25 Feb 2015 07:02
25 February 2015
Coms plc
Trading Update and Requisition of General Meeting
The Board of Coms plc ("Coms" or the "Company" or the "Group") today announces an update on trading for the financial year ended 31 January 2015.
The increases in revenue reported for the six months to 31 July 2014 continued during the second half of the year and as such the Board expects to report revenues in line with market expectations.
Gross margins have continued along the lower trend seen during the first half and will be lower in the second half than for the first six months. Furthermore, the restructuring process referred to in the interim results continued during the second half of the year but the anticipated re-alignment of costs has not been achieved. As a consequence, the Board expects that the Company will report a substantial loss for the financial year ended 31 January 2015 of at least several million pounds.
In light of this very disappointing financial performance, the Board is reviewing the Company's strategy with the aim of ensuring that improved returns will be delivered across the businesses and to shareholders.
The Board has concluded that it is necessary to strengthen the Company's executive management team at the earliest opportunity and is currently in discussions with potential candidates with the appropriate expertise and knowledge of the wider industry in which Coms operates. In addition, Diana Dyer Bartlett, Non-Executive Director, has taken on the responsibilities of the finance function, pending the appointment of a finance director.
The Board also announces that on Friday 20 February 2015, the Company received a requisition from Dave Breith, CEO, to convene a general meeting of the Company for the purpose of considering resolutions to remove Frank Beechinor and Diana Dyer Bartlett as directors of the Company and to appoint Iain Ross, Neil Taylor and Brendan Loughrey as directors of the Company (the "Proposed Resolutions").
The Board is required to convene a general meeting to consider the Proposed Resolutions by 13 March 2015. A further announcement detailing the background to the requisition and the Board's response will be made in due course.
Finally, the Board received notification on 18 February 2015 from Dave Breith that on 25 July 2014 he purchased 20,000 Coms ordinary shares. The Board has since sought clarification from Mr Breith as to the circumstances and details of the dealing, including as to why no prior permission to deal was sought from the Board, but to date no such clarification has been forthcoming. The Board will make a further announcement regarding this transaction as soon as full details are available.
For further information, please contact:
Coms plc
Frank Beechinor (Chairman) +44 (0) 207 138 3204
Charles Stanley Securities +44 (0)207 149 6000
(Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Karri Vuori / Philip Davies
Blytheweigh
(Financial Public Relations)
Halimah Hussain / Alex Shilov / Tim Blythe +44 (0)207 138 3204
Notes to Editors
Coms is a leading organisation in the provision of end-to-end communication, connectivity and business services:
Business infrastructure
Cloud based solutions
Connectivity
Creative marketing and media solutions
Integrated and hosted telephony
IT support
Mobile
Smart buildings
We put stakeholders at the heart of everything we do, and by innovating and offering other robust technologies our solutions are resilient and cost effective. For more information, please visit: www.coms.com