Year End Trading Update and Board Changes

RNS Number : 0461H
Thruvision Group PLC
04 April 2022
 

4 April 2022

 

Thruvision Group plc

 

(" Thruvision " or the " Group ")

 

Year End Trading Update and Board Changes

 

Thruvision (AIM:THRU), the leading provider of "safe distance" people-screening technology to the international security market , is pleased to provide an update on trading for the financial year ended 31 March 2022.

 

Overview

 

As expected, the second half of our financial year showed a significant improvement over the first, driven by a considerable increase in our Profit Protection revenues and further orderflow for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Full year revenue is expected to be around £8.4 million (FY21: £6.7 million) and our cash balance has increased since the half year to £5.5 million on 31 March 2022 (30 September 2021: £4.1 million; 31 March 2021: £7.3 million).

 

Trading update

 

Full year Profit Protection revenue performance was very strong, increasing more than 70% over the prior year. We received a significant order from Tesco in our second half and added 3 further new profit protection customers including our first major European customer, Zalando. We were also very pleased with the level of follow-on orders from customers who made their initial purchases in FY21 including CEVA Logistics and ASOS, and by established customers such as Next and Boots who started upgrading their people screening fleets during the year. In the US, our strengthened Profit Protection team secured an initial order from Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC), one of the US's largest alcohol distributors operating across 38 states. Given our strengthening sales pipeline and the very evident size of market opportunity in the US, we will continue to actively pursue  growth here.

 

As reported in our Interim Results in November, we supported US CBP in deploying its existing units to the Southern Border to enable it to manage the very high levels of migration there. This close engagement has proven the significant value our solution provides, both in terms of actual seizures of drugs and cash, and the very positive feedback from front-line officers. As a result, we received material orders in the second half to start the process of upgrading CBP's existing 8-channel cameras to the latest, 16-channel model, a process that will extend into FY23. At the very end of our financial year CBP publicly announced procurement plans to acquire significant numbers of additional "passive body scanners" during 2022 and beyond and this gives us confidence that further orders will follow in the coming months.

 

In Aviation, some further progress has been made through the US Government's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) accreditation process, although this remains very slow. We have also started a similar process with the Israeli Government which is in its early stages but currently moving more quickly. As confirmed recently by US Congress, contactless aviation security remains an important post-COVID priority and, with global aviation now recovering well, we continue to focus on national accreditations to enter this market fully.

 

With the broader effects of COVID starting to recede, several new international government agency opportunities have emerged. Also, previously stalled engagements with other customs authorities and prison services are starting to move forward again giving us confidence for additional revenue from the broader international market in FY23.

 

Board changes

 

We are delighted to announce the addition of another non-executive director, Katrina Nurse (age 50) , to our Board with effect from 1 April 2022. Katrina is a highly experienced CFO from the retail sector with a track record of growing businesses including Selfridges, Pentland Group, Arcadia Group and most recently Asda. Katrina will join the Audit, Remuneration and Nomination committees of the Group and will also chair a new Profit Protection Advisory Board which aims to increase the visibility of Thruvision's technology to more senior retail industry executives across the UK, US and Europe.

 

We also announce that, after three years with the business, Adrian Crockett. our Finance Director, will be leaving the company in April 2022. Adrian has managed our resources diligently through COVID, assisted us to prepare for scaling the company globally and helped drive our revenue growth as markets have recovered and we are grateful for his contribution. We have appointed an experienced interim Finance Director, Chris Mann, and have initiated a process to appoint a permanent successor. We thank Adrian for his efforts and wish him well as he embarks on the next stage of his career.

 

Outlook

 

Our markets have now substantially recovered from the negative effects of COVID, and we believe we are now firmly back on a growth trajectory. The pandemic has strengthened the need for contactless people security screening and this is most evident in Profit Protection where increasing traction in the US and Europe means we are very positive about the Group's prospects. With operational successes and front-line demand, we are also increasingly confident about significant growth with CBP. As a result of this positive momentum in our two main markets, we are confident of good growth in FY23 and beyond.

 

 

For further information please contact:

 

Thruvision Group plc                                                                           +44 (0)1235 425400

Tom Black, Executive Chairman

Colin Evans, Chief Executive

 

Investec Investment Banking (NOMAD & Broker)                            +44 (0)20 7597 5970

Patrick Robb / James Rudd / Sebastian Lawrence

 

FTI Consulting LLP  +44 (0)20 3727 1000

Matt Dixon / Tom Blundell

 

 

 

 

 

Additional disclosures in respect of the appointment of Katrina Nurse

 

As at the date of this announcement, Katrina Nurse does not have any beneficial interest in the ordinary shares of the Company.

 

Katrina Nurse has, in the last five years, been a director of the companies listed below.

 

Company

Appointed

Resigned

UK Biocentre Ltd

01/09/2021

Current

Fashion & Retail Awards Ltd

01/10/2020

Current

FRA Enterprises 2020

01/11/2019

19/11/2020

Pentland Brands Overseas Agency Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Prostar Sports Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Berghaus Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Canterbury European Fashionwear Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Pentland Brands Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Pentland Brands UK Distribution Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Speedo International Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Ellesse Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Canterbury of New Zealand Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Pentland KM Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Red or Dead Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Canterbury Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Pentland Brands Lakeside Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Boxfresh International Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Mitre Sports International Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Pentland Brands Greenhouse Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

First Retail UK Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Airborne Footwear Ltd

02/01/2019

30/09/2020

Selfridges Properties Ltd

20/01/2014

31/10/2018

Selfridges Holdings Ltd

20/01/2014

31/10/2018

Selfridges Retail Ltd

20/01/2014

31/10/2018

SRL Scotland Ltd

20/01/2014

31/10/2018

SFP Holdings Ltd

15/01/2018

31/10/2018

Selfridges EU Deliveries Ltd

01/09/2014

31/10/2018

Selfridges Manchester Ltd

07/12/2017

31/10/2018

Selfridges & Co Ltd

20/01/2014

31/10/2018

Dupict Properties Ltd

22/05/2014

31/10/2018

Selfridges worldwide Deliveries Ltd

01/09/2014

31/10/2018

Selfridges Financing Ltd

07/12/2017

31/10/2018

 

There is nothing further to disclose in relation to the appointment of Katrina Nurse under Schedule Two, Paragraph (g) of AIM Rules for Companies.

 

 

 

About Thruvision

 

Addressing the urgent need for "safe distance" people security screening in the post-COVID era, Thruvision is uniquely capable of detecting metallic and non-metallic items including weapons, explosives and contraband items that are hidden under clothing, at distances between 3 and 10m. Using patented passive terahertz technology, Thruvision completely removes the need for physical "pat-downs" and has been vetted and approved by the US Transportation Security Administration for surface transportation. Operationally deployed in 20 countries around the world, Thruvision is used for aviation security, retail supply chain loss prevention, customs and border control, and public area security. The company has offices near Oxford and Washington DC.

 

 

www.thruvision.com

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.
 
END
 
 
TSTBKDBNABKDKQK
UK 100

Latest directors dealings