Final Results
15 April 2010
Concurrent Technologies Plc
Preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2009
Concurrent Technologies Plc, ("Concurrent", "Company" or "Group") which
manufactures high-end embedded computer products for critical applications in
the defence, transportation, communications and industrial markets, announces
preliminary results for the year to 31 December 2009.
Financial Highlights
* Profit after tax of £2.5m, an increase of 8.7% (2008: £2.3m)
* Turnover of £12.9m, an increase of 2% (2008: £12.6m) during a period of
recession
* Gross margins for the year strengthened to 56.4% up from 53.0% last year
* Increased product development, total spend up 60% from £2.03m to £3.25m
* Strong balance sheet, with no loans and Net Cash of £4.91m (2008: £4.99m)
after increased dividend payments and record R & D investments
* EPS increased to 3.55 pence (2008: 3.26 pence)
* Total dividend of 1.40 pence per share for the year, up 8% on last year
(2008: 1.30 pence)
Operational Highlights
* Strengthening market environment
*
+ Defence sector remains strong
+ Telecoms and industrials showing sustainable recovery
* Augmented competitive position
*
+ 10 new products launched
+ Continual product innovation; diversifying customer base
* Industry Award winner
*
+ Lockheed Martin STAR supplier award for Concurrent's exceptional
performance.
The Future
* Continual investment in new product innovation
* Expansion of design engineering capability in the UK and India
* Defence sector remains rich in opportunity
Michael Collins, Chairman, commented:
"Trading in the first quarter of 2010 has proceeded in line with our
expectations."
"Reduced world economic activity has had a negative effect on companies in the
telecommunications and industrial sectors, however we are seeing signs of
recovery which we believe will be sustained in these sectors."
"Moreover, we have seen no contraction in that part of the defence market in
which we operate and in this regard, our future looks positive. We see very
strong interest in our products for projects involving the detection and
detonation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and for electronic, aerial
and battlefield surveillance. Sales growth this year is likely to be modest,
although at this stage we expect our financial performance to continue to
remain satisfactory. Beyond 2010, we are confident that the investment we have
made in creating new opportunities, particularly in defence applications, will
produce rewards in future periods."
"Investment in product development was increased by 60% in 2009 over 2008 as we
took the view that the improving economic climate warranted an enhanced focus
on our core business and a substantial increase in the diversity of our product
range."
Enquiries:
Concurrent Technologies Plc 01206 752 626
Glen Fawcett, Managing Director
Haggie Financial LLP 020 7417 8989
Nicholas Nelson / Henrietta Breakwell
Nominated Adviser
Brewin Dolphin Investment Banking 0845 213 4726
Neil Baldwin/Neil McDonald
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
Business Summary
We design, manufacture and supply high-end embedded computer products for the
defence, telecommunication, aerospace, transportation, scientific and
industrial markets. These high performance products are based on Intel® long
life cycle components, and cover a range of central processing unit ("CPU")
boards and computer systems, which include single and dual processor boards,
many using dual-core processors and more recently, Intel® Core™ i7 and
quad-core Intel® Xeon® processors. Designed for the 3U and 6U CompactPCI®, VPX,
VME, AMC and Multibus II open architecture standards, a common feature of our
products is the low level of electrical power required for their high
performance capabilities.
Our products deliver very high levels of reliability with substantial
processing power, making them ideal for use in projects ranging from
high-performance military communications systems to commercial industrial
control units. Furthermore we develop ruggedized versions of many of our
products for use in harsh and wide temperature environments, making them very
appealing for a variety of demanding applications. These long life-cycle
boards, the vast majority of which are made in-house, are batch produced to
highly detailed specifications.
In addition to hardware design capability, our engineering teams undertake a
significant amount of software and firmware development to provide
interoperability between products, allowing customers to transition smoothly
when new updates or designs are available. In this way we continue to see
strong customer loyalty and long term relationships, as well as new sales
following product launches featuring performance upgrades. We also generate
software for both on-board and production test purposes, while also providing
support for leading embedded and real-time operating systems.
Financial Summary
I am pleased to report a profit before tax for 2009 of £2,797,794 (2008: £
2,951,603) a reduction of 5% over the previous year following a provision of £
279,000 against a doubtful receivable. The Directors view this as a one-off
incident and unlikely to be repeated in future periods. Profit after tax for
2009 was £2,538,306 (2008: £2,335,072), an increase of 8.7%. Increased
investment in product design has resulted in a reduced tax charge arising from
higher Research and Development Tax Credits. Earnings per share for the year
increased to 3.55p (2008: 3.26p).
In the second half of the year, profit before tax was £1,429,878, an increase
of 5% over the first half of 2009 (H1 2009: £1,367,916). This result was
achieved on sales of £12,854,777, an increase of 2% compared with 2008 (2008: £
12,619,631).
Gross margins for the year strengthened again to 56.4% up from 53.0% last year,
a result influenced by the strong US dollar. Although expenditure on product
development increased by 60% in the year from £2,031,970 in 2008 to £3,250,465
we ended the year with cash and cash equivalents of £4,914,657 (2008: £
4,994,266) and no borrowings.
We continue to broaden our already diverse customer base most of which
comprises large, high quality companies and organisations across multiple
sectors and in many countries. Furthermore, in common with last year, our
defence customers were the biggest contributors to our turnover. Exports
accounted for 87% of revenue.
Review of Operations
During the year the Company continued to market its products into high
performance applications which require long term supply and where we see high
levels of demand for innovative products. In addition to the launch of new
processor boards, we continued to develop many environmentally superior
products that can operate at extreme temperatures, elevated altitudes and at
high shock and vibration levels. With slight variations in operating capacities
and format, these products address many different customer needs.
In 2009, we launched 10 new products, including boards designed according to
the 6U and 3U CompactPCI® standards and products featuring the quad-core InteI®
Xeon® processors which are particularly suited for use within the defence,
telecommunications and homeland security market sectors. During this period we
also began design work on the latest Intel® Core™ i7 products featuring many
attributes which are desired by our customers.
We continue to develop products using low and ultra-low power processors
enabling us to supply products which feature large amounts of functionality on
small boards which can then be ruggedized and made to operate in harsh
environments. In addition, we continued to extend our family of single slot VME
single board computers as well as our range of XMC and AMC products. Low power
consumption, with consequent higher reliability, continues to be a critical
requirement for end users of embedded computer products.
One of the highlights since my Chairman's Statement in April 2009 has been the
progress we have made on the development of VPX products and more specifically
our involvement in the industry-wide effort to establish the OpenVPXâ„¢
specification. As a result of its pioneering development work, the Company was
at the forefront of releasing OpenVPXâ„¢ products targeted at the defence and
transportation markets in late 2009.
Another significant highlight for Concurrent Technologies was the award by
Lockheed Martin Corporation in February 2010 of their prestigious STAR Supplier
Award for the Company's exceptional performance as measured by quality,
delivery, affordability, management and administration.
Future Plans
The key to continued success is to expand our range of products, with a
particular focus on the VPX and CompactPCI® bus architectures. Our business aim
will be to design more products for complex, high technology, low to medium
volume and high margin applications, along with producing versions targeted for
use in harsh environments, including military applications. We continue to look
for acquisition opportunities but this is not our top priority; indeed there is
plenty of scope for internal organic growth where we continue to see many
opportunities to grow the business into new market areas without taking
unacceptable risk.
We continue to press for the expansion of our design engineering capability
both in the UK and India and, therefore, maintain our policy of recruiting
design engineers in both countries. The design facility in Bangalore, India is
now fully operational (20 employees at the end of 2009, up from 16 at the end
of 2008) and producing key designs.
The Company has used its authority in 2009 to buy back its own shares and the
Directors will continue to do this when they consider it appropriate.
Dividend
In March 2010 the Board declared a second interim dividend of 0.90 pence per
share (2008: 0.85 pence final dividend) which was paid to shareholders on 1st
April 2010. The total cost of this second interim dividend amounted to £
643,491. This second dividend, when added to the first interim dividend of 0.50
pence per share paid in September 2009, makes a total dividend for the year of
1.40 pence per share (2008: 1.30 pence). This is an increase of 7.7% over the
dividends paid in for 2008.
The Directors do not intend to recommend a final dividend given the payment of
the interim dividends as mentioned above.
Outlook
Trading in the first quarter of 2010 has proceeded in line with our
expectations.
Reduced world economic activity has had a negative effect on companies in the
telecommunications and industrial sectors, however we are seeing signs of
recovery which we believe will be sustained in these sectors.
Moreover, we have seen no contraction in that part of the defence market in
which we operate and in this regard, our future looks positive. We see very
strong interest in our products for projects involving the detection and
detonation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and for electronic, aerial
and battlefield surveillance. Sales growth this year is likely to be modest,
although at this stage we expect our financial performance to continue to
remain satisfactory. Beyond 2010, we are confident that the investment we have
made in creating new opportunities, particularly in defence applications, will
produce rewards in future periods.
Investment in product development was increased by 60% in 2009 over 2008 as we
took the view that the improving economic climate warranted an enhanced focus
on our core business and a substantial increase in the diversity of our product
range.
Corporate Governance
As an AIM quoted company Concurrent Technologies Plc is not obliged to comply
with the Combined Code on Corporate Governance. We do however acknowledge the
overall importance of the guidelines and apply as many of the principles
therein as are appropriate to a company of our size and nature.
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting this year will be held on 21st May 2010.
Michael Collins
Chairman
14 April 2010
All companies and product names are trademarks of their respective
organisation.
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
Year to Year to
31 December 31 December
2009 2008
CONTINUING OPERATIONS £ £
Revenue 12,854,777 12,619,631
Cost of sales 5,606,328 5,933,965
Gross profit 7,248,449 6,685,666
Net operating expenses 4,531,272 3,917,427
Group operating profit 2,717,177 2,768,239
Finance income 80,617 183,364
Profit before tax 2,797,794 2,951,603
Tax 259,488 616,531
Profit for the year 2,538,306 2,335,072
Other Comprehensive Income
Exchange differences on translating (228,640) 537,521
foreign operations
Other Comprehensive Income for the (228,640) 537,521
year, net of tax
Total Comprehensive Income for the 2,309,666 2,872,593
year
Profit for the period attributable
to:
Equity holders of the parent 2,538,306 2,335,072
Total Comprehensive Income
attributable to:
Equity holders of the parent 2,309,666 2,872,593
Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share 3.55p 3.26p
Diluted earnings per share 3.53p 3.24p
Consolidated Balance Sheet
31 December 31 December
2009 2008
£ £
ASSETS
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 591,989 621,798
Intangible assets 3,554,243 1,948,934
Deferred tax assets 183,722 114,585
4,329,954 2,685,317
Current assets
Inventories 2,056,734 1,413,816
Trade and other receivables 2,344,877 3,419,443
Current tax assets 311,224 -
Cash and cash equivalents 4,914,657 4,994,266
9,627,492 9,827,525
Total assets 13,957,446 12,512,842
LIABILITIES
Non-current liabilities
Deferred tax liabilities 1,043,198 579,930
Long term provisions 35,580 35,767
1,078,778 615,697
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 1,770,066 1,831,013
Short term provisions 33,066 28,992
Current tax liabilities 33,807 348,180
1,836,939 2,208,185
Total liabilities 2,915,717 2,823,882
Net assets 11,041,729 9,688,960
EQUITY
Capital and reserves
Share capital 727,000 727,000
Share premium account 3,405,817 3,405,817
Capital redemption reserve 256,976 256,976
Cumulative translation reserve 125,909 354,549
Profit and loss account 6,526,027 4,944,618
Equity attributable to equity holders 11,041,729 9,688,960
of the parent
Total equity 11,041,729 9,688,960
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
Year to Year to
31 December 31 December
2009 2008
£ £
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit before tax for the period 2,797,794 2,951,603
Adjustments for:
Finance income (80,617) (183,364)
Depreciation 202,165 163,905
Amortisation 486,295 213,449
Impairment loss 149,688 331,481
Loss on disposal of property, plant 590 -
and equipment (PPE)
Share-based payment 22,642 18,085
Exchange differences (89,917) 187,268
(Increase) in inventories (642,918) (316,683)
(Increase)/decrease in trade and other 1,074,566 (1,314,710)
receivables
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other (57,060) 319,049
payables
Cash generated from operations 3,863,228 2,370,083
Tax paid (471,148) (166,642)
Net cash generated from operating 3,392,080 2,203,441
activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received 80,617 183,364
Purchases of property, plant and (180,717) (312,460)
equipment (PPE)
Purchases of intangible assets (2,243,464) (1,278,828)
Net cash used in investing activities (2,343,564) (1,407,924)
Cash flows from financing activities
Equity dividends paid (966,166) (896,178)
Purchase of treasury shares (33,179) (41,834)
Net cash used in financing activities (999,345) (938,012)
Effects of exchange rate changes on (128,780) 339,528
cash and cash equivalents
Net increase/(decrease) in cash (79,609) 197,033
Cash at beginning of period 4,994,266 4,797,233
Cash at the end of the period 4,914,657 4,994,266
NOTES
1. The financial information set out above does not constitute the Group's
statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2009 or 2008, but is derived
from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2008 have been delivered to the
Registrar of Companies and those for 2009 will be delivered following the
Annual General Meeting. The auditors have reported on those accounts; their
reports were (i) unqualified and (ii) did not contain statements under section
237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985 in respect of 2008, or under section
498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006 in respect of 2009.
2. The calculation of basic earnings per share is based on the weighted
average number of Ordinary Shares in issue during 2009 of 71,558,889 (2008:
71,666,198) allowing for an adjustment made as a consequence of the Company
having purchased at various times during the year 90,000 (2008: 165,000)
Ordinary Shares and on the profit after tax for 2009 of £2,538,306 (2008 £
2,335,072). The calculation of diluted earnings per share incorporates 358,728
Ordinary Shares (2008: 319,416) in respect of performance related employee
share options. The profit after tax is the same as for basic earnings per
share.
3. The annual general meeting of Concurrent Technologies Plc will be held at
the Ramada Hotel, A12/A120 junction, Old Ipswich Road, Colchester, Essex CO7
7QY on 21 May 2010 at 4.00 p.m.
Copies of the Annual Report will be sent to Shareholders and will also be
available from the Company's Registered Office: 4, Gilberd Court, Newcomen Way,
Colchester, Essex, CO4 9WN, UK, and on the Company's website: www.cct.co.uk.