18 Jul 2008 07:00
| For Release | 7.00am | 18 July 2008 |
ILX GROUP PLC ("ILX/L")
The AIM quoted business education and training company
AGM STATEMENT
At its Annual General Meeting to be held this morning, Ken Scott, the Chief Executive of ILX Group plc ("ILX" or "the Group"),will make the following statement:
"I am delighted to report that the ILX Group is currently in excellent shape. In our Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2008 we stated that that period had been a year of consolidation and growth. Both our operating divisions, the Best Practice Group and the Corporate Training Group, saw strong performances and achieved double-digit revenue growth and increased market share during the period.
Since the year-end, we are very pleased that that momentum has continued into the first half with current trading remaining strong and the Group seeing revenues in the first quarter up 22 per cent. on the same period last year. This strong performance has been reflected across our two divisions with the Best Practice Group seeing revenues up 34 per cent. on the same period last year and record levels of visibility as far as its forward order books are concerned. Revenues for the Corporate Training Group in the first quarter are up 3 per cent. on the same period last year and we are pleased to see that bookings for the busy graduate season within this division are robust and are expected to be in line with last year.
The Group is pleased to report that a new qualification for Project and Programme Sponsors was launched in June and that whilst still in its infancy, the reception for this new product has been encouraging. Furthermore, the first e-learning products are due to be rolled out to Corporate Training Group's clients during the 2008 graduate training season and we look forward to an enthusiastic reception for this "next generation" of training products.
As we have previously stated, we expect 2008/9 to be a challenging economic environment. However the Board believes that our business is well placed to be able to perform strongly in such an environment and as stated earlier, both our operating divisions have started the year well. The decision to recommend a final dividend at double last year's underlines our confidence in the business.
Our strategy continues to be to build a sizeable training and software company in the hard skills business training market. Our primary focus for 2008/9 is to maintain the growth of the existing businesses and to ensure that we are best placed to take maximum advantage of further growth opportunities when economic conditions ease.
The prospects for the forthcoming year and beyond for the Company are excellent. Both divisions have established strong positions in their respective marketplaces and with both continuing to see robust trading in this new financial year, I look forward with confidence to the future."
- ENDS -
Enquiries:
| ILX Group plc Ken Scott / Jon Pickles | 020 7751 7100 |
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| Adventis Financial PR Tarquin Edwards / Chris Steele | 020 7034 4758/4759 |
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| Arbuthnot Securities (Nominated Adviser) Tom Griffiths | 020 7012 2000 |
Editor's Notes
ILX Group plc is a leading provider of vocational training to the private and public sectors, delivered through e-learning and instructor-led courses and workshops.
ILX Group now trades through two divisions:
Best Practice provides e-learning, instructor-led training and implementation consultancy principally to the project and programme management, IT service management and business finance markets. www.ilxgroup.com
2. Banking & Finance (through Corporate Training Group) provides instructor-led training,
workshops and related services, principally to the investment banking and financial
services community. www.ctguk.com