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RNS Number : 6647O
Prime People PLC
09 November 2016
 

9th November 2016

 

Prime People Plc

 

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Interim Report

for the six months ended 30 September 2016

 

 

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

 

Overview

I am pleased to be able to report the results for Prime People Plc for the half-year ended 30 September 2016.

 

The first half shows an operating profit of £0.76m (2015: £1.06m), consistent with the expectation in our recent trading statement of not less than £0.70m.

 

In line with the Outlook statement in the Company's 2016 Annual Report and Accounts, market conditions in the period became softer for our UK business. Offsetting this, our businesses in Asia performed strongly. The outcome for the period reflects the Company's commitment to grow internationally and to support new business lines, which increased our fixed cost base in the period being reported.

 

Financial Results

Group revenue increased by 12.55% for the period to £11.48m (2015: £10.20m).

 

Net Fee Income ("NFI") in the period for the Group was £6.33m which is a 1.87% increase on last year (2015: £6.21m).  The first half of the financial year showed strong NFI performances in our Hong Kong and Singapore business units. In Asia NFI increased by 36.84% from £1.90m to £2.60m and in the UK NFI decreased by 12.82% from £3.90m to £3.40m.

 

Administrative costs for the group increased from £5.15m in 2015 to £5.57m in the first half of the financial year driven by talent investment and higher commission costs in Asia, in line with the fee income growth in the region.

 

Profit before taxation for the period has decreased to £0.76m (2015: £1.06m).

 

The charge for taxation of £0.15m is based on the expected annual effective tax rate of 20% (2015: 20%).

 

Basic earnings per share for the period decreased to 4.92p (2015: 6.97p).

 

Cash Flow

The Group continues to maintain a strong net cash position. At the end of the period the Group had net cash of £1.34m (2015: £1.04m).

 

Dividend

The Board will be declaring an interim dividend of 1.75p (2015: 1.75p).

 

Outlook

We have reasonable expectations that the UK businesses will perform in the second half year at levels comparable to the first half. Sentiment in the UK property sector has improved but there is uncertainty for the sector in the medium term. In Asia we expect similar performance from our businesses in the second half and increased opportunities for growth in the medium and long term.

 

The present focus for the Group is to maximize the returns from recent investment in businesses and people and to increase the productivity of the business. We continue to recruit new heads into those markets where there is potential for NFI and profit growth.

 

 

 

Robert Macdonald

Executive Chairman

9th November 2016

 

 

For further information please contact:

 

Prime People

020 7318 1785

Robert Macdonald, Executive Chairman


Donka Zaneva-Todorinski, Finance Director




Cenkos Securities

020 7397 8900

Elizabeth Bowman - Nomad


Ivonne Cantu - Nomad

Julian Morse - Sales


 

 

 

 

 

 

PRIME PEOPLE PLC                                                                  

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

For the six months ended 30 September 2016

 

 




Six months ended


Year ended



30 September

2016


30 September

2015

 

 

31 March

2016


Note


£'000


£'000


£'000









Revenue

3


11,477


10,197


20,755

Cost of sales

 



(5,151)


(3,987)


(8,475)









Net fee income



6,326


6,210


12,280

Administrative expenses

 



(5,566)


(5,147)


(10,131)









Operating profit



760


1,063


2,149

















Profit before taxation



760


1,063


2,149

Income tax expense

 

4


(155)


(215)


(459)

 

Profit for the period/year

 



 

605


 

848


 

1,690

Other comprehensive income/ (loss):

Exchange gain/ (loss) on translating foreign operations

 

 

206


 

(57)


 

21

 

Other Comprehensive income for the period/ year, net of tax

 

 

 

206


 

 

(57)


 

 

21

 

Total comprehensive income for the period/year

 

 

811


 

791


 

1,711

















Attributable to:

 

Equity shareholders of the parent

 



 

 

811


 

 

791


 

 

1,711

























Earnings per share

6







Basic earnings per share



                4.92p

                      6.97p

  13.84p

Diluted earnings per share

 



                4.79p

                      6.82p

13.52p









 

The above results relate to continuing operations.

 

The notes to the financial statements form an integral part of this unaudited condensed consolidated interim report.

 

 

 

 

PRIME PEOPLE PLC

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

 

As at 30 September 2016

 

30 September

2016

30 September

2015

31 March

2016


Note

£'000


£'000


£'000








Assets







Non-current assets







Goodwill


                       9,769


           9,769


9,769

Property, plant and equipment


                          167


              269


229

















                       9,936


10,038


9,998








Current assets







Trade and other receivables

9

                        5,473


5,026


4,939

Cash and cash equivalents

 


                        1,336


1,037


953










                       6,809


6,063

 


5,892








Total assets

 


                     16,745


16,101


15,890















Liabilities







Current Liabilities







Trade and other payables

10

                        2,363


2,412


2,216

Current tax liabilities

 


                           165


206


249










                         2,528


2,618


2,465

 








Non-current liabilities                               






Deferred tax liabilities

 


                                    6

                12


9










                                    6


12


9

 








Total liabilities

 


                        2,534


2,630


2,474








Net assets

 


                      14,211


13,471


13,416















Capital and reserves attributable to the Company's equity holders

Called up share capital

Capital redemption reserve


1,229

9


1,219

                  9


1,229

9

Treasury shares


(13)


(21)


(21)

Share premium account


5,371


5,370


5,371

Merger reserve


173


173


173

Share option reserve


359


266


300

Currency translation differences


669


385


463

Retained earnings


6,414


6,070


5,892








Equity shareholders funds

 


14,211


13,471


13,416








The notes to the financial statements form an integral part of this unaudited condensed consolidated interim report.

 

 

 

 

PRIME PEOPLE PLC

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

For the six months ended 30 September 2016



 

Called up share capital

Capital redem-

ption

reserve

 

 

Treasury  shares

 

Share premium account

 

 

Merger reserve

 

Share option reserve

 

 

Translation Reserve

 

 

Retained earnings

 

 

 

Total



£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

 

 

At 1 April 2015

 

1,219

 

9

 

(21)

 

5,370

 

173

 

212

 

442

 

6,070

 

13,474

Profit for the period


-

-

-

-

-

-

(57)

848

791

Other comprehensive income


 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

Adjustment in respect of share options


 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

54

 

-

 

15

 

69

Issue of ordinary shares


 

7

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

7

Discounted share capital


 

(7)

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

 -

 

-

 

-

 

(7)

Dividends


-

-

-

-

   -

-

(863)

(863)

 

At 30  September 2015

 

 

1,219

 

9

 

(21)

 

5,370

 

173

 

266

 

385

 

6,070

 

13,471












Profit for the period


-

.-

-

-

-

  -

-

842

842

Other comprehensive income


 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

 -

 

78

 

    -

 

78

Issue of ordinary shares


 

10

 

-

 

-

 

1

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

11

Adjustment in respect of share options


 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

34

 

-

 

63

 

97

Shares purchased for treasury


 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

-

Dividend

 


 -

-

-

-

-

-

-

(1,083)

(1,083)

 

At  31 March 2016

 

 

1,229

 

 9

 

(21)

                

5,371

 

173

 

300

 

463

 

  5,892

 

13,416












Profit for the period


-

-

-

-

-

-

-

605

605

Other comprehensive income


 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

206

 

-

 

206

Shares purchased for treasury


 

-

 

-

 

(86)

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

(86)

Shares issued from treasury


 

-

 

-

 

11

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

11

Transfer on issue of shares from treasury


-

-

83

-

-

-

-

(83)

-

Adjustment in respect of share options


 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

59

 

-

 

-

 

59

 

At 30 September 2016

 

 

1,229

 

9

 

(13)

 

5,371

 

173

 

359

 

669

 

6,414

 

14,211

 

 

 

 

PRIME PEOPLE PLC

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STATEMENT OF CASH FLOW

For the six months ended 30 September 2016

 



                  Six months ended

Year ended



30 September 2016

30 September

2015

31 March

2016


Note


£'000


£'000


£'000









Cash generated from underlying operations

 

7


 

517


 

1,196


 

2,369

Income tax paid

 



(240)


(197)

 


(411)

 









 

Net cash from operating activities



 

277


 

999


 

1,958

 









Cash flows from investing activities







Net purchase of property, plant and equipment


(25)


(51)


(97)

 









Net cash used in investing activities

 



(25)


(51)


(97)









Cash flows from financing activities







Issue of ordinary share capital



-


-


11

Shares issued from treasury



11


-


-

Shares purchased for treasury



(86)


-


-

Dividend paid to shareholders



-


(863)


(1,946)

















Net cash used in financing activities

 


(75)


(863)


(1,935)









Net increase/ (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

177


85


(74)







Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period/year

953


1,009


1,009







Effect of foreign exchange rate changes

 

206


(57)


18









Cash and cash equivalents at end of period/year

 

1,336


1,037


953









 

The notes to the financial statements form an integral part of this unaudited condensed consolidated interim report.

 

 

 

 

PRIME PEOPLE PLC

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM REPORT

For the six months ended 30 September 2016

 

1.   General information

 

Prime People Plc ('the Company') and its subsidiaries (together 'the Group') is an international recruitment services organisation with offices in the United Kingdom, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region from which it serves an international client base. The Group offers both permanent and contract specialist recruitment consultancy for large and medium sized organisations.

 

Prime People Plc is the Group's ultimate parent company. The Company is a limited liability company incorporated and domiciled in the United Kingdom. The address of Prime People Group's registered office and its principal place of business is 2 Harewood Place, London, W1S 1BX, England.  Prime People Group's shares are quoted on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. The registered number of the company is 1729887.

 

This unaudited condensed consolidated interim report for the six months ended 30 September 2016 (including comparatives) is presented in GBP'000, and was approved and authorised for issue by the board of directors on 8 November 2016.

 

Copies of the interim results are available at the Company's registered office and on the Company's website - www.prime-people.co.uk.

 

This unaudited condensed consolidated interim report does not constitute statutory accounts of the Group within the meaning of section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. The financial information for the year ended 31 March 2016 has been extracted from the statutory accounts for that year, which have been filed with the Registrar of Companies.  The auditors' report on those accounts was unqualified and did not contain a statement under section 498 of the Companies Act 2006.

 

2.   Basis of preparation

 

The unaudited condensed consolidated interim report for the six months ended 30 September 2016 has been prepared using accounting policies consistent with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRSs") and in accordance with 'IAS 34, Interim financial reporting', as adopted by the European Union.  The condensed consolidated interim report should be read in conjunction with the annual financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2016 which were prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union.

 

The Group was profitable for the period and has considerable financial resources comprising £1.34m of net cash at 30 September 2016.  After making enquiries, the Directors have formed a judgement, at the time of approving the six months results, that there is a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, a period of not less than 12 months. For this reason the Directors continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the condensed set of financial statements.

 

These financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, using the same accounting policies as those used in the preparation of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2016 and which are also expected to apply for the year ended 31 March 2017.

 

The accounting policies have been applied consistently throughout the Group for the purposes of preparation of the condensed consolidated interim report.

 

 

3.   Segment reporting

 

(a)  Revenue and net fee income by geographical region

 



Revenue



Net fee income




Six months ended

Year ended


Six months ended

Year ended

30 September

2016

30 September  2015

31 March 2016

30 September 2016

30 September 2015

31 March 2016



£'000


£'000


£'000


£'000


£'000


£'000














UK


8,547


7,889


16,249


3,396


3,902


7,774














Asia


2,601


1,901


3,626


2,601


1,901


3,626














Rest of World


329


407


880


329


407


880
















11,477


10,197


20,755


6,326


6,210


12,280

 














 

All revenues disclosed by the group are derived from external customers and are for the provision of recruitment services. The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as the Group's accounting policies. Segment profit before taxation represents the profit earned by each segment after allocations of central administration costs.

 

(b)  Revenue and net fee income by classification

 



Revenue



Net fee income




Six months ended

Year ended


Six months ended

Year ended

30 September

2016

30 September  2015

31 March 2016

30 September 2016

30 September 2015

31 March 2016



£'000


£'000


£'000


£'000


£'000


£'000














Permanent













- UK

- Asia

- Rest of World


2,724

2,601

329


3,420

1,901

407


6,653

3,626

880


2,721

2,601

329


3,416

1,901

407


6,645

3,626

880














Contract (UK)


5,823


4,469


9,596


675


486


1,129














 

 



10,197


20,755


6,326


6,210


12,280














 

 

(c)  Profit before taxation by geographical region

 


Six months ended

Year ended


30 September

2016

30 September  2015

31 March 2016




£'000


£'000


£'000









UK



103


725


1,527









Asia



600


257


460









Rest of World



57


81


162









Operating profit

 



760


1,063


 2,149

Net finance income



-


-


-

 

Profit before taxation



 

760


 

1,063


 

2,149

 









 

The analysis above is of the carrying amount of reportable segment assets, liabilities and non-current assets. Segment assets and liabilities include items directly attributable to a segment and include income tax assets and liabilities. Non-current assets include goodwill, property, plant and equipment and computer software.

 

4.   Income tax expense

 

The charge for taxation on profits for the interim period amounted to £0.15m (2015: £0.22m) an effective rate of 20% (2015: 20%).

 

 

5.   Dividends

 



Six months ended

Year ended


30 September

2016

30 September

2015

31 March

2016



£'000


£'000


£'000

 

Special second interim dividend for 2015: 4.00p per share

 

-


 

487


 

488

Final dividend for 2015: 3.09p per share (2014: 3.09p per share)

-


376


376

Interim dividend for 2016 1.75p per share (2015: 1.75p per share)

-


-


212

Special dividend for 2016: 4.00p per share

-


-


490

Second Interim dividend for 2016: 3.09p per share

-


-


380










 

-


 

863


 

1,946















 

The interim dividend for 2017 of 1.75 pence (2016: 1.75 pence paid on 27 November 2015), was approved by the board on 8 November 2016 and will be paid on 25 November 2016 to those shareholders whose names are on the register on 18 November 2016.

 

 

6.   Earnings per share

 

Earnings per share (EPS) are calculated by dividing the profit attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period.

 

Fully diluted earnings per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary shares by existing share options assuming dilution through conversion of all existing options.

 

Earnings and weighted average number of shares from continuing operations used in the calculations are show below:

 



Six months ended

Year ended


                30 September

                2016

30 September

2015

31 March

2016



                £'000


£'000


£'000

 

Retained profit for basic and diluted earnings per share

 

 

605


 

848


 

1,690

















              Number


Number


Number








Weighted average number of shares used for basic earnings per share

 

12,274,923


 

12,176,030


 

12,211,950

Dilutive effect of share options

 

334,998


260,697


290,730








Diluted weighted average number of shares used for

 diluted earnings per share

 

12,609,921


 

 12,436,726


   12,502,680








 



         Pence


Pence


Pence








Basic earnings per share


4.92p


         6.97p


        13.84p

Diluted earnings per share


          4.79p


         6.82p


        13.52p







 

 

7.   Reconciliation of profit before tax to cash flow from operating activities

 



Six months ended

Year ended


30 September

2016

30 September

2015

31 March

2016



£'000


£'000


£'000








Profit before taxation


760


1,063


2,149

Adjust for:







Depreciation


88


99


188

Share option reserve movement


59


69


166








Operating cash flow before changes in working capital

 

907


 

1,231


2,503







(Increase) in receivables

(536)


(488)


(401)

Increase  in payables

 

146


453


267

 

Cash generated from underlying operations

 

 

517


 

1,196


2,369







 

 

8.   Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net funds

 



Six months ended

Year ended


30 September

2016

30 September

2015

31 March

2016



£'000


£'000


£'000








Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in period/year

 

177


 

85


 

(74)

Net funds at the start of the period/year


953


1,009


1,009

Other non-cash changes


206


(57)


18








Net funds at the end of the period/year

 


1,336


1,037


953








 

 

9.   Trade and other receivables

 


30 September

2016

30 September 2015

31 March 2016


£'000

£'000

£'000





Trade receivables

                   2,866

                     2,321

   2,706

Allowance for doubtful debts

                       (42)

                       (190)

       (40)

Prepayments and accrued income

                   2,577

                     2,827

2,204

Other receivables

                        72

                          68

        69





 

 

                   5,473

                     5,026

4,939





 

 

10. Trade and other payables

 


30 September

2016

30 September 2015

31 March 2016


£'000

£'000

£'000





Trade payables

                      182

                        113

267

Other taxes and social security

                      590

                        588

664

Other payables

                      290

                        462

185

Accruals and deferred income

                   1,301

                     1,249

       1,100


                   2,363

                     2,412

2,216





 


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
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