1 May 2013 07:00
THE STANLEY GIBBONS GROUP PLC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1 May 2013
THE STANLEY GIBBONS GROUP PLC ("the Company")
Trading Statement
Ahead of the Annual General Meeting to be held later today, the Board of the Company updates the market with the following Trading Statement:
"Turnover for the first quarter, traditionally the quietest, was 12% above last year's despite 2012 including a large sale of £1m to one client. Sales in 2013 have benefited from the investment made in our stockholding, as shown in the 2012 Annual Report.
Overall trading in the first quarter was in line with our expectations and after charging costs associated with our planned increased investment in developing our online strategy. The Group's balance sheet remains strong with net cash balances in excess of £7 million at the end of March.
Implementation of our strategy is on target. The Board remains enthusiastic about the prospects in monetising our brand, products and services to achieve their potential.
If approved today, the Company's final dividend of 3.75p per share will be paid to Shareholders on 20 May 2013.
Our interim results for the six months ending 30 June 2013 will be announced on 8 August 2013.
Our business is now split into two streams; "traditional dealing & auction activities" and the "digital division". A summary of progress made in these operating units during the first quarter of the year is provided below:
a) Traditional dealing & auction activities
Trading was strong across most components of this segment, particularly in philatelic dealing of rare and high value British stamps, rare coins and other top quality collectibles. Increased interest was evident from international clients seeking to acquire our class of assets both for enjoyment and as a long term investment proposition. We have recently acquired another highly prestigious collection to satisfy such demand.
Our auction business delivered a substantially improved performance in the first quarter, attributed to the continued strength of the global philatelic market in conjunction with the continued increased tradability from increasing use of the internet for online live bidding and also new high net worth collectors entering the market. Auction services have benefited from our investment and focus in recent years, together with the international recognition for our brand name, putting us in a strong position to continue to develop our global auction brand and services internationally.
Our office in Hong Kong is delivering further strong returns this year after an exceptional first year of trading in 2012.
We officially opened our new office in Singapore a week ago. The launch PR campaign delivered some excellent coverage in the local quality, financial and luxury press as well as interviews on BBC Asia and prime time radio.
b) Digital Division
Total revenues generated through our websites, including sales of our own products, subscription revenue and commission income, when we act as agent, were in line with plan. Priority is on putting in place the quality people required fully to develop our online opportunities to their full potential. Technical aspects are progressing well.
We have recently filled our three most senior level positions under our Chief Digital Officer, Mark Rosenberg. This includes Paul Zimmerman, who has come on board as Director of E-Commerce Operations. Paul brings highly relevant skills, having previously worked in this capacity at Amazon UK, as well as Play.com where he was Marketplace Director and Head of Business Development. His proven track record commercialising e-commerce ventures will play an integral role in executing on our digital strategy.
Venkat Mavram has also joined our team as Vice President of Engineering. Venkat previously worked at eBay for 11 years where he managed the eBay selling tools engineering teams. He has direct experience not only building large scale engineering teams and executing on strategy, but direct auction and marketplace experience.
In respect of Group IT support, Tony Ganzon has joined us as Internal IT Operations Manager. Tony brings with him a strong IT management background, and previously worked at Cisco for 12 years. His experience in managing IT systems, and providing significant cost savings and business streamlining will help to align and strengthen all IT systems and procedures.
Other key appointments recently made include Lloyd de Vries who joins as Community Manager. Lloyd is part of the Virtual Stamp Club, which he formed nearly 20 years ago and we recently acquired. This provides a website and community for stamp collectors, with hundreds of posts and daily interactions. The Virtual Stamp Club has been integrated into our bidStart platform, strengthening bidStart's goals of becoming not just a marketplace but a true community for collectors.
Each of these highly skilled and experienced individuals had many other opportunities available to them, but chose to join Stanley Gibbons because they share our vision and aspirations for the future. They also see the significant potential we have in the digital space, and with their help we believe we can execute accordingly."
For further information, contact:
The Stanley Gibbons Group plc
Michael Hall, Chief Executive +44 (0) 1534 766711
Donal Duff, Chief Operating Officer and Finance Director
Peel Hunt LLP, NOMAD/Broker
Dan Webster/Matthew Armitt/Richard Brown +44 (0) 20 7418 8900