11 Mar 2013 07:00
11 March 2013
PURE WAFER PLC
("Pure Wafer" or "the Company")
Interim Results for 6 months ended 31 December 2012
Pure Wafer plc, the provider of high quality silicon wafer reclaim services for many of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers as an integral part of their cost control programmes, today reports its interim results for the 6 months to 31 December 2012.
HIGHLIGHTS
Financial Highlights·; Revenue $18.5m (6 months to 31 December 2011: $17.9m)
·; EBITDA $3.2m (2011: $2.8m)
·; Gross margin 33.1% (2011: 30.7%)
·; Pre-tax profit $0.2m (2011: loss $0.7m)
·; Basic earnings per share 0.2c (2011: loss per share 0.2c)
·; Net cash inflow from operating activities $2.8m (2011: $3.0m)
·; Net debt $3.4m (2011: $15.1m)
Operational Highlights
·; Continuing increase in 300mm volume sales, 28% up from comparative period
·; Further on-going cost reductions successfully implemented, cost per unit 4.9% down
·; Productivity at highest ever levels
·; Successful restructuring and rescheduling of debt
Stephen Boyd, Chairman, Pure Wafer, commented,
"We are delighted that Pure Wafer has returned to profitability during this period of trading, benefiting from the continued growth of the semiconductor industry with an increase of 28% in our core 300mm wafer reclaim volumes. This increase in volumes at stable selling prices together with our lowest ever cost of manufacture has enabled the Company to produce results with increases in both revenues and EBITDA profitability. The significant repayment of debt and improved cash flow position following a re-bank has been a significant step in giving long term stability to the Company."
ENQUIRIES
Pure Wafer plc (www.purewafer.com) | Tel. +44 (0) 1792 311 200 |
Peter Harrington, Chief Executive Richard Howells, Group Finance Director | |
WH Ireland Limited (www.wh-ireland.co.uk) | Tel. +44 (0) 117 945 3470 |
JN Wakefield |
PURE WAFER PLC
("Pure Wafer" or "the Company")
Interim Results for 6 months ended 31 December 2012
Chairman's Statement
Introduction
We are delighted to announce the interim results for the period to 31st December 2012, which move Pure Wafer back into pre-tax profitability. These results once again reflect the significant strides forward that the Company continues to make with increased revenues compared to the comparative period and EBITDA up by 14%. Pure Wafer also continues to consolidate its standing in the semiconductor industry as one of the leading wafer reclaim companies in the world.
During the period we continued to benefit from the continued strength of the semiconductor industry as growth was maintained from both the Asian and US markets, which was reflected in strong increases in volume demand at both Swansea and Prescott.
On the back of continuing improving results and a strong outlook due to long term positive forecast for the semiconductor industry we were able to undertake a full restructure of our balance sheet during the period. The successful placing and open offer which was completed in November raised $7.19m before expenses and these funds were utilised to repay our asset funders Lloyds, GE and CIT in full and partially repay RBS and Citizens Bank.
With a significantly reduced debt position we were able to refinance and consolidate our remaining bank borrowings with HSBC, in January 2013, with a $5.6m (£3.5m) term loan over 4 years. The facilities offered by HSBC also included a $1.6m (£1.0m) revolving facility which is available to be drawn upon for any capital expenditure requirements.
In repaying the asset funders and banks through the placing and open offer and the refinancing we negotiated certain discounts and fee waivers, which resulted in savings of $1,018k (£636k). Approximately $590k (£369k) of these savings will result in a credit to the income statement, of which $248k (£155k) has been credited in the 6 months ended 31 December 2012. The early repayment of the asset funders and banks has also resulted in an annual cash flow benefit of $3.94m (£2.46m). This is a significant step as it gives long term stability to the Company.
Financial performance
·; Revenue $18.5m (6 months to 31 December 2011: $17.9m)
·; EBITDA $3.2m (2011: $2.8m)
·; Gross margin 33.1% (2011: 30.7%)
·; Pre-tax profit $0.2m (2011: loss $0.7m)
·; Basic earnings per share 0.2c (2011: loss per share 0.2c)
·; Net cash inflow from operating activities $2.8m (2011: $3.0m)
·; Net debt $3.4m (2011: $15.1m)
We are pleased to record the success of the management team during the period to reduce costs across all sectors of the business at the same time as maximising revenue during the trading period.
Operational
Wafer reclaim
During the period we have continued to see the rises in volume sales achieved in recent periods with a further increase in 300mm wafer reclaim volume sales of 28% when compared to the comparative period to 31st December 2011. However, 200mm volumes decreased by 7% during the period as the industry continues to migrate to 300mm, which is our expertise.
This increased volume has resulted in revenue from wafer reclaim activities increasing by 11% and EBITDA increasing by 22% when compared to the comparative period to 31st December 2011.
The increased volumes have come from industry growth together with an increased market share from both Asia and the US. This has enabled both manufacturing sites at Swansea and Prescott to once again raise production levels without any significant increases in labour and to run at record levels of productivity.
It is encouraging that our cost reduction strategy has continued to be successful, enabling the group to reduce costs per unit by 4.9% compared to the comparative period by engineering led cost reduction activities as well as high productivity levels as a result of economies of scale.
Solar PV
Pure Wafer Solar continues to contribute revenues, which equate to less than 5% of group turnover in line with expectations.
Trading in the solar division proved to be challenging during the period, with the UK Government once again reducing the levels of Feed-In-Tariffs for solar PV installations, thus reducing the returns for smaller domestic customers.
We have now re-focused our marketing towards commercial, industrial and local authority customers providing double digit returns on investment for our customers. This strategy has resulted in a large enquiry list which is now beginning to translate into orders for the business.
Outlook
The semiconductor industry continues to show positive signs for 2013 with capital expansion plans underway by many of the major semiconductor chip manufacturers as they position themselves for the continued and sustained demand for hand held devices. With industry analysts forecasting continued growth through to 2015 and beyond, our customers continue to commit substantial new investment in 300mm silicon chip manufacturing facilities, demonstrating their confidence in a period of sustained industry growth.
With a strengthened balance sheet and significantly reduced debt servicing requirements, Pure Wafer is well positioned to take advantage of this sustained growth. We are scaled to accommodate the increasing demand, and with our record levels of productivity which underpin a lower cost of manufacture we continue to gain volumes from both industry growth and increased market share in the Asian and US regions. We continue to demonstrate our technology advancement, keeping abreast with the requirements of our blue chip and world leading customer base.
The completion of the restructuring and refinancing of our debt has given Pure Wafer a long term and stable platform from which to take advantage of the strong demand that we are experiencing for our products particularly from Asia and the US. With long term growth forecast for the industry we believe that our significantly strengthened financial position will give us a strong foundation for future growth and we view the future with confidence.
Stephen Boyd
Chairman
11 March 2013
PURE WAFER PLC
Interim Results for 6 months ended 31 December 2012
Consolidated Income Statement
6 months ended31 December 2012 | 6 months ended31 December 2011 | Year ended30 June 2012 | ||
Notes | $'000 | $'000 | $'000 | |
2 | Revenue | 18,548 | 17,931 | 35,751 |
Cost of sales | (12,413) | (12,430) | (24,254) | |
Gross profit | 6,135 | 5,501 | 11,497 | |
Other administrative expenses | (2,920) | (2,645) | (5,419) | |
Share options | (18) | (64) | (64) | |
Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation |
3,197 |
2,792 |
6,014 | |
Depreciation and amortisation | (2,747) | (2,788) | (5,553) | |
2 | Operating profit | 450 | 4 | 461 |
Finance costs | (142) | (604) | (1,014) | |
3 | Other losses and gains | (66) | (73) | (122) |
Profit/(loss) on ordinary activities before taxation | 242 | (673) | (675) | |
Tax on profit/(loss) on ordinary activities | 81 | 384 | 384 | |
Profit/(loss) for the period | 323 | (289) | (291) | |
4 | Earnings/(loss) per share | |||
Basic | 0.2c | (0.2)c | (0.2)c | |
Diluted | 0.1c | (0.2)c | (0.2)c |
The results stated above arose entirely from continuing activities.
There have been no recognised gains or losses for the current or prior financial periods other than as stated in the income statement and, accordingly, no separate statement of comprehensive income is presented.
PURE WAFER PLC
Interim Results for 6 months ended 31 December 2012
Consolidated Balance Sheet
Notes | 31 December 2012 | 31 December 2011 | 30 June 2012 | |
$'000 | $'000 | $'000 | ||
Non-current assets | ||||
Goodwill | 6,630 | 6,630 | 6,630 | |
Intangible assets | 1,069 | 1,134 | 1,132 | |
Property, plant and equipment | 22,360 | 28,078 | 25,054 | |
30,059 | 35,842 | 32,816 | ||
Current assets | ||||
Inventory | 2,426 | 2,171 | 2,267 | |
Trade and other receivables | 7,308 | 7,485 | 7,337 | |
Cash and cash equivalents | 1,632 | 1,454 | 2,043 | |
11,366 | 11,110 | 11,647 | ||
Total assets | 41,425 | 46,952 | 44,463 | |
Current liabilities | ||||
Trade and other payables | (4,815) | (5,726) | (5,478) | |
Interest bearing loans and borrowings |
(2,553) |
(6,366) |
(6,778) | |
Derivative financial instruments | - | (1) | - | |
(7,368) | (12,093) | (12,256) | ||
Non-current liabilities | ||||
Long-term borrowings | (2,452) | (10,145) | (7,755) | |
Deferred income | (1,492) | (2,050) | (1,771) | |
(3,944) | (12,195) | (9,526) | ||
Total liabilities | (11,312) | (24,288) | (21,782) | |
Net assets | 30,113 | 22,664 | 22,681 | |
Equity | ||||
Share capital | 8,813 | 4,321 | 4,340 | |
Share premium | 27,475 | 24,857 | 24,857 | |
Merger reserve | 58,826 | 58,826 | 58,826 | |
Retained earnings | (62,176) | (62,515) | (62,517) | |
Exchange translation reserve | (2,825) | (2,825) | (2,825) | |
6 | Total equity attributable to equity holders of the Company | 30,113 | 22,664 | 22,681 |
PURE WAFER PLC
Interim Results for 6 months ended 31 December 2012
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
Notes | 6 months ended 31 December 2012 | 6 months ended31 December 2011 | Year ended 30 June 2012 | |
$'000 | $'000 | $'000 | ||
5 | Cash flows from operating activities | 2,822 | 3,039 | 5,717 |
Cash flows from taxation | ||||
Tax paid | (1) | (1) | (1) | |
Research and development tax credits | - | - | 385 | |
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from taxation | (1) | (1) | 384 | |
Cash flows from investing activities | ||||
Purchase of property, plant and equipment | (269) | (100) | (180) | |
Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment | - | - | 108 | |
Net cash outflow from investing activities | (269) | (100) | (72) | |
Cash flows from financing activities | ||||
Interest paid | (449) | (469) | (946) | |
Repayment of bank loans | (1,816) | (947) | (1,898) | |
Repayment of obligations under finance leases | (5,898) | - | (1,442) | |
Net proceeds of share issue | 7,091 | 3 | 23 | |
Net cash outflow from financing activities | (1,072) | (1,413) | (4,263) | |
Increase in cash and cash equivalents | 1,480 | 1,525 | 1,766 |
PURE WAFER PLC
Interim Results for 6 months ended 31 December 2012
Notes to the Accounts
1. Basis of preparation
The information for the year ended 30 June 2012 does not constitute statutory accounts as defined by the Companies Act 2006. A copy of the statutory accounts for the year ended 30 June 2012 has been delivered to the Registrar of Companies, upon which an unqualified audit report was given.
The annual financial statements of Pure Wafer Plc are prepared in accordance with IFRS, IAS and IFRIC interpretations as adopted by the European Union (collectively "IFRS"). These interim results are prepared on the basis of the accounting policies which the Company will use in preparation of the financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2013. There are no changes from the policies disclosed in the 2012 financial statements.
Going concern
The Group's business activities, together with the factors likely to affect its future development, performance and position, are set out in the Chairman's Statement on page 2. The Directors have considered the Group's performance to date and reviewed the cashflow forecasts for the forthcoming period. The Directors believe the facilities that are in place will be sufficient for the business to continue trading for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group and the Company have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, the interim financial statements continue to be prepared on a going concern basis.
2. Business and geographical segments
6 months ended31 December 2012 | 6 months ended31 December 2011 | Year ended30 June 2012 | |
Revenue | $'000 | $'000 | $'000 |
Wafers - UK - North America | 9,863 8,053 | 8,624 7,460 | 18,093 15,258 |
17,916 | 16,084 | 33,351 | |
Solar | 632 | 1,847 | 2,400 |
18,548 | 17,931 | 35,751 |
6 months ended31 December 2012 | 6 months ended31 December 2011 | Year ended30 June 2012 | |
Operating profit/(loss) | $'000 | $'000 | $'000 |
Wafers - UK - North America | 15 953 | (337) 569 | (187) 1,368 |
Solar Unallocated corporate expenses | (148) (370) | 183 (411) | 76 (796) |
450 | 4 | 461 |
Notes to the Accounts (continued)
3. Reconciliation of other gains and losses
6 months ended31 December 2012 | 6 months ended31 December 2011 | Year ended30 June 2012 | |
$'000 | $'000 | $'000 | |
Foreign exchange loss | (66) | (77) | (127) |
Gain on derivatives | - | 4 | 5 |
Other losses and gains | (66) | (73) | (122) |
4. Earnings per share
The basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing profit attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year. For diluted earnings per share, the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue is adjusted to assume conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares.
Earnings per share have been calculated as follows:
6 months ended 31 December 2012 | 6 months ended31 December 2011 | Year ended 30 June 2012 | |
'000 | '000 | '000 | |
Weighted average number of ordinary shares: | |||
- In issue during the period | 161,753 | 126,403 | 127,003 |
- Fully diluted | 215,579 | 178,469 | 184,218 |
Unadjusted earnings | $323 | $(289) | $(291) |
Earnings per share | 6 months ended 31 December 2012 | 6 months ended31 December 2011 | Year ended 30 June 2012 |
Basic | 0.2c | (0.2)c | (0.2)c |
Basic diluted | 0.1c | (0.2)c | (0.2)c |
Notes to the Accounts (continued)
5. Cash flows from operating activities
6 months ended 31 December 2012 | 6 months ended31 December 2011 | Year ended 30 June 2012 | |
$'000 | $'000 | $'000 | |
Profit/(loss) for the period | 323 | (289) | (291) |
Adjusted for: | |||
Taxation credit | (81) | (384) | (384) |
Finance costs | 142 | 604 | 1,014 |
Share options charge | 18 | 64 | 64 |
Other non-cash gains and losses | 137 | (4) | (5) |
Profit on sale of fixed assets | - | - | (47) |
Depreciation and amortisation charges (net) | 2,747 | 2,788 | 5,553 |
Operating cash flows before movements in working capital |
3,286 |
2,779 |
5,904 |
Decrease/(increase) in receivables | 117 | 149 | (90) |
(Decrease)/increase in payables | (422) | 88 | (24) |
(Increase)/decrease in inventories | (159) | 23 | (73) |
Cash flows from operating activities | 2,822 | 3,039 | 5,717 |
6. Changes in equity
Share capital | Share premium | Merger reserve | Exchange translation | Retained earnings | Total | |
$'000 | $'000 | $'000 | $'000 | $'000 | $'000 | |
As at 1 July 2012 | 4,340 | 24,857 | 58,826 | (2,825) | (62,517) | 22,681 |
Proceeds from issue of shares | 4,473 | 2,618 | - | - | - | 7,091 |
Profit for the period | - | - | - | - | 323 | 323 |
Share options | - | - | - | - | 18 | 18 |
As at 31 December 2012 | 8,813 | 27,475 | 58,826 | (2,825) | (62,176) | 30,113 |
On 15 November 2012 the Company issued and allotted 128,397,125 ordinary shares of 2 pence each in respect of the Placing and Open Offer announced on 22 October 2012. The issue price of these shares was 3.5 pence each.
The Company also issued and allotted 12,508,107 ordinary shares of 2 pence each on 20 November 2012 as a result of Stephen Boyd, Non-executive Chairman, exercising Placee Warrants at a price of 2 pence per new Ordinary Share. These shares were fully paid and satisfied in cash.
Notes to the Accounts (continued)
7. Post balance sheet events
On 25 January 2013 the Company completed the restructuring of its balance sheet by refinancing its debt with HSBC (the "Refinancing"). The Refinancing is in the form of a $5.6m (£3.5m) term loan repayable in equal monthly instalments over 4 years, with a $1.6m (£1.0m) revolving credit facility, which is available to be drawn down at any time during the 4 years for any capital expenditure requirements. These loans attract interest rates of 3% over Libor for all utilised funds.
In transferring its banking arrangements to HSBC, the Company negotiated certain discounts and fee waivers with its previous bankers, RBS and Citizens, in consideration for full repayment of their debt and facilities. These discounts and fee waivers amount to a total saving of $615k to the Company.
8. Circulation
A copy of this announcement is available from the Company Secretary, Pure Wafer plc, Central Business Park, Swansea Vale, Swansea, SA7 0AB. A copy is also available on the Company's website: www.purewafer.com.