TIDMVNET
RNS Number : 3646V
Vianet Group PLC
14 April 2021
14 April 2021
Vianet Group plc
("Vianet" or the "Group")
Trading and COVID-19 Update and Notice of Results
Vianet Group plc (AIM: VNET), the international provider of
actionable data and business insight through devices connected to
its Internet of Things ("IOT") platform, today provides an update
on progress and trading. We anticipate releasing results for the
financial year ended 31 March 2021 on Tuesday, 15 June 2021.
We believe there are significant growth opportunities for the
Group as the UK emerges from lockdown and COVID-19 restrictions are
lifted. From the outset of the pandemic, our principal focus has
been on working closely with customers, effectively managing cash,
and rationalising operations, providing a strong platform from
which to capitalise as restrictions ease.
Although the vast majority of H2 was characterised by a more
challenging Government regime of enforced lockdowns and pub
closures, we are very pleased to report that, notwithstanding this
challenging business backdrop, trading for the period showed a
slight improvement on our H1 financial performance; free
operational cash flow in H2 was neutral despite one-off
rationalisation costs and the delayed receipt of GBP0.45m which
arrived post year end.
We anticipate for the financial year end March 2021 the Group
will report an adjusted operating loss in the region of GBP0.7m and
c. GBP1.1m of operational cash generation.
COVID-19 Update
As a result of the success of the Government's vaccine efforts
and a clear roadmap for the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions
and the re-opening of hospitality and offices, we anticipate
returning to more normalised trading from July. As confidence
returns, we are continuing to engage with our customers and as a
result we estimate that 50% of our installed sites will have
re-commenced some form of trading by the end of April, with over
90% back on stream by early June.
Unsurprisingly, the re-opening plans for some city-centre pubs
may take slightly longer due to their reliance on offices
re-opening or because limited space prevents them from implementing
current social distancing guidelines.
Recent evidence suggests that the further easing of lockdown
restrictions will result in a gradual return to office-based work
over the summer, which will provide further momentum for our
growing vending telemetry and contactless payment services and
solutions.
Inevitably, sales growth from our key European markets and
customers has been held back as the continent wrestles with its
vaccine programme and rising case numbers. However, we are
confident that this is just a temporary setback, and we remain well
positioned as countries and economies begin to unlock.
Summary and Outlook
In the context of these unprecedented business challenges, the
Board is extremely proud of the continued financial discipline that
has been adopted and remains confident that Vianet will emerge from
this global crisis in a strong financial position, enabling the
Group to take advantage of the exciting growth opportunities that
lie ahead.
In addition to ensuring our continued financial discipline we
remain committed to safeguarding our employee health and well-being
whilst supporting our customers.
James Dickson, Chairman & Interim CEO, commented:
"Our actions to support our customers and maintain investment
through the pandemic, while sustaining a good level of recurring
revenue beyond our own expectations, has placed the Group in an
excellent position to benefit from the increased demand for data
insight and contactless solutions as the economy recovers.
"We are also very aware of the challenges our employees have
faced during the past year and are proud of their collective
response and the first-rate level of staff engagement through the
crisis, which has resulted in a significant increase in Best
Companies' survey ratings.
"Although there have been unprecedented business challenges, the
Board is very confident that as the restrictions ease, we have
implemented the correct measures enabling the Group to capitalise
on the momentum we had generated before this global crisis and to
take advantage of the exciting growth opportunities which lie
ahead."
This announcement contains inside information.
- Ends -
Enquiries:
Vianet Group plc
James Dickson, Chairman & Interim Tel: +44 (0) 1642 358
CEO 800
Mark Foster, CFO www.vianetplc.com
Cenkos Securities plc
Stephen Keys / Camilla Hume Tel: +44 (0) 20 7397
8900
www.cenkos.com
Media enquiries:
Yellow Jersey PR
Sarah Hollins Tel: +44 (0)7764 947
Henry Wilkinson 137
vianet@yellowjerseypr.com Tel: +44 (0)7951 402
336
www.yellowjerseypr.com
About Vianet
Vianet Group is a leading provider of actionable management
information and business insight created through combining data
from our smart Internet of Things ('IOT') solutions and external
information sources.
Since Admission to AIM in 2006, the Group has grown from its
core beer monitoring business both organically and through
strategic acquisitions to widen its offering and develop new
businesses, especially in vending telemetry and contactless payment
solutions particularly for the premium coffee sector.
Servicing over 300 customers across the world and rendering live
data to our IOT platform from over 250,000 connected machines
daily, Vianet is one of the largest business to business (b2b)
connected solutions providers in Europe with established long-term
relationships with blue chip customers and growing recurring
revenues which are over 85% of our total revenues.
In our Smart Machines Division, we connect a single data
gathering device with its own on-board communication capability to
a customer's asset or system. The device then sends data back via
our IOT platform to cloud based servers. The technology was
originally developed for automated retailing machines; however, the
flexibility and functionality of the device means the technology
can be applied to practically any machine which has the capability
to output data. The device is also used to connect our contactless
payment solution and communicate payment terms to our cloud-based
payment services providers where that application is also
required.
The Smart Zones Division is where we connect multiple data
gathering devices into one or more systems or assets with the data
from those devices being communicated back to our IOT platform and
cloud-based servers via a single 3G communications hub. The
technology was originally developed for flow monitoring devices,
temperature sensors, and asset management in drinks retailing but
practically any data gathering device with a digital output could
be connected to the communications hub where required such as
gaming machines, utilities management and EPOS.
For further information, please visit www.vianetplc.com
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