20 Apr 2011 16:31
Moss Bros Group plc (the Company)
Annual Financial Report - DTR 6.3.5 Disclosure
Following the release on 30 March 2011 of the Company's preliminary results announcement for the financial year ended 29 January 2011 (the 'Preliminary Announcement'), the Company announces that its annual report and accounts for the financial year ended 29 January 2011, notice of Annual General Meeting for 2011 and form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting of the Company are being issued to shareholders today.
The Annual General Meeting of the Company is to be held on 19 May 2011 at the Company's registered office, 8 St John's Hill, Clapham, London, SW11 1SA. Copies of the Annual Report and Accounts, the Notice of Annual General Meeting and form of proxy are available on the Investor Relations page of the Company's website www.moss.co.uk
Copies of the Annual Report and Accounts, the Notice of AGM and the Proxy Form will shortly be available for inspection at the UK National Storage Mechanism at www.hemscott.com/nsm.do
Robin Piggott
Company Secretary
Compliance with Disclosure and Transparency Rule 6.3.5 - Extracts from the Annual Report and Accounts
The information below, which is extracted from the 2011 Annual Report and Accounts, is included solely for the purpose of complying with DTR 6.3.5 and the requirements it imposes on issuers as to how to make public annual financial reports. It should be read in conjunction with the Company's Preliminary Announcement issued on 30 March 2011. Together these constitute the material required by DTR 6.3.5 to be communicated to the media in unedited full text through a Regulatory Information Service. This material is not a substitute for reading the full 2011 Annual Report and Accounts. Page numbers and cross-references in the extracted information below refer to page numbers and cross-references in the 2011 Annual Report and Accounts.
The information contained in this announcement and in the Preliminary Announcement does not constitute the Group's statutory accounts as defined in section 240 of the Companies Act 1985 but is derived from those accounts. The statutory accounts for the year ended 29 January 2011 have been approved by the Board and will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the Company's Annual General Meeting which will be held on 19 May 2011. On 30 March 2011, the group announced its draft financial statements for the 52 weeks ending 29 January 2011. The auditors have subsequently reported on those accounts, which were unchanged, their reports were unqualified, did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis and did not contain statements under s498(2) or (3) Companies Act 2006 or equivalent preceding legislation
Directors' Responsibility Statement
The following statement is extracted from page 28 of the 2011 Annual Report and Accounts and is repeated here for the purposes of Disclosure and Transparency Rule 6.3.5 to comply with Disclosure and Transparency Rule 6.3. This statement relates solely to the 2011 Annual Report and Accounts and is not connected to the extracted information set out in this announcement or the Preliminary Announcement.
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the Directors are required to prepare the Group financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation and have elected to prepare the parent Company financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under Company law the Directors must not approve the accounts unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the profit or loss of the Company for that period.
In preparing the parent Company financial statements, the Directors are required to:
·; select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
·; make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
·; state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subjectto any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
·; prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it isinappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in business.
In preparing the Group financial statements, International Accounting Standard 1 requires that Directors:
·; properly select and apply accounting policies;
·; present information, including accounting policies, in a manner that providesrelevant, reliable, comparable and understandable information;
·; provide additional disclosures when compliance with the specific requirementsin IFRSs are insufficient to enable users to understand the impact of particular transactions, other events and conditions on the entity's financial position and financial performance; and
·; make an assessment of the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.
The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Principal Risks and Uncertainties
Cash and Funding
Cash balances are managed and monitored on a daily basis; the peaks and troughs in the cash cycle are well known through experience and appropriate cash management takes place to limit the use of existing banking facilities. The additional cash created by the sale of the Hugo Boss franchises to Hugo Boss has created the potential for the business to dispense with the need for a debt facility and we enter 2011/12 debt free.
Inventory and Continuity of Supply
Demand forecasting, inventory ordering and inventory intake are aligned to maximising sales and the cash management focus discussed above. The placing of all orders is subject to product demand forecasting models and ongoing rates of sale of all product lines.
The consolidation of product buying into fewer suppliers creates sufficient scale to mitigate the risk of the suppliers going out of business in the short to medium term. Negotiations take place regularly with key suppliers regarding rate and payment terms. Proactive dialogue is maintained with supplier credit insurers to good effect to ensure they have the relevant and most current information on which to base their insurance levels.
The recent increase in cotton prices could be considered a risk factor for the Group. Management have mitigated this risk as a significant proportion of inventory prices have been agreed with the suppliers for the 2011/12 financial year.
Property
The business operates from a portfolio of high street, shopping centre and factory outlet stores all held under operating leases. Each store is evaluated annually to assess its ongoing commercial viability. There are a number of locations in the UK and Southern Ireland which would suit one of the businesses' fascias and the Group has recently increased its in-house resource in this area in order that opportunities for the development of its store portfolio are maximised. All potential sites are rigorously evaluated both operationally and financially before new lease acquisitions are made.
Staff Hiring and Retention
Attracting and retaining high calibre staff is a priority and a central focus in striving for excellent customer service across the Group's business channels. Staff development is to be improved so that the Group can take full advantage of the recovery in its performance.
Enquiries:
Robin Piggott
Moss Bros Group plcCompany Secretary
19 April 2011