Final Results

Talent Group Plc ('Talent' or 'the Company') Preliminary Results for the year ended 30 September, 2005 Chairman's Statement I am pleased to report your Company's results for the year ended 30th September 2005. This has been a year of further progress towards our twin goals of sustainable profitability and increased programme making. Turnover for the year increased to £5,619,000, from £5,424,000 in the previous year, resulting in a profit before goodwill amortisation and taxation of £ 165,000 (£15,000 in 2004) and a profit before taxation of £46,000 (loss of £ 104,000 in 2004), which is our first since the Talent Group was admitted to AIM, on the reverse takeover of RMR plc at the end of 2002. Your directors are not recommending payment of a dividend for the year. We have had a particularly active year. As well as producing four more programmes in our successful Test the Nation series for BBC ONE, we also produced an entertainment feature, What Did ITV Do For Me?, as part of ITV's 50th anniversary celebrations, along with a short series of our hit children's format, Best of Friends, set in South Africa, as part of the BBC's 'Africa Week' special event in July 2005. Test the Nation also gained industry plaudits by winning a Rose D'Or at the international television festival in Switzerland in the summer and we have also licensed the format to Contender Entertainment Group to produce two interactive DVDs, the first of which is in the shops now for the current Christmas season. Our advance royalty income from this is reflected in the figures reported today. I am also delighted to report that the Company has started the new financial year with our strongest slate of commissions in its history. These include our first commission from Channel 4, a documentary entitled The Hunt for the Man with 80 Wives, and Must See TV, an entertainment series for ITV. These titles, along with the new factual entertainment format How Euro Are You? that we produced for BBC TWO earlier in the year, means that four of the five major terrestrial channels in the UK are now our clients. We are beginning to reap the rewards of our investment in people by realising the added value of owning Rights and Intellectual Property. This is demonstrated by the Test the Nation interactive DVD launch to which I referred previously. For all these reasons, I am looking forward to a continued improvement in our performance in the current year. Board Changes Colin Nicholl has decided not to seek re-election at the AGM and so, on behalf of the Board, I would like to thank him for his contribution to the Group over the last three years. Once again, my thanks go to the whole team at Talent, our advisers and our shareholders for their continued support over the last twelve months. Robert J Benton Chairman 13th December 2005 Managing Director's Review A YEAR OF FIRSTS I am pleased to report that this year has been a year of continued progress. On the production front, Talent TV recently secured its first commissions from Channel Four and BBC TWO, which resulted in the Company being in production, at the same time, on programmes for four of the five major UK terrestrial broadcasters. And the first Test the Nation interactive DVD has been listed by most major retailers, showing the meaningful progress that is being made in the exploitation of the Company's secondary rights. As we create and produce more of our own Intellectual Properties and programmes, the successful exploitation of secondary rights will take on more importance to the blend and timing of the Company's revenue. The objective now is to utilise the Company's current resource to its full capacity and keep the positive momentum going in order to grow more material profits for your Company. Our Productions Test the Nation (BBC ONE) 'The 2005 Test' in December will be the fourteenth programme in the series and I'm delighted to say that the BBC's faith in it continues to be rewarded. As Broadcast magazine from the 28th October 2005 stated… 'BBC1's Saturday night also depends heavily on independents. Talent TV has cornered the market with Test the Nation - this week (ending 9th Oct) it had the Know Your English Test on Saturday at 9.10pm with 5.4 million viewers and a 25% share, on a night when BBC1 overall got a 23% share'. Earlier in the year, Test the Nation also won a prestigious international Rose D'Or in Lucerne, whilst in October it was nominated by a voting public for a National Television Award. With two further shows already confirmed for the first half of 2006, we are confident that this major programming brand will continue to perform well. Test the Nation - Japan (TV Asahi) The last 'IQ Test' in Japan performed well in the ratings and was re-commissioned for a third outing in November 2005. As a result of this success Talent TV continues to improve its access to Japanese broadcasters and we will be pitching a number of new entertainment formats to Japan in the coming months. Best of Friends (CBBC) Following the very successful first two series of Best of Friends, we were delighted to be asked by the BBC to produce a `special' series of five episodes filmed in South Africa as part of the BBC's 'Africa Week' last summer. When broadcast, three of our five episodes were listed in that week's Top Ten Most Watched Children's programmes, with one episode coming second in terms of audience ratings. Following this success, I am pleased to say that the BBC has confirmed its commitment to Best of Friends by commissioning a full third series. This time the order is for twenty episodes, our largest order to date. What Did ITV Do For Me? (ITV 1) For most television viewers, it was difficult to miss the fact that in September this year, ITV celebrated its 50th birthday. Talent TV was proud to be commissioned to produce one of the official `specials' for this anniversary - What Did ITV Do For Me? Originally commissioned as a 90-minute programme, the quality of material provided by our featured celebrities (who included Sir David Jason, Simon Cowell and Sir Roger Moore), meant that ITV created a two hour slot for the show. It performed well in terms of audience ratings and was feted within the TV community for its high production values. Made in LA (SKY One) This was another production that was recognised for its high production values. This 3-part series, presented by Nicki Chapman, was an interesting look at life in Los Angeles and has already been picked up for transmission by a number of overseas broadcasters. How Euro Are You? (BBC TWO) Our first commission from BBC TWO, this live, 90-minute interactive programme looked at British attitudes to Europe. Presented by the BBC's former Political Correspondent Andrew Marr and comedian Dara O'Briain, it was also our first commission from BBC News and Current Affairs. Intended to bring a serious factual topic to the audience in a more entertaining and accessible way, it was seen as an interesting venture and at the time of writing we are in negotiations with BBC TWO about tackling other serious subjects in a similar way. Casino Casino (Challenge?) Once again a co-production with Gag Productions, the second series of nineteen programmes was presented this time by Martin Kemp. Based on the success of the first series, the length of each programme in this subsequent series was increased from a 30-minute to a 60-minute slot length and, again, we delivered top quality production values to create a glossy series which blended game show and reality with a dash of humour. You Be the Judge (BBC ONE) This format, created by Hong Kong based format creator Robert Chua, offered the public the opportunity to settle outstanding disputes live on television. Both parties in dispute were given practising barristers to put forward their respective cases, on the understanding that each party would abide by the judgment resulting from a public vote. It has been acknowledged as a highly creative concept that explored the current trends in interactivity. A Fashion Tribute - Matthew Williamson This was our fourth fashion documentary based on the prestigious Moët & Chandon Fashion Tribute which this year went to Matthew Williamson. Fully funded by the champagne house, we are currently negotiating with broadcasters for a slot for the programme. In Development Development needs to be constantly re-invented to remain fresh. Earlier this year we reviewed and restructured our approach and departmental structure. As a result, we now have a larger number of entertainment formats at run-through stage pending pilots with BBC Daytime and Channel Four than we had at this time last year. Your company has a healthy slate of good quality projects across the other genres such as factual entertainment. In addition, My Teen Genie, our teenage comedy drama is back in script development, this time as a European co-production with French production house Moonscoop and state broadcaster France 2. More information will be released to you over the coming year. Looking ahead to 2006, we can anticipate several projects already in or about to go into production. These include The Hunt for the Man with 80 Wives (documentary - Channel Four) which follows the trail of Warren Jeffs, who has fathered more than 250 children; and Must See TV (entertainment series - ITV 1) which is a 'celebrity-fan' led series looking at some of ITV's landmark shows. We are confident that other fresh commissions will follow these new titles. Progress In The New Era In a year when the cost of last year's investment in people started to be seen, your directors are pleased to report a continued improvement in profits and cash flow. We are also pleased that progress has been made not only in the number and variety of commissions but also in the generation of meaningful revenue from the exploitation of secondary rights. You will all have seen the Test the Nation DVD in high streets around Britain over Christmas but are less likely to have seen episodes of Made in LA on-air in Sweden or any of the forty three hours of our older series The Villa, recently sold to Fox Reality Channel in the USA. All, however, add to the revenues of your Company. The retention of Intellectual Property and programme rights, and the subsequent exploitation of those rights, will enable the independent television production sector in the UK to grow in size and profitability in a way that was impossible prior to the 2003 Communications Act. A new era has arrived for UK 'indie' producers. In the past twelve months, Talent Television has secured more commissions across a greater number of genres and from a greater number of broadcasters than ever before. This positive start, along with the major opportunities now available, means your directors are confident about building on this momentum. By adding new productions and programming brands to our existing titles, without substantially increasing our cost base, we are cautiously optimistic about improving the profits of your Company. Tony Humphreys Managing Director 13th December 2005 Group Profit and loss account For the year ended 30 September, 2005 Year Year ended 30 ended 30 September September 2004 2005 £'000 £'000 Turnover 5,619 5,424 Cost of sales (3,964) (4,210) Gross profit 1,655 1,214 Operating costs (1,508) (1,213) Goodwill amortisation (119) (119) Administrative expenses (1,627) (1,332) Operating profit/(loss) 28 (118) Net interest 18 14 Profit/(loss) on ordinary 46 (104) activities before taxation Tax on profit/(loss) on ordinary activities - Current tax (16) (3) - Deferred tax (11) (20) Profit/(loss) for the year 19 (127) Basic profit/(loss) per share 0.12p (0.79)p (pence) Diluted profit/(loss) per share 0.12p (0.77)p (pence) The profit and loss account has been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing operations. There were no recognised gains or losses other than the loss for the financial period. The accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these financial statements. Group balance sheet As at 30 September, 2005 30 September 2005 30 September 2004 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Fixed assets Intangible assets 922 987 Tangible assets 43 42 Investments - 965 1,029 Current assets Stocks 41 54 Debtors 736 656 Cash at bank and in hand - General 594 364 - Controlled 588 794 Productions 1,959 1,868 Creditors: amounts (1,553) (1,534) falling due within one year Net current assets/ 406 334 (liabilities) Total assets less 1,371 1,363 current liabilities Creditors: amounts - (11) falling due after more than one year Net assets 1,371 1,352 Capital and reserves Called up share 6,310 6,310 capital Share premium account 11,634 11,634 Profit and loss (16,573) (16,592) account Shareholders' funds 1,371 1,352 Group cash flow statement For the year ended 30 September, 2005 Year ended 30 Year ended 30 September 2005 September 2004 £'000 £'000 Net cash inflow from operating 83 510 activities Returns on investments and servicing of finance Interest paid - (2) Interest received 18 16 18 14 Taxation - (1) Capital expenditure and financial investment Purchase of tangible fixed assets (18) (17) Sale of tangible fixed assets (59) - (77) (17) Increase in cash 24 506 Notes to the preliminary Results 1. PUBLICATION OF NON-STATUTORY ACCOUNTS The financial information set out in this preliminary announcement does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The group balance sheet at 30 September, 2005 and the group profit and loss account, group cash flow statement and associated noted for the year then ended have been extracted from the Group's financial statements. Those financial statements, on which the auditors have reported an unqualified opinion, have not yet been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. 2. DIVIDENDS The Directors are not proposing the payment of a dividend in respect of the year ended 30 September, 2005. 3. LOSS PER ORDINARY SHARE The profit/(loss) per share is based on a profit of £19,000 (2004: a loss of £ 127,000), being the profit attributable to ordinary shareholders, and a weighted average of 16,210,284 (2004: 16,210,284 ordinary shares). The diluted loss per share is based on a weighted average of 16,978,914 shares (2004: 16,587,750). 4. COPIES OF REPORT AND ACCOUNTS Copies of the Report and Accounts will be sent to shareholders shortly and will be available to members of the public from the Company's registered office, Lion House, 72-75 Red Lion Street, London, WC1R 4GB. Enquiries Talent Group Plc Tony Humphreys Tel: 020 7421 7800 John East & Partners Limited John East/Simon Clements Tel: 020 7628 2200 Millbrook Partnership Timothy Grey Tel: 020 7520 9455
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