Interim Results

RNS Number : 5241M

Trackwise Designs PLC

17 September 2019

 

17 September 2019

TRACKWISE DESIGNS PLC

("Trackwise" or the "Company")

Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2019

Trackwise Designs (AIM: TWD), a leading provider of specialist products using printed circuit technology, is pleased to announce today its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2019.

Financial highlights

·     Revenues £1.547m (H1 2018: £1.846m)

·     IHT Revenues up 65% to £547k (H1 2018: £331k)

·     Gross margin 38% (H1 2018: 39%)

·     EBITDA of £237K (H1 2018: £347k)

·     Adjusted operating profit of £61k (H1 2018: £113k)

·     Net cash* of £1.41m (31 December 2018: £2.79m)

·     Basic EPS of (0.43) pence per share

* Excludes IFRS 16 lease liabilities

Operational Highlights

·     Strong growth in IHT in the first half; revenue up 65%

·     Total IHT customers and opportunities increased to 57 at the end of the period (H1 2018: 14), increasing to 65 at mid-September 2019, several of which indicate production volumes in the near term, underlining our confidence in the potential for IHT

·     Growing interest from our target markets for IHT: aviation, automotive, medical, space and industrial markets

·     Successful delivery of the second ship set for the wiring harness of a UAV/High Altitude Pseudo Satellite for a US aerospace OEM

·     Continued enhancements to the productivity and efficiency of our manufacturing capabilities

·     Delivery of a 50m long multilayer flex for a new customer in the science field, demonstrating the unique manufacturing capabilities being developed by Trackwise

·     Challenging macro and market conditions impacted revenue in the RF division within the first half

Outlook

·     Positive customer developments within the IHT division provide increased visibility of revenues for FY20, including a collaboration agreement with GKN Aerospace, the world's leading multi-technology tier 1 aerospace supplier; a significant supply contract with Arrival Ltd, the electric van manufacturer; and initial development contracts with two global medical supplies businesses

·     Increasing IHT customers and orders require the completion of the scale plans adopted after the IPO

·     Market conditions have not improved since the half year and the Board now anticipates a material reduction in revenue and operating profit for the year in comparison to market expectations. While IHT revenues are expected to grow strongly in FY20, the Board expects next year to also be behind market expectations

Philip Johnston, CEO of Trackwise commented:

"We are seeing strong growth in interest in our proprietary IHT technology from many businesses around the world.  Our manufacturing capabilities are now considerably more advanced than they were prior to IPO and this increase in our capability and capacity, combined with the size of the prospects being presented to us, give the Board confidence that Trackwise is at the beginning of a long-term, profitable growth trajectory.

"While the challenging market environment for manufacturing businesses has had a detrimental impact on customer orders, with macro and market conditions affecting our RF business, the medium-term outlook for Trackwise remains extremely positive, driven by IHT growth."

Enquiries:

Trackwise Designs PLC	www.trackwise.co.uk
Philip Johnston, CEO	[phone]
Mark Hodgkins, CFO
Arden Partners plc	[phone]
NOMAD and Broker
Corporate Finance: Ciaran Walsh/Steve Douglas/ Dan Gee-Summons     Equity Sales: Matt Groves
Alma PR	[phone]
Financial PR and IR
Josh Royston/Caroline Forde/ Kieran Breheny

Notes to editors

Trackwise is an established business that manufactures specialist products using printed circuit technology. The Company consists of two divisions Radio Frequency ("RF") and Improved Harness Technology ("IHT").

The RF business unit manufactures specialist printed circuits which are primarily used in the antenna infrastructure to support the 4G/5G mobile phone networks. However, the technology has a number of other applications which render the RF business a stable revenue generator.

The IHT division utilises the Company's unique proprietary technology, a patented process that Trackwise has developed to manufacture unlimited length multilayer flexible printed circuits. The Directors believe that the technology has many applications but believe one of its primary uses could be to replace traditional wire harness used in a variety of industries.

Trackwise Designs plc was admitted to trading on AIM on 31 July 2018 with the ticker TWD.

For additional information please visit: www.trackwise.co.uk

 

Chairman's Statement

Trackwise has made solid progress against its strategic objectives in the first half of the year. We continue to feel the positive impact of the IPO across the business, providing the funding to increase our production capacity and efficiency, while expanding our sales and marketing activities to capture our considerable market opportunity.

The Radio Frequency ("RF") division continues to provide a profitable base for the business, albeit within a challenging current market environment, and the management team are making good progress with the introduction of the Company's proprietary Improved Harness Technology ("IHT") to the broader market.

Revenues for the period show a reduction over the comparable half, due to a decrease in RF revenues, partially offset by strong growth in IHT.  Macro conditions, (Brexit, USA/China) as well as the ongoing delay in the resolution of the T Mobile / Sprint merger in the US, have impacted the RF division, particularly a major customer who supply Sprint. 

While this is frustrating and beyond our immediate control, we continue to manage the resources of the business prudently, and the considerable growth in interest for IHT provides the Board with confidence in the long-term prospects for Trackwise.

Operational Review

IHT division

The Company's proprietary and patented flexible printed circuit technology, IHT has significant applications in multi-billion-pound global high technology markets, where traditional wire harnesses are currently incumbent. IHT has material benefits over a wire harness, particularly through weight, space and installation time savings in aerospace, space and satellite markets, automotive applications through electrification of vehicles and increasingly the medical equipment markets

IHT revenues grew by 65% over the same period last year and importantly the total number of customer opportunities in the pipeline has grown from 14 at the end of H1 2018, to 57 at the end of H1 2019 and 65 at the date of this report, underlining our confidence in the potential for this part of the business. Of note in the period has been the successful delivery of the second ship set for the wiring harness of a UAV/High Altitude Pseudo Satellite for a US aerospace OEM and the expansion of our customer opportunities within the medical sector, where we now have four active development opportunities.

Various of our contract discussions have evolved into revenue generating development projects following the close of the period, however the delay in signing will mean they contribute only small amounts of revenue to the full year. They do however provide a strong basis for revenue growth in FY20.  These include the signing of a Collaboration Agreement with GKN Aerospace, ("GKN"), the world's leading multi-technology tier 1 aerospace supplier, for the industrialisation of GKN Aerospace Type 8 Ice Protection System. The Collaboration Agreement builds upon existing development work by advancing the manufacture of Ice Protection Systems to rate production level capability. Following nearly two years of joint product development, this is a significant milestone in our engagement with GKN, taking us a step closer to aerospace production at scale.

We are also pleased to announce the first order from a new customer, Arrival Ltd, a designer and manufacturer of electric vans. The initial order is in excess of £100k, with the potential to expand significantly as Arrival products enter into service.

We have also commenced development projects for two separate global medical supplies businesses.

As we have noted previously, the new business being won and developed within the IHT division is by its nature lumpy in its quantum and drawn out in its adoption, due to the need to configure technical aspects of the product in conjunction with our customers' technology. However, each new project has the potential to generate significant revenue over the long-term due to the size of the end markets.  With many such projects currently in negotiation, the Board is confident the medium and long-term prospects for the business continue to be extremely exciting.

The step forward the Company has taken over the past 12 months in terms of manufacturing capabilities has been considerable. We completed the installation of our vertical plating line in the first half of the year. This leading-edge plating process line is unique in Europe and has increased our productivity within this aspect of production by 300%. We now have the capability to manufacture flexible harness in excess of 50 metres. Investment continues in both fixed assets and in the development of the technology, where we continue to develop IHT into related uses and further breakthrough applications.

RF division

We are well established in the manufacture of antennas for cellular telephone networks, our legacy business with a global footprint.  The forthcoming roll out of 5G technology is a re-equipment opportunity which the Board believe will create demand for the Company's RF products, once the global macro environment stabilises. 

The RF division has traded below the Board's expectations for the first half of the year, as we have seen some customer disruption due, we believe, to factors such as Brexit, the US China trade war and certain corporate activity within key customers. We have adjusted our budget for the division for the year to reflect these factors. It continues to be a profitable basis for the IHT division, adding value to the Group as a whole.

The Company's manufacturing assets serve both the IHT and RF divisions and with the IPO-funding investment is ensuring that its offering to the market remains relevant and up-to-date.

Financial Review

The impact of Brexit, the US China trade disagreements and the slowing of the world economy have all had an impact on results and the weakness of sterling during the period also led to some difficulties although our hedging contracts in Euro's have limited our exposure. We secured sufficient Euros to cover the deposit we need to pay for capital expenditure before the worst of the currency depreciation.

Revenue for the period decreased to £1.547M (H1 2018: £1.846M), with a decline in RF revenues offsetting growth of 65% in IHT revenues, to £547K (H1 2018: £331K). The growth came principally from our lead customer in the aerospace sector, and we had increased awareness and interest in IHT giving rise to revenues from a number of new sources.

As previously outlined the gross margins from our IHT revenue streams are proving to be stronger than the traditional RF business and the change in sales mix between IHT and RF mitigates the impact on profits that the reduced RF turnover would imply. As volumes of IHT improve we expect to see gradual further improvement in overall margins due to the forecast favourable mix between RF and IHT.

In spite of IHT revenue growth and good cost control, we have been unable to offset the profit impact of RF revenue decline. As a consequence reported profits and EBITDA are lower than the comparable period last year.

Earnings per share are (0.43)p (H1 2018: 0.74p).

Outlook

Positive customer developments within the IHT division provide increased visibility of revenues for FY20, including a collaboration agreement with GKN Aerospace, the world's leading multi-technology tier 1 aerospace supplier; a significant supply contract with Arrival Ltd, the electric van manufacturer; and initial development contracts with two global medical supplies businesses.

Market conditions have not improved since the half year and the Board now anticipates a material reduction in revenue and operating profit for the year in comparison to market expectations. While IHT revenues are expected to grow strongly in FY20, the Board expects next year to also be behind market expectations.

The precise timing of many of the new IHT opportunities is outside of Trackwise's control, but the continued accretion of customer interest gives us confidence that Trackwise is at the beginning of a long-term, profitable growth trajectory.

 

Interim Statement of Comprehensive Income

for the six months ended 30 June 2019

	Notes	Unaudited Six months ended 30 June 2019		Unaudited Six months ended 30 June 2018		Audited Year ended 31 December 2018
		£'000		£'000		£'000
Revenue	3	1,547		1,846		3,468
Cost of sales		(961)		(1,117)		(2,416)
Gross profit		586		729		1,052
Other operating income		-		25		-
Administrative expenses excluding exceptional costs and share based payment Exceptional premises move costs Share based payment charges		(518) - (127)		(600) (41) -		(727) (45) (155)
Total administrative expenses		(645)		(641)		(927)
Operating (loss)/profit		(59)		113		125
Finance income		4		-		8
Finance costs		(32)		(42)		(65)
Profit before taxation		(87)		71		68
Taxation	4	23		-		7
(Loss)/profit and total comprehensive (expense)/income for the period		(64)		71		75
Earnings per share (pence)
Basic	6	(0.43)		0.74		0.63
Diluted	6	(0.43)		0.74		0.61

 

Interim Condensed Statement of Financial Position

At 30 June 2019

	Notes	Unaudited 30 June 2019		Unaudited 30 June 2018		Audited 31 December 2018
		£'000		£'000		£'000
ASSETS
Non-current assets
Intangible assets	7	3,389		1,913		2,619
Property, plant and equipment	2	3,004		1,323		1,264
		6,393		3,236		3,883
Current assets
Inventories		468		357		380
Trade and other receivables		879		1,011		846
Current tax receivable		156		60		156
Cash and cash equivalents		1,565		80		2,786
		3,068		1,508		4,168
Total assets		9,461		4,744		8,051
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables		(1,262)		(1,127)		(815)
Derivative liability		-		(49)		-
Borrowings	2	(237)		(1,173)		(161)
		(1,499)		(2,349)		(976)
Non-current liabilities
Deferred income - grants		(763)		(418)		(539)
Borrowings	2	(999)		(426)		(357)
Deferred tax liabilities		(285)		(254)		(308)
		(2,047)		(1,098)		(1,204)
Total liabilities		(3,546)		(3,447)		(2,180)
Net assets		5,915		1,297		5,871
EQUITY
Share capital		591		381		591
Share premium account		4,234		-		4,234
Retained earnings		903		690		840
Revaluation reserve		187		226		206
Total equity		5,915		1,297		5,871

 

Interim Condensed Statement of Changes in Equity

	Share capital	Share premium account	Retained earnings	Revaluation reserve	Capital redemption reserve	Total equity
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 1 January 2018	14	-	600	245	367	1,226
Profit and total comprehensive income for the period	-	-	71	-	-	71
Bonus issue from reserves	367	-		-	(367)	-
Revaluation realised in period	-	-	19	(19)		-
At 30 June 2018 and 1 July 2018	381	-	690	226	-	1,297
Profit and total comprehensive income for the period	-	-	4	-	-	4
Issue of shares (net of £1,056,000 of issue expenses)	210	4,234	-	-	-	4,444
Share based payment	-	-	126		-	126
Revaluation realised in period	-	-	20	(20)	-	-
At 31 December 2018 and 1 January 2019	591	4,234	840	206	-	5,871
Profit and total comprehensive income for the period	-		(64)	-	-	(64)
Share based payment	-		108	-	-	108
Revaluation realised in period	-		19	(19)	-	-
At 30 June 2019	591	4,234	903	187	-	5,915

 

Interim Condensed Statement of Cash Flows

		Unaudited Six months ended 30 June 2019		Unaudited Six months ended 30 June 2018		Audited Year ended 31 December 2018
		£'000		£'000		£'000
Cash flow from operating activities
(Loss)/profit for the period before taxation		(87)		71		68
Adjustment for:
Employee share based payment charges		127		-		155
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment		127		94		196
Profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment		-		(1)		(1)
Amortisation of intangible assets		84		57		97
Finance costs		28		42		57
Changes in working capital:
Increase in inventories		(88)		(44)		(67)
Increase in trade and other receivables		(287)		(461)		(275)
Increase/(decreases) in trade and other payables		257		116		(337)
Cash generated from operations		161		(126)		(107)
Income tax received		-		35		36
Net cash (used in)/from operating activities		161		(91)		(71)
Cash flow from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (net of new leases)		(547)		(47)		(214)
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment		-		1		11
Purchase of intangible assets		(854)		(324)		(1,067)
Grant funding - purchase of intangible assets		159		-		128
Interest received		4				8
Net cash used in investing activities		(1,238)		(370)		(1,134)

Cash flow from financing activities
Share capital issued		-		-		5,500
Expenses relating to share capital issue		-		-		(1,056)
Interest paid		(32)		(42)		(65)
Proceeds from borrowings		-		493		-
Repayment of borrowings		-		-		(515)
Repayment of capital element of lease contracts		(112)		(76)		(39)
Net cash (used in)/from financing activities		(144)		375		3,825
(Decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents		(1,221)		(86)		2,620
Net cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period		2,786		166		166
Net cash and cash equivalents at end of period (all cash balances)		1,565		80		2,786

                       Notes to the Financial Statements

1.      Corporate information

Trackwise Designs Limited is a Company incorporated in the United Kingdom. The registered address of the Company is 1 Ashvale, Alexandra Way, Ashchurch, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 8NB.

The principal activity of the company is the development, manufacture and sale of printed circuit boards.

2.      Accounting policies

Basis of preparation

This unaudited consolidated interim financial information has been prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European Union including IAS 34 'Interim Financial Reporting'. The principal accounting policies used in preparing the interim results are those it expects to apply in its financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2019. These are unchanged from those applied in the 31 December 2018 financial statements with the exception of the new standard for leases IFRS 16.

Under IFRS16, lease contracts previously treated as an operating lease now result in the lessee acquiring and recognising a right-to-use asset and financing liabilities. The asset is depreciated over the term of the lease and the interest on the financing liability charged over the same period. The company is using the modified approach to transition from 1 January 2019 with a right to use asset for the property lease of £808,000 included in property, plant and equipment and a lease liability of £796,000 included in borrowings recognised at 30 June 2019 (£857,000 asset and £830,000 liability net of the prepaid rent recorded on transition as at 1 January 2019). The cash flow reflects the payments in the period only and excludes the increase in tangible assets and in liabilities.

The financial information does not contain all of the information that is required to be disclosed in a full set of IFRS financial statements. The financial information for the six months ended 30 June 2019 and 30 June 2018 is unreviewed and unaudited and does not constitute the Company's statutory financial statements for those periods.

The comparative financial information for the full year ended 31 December 2018 has, however, been derived from the audited statutory financial statements for that period. A copy of those statutory financial statements has been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditor's report on those accounts was unqualified, did not include references to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying its report and did not contain a statement under section 498(2)-(3) of the Companies Act 2006.

The financial information in the Interim Report is presented in Sterling.

3.      Segmental reporting

IFRS 8, Operating Segments, requires operating segments to be identified on the basis of internal reports that are regularly reviewed by the company's chief operating decision maker. The chief operating decision maker is considered to be the Board of Directors.

The operating segments are monitored by the chief operating decision maker and strategic decisions are made on the basis of adjusted segment operating results. From January 2018 the RF and IHT activities began to be separately reviewed and monitored, initially in respect of revenue.

All assets, liabilities and revenues are located in, or derived in, the United Kingdom. The material assets and liabilities relate to overall activity with the exception of the intangible development costs and deferred grants which are solely in respect of IHT.

In the six months ended 30 June 2019 the company had two major customers who represented 11% and 10% of total revenue (six months ended 30 June 2018: 28% and 9% of revenue, full year ended 31 December 2018: one major customer in Europe representing 26% of revenue).

 

Revenue by product and geographical destination was as follows:

	Unaudited Six months ended 30 June 2019		Unaudited Six months ended 30 June 2018		Audited Year ended 31 December 2018
	£'000		£'000		£'000
IHT	547		331		606
RF	1,000		1,515		2,862
	1,547		1,846		3,468
UK	485		536		866
Europe	758		1,230		2,368
Other	304		80		234
	1,547		1,846		3,468

4.      Income tax

Taxation is provided at the estimated rate of tax for the period, applying 17% to deferred tax balances, and including the benefit of enhanced allowances for research and development costs.

5.      Dividends paid and proposed

No dividends have been paid or proposed in the period ended 30 June 2019 or year ended 31 December 2018.

6.      Earnings per share

The calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share is based on the following data:

Earnings	Unaudited Six months ended 30 June 2019		Unaudited Six months ended 30 June 2018		Audited Year ended 31 December 2018
	£'000		£'000		£'000
(Loss)/earnings for the purpose of basic and diluted earnings per share being net (loss)/profit attributable to the shareholders	(64)		71		75
	Number		Number		Number
Weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of basic earnings per share	14,772,372		9,534,275		11,830,427
Weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of diluted earnings per share	14,772,372		9,534,275		12,370,189

The earnings per share is calculated from the number of £0.04 ordinary shares in issue, allowing for the subdivision of £1 shares into £0.04 shares on 28 June 2018.

Options over 990,015 shares (after the subdivision) were granted to employees on 15 June 2018 which are potentially dilutive shares, but which were not considered to have any significant impact on the period to 30 June 2018.

 

7.      Intangible fixed assets

	Development costs
	£'000
Cost
At 1 January 2018	1,503
Additions	319
As at 30 June 2018	1,822
Additions	730
As at 31 December 2018	2,552
Additions	850
As at 30 June 2019	3,402
Amortisation or impairment
At 1 January 2018	-
Charge	56
As at 30 June 2018	56
Charge	36
As at 31 December 2018	92
Charge	82
As at 30 June 2019	174
Carrying amount
As at 30 June 2018	1,766
As at 31 December 2018	2,460
As at 30 June 2019	3,228

The capitalised development project costs relate to the significant continuing investment in respect of the Company's Improved Harness Technology ('IHT') process for unlimited length printed circuit boards and know-how which is being developed by the Company with amortisation on the initial development projects commencing in 2018.

The remainder of intangible assets is represented by software assets and an unchanged amount of goodwill in respect of the initial technology.

8.      Post balance sheet events

Tangible fixed assets purchases made in the six months ended 30 June 2019 were subsequently funded by a new finance lease amounting to £531K after the period end.

 

END

 

 

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