Final Results

Panther Securities PLC 30 April 2007 Panther Securities PLC, the property investment company has today announced its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2006. CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT Introduction I am pleased to report excellent profits for the year ending 31st December 2006, which amounted to Â£9,269,000 (before tax) compared to Â£26,549,000 (before tax). In 2005 there was a larger revaluation surplus of Â£22,537,000, as against Â£6,081,000 in 2006. Rental income receivable over the year fell from Â£8,099,000 in 2005 to Â£7,510,000, due to our deliberate and continued policy of selling some of our mature investments. Disposals To this end we have been selling the majority of the investments that came with the acquisition of Eurocity Properties PLC in 2002. Whilst there has been little rental growth since that time, yield compression has generated good profits over their then cost. During the year under review, we have sold 22 Westburn Street, Greenock; 70 High Street, Elgin; 30 High Street, Paisley and 206/208 Main Street, Barrhead. The total sales proceeds were Â£3,357,000 which was well above last December 2005 valuation. In February 2006, we sold virtually all of our Hawtin PLC shareholding, which gave us a profit of approximately Â£480,000. Shareholders may recall that we acquired 15% of Hawtin PLC at a cost of Â£1,488,000 in June 2004. A year later (June 2005), we started discussions with Hawtin's board with a view to our making an agreed offer for the company. By November 2005, it was announced that an agreement could not be reached. Shortly thereafter, we were approached by a prospective purchaser for our holding, the sale of which was successfully concluded in February 2006. We purchased Hawtin at 13p per share and sold the majority of our shares at 181/4p per share - a good profit. The balance was sold later in the year at a slightly lower price. The overall profit on these shares was Â£497,000. In November 2006, we submitted our freehold parade of shops in Victoria Street, Wolverhampton for sale by auction as individual shop units. This property was potentially subject to a Compulsory Purchase Order and we preferred not to wait. We sold approximately half the parade for a total of Â£1,025,000. This property was held as trading stock and shows a good profit on cost. We expect the balance of the property to be sold either by way of Compulsory Purchase or privately within the course of the next year. Acquisitions In March 2006, we bought a freehold property in Queens Road, Southend-on-Sea, for a total cost of Â£990,000. It comprises a quadruple shop and upper parts of over 11,000 square feet, close to the High Street, which is the prime retail area and is let to HMV PLC on a lease that expires in one year's time. The current rent is Â£57,000 per annum. In June 2006, we acquired a freehold double shop and upper parts at 182/184 Northdown Road, Cliftonville, Kent. It is close to some of our existing properties and was acquired at a cost of Â£410,000. This is let to W H Smith PLC, who entirely sub-let at a profit rent. In the same month we acquired the freehold shop and upper parts at 25 Guildhall Street, Folkestone, for approximately Â£232,000. It is sited between 21/23 and 27 Guildhall Street, Folkestone, which are properties we have owned for some time. We are in the final stages of a major rebuild of No 27 to provide thirteen residential units in the upper parts. We have also converted the upper part of No 23 into three self-contained residential units. The residential properties are currently being marketed for sale and should achieve a respectable profit on cost. In July 2006, we received planning permission for twenty flats on our freehold site at High Street, Ramsgate, and are currently investigating the most profitable way for us to deal with this asset. Investments Elektron PLC We continue to retain our substantial holding in Elektron PLC, who recently took over another small AIM Listed company. Their acquisition enabled us to purchase and leaseback factory property in February 2007, which I will mention later. Real Estate Investors PLC We continue to hold our investment in this AIM Listed property company, indeed it was increased when we accepted Â£200,000 worth of their shares as part payment for the property in Paisley which we sold to them for Â£1,100,000 August 2006. Currently REI's shares are quoted in the market in excess of our cost. M.R.G. Systems Limited This company, which I mentioned in my Interim Statement, is now classed as a subsidiary company as we now own 72%. This year has seen a loss of Â£177,000, but we hope for a recovery in the year ending 31st December 2007. We give more details within the Operating and Financial Review and within the notes to the statutory accounts. Finance Loan Facility In September 2006, we entered into new swap agreements which came into effect in December 2006 as follows: Â£50 million of the loan facility was previously fixed at 5.29% (plus the bank's margin) until 2011. The Group entered into swap agreements, at no cost to the Company, with Â£25 million of the loan facility fixed at 4.9% (plus the bank's margin) until 2021 and a further Â£25 million now fixed at 4.63% (plus the bank's margin) until 2011, with HSBC having the right at the end of this period to extend the latter swap agreement at 4.63% for a further 10 years. These arrangements will reduce annual interest costs by approximately Â£260,000 in 2007. We felt much of the investment property offered to us was unable to produce sufficient return or prospects, and thus we were not fully utilising the Â£75 million loan facility arranged in 2004. The loan facility had a commitment fee of 0.5% per annum on the unutilised balance. Therefore we reduced the available facility by Â£32.5 million to Â£42.5 million from February 2007, at no penalty cost, reducing the future annual commitment fee payable by Â£160,000. Of the remaining Â£42.5 million facility, Â£7.5 million remains undrawn and available without providing additional security. Whilst it is, of course, irritating to pay facility and legal fees for finance arrangements that are then cancelled, I have no doubt that should we require extra finance, it could be arranged quickly. The Board consider it better to save money now. Post Balance Sheet Events In February 2007, we purchased four freehold factories, occupied by recently acquired subsidiary companies of Elektron PLC, for a cash consideration of Â£4,600,000 (including purchasing costs) and entered into leaseback arrangements at a total annual rental of Â£343,500. These factories have a total net lettable area of 120,000 square feet on seven acres of land. 14,000 square feet are vacant, with the potential for an additional rental income of Â£50,000 per annum, and are situated at Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire; Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire; and Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. In February 2007, we sold at auction the following properties, most of which sales have now been completed: 191-199 Rushey Green, Catford, London; Hainton House, Hainton Square, Grimsby; 74 Kilmarnock Road, Glasgow; 63/65 High Street, Dumbarton; Unit 1, 4 High Street, Paisley; and Unit 2, 4 High Street, Paisley. These properties, which were producing Â£246,000 per annum, were sold for gross proceeds of Â£4,986,000 and the Group expects the profit on disposal to be approximately Â£1,250,000 in excess of the total values as shown in these accounts. General Overheads Overheads include Â£460,000 paid to me, Â£350,000 of which was the third year final bonus that was paid to enable my salary to catch up with the success of my personal pension fund and thus enable me to receive my full entitlement. I previously waived over Â£400,000 in dividends, but, as a further act of penance for having taken so much, I am waiving my salary for this current year, and I consider this a symbolic tax strike, which I hope others will follow. This will reduce the Company's overheads by Â£519,000, but also reduce the Exchequers 'Income and NIC' tax take by Â£243,000. Dividends An interim dividend of 6p per share was paid on 26 June 2006, and your Board is recommending a final dividend of 6p per share (making a total of 12p per share), for the year ending 31 December 2006. In view of the current year's progress, we propose to pay an interim dividend of 6p per share which will be paid on 28 September 2007. Political Donation Once again I have requested that a resolution be presented to shareholders to donate Â£25,000 to the Conservative Party as I consider they are likely to be more beneficial for business than the current administration who have once again surreptitiously introduced an effective stealth tax by removing property relief on all vacant commercial properties from next year. I of course will not vote my personal interest on this resolution. Prospects In the mid 70s, when I was a young man making my way in the property world, I was taking a short holiday at a family hotel in Bournemouth. The friendly and casual atmosphere meant we often sat with strangers for our meals. One such afternoon at tea, whilst sitting with an elderly couple, I was asked what business I was in. I explained I was an estate agent and aspiring property dealer. My new found friends pointed across the room and said 'That man over there owns Â£100 million pounds worth of property'. 'WOW!' I replied, you must remember that at that time a four bedroom detached house in most parts of London could be purchased for Â£25,000 or alternatively a small flat in Fulham would cost Â£5,000. I was truly impressed - however, I then thought about it and pointed out to my new friends that I had noticed that that particular guest over the last week was the most miserable and depressed looking person in the hotel - 'Ah yes' they said, 'he has a small problem, he owes Â£200 million pounds' and indeed within a year this man had made headlines as England's biggest personal bankrupt. There was no question of fraud, he had merely bought at top market prices and borrowed heavily from many different sources wherever he could and was being wiped out when interest rates went up and property values down and some of the lenders wanted and needed their money back. A further story I recall being told is that if a frog jumps into a pot of very hot water, it immediately reacts and jumps out and no harm comes to it. However, if it jumps into a pot of cool water that is being heated slowly to boiling point, it is unable to sense the continuing small changes and eventually gets cooked to death. I fear this is what is happening to many highly borrowed investors with rising interest rates and, like the frogs, will finish up as 'Grenouilles en Beurre' - or as we say over this side of the Channel, 'in the soup'. Whilst it is the Board's view that the commercial and residential market may have reached a peak we consider that we are in an extremely sound and liquid financial position to take advantage of any interesting opportunities that may come our way. Once again I have separated my personal ramblings which follow this statement and are not strictly related to our operations so that those shareholders who are not interested in my views can ignore them. Finally I would like to thank our small dedicated team of staff, our financial advisers, legal advisers, agents, accountants and, of course, our tenants - to all of whom I am most grateful. As ever, despite the many uncertainties, I view our future with optimism and confidence. A. S. Perloff Chairman 30 April 2007 CHAIRMAN'S SUPPLEMENT The Ten Commandments! Sometimes it helps to consider what was written in the Bible to see if it has any relevance to modern times. An interesting story is told in Exodus of Moses, who led 600,000 of his people out of bondage in Egypt when ruled by Pharaoh. After much travel through deserts, waste and barren lands, Moses reached the foot of Mount Sinai, upon whose peak God sat and He ordered Moses to come up. I imagine the meeting going something like this. Moses: 'Oh Great and Mighty God I prostrate myself before Thee to give thanks for freeing my people from slavery in Egypt, for providing sustenance in the wilderness, for guiding us though deserts, for defeating Pharaoh's armies, for..... God: 'Oh, Mo, Mo, enough! Stop the lauding. I know what I've done for my people and although I am mighty pleased with the fine job you've done under my guidance -what do you want NOW?' Moses: 'My people have been slaves for a hundred years, they only know a Pharaoh's edicts - they do not have their own laws to allow them to live in harmony with each other. They love and fear Thee, so can the Almighty bless us with some of our own laws. But oh mighty one, my people are a simple people who, as slaves, had no time for education or learning table manners!' God: 'OKEY DOKEY Mo, I get the gist - education, education, education. So that your people are not hit by my most fearsome 11th plague which I did not need to use on Pharaoh, I will give you just 10 Commandments, each simple to understand, but all encompassing for a happy and good life between man and his neighbour. I will set them in stone as a sign that they will be everlasting. Take them down to our people and teach them the wisdom of My words! Well, Moses did just this, and for the next three and a half thousand years or so, most of human civilisation lived by these laws which God had carved in stone. However, approximately 70 years ago, a great evil arose in middle Europe and its tyranny caused war and destruction around the world. After the forces of evil had finally been defeated and Europe had begun its great reconstruction, the leaders of the devastated middle Europe nations worried about the monumental death and destruction caused by 'Nationalism', decided (in a spirit of well meaning) to join the mid Europe countries together into one happy European Community of trading partners thus creating - a new omnipotent, powerful deity. This new community needed many new laws for their subjects, which were created, and thus unwittingly was released the 11th plague, the most fearsome of all plagues, Lawyers and Law-makers - for new Laws begat Lawyers, Lawyers begat Law-makers, Law-makers begat New Laws ad infinitum. Thus, for the next 50 years to the present day, not one week passes without new edicts of thousands of words and hideous complexity being passed and becoming harsh new laws, the observance of which require heavy taxes to oversee. The simple people do not fully understand but are beginning to feel heavy burdens and that they are once more being driven back into slavery. No longer under the Pharaohs, their Taskmasters are now called 'Commissioners'. It is, perhaps, worth mentioning that the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God needed only 120 Hebrew words, whereas our new Overlords have given us over 1,000 words on how we buy, sell, weigh, measure or describe BANANAS. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse The last book of the New Testament is 'Revelations' and mainly deals with mysteries, myths and portents, written with such vagueness that it allows for huge latitudes of interpretation. One small part of this Book tells of four horses that ride signifying the end of the world, often described in times of old or painted by the old masters as the four horsemen of the apocalypse. I think this story is now ripe for updating, and imagine it could easily be translated as the financial apocalypse and my biblical version would read as follows: From the West, one bright and sunny day, a pale white horse rides fast bestrode by a beautiful smiling siren with long flowing hair clothed in diaphanous white silk. She is bedecked with luxurious handbags, magnificent shoes, strings of pearls and jewellery and carrying fully laden bags of gold. From the North comes the second Horse, of two different colours. The front half is pale, the back is dark. Its rider has an enormous golden body and stomach shaped like an egg showing a map of the world sequined in precious stones. The body has two heads and two pairs of arms and legs - one head and one pair of arms and legs face to the front, and the other set faces the back. It gallops apace to be alongside the first Horse. From the East comes the third Horse, glowing red, ridden by a Cossack, who shows off his consummate skill by riding low to one side or the other, or even beneath the Horse, so that he can easily conceal himself from view. This Horse, too, rides up to gallop alongside the other two horses, and there are now three. Finally, suddenly, as though from nowhere, a fourth black Horse appears, with wide open staring eyes, ridden by a blindfolded skeleton carrying a scythe. It joins the others and they ride furiously, causing a great and powerful wind, which billows forth and blows round the known world, with devastating consequences for all mankind. These are the four Horsemen of the Financial Apocalypse - their names are Debt, Divorce, Deceit and Disaster, and the wind is called the Great Panic. Of course, only I can interpret the meaning of these writings, which would be as follows: The first pale white horse is Debt. This seductive siren symbolises the attraction of Debt, which empowers people to acquire objects, assets, businesses, designer clothing, fast cars, bigger homes - on other people's money at minimal initial cost - often before they can really afford them. The speed of the horse signifies how fast Debt moves upward and can get out of control. The second horse is called Divorce, not the marital type of divorce, but the divorce of risk and reward of wealth and capital from its true owners and the managers who manage business ventures or investment on their behalf. This horse is a two coloured horse so that on whichever side you are standing you see a different colour. It is ridden by two riders, one facing forward and one facing back. Neither can see what the other is doing. The two riders share one golden body with a world atlas encrusted in jewels, thus symbolising the wealth of the world, shaped like an egg, indicating the creation of all enterprise. This horse is symbolic of how the rewards and risks of ownerships and the management of capital have been completely divorced from each other. This is the current situation where those who manage huge corporations are rarely accountable to the owners - be it by virtue of unaccountable institutional shareholders or even many nominee shareholders forced to hold their fractional ownership outside of their own name because of the tax system, and therefore having little knowledge of what the management are doing. The banks who pay grotesquely excessive bonuses to their trading employees who personally risk nothing with their gambles yet take a heavy percentage of the reward for short-term success when the risks are long-term. This reward system, being an encouragement into bigger risks, also persuading clients to the bigger deal as the clients' management are also financially rewarded for success or size but rarely punished for failure. 'Hedge Funds' take this scenario to the extreme. Thus the natural caution of risking one's own money is removed when management, (which devises its own structure of reward) and capital owners, are facing different and opposite direction. The third horse is red and called Deceit. The method of riding is indicative of deceiving the watcher as to what its true purpose is. Our current Deceit starts high up in government with false or misleading figures on practically anything it presents to the public, with an uncanny skill to obscure as much as possible. Many companies' accounts can be enhanced or otherwise and the true figures not easily noticed because of the way accounts are becoming far more complex and constantly changing, making it easier to obfuscate. Deceit can also be just the concealment of the massive risks that managers take by deliberate complexity. The red horse and Cossack are also symbolic for Russia, where huge fortunes have arisen very quickly and mostly obscurely but having arrived here quickly, can move away just as quickly. Then there are the tens of thousands of people giving false information on their mortgage or credit card applications to achieve bigger loans. And finally, the two million people who are fiddling the DHSS, individually, undoubtedly in comparatively paltry amounts but which in total are huge. The last horse is called 'Disaster'. The blindfolded skeleton symbolises death and destruction, and the scythe symbolises that it cuts down the mighty and the meek, the young or old, rich or poor, healthy and strong or ill and weak, without discrimination. The Disaster which comes may have a natural cause, such as a huge volcanic eruption, or a massive movement of tectonic plates causing another huge tsunami or submerging San Francisco beneath the sea, or even a large meteorite landing on New York or London (or if small, hopefully Brussels or Westminster!) or a politically inspired one of war or a massive financial mistake or even a possible deliberate currency sabotage of the dollar by China, the biggest Disaster risk is likely to be from some of the huge financial bets hidden behind hedges going badly wrong and which happen simultaneously, will produce the fourth horse. The first three horses are already out there riding; but if the fourth horse Disaster suddenly arrives the conditions for the myth to explode into reality and for the Great Wind of Panic to blow around the world at computer-like speed create 'The Financial Apocalypse'. And now to continue with some of my personal experiences..... Feeding Time for Jemima In the early 70s I bought a double corner shop and upper part in Bermondsey Street, near London Bridge Station. The property was occupied as a grocery shop/ sub-post office and the upper part as a small flat and let separately. My particular interest was that the property was in an area zoned for office use and I felt we could redevelop for a good profit. The shop tenant was very happy to leave with a small payment. I thus arranged to visit our other tenant, whom I assumed would be happy to leave the flat for a good premium, because she had written to us on numerous occasions complaining of leaking roof, damaged draughty windows, poor decor etc etc. I went to visit the tenant with my brother Harold, as arranged, late one morning. Having received so many complaints, we were pleasantly surprised to be warmly greeted by a young woman of comely and casual appearance, noticeably devoid of make-up but not unattractive. She invited us in and made cups of tea for us. After a half hour's general conversation, during which she explained she worked for the social services department of the local council. It became clear she was not likely to move as she felt landlords had a duty to provide flats for people at nominal rents and carry out huge repairs and improvements for no profit - indeed, her political views were slightly to the left of Karl Marx, whereas at that time mine were slightly to the right of Genghis Khan. Whilst I was pondering this impasse, I suddenly heard a baby crying in a small cot in the corner of the room that I had not previously noticed. Our tenant told us it was baby Jemima's feeding time, and do we mind if she fed her. Well, of course, being a man of the world I knew it only took four or five minutes to heat up milk in a baby bottle or a small jar of Johnson baby food, so of course I said yes and began working out my new strategy to suggest how wonderful it is for small children to live in a flat or house with a small garden away from the filth and grime of Central London. The tenant picked up Jemima, sat back in her armchair, suddenly pulling open her thick woolly cardigan and pulled out an enormous white breast. Both Harold's and my eyes and Jemima's mouth were drawn like magnets to her enormous bosom. I think I went red with embarrassment and quickly decided that a strategic withdrawal was called for. I thus suddenly remembered an early afternoon appointment and together with Harold swiftly left the flat. We never managed to carry out our desired redevelopment, thus one small development for mankind was defeated by one woman's strategic use of her massive weaponry. A Man and a Van Some years after my Bermondsey Street failure, I was dealing with a vacant double lock-up shop in Rye Lane, Peckham, a busy but secondary position. This was a middle pair of four lock-up shops. A local resident, who wanted to run a second-hand goods shop, did not impress me with his idea, but it had been vacant for some time, so I suggested that our prospective tenant should come into the office and convince me of his abilities to run a shop when he had not been in business before. He and his partner in both meanings of the word, arrived as arranged. They could have been sent in by MGM Central Casting Department. He was 6' 4', tall, dark, good-looking and wearing a shiny dark suit over a T-shirt with muscles bulging everywhere. While pleasant of manner, there was a slight air of menace about him, which would have made him ideal for the slick New Orleans nightclub owner villain in a Bond film. His 'partner' was obviously up for a 'Ziegfeld Follies' front line chorus dancer. She was medium height, long, beautifully coiffured blonde hair, with near perfect figure, partially clothed in a low cut top and short skirt and very pretty, in a slightly over made up sort of way. They sat down in front of my desk, and I of course gave her the best office chair. He commenced telling me his business plan. He owned his own large van and worked freelance for movers, especially for auctions, and had experience of house clearances and felt he could sell much of the furniture which cost him very little at good prices if he had a shop. He explained his 'partner' was a hairdresser who managed a shop opposite having a lot of time free, so between them, they would be able to run the shop. This sounded plausible, and I was saying so, when I noticed his pretty partner was no longer tense and began to relax and lay back in our best office chair, not realising its ability to stretch backwards. She fell back, and her legs flew into the air, and in a flash, I realised she was not one of Marks & Spencer's favourite item customers. My words seemed to get all confused, and I quite lost my thought processes and forgot about the usual references, my thoughts strayed elsewhere. I let them have the shop. Anyway, all went well for about a year or so, despite the tenants on either side complaining that he was using their forecourt as well as his own, and when asked not to, he threatened them. I said write in and I will try and deal with the problem. They didn't. When the rent was over three months' in arrears, we phoned him and wearily he explained that times were difficult because his hairdressing partner had given him the 'brush-off' and gone back to her parents in Tunbridge Wells. We gave him a little more time, but matters just got worse. He had stock in the shop, so we instructed bailiffs. They failed, and the bailiff told us they would not go there again as he was 'too tough' for them. However, eventually matters sorted themselves out when 'the Long Arm of the Law' dealt with him. Apparently he had been carrying out one or two 'house clearances'..... without the owner's permission! An Optical Illusion Many years ago, when we still owned the manufacturing optical business, which occupied most of Panther House, and having over one hundred employees, I was often surprised at the diligence, keenness and enthusiasm of the staff, despite the fact that we were obviously a loss-making and dying business. I was particularly impressed with the senior factory floor manager, who often worked late to check the machines. Likewise, I was pleased to see the accounts manageress, also working late checking that all the accounts were correct and went out on time. It was extremely gratifying to see such dedication. It was not until some time after my initial pride in our dedicated workers, when the account manageress left the company that I found out that although working late and 'on the job', they weren't on the job they were being paid for. The factory manager volunteered the information that their illicit liaison (carried out in my office, as it had the only settee!) had caused both of them terrible matrimonial problems, and he apologised for the poor performance of the works department and accounts mistakes, which he said were due to their personal problems, which meant they both couldn't concentrate on their particular duties. It was indeed true we had been having extremely difficult production problems, and many of our accounts had been wrong, which added to the losses we were making, was one of the many reasons which helped us to decide to sell the optical business, which we successfully achieved. Modern Times Once again, I can hear murmurs, saying 'slightly amusing stories, but what's the relevance to our business or the bee in his bonnet about incompetent Government? ' Well, despite my sadly limited experience in these matters, it seems clear to me that whenever there is some sexual involvement in decision-making, common sense seems to fly out of the window. This, of course, brings me back to REVELATIONS. But, of course, of the most modern kind which have been revealed to us courtesy of our wonderful 'Free Press', who have paid handsomely to reveal the stories to us all. We have been regaled with stories of: a former, seemingly dull, Prime Minister Bonking a frizzy haired harridan cabinet colleague; a podgy Deputy Prime Minister Bonking a second-class civil servant (reputedly in a second-class sort of way); a blind Home Secretary, who was unable to see that the attractive secretary he was Bonking was already married and a journalist of the opposite political persuasion; a former Foreign Secretary announcing to the world that he was Bonking his secretary before telling his wife, a former Defence Secretary Bonking (wholesale) an entire female family coven; a former Director of Public Prosecutions having to resign for Bonking those he was meant to prosecute; a current Director of Public Prosecutions Bonking a junior Barrister in chambers, where he may be able to give financial favours; one MP caught on Clapham common looking for someone to Bonk; one former married Heritage Minister sportily bonking an unknown actress, who promptly sold her story to achieve fame; one sad politician who accidentally committed suicide trying to Bonk himself and of course there was the lying literary, Lord who served an harsh penal sentence because he lied about his twilight Bonking habits to some judges. That brings us to the immigrant senior immigration judge, who was BONKING a female senior immigration judge, indeed, so vigorously, that she needed over a year's sick leave (on full pay, of course) and he, thus not fully sated, turned to their illegal immigrant (possible cash-in-hand) cleaner, to spice up his BONKING, only to have her polish off his career prospects with a touch of South American blackmail. I of course must apologise to all the others who may feel slighted that they have been left out of this catalogue of our administrators' peccadilloes, all of whom almost certainly would have been severely distracted from the jobs for which they are well paid, pension protected and featherbed expensed, incompetently doing on our behalf. Of course I have forgotten one very large group of people who are being well and truly BONKED - us, the increasingly over-burdened TAXPAYER. The final question is whether the world has gone BONKERS, or is it just me? Andrew S Perloff 30 April 2007 CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT For the year ended 31 December 2006 Year Year ended ended 31 December 2006 31 December 2005 Notes Â£'000 Â£'000 Revenue 9,722 8,498 Cost of sales (2,930) (2,035) --------- ---------- Gross profit 6,792 6,463 Other income 153 133 Administrative expenses (2,503) (2,061) --------- ---------- 4,442 4,535 Profit on the disposal of investment properties 438 1,607 Movement in fair value of investment properties 6,081 22,537 Finance costs (2,669) (3,281) Investment income 490 877 Profit on disposal of available for sale investments (shares) 497 87 Profit on sale of subsidiary - 66 Surplus of assets acquired over consideration given 15 17 Share of results from Associate (25) 104 --------- ---------- Profit before tax 9,269 26,549 Income tax expense 2 (1,924) (5,938) --------- ---------- Profit for the year 7,345 20,611 ========= ========== Attributable to: Equity holders of the parent 7,387 20,611 Minority interest (42) - --------- ---------- Profit for the year 7,345 20,611 ========= ========== Earnings per share Basic and diluted 4 43.5p 121.3p ========= ========== CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET As at 31 December 2006 31 December 2006 31 December 2005 Notes Â£'000 Â£'000 ASSETS Non-current assets Property, plant and equipment 21 9 Investment property 6 104,521 99,881 Interests in Associate - 364 Available for sale investments (shares) 2,051 3,047 --------- --------- 106,593 103,301 --------- --------- Current assets Inventories 269 - Stock properties 9,374 9,534 Available for sale investments (shares) 423 410 Trade and other receivables 3,369 3,196 Cash and cash equivalents 7,736 14,546 --------- --------- 21,171 27,686 --------- --------- Total assets 127,764 130,987 ========= ========= EQUITY AND LIABILITIES Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent Capital and reserves Share capital 4,250 4,250 Share premium account 2,886 2,886 Capital redemption reserve 571 571 Retained earnings 8 65,562 59,925 --------- --------- 73,269 67,632 Minority interest 93 - --------- --------- Total equity 73,362 67,632 --------- --------- Non-current liabilities Long-term borrowings 36,989 46,562 Deferred tax liabilities 12,272 11,010 --------- --------- 49,261 57,572 --------- --------- Current liabilities Trade and other payables 4,364 4,350 Short-term borrowings 135 187 Current tax payable 642 1,246 --------- --------- 5,141 5,783 --------- --------- --------- --------- Total liabilities 54,402 63,355 --------- --------- --------- --------- Total equity and liabilities 127,764 130,987 ========= ========= CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF RECOGNISED INCOME AND EXPENSE For the year ended 31 December 2006 Year Year ended ended 31 December 2006 31 December 2005 Notes Â£'000 Â£'000 Movement in fair value of available for sale investments (shares) taken to equity 276 (66) Deferred tax relating to movement in fair value of available for sale investments (shares) taken to (156) 20 equity --------- ---------- Net income/ (expense) taken directly to equity 120 (46) Profit for the year 7,345 20,611 --------- ---------- Total recognised income and expense for the year 7,465 20,565 ========= ========== Attributable to: Equity holders of the parent 7,507 20,565 Minority interest (42) - --------- ---------- 7,465 20,565 ========= ========== CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT For the year ended 31 December 2006 Year Year ended ended 31 December 2006 31 December 2005 Notes Â£'000 Â£'000 Cash flows from operating activities Profit before interest, investment income and tax 4,442 4,535 Add: Depreciation charges for the year 9 9 Add: (Less)/ add: provisions against available for sale investments (shares) - current assets (12) 13 ---------- --------- Profit before working capital change 4,439 4,557 Decrease in stock properties 90 221 Decrease in receivables 25 1,067 (Decrease)/ Increase in payables (203) 328 ---------- --------- Cash generated from operations 4,351 6,173 Interest paid (2,730) (3,105) Income tax paid (1,424) (1,896) ---------- --------- Net cash from operating activities 197 1,172 Cash from investing activities Purchase of plant and equipment (10) (9) Purchase of investment properties (1,648) (632) Purchase of available for sale investments (shares) - current assets (1) (100) - non current assets (200) (7) Investment in subsidiaries - (76) Net cash acquired with subsidiary 361 - Proceeds from disposal of subsidiary - 66 Proceeds from sale of investment properties 3,527 12,707 Proceeds from the disposal of available for sale investments (shares) - non current assets 1,969 399 Dividend income received 45 37 Interest income received 445 840 ---------- --------- Net cash from investing activities 4,488 13,225 Financing activities New loans net of repayments (9,625) (12,384) Dividends paid 3 (1,870) (2,804) ---------- --------- Net cash used in financing activities (11,495) (15,188) Net (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (6,810) (791) Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of period 14,546 15,337 ---------- --------- Cash and cash equivalents at the end of period 7,736 14,546 ========== ========= NOTES TO THE PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT For the year ended 31 December 2006 1. General Information While the financial information included in this preliminary announcement has been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), this announcement does not itself contain sufficient information to comply with IFRSs. The Company expects to publish full financial statements that comply with IFRSs in May 2007. The financial information set out in the announcement does not constitute the company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2006 or 2005. The financial information for the year ended 31 December 2005 is derived from the statutory accounts for that year, which were prepared under IFRSs, which have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditors' opinion on those accounts was unqualified and did not contain a statement under s237(2) or (3) Companies Act 1985. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2006 will be finalised on the basis of the financial information presented by the directors in this preliminary announcement and will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the company's annual general meeting. There is no material seasonality associated with the Group's activities. 2. Taxation The charge for taxation comprises the following: 31 December 2006 31 December 2005 Â£'000 Â£'000 Current year UK corporation tax 1,108 2,242 Prior year UK corporation tax (290) (180) Current year deferred tax 1,106 3,876 ------------ ----------- Income tax expense for the year 1,924 5,938 ============ =========== Corporation tax is calculated at 30% (2005 - 30%) of the estimated assessable profit for the year. 3. Dividends Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the period: 31 December 2006 31 December 2005 Â£'000 Â£'000 Final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2005 of 5p (2004 - 4p) per share 850 680 Special interim dividend for the year ended 31 December 2005 of 10p per share* - 1,274 Interim dividend for the year ended 31 December 2006 of 6p (2005 - 5p) per share 1,020 850 ------------ ----------- 1,870 2,804 ============ =========== * A S Perloff waived his personal entitlement to the special 10p dividend. The Directors recommend payment of a final dividend of 6p per share (2005 - 5p). The final dividend will be payable on 28 June 2007 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 25 May 2007. 4. Earnings per ordinary share (basic and diluted) The calculation of earnings per ordinary share is based on earnings, after minority interests, of Â£7,345,000 (2005 - Â£20,611,000) and on 16,998,151 ordinary shares being the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year (2005 - 16,998,151). 5. Net assets per share 31 December 2006 31 December 2005 Â£'000 Â£'000 Total equity attributable to shareholders per 25p ordinary share 431p 398p ============ =========== The calculation of net asset per ordinary share is based on the equity attributable to share holders of the equity in the parent company, and on 16,998,151 (31 December 2006 and 31 December 2005) ordinary shares being the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue throughout the twelve months ended 31 December 2006. 6. Investment Property Investment Properties Â£'000 Fair value of investment property At 1 January 2006 99,881 Additions 1,648 Disposals (3,089) Revaluation increase 6,081 ------------ At 31 December 2006 104,521 ============ 7. Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting will be held on 27 June 2007. 8. Retained earnings 31 December 31 December 2006 2005 Â£'000 Â£'000 At 1 January 59,925 42,164 Profit for the period 7,387 20,611 Movement in fair value of available for sale investments (shares) taken to equity 276 (66) Deferred tax relating to movement in fair value of available for sale investments (shares) taken to equity (156) 20 Dividends paid (1,870) (2,804) ----------- ----------- 65,562 59,925 ----------- ----------- 9. Copies of the Report and Accounts will be posted to shareholders shortly and will be available from the Company's registered office at Panther House, 38 Mount Pleasant, London WC1X 0AP. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Companies

Panther Securities (PNS)

Friday, 17th May 2024

COMPANIES COVERED:

BT.A LAND FA.

BT Group continues to bask in yesterday’s well received earnings news and FireAngel jumps on clarity over getting a possible takeover across the line but Land Securities investors fail to find inspiration despite macroeconomic woes easing.

Full Archive

UK 100

Latest directors dealings

12 hours ago Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (CDI)
13 hours ago Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.NPV (CDI)
13 hours ago H&T Group
14 hours ago Centrica
14 hours ago Vistry Group

All directors dealings today