DIFFICULT TRADING ENVIRONMENT CONTINUES AS INNOCONCEPTS LAYS FOUNDATIONS FOR RECOVERY

Alleen voor leden beschikbaar, wordt daarom gratis lid!

Overig advies 07/05/2010 08:54
· Turnover 2009 EUR 12 million (2008: EUR 50 million);
· EBITDA 2009 negative EUR 31million (2008: EUR 23 million);
· Adjusted EBITDA1) 2009 negative EUR 8 million, (2008: EUR 28 million)
· Impairments on assets of EUR 22 million;
· Net loss including impairments EUR 55 million (2008: Net loss EUR 22 million);
· Successful rights offering and CEO private placement raises net proceeds of EUR 28 million;
· EUR 45 million debt facility restructured on favourable terms;
· Organisational changes and head office restructuring completed.

COMMENT FROM THE CEO
2009 has been a very difficult year for InnoConcepts N.V. ("InnoConcepts") but one in which significant work has been done in laying the foundations for recovery. InnoConcepts has changed the management, implemented a new strategy, simplified the organization and successfully completed a rights issue.

The difficult period InnoConcepts has faced has strengthened our conviction that operational cash flow is the single most important factor in determining the group's recovery and future prosperity and, unlike the past, lies at the core of the business's strategy and commercial and operational actions. In order to drive this we have reduced costs by lowering the headcount at headquarters, integrating the remaining staff in the existing tooling facility in Eindhoven and closing the direct food-packaging activity. Additionally, we have strengthened the balance sheet and reinforced our liquidity position through the rights offering late 2009.

With our focus on cash generation, we are clear that our first strategic priority is to continue to develop the technology and sharpen its commercialization. To do this we have focussed dedicated commercial resources in both North America and Europe. The development of the first 32cavity stack mould incorporating our injection moulding technology (IM Technology) for the North American market has been slower than planned. We are, however, very close to the finishing line and the substantial know-how developed in this process will enable us to accelerate significantly the production of future similar moulds.

We have started a robust process to collect as much of the amounts owed to InnoConcepts and which have been subject of impairment in 2008 and 2009. This process has uncovered past transactions with parties that now appear to have been related to InnoConcepts. We will make future disclosures on this as and when we have more information.

Post-balance sheet date CHENG MENG
As stated in the press release of 21st of April 2010 the impact of the default of Cheng Meng will lead to impairments in April 2010 of EUR 33.8 million (carrying value at 31 December 2009 EUR 32.7 million). The impact of this event has been disclosed in our 2009 financial statements as a post-balance sheet event. The impairment itself does not have any impact on the cash flows of the business in the short term. Furthermore InnoConcepts is assessing what realistic legal remedies it has in the People's Republic of China to retrieve some value from the assets and receivables it has impaired.


FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE FULL YEAR 2009
2009 2008
(Financial results in EUR million)
Sales 12.6 51.1 - 75%
Operating result - 43.9 15.1 - 391%
EBITDA - 30.9 23.0 -234%
Adjusted EBITDA 1) - 8.3 28.2 -129%
Net result - 54.9 - 22.2 -148%
Earnings per share in EUR - 2.08 - 0.94 -121%
Solvency (group equity / balance sheet total) 46% 59% - 22%
1) Adjusted EBITDA is the EBITDA adjusted for those items in the operational results that are of non-recurring character.

NOTES TO THE FIGURES
The second half of 2009 continued essentially in the same vein as the first half year. Capital- investment budgets of our customers continued to be kept on a tight rein due to uncertainty over the durability of the apparent recovery in the general economy. Sales of conventional tooling continued at the (historically low) level of between EUR 3 million and EUR 4 million per quarter witnessed in the first half of the year. Revenues from licensing intellectual property continue to be non-existent. This is partly due to the fact that we no longer pursue non-cash "shares for license" deals (which accounted for the vast majority of the income from this source in 2008) and partly due to the degradation in the legacy agreements we have in place in particular with Founders China and SAS.
As a result of the above our sales declined by EUR 38.5 million to EUR 12.6 million.

The operating result decreased from EUR 15.1 million to negative EUR 43.9 million. Next to the decline in sales this was caused by impairment of operating assets of EUR 18.5 million (2008: EUR 5.2 million), increased depreciation and amortisation to a total of EUR 13.0 million in 2009 (2008: EUR 7.9 million) and increased general and administrative expenses of EUR 4.3 million to EUR 21.4 million (2008: EUR 17.1 million). The increase of the general and administrative expenses was due to a one-off expense of EUR 4.1 million in 2009 resulting from the personnel options awarded pursuant to the private placement of EUR 4.0 million by the CEO.

The adjusted EBITDA, which is the operating result adjusted for depreciation and amortisation and non operational expenses such as impairments of operating assets and one-off expenses of personnel options, is EUR 8.3 million negative (2008: EUR 28.2 million) This decrease is caused by the decline in sales and the general and administrative expense, excluding the personnel options expenses, being on the same level of 2008 at EUR 17,3 million.

ADDITIONAL IMPAIRMENTS
In 2009 InnoConcepts impaired for EUR 22 million on assets. The impairments arise mainly from our changed strategy whereby it was decided to stop the direct sales and exploitation of the food-packaging activities. The direct effect of this strategy change led to a different valuation of the future cash flows of these assets thereby causing an impairment of EUR 11.6 million on our equipment dedicated to this activity. Furthermore since we stopped the direct sales and food-packaging activity we will not meet the minimum guaranteed manufacturing levels and therefore a penalty is due under the contract manufacturing agreement with Hoogerman Holding B.V. The total maximum liability less anticipated revenues for this contract ending 2012 is EUR 2.1 million and has been fully provisioned in 2009.

Furthermore we have impaired the remaining carrying value of our 45% investment in associate Founders-SAS Production Ltd for EUR 1.6 million and impaired EUR 1.8 million on our loan note to TEA Group Ltd. The latter is caused by, next to the changed strategy, the dismantling of the TEA Group Ltd. in 2009. The only entity left of this group at balance sheet date is the Chinese toolmaker Cheng Yi Tools. We have adjusted the valuation of our loan note to 90% of the net equity value of Cheng Yi Tools assuming future conversion. The resulting impairment amounts to EUR 1.8 million.

Additionally we have provisioned receivables which InnoConcepts deems unlikely to be recoverable. We will however, as stated, maximize our efforts to reclaim the monies owed to us.


CASH FLOW AND BALANCE SHEET DEVELOPMENTS

Our balance sheet total increased from EUR 137.3 million to EUR 142.3 million. This increase was caused by the increase of our cash position of EUR 15.5 million and the valuation of deferred tax assets of EUR 7.9 million. This increase was offset by the net amount of impairments, depreciations and amortisation, adjusted for investments of EUR 18.5 million. The increased cash position is solely due to the rights issue finalised at the end of 2009.

The solvency decreased from 59% to 46% caused by the negative net result in 2009 and partly offset by the proceeds of the equity raise.

The net cash flow from operating activities improved in 2009 from negative EUR 13.4 million to negative EUR 8.6 million. This increase is driven by the absence of non-cash revenues together with decreased net working capital. The effects of the negative cash flow from operating activities have been redeemed by significantly lowering our investments in 2009 to EUR 2.3 million (2008: EUR 16.3 million) and the proceeds of the rights offering amounting to EUR 28 million net of expenses. Out of these proceeds EUR 10 million has been used to repay a bridge loan. As a result of the fore mentioned the cash position increased by EUR 15 million from EUR 4 million to EUR 19 million.

The net debt, defined as bank loans, finance leases and credit facilities, both the non-current and the current portion, less cash and cash equivalents decreased from EUR 37.8 million at 31 December 2008 to EUR 30.6 million at 31 December 2009. During 2009 we have successfully renegotiated the bank facilities with our main lender. These conditions are summarized as follows. EUR 3.2 million of earlier redemptions have been added to our overdraft facility. This overdraft facility is now EUR 8.2 million. As a result the loans from our main lender increased with the same amount to EUR 36.8 million. Repayment of the loans, which was originally planned as from 31 December 2009, is postponed and will not start before 2012. For 2012 repayments will be made available for 75% of the excess cash flow (which definition is to be further agreed upon with our main lender). The interest rate is equal to the selected interest period (3-months) Euribor increased with a 150 bps mark-up for the total debt package of EUR 45.0 million.


ORGANISATIONAL CHANGES
During the year in review there were significant changes to the composition of the Supervisory and Management Boards. Concerning the Supervisory Board: Mr C. Lieve stepped down as a member; Mr F.J. Sneep was appointed as a new member during the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in June 2009. Mr N. Mehra stepped down as a member of the Supervisory Board in order to take up the position of CEO following the resignation of Mr P.A. Pruijssers as a member of the Management Board on 5 June 2009. Mr A. Langerak resigned as a member on 6 August 2009. During the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders on 8 September 2009 Mr H.W. Verloop was appointed as a member.

There were also significant changes in terms of senior management. Mr. P. Teerlink stepped down as CEO of I-Pac Technologies N.V., a position that has been combined with that of the CEO of the Group since the appointment of Mr. Mehra to that position in June of 2009. Mr. C. v.d. Jagt, former finance manager left the Group. Appointments from internally in the organization were made for the positions of the Directors of Finance, Technology and Operations. Furthermore the head office structure has been reduced and relocated to the site of operations in Eindhoven, bringing together all the key personnel and activities in one location.

We commenced the simplification of the legal structure of the organization with the purchase of the remaining shares in HTP Technologies B.V. and HTP Tooling B.V. to bring it into full ownership of InnoConcepts and the sale of Special Cleaning Industries GmbH, our investment in IPR Tooling & Engineering B.V. and the liquidation of Robby Ltd.

DIVIDEND
The company proposes to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders not to pay out a dividend for 2009.

OUTLOOK
As said earlier, 2009 was a year of change, a year when the turnaround started. It is our firm objective that 2010 should be the year when the turnaround is firmly in place, the historical issues resolved and, most importantly, ensuring that growth in revenues from both conventional moulding and our IM Technology picks up. If the volume growth being witnessed by our current and prospective customers is maintained we believe this will ease their willingness to (re)invest in conventional tooling and in our IM Technology moulds thereby facilitating our recovery from the second half of 2010 onwards.





Beperkte weergave !
Leden hebben toegang tot meer informatie! Omdat u nog geen lid bent of niet staat ingelogd, ziet u nu een beperktere pagina. Wordt daarom GRATIS Lid of login met uw wachtwoord


Copyrights © 2000 by XEA.nl all rights reserved
Niets mag zonder toestemming van de redactie worden gekopieerd, linken naar deze pagina is wel toegestaan.


Copyrights © DEBELEGGERSADVISEUR.NL