Interim Results

Ingenta PLC 15 May 2001 Date: Embargoed until 07.00, Tuesday 15th May 2001 Contacts: ingenta Website: www.ingenta.com Martyn Rose, Chairman (On 15th May) 020 7796 4133 Mark Rowse, Chief Executive Thereafter: 01865 314810 David Callcott, Finance Director 01225 361020 Hudson Sandler Alistair Mackinnon-Musson Tel: 020 7796 4133 Philip Dennis email: ingenta@hspr.co.uk Meetings: Presentations for analysts and press will be held today at 10.30am and 11.45am respectively. For further information, please contact Hudson Sandler on 020 7796 4133. ingenta plc Interim Results ingenta plc, global market leader in the online distribution of published scientific, professional and academic research, today announces interim results for the 6 months to 31st March 2001. Highlights * Turnover increased by 294% to £4.6m (2000: £1.2m) * Gross profits up 348% to £3.5m (2000: £0.8m) * Gross margin up from 67% to 76% * Cash balances at 31st March 2001 were £8.6m (30th September 2000: £7.7m) * Trading for the current year comfortably in line with expectations * Current projections indicate ingenta is on target to become profitable and cash generative by the end of 2001 Commenting on the results, Martyn Rose, Chairman, said: 'The company continues to demonstrate that it can deliver growth that is both rapid and sustainable, supporting management's view that the $6bn industry in which it operates is unaffected by prospects of a global slowdown. Management has continued to build on its market leading position in both the UK and the US following the acquisition of CatchWord, and is firmly on course to continue its significant growth rate. With the company's cost base now established, further growth in sales is set to feed through rapidly into profits, on schedule late this year.' Mark Rowse, Chief Executive, added: 'The company now provides access to over 4,500 publications, representing over two-thirds of the material currently online in this sector. With under 10 percent of the world's scientific, professional and academic research yet available online, the scope for further growth is substantial.' Notes to Editors ingenta is the global market leader in online distribution of published scientific, professional and academic research. It provides an online search service of published content from reliable research sources not freely searchable elsewhere on the Web and is one of the UK's top 5 Web service operators, serving over 3 million visitors a month. For publishers of scientific, professional and academic periodicals, journals and reference works, it provides a suite of services including data conversion, secure online hosting, subscription authentication, marketing and e-commerce services. As well as providing Web users with a broad based article search and delivery service through www.ingenta.com, ingenta also develops subject-focused e-communities, built in conjunction with societies and publishers, and enterprise portal solutions for libraries. ingenta's revenue streams derive both from fees paid by publishers, such as Reed Elsevier Educational Publishing, Nature Publishing Group and Taylor & Francis Group, and from a share of pay per view and subscription revenues from users paying to download articles or subscribing to e-communities it operates such as www.animalscience.com or www.nutritiongate.com. e25, the definitive index of the UK's top 25 Internet businesses from leading business magazine Management Today and business consultancy Bain & Company, placed ingenta in the number 3 spot in its March 2001 edition, and US-based InfoWorld has named ingenta as one of its top 100 'e-businesses to watch'. Interim Results Statement The Directors are pleased to present their interim report for the six months ended 31st March 2001. During the six months to 31st March 2001 the Company's activities continued to show strong dynamic growth. ingenta achieved rapid increases in sales in all its core business areas while the acquisition of CatchWord reinforced its leading position in the market. The customer base continues to expand rapidly and now includes over 160 publishers and societies, including 8 of the world's largest 10 journal publishers and 2 of the top 3 reference publishers. Overall usage of ingenta's sites increased to over 3.2 million visits in March, compared with some 750,000 in September 2000. Penetration of the higher value corporate market has increased markedly and the company's user base now includes 20 of the FTSE 100 and 93 of the Fortune 500 companies. Financial and operational review During the period, turnover increased by 294% to £4.6m (2000: £1.2m). The results include a contribution from CatchWord from 1st February 2001, which represents some 15% of the Company's growth in the period. Gross profits were up by 348% to £3.5m (2000: £0.8m). Gross margins increased markedly from 66.6% to 75.7%, reflecting the scalability of the business and positive benefits of operational gearing as the company grows. Net operating losses before interest, depreciation, amortisation and exceptional items, and after fully providing for software development costs of £1.7m, were £3.7m (2000: £1.4m). Revenues continue to demonstrate rapid month on month growth, with March providing ingenta's first £1million month. Publisher services The acquisition of CatchWord has enabled ingenta to strengthen further its proposition to publishers with the company now offering a complete suite of electronic publishing and distribution solutions to publishers of all sizes. In addition, the acquisition, together with rapid organic growth, has resulted in the number of publishers and societies working with ingenta at the end of the period exceeding 150, compared with 80 six months earlier, with a further 9 new customers in April alone. The number of online publications accessible from within www.ingenta.com now exceeds 3,600, with over 1,000 more titles contracted and in production. This represents over two-thirds of all the publications currently online in this sector. With under 10 percent of the world's scientific, professional and academic research yet available online, the scope for further growth is substantial. ingenta.com The ingenta.com and catchword.com web services are being progressively merged, starting with the loading of the CatchWord content into ingenta.com, which now includes over 1.4 million articles. This has contributed to rapid growth in usage with over 650,000 articles downloaded in March, a 56% increase over the previous month and 451% above the previous year. e-communities The Company's e-communities business continues to grow rapidly. The number of e-communities (specialised websites providing subject-focused content and services to niche groups of users) has doubled over the last 6 months to 35 now live on the web with a further 20 in development, in addition to around 150 portals tailored specifically to the needs of individual libraries. Of particular note were the first of a series of sites launched during the period for Macmillan (www.ency-astro.com and www.els.net), and Reed Educational Publishing (www.heinemannexploreprim.com) Operations Integration of the CatchWord acquisition has progressed rapidly since its acquisition and the businesses are expected to be fully integrated by July 2001. The management team has been further strengthened by the appointment of Simon Dessain as Chief Technology Officer and Andrea Keyhani as Chief Operating Officer, reinforcing ingenta's capacity to sustain the rapid growth of the past six months. Principally as a result of the CatchWord acquisition, the number of staff grew to 236 at 31st March compared with 168 at the September 2000 year end. The Board is confident that this overall level of staffing will be broadly sufficient to sustain the Group's plans for continued growth. To have managed and integrated the acquisition of a major competitor while continuing to produce rapid and accelerating organic growth is a very considerable achievement. The staff and management at every level should be proud of what has been achieved and on the Board's behalf we would like to thank everyone for their dedication and effort. Current trading and outlook As shown in these results, ingenta continues to demonstrate dynamic growth and scalability. All its revenue streams are growing and demand for its services is increasing. The critical mass and broad service offering achieved by the acquisitions has enabled the company to develop its position more rapidly in its fast growing market place, building on a base of strong organic growth. Since the year end, the company has continued to move ahead strongly with current trading levels continuing to show substantial growth in revenues and gross profits against comparables for the preceding year. With over £9.2m of revenue for the year ending 30th September 2001 already either contracted or expected as repeat business, and with a substantial pipeline of further orders, management is confident that the outcome for the year will be comfortably in line with expectations. Finally, given the strong forward visibility in trading referred to above, along with a reduction in software development and marketing costs during the year, the outlook is extremely encouraging and the Board is confident that profitability and cash generation will be achieved on schedule in late 2001. Martyn Rose Mark Rowse Chairman Chief Executive 15th May 2001 Consolidated Profit and Loss Account for the 6 months ended 31 March 2001 6 months 6 months Year ended ended ended 30 31 March 31 March September 2001 2000 2000 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'000 £'000 £'000 Turnover 4,649 1,181 4,319 Cost of sales (1,130) (395) (1,232) Gross profit 3,519 786 3,087 Operating expenses Technical Services (1,695) (506) (1,728) Software Development (1,660) (537) (1,168) Sales & Marketing Expenses (2,532) (597) (2,008) Other Administration Costs (1,332) (510) (1,247) Loss before interest, tax, depreciation, (3,700) (1,364) (3,064) amortisation and exceptional items Depreciation (433) (132) (318) Integration costs (1,503) - (469) National insurance on share options 83 - (196) Goodwill amortisation (1,902) (672) (1,467) Goodwill write-off - - (15,637) Total operating expenses (10,974) (2,954) (24,238) Operating loss (7,455) (2,168) (21,151) Share of operating profit / (loss) in joint 2 - (1) venture Total operating loss: group and share of (7,453) (2,168) (21,152) joint venture Net interest receivable / (payable) 190 (6) 195 Loss on ordinary activities before taxation (7,263) (2,174) (20,957) Tax on loss on ordinary activities 2 - 312 Loss for the financial period (7,261) (2,174) (20,645) Loss and diluted loss per share (14p) (7p) (52p) Loss and diluted loss per share before (10p) (5p) (9p) goodwill amortisation and write off The results for the periods above are derived entirely from continuing operations. Consolidated Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2001 As at 31 As at 31 As at 30 March March September 2001 2000 2000 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'000 £'000 £'000 Fixed Assets Intangible assets 23,257 5,086 8,059 Tangible assets 2,531 618 1,718 Interests in joint ventures 34 - 32 25,822 5,704 9,809 Current assets Debtors: amounts falling due within one 2,381 695 2,029 year Cash at bank and in hand 8,626 5,442 7,718 11,007 6,137 9,747 Creditors: amounts falling due within (7,912) (4,475) (6,764) one year Net current assets 3,095 1,662 2,983 Total assets less current liabilities 28,917 7,366 12,792 Creditors: amounts falling due after (325) (180) (319) more than one year Provisions for liabilities and charges (87) - (170) Net assets 28,505 7,186 12,303 Capital and reserves Called up share capital 2,741 13 2,373 Shares to be issued 5,500 314 313 Share premium account 10,215 9,991 3,194 Merger reserve 11,055 - - Reverse acquisition reserve 12,680 - 12,679 Profit and loss account (13,686) (3,132) (6,256) Equity shareholders' funds 28,505 7,186 12,303 Consolidated Cash Flow Statement for the 6 months ended 31 March 2001 6 months 6 months Year ended ended ended 30 September 31 March 31 March 2000 2001 2000 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'000 £'000 £'000 Cash flow from continuing operating activities Operating loss (7,455) (2,168) (21,151) Depreciation charge 433 132 318 Write-off of goodwill - - 15,637 Amortisation of goodwill 1,902 672 1,467 Decrease in stocks - - 7 (Increase) / Decrease in debtors 683 183 (465) Increase / (Decrease) in creditors 691 (150) 380 Increase / (Decrease) in provisions (83) - 170 Net cash outflow from operating activities (3,829) (1,331) (3,637) Returns on investments and servicing of finance Net interest received / (paid) 190 (6) 191 Tax paid (98) - (28) Capital expenditure and financial investments Purchase of tangible fixed assets (756) (83) (309) Sale of tangible fixed assets - - 2,951 Net cash (outflow) / inflow from (1,342) (312) 2,332 acquisitions Net cash (outflow) / inflow before (5,835) (1,732) 1,500 financing Financing Issue of shares at a premium 6,862 7,165 9,977 Take up of cash alternative to offer by - - (3,711) Delyn Group plc Repayment of principal under finance (119) 9 (41) leases Net cash inflow from financing 6,743 7,174 6,225 Increase in cash in the period 908 5,442 7,725 Statement of group total recognised gains and losses for the 6 months ended 31 March 2001 6 months 6 months Year ended ended ended 30 September 31 March 31 March 2000 2001 2000 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'000 £'000 £'000 Loss for the financial period (7,261) (2,174) (20,645) Currency translation differences on foreign (169) - (288) currency net investments Total recognised losses for the period (7,430) (2,174) (20,933) Notes to the Unaudited Interim Report for the 6 months ended 31 March 2001 1 Basis of preparation The Interim Financial Information has been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies set out in the Group's Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 30 September 2000. The acquisition of ingenta UK Ltd by ingenta plc (previously named Delyn Group plc) in the prior year is treated as a reverse acquisition and reflected in the accounts as if ingenta UK Ltd acquired ingenta plc. Therefore, the comparative figures presented in the Interim Financial Information are those of ingenta UK Limited and its subsidiaries for the 6 months to 31 March 2000 and not ingenta plc. 2 Reconciliation of reported share capital in the consolidated balance sheet £'000 Allotted, called up and fully paid share capital of ingenta plc 2,373 at 1 October 2000 Issue of 2,500,000 ordinary shares for cash on 4 October 2000 125 Shares issued on exercise of share options during the period 7 Shares issued in exchange for shares in Catchword Ltd on 8 February 2001 214 Shares issued on 1 March 2001 as deferred consideration for the 22 acquisition of Uncover inc in prior year Allotted, called up and fully paid share capital of ingenta plc 2,741 at 31 March 2001 3 Publication of Non-Statutory Accounts The financial information contained in this interim report is unaudited and has not been reviewed by the auditors. It does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The comparative financial information for the 6 months ended 31 March 2000 was neither audited nor reviewed by the auditors. Statutory accounts for the year ended 30 September 2000 incorporating an unqualified audit report have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. 4 Basis of EPS Calculation The basic loss per share has been calculated by dividing the loss for the period by the weighted number of ordinary shares of 51,251,121 (6 months ended 31 March 2000: 33,084,700; year ended 30 September 2000: 39,428,804) in issue during the 6 month period to 31 March 2001. The company had no dilutive ordinary shares in any of the periods and there is therefore no difference between the loss per ordinary share and the diluted loss per ordinary share. Supplementary basic and diluted EPS have been calculated to exclude the effect of goodwill amortisation and write-off in respect of subsidiaries and businesses acquired and in respect of the goodwill arising on the reverse acquisition of ingenta plc. The supplementary figures have been calculated by dividing the loss for the financial period excluding goodwill amortisation and write off, by the weighted average number of shares, as described above. ENDS

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