RNS Number : 7407X
Concurrent Technologies PLC
02 September 2020
 

This announcement contains inside information

2 September 2020

Concurrent Technologies Plc

(the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2020

 

Concurrent Technologies Plc (AIM: CNC), a world leading specialist in the design and manufacture of high-end embedded computer boards for critical applications, announces interim results for the six months to 30 June 2020, reflecting a positive trading period with strong sales, profit before tax and investment.

 

Financial Highlights
 

·    Turnover of £9.2m (H1 2019: £9.5m)

·    Gross profit of £4.9m (H1 2019: £4.9m)

·    Gross margin of 52.9% (H1 2019: 51.7%)

·    Group operating profit of £1.2m (H1 2019: £1.6m)

·    Adjusted Profit before tax £1.2m (H1 2019: £1.7m, after adjusting for non-recurring income of £1.0m) *

·    Profit before tax of £1.2m (H1 2019: £2.7m) **

·    Adjusted EPS on continuing activities of 1.62 pence (H1 2019: 2.21 pence)*

·    EPS of 1.62 pence (H1 2019: 3.31 pence)

·    Interim dividend increased to 1.1p per share (H1 2019: 1.05p)

·    Cash balance (including cash deposits) at 30 June 2020 of £10.0m (H1 2019: £10.0m)

·    Cessation of engineering facility in India

 

*      Adjusted results are prepared to provide a more comparable indication of the Group's core business performance by removing the impact of receipts from the key man insurance policy.

**    2019 statutory profit before tax includes £1m non-recurring income relating to key man insurance.

 

 

Operational Highlights

 

·    Defence remains the largest individual sector, accounting for 68% of Group turnover during the period  

·    Strong order intake resulting in record order book in May 2020

·    Global customer base continues to expand with exports generating 96% of Group revenues (H1 2019: 90%)

·    Spending on R&D during the period was £1.8m (H1 2019: £1.7m)

 

Mark Cubitt, Chairman of Concurrent Technologies Plc, commented: "Despite the ongoing situation regarding COVID-19 and the one-time additional costs associated with the reorganisation of the engineering team, the Group's trading has been consistently strong throughout a very volatile period and the team has successfully built on an excellent 2019. With a robust balance sheet and a solid overall order book, the Group is in an excellent position for future growth and the Board has confidence in meeting market expectations for the current year."

Enquiries:

Concurrent Technologies Plc
Jane Annear, Managing Director

 

+44 (0)1206 752626

 

 

Newgate (Financial PR)
Bob Huxford

Isabelle Smurfit

 

+44 (0)20 7653 9848
+44 (0)20 3757 3411

 

 

Cenkos Securities Plc (NOMAD)
Neil McDonald

Peter Lynch


+44 (0)131 220 9771

+44 (0)131 220 9772

 

 

About Concurrent Technologies Plc

 

Concurrent Technologies Plc develops and manufactures high-end embedded computer products for use in a wide range of high performance, long life cycle applications within the telecommunications, defence, security, telemetry, scientific and aerospace markets, including applications within extremely harsh environments. The processor products feature Intel® processors, including the latest 9th generation embedded Intel® Core™ processors, Intel® Xeon® and Intel® Atom™ processors. The products are designed to be compliant with industry specifications and support many of today's leading embedded Operating Systems. The products are sold world-wide.

 

For more information on Concurrent Technologies Plc and its products please visit www.gocct.com.

 

All trademarks, registered trademarks and trade names used in this announcement are the property of their respective owners.

 

 

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

In my first results as Chairman I am pleased to announce that the Group's trading performance has continued on from the positive results reported for 2019, with strong sales in the first half of 2020 and a solid order book, despite the challenging economic backdrop.

I would also like to acknowledge the role of our former Chairman, Michael Collins, who retires from the Board at the end of the month, and on behalf of the Group to thank him for his guidance and stewardship over the last 31 years. Concurrent would not be where it is today without Michael's significant contribution.

Financial Summary

 

The Company continued to trade and operate in a largely normal fashion during the first half of 2020, notwithstanding the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Revenue for the period was £9.2m (1H 2019: £9.5m), with the slight reduction in sales compared to the equivalent period in 2019 when an exceptional order was shipped. Gross margin increased to 52.9%. (1H 2019: 51.7%) and gross profit was maintained at £4.9m (1H 2019: £4.9m). The unaudited profit before tax (PBT) for the period was £1.2m (1H 2019: £1.7m net of a non-recurring payment of £1m pursuant to the Group's key man insurance). The decrease in PBT is largely due to a reduction in the amount of engineering costs that was capitalised in the period. The associated earnings per share (EPS) are 1.62 pence (1H 2019: 2.21 pence after adjusting for the £1m receipt referred to above).

The Group's balance sheet remains strong, with cash balances (including cash deposits) at 30 June 2020 of £10.0m (1H 2019: £10.0m).

Dividend

 

Given the strength of the Group's cash position and the balance sheet, the Board has declared a first interim dividend of 1.1p per share (H1 2019: 1.05p) - an increase of 4.8%. The total cost of this dividend will amount to £810,408. The ex-dividend date for this interim dividend is 17 September 2020, the record date is 18 September 2020 and the payment date is 2 October 2020.

Review of Operations

 

Having been designated as an essential defence supplier, production at the Company's Colchester headquarters continued throughout the lockdown period and the Group has not found it necessary to apply for support under any Government COVID-19 initiatives.

The Group has seen sales within the defence market increase to £6.3m (1H 2019: £5.5m) representing 68% (1H 2019: 58%) of revenue, while exports increased to 96% (1H 2019: 90%).

Our engineering group has generally been able to continue with its current projects whilst working at home as necessary, although our Indian site has proved to be a more challenging environment in which to achieve this. This has resulted in reduced productivity in the design group where our capitalisation rate of engineering costs is not as high as we might normally expect. This has adversely impacted PBT as a substantial proportion of these costs was expensed in the period. £1.8m (1H 2019: £1.7m) was invested in R&D prior to capitalisation during the first half of the year.

New products introduced during the first half of the year included a further high performance 3U VPX processor board as well as the release of our first Artificial Intelligence "AI" product. Both products were designed primarily for the defence market, with the AI product being targeted towards applications such as surveillance where faster and more in-situ analysis of data is essential. In addition, the Board is encouraged by the progress being made to introduce the AI technology into new markets. There has also been an increase in the demand for our software products, particularly for the support of our security product for applications within the defence market. To assist with our objective of increasing the provision of development systems to customers, we have further expanded our third party partner programme to increase support of complementary products.

India

 

With this strategy of broadening our products and services, and as part of the ongoing reorganisation of the Group to introduce new skills and improved working practices, the Board has taken the decision to cease operations in the Group's engineering facility in India. This move will enable the Group to gain from the efficiencies of re-focussing our engineering team in the UK. Some of the costs associated with this exercise, which should be completed by the end of the year, have already been absorbed and are reflected in the first half results, with an anticipated full year charge of approximately £0.5m. We have successfully recruited additional engineering resources in the UK by filling both junior and senior roles and will continue to add new skills to the UK team during the rest of the year, as appropriate.

 

Future Plans

 

Our engineering team will continue to focus on introducing new hardware designs based on Intel processors, in addition to introducing complementary products in line with our core business needs and plans. We are also committed to supporting our customer base with new products for the long established VME and CompactPCI product ranges, while introducing new technologies on the VPX and AMC product lines. Development of our AI products continues, as does our commitment to increase our systems and services business.

Whilst the reorganisation of the engineering teams will result in a small short-term increase in costs, the benefits should start to be seen in 2021 through cost savings and improved design efficiencies. This is expected to deliver a positive impact on profitability through an estimated annual net saving of £0.5m from the start of 2021.

Outlook

 

Despite the ongoing situation regarding COVID-19 and the one-time additional costs associated with the reorganisation of the engineering team, the Group's trading has been consistently strong throughout a very volatile period and the team has successfully built on an excellent 2019. With a robust balance sheet and a solid overall order book, the Group is in an excellent position for future growth and the Board has confidence in meeting market expectations for the current year.

 

Mark Cubitt

Chairman

1 September 2020

 

All companies and product names are trademarks of their respective organisations.

 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF

COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Unaudited interim results to 30 June 2020

 

 

Note

Six months ended

30/06/20

 

Six months ended

30/06/19

 

Year ended 31/12/19

 

 

£

 

£

 

£

CONTINUING OPERATIONS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

 

    9,191,045

 

    9,539,922

 

  19,384,724

Cost of sales

 

    4,325,867

 

    4,608,129

 

    9,174,588

Gross profit

    4,865,178

 

    4,931,793

 

  10,210,136

Net operating expenses

 

    3,627,665

 

    3,313,078

 

    7,204,073

Group operating profit

 

    1,237,513

 

    1,618,715

 

    3,006,063

Finance costs

 

 (40,035)

 

                  -

 

        (41,808)

Finance income

 

         23,171

 

         38,082

 

         96,601

Other income

5

                  -

 

    1,000,000

 

    1,000,000

Profit before tax

    1,220,649

 

    2,656,797

 

    4,060,856

Tax

 

         25,858

 

       248,898

 

         52,857

Profit for the period

 

    1,194,791

 

    2,407,899

 

    4,007,999

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Comprehensive Income

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exchange differences on translating foreign operations

 

       419,634

 

         16,596

 

      (186,972)

Tax relating to components of other comprehensive income

 

                  -

 

                  -

 

                  -

Other Comprehensive Income for the period, net of tax

 

       419,634

 

         16,596

 

      (186,972)

Total Comprehensive Income for the period

 

    1,614,425

 

    2,424,495

 

    3,821,026

 

 

 

 

 

 

Profit for the period attributable to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity holders of the parent

 

    1,194,791

 

    2,407,899

 

    4,007,999

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Comprehensive Income attributable to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity holders of the parent

 

    1,614,425

 

    2,424,495

 

    3,821,026

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earnings per share

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic earnings per share

4

1.62p

 

3.31p*

 

5.51p

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted earnings per share

4

1.62p

 

3.31p*

 

5.47p

 

*Includes income and associated tax from key man insurance policy

 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

Unaudited interim results to 30 June 2020

 

 

 

As at

 

As at

 

As at

 

 

30/06/20

 

30/06/19

 

31/12/19

ASSETS

 

£

 

£

 

£

Non-current assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

Property, plant and equipment

 

    1,683,186

 

       672,988

 

    1,638,429

Intangible assets

 

    7,917,503

 

    8,089,260

 

    7,991,119

Deferred tax assets

 

       100,930

 

       140,984

 

       142,894

 

 

    9,701,619

 

    8,903,232

 

    9,772,442

Current assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inventories

 

    6,546,821

 

    4,913,969

 

    5,097,907

Trade and other receivables

 

    3,132,765

 

    2,907,389

 

    2,703,960

Current tax assets

 

       334,082

 

       101,621

 

       274,221

Other financial assets

 

                -  

 

       999,315

 

                -  

Cash and cash equivalents

 

  10,034,786

 

    9,031,044

 

  10,487,902

 

 

  20.048.454

 

  17,953,338

 

  18,563,990

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total assets

 

  29.750.073

 

  26,856,570

 

  28,336,432

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-current liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred tax liabilities

 

    1,537,532

 

    1,457,296

 

    1,453,331

Long term provisions

 

         14,964

 

         14,794

 

         16,731

 

 

    1,552,496

 

    1,472,090

 

    1,470,062

Current liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trade and other payables

 

    5,410,722

 

    3,827,836

 

    4,964,824

Short term provisions

 

         15,382

 

         15,170

 

         16,832

Current tax liabilities

 

                -  

 

         14,588

 

                -  

 

 

    5,426,104

 

    3,857,594

 

    4,981,656

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

 

    6,978,600

 

    5,329,684

 

    6,451,718

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net assets

 

  22,771,473

 

  21,526,886

 

  21,884,714

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EQUITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capital and reserves

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share capital

 

       739,000

 

       739,000

 

       739,000

Share premium account

 

    3,699,105

 

    3,699,105

 

    3,699,105

Capital redemption reserve

 

       256,976

 

       256,976

 

       256,976

Cumulative translation reserve

 

       582,022

 

       365,956

 

       162,388

Profit and loss account

 

  17,494,370

 

  16,465,849

 

  17,027,245

Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent

 

  22,771,473

 

  21,526,886

 

  21,884,714

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total equity

 

  22,771,473

 

  21,526,886

 

  21,884,714

 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT

Unaudited interim results to 30 June 2020

 

 

 

Six months ended

30/06/20

 

Six months ended

30/06/19

 

Year ended 31/12/19

 

 

£

 

£

 

£

Cash flows from operating activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Profit before tax for the period

 

    1,220,649

 

    2,656,797

 

    4,060,856

Adjustments for:

           

 

 

 

 

 

Finance income       

 

        (23,171)

 

        (38,082)

 

        (96,601)

Finance costs

 

         40,035

 

         -

 

         41,808

Depreciation       

 

       142,154

 

       108,085

 

       315,687

Amortisation       

 

       888,299

 

       909,491

 

    1,788,003

Impairment loss       

 

       125,000

 

       350,000

 

       483,630

Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment

 

                -  

 

                -  

 

                -    

Share-based payment       

 

                - 

 

         82,421

 

         82,421

Exchange differences       

 

       467,772

 

         20,619

 

      (205,790)   

(Increase)/decrease in inventories       

 

   (1,448,914)

 

      (817,393)

 

   (1,001,331)

(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables       

 

      (428,805)

 

       445,192

 

       648,621

Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables       

 

       493,329

 

    1,038,077

 

    1,232,237

Cash generated from operations

 

    1,476,348

 

    4,755,207

 

    7,349,541

Tax received/(paid)

 

          (1,209)

 

       (27,415)

 

       (21,173)

Net cash generated from operating activities

 

    1,475,139

 

    4,727,792

 

    7,328,368

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest received

 

        23,171

 

        38,082

 

         96,601

Cash released from/(placed on) deposit

 

                -    

 

     (999,315)

 

                -  

Purchases of property, plant and equipment

 

     (182,469)

 

       (75,403)

 

      (476,376)

Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment

 

                -  

 

                -  

 

                -  

Purchases of intangible assets

 

     (939,585)

 

  (1,357,983)

 

   (2,272,054)

Net cash used in investing activities

 

  (1,098,883)

 

  (2,394,619)

 

   (2,651,829)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity dividends paid

 

  (1,054,561)

 

     (981,698)

 

   (1,745,345)

Repayment of leasing liabilities

 

(50,648)

 

                 -

 

      (108,426)

Interest paid

 

(40,035)

 

                 -

 

        (41,808)

Sale of treasury shares

 

    368,550

 

 4,950

 

           4,950

Net cash used in financing activities

 

     (776,694)

 

 (976,748)

 

   (1,890,629)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Effects of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

 

       (52,678)

 

   (4,733)

 

         22,640

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net increase/(decrease) in cash

 

      (453,116)

 

    1,351,692

 

    2,808,550 

Cash at beginning of period

 

  10,487,902

 

    7,679,352

 

    7,679,352

Cash at the end of the period

 

  10,034,786

 

    9,031,044

 

  10,487,902

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

Unaudited interim results to 30 June 2020

 

 

Share

capital

Share

Premium

Capital

redemption

reserve

Cumulative

translation

reserve

Profit

and loss

account

Total

equity

 

£

£

£

£

£

£

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balance at 1 January 2019

739,000

3,699,105

256,976

349,360

14,670,553

19,714,994

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Profit for the period

-  

-  

-  

-  

2,407,899

2,407,899

Exchange differences on translating foreign operations

-  

-  

-  

16,596

-  

16,596

Total recognised comprehensive income for the period

-  

-  

-  

16,596

2,407,899

2,424,495

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share-based payment

-  

-  

-  

-  

82,421

82,421

Deferred tax on share-based payment

-  

-  

-  

-  

3,403

3,403

Dividends paid

-  

-  

-  

-  

(981,698)

(981,698)

Sale of treasury shares

-  

-  

-  

-  

4,950

4,950

Balance at 30 June 2019

739,000

3,699,105

256,976

365,956

16,187,528

21,248,565

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Profit for the period

-  

-  

-  

-  

1,600,100

1,600,100

Exchange differences on translating foreign operations

-  

-  

-  

(203,568)

-  

(203,568)

Total recognised comprehensive income for the period

-  

-  

-  

(203,568)

1,600,100

1,396,532

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share-based payment

-  

-  

-  

-  

-  

-  

Deferred tax on share-based payment

-  

-  

-  

-  

3,264

3,264

Dividends paid

-  

-  

-  

-  

(763,647)

(763,647)

Sale of treasury shares

-  

-  

-  

-  

Balance at 31 December 2019

739,000

3,699,105

256,976

162,388

17,027,245

21,884,714

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Profit for the period

-  

-  

-  

-  

1,194,791

1,194,791

Exchange differences on translating foreign operations

-  

-  

-  

419,634

-  

419,634

Total recognised comprehensive income for the period

-  

-  

-  

419,634

1,194,791

1,614,425

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share-based payment

-  

-  

-  

-  

-  

-  

Deferred tax on share-based payment

-  

-  

-  

-  

(41,655)

(41,655)

Dividends paid

-  

-  

-  

-  

(1,054,561)

(1,054,561)

Sale of treasury shares

-  

-  

-  

-  

368,550

368,550

Balance at 30 June 2020

739,000

3,699,105

256,976

582,022

17,494,370

22,771,473

 

 

NOTES TO THE INTERIM REPORT

 

1.

General information

 

 

The principal activity of the Group is design, manufacture and supply of innovative high-end embedded single board computers and complementary accessories aimed at a wide base of customers within the defence, telecommunications, aerospace, transport, scientific and industrial markets.

 

Concurrent Technologies Plc ("the Company") is the Group's ultimate parent company. It is incorporated and domiciled in Great Britain. Concurrent Technologies Plc shares are listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.

 

The Group's condensed consolidated interim financial statements are presented in pounds sterling (£), which is also the functional currency of the parent company.

 

These condensed consolidated interim financial statements, which are unaudited, have been approved for issue by the Board of Directors on 1 September, 2020.

 

The information relating to the six months ended 30 June 2020 and 30 June 2019 is unaudited and does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2019, prepared in accordance with IFRSs (International Financial Reporting Standards) as adopted by the European Union, have been reported on by the Group's auditors and delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditors' report was unqualified, did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis and did not contain a statement under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

 

2.

Summary of significant accounting policies

 

2.1

Basis of preparation

 

 

These condensed consolidated interim financial statements are for the six months ended 30 June 2020. They have been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 "Interim Financial Reporting". They do not include all of the information required for full annual financial statements, and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements of the Group for the year ended 31 December 2019, which have been prepared in accordance with adopted IFRSs.

 

The accounting policies applied and methods of computation are consistent with those of the annual financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019, as described in those financial statements. The accounting policies have been consistently applied to all the periods presented.

 

There are no new IFRSs or IFRIC interpretations that are effective for the first time for the financial period beginning on or after 1 January 2020 that would be expected to have a material impact on the results or financial position of the Group.

 

 

2.2

Going Concern

 

 

The Directors are satisfied that the Group has sufficient resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future, a period of not less than 12 months from the date of this report. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing these condensed financial statements.

 

2.3

Taxation

 

 

Current tax expense is recognised in these condensed consolidated interim financial statements based on estimated effective tax rates for the full year.

 

3.

Segmental reporting

 

 

The Directors consider that the Group is engaged in a single segment of business, being design, manufacture and supply of high-end embedded computer products, and that therefore the Company has only a single operating segment. The key measure of performance used by the Board to assess the Group's performance is the Group's profit before tax, as calculated under IFRS, and therefore no reconciliation is required between the measure of profit or loss used by the Board and that contained in the condensed consolidated interim financial statements.

 

4.

Earnings per share

 

 

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit attributable to ordinary equity holders for the period by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period.

 

Diluted earnings per share is calculated adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding to assume conversion of all contracted dilutive potential ordinary shares. The Company only has one category of dilutive potential ordinary shares, namely share options.

 

The inputs to the earnings per share calculation are shown below:

 

 

 

 

 

Six months ended

30/06/20

 

Six months ended

30/06/19

 

Year ended 31/12/19

 

 

 

£

 

£

 

£

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Profit attributable to ordinary equity holders

 

1,194,791

 

2,407,899

 

4,007,999

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Six months ended

30/06/20

 

Six months ended

30/06/19

 

Year ended 31/12/19

 

 

 

No

 

No

 

No

 

Weighted average number of ordinary

shares for basic earnings per share

 

73,673,490

 

72,728,490

 

72,728,490

 

Adjustment for share options

 

195,579

 

2,457

 

574,542

 

Weighted average number of ordinary  shares for diluted earnings per share

 

73,869,069

 

72,730,947

 

73,303,032

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.

 

 

Other Income

 

Other income relates exclusively to a claim made against a key man insurance policy. The receipt during 2019 was a non-recurring item and represented full and final settlement of the claim.

 

 

6.

Post reporting date events

 

Since 30 June 2020 the Group has announced the decision to cease operations at engineering facility in India. Some of the costs associated with this exercise, which should be completed by the end of the year, have already been absorbed and are reflected in the first half results, with an anticipated full year charge of approximately £0.5m.

 

 

7.

Shareholder Communication


A copy of these condensed interim financial statements is available from the Company's Registered Office at 4 Gilberd Court, Newcomen Way, Colchester, Essex, CO4 9WN, UK and from the Company's website at www.gocct.com.

 

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Anonymous (not verified) Interim Results 31124703 A Wed, 09/02/2020 - 07:00 LSE RNS Results and Trading Reports CNC