Preliminary Results

RNS Number : 5392W

Sarantel Group PLC

22 November 2010

 



22 November 2010

Sarantel Group PLC

Preliminary results for the year to 30 September 2010

Sarantel Group PLC, (AIM: SLG, "Sarantel"), a leading manufacturer of high-performance, miniature antennas for mobile and wireless devices, announces preliminary results for the year ended 30 September 2010.

Highlights:

·      Group revenues grew to £2.9m (2009: £2.8m)

·      Military revenues grew to approximately 22% of revenues (2009: 18%)

·      Operating loss reduced for fourth successive year

·      Successful transfer of assembly assets to Elcoteq who are now producing Sarantel antenna products which is expected to save £0.5m per year

·      Revenue and design momentum continues to grow as highlighted by recent announcements with Ricoh, NAL and major US Defence contractor

Geoff Shingles, Chairman, said:

"Sarantel continues to make good progress in diversifying its customer base and developing higher-margin business. Revenues grew in 2010 and we are particularly pleased with progress in the US military market where we have successfully developed a number of new, higher-value, ruggedized antenna solutions and we are building clear momentum."

"Consumer devices such as cameras and smartphones are increasingly incorporating location capabilities but we believe their GPS antennas are simply not accurate or reliable enough to deliver the quality of experience users will expect from the large number of location-based applications that are being developed. We continue to believe manufacturers will recognise the need for the superior performance of Sarantel's antennas and remain confident."   

Enquiries

Sarantel Group PLC	01933 670 560
David Wither, Chief Executive Officer
Seymour Pierce	020 7107 8000
John Cowie/Freddy Crossley, Nominated Adviser
David Banks/Paul Jewell, Corporate Broking
College Hill	020 7457 2020
Carl Franklin/Adrian Duffield

About Sarantel www.sarantel.com

Sarantel is a leader in the design of high-performance miniature antennas for portable wireless applications. Sarantel's revolutionary ceramic filtering antennas offer dramatically improved performance over existing antenna designs, resulting in a clearer signal, better range and a 90 per cent reduction in the amount of signal radiation absorbed by the body. Because of their smaller size and higher capabilities, Sarantel's antennas enable manufacturers to create innovative wireless products for the GPS, WiMax, Satellite Radio and Satellite phone markets.

Chairman's Statement

Sarantel has once again increased and diversified its revenues, cutting costs and reducing operating losses for the fourth year running. Total group revenues grew to £2.9m (2009: £2.8m) and the military market continues to grow.  Revenues from products such as military antennas increased during the year by 28%.

Operating loss before depreciation and amortisation has reduced by 3% to £1.85m (2009: £1.9m). Net cash outflow before financing was £2.2m (2009: £2.2m). 

Trends in the consumer GPS markets indicate that the importance of accurate and reliable GPS antennas is increasingly being recognised as critical to a satisfying user experience, particularly with the latest generation of phones capable of running "apps" such as Facebook Places and Foursquare. Location-based advertising, in particular, will require a higher degree of accuracy that we do not believe is possible with conventional antenna technologies.

As with any new technology it is very difficult to predict the exact timing of the take up by the market but the trend towards more demanding applications is clearly driving the need for improved antenna performance.       

Momentum continues to build in the military market. During the year Sarantel received development funding for a high performance, military specification, dual frequency GPS antenna. The company successfully executed on the development of this very challenging product and we expect sales from this newly developed product to contribute materially to revenues in 2011 and beyond. The development of this antenna was undertaken with the US based market leader in the field of tactical military radio systems and Sarantel displaced an entrenched US based competitor to win the business.

Progress in this market continued during the year with the successful development of the company's second generation Iridium antenna for NAL, as well as the development of a number of ruggedized GPS antennas for a wide variety of military customers. Based on indications from other customers in this market we expect the momentum to build in 2011.

We were disappointed that one of our larger customers chose to source antennas from a rival supplier during the second half of 2010, but believe the technical superiority of our antennas will prevail.   

Against this backdrop of growing markets, driven by an increasing use of navigation in everyday life, we remain confident that Sarantel's innovative technology can continue to increase market share as users demand ever-higher performance from navigation and other mobile devices.

These results have been prepared on a going concern basis.  The Board is currently seeking further funding to provide sufficient finance for continuing business operations to capitalise on recent successes and future opportunities.

Chief Executive's Statement

Despite continuing challenges in the economy, Sarantel's GPS business recovered during the year with revenues increasing by 34% and unit volumes increasing by 34%. Total group revenues grew to £2.9m (2009: £2.8m).

Despite the loss of revenues expected from a large customer, the fact that the business still achieved growth indicates an increasingly firm foundation and a more diversified customer base. During 2010 we shipped antennas to more than 400 new customers, mainly as a result of significant efforts to build out and expand our global distribution network. Although we have yet to see the full fruits of this labour, we believe these efforts will lead to future sales growth and revenue diversification.

During the year Sarantel was engaged in a major military antenna development with a leading US based supplier of military radio systems. This collaboration has enabled Sarantel to develop significant new technical capabilities that we believe can be leveraged for future military programs with a wider range of customers.

Total operating costs reduced by 4% due to a combination of efficiencies and cost reductions. Research and development costs increased by 3% as we developed new antennas for the military markets. Selling and distribution costs fell by 12%.

The operating loss before impairment, depreciation and amortisation reduced to £1.85m (2009: £1.9m), benefitting from slightly higher revenues.

The Group's loss per share reduced to 1.0p (2009: 1.5p).

Net cash outflow from operating activities increased slightly by 2.5% to £1.8m (2009: £1.7m).

Net cash outflow before financing was £2.2m (2009: £2.2m).

Sarantel sales are in US$ whilst most of our costs are in sterling. The dollar  fluctuated significantly during the year, with first half revenues benefiting from a strong US$ which reversed during the second half resulting in a net currency loss of £0.02m to Group revenue.

Markets for Sarantel's products

Niche GPS

The broader GPS market remains very dynamic and Sarantel continues to track a large number of opportunities across a wide variety of applications. The trend to include GPS in an ever increasing number of products is accelerating as the total system cost continues to drop and more end user applications are developed.

Sarantel's typical customer in this market is an innovative smaller company  working to exploit emerging market opportunities. Invariably these opportunities are difficult to forecast and programs are frequently delayed for technical or market reasons. One area of this market where Sarantel has been very successful is the golf range-finder market which requires very accurate GPS solutions. Specifically, our business with SkyGolf, the market leader in this area, experienced a significant recovery during the year and we are hopeful that as the economy recovers this sales momentum will continue.  

High-volume GPS

In mid-2009 the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) released a new testing standard stipulating that GPS antennas should be measured in the presence of the human body to ensure the performance levels were adequate to meet the needs of the industry.

This development, together with an explosion of new location based service (LBS) applications from companies like Facebook, Google and Apple, highlights the need for better GPS performance in consumer applications.

Sarantel has conducted extensive testing of its GPS antennas using the CTIA standard and the performance uplift offered by our technology is compelling. While dramatically improved performance is no guarantee of success, it is encouraging to see the high-volume consumer market recognising fundamental antenna performance problems that Sarantel's technology directly addresses.

Mobile social networking and advertising, via platforms like Facebook, as well as geotagging of photos are examples of the most exciting developments in the handheld consumer GPS market. Within the last year Apple, Google and Facebook have all made significant investments in these areas. Although exciting and potentially very useful for the consumer, Sarantel believes that the success of these applications will require an accurate and reliable GPS receiver and we maintain our belief that incumbent antenna technologies lack the required reliability and accuracy, thus providing an exciting opportunity for Sarantel's technology.

Military market

The Military market is a large and rapidly growing opportunity for Sarantel and one in which we have worked to build and strengthen relationships with a broad range of potential customers. The US government continues to invest in tactical communications systems to enhance the military's technological advantages. In March 2010 Sarantel signed an agreement with a major US defence contractor to develop a customised dual-frequency antenna solution for portable military GPS. This development has now been successfully completed and production shipments are expected to contribute materially to revenues in FY2011.

Sarantel has benefited significantly from its experience of collaborating on this project and believes it will open up and benefit new collaborations with other customers in the market. We believe that Sarantel will be able to build on the momentum it has created and increase its market share.

Mobile Satellite Services ("MSS")

The Mobile Satellite Services market is important for Sarantel and customers in this market play a significant role in the Group's diversification strategy. In satellite telephony, antenna quality is a key determinant of call quality, and therefore of customer satisfaction with the system.

Sarantel recently announced production orders for its second-generation Iridium antenna to equip the new SHOUT nano from NAL Research Corporation (NAL). This development was partially funded by the customer and Sarantel was able to reduce the size of our first generation Iridium antenna by 30% while improving the performance. Sarantel believes that this antenna and its derivatives will be very attractive to a wide range of Iridium VAM/VAR partners.

Business Review

Consumer GPS

Design activity in the consumer GPS market remained healthy during the year and we added more than 400 new customers. The recent announcement of the design win with Ricoh on the G700SE camera provides an example of the types of applications that are now adding GPS. Additionally, significant efforts were made to complete the build out of a global sales and distribution network and we believe that it is now easier than ever for Sarantel's customers to gain access to our technology. We believe the efforts we have made to expand the sales network over the past two years will pay significant dividends in the future.  

Military GPS

The solid progress we made in this market last year continued. As announced on 17 November 2010, Sarantel received production orders for a dual frequency military GPS antenna which it successfully developed during the year. This antenna opens up an existing and large market. We have also had good success in converting a number of our existing military customers from using our standard, lower value, GPS antennas to our higher-value ruggedized antennas. Sarantel has proven on multiple occasions that it can displace entrenched US based competitors and we expect this momentum to continue to build in FY2011 as we pursue a number of promising new opportunities.

Mobile Satellite Services ("MSS")

In March 2010 Sarantel was informed by a large customer that it had taken the decision to qualify a second source of supply for the antenna on its 9555 satellite phone. This resulted in Sarantel losing a significant revenue opportunity that had been expected for the second half of the year. We have evaluated the technology on offer from the second source and believe our technology to be far superior. Because antenna performance is crucial to the performance of the customers' service, we remain optimistic that our antenna solution will remain their most attractive option.  

On 6 November 2010 Sarantel announced production orders for its second-generation Iridium antenna, which is 30% smaller in volume and is higher performance, to equip the new SHOUT nano from NAL Research Corporation (NAL). The SHOUT nano is a handheld, global, two-way satellite messaging and personal tracking device and it utilizes Iridium's short burst data (SBD) service to provide location information, text messaging, and emergency e-mail alert notifications. It is anticipated that the SHOUT nano will be used for a wide variety of military, government and commercial tracking applications. The SBD device market continues to be a significant growth area for Iridium.

Research and development

We continue to develop and extend our antenna technology by investing in research and development. During the year we increased our spend by 3% and filed a number of new patent applications. We are also becoming more engaged with prospective customers in the military and high value markets with a view to developing customer specific antennas.

Manufacturing

The transfer of 'back-end' assembly processes to Elcoteq has been successfully completed.  Production moves of this scale can be extremely challenging and we are very pleased that this key project has not only been completed on time and budget but the first products are now being delivered to our customers. 

This transfer will enable Sarantel to focus its internal production resources on its uniquely valuable 3D photolithography production process, while significantly reducing both fixed and variable costs by an estimated £0.5m.

We look forward to leveraging the new capabilities we gain through this relationship with Elcoteq and  improvements to the 'back-end' process are already being discussed which promise to drive further cost reduction and yield improvements. The partnership with Elcoteq also simplifies Sarantel's day-to-day operations and provides us with the opportunity to lever Elcoteq's sourcing capabilities to reduce our BOM (bill-of-material) costs. Finally, Elcoteq provides Sarantel with a credible volume production partner who will provide the scale of operations the company will require as increased volumes for the technology develop.

Summary and outlook

The Group has visibility on a large number of opportunities in the GPS and military markets. The Board believes that the outlook for Sarantel remains very positive and is currently seeking further funding to provide sufficient finance for continuing business operations to capitalise on recent successes and future opportunities, and is confident that further progress is achievable in 2011.

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

for the year ended 30 September 2010

	Note	2010		2009
		£'000		£'000
Revenue	4	2,889		2,811
Cost of sales		1,840		1,616
Gross profit		1,049		1,195
Research & development costs		1,258		1,220
Selling & distribution costs		527		600
Administration costs		2,163		2,285
Total operating costs		3,948		4,105
Operating loss	3	(2,899)		(2,910)
Operating loss before impairment, depreciation and amortisation		(1,854)		(1,908)
Impairment, depreciation and amortisation		(1,045)		(1,002)
Finance and other income		12		91
Finance and other costs		(78)		(161)
Loss before tax		(2,965)		(2,980)
Tax		227		195
Loss for the year		(2,738)		(2,785)
Other comprehensive income		-		-
Total comprehensive income for the period		(2,738)		(2,785)
Basic and diluted loss per share	5	(1.0)p		(1.5)p

All the activities of the Group are classed as continuing.

Consolidated Balance Sheet

as at 30 September 2010

	Note	2010		2009
		£'000		£'000
Assets
Non-current
Intangible assets		1,601		1,477
Property, plant & equipment	6	677		1,382
Total non-current assets		2,278		2,859
Current
Inventories	7	308		225
Trade & other receivables		773		455
Current tax		208		196
Cash & cash equivalents	8	629		876
Total current assets		1,918		1,752
Total assets		4,196		4,611
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables		831		723
Amounts due under finance leases and HP agreements		211		185
Amounts due under invoice financing facility		299		137
Total current liabilities		1,341		1,045
Non-current liabilities
Amounts due under finance lease and HP agreements		134		345
Total liabilities		1,475		1,390
Equity
Share capital		9,789		8,789
Share premium		17,234		16,165
Share scheme reserve		669		500
Warrant reserve		76		76
Merger reserve		13,390		13,390
Retained loss		(38,437)		(35,699)
Total equity		2,721		3,221
Total liabilities & equity		4,196		4,611

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

for the year ended 30 September 2010

	Share capital	Share premium	Share scheme reserve	Warrant reserve	Merger reserve	Retained loss	Total equity
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 1 October 2008	8,789	16,165	334	76	13,390	(32,914)	5,840
Loss after tax	-	-	-	-	-	(2,785)	(2,785)
Total comprehensive income for year	-	-	-	-	-	(2,785)	(2,785)
Share based payments	-	-	166	-	-	-	166
Transactions with owners	-	-	166	-	-	-	166
At 30 September 2009	8,789	16,165	500	76	13,390	(35,699)	3,221

At 1 October 2009	8,789	16,165	500	76	13,390	(35,699)	3,221
Loss after tax	-	-	-	-	-	(2,738)	(2,738)
Total comprehensive income for year	-	-	-	-	-	(2,738)
Share based payments	-	-	169	-	-	-	169
Share issued	1,000	1,250	-	-	-	-	2,250
Cost of share issue	-	(181)	-	-	-	-	(181)
Transactions with owners	1,000	1,069	169	-	-	-	2,238
At 30 September 2010	9,789	17,234	669	76	13,390	(38,437)	2,721

Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

for the year ended 30 September 2010

	Note	2010		2009
		£'000		£'000
Operating activities
Loss before tax		(2,965)		(2,980)
Adjustments for non-cash items:
Depreciation and amortisation		970		932
Depreciation absorbed to cost of sales		75		70
Investment revenue		(12)		(42)
Finance lease interest		54		74
Grants received		-		(8)
Change in fair value of derivative financial instruments		-		(41)
Share based payment		169		166
(Increase)/decrease in inventories		(83)		120
Decrease in trade and other receivables		(318)		(9)
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables		108		(232)
Taxation received		215		207
Net cash outflow from operating activities		(1,787)		(1,743)
Investing activities
Interest received and similar income		12		42
Payments to acquire intangible assets		(339)		(382)
Payments to acquire property, plant and equipment		(125)		(154)
Net cash used in investing activities		(452)		(494)
Cash outflow before financing		(2,239)		(2,237)
Financing activities
Finance lease interest paid		(54)		(74)
Grants received		-		8
Issue of shares		2,250		-
Expenses paid in connection with issue of shares		(181)		-
Cash received for new finance leases		-		314
Capital element of finance lease rentals		(185)		(230)
Net cash inflow from financing activities		1,830		18
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents		(409)		(2,219)
Cash and cash equivalents at start of period		739		2,958
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period		330		739

Notes to the Company Financial Statements

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2010

1.    Basis of information in this announcement

The financial information in this announcement does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the years ended 30 September 2010 or 30 September 2009 but is derived from the unaudited 2010 accounts and the final 2009 accounts.

Statutory accounts for 2009 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and those for 2010 have not yet been completed.  The auditor reported on the 2009 accounts; their report was (i) unqualified, (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report and (iii) did not contain a statement under section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006. The auditor has not reported on the 2010 accounts.

This announcement has been prepared on the basis of the Group's accounting policies.  These are set out in its Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 30 September 2009 which is available on the Group's website (www.sarantel.com).  As of 1 October 2009 various new standards and interpretations apply to financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS, of which the major ones affecting the Group are:

(a) IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements (Revised 2007)

(b) Amendment to IFRS 2 Share-based Payment - Vesting Conditions and Cancellations

(c) IFRS 8 Operating Segments, and

(d) IFRS 3 Business Combinations (Revised 2008).

The financial information is presented in accordance with IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements (Revised 2007).  The Group has elected to present a "Statement of Comprehensive Income". The "Statement of Changes in Equity" is presented as a primary statement.  IAS1 Presentation of Financial Statements (Revised 2007) requires presentation of a comparative balance sheet at the beginning of the first comparative period in some circumstances.  The directors considers this not necessary for the current year as the 2008 balance sheet is the same as previously published.

The Group adopted the amendment to IFRS 2 Share-based Payment - Vesting Conditions and Cancellations in 2010.  The amendment clarified that vesting conditions are service conditions and performance conditions only and that other features of a share-based payment are not vesting conditions.  It also specified that all cancellations, whether by the entity or by other parties, should receive the same accounting treatment.  The adoption of this amendment has not had any material impact on the Group financial statements.

IFRS 8 Operating Segments has been implemented during the year, which has resulted in changes to detailed disclosures.  The Group continues to have one operating segment.

IFRS 3 Business Combinations (Revised 2008) (IFRS 3R) introduces major changes to the accounting requirements for business combinations, but has not had any impact on the Group financial statements at the present time.

2.    Going concern

The directors have prepared a business plan which indicates a shortfall in working capital within the next twelve months. Preparation is underway to secure funding for this shortfall through a further fundraise and the directors anticipate to have funds in place by the time the Annual Report is finalised.  Together with the additional funding, the business plan assumes a certain level of sales, which the directors believe to be both achievable and the best estimate of the Group's future activities.  Whilst the achievement of these sales is a key uncertainty, the directors have made significant cost reductions through outsourcing and restructuring to ensure that the Group is able to continue to operate for at least the next twelve months. At 30 September 2010 the Group had gross cash balances of £0.6m and the directors consider it appropriate that these financial statements should be prepared on a going concern basis.

Given the above facts the auditors will not complete their work to confirm that in their opinion the going concern basis is appropriate for the financial statements until the proposed fundraise is complete. When this work is complete they will also have further information on current sales trends which the directors believe will enable them to confirm that sales levels are sufficient to support their view that no incremental impairment is required to non-current assets.

In light of these facts there is no clarity at this point as to whether any modification will ultimately be required of the auditors' report to the financial statements for the year to 30 September 2010. If the auditors were to report at this point there would be a modification in respect of the applicability of the going concern basis for the preparation of these accounts.

3.    Operating loss

Operating loss is stated after charging:

	2010		2009
	£'000		£'000
Amortisation of intangible assets	215		176
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment	830		826
-  of which, depreciation included in cost of sales	75		70

 

4.    Revenue

	2010		2009
	£'000		£'000
Sales of antennas	2,739		2,708
Sale of Non-Recurring Engineering services (NRE)	150		103
Total revenue	2,889		2,811

5.   Loss per Share

The calculation of basic loss per share is based on the loss attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue during the year.

	2010		2009
	£,000		£,000
Loss for the financial year	2,738		2,785
Weighted average number of shares	273,676,057		190,936,331
Basic and diluted loss per share*	(1.0)p		(1.5)p

* The effect of options and warrants are anti-dilutive.

6.   Property, plant and equipment

The Group

	Leasehold improvements		Property, plant and equipment		Total
Cost	£'000		£'000		£'000
At 1 October 2008	197		9,494		9,691
Additions	-		154		154
Disposals	-		(8)		(8)
At 1 October 2009	197		9,640		9,837
Additions	-		125		125
Disposals	-		(3)		(3)
At 30 September 2010	197		9,762		9,959
Depreciation
At 1 October 2008	127		7,509		7,636
Charge for the year	20		806		826
Disposals	-		(7)		(7)
At 1 October 2009	147		8,308		8,455
Charge for the year	19		811		830
Disposals	-		(3)		(3)
At 30 September 2010	166		9,117		9,282
Carrying amount
At 30 September 2010	31		645		677
At 30 September 2009	50		1,332		1,382

7.   Inventories

	Group
	2010		2009
	£'000		£'000
Raw materials	237		131
Work in progress	29		11
Finished goods	42		83
	308		225

8.     Cash and cash equivalents

	Group				Company
	2010		2009		2010		2009
	£'000		£'000		£'000		£'000
Cash and cash equivalents	629		876		240		173

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash and short-term bank deposits with an original maturity of three months or less. The Directors consider that the carrying amount of these assets approximates to their fair value. There is no collateral on the above amounts.

Cash, cash equivalents and bank overdrafts include the following for the purposes of the cash flow statement:

	Group				Company
	2010		2009		2010		2009
	£'000		£'000		£'000		£'000
Cash and cash equivalents	629		876		240		173
Amounts due under invoice financing facility	(299)		(137)		-		-
Cash and cash equivalents	330		739		240		173

 

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