Final Results
i-documentsystems Group PLC
16 December 2002
For immediate release 16 December 2002
i-documentsystems group plc
Results for the year ended 31 October 2002
Highlights
• Turnover up 151% to £3.02 million (2001: £1.20 million)
• Cash of £2.54 million as at 31 October 2002 (2001: £2.37 million)
• Raised £1.43 million from new and existing investors
• Strengthening of market position as a leading e-Government solutions provider by winning 24 new council
software customers during the year
• Successful acquisition and integration of The Planning Exchange
• Further development of strategic marketing alliances: Serco and BT Syntegra
• Pipeline opportunities continue to increase both in quantity and quality
• Pathfinder Planning solution delivered for Wandsworth - the first of its kind in the UK
Andrew Fraser, Chief Executive of i-documentsystems, said: 'i-documentsystems
has again made significant progress during the year under review. We have more
than doubled revenue compared with the previous year and increased the number of
local authority clients beyond our target of 50. Despite the general economic
climate, we have attained the goals we set ourselves more than two years ago. We
believe there is considerable strategic value in the acquisition of The Planning
Exchange and we have high expectations of what we can achieve together in our
common marketplace.'
For further information please contact:
John Wisbey, Chairman 020 7353 5330
Andrew Fraser, CEO 020 7427 0660
Tim Bowen, CFO and COO 020 7427 0660
Jonathan Rooper / Nadja Vetter, CardewChancery 020 7930 0777
Chairman's Statement
For the year ended 31 October 2002
Overview
I am pleased to report that i-documentsystems group plc, the e-Government
solutions provider, has continued to meet its targets for the year ended 31
October 2002. Revenues are up 151% from £1.20 million to £3.02 million and the
Group has increased its customer base using its software products from 27 to 51
local authority clients. i-documentsystems has successfully built a reputation
for its software and managed services in the Local Government market and is now
well positioned to reap the benefits of the considerable investment made in
their development.
In the period under review, the Group also acquired the business and assets of
The Planning Exchange and successfully integrated the business into the Group
via a new subsidiary, IDOX Information Services Ltd. We believe this business
is the most comprehensive information service on Local Government matters in the
UK including economic development, education, housing, planning, transport and
social services. The acquisition brings with it more than 300 customers of
which approximately 70 are UK local authorities. Other clients include
Government departments and agencies, consulting firms, housing organisations,
research bodies and universities.
This acquisition enables i-documentsystems to be an important provider of
information as well as software to Local Government. This offering is
unparalleled and difficult to replicate. It will enable the Group to provide a
more comprehensive service and will generate considerable cross-selling
opportunities.
Financial Review
The Group's revenues rose from £1.20 million to £3.02 million, a 151% gain.
Excluding revenues from the acquired business, The Planning Exchange (now IDOX
Information Services Ltd), revenues would still have increased by 82%.
The Group incurred a loss of £1.48 million (2001: £1.18 million) for the year
ended 31 October 2002. This equates to a loss per share of 1.11 pence (2001:
0.97 pence). Net cash as at 31 October 2002 amounted to £2.54 million (2001:
£2.37 million) following the acquisition of The Planning Exchange and the
capital raising exercise in May 2002.
A total of 11,986,668 New Ordinary 1p Shares were placed on behalf of the Group
in May 2002 with new and existing institutional investors, at a price of 12p per
share. The New Ordinary Shares rank pari passu with the Group's existing
Ordinary Shares and represent 8.54% of the Group's enlarged issued share
capital. The Placing raised £1.43 million before issue expenses, the proceeds
of which were used towards the acquisition of the business and assets of The
Planning Exchange and to augment the Group's existing working capital. The
acquisition was completed on 7 May 2002. The New Ordinary Shares started
trading on 10 May 2002 on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London
Stock Exchange.
Services to Local Authorities
There are 468 local authorities in the UK, all of which are expected to comply
with the Prime Minister's directive to deliver the majority of Local Government
services electronically by 2005. In addition to this pressure from Central
Government, there are strong cost saving and efficiency arguments for the
electronic availability of documents and the need to comply fully with the
Freedom of Information Act, also by 2005. Consequently the Group continues to
believe that it is well placed to gain significant additional contracts from the
remainder of the UK local authorities, as well as additional business from
existing local authority customers.
Our AIM flotation business plan, drawn up in the second half of 2000, has proved
a relatively accurate prediction of our development, although differences have
inevitably emerged. It is particularly encouraging for the Group's future
revenue growth that revenues per existing client have been greater than
predicted, and penetration of non-Planning Local Government departments has also
been better than expected. However, our internet portal, UKPlanning, has not
advanced as quickly as we expected. This is in part due to the portal concept
taking time to become fully accepted within its market. The core functionality
of UKPlanning is now fully operational and attracting new customers. The
technology developed for UKPlanning has been incorporated into our software
offering, ensuring standardisation of delivery for all our customers. Prospects
for UKPlanning remain positive as the benefits of the service become tangible to
the early adopters.
The Group's business base now comprises three core elements: software, managed
services and information services. We have combined these three distinct areas
under the strapline of 'Information into Intelligence', with the products and
services being positioned as sub-elements. This is important because the name
of the individual products or even the company name could limit the perception
of its various offerings.
All three core services have made substantial progress during the year. Local
authority Planning Departments have remained the key market, but we have made
faster progress than originally anticipated in winning contracts in other local
authority departments, such as Education, Revenues and Benefits, Chief
Executive's Department and Social Services. Although we believe that Planning
will remain a valuable and very important long-term market for us, well beyond
the 2005 deadline for online Local Government, as providers of corporate
solutions we perceive a broad range of further opportunities in National and
Local Government and in non-Government markets. The Group is evaluating the
options available to strengthen further its Revenues and Benefits offering.
Pathfinder Project and Awards
An important milestone in the period was winning, and completing in April 2002,
a Pathfinder project from Wandsworth Council for our UKPlanning product. The
Pathfinder initiative is a Central Government-backed project to demonstrate to
other councils the cutting edge of e-Government delivery. We believe this to be
the only such project in the UK with high visibility in UK Local Government
circles. This has led to a significant number of enquiries, of which some have
already resulted in fee-earning business.
Although i-documentsystems is principally a web/Java development company, it has
been awarded the coveted Microsoft Gold Partnership. In addition to receiving
complimentary licences for Microsoft programmes, this enables us to work in
co-operation with Microsoft on mutually beneficial business projects.
In addition, i-documentsystems has achieved ISO9001 status. While the company
has always had very high standards of quality control, this external recognition
is important as the company moves toward larger contracts with substantial
players who demand proof of high standards of quality.
In December 2002 the Group won the Knowledge Management Project Award at the
IM2002 awards ceremony in partnership with City of York Council. This was in
respect of an innovative trading standards application which used IDOX Software
document and knowledge management technology for identifying illegal traders.
Strategy and Alliances
The Group will continue to sell directly to the local authority market using its
own sales force and work in partnership whenever the need arises. It is our
intention to continue to enhance our product and service offerings to meet the
demands of the new departments we are beginning to penetrate such as Social
Services, Housing and Revenues and Benefits. This is a significant part of the
Group's development to meet the needs of a corporate-wide solution, the
preferred procurement route for many council tenders at present.
i-documentsystems continues to seek strategic alliances in order to widen its
offering and facilitate its access to new markets. In October, the Group won an
eight-year contract with Syntegra, BT's systems integration business, to supply
City of Edinburgh Council with our award-winning software for document and
information management.
Earlier in the year, the Group also reached a three-year distribution agreement
with Serco for its suite of e-Government products and services. Under the
agreement, Serco will integrate i-documentsystems' software with its own and
market the combined product in its core markets, including the substantial UK
police force market.
This is a clear indication that the Group's software is highly adaptable and is
scaleable to meet varying demands. Discussions are also being held with other
potential partners to facilitate the opening of new markets. Last year the
Group entered into such partnerships with Hyder Business Services (HBS) and MVM
Consultants plc, a subsidiary of Anglian Water plc.
Although the Group's emphasis is not on the financial services sector, the Group
retains a number of banking customers. The Group may develop this market
further through partnerships and reseller arrangements should the market
opportunity broaden.
Product Development
The product enhancements carried out this year have been designed to reinforce
the Group's current leadership position as well as extending opportunities to
take on additional areas of business. Additional functionality was built for
the successful implementation of the Wandsworth Pathfinder project. This
provides the customer with one of the most advanced and feature rich
e-Government implementations. It encompasses online electronic forms,
electronic payment, CAD (Computer Aided Design) file conversion, integration
with online GIS (Geographical Information System) and XML (eXtensible Markup
Language) integration with an existing application system, all delivered on time
and to budget.
Enhancements to the electronic document handling capabilities of the product
have included check-in and check-out functionality direct from Microsoft Office
and other applications. This includes the use of 'WebDAV', a recent industry
development for the authoring of electronic documents over the internet. This
enables customers to combine the use of a web browser for document distribution,
with the ease of Microsoft Office type applications.
Other internet-related developments included the recent implementation of an
online committee minutes system, designed in conjunction with Lincolnshire
County Council and HBS. This enables full public participation, using the
internet, in the committee process.
Facilities available with the UKPlanning offering for the provision of
electronic services to Planning Departments have been considerably enhanced,
including the introduction of online form submission from the UKPlanning web
site and the IDOX Information Service online.
On 30 September 2002, the software development team released version 3.7 of the
core software product, including a new interface. This incorporated many
enhancements to respond to customer demands, and essential changes required to
ease the rollout of the product to large corporate clients. The release of this
product coincided with the branding of our core software product as IDOX
Software, rather than Image-Gen. The Image-Gen brand has held the Group in good
stead for many years, however it is no longer appropriate for expressing the
range and depth of our product offerings. Initial reactions to this change from
our customer and partner base have been positive.
Directorate Changes
The Rt. Hon. Peter Lilley MP joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director on 31
October 2002. As a former Secretary of State for Social Security, Secretary of
State for Trade and Industry, and Economic Secretary to the Treasury, and a
period as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, he brings with him a wealth of
experience of Central and Local Government which we believe will be of
considerable benefit to the Group, especially as it seeks to achieve an
increasingly strategic role with both Local and Central Government. This is in
addition to his financial skills as a former director of Greenwell Montagu Ltd.
Ian Peacock, who has been a Non-Executive Director since 2000, will be standing
down immediately after the Annual General Meeting on 30 January 2003. Mr
Peacock's recent appointment to the Chairmanship of Mothercare plc, in addition
to his Chairmanship of MFI Furniture Group plc and Deputy Chairmanship of
Lombard Risk Management plc, has led him to review his other business
commitments. I would like to thank Ian for his considerable contribution to
i-documentsystems over almost three years covering a period of rapid growth by
the Group and its flotation on AIM.
Tim Bowen has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of the Group. He will
fulfil this role alongside his current position as Chief Financial Officer.
People
With the acquisition of The Planning Exchange in May 2002, the Group has
acquired an additional 27 staff, taking overall staff numbers to 80 as at 31
October 2002 (2001: 45). Other than for a limited number of new positions, no
further staff expansion is expected in the next year. During the year under
review i-documentsystems has built a highly skilled team capable of delivering
and managing services to existing clients and taking advantage of prospective
business opportunities.
Dividend
In line with stated policy, earnings for the foreseeable future will be
re-invested to finance the growth of the Group's business. The Directors do not
recommend the payment of a dividend.
Outlook
The Group has more than doubled revenue compared with the previous year and
exceeded the target of 50 IDOX Software local authority clients. The Board is
confident that there will be significant revenue growth in the year to October
2003 with no diminution of demand from the UK local authority market.
The Group's primary financial goal now is to become a profitable cash-generative
business with continued strong revenue growth. The speed at which this is
achieved is dependent upon the rate at which Local Authorities can gear
themselves up to reach the Government's target to improve the delivery of all
services using electronic technology by 2005. The Board believes, however, that
by the end of the current financial year we should be starting to enjoy regular
profitability on a monthly basis. This will be achieved through strong and
steady rises in revenue over the financial year with only marginal extra cost
increases necessary in 2003 to support the business over the same period. The
latter is realistic because the key staff and infrastructure costs to support
the business have already been put in place.
In the past the greatest difficulty in forecasting the Group's financial
progress has not been the winning of new business but the variation in length of
time between serious expression of interest and contract award, which can be
more than a year. This will continue to remain a risk factor for timing of
revenues, but the Board hopes that the Group will continue its record at being
adept in this environment.
The Board is fiercely committed to securing the best interests of our
shareholders and to driving forward profitability through increased market share
both organically and by acquisition. The efforts of our team, together with
increased brand awareness, continue to produce a strong pipeline of new
opportunities.
The Board would like to thank all the staff of i-documentsystems, both in
Glasgow and in London, for their considerable hard work and the successful and
swift integration of IDOX Information Services Ltd. There is considerable
strategic value in the combination of our two businesses and the Board has high
expectations of what can be achieved.
John Wisbey
Chairman
13 December 2002
This preliminary announcement was approved by the Board of Directors on 13
December 2002
CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
For the year ended 31 October 2002
2002 2001
£ £
Turnover
Ongoing 2,186,429 1,201,192
Acquisitions 831,173 -
3,017,602 1,201,192
Cost of sales
Ongoing (543,495) (431,730)
Acquisitions (123,666) -
(667,161) (431,730)
2,350,441 769,462
Staff costs
Ongoing (2,195,943) (1,296,372)
Acquisitions (328,728) -
(2,524,671) (1,296,372)
Other operating charges
Ongoing (1,059,913) (800,885)
Acquisitions (326,758) -
(1,386,671) (800,885)
Operating (loss)/profit
Ongoing (1,612,922) (1,327,795)
Acquisitions 52,021 -
(1,560,901) (1,327,795)
Net interest 77,428 146,522
Loss on ordinary activities before taxation (1,483,473) (1,181,273)
Tax on loss on ordinary activities - -
Loss for the period transferred from reserves (1,483,473) (1,181,273)
Loss per share (pence) (1.11)p (0.97)p
All operations are attributable to continuing operations.
There are no recognised gains or losses other than those set out above.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
At 31 October 2002
2002 2001
£ £
Fixed assets
Intangible fixed assets 696,906 -
Tangible fixed assets 259,727 124,094
Investments 28,344 -
984,977 124,094
Current assets
Debtors 1,167,227 797,096
Cash at bank and in hand 2,537,752 2,371,758
3,704,979 3,168,854
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (1,949,553) (625,862)
Net current assets 1,755,426 2,542,992
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one
year (40,000) -
Net assets 2,700,403 2,667,086
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital 1,408,039 1,283,172
Deferred share capital 1,112,014 1,112,014
Share premium account 4,098,538 2,789,389
Other reserves 1,294,745 1,239,471
Profit and loss account (5,212,933) (3,756,960)
Shareholders' funds 2,700,403 2,667,086
CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
For the year ended 31 October 2002
2002 2001
£ £
Net cash outflow from operating activities (843,324) (1,477,539)
Returns on investments and servicing of finance
Interest received 77,143 145,439
Net cash inflow from returns on investments and
servicing of finance 77,143 145,439
Capital expenditure and financial investment
Purchase of tangible fixed assets (236,377) (142,921)
Sale of tangible fixed assets - 1,116
Purchase of investment (28,344) -
Net cash outflow from capital expenditure and
financial investment (264,721) (141,805)
Acquisitions
Purchase of trade and assets (418,601) -
Net cash balances acquired with trade and assets 181,481 -
Net cash outflow from acquisitions (237,120) -
Financing
Issue of shares 1,434,016 3,115,897
Net cash inflow from returns on investments and
servicing of finance 1,434,016 3,115,897
Increase in cash 165,994 1,641,992
RECONCILIATION OF MOVEMENTS IN SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS
For the year ended 31 October 2002
2002 2001
£ £
Loss for the financial year (1,483,473) (1,181,273)
Issue of shares 1,434,016 3,115,897
Provision for issue costs released 55,274 -
Share options exercised 27,500 -
Net increase in shareholders' funds 33,317 1,934,624
Shareholders' funds at 1 November 2001 2,667,086 732,462
Shareholders' funds at 31 October 2002 2,700,403 2,667,086
NOTES TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT
For the year ended 31 October 2002
1. BASIS OF PREPARATION
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable United
Kingdom accounting standards and under the historical cost convention.
The policies have remained unchanged from the previous period except that FRS 19
'Deferred Taxation' is adopted for the first time. The adoption of this
standard has no impact on the reporting of the current or previous year's
results.
The financial information set out in this announcement does not constitute
statutory accounts as defined in section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The
consolidated balance sheet at 31 October 2002 and the consolidated profit and
loss account, consolidated cash flow statement and associated notes for the year
ended 31 October 2002 have been extracted from the statutory accounts upon which
the auditors opinion was unqualified and does not contain a statement under
section 237 (2) of the Companies Act 1985.
2. LOSS PER SHARE
The loss per ordinary share is calculated by reference to the loss attributable
to ordinary shareholders divided by the weighted average number of shares in
issue during each period, as follows:
2002 2001
£ £
Loss for the year (1,483,473) (1,181,273)
Weighted average number of shares in issue 133,976,939 122,139,763
Loss per share (1.11)p (0.97)p
The deferred ordinary shares and options are anti dilutive under FRS 14.
3. DIVIDEND
The Company does not intend to pay a dividend at this time.
4. NET CASH OUTFLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
2002 2001
£ £
Operating loss (1,560,901) (1,327,795)
Depreciation 150,029 50,674
Goodwill amortisation 30,250 -
Other non cash items 27,500 -
Increase in debtors (14,150) (551,187)
Increase in creditors 523,948 350,769
Net cash outflow from operating activities (843,324) (1,477,539)
5. RECONCILIATION OF NET CASH FLOW TO MOVEMENT IN NET FUNDS
2002 2001
£ £
Increase in cash in the year 165,994 1,641,992
Movement in net funds in the year 165,994 1,641,992
Net funds at 1 November 2001 2,371,758 729,766
Net funds at 31 October 2002 2,537,752 2,371,758
6. FURTHER COPIES
Copies of this announcement and the full annual report and accounts are
available, free of charge, for a period of one month from the Company's
Nominated Adviser and Broker Noble & Company Limited, 1 Frederick's Place,
London, EC2R 8AB, Tel: 020 7367 5600 or from i-documentsystems group plc, 10th
Floor, 21 New Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1AJ, Tel: 020 7427 0660. Copies of the
full financial statements will be posted to shareholders on 16 December 2002
This information is provided by RNS
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