreciated by our board, particularly in the light of the significant strategic change arising from the relocation of bovine production from Leeds and the off-shoring programme. We remain committed to seeking new income streams to improve business profitability. We have progressed a collaborative alliance with Yarwood Leather Ltd where they use their marketing skills and connections within the aviation and other seating markets to introduce new performance leathers technically developed and supplied by Pittards. These markets take time to develop due to the vigorous testing regimes but we have recently received our first sample orders. I am also pleased to advise that on 30 January 2008 we signed a joint venture with Mr Teshome Kebede to form Pittards Global Sourcing Private Limited Company in Ethiopia, which will produce and source leather garments and other leathergoods, utilising our extensive experience in the global leather market. We have also begun to operate at the retail level via a factory shop at the Company's Yeovil premises where we believe we can further leverage the Pittards brand for high quality leather products. We continue to explore other relationships within the leather industry with potential partners. In the light of the continued uncertainty about the US dollar and the global economic climate, we inevitably remain cautious in the short term but we are committed to the further development of our strategy to change the shape of the business to make it more robust and enable a return to profitability. SD Boyd 12 March 2008 CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT for the year ended 31 December 2007 2007 2006 (Restated) £'000 £'000 Revenue 28,853 39,444 Cost of sales (26,439) (34,866) Gross profit 2,414 4,578 Distribution costs (2,108) (2,610) Administrative expenses (2,753) (3,523) Gain (loss) on foreign currency translation 160 (212) Other operating income 376 369 Operating loss before exceptional items (1,911) (1,398) Exceptional items - Profit on sale of property 428 770 - (Provision) release of provision for fundamental reorganisation (300) 250 - Write back of deficit on pension scheme - 26,913 Operating (loss) profit (1,783) 26,535 Gain on derivatives classified as fair value through income statement 64 1,801 Finance costs (466) (866) (Loss) profit before taxation (2,185) 27,470 Taxation - (13) (Loss) profit for the year (2,185) 27,457 Distributable to: Equity shareholders - - (Loss) earnings per share - basic and diluted (1.0p) 18.9p There were no discontinued operations in 2007 or 2006. Accordingly the results relate to continuing operations. (a) The results for 2006 have been restated on an IFRS basis. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY for the year ended 31 December 2007 2007 2006 (Restated) £'000 £'000 Total equity at beginning of year (as previously stated) 4,486 (24,530) Impact of transition to IFRS 487 (374) Total equity at beginning of year (restated) 4,973 (24,904) (Loss) profit for the year (2,185) 27,457 Net proceeds of share issue - 2,420 Issue of warrants 20 - Total equity at end of year attributable to equity shareholders of the 2,808 4,973 parent CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET as at 31 December 2007 2007 2006 (Restated) £'000 £'000 ASSETS Non-current assets Property, plant and equipment 2,481 5,744 Intangible assets 367 491 Total non-current assets 2,848 6,235 Current assets Inventories 5,654 6,086 Trade & other receivables 2,909 3,509 Derivative financial instruments - 438 Cash & cash equivalents 13 21 Total current assets 8,576 10,054 Total assets 11,424 16,289 LIABILITIES Current liabilities Trade & other payables (4,758) (5,808) Interest bearing loans & borrowings (3,187) (1,984) Derivative financial instruments (51) - Provisions (326) (520) Total current liabilities (8,322) (8,312) Non-current liabilities Interest bearing loans & borrowings (294) (3,004) Total non-current liabilities (294) (3,004) Total liabilities (8,616) (11,316) Net assets 2,808 4,973 EQUITY Called up share capital 2,233 2,233 Share premium account 4,214 4,214 Capital redemption reserve 8,158 8,158 Revaluation reserve - 2,335 Capital reserve 6,475 6,475 Shares held by ESOP (495) (495) Retained earnings (17,777) (17,947) Total equity attributable to equity shareholders of the parent 2,808 4,973 CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT for the year ended 31 December 2007 2007 2006 (Restated) Note £'000 £'000 Cash flows from operating activities Cash used in operations 4 (1,187) (2,271) Tax paid - (11) Interest paid (466) (629) Net cash used in operating activities (1,653) (2,911) Cash flows from investing activities Proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment 3,170 6,830 Purchases of property, plant and equipment (108) (550) Net cash generated from investing activities 3,062 6,280 Cash flows from financing activities Repayments of bank loans (251) (230) Repayments of loan from Trustees of pension scheme (2,875) (300) Repayments of obligations under finance leases and hire purchase arrangements (195) (135) Net proceeds on issue of shares - 2,420 New other loans 200 300 Net cash (used in) generated from financing activities (3,121) 2,055 (Decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents (1,712) 5,424 Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year (705) (5,967) Effect of foreign exchange rates 91 (162) Cash and cash equivalents at end of year (2,326) (705) Notes 1. The figures for the year ended 31 December 2007 and 2006 do not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of S.240 of the Companies Act 1985. The figures for the year ended 31 December 2007 have been extracted from the statutory accounts for that year which have yet to be delivered to the Registrar of Companies and on which the auditor has issued an unqualified audit report. The figures for the year ended 31 December 2006 have been extracted from the statutory accounts for that year which have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and on which the auditor has issued an unqualified audit report, having been restated under International Financial Reporting Standards. No statement has been made by the auditor under Section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985 in respect of either of these sets of accounts. This announcement was approved by the board of directors on 12 March 2008. 2. The consolidated financial statements have, for the first time, been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board ('IASB') and interpretations issued by the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee of the IASB (together 'IFRS') as endorsed by the European Union. The information in this preliminary announcement has been extracted from the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2007 and as such, does not contain all information required to be disclosed in the financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ('IFRS'). These financial statements are presented in sterling as that is the currency of the primary economic environment in which the Group operates. 3. (Loss) earnings per ordinary share 2007 2006 £'000 £'000 Analysis of the (loss) earnings in the year (Loss) profit from continuing operations attributable to ordinary (2,185) 27,457 shareholders Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue (excluding the shares '000's '000's owned by the Pittards Employee Share Ownership Trust) Basic 222,294 145,484 In 2007 and 2006 the weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purpose of calculating the diluted earnings per ordinary share is identical to that used for basic earnings per ordinary share. Basic and diluted (loss) earnings per ordinary share from continuing (1.0p) 18.9p operations 4. Note to the statement of cashflows 2007 2006 £'000 £'000 (Loss)/profit before taxation (2,185) 27,470 Adjustments for: Depreciation and amortisation 776 741 Profit on sale of fixed assets (excluding properties) (450) (1,050) (Gain) on derivatives (64) (1,801) Foreign exchange loss 462 969 Bank and other interest charges 466 628 Issue of warrants 20 - Net interest on pension scheme liabilities - 238 Provision movement (194) (1,820) Defined benefit cost less contributions paid - (29,924) Working capital: - decrease in inventories 432 1,165 - decrease in receivables 600 2,142 - decrease in payables (1,050) (1,029) Cash used in operations (1,187) (2,271) 5. Copies of the 2007 Annual Report and Accounts will be posted to shareholders in April. Further copies may be obtained by contacting the Company Secretary at Pittards plc, Sherborne Road, Yeovil, Somerset, BA21 5BA. The annual general meeting is to be held at the registered office on 7 May 2008. 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