Interim Results

Numis Corporation PLC 10 May 2002 Embargoed for release at 07.00 am Friday 10 May 2002 NUMIS CORPORATION PLC Interim results for the 6 months ended 31 March 2002 Numis Corporation Plc ('Numis'), the investment banking and stockbroking business, today announces its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2002. Highlights of the results • Profit before an exceptional item and tax of £3.7m (2001: £1.7m) • EPS (basic) of 22.7p (2001: 7.9p) • EPS (basic), excluding the exceptional item, of 17.8p (2001: 7.9p) • Cash resources of £11.7m (2001: £6.0m) • More than £180m raised for clients during the period • Policy of recruiting first class individuals and teams continues • Group reinstated in Cheapside offices after a 6 month absence due to a fire • Second half started well with 3 capital raisings totalling nearly £60m Chief Executive's Comments Commenting on the results, Oliver Hemsley, Chief Executive of Numis, said: 'We have had an excellent six months. Our strategy of concentrating on specialist sectors and recruiting high quality individuals and teams is now bearing fruit. Although market conditions remain difficult, we are confident that we will report further progress for the full year.' Enquiries Oliver Hemsley Chief Executive Numis Corporation Plc 020 7776 1500 Duncan Sweetland Finance Director Numis Corporation Plc 020 7776 1500 Tom Wyatt Financial Dynamics 020 7831 3113 Chairman's and Chief Executive's Statement We are pleased to report that the Group's turnover for the six months ended 31 March 2002 increased to £9.4m (2001: £4.7m) and profit before tax rose to £3.7m (2001: £1.7m) before the exceptional profit of £1.05m from the sale of part of our shareholding in London Stock Exchange plc. This is a strong performance against a background of difficult market conditions. Basic earnings per share were 22.7p (17.8p excluding the exceptional item) against 7.9p for the equivalent period last year. As at 31 March 2002, our cash resources were £11.7m compared with £6.0m as at 31 March 2001 (including a near cash investment of £5.2m). Currently, we hold 265,000 shares in London Stock Exchange plc which remain in our books at zero cost. Over the period, we have raised in excess of £180 million on behalf of clients. This activity has continued in the second half with further capital raisings already totalling nearly £60m. Our strategy of focusing on smaller and medium sized UK companies and specialising in a number of sectors is beginning to bear fruit. As a result we are extending our services to a wider range of companies. Commissions from our secondary market activities more than doubled during the period. This increase reflects our continuing focus on first class specialist research and the addition of both new analytical teams and sales people. Our specialist sectors now include media, financials, insurance, retail and consumer, food producers, support services, life sciences and, most recently, high-tech engineering. Over the period, our market making business also performed well in challenging market conditions. We now make markets in more than 120 stocks and will increase this number in time with the expansion of our analytical coverage. The number of corporate relationships rose from 15 to 22 during the period and has continued to rise since 31 March. At the start of our financial year, we were still located at temporary offices in the City following the fire at our Cheapside premises in May 2001. In December 2001, we returned to our refurbished offices, having also taken the opportunity to reconfigure them to optimise our use of the space. We are pleased that more than 60 per cent. of the staff at Numis are shareholders. We believe this is crucial in creating a cohesive and dynamic business where the interests of employees and shareholders are aligned. We continue to seek to recruit on a selective basis high quality individuals, in all areas of our business. There is still much work to be done but progress is being made. Outlook The second half has started well despite continuing difficult market conditions. We are optimistic for the prospects of the business in the longer term and are confident that we will report further progress for the full year. David Craig Oliver Hemsley Chairman Chief Executive 10 May 2002 Consolidated profit and loss account Unaudited results for the 6 months ended 31 March 02 6 months 6 months Year Year Year ended ended ended ended ended 31 Mar 02 31 Mar 01 30 Sep 01 30 Sep 01 30 Sep 01 Unaudited Unaudited Audited Audited Audited Ordinary Exceptional Total Activities Items £ £ £ £ £ TURNOVER 9,427,901 4,737,510 6,560,086 48,000 6,608,086 Administrative expenses (6,078,765) (3,424,494) (6,112,422) (1,553,500) (7,665,922) OPERATING PROFIT/(LOSS) 3,349,136 1,313,016 447,664 (1,505,500) (1,057,836) Share of associated undertaking's operating profit/(loss) 229,315 214,331 (43,474) - (43,474) Exceptional items - profit on disposal of tangible fixed - - - 761,086 761,086 assets - profit on disposal of fixed asset 1,055,654 - - 1,504,560 1,504,560 investments PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES BEFORE INTEREST AND AMOUNTS WRITTEN OFF INVESTMENTS 4,634,105 1,527,347 404,190 760,146 1,164,336 Interest receivable and similar income 243,523 176,916 604,119 - 604,119 Amounts written off investments (111,989) - - (1,460,614) (1,460,614) Interest payable and similar charges (297) - (1,437) - (1,437) PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES BEFORE TAXATION 4,765,342 1,704,263 1,006,872 (700,468) 306,404 Taxation on profit on ordinary (1,354,787) (526,916) (286,168) 200,694 (85,474) activities PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES AFTER TAXATION 3,410,555 1,177,347 720,704 (499,774) 220,930 Earnings per share Basic 22.7 p 7.9 p 1.4 p Diluted 19.8 p 7.6 p 1.3 p Earnings per share, excluding exceptional items Basic 17.8 p 7.9 p 4.8 p Diluted 15.5 p 7.6 p 4.3 p Consolidated balance sheet Unaudited as at 31 March 02 31 Mar 02 31 Mar 01 30 Sep 01 Unaudited Unaudited Audited £ £ £ Fixed Assets Tangible fixed assets 1,080,999 408,319 614,245 Fixed asset investments 992,366 1,044,095 773,715 Investment in associated undertaking 402,216 300,475 241,696 2,475,581 1,752,889 1,629,656 Current assets Debtors 17,861,826 15,813,675 19,850,956 Investments 304,572 7,244,640 7,604,284 Cash at bank and in hand 11,694,160 817,524 97,437 29,860,558 23,875,839 27,552,677 Creditors Amounts falling due within one year (16,566,931) (11,792,648) (16,823,680) Net current assets 13,293,627 12,083,191 10,728,997 Net assets 15,769,208 13,836,080 12,358,653 Capital and reserves Share capital 3,818,000 3,786,750 3,818,000 Share premium account 3,275,925 3,175,925 3,275,925 Profit and loss account 8,675,283 6,873,405 5,264,728 Shareholders funds 15,769,208 13,836,080 12,358,653 Notes Accounting policies The accounting policies that have been applied to the unaudited results are consistent with the latest published audited accounts. Earnings per share Basic earnings per share is based on profit on ordinary activities after taxation of £3,410,555 (2001: £1,177,347), adjusted to £3,401,332 to remove dividends held in the Employee Share Option Trust, on a weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period of 14,980,000 (2001: 14,875,833 ). Diluted earnings per share assumes that options outstanding at the end of the financial period were exercised at the beginning of the financial period where the exercise price per share is less than the fair value of the price of the share in the period. Exceptional item The profit on disposal of fixed asset investment of £1,055,654 relates to the sale of 260,000 London Stock Exchange plc shares. Dividend The Group will pay no interim dividend (2001: Nil). Audited results The audited results for the year ended 30 September 2001 are an extract from the latest published audited accounts and do not constitute the statutory accounts as defined in Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The published audited accounts have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and included the report of the auditors that was unqualified. Further copies Copies of the interim statement will be sent to shareholders as soon as practicable. Copies of this announcement are available free of charge for one month from: The Company Secretary Numis Corporation Plc Cheapside House 138 Cheapside London EC2V 6LH This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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