Interim Results

Newsplayer Group PLC 21 June 2001 21 June, 2001 NEWSPLAYER GROUP PLC INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30TH APRIL 2001 Newsplayer Group plc, the new media company, today announces interim results covering the six months ended 30th April 2001. Financial Highlights: * Turnover increased to £427,895, up 330% on the previous six months * Pre-tax loss was £559,093, a 79% improvement from £2.67 million in the previous reported period * Cash reserves were £5.5 million, giving a further two and a half years at current burn rate and scope for further content acquisition. Recent Developments: * Distribution agreement with JVC (UK) Ltd. to supply the ucreatetv(TM) application and a 12-month subscription to Newsplayer.com with all JVC digital camcorders sold in the UK for minimum of 2 years. * Launched Frost.tv, joint venture with Sir David Frost providing video-on- demand access to 40 years of celebrity interviews, on- and off-line. * Acquired exclusive Internet rights to the 'Passport International' catalogue. A unique collection of biographies of hundreds of Hollywood stars - from Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall to Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. * Signed a 12-month distribution agreement with Freeserve Plus, the broadband portal, to share subscription fees and advertising revenue generated from promoting NPG properties to the Freeserve broadband community. Commenting on the results, Paul Duffen, Chief Executive Officer, said: 'Newsplayer Group is growing successfully and, in addition to maintaining tight control over our costs and concluding numerous partnership and distribution deals, we have continued to build our business through the acquisition of important new properties and the development of the ucreateTV application. This week's launch of Frost.tv and the acquisition of another unique collection of compelling content in the Passport International catalogue puts us well on our way to becoming a multi-property new media company with strong and diverse revenue streams. We will continue to look for further opportunities to secure distribution deals and acquire unique content to complement our existing portfolio.' Enquiries: Paul Duffen, CEO 21st June: 020 7404 5959 Barry Llewellyn, Co-founder Thereafter: 020 7927 6699 Newsplayer Group plc Gavin Partington/Harry Chathli Tel: 020 7404 5959 Brunswick Group Ltd Overview NPG exploits rights and/or licences to television and cinema content using interactive technology and markets them globally to B2B, B2E and B2C platforms. Revenues are generated from the licensing of content to third parties (B2B), from the charging of subscriptions to schools and colleges for access to bespoke educational products (B2E) and from pay-per-view and video-on-demand fees from consumers (B2C). Newsplayer's content portfolio includes 1000 hours of ITN and Reuters news material, material from Columbia Sports News and Castle Films (Stock Video of Boston), Universal News (The Alison Mercer Collection) and the Passport International collection as well as hundreds of interviews conducted by Sir David Frost (The Frost Collection). The recently launched Frost.tv is a joint venture between NPG and Sir David Frost. The site is the definitive collection of landmark interviews by the best-known television interviewer in the world, Sir David Frost. Broadcasters and programme makers around the world will be able to research and view the material on line. Financial Results Revenues for the six months ended April 30, 2001 were £427,895, up from £128,000 at the end of October 2000, a threefold increase. Revenues were generated from subscriptions to Newsplayer.com and licensing fees from ucreatetv(TM) as opposed to being generated exclusively from Newsplayer.com subscriptions at the end of October 2000. The loss for the period was £559,093 down from £2.67 million in the previous reported period. This was largely due to significantly increased revenues and a reduction in marketing expenditure as management focus has shifted to the development of distribution and partnership deals and the acquisition of new content. Cash reserves at the end of the period were £5.5 million. No dividend has been paid or is proposed. Outlook NPG has secured the rights to a significant amount of unique archive television and cinema content and is well positioned to generate revenue from the emerging new media market and software products over the coming year. The Board of Directors remain confident that the Company will achieve profitability during the first half of the 2002 financial year. UNAUDITED RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 APRIL 2001 Profit and loss account Six months Period ended 30th ended 31st April 2001 Oct 2000 (unaudited) (audited) Note £ Turnover 2 427,895 128,225 Cost of sales (95) (439) ____________ ___________ Gross profit 427,890 127,786 Operating expenses 1,161,936 (2,978,255) ____________ ___________ Operating loss (734,036) (2,850,469) Net interest receivable 174,953 176,348 ____________ ___________ Loss on ordinary activities (559,093) (2,674,121) before taxation Taxation - - Loss on ordinary activities after (559,093) (2,674,121) taxation ____________ ___________ Loss per ordinary share - basic 0.85p 4.65p and diluted No statement of total recognised gains and losses has been presented as there are no recognised gains and losses other than the loss for the period. Balance Sheet 30th April 31st Oct 2001 2000 (unaudited) (audited) Note £ £ Fixed assets: Intangible assets 385,328 305,000 Tangible assets 189,972 57,828 Current assets: Debtors 3 1,691,027 1,797,282 Investments 500,000 5,100,000 Cash at bank and in hand 5,053,730 1,771,646 Creditors due within one year (251,846) (904,450) Net current assets 6,992,913 7,764,478 Net assets 7,568,213 8,127,306 ____________ ___________ Capital and Reserves £ £ Called up share capital 4 658,054 658,054 Share premium account 10,652,759 10,652,759 Merger reserve (509,386) (509,386) Profit and loss account (3,233,214) (2,674,121) Shareholders' funds 5 7,568,213 8,127,306 ____________ ___________ Cash Flow Statement Six months Period ended 30th ended 31st April 2001 Oct 2000 (unaudited) (audited) Note £ £ Net cash outflow from operating 6 (1,181,042) (3,737,829) activities Returns on investment and 171,019 120,330 servicing of finance Capital expenditure and financial (307,891) (312,282) investment Management of liquid resources 4 4,600,000 (5,100,000) Financing: Issue of ordinary share capital - 11,398,500 Expenses paid in connection with - ordinary share issues (597,073) Increase in cash 3,282,086 1,771,646 Notes 1. These interim results for the six month period ended 30 April 2001 are unaudited. The financial information set out in the announcement does not constitute the company's statutory accounts for the period ended 30 April 2001. The accounting policies are consistent with those applied in the preparation of the annual statutory accounts for the period ended 31 October 2000. No comparatives have been given for the corresponding six months of the previous year as the reporting entity was not incorporated until 20 March 2000. The calculation of loss per share has been based on the loss after taxation for the period of 559,093 and the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period of 65,805,357. The directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend 2. Turnover Turnover comprises subscription income for access to the newsplayer.com web site and licensing fees for software. 3. Debtors Debtors includes amounts of £85,026 in respect of recoverable VAT and £929,685 in respect of prepaid advertising. 4. Share Capital 30th April 31st Oct 2001 2000 £ £ Authorised: 90,000,000 ordinary shares of 1 900,000 900,000 pence each Allotted, issued and fully paid: 65,805,357 ordinary shares of 1 658,054 658,054 pence each 5. Reconciliation of movement in shareholders' funds Six months Period ended 30th ended 31st April 2001 Oct 2000 £ £ Loss on ordinary activities after (559,093) (2,674,121) taxation Issue of ordinary share capital (net of issue costs) - 10,801,427 Net addition to shareholder's (559,093) 8,127,306 funds Opening shareholder's funds 8,127,306 0 Closing shareholders' funds 7,568,213 8,127,306 6. Reconciliation of operating loss to operating cashflows Six months Period ended 30th ended 31st April 2001 Oct 2000 £ £ Operating loss (734,046) (2,850,469) Depreciation 14,322 8,143 Amortisation 81,097 130,000 (Increase)/decrease in debtors 110,188 (1,741,263) Increase/(decrease) in creditors (652,603) 715,760 ____________ ___________ Net cash outflow from operating (1,181,042) (3,737,829) activities ____________ ___________ This Interim Report was approved by the Directors on 19th June 2001. The report will be sent to all shareholders and will be available to members of the public from the Company's registered office at 12 Gough Square, London EC4A 3DW and from the Company's website at www.newsplayer.com.

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