GRA.L Regulatory News (GRA)

20 Apr 2005 07:00

Printing.com plc20 April 2005 TO BE RELEASED 7.00AM 20 APRIL 2005 PRINTING.COM PLC ("Printing.com" or "the Company") Specialist retail chain with 102 Outlets (plus 17 pending) across the UK Pre close trading update * Robust trading to year end* Results in line with market expectations* Additional 7 Bolt-on Franchise Agreements completed* Additional 2 Printing.com Territory Franchise Stores open* 3 new Territory Franchises under Option* 119 Outlets, 102 operational plus 17 pending* Cash generation strong in second half* Prospect of maiden dividend* Directors optimistic that the outlook for the Group is positive Recent Trading and Market Expectations We are pleased to report that, post our last market update on 17 February 2005,trading continued to prove robust and in line with expectations. Additionallythe estate expansion, for both Territory and Bolt-on Franchises, has provedencouraging. The Company's unaudited management accounts for the year ending 4 April 2005indicate a pre tax profit in line with recent market expectations. Of particularnote has been the strong generation of cash from operational activity during thesecond half of the fiscal year. Territory Franchise Development When last updating the market we reported our anticipation that the Coventry andDublin North Territory Franchises would be open by 31 March 2005. TheseFranchise Agreements have now been completed. The Dublin North TerritoryFranchise is now operational, albeit from interim premises, whilst Coventrystill requires the completion of certain property matters. We are also pleasedto report that last month a further Store commenced trading in Luton (part ofour Hertfordshire Territory Franchise) several months ahead of expectations. Encouragingly, property has now been secured for the Brighton TerritoryFranchise and the Store is currently undergoing shop fitting. An offer has alsobeen made in respect of premises in the Manchester North area. Also, at the time of the last update, we reported that an Option had been takenout covering the Territory Franchise for our Nottingham Store and that aManagement Buyout of our Sheffield Store was expected. We are pleased to reportthat both of these transactions were completed prior to the year end. In addition a further three Options (each involving the payment of anon-refundable deposit of £6,000) have been taken out, covering Birmingham East,Birmingham South West and Northamptonshire. This took the number of operationalStores by the year end to 32 (9 company owned), with a further 8 pending under'Option'. The recent Franchise exhibition in London proved to be a success, adding to thenumber of high calibre prospective Franchisees being interviewed and assessed,and we are optimistic that additional Options will be granted in the first halfof the next financial year. Bolt-on Franchise Development Since the last market update an additional 7 Bolt-on Franchise Agreements havebeen completed. This took the total number of operational Bolt-ons at the yearend to 70 with a further 9 pending. The overwhelming majority of theseadditional Bolt-on Franchises were secured in territories where either a CompanyStore or Territory Franchise is in operation. This lends further weight to thebelief that Bolt-on Franchise expansion will continue to accelerate with furtherdevelopment of the Territory Franchise structure. The Directors note the strong pipeline of prospective Bolt-on Franchises and areconfident that additional agreements will be completed over the coming months. Cash We commented in the Company's Annual Report & Accounts for the year ended 31March 2004 that the Company's model indicated that future cash flow should moreclosely follow profit. We are pleased to announce that this expectation has beenrealised during the year just ended on 4th April 2005. Indeed during the secondhalf of the year the Company's operating cash flow exceeded the Company'sunaudited operating profit. Commencement of Dividends With Printing.com's balance sheet now showing distributable reserves, albeit ata modest level at this juncture, it is anticipated that the Company will be in aposition to declare a maiden dividend when it announces its preliminary resultsin June of this year; A further very important milestone in the Company's rapiddevelopment The Directors remain optimistic that the outlook for the future development ofthe Group is positive and that shareholders can look forward to further growth. For further information: Printing.com plc Tony Rafferty (Chief Executive) 07966 517 336Alan Roberts (Finance Director) 0161 848 5713 Beattie Financial Brian Coleman-Smith / Jo Clewlow 020 7053 6400 The Directors of Printing.com plc take full responsibility for thisannouncement. Outlet Region Town Post Code Red Hot Media East Lowestoft NR32 1EBGoldengate East Suffolk IP30 9QSDublin Store Ireland Dublin Dublin 2North Dublin Ireland Dublin Dublin 7Central London Store London Baker Street NW1 6UYHampstead Store London Hampstead NW3 5HSWatford Store London Watford WD17 1RAHarrow Store London Harrow HA7 2QJReading Store London Reading RG1 4QAEaling Store London Ealing W13 8SBOrpington London Orpington BR6 0JYLuton London Luton LU1 2PLExpocentric - Wardour London Soho W1V 3AUExpocentric - Dover London Mayfair W1X 3PHLondon & General London Chelsea SW10 0XFFull Colour Store London Clapham SW17 9SHPrint Express London Colindale NW9 5DL0800 Promote London Finchley N3 1TRPrinter Net Services London Wimbledon SW19 8TYLondon Print Compamy London Shaftesbury Avenue WC2H 8EBPrinthouse London Nottinghill W11 3HT0800 Promote London North Finchley N12 9QGBirmingham Store Midlands Birmingham B5 4JLOxford Store Midlands Oxford OX2 7HTLeicester Store Midlands Leicester LE1 1LBWolverhampton Midlands Wolverhampton WV1 4BLNottingham Store Midlands Nottingham NG1 6DQKaleidoscope Midlands Leamington Spa CV31 1BZAlbry Printing Company Midlands Wallingford OX10 9DAFinal Imaging Midlands Sawtry PE28 5SBDove Signs Midlands Nuneaton CV11 6GXCustard Creative Midlands Northampton NN3 6WLCre8ive Design Midlands Kenilworth CV8 1JDFor Colour Midlands Newark, Nottingham NG24 1LESign It Midlands Beeston, Nottingham NG9 2AYOzmedia Print Midlands Barrow Upon Soar LE12 8JHPewter Design Midlands Market Harborough LE16 7DSSt Ives Quickprint Midlands St Ives PE27 3WSArtichoke Design Midlands Birmingham B18 6NNThe Ideas Room Midlands Leicester LE3 0DLIdeas Taking Shape Midlands Rugby CV21 2SDGraphic Results Midlands Belper DE56 1AYThe Studio Midlands Walsall WS1 1JQHussellworks Midlands Halesowen B63 3HRHull Store North East Hull HU1 2AGNewcastle Store North East Newcastle NE1 5EELeeds Store North East Leeds LS1 3DLMiddlesbrough North East Middlesbrough DL16 7HHSheffield Store North East Sheffield S1 4GFColour Box Design North East York YO23 1NAMultiprint North East Normanton WF6 2AFPrint House Direct North East Bishop Auckland DL14 0LZThe Factory North East Leeds LS12 2DSMaskerade Design North East Sunderland SR2 7PRPro-Actif Communications North East Darlington DL3 7TDGOWEB North East Wakefield WF2 9BLCreative Web design UK North East Alnwick NE71 6EABlah D Blah North Wales Bangor LL57 1NYManchester Store North West Manchester M3 4BQThe Hub North West Trafford Park M17 1FGLiverpool Store North West Liverpool L2 2HFLancaster Store North West Lancaster LA1 1XNWarrington North West Warrington WA1 1EPGranthams - Preston North West Preston PR1 2UQGranthams - Blackpool North West Blackpool FY1 4PEPrint Design Warehouse North West Marple SK6 7ADRAS Limited North West Chester CH3 5AGSilverback North West Isle of Man IM1 2LAMailboxes North West Stockport SK1 1LEPrintel North West Widnes WA3 8LGER Design & Print North West Alsager CW2 5PRImpact Advertising North West Timperley WA15 7SPMasterprint North West St Helens WA10 1DHCopycat North West Maghull L31 2HBAlert 2 Media North West Manchester M1 1DZPrint Hub Design North West Bolton BL1 3QJBradbury Graphics Northern Ireland Belfast BT7 1BSXpress Creative Northern Ireland Newtonabbey BT36 4PUMooney Media Northern Ireland County Down BT32 4QDEdinburgh Store Scotland Edinburgh EH3 6QYEdinburgh Store Scotland Edinburgh EH3 9LYGlasgow Store Scotland Glasgow G3 8LZColor Co. - Edinburgh Scotland Edinburgh EH2 2PAGlasgow Print Scotland North Glasgow G64 1RXHamilton (662c) Scotland Hamilton ML3 7ARAshford Store South East Ashford TN24 8UUTRS Graphics South East Croydon CR2 6EBFelix Communications South East Rochester ME2 4HZStudio Direct South East Chelmsford CM2 6HELussh Creative South East Chesterfield S40 2BYInprint South East Colchester CO1 1PBHaus of Print South West Andover SP11 6RUBristol Store South West Bristol BS1 3LZPlymouth Store South West Plymouth PL4 0AUBournemouth South West Bournemouth DT1 1HSAnneset South West Weston-Super-Mare BS23 3DEPresto Print South West Christchurch BH23 1QDMalthouse South West Taunton TA1 3EPWessex Direct South West Minehead TA24 5UBPrint Creative South West Bath BA1 2JBPrinting South West South West Totnes TQ9 5DWAustralian Welsh Wales Cardiff CF14 3JP This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange