Interim Results

On-Line PLC 27 April 2001 Chairman's Statement Results It has been a positive six months, in which we have seen our turnover increase as the companies within the group start to grow and establish themselves. We have been able to bring into the group new talent, which is helping us build on the success of last year. This investment has increased our administration expenses and thus increased our costs for the period. In my last report to you, I outlined our strategy going forward of building businesses in technology, developing them to critical mass and then floating them. This has several benefits: On-line capitalises the value of parts of its business at an early stage, investors get a ground floor opportunity to participate in the subsidiary's growth and the management of the new company can be properly incentivised to deliver success resulting in direct shareholder value. Current Strategy We plan to take the first steps towards this by floating our games division Akaei Plc (formerly AAA Game) in the near future. We also have been exploring options with strategic partners for ADVFN. We have made good progress on both, even though we have been working in the worst stock market conditions for a generation. Meanwhile, On-line has been developing other projects to follow on from the flotation of Akaei Plc and is very positive about the futures for AdvertWizard Ltd and Avantnoise Ltd. Once Akaei Plc is floated we will begin a new project so that our pipeline of businesses is maintained at 3 ongoing developments. Underpinning our strategy has been the performance of ADVFN, which has become the market leading online financial site in the year since its flotation. This confirms that we not only develop businesses that can be floated but also ones that can execute on their promise. We are particularly proud of this. While we have weathered the current market storm we look forward to more positive times ahead, where we feel our strategy will prove yet more effective. Advfn.com plc (http://www.advfn.com) ADVFN.COM was our first business to float and it has weathered the market turbulence well, maintaining as I write the bulk of its initial flotation price. Its position as the number one financial website in the UK was recognised by the award of Best Private Investor Website at the recent Shares UK 2001 awards. Its user base continues to grow as does the list of new features added to the site on a regular basis, including the unique Level 2 share information offering and free unlimited real-time service. ADVFN has achieved far more than we could have ever hoped for in its first year. You can now access ADVFN not only via the Internet but also via your mobile phone or TV, keeping ADVFN at the leading edge of technology. ADVFN has opened an office in Paris and now is providing financial information to the French market. ADVFN has partnered with some very strong organisations such as the LSE, Orange, Telewest and the IG Group. Coupled with this and its growth of usage and revenue, we are very excited about ADVFN's future as not only number one in the UK but in the future other markets too. On-line PLC owns 76% of ADVFN, and this shareholding has been worth more than the whole market capitalisation of On-line since the moment it was floated. We have puzzled about this situation and believe that it is caused as it is considered that the flotation of ADVFN is a 'one off' and that On-line will not release the value tied up in ADVFN. We are working to correct this misconception. Akaei Plc (formerly AAA game) (http://www.akaei.com) It is intended to establish AKAEI as one of the leading European software brands using established expertise within AKAEI and by bringing in new talent. We believe the flotation will accelerate this process by not only providing more financial resources but also by raising the AKAEI's profile within the industry. An increased profile should aid licensing negotiations while recruitment of development talent will also be enhanced by the ability of AKAEI to offer share-based incentives. Quoted shares should also aid acquisitions of both development and distribution companies. AKAEI will continue to concentrate on the traditional retail boxed games business, and in that area the third edition of Giant Killers is about to be released on the PC CD-ROM format and in addition a Sega Dreamcast version has just been completed and will be published during the second quarter of 2001. We are also working on an innovative sports game, Aussie Rules Coach, about which we are extremely excited as we believe it will be the most original sports game in years. In addition to the traditional boxed game business, we plan to lengthen product life and increase games' appeal by widening our audience on wireless and Internet platforms. We believe that wireless is an important new format and also that the Internet offers the opportunity to inform, harness and sell directly to a worldwide audience. The Company is positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that will be generated by both new games platforms and the convergence of the net and wireless, which we believe will broaden the market yet further into the mainstream. AdvertWizard (http://www.advertwizard.com) AdvertWizard is a website promotion platform that makes online advertising easy, instant and effective for businesses of any size. Its fully automated system enables anyone to earn cash and gain free advertising from their sites or buy targeted advertising campaigns. All sites, banners and campaigns are managed online through an individual account, with instant results and real-time reports. It is now live and in open test and, as we did with ADVFN, we are now talking to its customers and adapting and adding new features to make sure AdvertWizard does what its customers require. Avantnoise (http://www.avantnoise.com Avantnoise is a music publishing and distribution platform positioned to exploit the dramatic changes brought on the music industry by digital distribution. Musicians of any style or genre can sell their work through Avantnoise without any creative, financial or human barriers. Unlike other systems, Avantnoise creates an end-to-end digital environment, with full e-commerce facilities to match bands with fans. This is the MP3 revolution with a business model. In this way, artists can gain an instant global presence, communicate directly with their fans, and generate income from their music without retailers, distributors and manufacturers taking a share. We are an ethical music website offering openness, control, security and freedom to artists and a whole world of new and exciting music for all listeners. Avantnoise has just gone into open beta testing and has so far signed nearly 300 artists and has over 1000 music tracks available. 9to5Cafe (http://www.9to5cafe.com) We continue to operate 9to5cafe but have curtailed its development. We continue to let its user base develop while we concentrate on other areas. Prospects We invite you to check out our sites and see for yourselves what the future of On-line PLC is looking like. Meanwhile you can join ADVFN and track our progress and that of your portfolio there. We value this transparency and encourage your feedback. I hope this gives you a clear picture of where On-line PLC is going and provides you with more than a glimpse of what we are convinced is an attractive and exciting future. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff for their superb input, which has helped us develop, and thank our shareholders for supporting us. MICHAEL HODGES Chairman ON-LINE PLC CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT Six months Six months Year ended ended ended 31 December 31 December 30 June 2000 1999 2000 Unaudited Unaudited Audited £'000 £'000 £'000 Turnover 1,334 374 748 Cost of sales (458) (22) (86) __________ __________ __________ Gross profit 876 352 662 Administrative expenses (2,010) (500) (1,557) __________ __________ __________ Operating loss (1,134) (148) (895) Exceptional item: profit on part disposal - - 3,402 of subsidiary Net interest 65 5 69 __________ __________ __________ Profit / (loss) on ordinary activities (1,069) (143) 2,576 before taxation Tax on profit / (loss) on ordinary - - (2) activities __________ __________ __________ Profit / (loss) on ordinary activities (1,069) (143) 2,574 after taxation Minority interest 166 - 2 __________ __________ __________ Profit retained / (loss sustained) for (903) (143) 2,576 the period __________ __________ __________ Earnings / (loss) per ordinary share Basic (17.3p) (3.3p) 55.4p Diluted (17.3p) (3.3p) 55.1p There were no recognised gains or losses other than the result for the financial period. Notes to the Interim Statement 1. The calculation of loss per share is based on the loss on ordinary activities after taxation divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue for the period which was 5,210,000 (4,270,000 in the six months ended 31 December 1999 and 4,648,000 in the year ended 30 June 2000). 2. The directors do not recommend the payment of an interim dividend. 3. The financial information contained in this document does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The financial information for the year ended 30 June 2000 is extracted from the audited financial statements for that period on which the auditors gave an unqualified report. A copy of those financial statements has been filed with the Registrar of Companies. 4. Copies of this statement are being posted to shareholders and will be available from the company's registered office at Crown House, Linton Road, Barking, Essex, IG11 8HJ for the next 14 days.
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