Half-year Report

RNS Number : 5254A
ADVFN PLC
24 March 2017
 

24 March 2017

 

ADVFN PLC

 

("ADVFN" or the "Company")

 

Unaudited Interim Results for the Six Months Ended 31 December 2016

 

 

ADVFN today announces its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2016.

 

Chief Executive's Statement

 

2016 was a year of change at ADVFN. We have, after many years of striving for growth, realigned ourselves to work towards profit. These interim results for the six month period to 31 December 2016 sees us hit this target and realise a profit after tax, albeit this was due largely to foreign exchange gains.

 

Turning away from growth in order to cut costs has resulted in our sales falling to £3,826,000 from £4,274,000. However, the P&L during this period has gone from a £442,000 loss after tax to an £18,000 profit after tax, a considerable reversal. Whilst this profit may be a meagre one it is, never the less, a milestone.

 

This result has been produced as a consequence of a number of proactive changes in our business: our headcount reduced, the closure of non-core markets, restrained marketing and the decommissioning of localised web content.

 

The second half of the 2016 calendar year improved due to the surprise turn-up results of Brexit and President Trump. The outlook, while stronger, is still mixed with much fragility in our marketplace.

 

We are on an even keel and we expect to remain on the current course. In the short term, this will be heavily dependent on the appetite for trading and investing in our key markets. This outcome in our view is, to some extent, hedged because our main markets are in the UK, US and Brazil and as such are disparate.

 

We believe that by this time next year we will be in a good position to re-examine a strategy for growth. This will depend on our success in the next 12 months, which in the era of Brexit and President Trump is difficult to predict.

 

This new politico-economic era could pan out well for ADVFN as, in the past, chaos and uncertainty has worked in our favour. In the meantime, we will continue to work further to improve our performance.

 

Financial performance

 

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

 


Six Months ended

Six Months ended


31 December 2016

31 December 2015


£'000

£'000




Turnover

3,826

4,274

Loss for the period

18

(442)

Operating Loss

(66)

(538)

Loss per share (see note 3)

0.07 p

(1.75)p

 

 

Clem Chambers

CEO

24 March 2017 

 

 

 

For further information, please contact:

Clem Chambers,

ADVFN PLC CEO

0207 0700 909

 

Salmaan Khawaja

Jamie Barklem

Carolyn Sansom

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



2016

2015

2016



£'000

£'000

£'000



unaudited

unaudited

audited


Notes









Revenue


3,826

4,274

8,303

Cost of sales


(130)

(572)

(1,077)






Gross profit


3,696

3,702

7,226






Share option charge


-

(156)

(275)

Amortisation of intangible assets


(161)

(209)

(425)

Other administrative expenses


(3,601)

(3,875)

(7,176)






Total administrative expense


(3,762)

(4,240)

(7,876)






Operating loss


(66)

(538)

(650)






Finance income


84

68

126

Finance expense


-

(1)

-






Loss before tax


18

(471)

(524)

Taxation


-

29

46






Profit/(loss) for the period attributable to shareholders of the parent


 

18

 

(442)

 

(478)






Profit/(loss) per share





Basic and diluted (pence per share)

3

0.07 p

(1.75) p

(1.89) p






 

 

 

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income







6 months to

 31 Dec

6 months to

 31 Dec

12 months to

 30 June



2016

2015

2016



£'000

£'000

£'000



unaudited

unaudited

audited






Profit/(loss) for the period


18

(442)

(478)






Other comprehensive income:





Items that will be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:





Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations


167

46

233

Deferred tax on translation of foreign held assets


(29)

(17)

(47)






Total other comprehensive


138

29

186






Total comprehensive income for the year attributable to shareholders of the parent


 

156

 

(413)

 

(292)













 

Consolidated balance sheet







31 Dec

31 Dec

30 June



2016

2015

2016



£'000

£'000

£'000



unaudited

unaudited

audited

Assets





Non-current assets





Property, plant and equipment


65

90

68

Goodwill


999

833

918

Intangible assets


1,438

1,247

1,321

Trade and other receivables


126

196

155








2,628

2,366

2,462






Current assets





Trade and other receivables


1,091

1,036

1,025

Current tax recoverable


-

-

-

Cash and cash equivalents


840

784

843








1,931

1,820

1,868

Assets in disposal group classified as held for sale


-

-

142








1,931

1,820

2,010






Total assets


4,559

4,186

4,472






Equity and liabilities





Equity





Issued capital


51

51

51

Share premium


145

95

119

Share based payments reserve


344

344

344

Foreign exchange reserve


605

310

467

Retained earnings


658

676

640








1,803

1,476

1,621






Non-current liabilities





Deferred tax


122

91

100








122

91

100






Current liabilities





Trade and other payables


2,610

2,619

2,583

Current tax


24

-

10








2,634

2,619

2,593

Liabilities directly associated with assets in disposal groups classified as held for sale


 

-

 

-

 

158








2,634

2,619

2,751






Total liabilities


2,756

2,710

2,851






Total equity and liabilities


4,559

4,186

4,472








 

Consolidated statement of changes in equity

 


Share capital

Share premium

Share based payment reserve

Foreign exchange

Retained earnings

Total equity


£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000








At 1 July 2015

50

-

189

281

1,118

1,638








Equity settled share options

-

-

155

-

-

155

Share issues

1

95

-

-

-

96








Transactions with owners

1

95

155

-

-

251








Loss for the period after tax

-

-

-

-

(442)

(442)








Other comprehensive income







Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

46

 

-

 

46

Deferred tax on translation of foreign held assets

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

(17)

 

-

 

(17)








Total comprehensive income

-

-

-

29

(442)

(413)








At 31 December 2015

51

95

344

310

676

1,476








Equity settled share options

-

-

-

-

-

-

Share issues

-

24

-

-

-

24








Transactions with owners

-

24

-

-

-

24








Loss for the period after tax

-

-

-

-

(36)

(36)








Other comprehensive income







Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

187

 

-

 

187

Deferred tax on translation of foreign held assets

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

(30)

 

-

 

(30)








Total comprehensive income

-

-

-

157

(36)

121








At 30 June 2016

51

119

344

467

640

1,621








Equity settled share options

-

-

-

-

-

-

Share issues

-

26

-

-

-

26








Transactions with owners

-

26

-

-

-

26








Profit for the period after tax

-

-

-

-

18

18








Other comprehensive income







Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

167

 

 

-

 

167

 

Deferred tax on translation of foreign held assets

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

(29)

 

-

 

(29)








Total comprehensive income

-

-

-

138

18

156








At 31 December 2016

51

145

344

605

658

1,803








 



 

Consolidated cash flow statement







6 months to

 31 Dec

6 months to

 31 Dec

12 months to

 30 June



2016

2015

2016



£'000

£'000

£'000



unaudited

unaudited

audited






Cash flows from operating activities










Loss for the period before tax


18

(471)

(524)






Net finance income in the income statement


(84)

(67)

(126)

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment


32

28

83

Amortisation


161

209

425

Profit on disposal of Investor Events


(56)

-

-

Adjustment to fair value of embedded derivative


112

125

225

Share based payments


-

96

155

Share based payments - options


-

156

-

Issue of share capital


26

-

120

Increase in trade and other receivables


(66)

(91)

(80)

Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables


27

(112)

(148)






Net cash generated /(used) by continuing operations


170

(127)

130

Income tax (paid)/received


36

200

236






Net cash generated/(used) by operating activities


206

73

366






Cash flows from financing activities





Interest paid


-

(1)

(1)






Cash flows from investing activities





Interest received


1

-

-

Payments for property, plant and equipment


(29)

(19)

(52)

Purchase of intangibles


(198)

(193)

(399)

Sale of Investor Events


40

-

-

Sale/(purchase) of investments


-

6

6






Net cash used by investing activities


(186)

(206)

(445)






Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents


20

(134)

(80)

Exchange differences


(23)

(68)

(79)






Decrease in cash and cash equivalents continuing operations


(3)

(202)

(159)

Cash generated by disposal group


-

-

16






Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents


(3)

(202)

(143)

Cash and cash equivalents at the start of the period


843

986

986






Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period


840

784

843

 



 

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 2016.  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 2016, 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 2016 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 2016 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.

 

3.   Loss per share

 


6 months to

 31 Dec

6 months to

 31 Dec

12 months to

 30 June


2016

2015

2016


£'000

£'000

£'000









Profit/(loss) for the year attributable to equity shareholders

18

(442)

(478)





Profit/(loss) per share - basic and diluted

0.07 p

(1.75)p

(1.89)p






Shares

Shares

Shares





Issued ordinary shares at start of the period

25,523,845

25,220,210

25,220,210

Ordinary shares issued in the period

100,000

190,000

303,635





Issued ordinary shares at end of the period

25,623,845

25,410,210

25,523,845









Weighted average number of shares in issue for the period

25,901,019

25,335,862

25,237,597

Dilutive effect of options

-

-

-





Weighted average shares for diluted earnings per share

25,901,019

25,335,862

25,237,597





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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