BLTG.L Regulatory News (BLTG)

1 Aug 2005 07:00

Fonebak plc01 August 2005 Fonebak PLC (the "Company") Fonebak PLC acquires Intec Group Ltd. Fonebak PLC the leader in mobile phone re-use, resale and recycling announcedtoday 1st August 2005 the acquisition of Intec Group Ltd. Intec was founded in 1996 and has developed into one of the UK's leading mobilephone repair service organisations. Its turnover for the year ending September 2004 was £15 million with operatingprofit of £660,000, profit before tax of £634,000 and gross assets at 30September 2004 of £4.1 million. It has over the last six months restructured its operations and while sales areanticipated to reach a similar level to those in the year ended 30 September2004, operating profit will be impacted for a period of time by the changes. TheBoard of Fonebak expect the acquisition to enhance earnings in the currentperiod and beyond. Kathy Woodward Chief Executive of Fonebak PLC said: "We are delighted to be joining forces with Intec. The two organisations haveworked closely together over the last twelve months and we are confident thatthey are the right partner as we develop our strategy of providing integratedpost handset sales services." Harry Ramis who will continue in his role as Managing Director of Intec said: "This is an excellent opportunity for Intec. We know the Fonebak team wellhaving supported them in establishing their repair and refurbishment centre inRomania. We will now be able to offer our clients, who include the major networkoperators, retailers, insurance companies and manufacturers a range of serviceoptions including combining time critical local services with cost effectiveoffshore alternatives." The acquisition is for an initial cash consideration of £1.7 million with amaximum additional cash consideration of £2.5 million payable on the delivery ofcertain performance criteria over a maximum period of two years to 30th June2007. The acquisition will be financed by a mixture of existing cash resourcesand enlarged banking facilities. Fonebak who floated on AIM on 31st March 2005, gave a recent trading update oftheir year ending June 2005 advising of a strong final quarter of the year,sales up to £37million from £27million in the previous year and profitanticipated to be in line with management expectations. Their maiden resultswill be announced on 26 September 2005. 1st August 2005 Enquiries: Fonebak PLCKathy Woodward, Chief Executive Officer 01708 683400Pelham Public RelationsJames Henderson 020 7743 6673Charles Vivian 020 7743 6672 Notes to Editors Fonebak PLC Fonebak is the UK based leader in the refurbishment, resale and end of lifeprocessing of mobile phones. It has contracts with mobile phone operators,major retailers and handset manufacturers across Europe to provide services torepair, refurbish and either remarket and/or recycle the millions of handsetsreplaced each year (it is estimated that over eighteen million handsets arereplaced each year in the UK alone). Fonebak not only provides environmental compliance for its clients and deliversaffordable communications to the populations of developing economies (themajority of whom are unable to afford the price of even the cheapest newhandset), but through its World recycling support scheme it also raisesinternational environmental awareness and through revenues generated on behalfof its clients (much of which is donated to charity) supports over 1,000charitable activities. Its combination of business success in internationaltrade and its contribution to corporate social responsibility have won it anumber of accolades including Business in the Community Award for Excellence andQueens Award for Enterprise 2005. Intec Group Limited Intec is an established and leading specialist in the after sale support ofmobile phone handsets. The group comprises two divisions: Intec Distribution andIntec Cellular Services. Intec is recognised in the mobile phone industry forits outstanding levels of quality, customer service and innovation. It has forthe last three years won the industry award for repair centre excellence. Intec Cellular Services has accreditations to carry out repairs for the majorityof handset manufacturers and provides complete repair solutions for insurers,network service providers, manufacturers, and retail organisations. Intec Distribution provides a range of supply services, including sourcing,specialist fulfillment and logistics services. Biographies Kathy Woodward, Chief Executive of Fonebak Kathy joined the organisation in 2002 having previously spent five years withThe Astron Group ("Astron") where she held a main board position of groupoperations director. Prior to Astron she was Development Director with theBritish Printing Company Ltd and had spent her early career with ICL plc. Harry Ramis, Managing Director of Intec Group Harry founded Intec in 1996, having previously developed one of the first highstreet chains of mobile phone retail stores. His previous experience had been ina number of senior technical roles with NEC, including responsibility forestablishing their total third party repair outsourcing activities. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange