Sunday, October 24, 2010
Preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 2010
Financial Highlights
- In line with the new strategic plan agreed at the outset of the financial year ended 30 June 2010, revenue was €3.2 million (2009: €6.6 million), reflecting a switch to charging revenue on usage and a move away from hardware sales
- Gross profit of €2.2 million, with gross margin up 14.6% to 68.1% (2009: €3.5 million, gross margin of 53.5%)
- Administrative expenses reduced 56.3% to €6.2 million (2009: €14.2 million)
- Underlying operating loss (before share-based payment expenses and one-off items) of €2.7 million (2009: €4.8 million)
- No further revenue released in the current period with respect to the 2008 restatement
- Cash at the end of the period of €1.4 million (2009: €2.3 million)
- Raising a maximum of a further €0.8 million of capital pursuant to the issue of further convertible loan notes
Operational Highlights
- Implemented new strategic plan to develop the strong potential of ARTA platform
- Switch from Capital Expenditure ("CAPEX") to Operational Expenditure ("OPEX") based charging in line with usage by clients
- New contract wins include Interfon and Lebara
- Increased visibility on over 50% of revenues for current financial year
- Agreement on implementation of showcase platform with T-Mobile NL and NarrowMinds
Commenting on the results, Fred Mulder, Executive Chairman of Artilium said:
“The results for this year reflect the end of our transition planning and the Board now believes the business is on a stable footing in line with our long-term strategic plan, both in terms of revenues and costs. We remain on track to achieve our target to reach operating cash breakeven in the year ending 30 June 2011. Although the new business model, which is OPEX rather than CAPEX based, has resulted in an anticipated drop in revenues this financial year, it should ultimately generate more consistent recurring income.
Some exciting software developments have come from our Research and Development division, particularly in the area of location based services which will enhance the functionality of the ARTA8 platform and which we believe represent cutting edge developments in relation to real industry demand. We can now enable for instance, location based mobile advertising and mobile vouchers, not only from Artilium enabled SIM card functionality but also supporting iPhone, Android and Windows mobile handsets with our presence platform.
During the period, we saw the number of ARTA based ‘MNVO’s’ in operation double to just under fifty, all of which are targeting potential customers in specific interest groups such as travelling business men, ethnic & regional communities, as well as small and medium sized companies. Today, we are also announcing a new venture with NarrowMinds which will see the launch of the next stage of our technology with an ‘MVNE’ in The Netherlands aimed at enabling communities to launch their own innovative mobile offering, such as national sports federations, individual towns and cities and other small communities. This is an exciting time for the business, Artilium is delivering on its strategy and the new orders we are receiving from our customers reflect this.
The Company has also been able to settle a long-standing dispute with QiComm Limited relating to a contract dating back to 2005 (which pre-dated the Company’s ownership of Artilium NV); this was the last element of the Group’s historical issues. The terms of the settlement are confidential but the Company has financed the costs out of the issue of a further tranche of convertible notes and retains the right to seek recovery of the costs from a third party.
The Company is now committed to cementing financial stability and core customer service which together should maximize shareholder value; this continuing strategy may necessarily result in the Company pursuing a transformational strategic partnership or transaction. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my fellow Board members and to the Group’s entire staff for their commitment and dedication in seeing this transitional process through to fruition.”
For details, refer to http://miranda.hemscott.com/ir/arta
For further information contact:
Artilium PLC:
+32 (0)50230300
Fred Mulder
Maarten Bisseling
Arbuthnot Securities:
+44 20 7012 2000
Antonio Bossi
Ed Groome
Cardew Group:
+44 20 7930 0777
Tim Robertson
James Milton