TIDMWAS1
RNS Number : 9106N
Wasps Finance PLC
31 October 2016
31 October 2016
Wasps Holding Limited
Annual Results
For the year ended 30 June 2016
("Wasps")
Wasps, an English Premiership rugby union club and owner of the
Ricoh Arena in Coventry, one of the UK's leading sports,
exhibition, conferencing and entertainment arenas, today announces
its results for the year ended 30 June 2016. The results announced
today reflect the first full year of ownership of the Ricoh Arena
following acquisition of Arena Coventry Limited ("ACL"), the owner
of the Ricoh Arena, and move in December 2014.
Group Financial highlights
-- Revenue increased 44% to GBP30.9m
-- Gross margin up from 24.8% to 33.5%
-- Operating loss before exceptional items and allocation to
non-controlling interests of GBP3.8m (GBP2.4m - in 2014/15)
-- EBITDA GBP2.2m loss (GBP1.7m loss in 2014/15)
-- Retained loss for the year GBP2.3m (GBP6.3m in 2014/15)
-- Asset cover ratio 1.7; Bond covenant set at 1.4
-- Valuation of the Arena unchanged at GBP48.5m and P shares unchanged at GBP9.7m
Wasps highlights
-- Exceeded aim of finishing in top six, finishing 3(rd) in the
Aviva Premiership and Semi-finals of European Champions Cup
-- Average attendance of 16,916 versus 11,401 in 2014/15,
despite the effect of Rugby World Cup which had an estimated impact
of 20,000 - 30,000 on total Premiership attendance
-- Hospitality and Sponsorship improved 86% on 2014/15 and ticket income up 19%
-- Season Ticket sales for 2016/17 up 24% and seasonal
hospitality sales up over 50% for 2016/17
-- New central deal with RFU will increase annual income by
GBP1.2m on average over the next eight years
-- Investment in the squad, strengthened for 2016/17 with
additions of Danny Cipriani, Kyle Eastmond, Tommy Tayler, Matt
Symons, Kurtley Beale and Willie LeRoux
-- Training facility at Broadstreet opened and very successful
-- New wearable technology partner Fitbit
-- Launch of Wasps netball for 2016/17 will be an exciting extension of the brand
ACL highlights
-- First three quarters were strong for conference and
exhibition business and new Compass agreement working smoothly
-- Hotel conversion to DoubleTree by Hilton has proved very
successful with Rev Par currently improved to over GBP50 (GBP36 in
2014/15) although earnings impacted by construction time
-- Music strategy re-launched in 2015/16 attracted world-class
acts: including Bruce Springsteen, Rhianna, Jess Glynne and MTV
Crashes, compared to none in the prior year
o Hosting of stadium concerts increased operating costs and we
are reviewing the appropriate economic model to reduce impact of
events that fall below expectation, as in the case of MTV Crashes,
for future events
o We will continue to strengthen our position as a favourite in
the UK for music promoters
-- New Xtragrass pitch was installed during the summer of 2015,
benefitting Coventry City Football Club and attracting the Ricoh's
first England Football U21 game
-- Railway station open and operating for match days
-- 4 Nations Rugby League and International Netball signed up for 2016/17
-- New naming rights for Indoor Arena: Ericsson, and a
partnership on the forthcoming development of a high density WI-FI
throughout the Arena
David Armstrong, Chief Executive said:
"This set of results reflects the full year impact of acquiring
the Ricoh Arena. This has been a year of investment both on and off
the pitch. We were delighted to finish third in the Aviva
Premiership and at the high standard, exciting rugby played by the
team. Attendances have been strong, despite the impact of the Rugby
World Cup and absence of an Anglo-Welsh competition, which affected
total revenue. However, the new season has started strongly. We
have made progress with our plans at the Ricoh Arena, in particular
the refurbishment of our hotel to become a DoubleTree by Hilton and
the opening of our temporary training facility at Broadstreet
RFC.
"Although EBITDA was below original expectations due to the
factors outlined above, as well as the timing of acquisition of
partnerships , revenue growth of 44% is encouraging and we are
confident in the future of the Club and the continued benefits of
bringing together Wasps and ACL.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our
supporters, both old and new, and everyone involved both on and off
the field. I am excited about the year ahead and at the strong
start we have already made for the 2016/17 season. This will be an
important year of financial transformation in our goal to be more
financially stable for the long-term and we look forward to the
year ahead with confidence."
The full report and accounts are available at
www.wasps.co.uk/bonds. A webcast presentation for Wasps Finance PLC
Bondholders will be held on Wednesday 2 November, for more details
please see the website.
- Ends -
For more information, please contact
Wasps T: +44 (0)208 896 4871
Melissa Platt
Bell Pottinger T: +44 (0)203 772 2582
Victoria Geoghhegan
Elizabeth Snow
About Wasps and the Ricoh Arena
Wasps is a professional rugby team which plays in the Aviva
Premiership, European Rugby Champions Cup. Wasps has been crowned
European Champions twice and English Champions five times. For more
information about the Club and our partners please visit
www.wasps.co.uk
The Ricoh Arena is an award-winning venue which has a mix of
state-of the art conference, banqueting, exhibition, hotel, music
and sports facilities. Visited by over 1.2 million people each
year, it is a firm favourite in the UK for music promoters as well
as business and sports event organisers. The facilities
include:
-- 32,600 seat stadium; a concert venue of 40,500 capacity
-- 121 room DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
-- One of the UK's largest casinos operated by Grosvenor Casinos
-- 20,000sqm of conference and exhibition hall
-- 3 restaurants, 5 bars
-- 2,000 onsite car parking bays
The combination of Wasps and the Ricoh Arena creates a symbiotic
relationship between these businesses through complementary
interests across sponsors, media, exhibition organisers and
conference hosts. Additionally, there are considerable marketing
synergies across the retail/consumer customer groups, including
rugby and football fans themselves.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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