SPECIAL DIVIDEND and MANUFACTURING UPDATE
Photo-Me International plc
("Photo-Me" or the "Group")
SPECIAL DIVIDEND and MANUFACTURING UPDATE
In the half-year results' announcement released on 10 December 2013, Photo-Me announced that its net cash position at the end of October 2013 was £67.8 million and that the Board would continue to monitor the scope for further special dividends.
Photo-Me also said that it expected to be able to increase the ordinary dividend by a further 20% per annum during the current financial year as well as in 2014/15 and 2015/16.
The Group is therefore pleased to announce that the Board has approved the additional return of approximately £7.5 million to shareholders by way of a special dividend of 2 pence per ordinary share (the "Special Dividend") which will be payable on 15 May 2014 to shareholders on the register at 11 April 2014, the ex-dividend date being 9 April 2014.
As with last year's return of cash, the level of the Special Dividend takes into account:
1. The Group's capital expenditure programme
2. The intention to maintain a progressive dividend policy
3. The level of distributable reserves available to pay dividends
4. The likelihood of making acquisitions
Following the return of cash to shareholders, the Group's capital will be used to enable its 'Revolution' laundry product roll-out plan to be developed as quickly as possible.
Photo-Me is not making any commitment at this time to any further special dividends but will continue to review the situation in the light of the above factors and the Group's financial performance.
Manufacturing update
Photo-Me is also pleased to confirm that the transition of manufacture for its 'Revolution' laundry product to a third-party facility in Hungary came fully on-line at the end of January 2014, with the first machines due to be delivered during this month. The transfer of this product's manufacture from France to Hungary is a key part of Photo-Me's strategy to both increase production volumes and lower production costs for this product.
Production volumes for February and March 2014 will be around 25 units per month, increasing to around 50 per month with an eventual target of approximately 100 per month by the end of calendar 2014. Photo-Me's target is still to have around 2,000 units deployed by the end of calendar year 2015. Importantly, production costs in Hungary are still expected to be considerably lower than in France for the foreseeable future.
Serge Crasnianski, CEO, commented:
"We are delighted to be able to again reward our shareholders with a special dividend this year as a result of the Company's strong cash position. We remain enthused about the outlook for 'Revolution' and accelerating our investment in this product seems to us the best approach to take to increase future returns for our shareholders.
"It is therefore very pleasing to complete the manufacturing relocation on schedule. There is considerable demand for the 'Revolution' product and the higher manufacturing capability will enable us to fulfil our ambitious roll-out plans. "
Further enquiries:
Photo-Me International plc
Françoise Coutaz-Replan 01372 455625
Media:
Madano Partnership
Matthew Moth/Julien Cozens 020 7593 4000
Investors:
IR Focus
Neville Harris 020 7593 4015
Notes for editors:
The principal activity of Photo-Me (www.photo-me.co.uk) is the ownership and operation of unattended vending equipment. This comprises photobooths, laundry machines, digital printing kiosks, amusement machines and business service equipment. With over 25,000 sited in Europe and Asia, Photo-Me is the world's leading operator of photobooths.
Photo-Me also has a business responsible for the development, manufacture, sale and after-sale servicing of this Operations equipment and a range of photo-processing equipment, including photobook makers, kiosks and minilabs, together with the servicing of third-party equipment.
This information is provided by RNS
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