AMO.L Regulatory News (AMO)

25 Oct 2006 07:01

Amino Technologies PLC25 October 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 25 October 2006 AMINO TECHNOLOGIES PLC TRADING UPDATE BOARD RE-ORGANISATION PROPOSED SHARE BUY-BACK Amino Technologies plc ("Amino" or the "Group"; stock code: AMO), the Cambridgebased broadband network software and systems company, provides an update ontrading for the year to 30 November 2006 and a reorganisation of its Board.Also, a share buy-back proposal is being considered. TRADING UPDATE The results for the year to 30 November 2006 were expected to be biased stronglytowards the second half year when volume shipments of Amino's new MPEG-4 SD(standard definition) and MPEG-4 HD (high definition) products were scheduled tobegin. Demand for and shipments of the Group's MPEG-2 IPTV set-top boxes haveexceeded expectations. However, industry-wide issues already reported by anumber of other leading participants in the IPTV market relating to the MPEG-4technologies have delayed the uptake of these products and, in turn, havedelayed Amino's ability to sell and deliver these new products during the latterpart of the current financial year. As a result MPEG-4 product shipments to datehave been restricted to 'trial' volumes. Amino has received orders for and expects to deliver 410,000 units this year,30% higher than in the previous year and close to the total number of unitsshipped in the previous three years. As the sales mix now excludes the higherpriced MPEG-4 products, the overall average selling price and gross profit perunit will be lower than expected. Accordingly, the results for the full year arenow expected to be revenues of approximately £25 million (FY2005: £23.5 million)and a loss before tax in the region of £1.5 million (FY2005: profit of £0.06million). Although disappointed by the current position, the Group has established amarket leading position, evidenced by having shipped more than 900,000 IPTVset-top boxes by the end of the current year since its first volume shipmentsbegan in December 2003. The Group continues to benefit from a strong balancesheet and cash position. The introduction and volume deployment of MPEG-4 set-top boxes is dependent uponthe availability, affordability and integration of a completely new set oftechnologies including semiconductor chips, conditional access, middleware andinternet browser software. Whilst the Group has launched three new MPEG-4products in the year, delays in the availability of semiconductor chips and thethe associated chip manufacturer's driver software has had a 'knock-on' effecton the integration of key IPTV software technologies. The Group is confident that it will be able to maintain its market leadingposition as the market transitions from MPEG-2 into MPEG-4. Independent marketforecasts continue to point to substantial growth for IPTV, albeit generallylater than previously expected, reflecting in part the need for convergencebetween the internet capacity required and bandwidth availability for thedelivery of HD IPTV. The directors believe that the MPEG-2 market will continueto be significant for the foreseeable future. The Group is also well placed totake a leading role in the emerging Internet TV market. PROPOSED SHARE BUY-BACK Amino is investigating obtaining the necessary legal and regulatory approvals toundertake a share buy-back programme. Should such approval be obtained, aproposal will be put to shareholders at the forthcoming AGM. BOARD RE-ORGANISATION Having become established firmly within the IPTV technology market, thecomposition of the Board is being reviewed in order to create a structure totake the Group into its next phase of development. Grant Masom (non-executiveChairman), Nick Kuenssberg (non-executive director) and David Gammon(non-executive director) will leave Amino's Board towards the end of January2007 or earlier, allowing time for an orderly transition. The Group will usethis period to seek a new non-executive Chairman and a further non-executivedirector. Amino is pleased to announce today the appointment of Mr. Olivier Patrick Hopkes as a non-executive Director with immediate effect. Olivier, aged 34, has broad experience as a corporate financier and as aninvestment professional. He is Head of Investments at CLS Holdings Plc ("CLS")and is an executive director of CLS Capital Partners Limited. In addition,Olivier serves as a non-executive board member for a number of media andtechnology companies in which CLS has invested. Prior to joining CLS, Olivierwas with JPMorgan Investment Banking in London and MeesPierson Corporate Finance& Capital Markets in Amsterdam. In addition to the above, Mr. Hopkes is currently a director of Tweedwind (Two)Limited, Tweedwind (Three) Limited, Tenison Technology EDA Limited, LunarworksHoldings AB (Sweden) and Mobilaris AB (Sweden). In the past five years he hasbeen a director of Keronite International Limited, Keronite plc and Repeatit AB(Sweden). No further disclosure is required under Paragraph (g) to Schedule Twoof the AIM Rules with respect to Mr. Hopkes. About Amino Amino Technologies plc (www.aminocom.com) designs and supplies Electronicsystems, software and consultancy for IPTV (telco triple-play applications),on-demand video and in-home multimedia distribution delivered through threeoperating divisions. Amino Communications supplies the AmiNET(TM) series of high performance IPTVset-top boxes and gateways for development in the telecommunications, broadcastand hospitality markets. Generally, AmiNET products are supplied with theIntAct(TM) IPTV software stack for customer premises solutions to OEMs enablingthem to supply IPTV set-top boxes and gateways for larger scale deployments andthe hospitality sector. Amino is partnered with world-leading companies in systems integration,middleware, conditional access, semi-conductor, head-end systems and browsertechnologies. CONTACTS Amino Technologies: 01954-234100Grant Masom, Chairman www.aminocom.comBob Giddy, Chief ExecutiveStuart Darling, Finance Director Bankside: 020-7367-8888Steve Liebmann or Simon Bloomfield This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange