IQ-AI Regulatory News (IQAI)

17 Apr 2007 10:44

Flying Brands Limited17 April 2007 17 April 2007 FLYING BRANDS LIMITED ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TRADING STATEMENT AND BOARD CHANGES Flying Brands Limited is pleased to announce that all the tabled resolutionswere passed at its AGM, held in Jersey today. Trading Commenting on the fifteen weeks of trading to 13 April 2007, Paul Fraser,Chairman, said: "After a slow start to the year, trading picked up in February and this trendhas continued through March and April to date. The accelerating growth in ourinternet sales is particularly pleasing. In the Gifts Division, Flying Flowers has traded in line with last year, withthe three main promotions of Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Easter allperforming well. The process of integrating the Greetings Direct business intothe Gifts Division is progressing well and we anticipate that the business willmake a good contribution in its first full year under our ownership. Within the Garden Division, after flat trading in January, Gardening Direct hasperformed strongly through February and March and we anticipate this trendcontinuing for the balance of the spring campaign through April and May, leavingit in line with last year. The warm winter and the reported decline in the birdpopulation have created difficult market conditions for Garden Bird Supplies andwe will target more tightly our promotional spend for the balance of the year tomaintain margins. We have now promoted two catalogues for Sarah Raven's Kitchenand Garden and the early response has been encouraging. In our Entertainment Division, the new Listen2 brand has started well and thecustomer database is trading strongly. Benham is performing in line with lastyear. Our strategy remains to extract greater value from our database of 5 millionhouseholds, and we continue to look for appropriate earnings enhancingacquisitions and partnerships. We are confident about the Group's performance for the balance of the year." Board Changes As indicated previously, Tim Trotter, formerly Deputy Chairman, has succeededPaul Fraser as Chairman immediately following the AGM. The Board is also pleased to announce that John Henwood MBE will be joining theBoard as a non executive director with immediate effect. Mr Henwood (age 61), isa resident of Jersey and is Chairman of Jersey Telecom Group, Vice Chairman ofJersey Finance Limited and a director of Kleinwort Benson. He was formerly ChiefExecutive of Channel Television, was a director of the ITV Network and hasserved on various States of Jersey review and advisory bodies. Commenting on the Board changes, Paul Fraser said: "I would like to welcome John Henwood to the Board and believe that he will makea significant contribution to our business. Finally, I would like to thank ourdirectors and shareholders for their support while I have been Chairman and wishTim Trotter every success in leading the company into what is an excitingfuture." Dividends and Notice of Interim Results Date The final dividend (6.30 pence per share) will be paid on 25 April 2007 toshareholders who were on the register as at 30 March 2007. The company willannounce interim results on 27 July 2007. For further information, please contact: Flying Brands Limited 01376 575 010 / 07785 346 935Mark Dugdale, Chief ExecutiveGraham Norton, Finance Director Smithfield Consultants 020 7360 4900John KielyGeorge Hudson Notes to editors John Henwood Listed below are the names of the publicly quoted companies of which JohnHenwood has been a director at any time in the past five years: ComProp Limited (AIM Listed): senior independent director; resigned December2004 upon sale of the entity to CI Traders Limited. In accordance with section LR9.6.13 paragraph (2) to (6) of the Listing Rules,there is no further information relating to John Henwood required to bedisclosed. Jersey based Flying Brands Limited (LSE: FBDU) is a multi brand home shoppingspecialist. Founded in 1981, it was admitted to the Official List of the LondonStock Exchange in 1993. The Group operates the following divisions: • Gifts (Flying Flowers, the UK's largest flowers by post brand,despatching nearly one million bouquets a year; Greetings Direct, the UK's onlycontinuity greeting cards business) • Garden (Gardening Direct, one of the UK's largest mail orderbedding plants and gardening products operations; Garden Bird Supplies, aleading provider of food and accessories for birds and other wildlife; SarahRaven's Kitchen & Garden, high quality plants that are hard to find elsewhere) • Entertainment (Listen2, the leading mail order audio books,nostalgic music, DVD and video publisher and distributor; Benham, the first daycover stamps and coins collectables specialist) More information can be found at: www.flyingbrands.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange