Trading Update

RNS Number : 8391Q

Brulines Group PLC

26 October 2011

 



Press Release

26 October 2011

Brulines Group plc

("Brulines" or "the Group")

Trading Update

Brulines Group plc (AIM:BRU), the leading provider of real time monitoring systems and data management services for the leisure and forecourt services sectors, provides the following trading update in advance of its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2011 which will be announced on 6 December 2011. 

Trading in the Group's core beer monitoring business has been pleasing despite some initial delays to iDraughtTM installation programmes. The Group has secured several major customer contract extensions which include installation of iDraughtTM, the Group's bar management solution to drive Profit and Quality, which now accounts for almost nine percent of our total installation base. The launch of our Nucleus Smart TillTM EPOS system has been well received and has already gained good sales traction.

Although the Fuel Solutions Division's first quarter performance was held back by integration issues, these have now been resolved and the division is now trading positively and has made good progress in gaining new business as the market's only end-to-end solution for forecourt operators.  

The Group continues to reduce losses associated with Vianet and the Board is encouraged by its ongoing success in developing existing contracts and in progressing significant new sales opportunities with several major international brand owners.

As announced on 26 October 2011, the acquisition of Lookout Solutions ("Lookout") was a significant step for the Group's Vending Telemetry business.  Lookout's leading vending management software application, combined with Vianet's leading contactless payment processing and vending telemetry solutions, provides a compelling end-to-end solution for brand owners and vending operators as the Company aims to become the market leader in the provision of these solutions for the global vending market.

Whilst the Board fully expects the difficult economic environment and current challenging trading conditions to continue for some time yet, the future growth prospects across the Group's Leisure and Fuel Solutions divisions are very encouraging and management continues to view the future with confidence.  The Board anticipates maintaining the current dividend policy as the Group continues to generate cash from its core business.

An analyst briefing to be given by James Dickson, Chief Executive, and Mark Foster, Finance Director, will be held at 9.30 am on Tuesday, 6 December 2011 at Abchurch Communications, 16th Floor, 125 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1AR. 

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Enquiries:

Brulines Group plc
James Dickson, Chief Executive Mark Foster, Finance Director	Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]	www.brulines.com

Cenkos Securities plc
Stephen Keys / Camilla Hume	Tel: [phone]
	www.cenkos.com

Media enquiries:

Abchurch Communications
Joanne Shears / Mark Dixon / Oliver Baxendale [e-mail]	Tel: [phone] www.abchurch-group.com

About Brulines

Brulines Group is focused on the provision of real time monitoring systems and data management services for the UK's leisure and petrol forecourt sectors. Since its admission to AIM in 2006, the Group has grown both organically and through a series of strategic acquisitions to give the Group access to key vertical markets. The Group operates two divisions which comprise five key products:

LEISURE DIVISION

Dispense Monitoring (DMS)	The Group's core product, DMS, is widely used by owners and operators within the UK licensed on-trade, especially the tenanted / leased pub sector. Flow meters connected to draught beer dispense lines send data via an on-site communication panel to a secure central database. Liquid volumes by fount, draught wine or post mix are tracked as they are served, thereby helping customers to maximise sales, service and quality as well as managing their costs. DMS is installed in over 22,000 pubs and manages data for more than one in three UK pubs.
iDraught (formerly BQM)	A more recent and rapidly growing product offer is iDraughtTM, an extension of the Group's DMS, which scrutinises the quality of products running through beer lines in a bar; measuring volume, temperature, flow rate and liquid type (e.g. beer, cleaning fluid or water) at the point of dispense. iDraught is the first system to provide effective measurement of true yields on draught products. Actual dispense volumes are compared with till transactions to identify shrinkage from products given away, pilferage and wastage. i-draught measures the precise temperature of every pint as it is dispensed, the time taken to dispense each drink, and automatically identifies the liquid allowing customers to know exactly when lines are cleaned. Wherever they are, customers can stay in control through accessing their information on a secure web site.
Gaming  Machine Data Services	The acquisition of Coin Metrics in May 2007 was a strong strategic fit with Brulines' existing Machine Insite business which already provides gaming machine data management and consultancy services to operators within the pub, club and leisure markets. Customers benefit from state-of-the-art real-time data capture and reporting systems that deliver improved machine profitability and operational security.
Vending  Telemetry	The Group's subsidiary Vianet is a pan-European provider of telemetry solutions and data applications to the vending industry. Vianet provides services for all vending management needs; from operations, sales, field services, national accounts to senior management.

FUEL SOLUTIONS DIVISION

UK Petrol Forecourt Data Services

The Group's wholly-owned subsidiary, Edensure, supplies key management information to independent, multi branded owner, and supermarket petrol forecourt operators in the UK which helps reduce loss of fuel and improve profitability. Edensure provides petrol retailers with an unrivalled level of accuracy in the monitoring and management of their wet stock, using the most sophisticated analytical techniques available worldwide. This division has been further strengthened by the acquisitions of Energy Level Systems in March 2010, the UK distributor of OPW Fuel Management Systems tank gauging solutions, and Retail & Forecourt Solutions in June 2010, the market leader in fuel pump calibration, adjustment and legal verification, and also a leading provider of forecourt audit and compliance services.  The acquisition of LBI Installations Ltd, also in June 2010, brought additional expertise in the area of web-based contract management solutions for forecourt operations.

Headquartered in Stockton-on-Tees, Brulines employs more than 240 people. 

For further information, please visit www.brulines.com

 

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