Interim Results

RNS Number : 4697X

Brulines Group PLC

07 December 2010

 



Press Release

7 December 2010

Brulines Group plc

("Brulines" or "the Group")

Interim Results

Brulines Group plc (AIM:BRU), the leading provider of real time monitoring systems and data management services for the leisure and forecourt services sectors, is pleased toannounce its interim results for the six months ended 1 October 2010.

Financial Highlights

●	Profit before tax up 2.8% at £1.95 million (H1 2010: £1.90 million) post exceptional items of £0.2 million (H1 2010: £0.3 million)
●	Basic earnings per share increased 2.7% to 4.98p (H1 2010: 4.85p)
●	2.5% increase in interim dividend payment to 1.67p (H1 2010 interim dividend 1.63p)
●	Turnover increased 23.9% to £12.27 million (H1 2010: £9.90 million), driven by acquisitions in the Fuel Solutions division
●	Recurring revenues account for over 80% of core leisure business turnover

Operational Highlights

●

Significant development of the Fuel Solutions division through ·      Acquisition of Energy Level  Systems Ltd, ("ELS") a provider of fuel management systems, tank gauging and lining solutions, liquefied petroleum gas and forecourt services on 6 April 2010 ·      Strategic partnership with Indigo Retail Technology ("Indigo") on 6 April 2010 to provide data management and wet stock analysis to Indigo's customers ·      Acquisition of Retail Forecourt Solutions Ltd ("RFS"), the UK market leader in fuel dispenser calibration, adjustment and legal verification, and a leading provider of forecourt audit and compliance services on 8 June 2010 ·      Acquisition in July 2010 of LBI Installations Ltd ("LBI"), a leading operator of  web-based contract management solutions for forecourt operations, including those of a leading UK supermarket retailer, who has extended that contract for a further three years

●	Strengthened management team with the appointment of Phil Prow, Sales and Marketing Director of the Fuel Solutions division, who has over 20 years of experience in the retail petroleum industry, and Steve Alton who joined the Group as Commercial Director for the Leisure division
●	Continued roll out of Greene King i-draught programme, increasing the i-draught product base, which  now accounts for 7% of total installations
●	Continued roll out of Vianet's vending telemetry with leading international brand owners

Post period end highlight

●	Acquisition by Brulines' wholly-owned subsidiary Comtech M2M Limited of Amscreen M2M, the machine-to-machine business of Amscreen Limited, the digital signage group today for an initial cash consideration of £2.0 million

Commenting on the interim results, James Newman, Chairman of Brulines Group plc, said:  "The Group has demonstrated a resilient financial performance in a difficult trading environment.  In particular, the Group's strategy to diversify and strengthen further its Fuel Services division is progressing well, with a series of acquisitions expanding our offering in this area.  These acquisitions are already earnings enhancing and favourably position the Group to replicate, in the forecourt market, the success the Group has had in the leisure sector.

"Despite the slow down in the core Leisure division, the Board remains confident about the medium term growth prospects for the Group and is pleased to be able to reflect this confidence with the continuation of its progressive dividend policy." 

- Ends -

Enquiries:

Brulines Group plc James Dickson, Chief Executive
Mark Foster, Finance Director	Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]	www.brulines.com
Cenkos Securities plc	Tel: [phone]
Stephen Keys / Camilla Hume
[e-mail]

Media enquiries:

Abchurch
Sarah Hollins / Joanne Shears / Mark Dixon	Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]	www.abchurch-group.com

Chairman's Statement

I am pleased to report a resilient set of results and good progress in the strategic development of the Group during the last six months. 

Results

Turnover for the six months ended 1 October 2010 was £12.27 million, 23.9% higher than the same period last year (H1 2010: £9.90 million).  This is largely due to the turnover derived from the recent acquisitions in the Fuel Solutions division.  Although turnover in the Leisure division was flat, its increased i-draught penetration with the recurring contract income it brings continues to underpin the Group's investment for growth in the Fuel Solutions division. 

Despite set up costs for a delayed major tank lining programme within the Fuel Solutions division, Group gross margin remained robust at 55.2% as compared to 58.5% in H1 2010.  Overheads in the core leisure business are well controlled and are continually reviewed in light of the pressures in the leisure market. Overall fixed overheads have risen marginally due to the three recent acquisitions and the additional reorganisation costs arising post completion.

The three recent acquisitions in forecourt services have all been profitable during the period and losses associated with Vianet and Edensure have been reduced.  As a result, Group operating profit, before the exceptional intangible amortisation and exceptional costs relating to the  acquisitions, were in line with last year at £2.42 million (H1 2010: £2.47 million). Profit before taxation was slightly ahead by 2.8% at £1.95 million (H1 2010: £1.90 million).

Before exceptional costs of £0.20 million (H1 2010: £0.30 million), the Group's earnings per share were 5.43 pence (H1 2010: 5.61 pence).

Dividend 

In line with the Group's progressive dividend policy and reflecting the good operating cash generation from the core business in the first half, the Board has declared an interim dividend of 1.67 pence per share (H1 2010: 1.63 pence per share), payable on 27 January 2011 to shareholders on the register as at 17 December 2010.  A final dividend of 2.24 pence was paid in respect of the year ended 31 March 2010 on 22 July 2010.

Integration of recent acquisitions

The integration of ELS, RFS, and LBI into the Fuel Solutions division has progressed well.  Following the transitional integration phase and its associated costs, the Board is confident that this division will start to make an increasing contribution to Group profit by the end of the financial year.

Senior management team

As the Group continues to expand its activities, the Board has strengthened the senior management team with the appointment of Phil Prow as Fuel Solutions division's Sales and Marketing Director and Steve Alton as Commercial Director for the Leisure division's core business where we believe the opportunities for growth continue to be significant. 

Outlook

The UK economy has been under significant pressure generally and in particular this is reflected in the pub market place where the issues are well documented.  Our trading in the core leisure business has been resilient, underpinned by good cash generation.  Despite the undoubted pressure, we continue to make good progress with both i-draught and in the market penetration of Vianet products.

The Board is pleased with the integration of the recent acquisitions and looks forward to the growth that they are expected to achieve in due course.

Whilst it is very likely that the economic environment will continue to be challenging in 2011, the Board remains confident about the future growth opportunities for both of the Group's divisions in the medium term, as reflected in the increase in the dividend declared.

James H Newman

Chairman                                                                                   

7 December 2010

 Executive Review

Resilient financial performance in a difficult trading environment

Despite the difficult economic conditions and well documented commercial pressures affecting some customers in the core Leisure division, the Group's results for the six months to 1 October 2010 are in line with the same period last year. Whilst the Group's core beer monitoring business performance was flat over the first half of the financial year, the Board is encouraged, nonetheless, by the headway made in reducing the losses associated with Vianet and in the impact of the recent acquisitions in the Fuel Solutions division which are currently being integrated with Edensure.

Group turnover was up by 23.9% at £12.27 million (H1 2010: £9.90 million) resulting primarily from the acquisitions made in the Fuel Solutions division, with the core leisure market remaining flat in comparison to H1 2010.

Gross margins remained strong at 55.2% (H1 2010: 58.5%) and were largely unaffected by the increase in turnover from the Fuel Solutions division, other than the  costs associated with the scaling up for a delayed tank lining project, which we now anticipate commencing in H2.

EPS reduced by 3.2%, pre exceptional costs, from 5.61p (H1 2010) to 5.43p (H1 2011) per share in the half year.  Post tax and exceptional costs, EPS increased slightly by 2.7% from 4.85p (H1 2010) to 4.98p (H1 2011) during the period.

The core Leisure division continues to generate strong operational cash flow with £2.12 million in H1 2011. The Group had cash balances of £3.58 million at 1 October 2010 and net cash of £0.8 million.  The Group continues to be highly cash generative which provides a strong financial base from which to raise debt funding should further appropriate acquisition opportunities arise.

Core beer monitoring service customers and contracts

The core Leisure business delivered 595 new installations in the first half, of which 533 were the higher value i-draught^TM taking its penetration to over 7% of the active installation base which, factoring in pub closures, fell by 487 sites.  The extension of i-draught installations has underpinned the Group's strong recurring revenues of over 80% of turnover.  Further i-draught^TM progress is expected in H2 2011, although this could be offset by further pub disposals that certain of the pub companies are evaluating, as is well documented. 

During the period, the Group continued the roll out of i-draught^TM into the Greene King Pub Partners estate.  This partnership is producing excellent feedback from licensees who value its ability to monitor the quality and yield of beer served, providing valuable intelligence about their business to help them to improve beer quality, manage wastage and costs on all draught products.

Increasingly the Group is working in partnership with pub companies to tailor the i-draught^TM system and ensure the data delivers exactly the information that they, and their licensees, need to improve quality and efficiency.

Overall, the Board is encouraged by the ever-increasing interest in i-draught with several large national pub companies currently trialling it, both in the tenanted and managed arenas.  The Board firmly believes that this product will continue its growth in the medium term within the core leisure business.

Despite the tough economic climate and the acute pressures being felt by many in the pub market, our beer monitoring performance has been resilient.  Although the Board expects the foreseeable trading environment to remain challenging for customers owing to pressure on consumer expenditure, the burden of beer duty and legislation as well as the increased competition within the wider leisure market, the recent announcement by the Office of Fair Trading that the beer tie is not anti-competitive does provide a degree of comfort. 

Despite a particularly tough consumer environment for pubs and bars in the US, the Group has continued its progress with over 40 sites in the Denver Metropolitan area with further progress expected during H2 2011.

Vending telemetry solutions

In the vending market, Vianet has continued to reduce its losses and increase its market penetration. During the period, Vianet has received the initial tranches of a large supply contract with a major international brand owner, as well as several trials with other leading international companies.  Our installed base is now over 10,000 and the Board believes that Vianet will gain sufficient new business to breakeven on a monthly basis during H2 2011. 

The vending market place provides the Group with considerable growth opportunities in the UK and internationally, including strong interest from some significant players for our range of vending solutions covering telemetry, cashless payment, and contactless payment card solutions. With a globally scalable product and with no dominant competitor, the Board remains confident that there are opportunities to achieve market leadership in this sector. 

Fuel solutions acquisitions successfully integrated and gaining sales traction

The recently acquired ELS, RFS and LBI businesses, together with Edensure, have been successfully integrated to form the Group's Fuel Solutions division. 

During the initial transitional phase in H1 2011, these acquisitions added £2 million to Group turnover, were earnings enhancing and helped the Fuel Solutions division move towards profitability.  During this transitional phase, the Group has invested further to ensure that the business infrastructure and capacity is capable of supporting the division's growth aspirations.  This has included carrying overhead and building stock in anticipation of increased activity.

The Group is delighted with the progress that has been made towards creating a leading product range for existing customers as well as developing a new and innovative integrated commercial proposition for the forecourt services market.  This will enable the division's high calibre team to cross sell to its existing customer base, which currently controls c.60% of forecourt fuel sales in the UK. 

The Fuel Solutions division is now gaining commercial traction and is expected to be earnings enhancing in H2 2011, and thereafter contributing significantly to Group performance.

The Group diversification strategy is on track

The Group now has two divisions, Leisure and Fuel Solutions, and three key product areas each with the potential to expand further and generate good levels of growth for the Group.    

Within the Leisure division we have the current core business, draught beer monitoring solutions, as well as the Vianet vending telemetry solutions:

·     The beer monitoring solutions, DMS and i-draught, provide recurring income streams, which underpin the Group's growth strategy and the Group continues to invest in people, processes and technology to protect this position and its market leadership.

·     The Group's turnaround of Vianet has progressed well and we are now well positioned to grow the distribution of our telemetry solutions and establish leadership in the vending machine market over the next two to three years.

The new Fuel Solutions division has successfully integrated three recent acquisitions into the original fuel stock management business.  This division now has a highly relevant product portfolio focussed on driving return on investment for forecourt operators from fuel stocks and the assets used for fuel supply and sale.

Although the benefits of diversification and the development of newer businesses have not come through as quickly or as strongly as anticipated, this should be set against the difficult economic backdrop.  The Board remains confident that the strategy is correct and continues to pursue its stated objective, which is to position the Group for an upturn in the economy in the medium term. 

Management and employees

The Group continues to develop the calibre of its people and leadership so that it is able to exploit the significant growth opportunities available to both the Leisure and Fuel Solution divisions.

In July 2010, Phil Prow was appointed Sales and Marketing Director of Fuel Solutions. He brings over 20 years of experience in the retail petroleum industry.  Additionally, with the three acquisitions we have strengthened the overall calibre of the team, and have now assembled a high quality senior management team capable of delivering the Fuel Solution division's growth aspirations.

In August 2010, Steve Alton was appointed Commercial Director for the core beer monitoring business, as in the medium term the Board believes there are still very attractive growth opportunities in this area.

Outlook

The Group's strategic intent is to continue the drive to achieve market leading positions, using its core capabilities and products, through growth in i-draught and vending solutions in the leisure division and through profitable extension of the Fuel Solutions division footprint.

The Group will continue to focus on its three to five year strategic plan. Our aim remains to become the market leader in the UK and beyond, for the provision of telemetry, data management and analysis, software and support services across the leisure and vending markets. Within the fuel solutions market, the opportunity exists to become a 'one stop shop' provider for forecourt service providers and achieve market leadership.  The successful execution of both these strategies will deliver good profit and dividend growth for our shareholders. 

The economic back drop is still challenging and particularly so in the pub sector where our resilience is being demonstrated as we focus on growth and efficiency opportunities to protect the recurring income stream and cash generation. As many of our customers become increasingly focused on profitability and cash generation from their core operations, our products will become even more important to them than before. This has underpinned our diversification strategy. 

Therefore, despite the economic back drop, future growth prospects are encouraging and management continues to view the future with confidence.

James Dickson Chief Executive	Mark Foster Group Finance Director
	7 December 2010

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

For the six months ended 1 October 2010

		Before Exceptional 6 months	Exceptional 6 months	Total Unaudited 6 months	Unaudited 6 months	Audited Year
		Ended	ended	ended	ended	ended
		1 Oct	1 Oct	1 Oct	25 Sep	31 March
		2010	2010	2010	2009	2010
	Note	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Revenue	3	12,272	-	12,272	9,899	19,834
Cost of sales		(5,501)	-	(5,501)	(4,110)	(8,196)
Gross profit		6,771	-	6,771	5,789	11,638
Administration and other operating expenses	4	(4,352)	(182)	(4,534)	(3,621)	(7,071)
Profit before amortisation and share based payments		2,419	(182)	2,237	2,168	4,567
Intangible asset amortisation		(237)	-	(237)	(231)	(456)
Share based payments		(42)	-	(42)	(36)	(72)
Operating profit		2,140	(182)	1,958	1,901	4,039
Finance income		21	-	21	40	81
Finance costs		(31)	-	(31)	(46)	(86)
Profit before tax		2,130	(182)	1,948	1,895	4,034
Income tax expense	5	(596)	56	(540)	(530)	(969)
Profit and total comprehensive income for the period attributable to the owners of the parent		1,534	(126)	1,408	1,365	3,065
Earnings per share	6
Basic		5.43p	(0.45)p	4.98p	4.85p	10.89p
Diluted		5.30p	(0.42)p	4.88p	4.73p	10.57p

Consolidated Balance Sheet

At 1 October 2010

		Unaudited As at 1 Oct 2010	Unaudited As at 25 Sep  2009	Audited As at 31 March 2010
		£'000	£'000	£'000
Assets
Non-current assets
Intangible Assets		17,306	14,277	14,492
Property, plant and equipment		3,589	3,423	3,397
Investments		556	556	556
Total non-current assets		21,451	18,256	18,445
Current assets
Inventories		3,103	1,321	1,556
Trade and other receivables		4,234	4,097	3,785
Cash and cash equivalents		3,577	7,252	6,892
		10,914	12,670	12,233
Total assets		32,365	30,926	30,678
Equity and liabilities
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables		6,671	6,459	5,804
Borrowings		478	420	448
Tax liabilities		519	535	302
Provisions		89	89	89
		7,757	7,503	6,643
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings		2,274	2,770	2,495
Provisions		96	194	156
Deferred tax		353	340	340
		2,723	3,304	2,991
Equity attributable to owners of the parent
Share capital		2,825	2,813	2,825
Share premium account		11,174	11,126	11,174
Shares to be issued		290	212	248
Own shares		(1,154)	(1,167)	(1,154)
Merger reserve		310	310	310
Retained profit		8,440	6,825	7,641
Total equity		21,885	20,119	21,044
Total equity and liabilities		32,365	30,926	30,678

Summarised Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

For the six months ended 1 October 2010

		Unaudited 6 months	Unaudited 6 months	Audited Year
		ended	ended	ended
		1 Oct	25 Sep	31 March
		2010	2009	2010
		£'000	£'000	£'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit for the period		1,408	1,365	3,065
Adjustments for
Interest receivable		21	40	81
Interest payable		(31)	(46)	(86)
Income tax expense		540	529	969
Amortisation of intangible assets		237	231	456
Depreciation		270	200	391
Loss on sale of property, plant and equipment		(5)	(38)	(41)
Share-based payments		42	36	72
Operating profit before changes in working capital and provisions		2,482	2,317	4,907
Change in inventories		(1,145)	50	(185)
Change in receivables		330	549	861
Change in payables		(164)	(579)	(1,234)
Change in provisions		-	(38)	(76)
		(979)	(18)	(634)
Cash generated from the operations		1,503	2,299	4,273
Income tax paid		(375)	(342)	(1,015)
Net cash from operating activities		1,128	1,957	3,258
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest payable		31	46	86
Interest receivable		(21)	(40)	(81)
Proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment		23	51	62
Purchases of property, plant and equipment		(688)	(197)	(371)
Purchase of subsidiary undertakings		(3,392)	(112)	-
Cash acquired with subsidiary		548	-	-
Purchase of intangible assets		-	-	(377)
Purchase of minority shareholdings		-	-	(175)
Purchase of investments		-	(556)	(556)
Net cash used in investing activities		(3,499)	(808)	(1,412)
Cash flows from financing activities
Repayments of borrowings		(334)	(251)	(497)
Dividends paid		(610)	(1,040)	(1,924)
Purchase of own shares		-	(303)	(290)
Issue of ordinary share capital		-	-	60
Net cash used in financing activities		(944)	(1,594)	(2,651)
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents		(3,315)	(445)	(805)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period		6,892	7,697	7,697
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period		3,577	7,252	6,892

Statement of changes in equity

For the six months ended 1 October 2010

6 months ended 25 September 2009

	Share Capital	Share Premium Account	Own Shares	Share based payment reserve	Merger Reserve	Profit and loss account	Total
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
At 1 April 2009	2,813	11,126	(864)	176	310	6,500	20,061
Profit and total comprehensive income for the period	-	-	-	-	-	1,365	1,365
Share based payment	-	-	-	36	-	-	36
Purchase of own shares	-	-	(303)	-	-	-	(303)
Dividends	-	-	-	-	-	(1,040)	(1,040)
At 25 September 2009	2,813	11,126	(1,167)	212	310	6,825	20,119

12 months ended 31 March 2010

	Share Capital	Share Premium Account	Own Shares	Share based payment reserve	Merger Reserve	Profit and loss account	Total
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
At 1 April 2009	2,813	11,126	(864)	176	310	6,500	20,061
Profit and total comprehensive income for the period	-	-	-	-	-	3,065	3,065
Share capital issued	12	48	-	-	-	-	60
Share based payment	-	-	-	72	-	-	72
Purchase of own shares	-	-	(303)	-	-	-	(303)
Exercised options re own shares	-	-	13	-	-	-	13
Dividends	-	-	-	-	-	(1,924)	(1,924)
At 31 March 2010	2,825	11,174	(1,154)	248	310	7,641	21,044

6 months ended 1 October 2010

	Share Capital	Share Premium Account	Own Shares	Share based payment reserve	Merger Reserve	Profit and loss account	Total
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
At 1 April 2010	2,825	11,174	(1,154)	248	310	7,641	21,044
Profit and total comprehensive income for the period	-	-	-	-	-	1,408	1,408
Share based payment	-	-	-	42	-	-	42
Dividends	-	-	-	-	-	(609)	(609)
At 1 October 2010	2,825	11,174	(1,154)	290	310	8,440	21,885

Notes to the interim report

1.         Statutory information

The interim financial statements are unaudited and do not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of Section 435 of the Companies Act 2006. The auditors' review report on the interim financial information for the six months ended 1 October 2010 is set out on page 13.

The financial information for the year ended 31 March 2010 has been derived from the published statutory accounts. A copy of the full accounts for that period, on which the auditors issued an unqualified report that did not contain statements under 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006, has been delivered to the Registrar of Companies.

These interim financial statements will be posted to all shareholders and are available from the registered office at One Surtees Way, Surtees Business Park, Stockton on Tees, TS18 3HR or from our website at www.brulines.com.

2.         Accounting policies

The interim financial information has been prepared on the basis of the recognition and measurement principles of adopted IFRS's as at 1 October 2010 that are effective (or available for early adoption) at 31 March 2010. Based on these adopted IFRS's, the Directors have approved the accounting policies, which they expect to apply when the annual IFRS financial statements are prepared for the year ending 31 March 2011. The Group's accounting policies remain as stated in the Group's full annual accounts for the year ended 31 March 2010.

As permitted, the Group has chosen not to adopt IAS 34 'Interim Financial Statements' in preparing these interim financial statements and therefore the interim financial information is not in full compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards.

3.         Segmental information

For management purposes the Group is currently organised into two operating divisions. These business segments are the basis on which the Group reports its primary segmental information. As the Group's business is entirely conducted within the United Kingdom, there are no geographical business segments and as a result no secondary reporting segmental information is presented.

Corporate strategy is to be market leader in the leisure and fuel solution markets with the services we provide. In terms of leisure this includes Brulines traditional core business around dispense monitoring & i-draught, as well as machine monitoring across our vending & AWP sectors. Fuel solutions include a full suite of products and services to help the forecourt operator maximise their returns.

The segmental results for the 6 months ended 1 October 2010 are as follows:

	Leisure	Fuel Solutions	Group
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Revenue
Total revenue	9,540	2,732	12,272
Result
Operating profit/(loss) before exceptional items	2,423	(4)	2,419
Amortisation	(237)	-	(237)
Share based payments	(42)	-	(42)
Finance costs	(8)	(2)	(10)
Profit/(loss) before exceptional items	2,136	(6)	2,130
Exceptional items	(151)	(31)	(182)
Profit/(loss) after exceptional items	1,985	(37)	1,948
Tax	(550)	10	(540)
Profit/(loss) attributable to equity shareholders	1,435	(27)	1,408

The segmental results for the 6 months ended 25 September 2009 are as follows:

	Leisure	Fuel Solutions	Group
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Revenue
Total revenue	9,626	273	9,899
Result
Operating profit/(loss)	2,482	(17)	2,465
Amortisation	(231)	-	(231)
Share based payments	(36)	-	(36)
Finance costs	(5)	(1)	(6)
Profit/(loss) before exceptional items	2,210	(18)	2,192
Exceptional items	(297)	-	(297)
Profit/(loss) after exceptional items	1,913	(18)	1,895
Tax	(535)	5	(530)
Profit/(loss) attributable to equity shareholders	1,378	(13)	1,365

4.         Exceptional items

Exceptional items principally relate to acquisition costs associated with the subsidiary acquisitions of Energy Level Systems Limited in April 2010, Retail & Forecourt Solutions Limited in June 2010 and LBI Installations Limited in July 2010.

5.         Tax

The charge for tax is based on the profit for the period and comprises:

		6 months	6 months	Year
		ended	ended	Ended
		1 Oct	25 Sep	31 March
		2010	2009	2010
		£'000	£'000	£'000
United Kingdom corporation tax		540	530	969
		540	530	969

6.         Earnings per share 

Earnings per share is calculated on the profit after tax of £1.408m (2009 £1.365m) and the average number of shares in issue during the period of 28,128,164 (2009: 28,128,164).

Diluted earnings per share are calculated by taking the earnings as disclosed above and the average number of shares that would be issued on the full exercise of outstanding share options of 29,671,914 (2009: 29,620,996).

INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT TO BRULINES GROUP PLC

Introduction 

We have been engaged by the company to review the financial information in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 1 October 2010 which comprises the consolidated statement of comprehensive income, the consolidated balance sheet, the consolidated cash flow statement and the statement of changes in shareholders' equity and the related explanatory notes that have been reviewed.  We have read the other information contained in the half yearly financial report which comprises only the Chairman's Statement and the Executive Review and considered whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the information in the condensed set of financial statements.

This report is made solely to the company in accordance with guidance contained in ISRE (UK and Ireland) 2410, "Review of Interim Financial Information performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity".  Our review work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company those matters we are required to state to them in a review report and for no other purpose.  To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company, for our review work, for this report, or for the conclusion we have formed. 

Directors' Responsibilities

The half-yearly financial report is the responsibility of, and has been approved by, the directors. The AIM rules of the London Stock Exchange require that the accounting polices and presentation applied to the interim figures are consistent with those which will be adopted in the annual accounts having regard to the accounting standards applicable for such accounts.

As disclosed in note 2, the annual financial statements of the group are prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union. The financial information in the half-yearly financial report has been prepared in accordance with the basis of preparation in note 2.

Our Responsibility

Our responsibility is to express to the company a conclusion on the financial information in the half-yearly financial report based on our review.

Scope of Review

We conducted our review in accordance with International Standard on Review Engagements (UK and Ireland) 2410, "Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity" issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use in the United Kingdom.  A review of interim financial information consists of making enquiries, primarily of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures.  A review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) and consequently does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit.  Accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion.

Conclusion

Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the financial information in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 1 October 2010 is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the basis of accounting described in note 2.

GRANT THORNTON UK LLP

Chartered Accountants

Leeds

7 December 2010

 

END

 

 

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