Journeo Regulatory News (JNEO)

23 December 2010

21st Century Technology plc

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

Pre-close Trading Update

Continued strong performance

21st Century, the supplier and installation service provider of public transport CCTV and vehicle monitoring systems, today issues the following pre-close trading update ahead of its preliminary results for the year ending 31st December 2010, which will be announced on 23 March 2011.

Profit after tax for the year to 31st December 2010 from continuing activities, is expected to be in line with market expectations and cash flow generated from operations has been particularly strong. The Company currently has no bank debt and held cash at bank of around £1m at 30 November 2010 compared to £0.2m at 30 June 2010.

The Company supplies on-board CCTV systems to three of the five top bus operators in the UK and this year has expanded into new markets with the supply of Railway station platform CCTV to the three train operating companies owned by Govia (the Go-Ahead and Keolis partnership); significantly the Company made CCTV sales for the year in excess of £2m to the Go-Ahead Group in the UK of which approximately half was for station platforms. The Company also won new contracts for "on-vehicle CCTV" worth £1m with First Group UK Bus during the period

Despite a challenging economic environment, the Company has continued its investment in, and roll out with Arriva UK Bus, of its award winning EcoManager systems. Total EcoManager sales which include its first units delivered into mainland Europe will be around £5m for the year. Since its launch in July 2008 the Company has sold over 6,000 EcoManager units. Customers have reported fuel savings of up to 12% and a 60% reduction in accidents since fitting the device to their buses.

The Company continues to work hard on its strategy to drive growth through developing its existing business in the UK and expansion into mainland Europe by investing in innovation and by nurturing new and existing partnerships.

Ends

Enquiries:

Notes to editors:

21st Century Technology plc 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. This was followed in 2010 with a driver safety award for EcoManager presented by the road safety charity, Brake. 

For further information go to www.getecomanager.com.