Trading Update and Management Changes

RNS Number : 1835U

Digital Barriers plc

14 October 2014

 



RNS

14 October 2014

Digital Barriers plc

Trading Update and Management Changes

The Board of Directors (the "Board") of Digital Barriers ("Digital Barriers" or the "Group", AIM: DGB), the specialist provider of advanced surveillance technologies to the international homeland security and defence markets, provides an update on trading and management arrangements.

Trading Update

The Board is pleased to report that the contract it announced on 27 May 2014 for the supply ofa TVI video surveillance solution to a major US federal agency has been delivered on schedule, enabling the agency to distribute bandwidth-efficient high-definition video across cellular networks. The value of the final contract was larger than anticipated, at more than $1.5 million, making it the Group's largest single TVI hardware sale and is likely to lead to follow-on sales this financial year.

Taken in combination with the expected growth in revenues in the six months to 30 September 2014, the first half of the Group's current financial year, along with a much stronger contracted backlog position and sales pipeline than at the same point last year, the Board can confirm that it anticipates being in line with itsexpectations for the full year, with significant international growth despite delays in revenues from West Africa due to the Ebola crisis as announced by the Group on 11 August 2014. 

Sales recorded in the six months to 30 September 2014 included the Group's first multi-year safe city surveillance programme with a telecoms customer in Asia Pacific, the strongest period yet for sales of

the Group's ThruVision screening products, and a number of initial sales of TVI surveillance products into new government customers in the US.

The Board expects losses for the first half of the current financial year to show a year-on-year reduction and for this reduction to accelerate through the remainder of the financial year driven by continued revenue growth alongside a successful reduction in the cost base. 

Net cash as at 30 September 2014 was £7.6 million.

The Board expects to report full interim results on 27 November 2014.

Changes to Management Arrangements

The Board also announces today the appointment of Zak Doffman to the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Group with immediate effect. Tom Black will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board, from today in a Non-Executive capacity, in order to provide Zak with strong support and guidance in his new role.

A founding Executive Director of the Group and member of the Board, Zak has been responsible for developing the strategy and acquiring the businesses brought into the Group, as well as establishing and managing commercial and sales operations around the world.  Zak will lead an executive team that includes Colin Evans, currently the Executive Director responsible for the Group's engineering and operations, who will become Chief Operating Officer and Sharon Cooper, who will continue in her role as Group Finance Director.

Tom Black, Chairman of Digital Barriers commented:

"We have now completed the integration of all of our acquisitions into a coherent single operating company and are focused on delivering sales derived from our core product offerings. It has taken some time for us to develop the relationships we need internationally to achieve the success we aspire to, but that incubation period is now over and our strong sales pipeline gives me and the Board great confidence that continued revenue growth will bring us to break-even in the near future.

The management changes we are making today are designed to put us in the best possible position to exploit the sales momentum now building. I believe this will provide the right leadership and balance of skills to carry the Group through a phase of increased revenue growth."

For further information, please contact:

Digital Barriers plc                               Tel: [phone]

Tom Black, Non-Executive Chairman      

Zak Doffman, Chief Executive Officer

Sharon Cooper, Group Finance Director  

Investec Investment Banking               Tel: [phone]

Andrew Pinder / Dominic Emery 

FTI Consulting                                     Tel: [phone]

Edward Bridges / Matt Dixon

Biography of Zak Doffman

Zak Doffman(42) has spent the last 20 years working across the technology and professional services sectors, and the last 10years specialising in defence and homeland security.

Zak is a founding executive director and member of the board at Digital Barriers. He was responsible for developing the Group's strategy, after which he identified and acquired the fourteen companies that underpin the technology platform on which today's business is based. He has also been responsible for putting in place and then leading the sales and commercial operations the Group has established around the world. He has in-depth experience in each of the Group's regions and direct relationships with key customer organisations around the world.

Prior to Digital Barriers, Zak was the Managing Director for Strategy and Development at Detica plc, with responsibility for all areas of corporate strategy, acquisitions and organisational development. Before Detica, Zak spent nine years at Andersen Consulting (later Accenture), working across a number of industry sectors.

Zak holds a degree in Politics from the University of Leeds.

About Digital Barriers

Digital Barriers provides advanced surveillance technologies to the international homeland security and defence markets, specialising in 'edge-intelligent' solutions that are designed for remote, hostile or complex operating environments. We work with governments, multinational corporations and system integrators in the defence, law enforcement, critical infrastructure, transportation and natural resources sectors. Our surveillance technologies have been successfully proven on some of the most demanding operational and environmental deployments around the world.

www.digitalbarriers.com

 

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