Half-year Report

RNS Number : 4893P
ADVFN PLC
18 February 2021
 

 

18 February 2021

For immediate release

ADVFN PLC

("ADVFN" or the "Group")

Unaudited Interim Results for the Six Months Ended 31 December 2020

 

ADVFN today announces its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2020 (the "Period").

 

Chief Executive's Statement

 

These are very uncertain times, but as I have often alluded to, times of uncertainty are good for ADVFN. People become more engaged with their investments when the future looks difficult and the rolling confinements and the new work-from-home environments ("WFH") have provided impetus to our audience's desire to trade and invest. Market volatility has also helped. Counter-intuitively it is not necessarily a bullish period that has helped drive ADVFN revenue, because it turns out that solid profits for investors only fuels complacency and complacency is not good for our sales.

 

Advertising and subscriptions have been growing and so revenue, which sees us producing a solid bottom-line profit. At the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, a sudden and unexpected drop in advertising sales, coupled with a lack of subscription growth, caused us to re-evaluate our processes and reorganise the business from top to bottom. With great good fortune, we decided to become a fully 'WFH' enterprise with a new, much reduced cost base and re-engineered business processes around the turn of that year. This dramatic change was almost complete when the pandemic started, which by good fortune we were then pre-prepared for.

 

This intersection of events has meant we have made good progress across 2020 with the end of the first half showing a profit of £264,000. At this stage there seems no end in sight to the disruption of the pandemic and even with an end of the pandemic itself, be it hopefully soon, the global economic aftermath will, we believe, be with us for years to come. We will therefore remain an important destination for those wishing to actively navigate the trying times ahead and we feel a period of investor complacency is not a prospect for the foreseeable future. As such we believe that we will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.

 

While we expect growth at a similar pace in the coming half, our strategy is to be very conservative  and we will expend our energies growing our platform's capacity rather than looking to broaden our audience. We are very optimistic about our near and medium-term prospects, but it seems foolish to contemplate anything but a conservative risk profile to at least the year end.

 

While we cannot take credit for fate suddenly providing us with a strong hand, we can lay claim to having reshaped ADVFN during the pandemic's disruption into a profitable business that looks set for a strong performance in 2021.

 

 

 

 

 



Financial performance

 

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

 


Six Months ended

Six Months ended


31 December 2020

31 December 2019


£'000

£'000




Revenue

4,233

3,748

Profit / (loss) for the period

264

(399)

Operating profit / (loss)

277

(397)

Loss per share - basic (see note 3)

1.03 p

(1.56 p)

 

 

 

 

Clem Chambers

CEO 

18 February 2021

 

 

 

 

A copy of this announcement is available on the Group's website: www.ADVFN.com

 

Enquiries:

For further information please contact: 

 



ADVFN PLC

Clem Chambers

 

+44 (0) 20 3868 6702



Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated Adviser)

www.beaumontcornish.com


Roland Cornish/Michael Cornish 

 

+44 (0) 207 628 3396

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. The person who arranged for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Group was Clem Chambers, Director.



 

Consolidated income statement







6 months to

 31 Dec

6 months to

 31 Dec

12 months to

 30 June



2020

2019

2020



£'000

£'000

£'000



unaudited

unaudited

audited


Notes









Revenue


4,233

3,748

7,069

Cost of sales


(244)

(159)

(324)






Gross profit


3,989

3,589

6,745






Share based payment


(44)

-

-

Amortisation of intangible assets


(128)

(156)

(296)

Other administrative expenses


(3,540)

(3,830)

(6,769)






Total administrative expense


(3,712)

(3,986)

(7,065)






Operating profit/ (loss)


277

(397)

(320)






Finance expense


(13)

(5)

(29)

Loan interest expense - Government underwritten loans


(2)

-

-

Government grant - loan interest


2

-

-






Profit/(loss) before tax


264

(402)

(349)

Taxation


-

3

124






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


 

264

 

(399)

 

(225)






Earnings per share





Basic

3

1.03 p

(1.56 p)

(0.88 p)

Diluted


0.99 p

(1.56 p)

(0.88 p)

 

 

 

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income







6 months to

 31 Dec

6 months to

 31 Dec

12 months to

 30 June



2020

2019

2020



£'000

£'000

£'000



unaudited

unaudited

audited






Profit/(loss)  for the period


264

(399)

(225)






Other comprehensive income:





Items that will be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:





Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations


(49)

16

23






Total other comprehensive income


(49)

16

23






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


 

215

 

(383)

 

(202)













 

Consolidated balance sheet







31 Dec

31 Dec

30 June



2020

2019

2020



£'000

£'000

£'000



unaudited

unaudited

audited

Assets





Non-current assets





Property, plant and equipment


283

172

365

Goodwill


927

978

1,002

Intangible assets


1,460

1,467

1,428

Deferred tax asset


-

1

-

Trade and other receivables


-

108

-








2,670

2,726

2,795






Current assets





Trade and other receivables


647

491

574

Cash and cash equivalents


931

557

915








1,578

1,048

1,489






Total assets


4,248

3,774

4,284






Equity and liabilities





Equity





Issued capital


51

51

51

Share premium


167

167

167

Share based payments reserve


411

367

367

Foreign exchange reserve


256

298

305

Retained earnings


874

436

610








1,759

1,319

1,500






Non-current liabilities





Borrowing - bank loans


83

-

144

Borrowing - lease liabilities


101

-

94








184

-

238






Current liabilities





Trade and other payables


2,082

2,455

2,278

Borrowing - bank loans


88

-

80

Borrowing - lease liabilities


135

-

188








2,305

2,455

2,546






Total liabilities


2,489

2,455

2,784






Total equity and liabilities


4,248

3,774

4,284








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 2019

51

167

367

282

835

1,702








Loss for the period after tax

-

-

-

-

(399)

(399)








Other comprehensive income







Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

16

 

-

 

16








Total comprehensive income

-

-

-

16

(399)

(383)








At 31 December 2019

51

167

367

298

436

1,319








Profit for the period after tax

-

-

-

-

174

174








Other comprehensive income







Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations

 

-

 

-

 

 -

 

7

 

 -

 

 7








Total comprehensive income

-

-

-

7

174

181








At 30 June 2020

51

167

367

305

610

1,500








Share based payments

-

-

44

-

-

44








Profit for the period after tax

-

-

-

-

264

264








Other comprehensive income







Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

(49)

 

-

 

(49)








Total comprehensive income

-

-

-

(49)

264

215








At 31 December 2020

51

167

411

256

874

1,759








 



 

Consolidated cash flow statement







6 months to

 31 Dec

6 months to

 31 Dec

12 months to

 30 June



2020

2019

2020



£'000

£'000

£'000



unaudited

unaudited

audited






Cash flows from operating activities





Profit/(loss) for the year


264

(399)

(225)






Taxation expense


-

-

(124)

Net finance expense in the income statement


13

5

29

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment


95

52

177

Amortisation


128

156

296

Loss on disposal of PPE


-

-

2

Share based payment


44

-

-

(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables


(73)

202

227

Decrease in trade and other payables


(254)

(101)

(278)






Net cash generated by continuing operations


217

(85)

104

Income tax recovered


-

-

124






Net cash generated/(used) by operating activities


217

(85)

228






Cash flows from financing activities





Repayment of lease principle


(41)

-

-

Drawdown of loans


-

-

224

Interest paid


(13)

(5)

(29)






Net cash (used)/generated by financing activities


(54)

(5)

195






Cash flows from investing activities





Payments for property, plant and equipment


(13)

(79)

(117)

Purchase of intangibles


(160)

(176)

(277)






Net cash used by investing activities


(173)

(255)

(394)






Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents


(10)

(345)

29

Exchange differences


26

15

(1)






Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents


16

(330)

28

Cash and cash equivalents at the start of the period


915

887

887






Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period


931

557

915

 



 

1.   Legal status and activities

 

ADVFN Plc is principally involved in the development and provision of financial information primarily via the internet and the development and exploitation of ancillary internet sites.

ADVFN Plc is a public limited liability company incorporated and domiciled in England and Wales. The address of its registered office is Suite 28, Ongar Business Centre, The Gables, Fyfield Road, Ongar, Essex, CM5 0GA .

 

ADVFN Plc 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 2020.  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 2020, 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 2020 as described in those financial statements.

 

The financial statements are presented in Sterling (£) rounded to the nearest thousand except where specified.

 

The unaudited interim financial information does not include all the information required for full annual financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the financial statements of the Group for the year ended 30 June 2020.

 

The interim financial information has been prepared on the going concern basis which assumes the Group will continue in existence for the foreseeable future.

 

No material uncertainties that cast significant doubt about the ability of the Group to continue as a going concern have been identified by the directors.  Accordingly, the directors believe it is appropriate for the interim financial statement to be prepared on the going concern basis.

 

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 2020 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The auditors, Saffery Champness 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.  Earnings per share

 


6 months to

6 months to

12 months to


31 Dec 2020

31 Dec 2019

30 June 2020


£'000

£'000

£'000





Loss for the year attributable to equity shareholders

264

(399)

(225)





Earnings per share (pence)




Basic

1.03 p

(1.56 p)

(0.88p)

Diluted

0.99 p

(1.56 p)

(0.88p)






Shares

Shares

Shares





Weighted average number of shares in issue for the period

25,703,845

25,657,927

25,703,845

Dilutive effect of options

1,092,868

-

-





Weighted average shares for diluted earnings per share

26,796,713

25,657,927

25,703,845





Where a loss is reported for the period 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.

 

In addition, where a profit has been recorded but the average share price for the period remains under the exercise price of a specific grant of options, the existence of those options is not dilutive.

 

 

4.  Events after the balance sheet date

 

There are no events of significance occurring after the balance sheet date to report.

 

 

5.  Dividends

 

The directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend.

 

 

6.  Financial statements

 

Copies of these accounts are available from ADVFN Plc's registered office at Suite 28, Ongar Business Centre, The Gables, Fyfield Road, Ongar, Essex, CM5 0GA or from Companies House, Crown Way, Maindy, Cardiff, CF14 3UZ.

 

  www.companieshouse.gov.uk

 

and from the ADVFN plc website:

www.ADVFNPLC.com

 

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