TIDMALSP
RNS Number : 9981N
Ace Liberty & Stone PLC
30 September 2019
Ace Liberty and Stone plc
("Ace" or "the Company")
FINAL RESULTS FOR THE YEARED 30 APRIL 2019
Strong Growth in Revenue, Profit, and Portfolio Value
Ace Liberty and Stone Plc (NEX: ALSP), the active property
investment company capitalising on commercial property investment
opportunities across the UK, is delighted to announce its Final
Results for the year ended 30 April 2019.
Financial Highlights:
-- Revenue for the year grew to GBP5,072,435 (2018: GBP3,515,088) a 44.3% increase
-- Property assets have increased to GBP88.3 million (2018: GBP58.2 million) a 51.7% increase
-- Comprehensive Income grew to GBP814,562 (2018: GBP361,295) a 125.5% increase
-- Profit after taxation increased to GBP765,717 (2018: GBP361,296) a 111.94% increase
-- Dividend payments for the year were double that of the previous year at 2.5p per share
-- Dividends paid in three installments resulting in earlier receipt by shareholders
-- Basic Earnings per share 1.97p (2018: 0.91p) and diluted
earnings per share 1.15p (2018: 0.61p) increased by 116.5% and
88.5% respectively
Operational Highlights:
-- Ace has substantially strengthened its portfolio with the
acquisition of eight properties for a combined total of
GBP32,952,499:
o Tweedale House, Oldham and Brocol House Wigan; Princes Court,
Leicester; Mecca Bingo Hall in Chesterfield; Frances House in
Northampton; Black Horse Street in Bolton; Nolan House in
Warrington; and James Cook House in Middlesbrough
-- The portfolio was also rebalanced with the sale of the
Doncaster car park; as well as most of the remaining residential
assets in Barnsley and Stoke on Trent
-- Since the year end further residential properties were sold
in Barnsley and the sale of Hillcrest House in Leeds was also
agreed
-- Ace also sold Hume House for GBP3,900,000, representing an
overall 307% return on our investment over the purchase price of
GBP1,670,000 in 2014; and Bridge House in Dudley was sold with
deferred completion
-- These transactions show Ace's proactive investment and
trading strategy in action, finding multi-use and attractive
locations with strong rental agreements and established tenants
-- Banking relationships were improved with new banking
facilities of GBP20 million agreed with Coutts & Co in addition
to the existing facility with long term supporter Lloyds Bank
-- Shareholder support has also been forthcoming with:
o GBP1.2 million of the 5% Convertible Loan Note converted into
Ordinary shares
o GBP3.2 million loan agreed; and
o GBP10 million Convertible Loan Note renewal agreed
Ismail Ghandour, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"We are currently in a very strong position, with a healthy
balance sheet, good cashflow and excellent banking relationships in
place. Ace will now look to use this financial and operational
platform to explore opportunities that present themselves as a
result of the current economic and political turmoil.
"Our strategy remains unchanged and we will choose our
properties very carefully, making sure they fit our investment
criteria; fully let; with national or local government or triple-A
commercial tenants; and most leases covering the next nine plus
years. We are more convinced than ever that there are many more
profitable opportunities in smaller, thriving towns outside of the
capital and believe we can continue our growth no matter what the
eventual outcome of Brexit brings."
-ends-
For further information, please contact:
Ace Liberty & Stone Plc
Ivan Minter, Financial Director Tel: +44 (0) 20 7201 8340
http://acelibertyandstone.com
Alfred Henry Corporate Finance Ltd,
NEX Exchange Corporate Adviser
Jon Isaacs / Nick Michaels Tel: +44 (0) 20 3772 0021
www.alfredhenry.com
Belvedere Communications
John West /Llew Angus Tel: +44 (0) 20 3687 2756
www.belvederepr.com
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP
Broker
Abigail Wayne / Rob Rees Tel: +44 (0)20 3470 0470
www.spangel.co.uk
ACF Equity Research
Christopher Nicholson / Amalia Barnoschi Tel: +44 (0) 20 7558 8974
www.acfequityresearch.com
Chairman's Statement
It is my great pleasure once again to recommend an Annual Report
which shows remarkable progress.
The Company has purchased properties in Oldham, Wigan,
Leicester, Chesterfield, Northampton, Bolton, Middlesbrough and
Warrington during the year under review, spending GBP32,952,499 on
these properties. This has the effect of lifting the total passing
rent of the portfolio to GBP6,477,438. Photographs of these
properties are shown on the inside front and back cover of the
annual report. During the year the Doncaster car park was sold as
were most of the remaining residential properties in our Barnsley
and Stoke on Trent portfolios. The sale of Bridge House, Dudley was
agreed with deferred completion. Since the year end, we have
completed the sale of the residential properties in Barnsley and
arranged the sale Hillcrest House, Leeds. The proceeds of these
sales will be used for further purchases.
I again commend to you the KPIs published on pages 6 and 7 of
the annual report. This is information used by management to run
the business and we believe it is beneficial for shareholders and
potential investors to be able to share it. In the last five years,
the portfolio has grown from some GBP24million to GBP88million with
the income proportionately increasing from GBP2.2million to
GBP6.5million the graph of this performance forms the basis of the
Report's front cover design. We also take pride in the quality of
the portfolio. The Weighted Average Unexpired Lease to Break
measurement (WAULB) has been consistently close to nine years for
the past three years and, elsewhere in the Report, we disclose that
59 per cent of the Group income is from National and Local
Government tenants. These statistics show our stability outperforms
many in our industry and confirm the very secure base from which to
approach the future.
We also show the underlying portfolio strength in terms of cash-
and profit- earning with the management reports which show the
growth of gross contribution from the portfolio over the past five
years from GBP724,243 to GBP3,547,530. Over the same period
recurring overheads have grown only from GBP365,439 to GBP872,735,
demonstrating sound corporate management on behalf of our
shareholders.
I commented last year on the effect of IFRS on our published
reports. In our view the KPIs published will give a more focused
report on the essence of the business.
The Company continues to benefit from sound banking
relationships. In addition to the valued facility from Lloyds Bank
Plc, we have added a new facility from Coutts & Co which
reached approximately GBP20million at the year end. This support
enables us to engage with confidence with potential vendors.
Shareholders, too, have been supportive. The holders of almost
GBP1.2million of the 5% CLN have converted into Ordinary Shares and
over GBP800,000 have exercised their warrants, contributing new
equity capital to the enterprise. In addition, we have successfully
arranged the issue of a GBP3.2million loan, also to shareholders,
accompanied by warrants exercisable at 95p. The holder of the
GBP10million CLN has agreed to renew this instrument.
Finally, I am delighted to report the continued increase in the
Company's dividend payments. The payment in respect of the year
ended 2019 was double that of the previous year, at 2.5p per share,
and was paid in three instalments instead of annually, resulting in
earlier receipt by shareholders.
None of us can foresee what awaits us in the future and, in
these troubled times, it would be rash of me to make any forecasts.
I can simply say that the Company is very soundly placed and the
Board will be ready to meet any opportunities which occur in the
next twelve months.
Dr Tony Ghorayeb
Chairman
Date: 25 September 2019
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income for the year
ended 30 April 2019
2019 2018
GBP GBP
Revenue 5,072,435 3,515,088
Gain / (loss) on disposal of investment
property 284,138 (40,758)
Administrative expenses (1,827,857) (1,042,612)
Fair value gain on investment property 1,247,371 250,000
Fair value losses on assets held for
sale (320,079) (250,000)
Finance cost (3,354,830) (2,219,199)
Finance income 5,511 1,622
Share based payment charge (347,726) -
Profit before taxation 758,963 214,141
Taxation 6,754 147,154
------------ --------------
Profit after taxation 765,717 361,295
Other comprehensive income 48,845 -
Total comprehensive income for the
period 814,562 361,295
============ ==============
Attributable to:
Owners of the parent 814,562 361,295
============ ==============
Earnings per share on continuing activities Pence Pence
Basic earnings per share attributable
to equity owners of the parent 2 1.97 0.91
Diluted earnings per share attributable
to equity owners of the parent 2 1.15 0.61
Consolidated Statement of Financial position at 30 April
2019
2019 2018
ASSETS GBP GBP
Non-current assets
Investment property 79,538,096 50,487,866
79,538,096 50,487,866
----------- -----------
Current assets
Assets held for sale 8,784,921 7,734,000
Trade and other receivables 510,490 934,479
Cash and cash equivalents 1,956,742 5,180,225
----------- -----------
11,252,153 13,848,704
----------- -----------
TOTAL ASSETS 90,790,249 64,336,570
=========== ===========
EQUITY AND LIABILITIES
Current liabilities
Liabilities relating to
assets held for sale 1,440,125 2,587,141
Trade and other payables 4,833,381 1,239,869
Taxation 96,681 162,098
Borrowings 15,921,701 690,000
----------- -----------
22,291,888 4,679,108
----------- -----------
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings 47,212,143 40,003,625
Deferred tax 116,188 214,502
----------- -----------
47,328,331 40,218,127
----------- -----------
Share capital 10,608,342 10,065,887
Share premium 9,099,025 7,643,310
Share option reserve 826,906 479,180
Other reserve 341,603 579,548
Treasury shares (480,620) (480,620)
Retained earnings 774,774 1,152,030
----------- -----------
Total equity 21,170,030 19,439,335
----------- -----------
TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 90,790,249 64,336,570
----------- -----------
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement for the year ended 30 April
2019
2019 2018
GBP GBP
Profit before tax 758,963 214,141
Cash flow from operating
activities
Adjustments for:
Finance income (5,511) (1,622)
Finance costs 3,354,830 2,219,199
Gain on disposal of
investment property (284,138) 40,758
Fair value adjustment (927,292) -
Decrease / (Increase)
in receivables 423,989 (756,313)
Increase in payables 1,558,525 476,019
Tax paid (156,977) (337,186)
Interest paid (1,448,846) (1,520,350)
Other finance costs (356,562) -
paid
Share based payment 347,726 -
charge
Net cash generated by operating activities 3,264,707 334,646 334,646
------------- -------------
Cash flows from investing
activities
Interest received (5,511) 1,622
Purchase of investment
properties (32,952,499) (20,784,558)
Sale of investment properties 4,063,138 1,501,242
Net cash used by investing
activities (28,894,872) (19,281,694)
------------- -------------
Cash flows from financing
activities
Share issue, net of issue
costs - 85,300
Long term loans advanced 23,415,375 26,673,688
Long term loans repaid (690,000) (3,593,404)
Short term loans advanced 1,440,125 1,000,000
Short term loans repaid (665,705) -
Equity dividend paid (1,093,113) (389,121)
Net cash generated by financing
activities 22,406,682 23,776,463
------------- -------------
Net (decrease) / increase in cash
and cash equivalents (3,223,483) 4,829,415
------------- -------------
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning
of the period 5,180,225 350,810
Cash and cash equivalents at the end
of the period 1,956,742 5,180,225
============= =============
NOTES TO PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE PERIODED 30 APRIL 2018
1. The financial information set out above does not constitute
statutory accounts for the purpose of Section 434 of the Companies
Act 2006. The financial information has been extracted from the
statutory accounts of Ace Liberty & Stone Plc and is presented
using the same accounting policies, which have not yet been filed
with the Registrar of companies, but on which the auditors gave an
unqualified report on 25(th) September 2019.
The preliminary announcement of the results for the year ended
30 April 2019 was approved by the board of directors on 25(th)
September 2019.
2. Earnings per Share
The calculations of earnings per share are based on the following
earnings and numbers of shares.
GBP GBP
Profit for the period attributable
to equity owners 814,562 361,295
-------------- -------------
No. of No. of
shares shares
of 25p of 25p
Weighted average number of shares
For basic earnings per share 41,245,673 39,837,319
Dilutive effect of share options 29,837,805 18,942,245
-------------- -------------
For diluted earnings per share 71,083,478 58,779,564
============== =============
Earnings per share pence pence
Basic 1.97 0.91
Diluted 1.15 0.61
GBP GBP
Dividends declared during the
year - per share of 25p 0.0291 0.01
Dividends declared during the
year - total 1,196,786 389,121
There were no dividends declared and approved prior to the end of
the year for inclusion in the Financial Statements. However, a dividend
of GBP356,994 was approved after the year end, being equal to 0.84p
per share.
- ends -
The Directors accept responsibility for this announcement.
Notes to Editors
Ace Liberty & Stone Plc is a property investment company
with a diverse portfolio of properties located across the UK,
currently including Leeds, Sunderland, Plymouth, Dudley, Gateshead,
Barnstaple, and London. The Company locates commercial and
residential properties which have the potential for an increase in
value through creative asset management activity, such as change of
tenancy, change of use or new lease negotiation. Ace has maintained
a track record of generating strong profits at disposal of
properties and achieving better-than average returns on capital.
With strong support from shareholders and mortgage lenders, the
Company is currently seeking further investment opportunities in
the UK to create value for existing and new investors.
Ace is run by a board with extensive property experience, an
excellent network of contacts and relevant professional
qualifications. This sector expertise has allowed the Board to
identify opportunities and act promptly to secure investments.
For more information on the Company please visit
www.acelibertyandstone.com
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END
NEXSESFEWFUSEDU
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