Interim Results

Numis Corporation PLC 29 April 2003 Numis Corporation Plc Interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2003 Numis Corporation Plc ('Numis') today announces unaudited interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2003. Numis is the holding company of Numis Securities Limited, a specialist investment banking and stockbroking business. Highlights • Profit before tax and exceptionals up by 37% to £5.08m (2002: £3.71m) • Basic earnings per share up 31% to 23.4p (2002: 17.8p pre exceptional profit) • Net assets increased by 30% to £20.6m (2002: £15.8m) • £240m raised for corporate clients • Sponsored the largest IPO in London during the period under review • Corporate client list increases from 25 to 40 • Michael Spencer, Chief Executive of Icap, to become Chairman • Equity issue to Intercapital Private Group to raise £5.7m Oliver Hemsley, chief executive of Numis Corporation, said: 'We are pleased to report a strong set of results. Numis is maturing into a significant investment banking and stockbroking group and we are delighted to welcome Michael Spencer as chairman. His tremendous experience of global financial markets will prove invaluable to the Group as it moves forward. We have made a satisfactory start to the second half of the year. We are confident that the increased financial resources provided by the equity issue, combined with the high quality individuals that we are recruiting, lay the foundations for future growth'. Contacts: Numis Corporation Oliver Hemsley, Chief Executive 020 7776 1500 Gavin Anderson & Company Neil Bennett 020 7554 1400 Laura Hickman Chief Executive's Statement We are pleased to report that the Group's profit before tax for the six months ended 31 March 2003 was £5.08 million (2002: £3.71 million before an exceptional item). Turnover increased for the period to £11.5 million (2002: £9.4 million). Basic earnings per share were 23.4p (2002: 17.8p before the exceptional profit). Net assets have increased to £20.6 million (2002: £15.8 million). This has been a considerable achievement at a time when equity market conditions in the UK and overseas have remained challenging. Corporate Finance & Corporate Broking During the six months under review we have raised in excess of £240 million for corporate clients. Transactions included the largest initial public offering in the London market during the period under review. We have continued to attract new clients and are delighted that there is an increasing awareness amongst UK quoted companies of Numis and its services. We now have 40 corporate clients, compared to 25 six months earlier, and we expect to grow this number further. New and existing corporate clients are drawn from our specialist sectors of insurance, financials, media, retail, food producers, support services, life sciences, mining and high tech engineering. We are building our Corporate Finance business through the addition of a number of high quality individuals and we are confident of growing our client list whilst at the same time enhancing the level of service we provide. Research, Sales & Trading Our analytical coverage of UK companies is increasing alongside our reputation for providing independent comment. Our secondary market activities have held up well despite the weak equity markets and we are using the opportunities offered by the bear market to upgrade our service and personnel. Our market making and sales trading divisions continue to make progress and we now make markets in 149 stocks. We will increase this number where we believe we can add liquidity and expertise. Other Developments In a separate press release today, we are also announcing the appointment of Michael Spencer as our chairman. Michael is Group Chief Executive of Icap, the world's largest inter-dealer broker. We are also announcing an equity issue of 1.828 million new ordinary shares to Intercapital Private Group Limited, a private company chaired by Michael Spencer, at 315p per share to raise £5.7 million, after expenses. The equity issue is subject, amongst other things, to shareholders' approval at an extraordinary general meeting to be held on Thursday 5 June 2003. At that extraordinary general meeting, we are also proposing the adoption of a Long Term Incentive Plan ('LTIP') for the benefit of our employees. The quality of our employees is essential to our success and we have always believed in the importance of aligning their interests with those of our external shareholders. The establishment of the LTIP will provide a valuable tool in retaining our key contributors and in attracting new teams. Initial awards under the LTIP are expected to raise a further £1.3 million for the Group. Further details of the equity issue and the LTIP are contained in a circular that will be sent to shareholders shortly. Outlook Market conditions remain challenging and we are grateful to our staff for their considerable efforts over the period. However, we remain focused on developing our business whilst keeping a firm control on costs. We have made a satisfactory start to the second half of the year and are confident that we are putting in place strong foundations for future growth. Oliver Hemsley Chief Executive 29 April 2003 Consolidated profit and loss account Unaudited results for the 6 months ended 31 March 03 6 months 6 months Year ended ended ended 31 Mar 03 31 Mar 02 30 Sept 02 Unaudited Unaudited Audited £ £ £ TURNOVER 11,500,558 9,427,901 17,413,364 Administrative expenses (6,914,042) (6,078,765) (11,987,343) OPERATING PROFIT 4,586,516 3,349,136 5,426,021 Share of associated undertaking's profit 194,814 229,315 341,314 Exceptional item - profit on disposal of fixed asset 0 1,055,654 1,055,654 investments PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES BEFORE INTEREST AND AMOUNTS WRITTEN OFF INVESTMENTS 4,781,330 4,634,105 6,822,989 Interest receivable and similar income 310,827 243,523 469,426 Amounts written off investments 0 (111,989) (114,489) Interest payable and similar charges (8,339) (297) (854) PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES BEFORE TAXATION 5,083,818 4,765,342 7,177,072 Taxation on profit on ordinary activities (1,525,144) (1,354,787) (2,198,212) PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES AFTER TAXATION 3,558,674 3,410,555 4,978,860 Earnings per share Basic 23.4 p 22.7 p 33.2 p Diluted 19.5 p 19.8 p 28.9 p Earnings per share, excluding exceptional item Basic 23.4 p 17.8 p 28.3 p Diluted 19.5 p 15.5 p 24.6 p Consolidated balance sheet Unaudited as at 31 March 03 31 Mar 03 31 Mar 02 30 Sept 02 Unaudited Unaudited Audited £ £ £ Fixed Assets Tangible fixed assets 910,224 1,080,999 1,078,992 Fixed asset investments 1,719,612 992,366 1,209,277 Investment in associated undertaking 616,986 402,216 480,616 3,246,822 2,475,581 2,768,885 Current assets Debtors 17,323,785 17,861,826 18,533,150 Investments 1,620,021 304,572 960,588 Cash at bank and in hand 15,698,427 11,694,160 13,586,063 34,642,233 29,860,558 33,079,801 Creditors Amounts falling due within one year (17,264,361) (16,566,931) (19,266,829) Net current assets 17,377,872 13,293,627 13,812,972 Net assets 20,624,694 15,769,208 16,581,857 Capital and reserves Share capital 3,905,767 3,818,000 3,842,583 Share premium account 3,781,228 3,275,925 3,356,425 Profit and loss account 12,937,699 8,675,283 9,382,849 Shareholders funds 20,624,694 15,769,208 16,581,857 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 £3,558,674 (2002: £3,410,555), adjusted to £3,538,122 (2002: £3,401,332) to remove dividends held in the Employee Share Trust, on a weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period of 15,118,029 (2002: 14,980,000). 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. Administrative expenses Administrative expenses include a provision for incentive payments of £2.18m (2002: £1.59m). Dividend The Group will pay no interim dividend (2002: Nil). Audited results The audited results for the year ended 30 September 2002 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 shortly. 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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