Final Results

Caldwell Investments PLC 23 June 2006 Caldwell Investments P.L.C. announces its audited results for the year ended 28th February 2006 KEY POINTS • Turnover £6,418,670 (2005 14 month period: £6,849,218) • Operating Loss £525,668 (2005: Profit £4,348) • Pre Tax Loss £589,794 (2005: £37,843) • Loss per Share 3.40p (2005: 0.48p) • New Managing Director appointed • NinaSun project making tangible progress • Transfer from the Full List to AIM Commenting on the results, Stanley Wootliff, Chairman of Caldwell said 'The Group loss of £647,206, which was less than the forecast loss at the time of last year's share issue, reflects the Group's projected ongoing marketing and development investment in the NinaSun enterprise and the Group's progressive amortisation rates. It also includes an exceptional debtor provision of £131,000. NinaSun itself had another year of significant progress, with meaningful initial and repeat orders, in both the UK and overseas. We believe the NinaSun project is on course to deliver, in the coming years, fair reward for the financial investment and the continuing efforts of the Group's employees.' CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT Business Performance The year under review was one of strategic progress for the Group as it pushed ahead with the development and marketing of its 'Nina' range of patented products. The Group loss on ordinary activities before taxation for the year ended 28th February 2006 was £589,794 (2005 14 month period: £37,843) After provision for tax on overseas profits, a retained loss of £647,206 (2005: £81,279) has been transferred to reserves. This loss is after further marketing and development investment in the NinaSun enterprise, the Group's progressive amortisation rates and an exceptional debtor provision of £131,000. OPERATIONAL REVIEW The year ended 28th February 2006 produced its usual range of challenges. NINASUN OUTDOOR FURNITURE Consumer Market Since the appointment of Neil Gow, with his long experience of the garden centre industry, as Managing Director of Caldwell, the formal roll-out in January of the NinaSun hardwood garden furniture range to selected upmarket independent garden centres has been successful with orders taken from garden centres throughout the UK. Initial and repeat orders have also been received from three of the UK's major catalogue companies. In addition, sales from the NinaSun website have been very encouraging with revenues for the year to date showing an eight-fold uplift against the previous year. Hospitality Market The Company has recently received orders from Radisson Resort & Casino Hotel in Aruba, and Moveis e Estofas, a major distributor to the hospitality trade in the Algarve. These orders are for both NinaSun furniture and NinaSun retrofit canopies for Grossfillex and Balliu resin loungers. The NinaSun canopy is now featured in hotels in the USA, France, Brazil, Jersey and Aruba. Although the value of any individual order relative to total Group turnover is small, this growing interest in NinaSun products from both individual consumers and the hospitality industry is of particular importance to Caldwell as it demonstrates the desirability of the products and enhances the market's awareness of the NinaSun range. The Board has always anticipated that full realisation of the NinaSun project would take a number of years to come to fruition. To date, the rate of progress has been fully on track, with encouraging revenues starting to be generated. NINACLIP BABY BUGGY PARASOLS This is a niche-market business where we expect to achieve steady annual growth at acceptable margins. Sales in the 2005 summer season started well but then fell away as the weather in the mid to late summer was not particularly warm. This resulted in a final outcome largely in line with budget. UNDERWEAR BUSINESS Our underwear business in Germany became more predictable as the exchange rate fluctuations between the Euro and the Dollar settled down. This enabled us to recoup, at acceptable margins, some of the business that had been lost in the previous year. Overall, the business in Germany had a good year but the performance was marred by a bad debt. For our underwear business in the UK, sales were down due to a major customer moving to direct import of half of their purchases. However, this has now been discontinued and Caldwell regained this business towards the end of the second half. TRANSFER TO AIM On 25th November 2005, Caldwell transferred to AIM. The Board believes that AIM is a more appropriate market for a company of Caldwell's size. The move to AIM will also enable the Group to react more quickly should development opportunities arise. DIRECTORS On 7th February 2006, Neil Gow (47) joined the Board as Managing Director. Neil has over 30 years' experience in the garden centre industry and considerable expertise in the sourcing and marketing of outdoor furniture. This expertise, together with his extensive contacts in the sector, including key industry figures, has already been effective in introducing the Group's NinaSun furniture range into independent garden centres and enabling it to gain a foothold in the UK's £400million outdoor furniture market. CURRENT TRADING AND OUTLOOK NinaSun Outdoor Furniture New products, by their very nature, need time to make themselves known and to establish their position in the market. In this context, the continuing progress of our NinaSun outdoor furniture is very encouraging. The Board always anticipated that full realisation of the NinaSun project would take a number of years to achieve. To date, the rate of progress has been fully on track, with revenues starting to be generated in the current financial year. Those revenues will, however, be offset in the short term, by ongoing investment in additional personnel, marketing and development costs. We will be looking to the financial year commencing 1st March 2007 for a bottom line contribution from NinaSun products. NinaClip Baby Buggy Parasols The new jumbo clamp, introduced this year in response to a growing trend towards wider tubes being used in the construction of baby buggies, has been well received. Overall, sales to date of all types of parasol have been steady and we are hopeful of having a satisfactory year, although, as always, the final outcome will be affected by the weather. Underwear Business The Group's underwear businesses have been steady cash generators for many years. Assuming stable currency markets, we expect this trend to continue. Following a modest increase in turnover in the year to 28th February 2006, current trading is going well and we anticipate a satisfactory outcome in this financial year. SUMMARY Looking further into the future, we see great potential for NinaSun and hope to deliver a material increase in sales from that area, leading to our underwear businesses becoming a relatively less important part of the Group's operations. On a personal note, I would like to thank my colleagues and all Caldwell employees for their contribution, without which, these achievements would not have been possible. S J Wootliff Chairman 23 June 2006 CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 28 FEBRUARY 2006 Year ended Period ended 28 February 28 February 2006 2005 £ £ Turnover - continuing operations 6,418,670 6,849,218 Cost of sales (5,355,099) (5,597,741) ------------ ------------ Gross Profit 1,063,571 1,251,477 Distribution costs (155,353) (145,885) Administration expenses (1,437,105) (1,145,272) Other operating income 3,219 44,028 ------------ ------------ Operating (loss)/profit - continuing operations (525,668) 4,348 Net interest payable (64,126) (42,191) ------------ ------------ Loss on ordinary activities before taxation (589,794) (37,843) Tax on profit on ordinary activities (57,412) (43,436) ------------ ------------ Retained loss for the financial year (647,206) (81,279) ------------ ------------ Loss per share Basic (3.40p) (0.48p) Diluted (3.40p) (0.48p) ------------ ------------ CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS AT 28 FEBRUARY 2006 GROUP COMPANY 2006 2005 2006 2005 £ £ £ £ Fixed assets Intangible assets 506,756 566,203 241,179 276,165 Tangible assets 799,096 819,466 364,452 377,342 Investments 0 0 2,382,906 2,382,906 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ 1,305,852 1,385,669 2,988,537 3,036,413 Current assets Stocks 1,554,300 1,603,388 0 0 Debtors falling due within 1 year 630,912 651,504 619,916 776,773 Cash at bank and in hand 917,673 578,443 607,779 328,759 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ 3,102,885 2,833,335 1,227,695 1,105,532 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (1,802,164) (1,444,685) (114,148) (245,272) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net current assets 1,300,721 1,388,650 1,113,547 860,260 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total assets less current liabilities 2,606,573 2,774,319 4,102,084 3,896,673 Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year (314,043) (341,336) (314,043) (341,336) Net assets 2,292,530 2,432,983 3,788,041 3,555,337 ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Capital and reserves Called up share capital 1,991,196 1,761,250 1,991,196 1,761,250 Share premium account 1,906,229 1,622,799 1,906,229 1,622,799 Capital redemption reserve 27,000 27,000 27,000 27,000 Revaluation reserve 27,000 27,000 27,000 27,000 Profit and loss account (1,658,895) (1,005,066) (163,384) 117,288 ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Equity shareholders' funds 2,292,530 2,432,983 3,788,041 3,555,337 ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 28 FEBRUARY 2006 Year ended Period ended 28 February 28 February 2006 2005 £ £ Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities (605,141) 1,450,284 Returns on investments and servicing of finance Interest received 1,920 37,896 Interest paid (63,566) (77,607) Finance lease interest paid (2,480) (2,480) ------------ ------------ Net cash outflow from returns on investments and servicing of finance (64,126) (42,191) ------------ ------------ Taxation Tax paid (50,542) (141,910) ------------ ------------ Capital expenditure and financial investment Purchase of intangible fixed assets (57,735) (330,368) Purchase of tangible fixed assets (72,657) (330,659) Receipt from sale of fixed assets 2,151 45,006 ------------ ------------ Net cash outflow from capital expenditure (128,241) (616,021) ------------ ------------ Net cash (outflow)/inflow before financing (848,050) 650,162 Financing Issue of shares 574,864 423,000 Share issuing expenses (61,488) (7,760) New loans 0 135,000 Repayment of bank loans (24,437) (12,658) Repayment of other loans 0 (90,000) Capital element of finance lease payments (16,656) (19,455) ------------ ------------ Net cash inflow from financing 472,283 428,127 ------------ ------------ (Decrease)/increase in cash in the year (375,767) 1,078,289 ------------ ------------ BASIS OF PREPARATION This preliminary statement of annual results which covers the twelve months to 28 February 2006 has been agreed by the Group's auditors and is consistent with the full financial statements. The abridged preliminary Group accounts for the year ended 28 February 2006 are not statutory accounts and have been extracted from the full statutory accounts for the year ended 28 February 2006. The full statutory accounts for the year on which the auditor's report is unqualified will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies in due course. The comparative figures for the fourteen months to 28 February 2005 are abridged from the accounts for that year and do not constitute full accounts within the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985 (as amended). Statutory accounts for that year on which the auditors gave an unqualified opinion have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. EARNINGS/(LOSS) PER SHARE The calculation of basic loss per share is based on losses attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue during the period. The calculation of diluted earnings per share is based on the basic loss per share adjusted to allow for the assumed conversion of all dilutive options. ANNUAL REPORT The annual report will be mailed to shareholders on or around 12th July 2006. Copies will be available after that date from: The Secretary, Caldwell Investments P.L.C., 647 Roundhay Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS8 4BA. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The Annual General Meeting will be held at Nina House, Unit 9, Prospect Place, East Pimbo Industrial Estate, Skelmersdale, Lancashire WN8 9QD at 10.00 a.m. on Tuesday 15 August 2006. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange DLUDDGGLD

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