Blue Star Regulatory News (BLU)

29 Jun 2007 07:01

Blue Star Capital plc29 June 2007 Blue Star Capital plc29 June 2007 BLUE STAR CAPITAL PLC ('Blue Star' or 'the Company') Interim results for the period ended 31st March 2007 Blue Star Capital plc (AIM: BLU), the Company created to provide seed capitalfor early stage companies, announces its interim results for the period ended31st March 2007. Highlights Blue Star has built a diverse investment portfolio which is beginning to realisevalue Realisations have lead to a substantial reduction in post tax losses to £110,171compared with a post-tax loss of £238,768 for the corresponding six months in2006 Balance sheet remains strong with free net cash of £1 million as at 31 March2007 Nigel Robertson, Blue Star's Chairman, said: "Our strategy of investing in companies with the potential to deliversubstantial capital growth is beginning to bear fruit. Our investments aredelivering on their business strategy and this has resulted in a satisfactoryreduction in our post-taxes losses. We believe that your Company is well placedand I look forward to reporting progress to you over the next twelve months." For further information: Blue Star Capital plcNigel Robertson, ChairmanHaresh Kanabar CEO Tel: 020 7297 0010 Teather & GreenwoodMark Dickenson Tel: 020 7426 9000 Holborn Public Relations LimitedDavid Bick/ Mark Longson Tel: 020 7929 5599 Blue Star Capital Plc Chairman's statement I can report that, for the six months ended 31March 2007, we have substantiallyreduced our post-tax loss to £110,171 compared with the post-tax loss of£238,768 incurred in the corresponding six month period last year. The loss pershare has also been significantly reduced, to 0.10p in the period under reviewcompared with a loss per share of 0.23p in the six month period last year. The reduction in losses is a result of the company beginning to realise some ofthe value of its investment portfolio in the period the company made gains oninvestments of £111,284. We expect to realise further gains in the second halfof the year. Our balance sheet remains strong with net cash at the balance sheetdate of 31 March 2007 of £1.0 million. Blue Star has built a diverse range ofinvestment portfolio investing in companies that have good growth opportunitiesan update of the company's portfolio of key investments is set out below. Zenergy PLC Zenergy PLC (AIM : ZEN) is a global specialist manufacturer and developer ofcommercial applications for superconductive materials. Comprising threeoperating subsidiaries located in Germany (Trithor), USA (SC Power Systems) andAustralia (Australian Superconductors), Zenergy is developing a number of energyefficient applications to be adopted in renewable energy power generation,energy efficient applications to be adopted in renewable energy powergeneration, energy distribution and large scale, energy intensive industrialprocesses. In April 2007 Zenergy raised £6 million from institutional investors at £1.40per share. The proceeds of this placing will be used for working capital and theacceleration of its ongoing research and development activities with aparticular emphasis on the groundbreaking work that the company is doing tobring to market a range of highly efficient, light-weight and compact windgenerators for the offshore wind market. The Company announced in May 2007 thatit had completed the construction and successful testing of its HTS inductionheater ahead of schedule and established energy efficiency levels of 90%compared to conventional induction heaters that operate at between 35% and 45%efficiency levels. The company will now be able to market its induction heatersin a market which they estimate to be £2 billion per annum. The collaboration with Coverteam is working well and in June the companyannounced that its HTS electromagnetic coils have passed through extensivetesting and technical evaluation and have been qualified for use in commercialwind power generators. The tests established electrical performance, electricalcapacity and electrical efficiency levels exceeding management expectations.Zenergy has received a further commercial order worth in excess of 600,000 Eurosfrom Coverteam. Gasol PLC Gasol PLC (AIM : GAS) is an AIM-listed company, established to capitalise onsignificant acquisition and investment openings in the oil and gas sectors. Acore focus of its business is the exploitation of liquefied natural gas (LNG)opportunities in the Gulf of Guinea Region of West Africa. LNG is likely toremain the fastest growing hydrocarbon sub-segment beyond 2015 and Gasol isstrategically positioned to profit from this. LNG is emerging as the swing gassupplier in an increasing global market, particularly given the depletingindigenous European and US gas supplies and concerns over the security ofEuropean gas supplies. On 1 September 2006, the company announced the acquisition of a 20 per cent.Shareholding in African LNG Holdings Ltd ("African LNG"), a business whosestrategic intention is to become the premier independent LNG company in the Gulfof Guinea. Gasol also entered into a Share Option Agreement with African LNGpursuant to which Gasol was granted the option to acquire the remaining 80%equity at a discount providing Gasol with the opportunity to receiveconsiderable additional value through the acquisition. African LNG is a subsidiary of African Gas Development Corporation ("Afgas"),which has an exclusive joint venture with Sonagas, the national gas company ofthe Republic of Equatorial Guinea that has exclusive responsibility for theState's interest in all existing and future gas related projects in the country.African LNG is currently focussing its development strategy on LNG projects. Tofacilitate the financing of these projects, it is also in discussions with anumber of major European utilities in respect of downstream partnerships andlong term sales arrangements. Last year, Gasol and African LNG entered into a strategic alliance with Afrenplc (AIM: AFR), an African Exploration and Production company with assets inWest Africa. Afren is focused exclusively on upstream oil and gas opportunitiesin Africa and is utilising its well connected board and management to offerstranded gas supplies on a first right of refusal basis to Gasol and AfricanLNG. Black Raven PLC Black Raven PLC (AIM : BRP) is an AIM listed company focussed on opportunitiesin the property sector in Portugal. Its target market is high end residentialhousing market, as well as commercial development opportunities with a focus onthose assets where full planning approval is in place and a completion timeframeof 1 to 3 years. The company has acquired five residential sites in the Lisbonarea, thus expanding the Company's portfolio of freehold and other investments. In January 2007 Black Raven set up a Portuguese Closed Ended Real EstateInvestment Fund called White Raven Capital Partners. The reasons for formingWhite Raven are to facilitate the future raising of funds, creating a more taxefficient structure and providing an improved base for the realisation of itsassets. The valuation of the property assets vended was done by independentvaluers and this generated a profit of approximately 3 million Euros for BlackRaven. Further equity was raised in June 2007 by issuing 30,000,000 new ordinary sharesof 1p each at a price of 6.5p (a significant premium to then prevailing marketprice) a share giving an aggregate value of the new shares of £1.95 million.These shares have been issued in lieu of consideration due and payable toValidius Investments SA as part of the profit sharing agreement. The company'sbalance sheet has been strengthened over the last year. India Outsourcing Services PLC India Outsourcing Services PLC (AIM : IOS) is an AIM listed company whosestrategy is to seek acquisition opportunities in the Business ProcessOutsourcing sector have been looking at a number of potential transactions inIndia and elsewhere. They have found that valuations are stretched in India andvendors have very high expectations hence they are now concentrating on othergeographies. IOS reported in June that they are carrying out due diligence ontwo potential transactions and expect to announce further details in respect ofone of these in the next few weeks. As at 31 March 2007 IOS had net cash of£2.62 Million which is equivalent to 27.9 pence per share which represents avery significant to the Company's market share price. Eseekers LTD (izimi.com) Eseekers is a private company which launched the izimi.com portal in March 2007.Izimi's desktop application allows users to serve an unlimited number of filesto the internet directly from their own personal computer with just a simpleURL. The free izimi internet self-publishing application is the first of itskind to place no restrictions on file type, size or quality that users can sharewithout the need for recipients of the URL to register or download any clientapplication. Files can be accessed directly with just a web browser by clickinga link. The Internet is a rapidly changing space and izimi is the next logicalstep in user-generated content, social media and social networking phenomenontaking place now by enabling users to easily share all types of content withanyone with a web browser. Using izimi's simple service people are now able tocompletely control their own media without relying on external servers. Izimi isright on the curve of this fundamental change of truly empowering users to selfpublish and self mange their own content. Venteco PLC Venteco PLC (AIM : VTO) is an AIM listed company which specialises in non-toxicpest control solutions which uses patented cryonite technology to kill all lifestages of insects in a poison-free and environmentally friendly manner. Thetechnology involves the use of carbon dioxide gas which is sprayed as a snowproduced by a special nozzle thereby achieving rapid cooling. The premises donot need to be evacuated and production of foodstuffs can continue duringsanitations, thereby making the method cost effective as well as environmentallyfriendly. Cryonite is in the early stages of commercialisation but the unitshave been distributed in 20 countries across four continents. CTS technologies AG, the developer of patented cryonite technology, was acquiredvia a reverse acquisition by Venteco in August 2006. CTS's business model variesbetween markets but is founded on securing marketing and distribution agreementswith pest control operators (PCOs). In Europe, for example, this is done througha distribution agreement with Linde, the industrial gases group, which leasesCryonite units to PCOs and end customers, such as food industries and hotels. Terminix, the largest pest control company in the world alongside Orkin,reaffirmed its commitment to Cryonite, with its decision to market the productin the US market. Initially, Terminix chose to deploy 50 Cryonite units acrossits branch offices in the US from the beginning of 2007. Terminix has devotedsignificant resources towards a successful launch. In parallel, CTS continuesits efforts to extend Cryonite's deployment into other major US pest controlcompanies. Linde, which acts as the distribution partner for CTS Technologies, a subsidiaryof Venteco, has experienced strong demand for Cryonite, out its entire existinginventory. Linde recently placed an order for 150 units which compares to totalunits shipped in 2006 of 152. Outlook We have a built up a diverse range of portfolio investments and have started torealise some of our investments a trend which we expect to continue in thesecond half. With our strong cash position and good portfolio we look forward tothe future with confidence. Nigel RobertsonChairman Blue Star Capital Plc Profit and Loss Account for the period ended 31 March 2007 6 months ended 6 months ended Year ended 30 31 March 2007 31 March 2006 September 2006 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £ £ £Turnover - - - Impairment to the value of fixed - - (387,200)asset investments Gains on investments 111,284 1,156 10,512 Administrative expenses (247,331) (310,333) (587,455) Operating loss (136,047) (309,177) (964,143) Net interest receivable 25,876 70,409 112,427 Loss on ordinary activities (110,171) (238,768) (851,716)before taxation Tax on loss on ordinary - - -activities Loss on ordinary activities (110,171) (238,768) (851,716)after taxation Loss per share - basic and (0.10p) (0.23p) (0.81p)diluted All amounts relate to continuing activities. All recognised gains and losses for the period have been included in the profitand loss account. Blue Star Capital Plc Balance Sheet at 31 March 2007 6 months ended 6 months ended Year ended 30 31 March 2007 31 March 2006 September 2006 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £ £ £Fixed assetsTangible assets 2,581 9,315 7,605Investments 2,977,742 2,203,978 3,038,731 2,980,323 2,213,293 3,046,336 Current assetsDebtors 132,909 25,429 53,148Cash at bank and in hand 1,001,239 2,627,701 1,122,166 1,134,148 2,653,130 1,175,314 Creditors falling due within (131,129) (159,962) (128,137)one year Net current assets 1,003,019 2,493,168 1,047,177 Total assets less current 3,983,342 4,706,461 4,093,513liabilities Capital and reservesCalled up share capital 105,500 105,500 105,500Share premium account 5,032,525 5,032,525 5,032,525Profit and loss account (1,154,683) (431,564) (1,044,512) Shareholders funds - equity 3,983,342 4,706,461 4,093,513 Blue Star Capital Plc Cash flow statement for the period ended 31 March 2007 6 months ended 6 months ended Year ended 30 31 March 2007 31 March 2006 September 2006 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £ £ £ Net cash outflow from (319,075) (303,732) (635,662)operating activities Returns on investments andservicing of financeInterest received 25,876 70,460 112,488Interest paid - (51) (61) Net cash inflow from returns 25,876 70,409 112,427on investments and servicingof finance Financial investments andcapital expenditurePayments to acquire tangible - (2,375) (5,402)fixed assetsPayments to acquire (150,000) (815,081) (2,046,256)investmentsProceeds from sale of 322,272 28,416 46,994investments Net cash outflow from 172,272 (789,040) (2,004,664)financial investments andcapital expenditure Net cash outflow (120,927) (1,022,363) (2,527,899) (Decrease) increase in net (120,927) (1,022,363) (2,527,889)cash in the period Blue Star Capital Plc Notes to the Interim Report 1. Basis of preparation The interim accounts for the six months ended 31 March 2007 are unaudited and donot constitute statutory accounts in accordance with section 240 of theCompanies Act 1985. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with currentlyapplicable Accounting Standards in the United Kingdom, which have been appliedconsistently, and under the historical cost convention. Accounting policies consistent with those applied in the financial statementsfor the period ended 30 September 2006 have been used in preparing the unauditedinterim financial statements for the 6 months ended March 2007. 2. Taxation There is no tax charge for the period due to the loss arising. 3. Dividends The Directors are not declaring a dividend for the six months ended 31 March2007. 4. Loss per ordinary share The calculation of basic and diluted loss per share of 0.10 (2006 0.23) pence isbased on the loss for the period of £110,171 (2006 £238,768) and on 105,500,000(2006 105,500,000) ordinary shares, being the weighted average number ofordinary shares in issue during the period ended 31 March 2007. 5. Copies of interim results Copies of the interim results are available from the Company's office, 22 SohoSquare, London W1D 4NS. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange