Journeo Regulatory News (JNEO)

21st Century Technology plc

("21st Century", "the Company" or "the Group")

Statement Regarding AGM

The Company is pleased to announce that the Resolutions proposed at the Annual General Meeting ("AGM") held today were duly passed with the exception of Resolution 2 (Re-elect Mr Peter Ward), which was withdrawn, and Resolutions 6 (Directors' Remuneration Report), 7 (Allot Shares) and 8 (Dis-apply Pre-emption Rights), which were defeated.

The Board notes the vote against the approval of the Directors' Remuneration Report - Resolution 6. The Remuneration Committee is disappointed with this result which arose despite:

·; The Executive team overseeing an increase in operating profit from continuing activities of over 85% on the prior year, meeting a very strong target set in the midst of a difficult macro economic environment.

·; The successful repositioning by Management from the loss making legacy business into a leader in CCTV and other innovative systems for the public transport sector in the UK and overseas.

·; Continued momentum in the business, moving from a position of over £10m debt to being cash positive.

The basic salaries of the two Executive Directors have been properly reviewed and benchmarked and are fully in line with the market medians for their respective roles. The last increase in their basic pay, which reflected only the prevailing rate of inflation, was made back in January 2008. Having consulted with shareholders the Board believes that the majority of the negative votes relate to the Executive Directors' bonuses accrued for the year to 31 December 2009.

At the AGM today, in response to the questions on remuneration, David Voss, Chairman of the Remuneration Committee, said:

"Executive remuneration is reviewed on an annual basis by the Remuneration Committee to ensure that the total remuneration package achieves our objectives of retaining, motivating and incentivising executives who can execute our business strategy and deliver value to shareholders. The Remuneration Committee believe that an increasing proportion of the total remuneration package should be linked to performance. In line with this policy, the Chief Executive received a bonus equivalent to 60% of his basic salary for 2009 and the Finance Director 50%. These percentages are in line with the lower quartile and median annual maximum bonuses for companies quoted on AIM. The target for these bonuses was based upon an increase in operating profit from continuing operations of 85% on the prior year. In 2008 no bonuses were paid as the target profit was not achieved that year. In 2007 when operating profit from continuing operations increased by 62% on the prior year, the CEO received a bonus payment equivalent to 50% of his basic salary and the FD 40%. No bonus was paid in 2006 as the target profit growth was not achieved.

"In addition to the above, over the last five years, the executive directors have successfully repositioned the Group out of its declining legacy businesses into new growth markets. The Company has developed an award winning product, EcoManager, aimed at reducing fuel costs and is now the main supplier of mobile CCTV to three of the top five bus operators in the UK and is well positioned for major expansion into mainland Europe. The net debt of the Group which peaked at £10m has been eliminated and the Company is now operating with cash in the bank. In light of these achievements the Remuneration Committee strongly believe that the executive remuneration paid is not excessive."

The Board and Remuneration Committee recognise the strength of shareholder opinion on this issue and intend to meet and consult further with shareholders to understand their concerns fully.

Notes to editors:

Launched in 1993, the Company began as Toad plc and was originally focused on the distribution of in-car entertainment systems and vehicle security products. The Company's strategy has been to reposition itself away from its legacy businesses into markets with better growth potential while leveraging its core strengths - nationwide field force of vehicle electrical engineers, call centre and distribution facilities. 

In line with this strategy, in 2005 the Company took a controlling stake in 21st Century Crime Prevention Services Limited ("CPS") which recently merged with fellow subsidiary, Toad (UK) Limited, to form 21st Century Technology Solutions Limited.

The holding company was renamed "TG21 plc" in 2005 and, following the acquisition of the entire share capital of CPS and to reflect the repositioning of the group, changed this name to "21st Century Technology plc" in June 2009.

21st Century is the preferred supplier of on-board CCTV systems for Arriva UK Bus and the Go-Ahead Group and an approved supplier to First Group Bus. The Company has pioneered the use of WiFi with on-board CCTV systems and Transport for London commissioned the Company to undertake a trial of 'LiveView' - a system which transmits live CCTV pictures from on board the bus to a public transport and police control centre. 21st Century was also the first company to successfully launch Automatic Video Downloads and a bus CCTV monitoring system (HeartbeatTM) which allow the CCTV manager to remotely download CCTV footage from the bus to his computer and check that all the CCTV systems fitted to his buses are fully operational, without leaving his desk. The Company's overhead camera passenger counting device, known as PAS - Passenger Analysis System, links to the ticket machine and enables bus operators to analyse specific bus route ticket sales and passenger numbers.

21st Century's EcoManager product has made a significant contribution to sales since its launch in July 2008. The EcoManager black-box system is aimed at reducing fuel and maintenance costs, reducing emissions and improving safety for bus operators by monitoring individual driving styles against fuel consumption. Following a successful trial, in April 2009 Arriva UK committed to install the device on all their new buses and to retrofit a large proportion of their existing fleet. In November 2009 Arriva North West and Merseytravel won the industry recognised Alexander Dennis Award for Innovation following their installation of the EcoManager system which yielded fuel savings of up to 12% and associated CO2 emission reductions. For further information go to www.getecomanager.com.