TIDMPHTM
RNS Number : 7939H
Photo-Me International PLC
27 March 2020
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse
Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this
announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in
the public domain.
27 March 2020
Photo-Me International plc
("Photo-Me" or "the Group")
Business Update
Photo-Me International plc (PHTM.L), the instant-service
equipment group, announces the following strategic decisions of its
board of directors (the Board) in light of the ongoing COVID-19
crisis.
Further to Photo-Me's announcement made on 17 March 2020, the
Board has continued to keep the evolving COVID-19 situation under
close review. Owing to the scale of uncertainty being caused by the
pandemic, the Board has made two important strategic decisions: to
cancel the Group's 2020 interim dividend and to change Photo-Me's
accounting reference date.
Trading Update
As noted in the announcement of 17 March 2020, the Group's
business continues to be impacted by COVID-19. Since the end of
February, owing to the severe limitations being imposed on the
movement of people across almost all of the regions in which the
Group operates, Photo-Me has since seen a significant drop in
revenues across its sites. As a result, the Board has taken steps
(and continues to do so) to reduce capital and other expenditure
and improve cash flow, including by deferring repayment of loans,
obtaining additional credit facilities, and furloughing employees,
to ensure the Group continues to be well capitalised and has
sufficient liquidity during this uncertain period.
Due to these macroeconomic uncertainties, the Board is
withdrawing current market guidance and will provide a further
update on guidance once more clarity is known around the outlook of
the business.
Dividends
On 10 December 2019, the Board announced its intention to pay an
interim dividend of 3.71 pence per Ordinary share on 11 May 2020,
with a record date of 14 April 2020. The Board has decided to
cancel the announced interim dividend. The Board continues to keep
the dividend policy under review.
Funding and Liquidity
The Group is complying with all of its banking covenants.
The Board believes that, before taking account of any of the
actions detailed above to further reduce expenditure (including the
cancellation of the interim dividend), the Group had sufficient
financial resources to ensure that the Group remains well funded
until July 2020 assuming that very limited revenue is generated
during the period.
The Board remains confident that its actions outlined today and
the actions it is currently seeking to implement will ensure that
the Group continues to operate should the lockdown on the movement
of people continue for an extended duration.
Change of Financial Year End
The Board believes that adhering to the current year-end of 30
April will be challenging to achieve in the current environment
owing to the limitations imposed on the movement of people.
Therefore, the Board has decided to extend the Group's current
financial year end to 31 October 2020, and have 31 October as its
accounting reference date going forward. All subsidiary companies
in the Group will align their accounting reference dates (or
equivalents) accordingly. The Board believes by implementing this
action, sufficient time will be given to the Board, management, and
the auditor to complete a detailed full-year audit as it is hoped
any limitations on the movement of people will be lifted by
then.
The Group will therefore prepare and publish an interim
statement in respect of the six-month period ending 30 April 2020,
which will be published in July 2020.
Our Team
The Board also wishes to take this opportunity to thank the
Group's country managers and all the employees of the Group for the
sterling efforts they have made and continue to make, and to its
other stakeholders for their continued support.
ENQUIRIES
Photo-Me International plc +44 (0) 1372 453 399 / ir@photo-me.co.uk
Serge Crasnianski, CEO
Stéphane Gibon, CFO
Hudson Sandler +44 (0) 20 7796 4133
Wendy Baker/ Emily Dillon/ photo-me@hudsonsandler.com
Nick Moore
NOTES TO EDITORS
Photo-Me International plc (LSE: PHTM) operates, sells and
services a wide range of instant-service vending equipment,
primarily aimed at the consumer market.
The Group operates approximately 46,900 vending units across 18
countries and its technological innovation is focused on three
principal areas:
-- Identification: photobooths and integrated biometric identification solutions
-- Laundry: unattended laundry services, launderettes, B2B services
-- Kiosks: high-quality digital printing
The Group entered the self-service fresh fruit juice equipment
market in April 2019, with the acquisition of Sempa. T his will
become a key business area ('KIS Food') alongside Identification,
Laundry and Kiosks, and will be a significant part of the Group's
future growth strategy.
In addition, the Group operates vending equipment such as
children's rides, amusement machines and business service
equipment.
Whilst the Group both sells and services this equipment, the
vast majority of units are operated and maintained by Photo-Me.
Photo-Me pays the site owner a commission based on turnover, which
varies depending on the country and location of the machine.
The Group has built long-term relationships with major site
owners and its equipment is generally sited in prime locations in
areas of high footfall such as supermarkets, shopping malls
(indoors and outdoors) and public transport venues. The equipment
is maintained and serviced by an established network of 700 field
engineers.
The Company's shares have been listed on the London Stock
Exchange since 1962.
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END
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