Final Results
Acal PLC
02 June 2003
FOR RELEASE 7:00 AM 2 JUNE 2003
ACAL plc
(Leading pan-European, value added distributor providing specialist design-in,
sales and marketing services for international suppliers)
Announcement of Preliminary Results for the Year Ended 31 March 2003
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS:- 2003 2002 * Change
Turnover £272.1m £297.0m -8.4%
EBITA (pre associated companies) £16.7m £17.6m -4.8%
Profit before tax (pre goodwill amortisation) £16.2m £16.9m -4.4%
Profit before tax (after goodwill amortisation) £13.4m £14.3m -6.3%
Earnings per share (pre goodwill amortisation) 41.3p 43.2p -4.4%
Dividends per share 20.1p 18.3p +9.8%
(* comparative figures for 2002 have been restated following the introduction of
FRS17 - Retirement Benefits, with the result that profit before tax is higher
than previously reported by £0.3m.)
- Satisfactory results after very challenging year
- Strong Gross Margin performance
- Growth in Fibre Channel IT Products - driven by "Emulex" and "QLogic" product
- Flotation of Westech Electronics on Singapore Stock Exchange in May 2002 with
Acal retaining a 36.7% shareholding
- Acquisition of ATM Parts Company in April 2002
- Disposal of Cisco distribution business
- Since the year end: Acquisition of Computer Parts International, now part of
IT Parts Services
Commenting on the results John Curry, Chairman said:-
"I am pleased to report another year which has produced returns on trading
assets well above the industry average, successful acquisitions which add to the
strengths of our IT Parts Services division and the growth of our Fibre Channel
range of products.
We look forward to the future with confidence."
For further information:-
John Curry - Chairman Tel: 01483 544500
Jim Virdee - Finance Director Tel: 01483 544500
Brian Coleman-Smith / Amanda Sheehy - Beattie Media Tel: 020 7398 3300
Notes to Editors:-
The Acal Group is a leading European, value-added distributor providing
specialist design-in, sales and marketing services for international suppliers
in the fields of Electronic Components, IT Products, IT Parts Services and
Industrial Controls. Its value-added philosophy and geographic coverage enables
Acal to provide specialist knowledge and support to customers on a pan-European
basis.
Design-in is the process by which Acal's sales engineers work with customers and
suppliers to procure components which meet the specific technical and
performance needs of the customers.
Acal has operating companies in the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France,
Italy, Scandinavia and the USA. Westech Electronics, an associated company, is
based in Singapore and covers the Far East region.
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
Overview
We have achieved a satisfactory financial result after a very challenging year
when the financial markets crashed for a third year in a row. During this
period, industry and business at large was damaged by scandals such as Enron and
WorldCom, and the downturn in the telecoms sector has damaged some companies
from a shareholder's perspective to the extent that the business has been
effectively handed over to its creditors. In the background the drums of war
provided uncertainty which led to delays in the investment decisions of our
customers.
As a shareholder, it is disappointing not to see growth every year, but in a
competitive environment we are affected by the underlying rate of economic
growth and those companies that seek to generate unrealistic returns to
shareholders and defy basic economic principles usually finish up eroding
shareholder value. In contrast to many technology driven companies Acal, without
growth, has produced a robust performance, maintained or improved its customer
service and market share with positive operating cash flow.
Based on the operating profit before goodwill amortisation, the Group has
continued to provide a return on average shareholder funds in excess of 20%
(considerably greater than the cost of capital) and 6% operating profit on
sales. This is a measure of our ability to meet the needs and create sustainable
value propositions for our customers, grow the business of our suppliers, and
provide a satisfactory working environment for our committed employees. Our
success in meeting these goals delivers the above average returns to
shareholders that I have been pleased to report every year since our flotation.
Results
This year sales decreased to £272m from £297m, down 8%, excluding acquisitions
and disposals the reduction was 7%. This produced Group operating profit before
goodwill and associated companies of £16.7m compared to £17.6m, a fall of 5%.
Gross margins have again been broadly sustained or increased in all divisions,
producing an overall improvement from 22.7% to 24.8%.
Operating expenses have been contained by reducing overheads in declining
markets, although we have continued to invest in growth opportunities.
The final result for the year is profit before tax and goodwill of £16.2m
(£16.9m - restated) a 4% fall. With taxation at 33.2% this has translated into
earnings per share before goodwill amortisation of 41.3p (43.2p - restated),
down 4%.
Your Board is proposing a final dividend of 13.4p (12.2p) per share making a
total for the year of 20.1p per share, an increase of 10%, confirming our
confidence in the underlying strength of the business.
An analysis of divisional performance during the year is set out in Tony
Laughton's Chief Executive's review. This explains the difficult conditions
affecting all the businesses, particularly the Electronic Components activities,
and highlights continuing developments in the IT Products and IT Parts Services
activities.
A great success during the year has been the control of working capital and the
cash flow from the reduction of stock by £6m after a similar reduction in the
previous year. This was an achievement and local management deserves every
credit for bringing stocks in line with the current sales level without any
exceptional charge to the profit and loss account.
Strategy
From the formation of Acal in 1986 to 1993 we were a distribution business in
Electronic Components and Industrial Controls. In 1993 we first identified IT
products as an area of interest, and in 1994 added the beginning of what has
become the IT Parts Services division. We are now a technology distribution
group with the following areas of focus: Electronic and Industrial Components,
IT Products and IT Parts Services where the IT divisions account for over 50% of
our business and profit.
Similarly, on a geographical basis we were solely focused on Europe - first
expanding our Electronics Components business across Europe with the IT
divisions following. Though we still have a lot of continental Europe to cover
in the IT divisions, in the late 1990's we began to look outside Europe to the
Far East. Primarily through our investment in Westech (which was floated on the
Singapore Stock Exchange in May 2002) we expect this geographical expansion to
show material benefit to shareholder value in the coming decade.
As an evolving entity we aim to continue to combine organic growth with
successful acquisitions in our areas of focus, while weathering the storm of
difficult market conditions. I believe we have done just that over the last
twelve months.
The start of the year began with the acquisition of ATM Parts Company Ltd for
our IT Parts Services division, while in October we sold our Cisco distribution
business, as it no longer fitted our strategic or financial objectives. During
the year we considered a number of other acquisitions and this culminated in the
acquisition of a 70% holding in Computer Parts International Ltd in May 2003 -
another IT Parts Services business.
Employees
In spite of a market environment which has continued to be more difficult than
we, or economic experts, forecast twelve months ago, our team of just under
1,000 has performed very creditably. There are real signs that a few major
suppliers who review their channels of distribution at times like these are
recognising our strengths, of which our employees are a prime ingredient, and we
expect this to bear fruit in the coming year.
Your Board, as always, is grateful to all our staff for their efforts, their
loyalty and their commitment.
Board Changes
We announced the retirement of John Pomeroy from the Board on 23rd May 2003. He
joined the Board in February 1987 with the acquisition of Centre Industries
prior to flotation in 1988. He has been a wise and loyal member of the team and
a good friend to me and many executives in the Group. We will miss his balanced
view and his friendship and I sincerely thank him for his contribution over
sixteen years.
Corporate Governance
No Chairman can be against good corporate governance, particularly with the
scandals of the last twelve months. However, most of the scandals have been in
the USA. Major disasters in the UK in our industry have arisen from bad business
decisions and the falls in share price of some large corporations have little to
do with corporate governance.
The key to governance is quality of people and integrity. Without quality and
integrity all the rules and regulations will have limited success.
There is nothing in the Higgs proposals that is wrong, but that does not mean to
say it is right for the diverse spread of companies quoted on the London Stock
Exchange. Eighty-two percent of "FTSE 100" company Chairmen were critical of the
report proposal for the senior independent director. The Association of Pension
Fund members at their recent conference registered a 40% lack of support for the
provision that at least half the Board (other than the Chairman) should be
independent. Why is this? In my view, it is because the Higgs report is too
prescriptive. The report itself is good common sense - however, the level of
prescription has moved the report's balance from offering sound guidance to a
framework of rules, which will have too many exceptions reported in the average
annual report to be valuable - or even worse, diminish entrepreneurial diversity
by complying because, in some cases, of misguided media and shareholder
pressure.
More and more time is now taken up with procedural compliance whether it be in
employment, environment, finance, health & safety or corporate governance
matters, detracting in many cases from the achievement of valuable goals in
these areas as well as customer satisfaction and wealth creation. Higgs may or
may not be appropriate for the FTSE 100 but for the bulk of smaller companies
the prescriptive compliance may be a burden too far. It is yet another proposal
on corporate governance which will incur cost, at a time when the majority of
Boards are battling with maintaining enterprise value, let alone increasing it.
Higgs places an onus on directors, particularly the non-executives, which is
likely to lead in some cases to decisions which incur increasing costs without
financial benefit, therefore reducing shareholder value. The emphasis on
prescriptive accountability is over-shadowing the Board's prime responsibility -
the prosperity of the business. Non-executive directors are there primarily to
help in the few key decisions made each year which truly create value, and also
provide good corporate governance with the rest of the Board. As the Cadbury
Report (Code of Best Practice) said long before Higgs and before Greenbury,
Hampel and Turnbull: the non-executive director should bring independent
judgement to bear on key issues and be independent of management. The key
ingredients for that are experience, integrity and judgement.
During over 30 years on boards of public quoted companies I have seen more and
more time taken at Board meetings on corporate governance which concentrates on
procedural and compliance issues to the detriment of focus and discussion of key
operational issues and decisions which affect the wealth creation of the
business. A good example of apparent priorities of lawmakers and regulators is
the report on Marconi. In this case the focus seemed to be on questioning the
delay in their profit warning statement (which if late was certainly
indefensible), rather than whether the Board properly reached the decision to
convert the company into a telecoms equipment maker and whether the Board
controlled and tested the proposals rigorously with regard to the prices paid
for acquisitions and the way these purchases were funded - that these decisions
impacted on the value of the business was a much more fundamental issue than
whether the profit warning may or may not have been 24 hours late.
Of course we as shareholders need sound corporate governance, and of course the
Higgs report is valuable in moving the debate forward. However, Higgs does
little more than reiterate existing good practice as established in the Hampel
report five years' ago, and to that extent it is positive, but in trying to add
something extra it has become overly prescriptive. However, let us agree the
principles and not let the report lead to rules and box ticking - the detailed
regulations do not seem to place wealth creation very high on the list of
critical criteria. Each Board should explain what it is doing and let the
shareholders decide whether it is appropriate considering the size of the
business, characteristics and record of the organisation. What matters is not so
much who does what but does the Board attract good quality people and do they
produce good results for the shareholders.
Prospects
I said at the interim stage that the economic climate remains tough and
uncertain. Little has changed - customers still remain cautious. However, there
are some signs of customers beginning to make decisions to invest in newer
technologies and the picture as far as the Iraq War is concerned is a little
clearer, although the final outcome is still unpredictable.
We no longer see the continuing deterioration in the level of bookings
year-on-year that we saw some twelve months ago, although electronic components'
orders in Continental Europe still remain weak. To use a yachting metaphor, we
are through the storm, but there is no following wind as yet. It would therefore
be optimistic to predict growth year-on-year in the first half of this financial
year. Nevertheless, throughout the group there are growth opportunities, but it
is difficult to forecast when these will begin to bear fruit.
We have strengthened our position within the market place and are financially
strong and thus remain confident of our ability to be successful in the future
maintaining our focus on above average return on trading assets to produce a
positive cash flow.
John Curry
2 June 2003
CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REVIEW
Trading conditions have remained tough throughout the year as expected and as
experienced by all companies operating in our markets. During this time we have
continued to manage the businesses tightly whilst ensuring that support and
service levels to our suppliers and customers are maintained.
Electronic Components
The overall decline in the components market place since 2000/2001 has now
stabilised but there is still no sign of any meaningful improvement,
particularly in the telecoms sector, which accounts for less than 10% of current
sales versus 30% two years ago. Growth, albeit at much lower absolute levels,
has been in the defence, security, medical, automotive and embedded systems
markets. Overall sales have declined 19% from £115.2m to £93.3m and
notwithstanding the small growth in gross margins and controls on overheads, the
EBITA decline was 46% to £3.4m. This decline in EBITA has been greater in
Continental Europe (75%) than the UK (26%) and whilst these results are
disappointing we are encouraged that our market share has grown and we believe
that we are well positioned, not only for any recovery but more particularly to
take advantage of rationalisation of the distribution strategies of many
component manufacturers. Specifically, in recent months we have signed
agreements with Sirenza Microdevices Inc. and Linear Technology Corporation
which we expect will bring some benefits this year.
IT Products
In previous years a major proportion of our IT sales have been into the
financial and associated markets. Whilst this remains an important sector,
growth has come from central and local government bodies and state owned
organisations which continue to invest into cost effective IT solutions such as
those provided by Acal's Fibre Channel and Headway businesses.
Excluding sales of the Cisco distribution business which was sold in October,
sales have grown 5% and at £94.5m are now similar to our electronic component
sales, whilst EBITA has grown 11% on a like-for-like basis to £6.9m.
Headway, our document imaging and management business mirrored the overall
pattern with sales and profits at almost identical levels to the prior year. The
UK continues to be the dominant force but over the year our market share in both
hardware sales and service has increased throughout Europe.
Acal's Fibre Channel business, which supplies connectivity for the Storage Area
Network (SAN) market, achieved year-on-year growth in sales and EBITA of 22% and
is now established as Europe's leading independent storage connectivity
distributor. This successful growth is the result of the development of a true
value-added philosophy of supplying best of breed products with first class pre
and post sales technical support, training, consultancy, installation and
project management.
The last of our IT product businesses, comprising security, specialised
networking and computer components has had a small sales and profit decline
excluding the impact of the Cisco disposal and is in a period of rebuilding
around niche wired and wireless network and security products.
IT Parts Services
The IT Parts Services division has seen growth in sales of 19% to £56.1m and
EBITA of 71% to £5.3m thanks primarily to the acquisition of ATM Parts Co. in
May 2002. This business has to date produced results above our original
expectations and the anticipated synergy with EAF is clear and tangible.
The core of the EAF business is the distribution of new spare parts for
O.E.M.'s, the supply of spare parts for service companies and the recycling of
returns. The added value includes the management of warranty claims, the
monitoring, planning and reporting of inventory and contracted service level
agreements.
This business, which performed well and grew in sales and profits in the UK and
Germany suffered as a result of losses in the Netherlands and France. The latter
arose from the costs associated with realigning the focus of the Dutch business
from being predominantly a broker, and in France where we are still investing to
achieve the critical mass which will result in profits. Management changes have
taken place in both countries and we are working to replicate some of the key
added-value offerings that have been successfully implemented in the UK and
Germany.
Industrial Controls
Like-for-like sales are down 5% to £18.9m and EBITA 29% to £1.1m. However, all
activities are profitable. During the year we have consolidated our AC&R
business into five profit centres to serve the expanding coverage of sales,
particularly outside Europe. We now have sales personnel in all the key
countries that we wish to cover including the major growth markets in S.E. Asia,
China and Australia.
The small medical instrumentation business which is part of our Industrial
Controls Division had another successful year and produced results similar to
the prior year.
Acal IT Systems
In the past year we have successfully extended the implementation of our ERP
system to include Acal Netherlands as well as Acal Technology and Radiatron in
the UK. Today, around 40% of our business has migrated to the new platform, a
move which is anticipated will improve operating efficiencies and service to
both our customers and suppliers as the roll-out continues and further
enhancements are made.
Tony Laughton
2 June 2003
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The table below shows the performance of Acal's divisions in each of the years
ended 31 March 2003 and 2002:-
2003 2002
SALES EBITA* SALES EBITA*
as % as % as % as %
of of of of
£M Group £M Sales £M Group £M Sales
Electronic
Components 93.3 34% 3.4 3.7% 115.2 39% 6.4 5.5%
Industrial
Controls 18.9 7% 1.1 5.8% 21.4 7% 1.6 7.3%
----- ------ ----- ------ ------ ------ ----- ------
Components
TOTAL 112.2 41% 4.5 4.0% 136.6 46% 8.0 5.9%
----- ------ ----- ------ ------ ------ ----- ------
IT 103.8 38% 6.9 6.6% 113.1 38% 6.5 5.8%
Products
IT Parts
Services 56.1 21% 5.3 9.4% 47.3 16% 3.1 6.6%
----- ------ ----- ------ ------ ------ ----- ------
IT TOTAL 159.9 59% 12.2 7.6% 160.4 54% 9.6 5.9%
----- ------ ----- ------ ------ ------ ----- ------
272.1 100% 16.7 6.1% 297.0 100% 17.6 5.9%
===== ====== ===== ====== ====== ====== ===== ======
(*EBITA being calculated as operating profit excluding goodwill amortisation and
the Group's share of associated undertakings.)
Changes in the Group's performance between the two years have not been affected
to any material extent by exchange rate movements, as on average sterling was
around 4% weaker compared to the prior year in terms of its exchange rate
against the Continental European currencies in which Acal companies operate.
The global economic slowdown which has taken place over the last two years has
had a more severe effect on the Group's Electronic Components business than its
IT businesses. This has resulted in the majority of the Group's sales and EBITA
now originating in its IT activities.
Although the sales of both the Electronic Components and Industrial Controls
activities have declined, adjusting for the effect of acquisitions and
disposals, both the IT Products and IT Parts Services activities have shown some
underlying growth.
All of the Group's divisions have either improved or sustained their gross
margins despite the difficult trading conditions, reflecting the benefits of
Acal's value-added approach. This, together with the beneficial "mix" effect
resulting from the disposal of the Group's lower margin Cisco distribution
business, has resulted in overall margins stronger at 24.8% as compared to 22.7%
in the prior year.
The Group has continued to be successful in controlling its overheads and net
operating expenses (excluding goodwill amortisation) for the year ended 31 March
2003 were £50.9m as compared to £49.9m in the previous year and £53.0m in the
year before. Taking into account the net additional overheads of £1.3m arising
from acquisitions and disposals, this demonstrates stability in the Group's
underlying overall cost base over the last two years. Acal endeavours to ensure
that the Group's long-term growth strategy and its "design-in" efforts are not
adversely affected by any cost-saving measures which are adopted.
Westech, a distributor of electronic components in the Far East, is our major
associated company. In common with others, it too has been affected by the
difficulties in the global trading environment. It has also been investing in
people to develop its coverage of the Far East. As a result, this year its
contribution to the Group operating profit is much lower, at £0.4m, than the
£1.1m of last year.
Net interest cost (before FRS17 finance cost or income) of £1.6m (2002: £2.1m)
reflects the lower level of debt resulting from the cash generation of the Group
and is covered 10 times (2002: 9 times) by profit before interest and goodwill
amortisation.
The Group's effective tax rate for the year ended 31 March 2003, based on profit
before taxation and amortisation of goodwill, was 33.2%, showing little change
from the 33.5% reported rate of the previous year.
It has always been Acal's policy that all its pension schemes should be of the
defined contribution type so that the extent of the Group's financial
obligations can be clearly ascertained and accounted for. However when Sedgemoor
Limited ("Sedgemoor"), then a listed public company, was acquired in June 1999,
it brought with it certain defined benefit schemes, the principal one of which
is the Sedgemoor Group Pension Fund ("the Sedgemoor Scheme"). Soon after the
acquisition the Sedgemoor Scheme was curtailed and all future service accrual
ceased. Of the 1057 members of the Sedgemoor Scheme, only 143 have ever worked
for a business which is now part of the Acal Group, the remainder being
employees or former employees of businesses which Sedgemoor had sold prior to
its acquisition by Acal. From the time of the acquisition we have made it clear
to the Trustees of the Sedgemoor Scheme that we regard the Scheme as an onerous
liability acquired with Sedgemoor rather than an ongoing pension scheme, and
therefore will only meet our legal obligations for funding it or on winding it
up.
This year we have adopted FRS 17 in respect of pension schemes. The effect in
respect of the Sedgemoor Scheme is that a net pension liability of £5.9m is
recognised in the financial statements. At the end of the previous year, when we
accounted for the Sedgemoor Scheme under SSAP 24, a liability of £2.7m was
recognised in the financial statements in this respect. The net liability at
31 March 2003 of £5.9m has been calculated using the bases and assumptions
specified in FRS 17 for an on-going scheme. Our legal obligation, if the Scheme
had been wound up on 31 March 2003, would have been £3.7m (net of deferred tax),
of which £2.7m, as stated above, was already recognised at the beginning of the
year. The calculations of both the amount of liability under FRS 17 and the
legal liability depended on the market conditions at 31 March 2003 and therefore
are liable to fluctuation from time to time.
Considerable emphasis is placed on managing the Group's balance sheet,
particularly in times of economic downturn. Acal has a model for this process
which is based on comparing each item of trading assets to the three-month
moving average of sales (TMMA). The table below shows the model and how the
actual position compared with the model. For example, it shows that our target
for stock is that it should represent 1.2 months of sales whereas as the actual
level of stock at 31 March 2003 represented 1.1 months and at 31 March 2002, 1.2
months of sales.
Target Model 31 March 2003 31 March 2002
TMMA Ratio TMMA Ratio TMMA Ratio
Trading Fixed 0.5 0.6 0.5
Assets
Current Assets:-
Stock 1.2 1.1 1.2
Debtors 2.3 2.3 2.1
Current
Liabilities:-
Creditors (2.2) (2.3) (2.2)
Tax (0.2) (0.1) (0.1)
------- -------
-------
TOTAL Trading 1.6 1.6 1.5
Assets ======= ======== ========
(Note: This trading assets model excludes goodwill, investments, net debt/cash
and long-term liabilities)
The Group's operating companies have worked hard at controlling their working
capital. An area of particular success has been stock, where the overall level
has now come down to £24.4m compared to £30.3m at 31 March 2002 and a peak level
of £40m in May 2001. This has been achieved without the need for any exceptional
provision or write-off.
Return on average capital employed (which is calculated using profit before
interest, goodwill amortisation and tax, and net tangible assets adding back net
debt), was 43% compared to the 45% for the previous year. This is a satisfactory
performance for a period of economic downturn and demonstrates the robustness of
Acal's "financial model".
Capital expenditure during the year was £3.9m (2002: £6.9m) reflecting the lower
level of expenditure this year on the Group's new ERP system. The programme of
implementing this system continues.
The Group's balance sheet continues to be strong. Shareholders' funds at
31 March 2003 were £68.0m compared to the £67.2m reported in the prior year,
reflecting retained profit of £2.8m for the year and the effect of recognising
the net pension liability under FRS 17. Net debt at the end of the year was
£13.4m (19.7% of shareholders' funds) compared to £12.9m (19.2% of shareholders'
funds - as reported) at 31 March 2002. This is after net expenditure of £8.8m on
the acquisition of ATM Parts Company Limited, certain other investments and the
disposal of the Cisco distribution business. Since the year end the Group has
made a cash payment of £5.8m for the acquisition of a 70% interest in Computer
Parts International Limited, and the final instalment for the acquisition of ATM
is payable later this calendar year.
The ordinary dividends declared and recommended for the year ended 31 March 2003
will absorb £5.3m (2002: £4.8m) and are covered 2.1 times (2002: 2.3 times - as
reported) by attributable profit before deducting the amortisation of goodwill.
Jim Virdee
2 June 2003
Audited Consolidated Profit and Loss Account
for the Year ended 31 March 2003
Year ended 31 March
2003 2002
(restated)
Turnover £'000 £'000
Continuing business
Ongoing activities 254,517 272,633
Activities sold (note 2) 9,295 24,380
Acquisition 8,329 -
-------- ---------
272,141 297,013
======== =========
Operating Profit
Continuing business 14,661 17,552
Goodwill amortisation (2,468) (2,614)
-------- ---------
12,193 14,938
-------- ---------
Acquisition 2,049 -
Goodwill amortisation (306) -
-------- ---------
1,743 -
-------- ---------
Group Operating Profit (excluding 13,936 14,938
Associates)
Group Share of Operating Profits of 440 1,119
Associates -------- ---------
Total Operating Profit (including
Associates) -------- ---------
Excluding goodwill amortisation 17,152 18,673
Goodwill amortisation (2,776) (2,616)
-------- ---------
14,376 16,057
Profit on disposal of business 575 -
Net interest payable and similar charges (1,452) (1,609)
- group
Net interest payable - associates (108) (161)
-------- ---------
Profit before Taxation
Excluding goodwill amortisation
Continuing business 14,323 16,903
Acquisition 1,844 -
Goodwill amortisation (2,776) (2,616)
-------- ---------
Profit on Ordinary Activities before 13,391 14,287
Taxation
Tax on Profit on Ordinary
Activities -------- ---------
United Kingdom (3,400) (3,306)
Overseas (1,889) (2,118)
Associates (73) (230)
-------- ---------
(5,362) (5,654)
-------- ---------
Profit on Ordinary Activities after
Taxation -------- ---------
Excluding goodwill amortisation 10,805 11,249
Goodwill amortisation (2,776) (2,616)
-------- ---------
-------- ---------
Profit Attributable to Ordinary 8,029 8,633
Shareholders
Dividends on Ordinary Shares (5,262) (4,769)
-------- ---------
Retained Profit for the Period 2,767 3,864
======== =========
Earnings per Share 30.7p 33.2p
======== =========
Diluted Earnings per Share 30.6p 33.0p
======== =========
Earnings per Share Excluding Goodwill
Amortisation
41.3p 43.2p
======== =========
Dividends per share 20.1p 18.3p
======== =========
The results for the year and prior year relate wholly to continuing operations.
Audited Consolidated Balance Sheet
as at 31 March 2003
At 31 March
2003 2002
(restated)
£'000 £'000
FIXED ASSETS
Intangible assets 46,287 42,383
Tangible assets 13,827 12,506
Investments 6,028 4,556
---------- ---------
66,142 59,445
---------- ---------
CURRENT ASSETS
Stocks 24,443 30,323
Debtors 53,242 53,470
Cash at bank and in hand 20,246 10,639
---------- ---------
97,931 94,432
CREDITORS:
Amounts falling due within one year (65,413) (67,359)
---------- ---------
NET CURRENT ASSETS 32,518 27,073
---------- ---------
TOTAL ASSETS LESS
CURRENT LIABILITIES 98,660 86,518
CREDITORS:
Amounts falling due after more than one year (22,487) (15,369)
----------
PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES
AND CHARGES (2,279) (1,215)
---------- ---------
NET ASSETS - excluding pension liability 73,894 69,934
Net pension liability (5,931) (1,473)
---------- ---------
NET ASSETS - including pension liability 67,963 68,461
========== =========
CAPITAL AND RESERVES
Called up share capital 1,309 1,304
Share premium account 37,109 36,786
Revaluation reserve 334 296
Profit and loss account and other reserves 29,211 30,075
---------- ---------
EQUITY SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS 67,963 68,461
========== =========
Audited Summary Cash flow Statement for
the Year ended 31 March 2003
Year ended 31 March
2003 2002
£'000 £'000
OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Operating profit 13,936 14,938
Depreciation and other non cash items 6,146 5,482
Decrease in working capital 3,492 2,562
-------- --------
NET CASH INFLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES 23,574 22,982
Dividends from associated undertakings 82 -
Net interest paid (1,527) (1,905)
Tax paid (7,250) (6,353)
Net expenditure on tangible fixed assets (4,869) (5,204)
and investments
Net cash flow from acquisitions and (3,920) 195
disposals
Equity dividends paid (4,935) (4,450)
-------- --------
NET CASH INFLOW BEFORE FINANCING 1,155 5,265
Increase/(decrease) in debt and finance 6,570 (302)
leases
Issue of share capital 328 235
-------- --------
NET INCREASE IN CASH 8,053 5,198
======== ========
Reconciliation of net cash flow to movements in net debt
NET INCREASE IN CASH 8,053 5,198
------- --------
Cash (inflow)/outflow from (increase)/decrease
in debt and lease financing (6,570) 302
Issue of loan notes (1,616) -
Debt acquired with subsidiary (257) -
New finance leases (13) (84)
Translation differences (123) 64
------- --------
MOVEMENT IN NET DEBT (526) 5,480
Net (debt) at beginning of the period (12,878) (18,358)
------- --------
Net (debt) at end of the period (13,404) (12,878)
======= ========
Consolidated Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses
Year ended 31 March
2003 2002
(restated)
£'000 £'000
Profit attributable to shareholders 8,029 8,633
Actuarial loss on pension scheme (7,150) (3,106)
Deferred tax relating to pension scheme 1,911 926
Net gain/(loss) on currency translation 1,646 (353)
Dilution of investment in associated - (44)
undertakings -------- --------
Total recognised gains and losses for the 4,436 6,056
financial period ========
Prior year adjustment 1,227
--------
Total gains and losses recognised since the 5,663
last annual report ========
Notes:-
1
The preliminary results were approved by the Board on 2 June 2003. The financial
information set out above does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts
for the year ended 31 March 2003 or 2002, but is derived from those accounts,
after adjustment for the adoption of FRS17 (see note 3). Statutory accounts for
2002 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies whereas those for 2003
will be delivered following the Company's Annual General Meeting. The auditors
have reported on those accounts; their reports were unqualified and did not
contain a statement under section 237 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985.
2
Turnover of the Group's Cisco distribution business, which was sold in October
2002, and the UK industrial instrumentation business, which was sold in October
2001 have been shown under "Activities sold".
3
These preliminary results have been prepared in accordance with the accounting
policies normally adopted by the Company. During the year, Financial Reporting
Standard ("FRS") No. 17 on Retirement Benefits has been adopted. The effect is
explained in the Financial Review, and has resulted in the restatement of
certain items for the prior year.
4
The final dividend is payable on 25 July 2003 to shareholders on the register on
13 June 2003.
5
Earnings per share for the year to 31 March 2003 have been calculated on the
profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of £8,029,000 using the weighted
average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period.
6
The Annual Report and Accounts will be mailed to shareholders on or before
20 June 2003. Copies will also be available from: -
Acal plc
2 Chancellor Court
Occam Road
Surrey Research Park
Guildford GU2 7AH
The results will not be advertised in any newspaper
Ends
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
Friday, 17th May 2024
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