Final Results

RNS Number : 5782A

Tristel PLC

12 October 2009

 



TRISTEL plc

("Tristel" or "the Company")

Preliminary Results for the Year Ended 30 June 2009

A fourth consecutive year of profits growth

Tristel plc (AIM: TSTL), the specialist infection and contamination control company, announces its preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 2009. Tristel provides infection control products based on chlorine dioxide chemistry to the healthcare marketplace.

Financial Highlights

• Turnover up 14.9% to £6.847m (2008: £5.961m)

• Profit before tax up 5.6% to £1.285m (2008: £1.217m)

• Basic earnings per share 3.42p (2008: 4.17p) - 2008 benefited from a deferred tax adjustment

• Dividend per share for the full year up 9.7% to 1.7p (2007: 1.55p)

Operational Highlights

• Majority of Tristel products available to all NHS hospitals via NHS Logistics as a consequence of their widespread use

• Export sales increased by 53%

• Entry into the North American and Chinese markets

• Appointed UK distributor for AirinSpace's complementary air hygiene products

Post year-end events 

• Acquisition of the Medichem portfolio of disinfectants 

• US licensing deal with The Clorox Company

• Launch of China based subsidiary

Paul Swinney, Chief Executive of Tristel plc, said:

"We have had another good year, achieving our fourth consecutive year of pre-tax profit growth since our flotation in 2005. Our business continues to grow, both at home and in overseas markets, and with our strategic initiatives to enter the Americas and Chinese markets we look to the future with confidence"

For further information:

Tristel plc	01638 721 500
Paul Swinney, Chief Executive
Paul Barnes, Finance Director
Daniel Stewart    & Company Plc	020 7776 6550
Graham Webster
Walbrook PR Ltd	020 7933 8787 or 07980 541 893
Paul McManus	[e-mail]

Chairman's Statement

I am pleased to report that the year ended 30 June 2009 was another year of progress for your Company. Group turnover increased by 14.9% to £6,846,682 (2008: £5,961,252). Profit before tax, amortisation of intangibles and share based payments increased by 6.6% to £1,459,817 (2008: £1,369,902) and profit before tax increased by 5.6% to £1,284,777 (2008: £1,216,577). Throughout the year we have continued to focus on the hospital marketplace, both in our home market in the United Kingdom and overseas. We continue to pursue our objectives of:-

i.      developing products that are superior in terms of efficacy, safety and ease of use over existing products; and

ii.    developing new infection control “solutions” if prevailing technologies and techniques do not provide an         effective, practical and affordable method for the control of hospital acquired infection.

        

During the year we also took into our portfolio a "best of breed" technology developed by another company. We became the United Kingdom distributor for the French company AirinSpace, whose air hygiene technology complements our offer to the infection control community - our primary audience.  

This initiative enables us to tackle another important route of transmission of infection in hospitals, that of air borne organisms, which is of enormous relevance to certain departments within hospitals, such as haematology. It also affirms our development as an infection control business. Although we are known for our lead technology - our proprietary chlorine dioxide chemistry - we recognise that effective infection control requires multiple interventions and a cohesive approach if it is to be successful, and this is what Tristel offers a hospital's infection control team. 

EPS and dividend

Basic earnings per share were 3.42 pence (2008: 4.17 pence), a decrease of 18%. A deferred tax adjustment in 2007-08 lowered the overall tax charge to 13.8%. The overall tax charge increased in 2008-09 to 28.5%, accounting for the decrease in EPS. Based upon the year's positive trading performance, the Board is recommending that the final dividend be increased to 1.295 pence (2008: 1.165 pence), increasing the total annual dividend by 9.7% to 1.7 pence per share (2008: 1.55 pence per share).

Employees

Our people are the mainstay of our business. The workforce has continued to grow from 40 at last year end to 47 at 30th June 2009. Furthermore, we now not only have employees in the United Kingdom but also in Italy, Germany, China and New Zealand. The Tristel team is truly in development. The Board recognises the professionalism and commitment of this team and I would like to thank them for their efforts this year.

Outlook

2008-09 was another important year in the development of Tristel into a recognisable force in the high-tech, critical end of infection control; a cornerstone objective of the Company. Since the year end, further important strides have been taken to realise this objective through three significant transactions. First, the acquisition of the intellectual property and manufacturing rights to a portfolio of disinfectant products sold largely into the animal healthcare market. Second, the establishment of a subsidiary company in China and the launch of our products into the fastest growing medical device market in the world; and, finally, the licensing of our proprietary technology for the Americas market to The Clorox Company of the United States.  

Having established our activities in most of world's largest infection control markets - Russia, China and North and South America - whilst continuing to expand the Group's business in our domestic and existing export markets, we have laid the foundations for continuing growth. We can look forward to the future with confidence.

Francisco A. Soler

Chairman

9th October 2009

  Chief Executive's Report

Tristel designs, develops, manufactures and sells products that control and eliminate the risks of cross infection and contamination. They are most relevant to, and are mostly used in, the healthcare setting.

We have a clear direction

Continuity and consistency have been the guiding themes of our business and product development strategy from the time of our flotation in June 2005. All of the products that we market address one or more of the routes of transmission of infection and causes of contamination in a hospital. As our product portfolio develops, these products increasingly complement each other in the fight against hospital acquired infection (HAI). An HAI is an infection that a patient did not have or was not incubating on entering hospital.  

Working day in and day out with infection control professionals in our hospitals confirms to us that only well coordinated multiple interventions can make a difference to HAI rates. This means good hand hygiene practice and effective disinfection of hospital surfaces - not only of large surface areas walked by patients, staff and visitors all day, every day, but also of next-to-patient surfaces such as patient trolleys and bed side tables, and patient contact surfaces such as mattresses and commodes, especially commodes. It means an effective strategy against legionella in the hospital's water supply. It means that instruments used in diagnostic or therapeutic procedures must be thoroughly decontaminated.

During the year we built further upon this strategy by securing the distributorship for the United Kingdom of the air hygiene products of the French company AirinSpace. This enables us to tackle another important route of transmission of infection in hospitals, that of air borne organisms, which is of enormous relevance to certain departments within hospitals, such as haematology.  

We innovate to improve infection control practice  

Effective infection control in critical areas of the hospital requires the use of the highest performing chemistries. A key characteristic of our chlorine dioxide chemistry is that it is rapidly effective against bacterial spores, which are considered to be the most resistant of micro organisms. As a consequence, Tristel products are described as "sporicidal". The much publicised pathogen Clostridium difficile is a sporing organism.

However, the ability of a disinfectant chemistry to kill organisms in a laboratory test has to translate into products that can achieve the task "on the job". There is a growing realisation amongst infection control practitioners that some of the technologies and products that have been employed for years to control infection are either inadequate to do the job or inappropriate for the job to be done properly. For example, a disinfectant chemistry that is widely used on floors may be very effective according to its test data in killing bacteria, viruses and spores, but when the healthcare professional using the product prepares it and is overwhelmed by its odour, the product will not be used properly and the infection control strategy fails.  

Tristel continues to invest its energy and financial resources in innovation to improve infection control practice. This means the development of products that will be superior in terms of efficacy - which we achieve because chlorine dioxide is such an effective biocide - but, as importantly, can be used safely, be deployed by operatives easily, and are affordable. 

An example of how we have added to the armoury of infection control teams in their fight against the sporing organism Clostridium difficle is our introduction during the year of Tristel Jet.

In most hospitals housekeeping staff typically clean the floors of a ward and nursing staff clean the near patient areas. On surfaces such as bed side tables the use of trigger sprays as used in the home would be most helpful for the staff. However, because of the toxicity of many disinfectant chemistries and the fact that trigger sprays create aerosols, their use is not allowed in many hospitals. In response, Tristel has created Jet, a unique packaging format that delivers our chlorine dioxide chemistry to a surface in the form of a gel, avoiding potentially harmful aerosols. Jet complements Fuse, our burstable sachet, and Duo, which applies chlorine dioxide as a foam - the complete armoury to disinfect all surfaces in a hospital.

We understand infection control

The United Kingdom is one of the most sophisticated infection control markets in the world. It is also one of the least regulated and has enjoyed more innovation than most others as a consequence. 

With fifteen years' experience in the United Kingdom we have observed and often participated in some of the seismic shifts in infection control practice that have emerged in our home market. We benefit from two insights of this experience:-

• In all markets we observe the widely held view that automated infection control practice is somehow better than manual methods

• There are many markets in the world that have yet to follow the changes that have occurred in the United Kingdom.

Our understanding of these dynamics informs our product development strategy, enabling us to dominate niche areas of the hospital. This typically occurs first in our home market and can then be repeated overseas. 

An example is the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) department. In infection control terms, ENT has been a neglected area worldwide. Identifying ENT as a significant business opportunity, we developed our patented wipes system for the small endoscopes used in this clinical area in 2004. These instruments are called nasendoscopes. The Trio Wipes System has become the dominant decontamination method for nasendoscopes in the United Kingdom ENT market.

Having raised decontamination standards with a simple manual system which has been easy to implement by hospitals because it requires no capital investment, we are now working with NHS and private hospitals to automate nasendoscope decontamination with our Shine washer-disinfector. Whilst this transition from manual to automated is now underway in the United Kingdom, it has not begun in ENT hospitals overseas.

We will continue to expand geographically

Tristel has a clear strategy to expand its business internationally. In all of the countries where we sold products during the year, the business model employed has been to use a national distribution partner, with the exception of Italy and New Zealand. In Italy we hold a 20% shareholding in Tristel Italia Srl. In New Zealand we have a wholly-owned subsidiary, Stella Performance Ltd. 

Export sales during the year increased by 53% to £471,794 (2008: £308,495), representing 6.9% of Group total revenue (2008: 5.2%).

Our prospects in a future that will be marked by cutbacks in healthcare spending

Given the economic and financial turmoil of the past twelve months, and the burden of public sector debt that it has left, we must assume that healthcare spending will be squeezed in the United Kingdom. This prognosis holds true for much of Continental Europe.

However, there are well publicised performance targets for the control of hospital acquired infections and we cannot imagine a scenario in which they will be abandoned. As pathogenic organisms show no respect for public finance or politics, only a relentless hygiene programme will contain the issue.

We anticipate, therefore, that expenditure in our area will be reasonably well insulated from spending constraints that are imposed elsewhere within healthcare. We can also expect (and hope) that the NHS will spend its rationed budgets more effectively. Given that our products have unsurpassed performance characteristics and safety profiles, are easy to procure through NHS Logistics, and enjoy a fine pedigree, we may benefit from a more austere environment.  

In other geographical markets in which we already have a presence or are targeting, improvement in infection control practice is an essential element of improving healthcare standards. The fast growing markets of the Middle, Near and  Far East represent enormous opportunities for Tristel.  

Results and finance

Revenue

Tristel has enjoyed another year of solid growth, increasing Group revenues by 14.9% to £6,846,682.  

Margins and operating profit

The gross margin declined during the year to 64.9% from 67.3%. This was in part due to the sale of Shine washer-disinfectors into the ENT departments of hospitals. During the year 22 units were sold (2008: 2), of which 19 were sold in the second half of the financial year. These capital equipment sales are at a lower margin than our consumable product sales. As the equipment is installed and becomes fully operational it generates the sale of the disinfectant used within the equipment which will be at a normalised margin.

Excluding amortisation of intangibles and share based payments, operating profits increased by 2.6% to £1,458,034 (2008: £1,421,412) and the operating margin declined from 23.8% to 21.3%. The pre-tax margin also declined in the year to 18.8% (2008: 20.4%), slightly below our established target of 20%.  

Earnings 

The basic earnings per share were 3.42 pence (2008: 4.17 pence), a decrease of 18%. A deferred tax adjustment in 2007-08 lowered the overall tax charge to 13.8%. The overall tax charge increased to 28.5% in 2008-09, accounting for the decrease in EPS. 

Capital expenditure and investments

The Group has continued to invest in its manufacturing and warehousing capability and new product development.  

Capital expenditure and investment during the year totalled £672,000 (2008: £1,003,000). The main elements of this investment were:-

• Expansion of the manufacturing and warehouse facility, £100,000 (2008: £233,000)

• Product development projects, £394,000 (2008: £532,000)

Treasury and deployment of capital

The Group's working capital and capital expenditures have been financed from operating cash flow and utilisation of its overdraft facility.

The Group has adequate debt facilities to fund its foreseeable working capital and capital expenditure needs.

The year ahead and post balance sheet events 

As our Chairman has reported, three important strategic initiatives have been concluded since the year end. Whilst negotiations to enter the Americas and Chinese markets in two separate transactions were worked on throughout much of the year, the acquisition of the Medichem portfolio of disinfectants was opportunistic, being conceived in May and executed on July 3rd 2009. 

All three transactions build upon the foundations that we have established over the past decade, developing our capabilities as a manufacturer and marketer of high performance disinfectant products and expanding our footprint geographically.  

In the Americas we have licensed our proprietary chlorine dioxide chemistry to The Clorox Company, a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products, including its namesake bleach. Clorox is based in Oakland, California, is an S&P500 company (stock symbol CLX) with annual sales in excess of $5 billion and 8,300 employees worldwide.  

Like all small, developing companies in a global industry we have long held an ambition to enter the United States market. In fact, our first ever investment in the embryonic Tristel chemistry was for the commercial rights for North and South America. We soon abandoned our efforts on the other side of the Atlantic when we realised the costs and risks of navigating our way through the regulatory hurdles set up by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration.  So, to find a partner of the stature and capability of Clorox to enable our technology to enter the Americas market is an enormous achievement. Furthermore, it is the finest endorsement of our chlorine dioxide chemistry.  

In China, we have established a subsidiary company, Shanghai Stella Medical Equipment Co. Ltd. ("SSM"), 85% owned by the Group. Our shareholder partners are a Chinese and a New Zealand national. SSM is launching the Stella endoscope decontamination system into the Chinese market and is also in the process of obtaining regulatory approval for Tristel's disinfectant products.

China is the third largest and fastest growing medical device market in the world. As previously stated in reference to world trends in infection control, improvement in infection control practice is an essential element of improving a nation's healthcare standards. We believe that our Group's products, which combine efficacy with safety and ease of use while avoiding the capital costs associated with automated infection control techniques, and the difficulties that are always associated with commissioning and maintaining such equipment, are well positioned for the Chinese market.

On 3rd July, we acquired the intellectual property and manufacturing rights for the portfolio of infection control products manufactured by Medichem International (Manufacturing) Limited ("Medichem"). Up to 2007, Medichem had been the contract manufacturer for the Tristel products. In that year we established our own manufacturing facility and commenced the production of our products.

The portfolio includes the surface disinfectant "Trigene Advance", which is a market leader in the animal healthcare market. The portfolio utilises a number of antimicrobial chemistries. It will continue to be distributed by Medichem International (Marketing) Limited and is sold into over 30 countries.

The total consideration for the acquisition is not less than £2.15 million and no more than £2.4 million. The purchase price was settled by a cash payment of £1 million with the balance being payable over the next five years. We financed the acquisition via a placing of 2,688,287 ordinary shares at 41 pence per share in a successful fund raising exercise which was three times oversubscribed.

The acquisition is not only a significant expansion of our presence in the global infection control market, bringing to Tristel a portfolio of new biocidal chemistries and well-established, market leading brands, but it also enables us to gear up our manufacturing facility which has been under-utilised, dedicated as it has been since 2007 to the sole manufacture of the Tristel products.  

These building block initiatives, combined with the solid progress that we continue to make in our existing domestic and international markets, pave the way for continued top line growth in 2010. We will maintain our discipline in focusing upon the healthcare marketplace and look forward to a successful year ahead.  

Paul Swinney 

Chief Executive

9th October 2009  

Tristel Plc  Consolidated income statement For the year ended 30 June 2009

			Year ended 30 June 2009		Year ended 30 June 2008
		Note	£'000		£'000
Revenue			6,847		5,961
Cost of sales			(2,402)		(1,950)
Gross Profit			4,445		4,011
Other operating income			20		20
Administrative expenses - share based payments (IFRS2)			(14)		(37)
Administrative expenses - depreciation and amortisation			(402)		(309)
Administrative expenses - other			(2,766)		(2,417)
Total administrative expenses			(3,182)		(2,763)
Operating profit			1,283		1,268
Finance income		3	9		8
Finance costs		3	(7)		(59)
Profit before tax			1,285		1,217
Taxation		4	(366)		(168)
Profit for the year			919		1,049
Attributable to:
Equity holders of parent			919		1,049
Earnings per share from total and continuing operations
Basic - pence		6	3.42		4.17
Diluted - pence		6	3.31		4.06

All amounts relate to continuing operations.    

Tristel Plc Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity For the year ended 30 June 2009

		Share capital		Share premium account		Merger reserve		Retained earnings		Total equity
		£’000		£’000		£’000		£’000		£’000
1 July 2007		244		1,750		478		158		2,630
Profit and total income and expense for the year ended 30 June 2008		-		-		-		1,049		1,049
Dividends paid		-		-		-		(339)		(339)
Shares issued		25		913		-		-		938
Share based payments – IFRS 2		-		-		-		37		37
30 June 2008		269		2,663		478		905		4,315
Profit and total income and expense for the year ended 30 June 2009		-		-		-		919		919
Dividends paid		-		-		-		(422)		(422)
Share based payments – IFRS 2		-		-		-		14		14
30 June 2009		269		2,663		478		1,416		4,826

Tristel Plc  Consolidated Balance Sheet For the year ended 30 June 2009
				2009		2008
		Note		£'000		£'000
Non-current assets
Goodwill				779		779
Intangible assets				2,317		1,996
Property, plant and equipment				980		844
Investments				37		17
Deferred tax				31		33
				4,144		3,669
Current assets
Inventories				801		638
Trade and other receivables				1,611		1,367
Cash and cash equivalents				18		81
				2,430		2,086
Total assets				6,574		5,755
Capital and reserves attributable to the company's equity holders
Share capital				269		269
Share premium account				2,663		2,663
Merger reserve				478		478
Retained earnings				1,416		905
Equity attributable to equity holders of parent				4,826		4,315
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables				963		958
Bank overdrafts				356		5
Interest bearing loans and borrowings				51		46
Current tax	4			375		376
Total current liabilities				1,745		1,385
Non-current liabilities
Interest bearing loans and borrowings				3		55
Total liabilities				1,748		1,440
Total equity and liabilities				6,574		5,755

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Directors on 9th October 2009, and were signed on its behalf by: 

Paul Barnes

Finance Director

9th October 2008

Tristel Plc  Consolidated Cash Flow Statement For the year ended 30 June 2009

				2009		2008
		Note		£'000		£'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operating activities		7i		1,236		831
Interest paid				(7)		(59)
Corporation tax paid				(281)		(237)
				948		535
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received				9		8
Purchase of intangible assets				(482)		(616)
Acquisition of investments				(20)		(17)
Purchases of property, plant and equipment				(404)		(365)
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment				4		58
Net cash used in investing activities				(893)		(932)
Cash flows from financing activities
Loans received				-		140
Loans repaid				(47)		(139)
Share issues				-		1,000
Cost of share issues				-		(62)
Dividends paid				(422)		(339)
Net cash from financing activities				(469)		600
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents				(414)		203
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period		7ii		76		(127)
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period		7ii		(338)		76

Tristel Plc  Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements For the year ended 30 June 2009

1. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparation

The group's financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ('IFRS') as adopted by the European Union ('EU'). 

Segments

In identifying its operating segments, management follows the group's revenue line, which is derived from the principal activity of the manufacture, development and sale of infection control products using the group's chlorine dioxide chemistry and its associated applications.

The accounting segments the group uses for segment reporting under IFRS 8 are the same as those used in its financial statements, with the exceptions that:

• expenses relating to share-based payments, and

• research costs relating to new business activities are not included in arriving at the operating result of the entity's operating segments. 

The group currently identifies its revenue line as one operating segment, as described above. The operation is monitored and measured on the basis of the key performance indicators and strategic decisions are made on the basis of the segment's adjusted operating result. This is considered as the measure of the individual segment's profit or loss.

2.    PUBLICATION OF NON-STATUTORY ACCOUNTS

The financial information for the years ending 30 June 2009 and 2008 has been audited but does not constitute full financial statements within the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985.

The financial information has been extracted from the group's 2009 statutory financial statements upon which the auditors' opinion is unqualified and does not include any statement under section 237 of the Companies Act 1985.

3.    FINANCE INCOME AND COSTS    

		2009		2008
		£'000		£'000
Finance income:
Deposit account interest		4		4
Staff loan interest		2		2
Other interest		3		2
		9		8
Finance costs:
Bank interest		(7)		(59)

4.  TAXATION

The taxation charge represents:

		2009		2008
		£'000		£'000
Current taxation:-
Corporation tax		375		376
Adjustment in respect of earlier years		(11)		7
Total current tax		364		383
Deferred tax:-
Origination and reversal of temporary differences		2		(215)
Deferred tax		2		(215)
Total tax charge in income statement		366		168

Factors affecting the tax charge

The tax assessed for the year is lower than the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK. The difference is explained below: 

		2009		2008
		£'000		£'000
Profit on ordinary activities before tax		1,285		1,217
Profit on ordinary activities
multiplied by the standard rate of corporation tax
in the UK of 28% (2008 - 28%)		360		341
Effects of:
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes		4		2
Temporary differences in capital allowances and depreciation		32		(194)
Different rate tax bands and change in tax rates		(13)		18
Enhanced relief on qualifying scientific research expenditure		(6)		(6)
Adjustment in respect of prior years		(11)		7
Total tax charge for year		366		168

5.  DIVIDENDS

		2009		2008
Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year:		£'000		£'000
Ordinary shares of 1p each
Final dividend for the year ended 30 June 2008 of
1.165p (2007 - 1p) per share		313		245
Interim dividend for the year to 30 June 2009 of
0.405p (2008 - 0.385p) per share		109		94
		422		339
Proposed final dividend for the year ended 30 June 2009 of 1.295p (2008 - 1.165p) per share		383		313

The proposed final dividend is subject to approval by shareholders at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting and has not been included as a liability in the financial statements.

6.  EARNINGS PER SHARE

The calculations of earnings per share are based on the following profits and numbers of shares:

		2009		2008
		£'000		£'000
Retained profit for the financial year attributable to equity holders of the parent		919		1,049
		Shares  '000		Shares  '000
Weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purpose of basic earnings per share		26,883		25,138
Effect of dilutive potential ordinary shares
Share Options		898		682
Purpose of diluted earnings per share		27,781		25,820
Earnings per ordinary share
Basic		3.42p		4.17p
Diluted		3.31p		4.06p

The calculation of the weighted average number of shares is based on the year ended 30 June 2009 and 2008. The calculation of diluted earnings per share includes outstanding options on 1,160,000 ordinary shares at 30 June 2009 (773,750 - 30 June 2008). 

7.   NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT

7i.   RECONCILIATION OF PROFIT BEFORE TAX TO CASH GENERATED FROM OPERATIONS
			2009		2008
			£'000		£'000
Profit before tax			1,285		1,217
Adjustments for:
Depreciation			241		193
Amortisation of intangible assets			161		115
Share based payments - IFRS2			14		37
(Profit) / loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment			23		(4)
Government grants			(20)		(20)
Finance costs			7		59
Loan charges			-		1
Finance income			(9)		(8)
			1,702		1,590
Increase in inventories			(163)		(150)
Increase in trade and other receivables			(244)		(220)
Decrease in trade and other payables			(59)		(389)
Cash generated from operations			1,236		831

7ii.   CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

The amounts disclosed on the cash flow statement in respect of cash and cash equivalents are in respect of these balance sheet amounts

			30 June 2009		1 July 2008
Year ended 30 June 2009			£'000		£'000
Cash and cash equivalents			18		81
Bank overdrafts			(356)		(5)
			(338)		76

			30 June 2008		1 July 2007
Year ended 30 June 2008			£'000		£'000
Cash and cash equivalents			81		38
Bank overdrafts			(5)		(165)
			76		(127)

8.   POST BALANCE SHEET EVENT

On 3 July 2009, the Company entered into an agreement to purchase the intellectual property and manufacturing rights to the portfolio of disinfectant products previously manufactured by Medichem International (Manufacturing) Limited ("Medichem"). The importance of this transaction being that it enables the Company to further gear up manufacturing capacity at the Newmarket facility.

The consideration for the purchase will amount to not less than £2.15m subject to a maximum of £2.4m of which £1M was paid in cash out of the net proceeds of a placing of 2,688,287 1p ordinary shares at a placing price of 41p per share. The new shares, which were admitted to trading on 6 July 2009, rank pari passu with the existing share capital.

The balance of consideration is payable in cash over five years depending on the annual sales generated by the Company from the Medichem product portfolio.

9.  The financial information set out in this preliminary announcement does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 240 of the Companies Act 1985.

The annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2009 will be posted to the shareholders on 23 November 2009 and will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the company's Annual General Meeting. The annual report and financial statements will also be available on the company's web site www.tristel.com from 23 November 2009.

 

END

 

 

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