Half Yearly Report

RNS Number : 8482B
ADVFN PLC
10 March 2014
 



10 March 2014

 

ADVFN Plc ("ADVFN" or the "Company")

 

Unaudited Interim Results for the Six Months Ended 31 December 2013

 

 

Chief Executive's Statement

 

I am pleased to announce a strong start to the year with ADVFN's sales up 10% on the previous year's first half and a similar percentage on the preceding 6 months period.

This improving performance has fed through to our cash, which is materially ahead of this time last year, £1,493m versus £1,116m. Cash is a figure I know many of our shareholders track because of the impact the amortisation of intangible assets can potentially have in understanding the operating results of the business.

I am therefore pleased to be able report that our sales and cash balances are growing, even against a background of continued investment in the business and a weak dollar, which is unflattering to our pound denominated results.

Our operating loss and pre-tax losses have also fallen materially relative to the comparative period last year and we are optimistic that this trend will continue.

Performance in the New Year has been strong with a rise in online traffic of over 25% relative to the end of 2013. This is translating directly into increasing subscription levels. This growth is being felt in our key markets, the UK and US, with our American online traffic being the main driver.

This increase in online traffic growth has come with the New Year and bodes well for the rest of the period as increases in traffic begets subscription growth, which in turn precedes increases in advertising revenue growth.

Online traffic growth in January and February of 2014 has been the strongest since 2008.

We continue to expand our offering globally and while the UK and US are outshining some of the other markets we operate in, Mexico, Japan and the Philippines continue to make progress. As a global foot print our smaller sites add up to an attractive audience for our global advertising clients and as such make a material contribution to our overall sales.

We have expected this year to be another year of progress for ADVFN and the beginning of 2014 suggests that we were right to hope for a good year. The first two months of 2014 leave us feeling invigorated and very optimistic about the future.

 

Financial performance

 

Key financial performance for the period has been summarised as follows:

 


Six Months ended

Six Months ended


31 December 2013

31 December 2012


£'000

£'000




Turnover

( Discontinued operations )

( Continuing operations )

-

4,458

16

4,046

Loss for the period

(226)

(312)

Operating Loss

(342)

(416)

Loss per share

(0.04p)

(0.05p)

 

 

Clem Chambers

CEO

7 March 2014

 

For further information, please contact:

  

Clem Chambers,

ADVFN PLC CEO

0207 0700 909

 

Salmaan Khawaja

Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nominated Adviser)

0207 383 5100

 

 

 

Consolidated income statement







6 months to

 31 Dec

6 months to

 31 Dec

12 months to

 30 June



2013

2012

2013



£'000

£'000

£'000



unaudited

unaudited

audited


Notes









Revenue from discontinued operations


-

16

-

Revenue from continuing operations


4,458

4,046

8,077






Total group revenue


4,458

4,062

8,077

Cost of sales


(491)

(96)

(339)






Gross profit


3,967

3,966

7,738






Share based payment


(47)

(51)

(93)

Amortisation of intangible assets


(465)

(471)

(917)

Other administrative expenses


(3,797)

(3,860)

(7,599)






Total administrative expense


(4,309)

(4,382)

(8,609)






Operating loss


(342)

(416)

(871)






Finance income


53

46

95

Finance expense


-

-

-






Loss before tax


(289)

(370)

(776)

Taxation


63

58

242






Total loss after taxation for continuing operations


(226)

(312)

(534)

Total (loss)/profit after taxation from discontinued operations


 

-

 

-

 

(5)






Loss for the period


(226)

(312)

(539)






Loss per share





Basic and diluted (pence per share)

3

(0.04)

(0.05)

(0.09)






 

 

 

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income







6 months to

 31 Dec

6 months to

 31 Dec

12 months to

 30 June



2013

2012

2013



£'000

£'000

£'000



unaudited

unaudited

audited






Loss for the period


(226)

(312)

(539)






Other comprehensive income:





Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations


(146)

(85)

69

Deferred tax on translation of foreign held assets


21

14

(6)






Total comprehensive income for the year


(351)

(383)

(476)






 

Consolidated balance sheet


31 Dec

31 Dec

30 June



2013

2012

2013



£'000

£'000

£'000



unaudited

unaudited

audited











Assets





Non-current assets





Property, plant and equipment


119

68

61

Goodwill


747

763

806

Intangible assets


1,502

1,918

1,777

Trade and other receivables


540

735

485






Total non-current assets


2,908

3,484

3,129






Current assets





Trade and other receivables


1,045

996

925

Current tax recoverable


33

133

46

Cash and cash equivalents


1,493

1,116

1,461






Total current assets


2,571

2,245

2,432






Total assets


5,479

5,729

5,561






Equity and liabilities





Equity





Issued capital


6,305

6,291

6,291

Share premium


8,101

8,062

8,062

Merger reserve


221

221

221

Share based payments reserve


610

525

563

Foreign exchange reserve


153

144

278

Retained earnings


(12,289)

(11,840)

(12,063)






Total equity


3,101

3,403

3,352






Non-current liabilities





Deferred tax


185

413

249






Total non-current liabilities


185

413

249






Current liabilities





Trade and other payables


2,187

1,912

1,954

Current tax


6

1

6






Total current liabilities


2,193

1,913

1,960






Total liabilities


2,378

2,326

2,209






Total equity and liabilities


5,479

5,729

5,561








 

Consolidated statement of changes in equity

 


Share capital

Share premium

Merger reserve

Share based payment  reserve

Foreign exchange

Retained earnings

Total equity


£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000









At 1 July 2012

6,289

8,057

221

474

215

(11,528)

3,728









Issue of shares

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Exercise of share options

2

5

-

-

-

-

7

Equity settled share options

-

-

-

51

-

-

51









Transactions with owners

2

5

-

51

-

-

58









Loss for the period after tax

-

-

-

-

-

(312)

(312)









Other comprehensive income








Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

(85)

 

-

 

(85)

Deferred tax on translation of foreign held assets

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

14

 

-

 

14









Total comprehensive income





(71)

(312)

(383)









At 31 December 2012

6,291

8,062

221

525

144

(11,840)

3,403









Issue of shares

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Exercise of share options

-

-

-

(4)

-

4

-

Equity settled share options

-

-

-

42

-

-

42









Transactions with owners

-

-

-

38

-

4

42









Loss for the period after tax

-

-

-

-

-

(227)

(227)









Other comprehensive income








Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

154

 

-

 

154

Deferred tax on translation of foreign held assets

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

(20)

 

-

 

(20)









Total comprehensive income

-

-

-

-

134

(227)

(93)









At 30 June 2013

6,291

8,062

221

563

278

(12,063)

3,352









Issue of shares

14

39

-

-

-

-

53

Equity settled share options

-

-

-

47

-

-

47









Transactions with owners

14

39

-

47

-

-

100









Loss for the period after tax

-

-

-

-

-

(226)

(226)









Other comprehensive income








Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

(146)

 

-

 

(146)

Deferred tax on translation of foreign held assets

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

21

 

-

 

21









Total comprehensive income

-

-

-

-

(125)

(226)

(351)









At 31 December 2013

6,305

8,101

221

610

153

(12,289)

(3,101)

















 

Consolidated cash flow statement







6 months to

 31 Dec

6 months to

 31 Dec

12 months to

 30 June



2013

2012

2013



£'000

£'000

£'000



unaudited

unaudited

Audited






Cash flows from operating activities










Loss for the period before tax


(289)

(370)

(776)






Finance costs


(53)

(46)

(95)

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment


30

38

62

Amortisation


465

471

917

Impairment of financial assets


-

-

300

Share based payments


47

51

93

(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables


(122)

79

149

Increase/(decrease)  in trade and other payables


233

(241)

(199)






Net cash generated/(used) by continuing operations


311

(18)

451

Net cash used by discontinued operations


-

-

(5)








311

(18)

446

Income tax received/(paid)


12

(35)

77






Net cash generated/(used) by operating activities


323

(53)

523






Cash flows from investing activities





Payments for property, plant and equipment


(179)

(23)

(40)

Purchase of intangibles


(156)

(198)

(499)






Net cash used by investing activities


(335)

(221)

(539)






Cash flows from financing activities





Proceeds from issue of equity shares


53

7

7






Net cash generated by financing activities


53

7

7






Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents


41

(267)

(9)

Exchange movements


(9)

(57)

30






Total increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents


32

(324)

21

Cash and cash equivalents at the start of the period


1,461

1,440

1,440






Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period


1,493

1,116

1,461

 



 

1.  Legal status and activities

 

ADVFN Plc ("the Company") is principally involved in the development and provision of financial information primarily via the internet and the development and exploitation of ancillary internet sites.

The company is a public limited liability company incorporated and domiciled in England and Wales. The address of its registered office is Suite 27, Essex Technology Centre, The Gables, Fyfield Road, Ongar, Essex, CM5 0GA.

 

The Company is quoted on the Alternative Investment Market ("AIM") of the London Stock Exchange.

 

2.  Basis of preparation

 

The unaudited consolidated interim financial information is for the six month period ended 31 December 2013.  The financial information does not include all the information required for full annual financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements of the Group for the year ended 30 June 2013, which were prepared under IFRS as adopted by the European Union (EU).

 

The accounting policies adopted in this report are consistent with those of the annual financial statements for the year to 30 June 2013 as described in those financial statements.

 

The interim financial information has not been audited nor has it been reviewed under ISRE 2410 of the Auditing Practices Board. The financial information presented does not constitute statutory accounts as defined by section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. The Group's statutory accounts for the year to 30 June 2013 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The auditors, Grant Thornton UK LLP reported on these accounts and their report was unqualified and did not contain a statement under section 498(2) or Section 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.

 

The financial statements have been prepared on the going concern basis which assumes the Group will continue in existence for the foreseeable future. At 31 December 2013 the Group's cash balances amounted to £1.5 million and the forecasts indicate that this balance will be broadly maintained and then increase in the remainder of the financial year. Accordingly the directors have prepared these financial statements on the going concern basis.

 

3.   Loss per share

 


6 months to

 31 Dec

6 months to

 31 Dec

12 months to

 30 June


2013

2012

2013


£'000

£'000

£'000





Loss for the year attributable to equity shareholders

(226)

(312)

(539)





Loss per share -basic and diluted

(0.04)

(0.05)

(0.09)






Shares

Shares

Shares

Issued ordinary shares at start of the period

629,114,004

628,864,004

628,864,004

Ordinary shares issued in the period

1,391,060

250,000

250,000





Issued ordinary shares at end of the period

630,505,064

629,114,004

629,114,004









Weighted average number of shares in issue for the period

630,489,944

629,043,352

629,078,388

Dilutive effect of options

-

-

-





Weighted average shares for diluted earnings per share

630,489,944

629,043,352

629,078,388





The diluted loss per share does not differ from the basic loss per share as the exercise of share options would have the effect of reducing the loss per share and is therefore not dilutive under the terms of IAS 33.

 

4.   Dividends

The directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend.

 

5.   Financial statements

Copies of this statement are being posted to shareholders shortly and will be available from the company's registered office at Suite 27, Essex Technology Centre, The Gables, Fyfield Road, Ongar, Essex, CM5 0GA.

 

 


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
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