AMO.L Regulatory News (AMO)

9 Jun 2009 07:00



9th June 2009

Amino Technologies plc

Period-end Trading Update

Amino Technologies plc ('Amino' or the 'Company'; stock code: AMO), the Cambridge-based leader in digital entertainment solutions for IPTV, Internet TV and in-home multimedia distribution, provides the following update for the half-year ended 31 May 2009.

The Board of Amino (the 'Board') reports continued strategic progress. The acquisition of the Tilgin IPTV division was completed at the start of the period and integration of that business is now complete. Following the Tilgin IPTV acquisition, Amino's combined product portfolio is proving to be a competitive advantage and has driven a number of new customer opportunities.

The global economic conditions have adversely impacted customer credit and buying cycles as well as the speed of IPTV subscriber growth at the beginning of this year. Despite this, Amino's European division demonstrated growth in both unit shipments and revenues compared with the corresponding period last year.

In the Americas, the uptake has been slow with signs of improved HD product sales materialising only towards the end of the half helped by a restructuring of our sales and marketing activity. In some cases, we have seen order delays, but in the majority of cases these orders have been deferred rather than lost and the forward  sales pipeline remains encouraging, underpinned by increasing consumer demand for HD technologies.

However, these delays have led to a revenue shortfall in the Americas and this, combined with the increased cost base in the first half (before integration benefits) arising from the Tilgin IPTV and AssetHouse acquisitions, will lead to the Company reporting an operating loss for the first half.

Following the integration of the Tilgin IPTV acquisition, we have undertaken a full operational review and been able to increase our cost reduction plan to deliver a reduction in second half run-rate operating expenses of  approximately £4.0m per annum, as compared with the first half.  An exceptional charge of £0.9m will be booked for the full year in respect of these integration and restructuring charges.

These significant cost reduction measures will benefit the second half of the financial year and the Company's  strengthening prospect pipeline, combined with the normal seasonal weighting of revenues, give the Board confidence in the company's outlook for the second half and into 2010.

The Company's strategic and financial position remains extremely robust. At 31 May, the Company's cash  balance stood at £8.8m (Nov 2008: £14.4m). This follows the payment in December 2008 of £2.7m in respect of the acquisition costs of Tilgin IPTV and the payment of accrued royalties of £1.8m. The trade debtor position continues to be healthy as a result of the Company's continued focus on minimising its exposure to bad debts.  

Commenting on the announcement, Keith Todd, Amino Non-Executive Chairman, said:

"Andrew and the Amino team have delivered strategic and operational progress in the first half by successfully integrating the Tilgin IPTV acquisition and driving higher HD sales. The actions taken to accelerate cost savings and to improve the US sales performance will help to underpin profitable growth going forward. As we have previously acknowledged these are uncertain times for the global economy but we will continue to drive productivity gains and tight credit control into the second half of 2009 as we seek to drive growth."

 Ends

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About Amino

Through a combination of software, hardware and systems know-how, Amino Technologies plc (AIM: AMO) enables its customers to deliver and monetise a broad range of intelligent on-line video services for the home and business consumer. 

The company's award winning range of AmiNET™ products provides telecom, broadcast and hospitality firms with a 'front door' to IPTV: a range of software, middleware and set-top box systems that can be tailored to offer highly scalable and targeted systems.

Amino's 'AssetHouse' technology takes IPTV to the next level, allowing clients such as BT Vision to think like retailers and package, personalise and refresh extra revenue-generating services to viewers. For more information, please visit www.aminocom.com