Final Results

EPIC Reconstruction PLC 27 May 2005 EPIC Reconstruction plc INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS • 4.99p final dividend • 6.66p full period dividend • Ten new transactions completed across range of sectors. • One divestment yielding healthy return on investment • One provision of £0.435m on A.G.Brown • £12.2m of total funds invested • Two deals completed after the period end Chairman's statement INTRODUCTION EPIC Reconstruction plc ('the Company') has had an eventful first period. Over the period, the Company has completed ten new transactions, and invested £12.2m of Shareholders' capital. As I reported in the interim results, those investments have been of a larger individual quantum, and fewer in number, than was originally anticipated at the time of the listing. One of the investments has already been exited, yielding an attractive return for the Company, and the remainder, with one exception, continue to perform within the limits of EPIC Specialist Investment's (the Manager) expectations. The Board are recommending a 4.99p final dividend, bringing the full period dividend to 6.66p. EPIC Reconstruction plc is a company created with the mandate to invest in distressed and insolvent assets. The Company will look to support failing businesses which, with the support of a revised capital structure, the expertise of the Manager, and a newly incentivised Management team can be revitalised and turned around. The Company has purchased businesses out of Receivership or Administration, as well as looking to implement operational changes in solvent businesses. The range and diversity of the opportunities presented to the Board by the Manager has been considerable, and the Company uses the forum of the Board meeting to discuss each investment in detail. Whilst the majority of the proposed investments have been completed, there have been a number where either the Manager or the Board were of the view that certain of the operational or financial risks were too great for the Company to take, and thus investments have not been pursued. The financial results for the period show total income, of £3.18m against expenses of £1.44m, yielding net investment income of £1.74m. Adding the net gains on investment of £0.26m, gives a net for the period of £2.00m. This represents a Basic Earnings per Ordinary Share of 6.67p. As noted below, £0.435m has been provided against the investment in A.G Brown. Without this provision reported net profit would have been £2.435m and Basic Earnings per Ordinary Share would have been 8.12p. The Company has distributed 1.67p as an interim dividend leaving 4.99p to be distributed through the aforementioned final dividend. The income is driven by the interest and commission received on a range of financial instruments utilised in each investment. The Company invests in secured confidential Invoice Discounting facilities, Plant and Machinery financing, Mezzanine financing, Shareholder Loans, and pure Equity. In addition, where appropriate, the Company looks to isolate the property risk of the investments through a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, named EPIC Reconstruction Property Company Limited. This offering, in close conjunction with our partners at the Royal Bank of Scotland, provides a unique proposition to the distressed UK business environment. This has been recognised at the Royal Bank of Scotland, where the relationship with EPIC Reconstruction plc has been awarded the 'Deal of the Year 2004' for the range of deals that have been completed. INVESTMENTS A full description of each of the Company's investments is detailed in the Investment Manager's report. However, I would like to detail some of the highlights of the period. The first investment of note completed in October 2003 was Abingdon Carpets, a subsidiary of Carpets International, with a turnover of circa £50m. The Manager supported the management team in reducing three operational sites to one, and restructuring the workforce to create a single core unit focussed on the manufacture of carpets for the UK Retail base. This investment has since proved successful in repaying the Company's initial investment, and yielding additional preference share returns. A similar downsizing transaction was completed in December 2004, with the Company investing in Abbseal, a glass processor and manufacturer, with turnover of circa £20m. Having gone into Administration as a result of an overleveraged capital structure, the Manager engaged in a lengthy due diligence process, during which it was decided to purchase three of the four sites, and reduce the capacity of the business to match the ongoing sales run rate. The Company purchased an Internet camera retail business, Internet Direct, in March 2004. The business had experienced short term working capital difficulties, and the Company provided the requisite funding to support the management team in restructuring the operation. After a successful start, the business received significant interest from trade purchasers. The Company sold the business to a French Internet retailer, yielding an IRR of over 100% for the Company. POST-BALANCE SHEET EVENTS Since 31 January 2005 the Company has continued to see a strong flow of investment opportunities, but has also had to deal with the difficulties encountered by one of the earlier investments, A.G. Brown. The Company invested in A.G. Brown in February 2004. A.G. Brown is a producer of profiled steel sheets, flashings, gutters, purlins, rails, and ancillary items for the construction and steel fabrication industries. Trading has been difficult, exacerbated by difficulties with creditors and provision of accurate financial information from the business. In December 2004 the Company recapitalised A.G. Brown with £0.8m and the Manager replaced the incumbent management team with a new team who invested a further £0.1m. However, since December 2004 A.G. Brown has failed to perform and in April 2005 the Manager exited the investment through a distressed sale via an Administration process. As part of the sale of A.G. Brown the Company retained property and plant and machinery assets. The Company has also obtained a 19.9% equity stake in the acquisition vehicle. The retention of key assets and equity at book value, may themselves result in a capital uplift post-deal. However at this time a proportion of the Company's £0.95m exposure to the business is deemed irrecoverable by the Manager and the Directors and therefore £0.435m has been provided for to reflect the impairment of the assets. The Debtor Book, which is subject to the Company's guarantee to Euro Sales, continues to be collected by the Administrator and Euro Sales. Collection, some of which is subject to litigation, will take between three and six months and any residual losses will be charged against the Company's guarantee at that point. Since 31 January 2005 the Company has completed the acquisition of two further businesses, Kemutec and Gaskell plc, deploying funds of over £9.0m in debt and overlend facilities. Kemutec is a manufacturer of high quality capital machinery for the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. The business found itself in difficulties as a result of a shareholder who attempted to diversify from the core business and change the area of expertise. The Company has backed the management team to take the business back to its core offering. Gaskell plc is a UK based Carpet manufacturer. Gaskell went into administration as a result of the significant losses experienced since the integration of the Retail, Underlay and Contract businesses in 2000, which did not prove successful due to the different capital and customer requirements of each business. The Manager bought the Contract business from the Gaskell administration process, and merged it with the Company's current holding in Hugh Mackay, to create a single, high quality, UK based contract carpeting manufacturer. CONCLUSION I believe the period ahead will continue to provide many more investment opportunities. However,in a company focussed on distressed businesses, the Board expect that there will be an inevitable percentage of businesses that may experience either trading difficulties or short term working capital requirements. The Manager monitors each investment closely, and is highly involved in instigating elements of operational change to optimise performance in such situations. In addition, new investments should continue to enable the Company to put funds to use, yielding good return for the Shareholders. I believe that the pipeline of opportunities remains strong, and I expect the Company to complete one or two more sizeable transactions in the coming year, in addition to developing the current portfolio of small to medium sized UK businesses. In summary, the first year has been successful in establishing the Company within the market place, refining the investment model, and returning yield to the Shareholders. The coming year will require resilience as new opportunities and new deals continue to be seen, and some inevitable hiccups mastered. I remain confident in the prospects of your Company, and look forward to reporting again in six months' time. D.L. Adamson Chairman 27 May 2005 EPIC Reconstruction plc Consolidated Statement of Operations For the period 25 July 2003 (date of incorporation) to 31 January 2005 2005 £ £ Income: Interest receivable 1,554,962 Dividends receivable 1,225,000 Commission income 403,028 ---------- Total income 3,182,990 Expenses: Investment advisory fees (556,495) Administration fees (69,742) Directors' fees (123,600) Directors' and officers' insurance (85,973) Professional fees paid (66,592) Crest service provision (3,797) Printing and advertising expenses (9,904) Travel expenses (7,923) Auditors' remuneration (12,169) Bank interest and other charges (720) Sundry expenses (14,442) Stock Exchange fees (8,445) Advisor and broker fees (48,674) Provision for bad debt (435,000) ---------- Total expenses (1,443,476) ---------- Net investment income 1,739,514 Capital gains on investments Net realised gain 260,656 ---------- 260,656 ---------- Profit for the period before taxation 2,000,170 Taxation - ---------- Profit for the period after taxation 2,000,170 Dividends paid (501,000) ---------- Profit transferred to revenue reserve 1,499,170 ========== Basic earnings per ordinary share (pence) 6.67p ========== All items in the above statement are derived from continuing operations. EPIC Reconstruction plc Consolidated Statement of Assets and Liabilities As at 31 January 2005 2005 £ £ Non-current assets Investment property 1,100,000 Current assets Accrued interest and other receivables 850,687 Cash and cash equivalents 12,887,931 Committed cash 15,406,414 ------------ 29,145,032 ------------ Current liabilities Accrued expenses and sundry creditors (160,383) Provision for bad debt (435,000) ------------ (595,383) ------------ Net current assets 28,549,649 ---------- Net assets 29,649,649 ========== Represented by: Share capital 300,000 Share premium 27,850,479 Revenue reserve 1,499,170 ---------- 29,649,649 ========== Net asset value per share (pence) 98.83p ========== EPIC Reconstruction plc Consolidated Statement of Changes in Net Assets For the period 25 July 2003 (date of incorporation) to 31 January 2005 Share capital Share premium Revenue reserve Total £ £ £ £ Shares issued 300,000 29,700,000 - 30,000,000 Shares issue expenses - (1,849,521) - (1,849,521) Profit for the period - - 2,000,170 2,000,170 Dividend paid - - (501,000) (501,000) ------------ ---------- ----------- ------------ 300,000 27,850,479 1,499,170 29,649,649 ============ ========== =========== ============ EPIC Reconstruction plc Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows For the period 25 July 2003 (date of incorporation) to 31 January 2005 2005 £ Operating activities Bank interest received 831,527 Dividends received 1,225,000 Commission income 280,177 Expenses paid (852,494) --------- Net cash flows from operating activities 1,484,210 --------- Investing activities Purchase of investment property (1,100,000) Sale of investment 260,656 Transfer to committed cash (15,406,414) --------- Net cash flows from investing activities (16,245,758) --------- Financing activities Proceeds on issue of equity shares net of issue costs 28,150,479 Dividends paid (501,000) --------- Net cash flows from financing activities 27,649,479 --------- Increase in cash and cash equivalents 12,887,931 --------- Cash and cash equivalents at end of period 12,887,931 ========= Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting will be held at St James's Chambers, Athol Street, Douglas, Isle of Man on 18 July 2005 at 10.00 a.m. Annual Report and Accounts The Reports and Accounts for the period ended 31 January 2005 will be posted to shareholders shortly. Copies will also be available from the offices of the Administrator, Barings (Isle of Man) Limited, St James's Chambers, Athol Street, Douglas, Isle of Man. Note The financial information set out in the announcement does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the period ended 31 January 2005. The statutory accounts for the period to 31 January 2005 will be finalised on the basis of the information presented by the Directors in this preliminary statement and will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the Company's Annual General Meeting. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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