Interim Results

Intercede Group PLC 11 December 2007 11 DECEMBER 2007 INTERCEDE GROUP plc ('Intercede', 'the Company' or 'the Group') Interim Results for the 6 Months Ended 30 September 2007 Intercede (AIM: IGP.L) is a leading developer of identity management software, called MyID, which manages the secure registration, issuance and life cycle of digital identities for a wide range of uses. SUMMARY - 28% increase in sales to £1.6m (2006: £1.2m). - Gross margin rose to 99% (2006: 98%). - Operating profit of £0.1m (2006: Operating loss of £0.3m). - Cash balances rose significantly to £1.6m at 30 September 2007 (30 September 2006: £0.4m). - Delivery of MyID technology as the smart card management system for the US Transport Workers Identity Card (TWIC), which has the potential to result in the issue of more than 6 million new identity cards. - Further development of MyID for existing and new partners including RSA Security, Thales e-Security, Oracle and Secure Services Corporation. - Contract wins via a variety of partners in the US and Europe. Richard Parris, Chairman & Chief Executive of Intercede, said today: 'Our financial and operational performance leaves us very well placed to exploit a growing global market for identity and smart card solutions. There has been a number of significant achievements during the period, providing further evidence that our partnering strategy is providing many different routes into a growing market. The level and pace of customer and partner activity is at an all time high and I remain confident that the long term growth potential for Intercede has never been stronger.' ENQUIRIES Intercede Group plc Tel.+44 (0)1455 558111 Richard Parris, Chairman & Chief Executive Andrew Walker, Finance Director Pelham Public Relations Archie Berens Tel.+44 (0)20 7743 6679 KBC Peel Hunt Richard Kauffer Tel.+44 (0)20 7418 8900 About Intercede Intercede Group plc is a leading developer and supplier of smart card and identity management software listed on the London Stock Exchange (IGP LN) (IGP.L). Intercede's MyID software manages the secure registration, issuance and lifecycle of digital identities for a wide range of uses. This requires the integration of multiple technologies and products from many different vendors, including smart cards, biometrics, digital certificates, Open Platform applets and physical access control systems. Intercede works with a number of market leading OEM, re-seller and technology partners that supply MyID technology to the global marketplace including: Athena Smartcard Solutions, Gemalto, Oberthur Card Systems, Oracle, RSA Security, SafeNet, Thales, VeriSign and a variety of systems integrators and other security product and service providers. Intercede and MyID are registered trademarks or trademarks in the UK, US and/or other countries. For more information on Intercede and MyID visit http://www.intercede.com. INTERCEDE GROUP plc Interim Results for the Six Months Ended 30 September 2007 Chairman's Statement Business Review I am pleased to be able to report that good commercial and technical progress has been made during the first half of the year. Revenues have increased by 28% and the Company has generated a profit before tax of £45,000 compared to a loss before tax of £314,000 in the same period last year. As a result of this enhanced performance and the placing on 16 May 2007 which raised £678,000 net of expenses, the level of cash balances increased by £922,000 to £1,575,000 during the six months ended 30 September 2007. This places Intercede in a much stronger position to exploit a growing global market for identity and smart card solutions. Significant advances during the year to date include: 1. The delivery of MyID as the smart card management system for the US Transport Workers Identity Card (TWIC). 2. The ongoing development of a customised version of MyID to power Thales e-Security's SafeSite Management Server (SSMS). 3. The receipt of £500,000 in September from Thales e-Security in respect of advance licence fees under the existing OEM agreement. 4. The delivery of a new version of MyID to RSA Security, a division of EMC, for incorporation in a major product release of RSA Card Manager. 5. Intercede's admission to the Oracle Extended Identity Management Ecosystem following the integration of MyID with Oracle's Identity Manager. 6. The establishment of a new partner agreement with Secure Services Corporation, a US Healthcare provider. 7. The sale of an additional 28,000 licences to a US Federal banking organisation. 8. The go-live deployment of MyID for a major US bank to facilitate a combined physical and logical smart card security system across its branch network. 9. A new contract through our VeriSign partner for an HSPD-12 solution for a major US Federal agency. 10. The extension of an existing HSPD-12 contract by a further 15,000 licences. 11. A new contract in partnership with VeriSign for an EU Government agency. 12. Further project development contracts secured with Lockheed Martin, Lloyds TSB, the UK NHS and VeriSign. Of the items listed above, I would like to draw particular attention to the TWIC programme. TWIC is a common identification credential for all personnel requiring unescorted access to secure areas in more than 140 US ports. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will issue qualifying workers with a smart card containing the worker's digital certificate and a fingerprint biometric. Intercede's technology is supplied via RSA Security to Lockheed Martin who are the prime contractor on this project. The TWIC card uses some of the same technology and standards as Federal PIV cards issued under the HSPD-12 initiative and builds on Intercede's core capabilities in this area. The TSA plans to issue TWIC cards in more than 50 ports before the end of Q1 2008 and aims to have issued more than 1 million cards within the first year. The TWIC programme has the potential to be extended to other groups of workers involved in critical national infrastructure including railways, airports, utilities, petrochemicals and hazardous materials. This could push the number of cards issued to more than 6 million. The TWIC contract demonstrates the high volume security and scalability of the MyID platform. Under Intercede's OEM contract with RSA Security, the first one million licences for TWIC will be offset against the advance licence fees payable over the first three years of the agreement through to September 2008. Additional licences above 1 million will attract incremental licence fees and annual maintenance. This single agreement represents an attractive and potentially substantial future revenue stream for Intercede. Under the US Government HSPD-12 initiative, Intercede has now sold more than 165,000 licences, excluding TWIC and FRAC, to Federal Agencies. This constitutes successful initial penetration of a market that has grown more slowly than expected over the last year due to short term US Government budgetary constraints, but which nevertheless represents a significant long term opportunity. Financial Results Sales during the period totaled £1,546,000 which, at a gross margin of 99%, resulted in an operating profit of £90,000. This compares with sales in the corresponding period last year of £1,212,000 at a gross margin of 98% and an operating loss of £264,000. Continued tight control over costs and cash management resulted in a £244,000 cash inflow before financing which compares with a £707,000 outflow during the comparative period. This inflow, coupled with the placing of new shares in May 2007 which raised £678,000 net of expenses, resulted in cash balances totalling £1,575,000 as at 30 September 2007. This is the first set of financial statements prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The results for comparative periods have accordingly been restated from UK Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to IFRS. The transition has not had a material impact on the results, details of which are outlined in Note 4 to the Accounts. Outlook The first half of the year has been profitable for Intercede. However, as in previous years, the full year outcome will be dependent upon our partners being able to close long sales cycle contracts in a timely fashion and our subsequent ability to deliver and recognise revenues in accordance with the Group's accounting policy. Nevertheless, the level and pace of customer and partner activity is at an all time high and I remain confident that the long term growth potential for Intercede has never been stronger. Richard Parris Chairman & Chief Executive 11 December 2007 Intercede Group plc Consolidated Income Statement 6 months ended 6 months ended Year ended 30 September 30 September 31 March 2007 2006 2007 £'000 £'000 £'000 Revenue 1,546 1,212 2,620 Cost of sales (21) (25) (74) Gross profit 1,525 1,187 2,546 Administrative expenses (1,435) (1,451) (2,895) Operating profit/(loss) 90 (264) (349) Financial income 23 13 25 Financial expenses (68) (63) (126) Profit/(loss) before tax 45 (314) (450) Tax 90 71 71 Profit/(loss) for the period 135 (243) (379) Earnings per share (pence) - basic 0.4p (0.7)p (1.1)p - diluted 0.3p (0.7)p (1.1)p All of the Group's trading activities relate to continuing operations. The comparatives for the periods ended 30 September 2006 and 31 March 2007 have been restated as outlined in the Notes to the Accounts. Intercede Group plc Consolidated Balance Sheet As at As at As at 30 September 30 September 31 March 2007 2006 2007 £'000 £'000 £'000 Non-current assets Property, plant and equipment 37 31 38 Current Assets Trade and other receivables 223 491 234 Current tax assets - 71 - Cash and cash equivalents 1,575 405 653 1,798 967 887 Total assets 1,835 998 925 Equity Share capital 4,292 4,271 4,271 Share premium account 2,764 2,107 2,107 Other reserves 1,508 1,508 1,508 Equity reserve 109 109 109 Retained earnings (9,629) (9,628) (9,764) Total equity (956) (1,633) (1,769) Current liabilities Trade and other payables 288 359 313 Current tax liabilities 182 142 101 Deferred income 556 496 583 1,026 997 997 Non-current liabilities Convertible loan notes 1,765 1,634 1,697 Total equity and liabilities 1,835 998 925 The comparatives for the periods ended 30 September 2006 and 31 March 2007 have been restated as outlined in the Notes to the Accounts. Intercede Group plc Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity Share Share Other Equity Retained capital premium reserves reserve earnings Total £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 At 1 April 2006 - UK GAAP 4,271 2,107 1,508 214 (9,577) (1,477) IFRS transition (see note 4) - - - - (22) (22) At 1 April 2006 - IFRS 4,271 2,107 1,508 214 (9,599) (1,499) Change in equity component on - - - (105) 214 109 extension of convertible loan notes Retained loss for the period - UK GAAP - - - - (249) (249) IFRS transition (see note 4) - - - - 6 6 At 30 September 2006 - IFRS 4,271 2,107 1,508 109 (9,628) (1,633) Retained loss for the period - UK GAAP - - - - (119) (119) IFRS transition (see note 4) - - - - (17) (17) At 31 March 2007 - IFRS 4,271 2,107 1,508 109 (9,764) (1,769) Issue of shares, net of costs 21 657 - - - 678 Retained profit for the period - UK - - - - 129 129 GAAP IFRS transition (see note 4) - - - - 6 6 At 30 September 2007 - IFRS 4,292 2,764 1,508 109 (9,629) (956) Intercede Group plc Consolidated Cash Flow Statement 6 months ended 6 months ended Year ended 30 September 30 September 31 March 2007 2006 2007 £'000 £'000 £'000 Cash flows from operating activities Operating profit/(loss) 90 (264) (349) Depreciation 8 7 15 Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables 12 (175) 82 Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables 29 (278) (277) Taxation received 90 - 71 Net cash from operating activities 229 (710) (458) Investing Activities Interest received 22 14 25 Purchases of property, plant and equipment (7) (11) (26) Net cash from/(used in) investing activities 15 3 (1) Financing Activities Proceeds on issue of shares 678 - - Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 922 (707) (459) Non-cash movement (68) 45 (18) Net debt at beginning of period (1,044) (567) (567) Net debt at end of period (190) (1,229) (1,044) Intercede Group plc Notes to the Accounts 1. Preparation of the interim financial statements The financial information contained herein does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The AIM rules require the Group's financial statements for the year ending 31 March 2008 to be prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). As the results presented in these consolidated interim statements will form part of the results for that year, these interim statements are accordingly presented under IFRS. The accounting policies differ in some respects to the accounting policies used for the last audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2007, which were presented under UK Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (UK GAAP). The Group is not required to apply IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting at this time. The results for the comparative periods have been restated under IFRS in accordance with the requirements of IFRS 1. An explanation of how IFRS has affected the reported financial position, financial performance and cash flows of the Group is provided in note 4. The comparative figures for the financial year ended 31 March 2007 are not the Group's statutory accounts for that financial year. Those accounts, which were prepared under UK GAAP, have been reported on by the Group's auditors and delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The audit opinion on those statutory accounts was unqualified and did not include a statement under Section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. The Interim Report will be mailed to shareholders and copies will be available on the website (www.intercede.com) and at the registered office: Intercede Group plc, Lutterworth Hall, St Mary's Road, Lutterworth, Leicestershire, LE17 4PS. 2. Earnings per Share The calculations of earnings per ordinary share are based on the profit/(loss) for the period and the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during each period ie September 2007: 35,569,896; September 2006 & March 2007: 33,963,438. The diluted earnings per share is based on a weighted average of 48,211,164 which reflects the potential conversion of all existing convertible loan stock, warrants and share options. Basic and diluted earnings per share are the same for both of the comparative periods as potential dilution cannot be applied to a loss making period. 3. Dividend The Directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend. 4. Explanation of transition to IFRS As outlined in note 1, the AIM listing rules require the Group to present its results under IFRS for the year ending 31 March 2008. In accordance with IFRS 1, the Group has applied the applicable mandatory exemptions and the following optional exemptions: i) Business combinations that took place prior to the transition date of 1 April 2006 have not been restated; and ii) IFRS 2 Share Based Payments has not been applied to any share options granted prior to 7 November 2002. The preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of policies and reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expenses. The estimates and associated assumptions are based upon historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis of making judgements about carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily available from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates. The accounting estimates that have the most risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying value of assets and liabilities are in relation to the measurement and impairment of intangible assets and goodwill and the recognition of current and deferred income tax assets and liabilities. The only adjustment identified as being necessary as a result of the transition to IFRS relates to the requirement for a holiday pay accrual in accordance with IAS 19. The accruals required are £22,000 at 1 April 2007, £16,000 at 30 September 2007 and £33,000 at 31 March 2007. The impact on the income statement is a £6,000 credit to profits for the 6 months to 30 September 2006 and an £11,000 charge against profits for the year ended 31 March 2007. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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