Trafalgar Prop Regulatory News (TRAF)

10 August 2016

 TRAFALGAR NEW HOMES PLC

("Trafalgar", the "Company" or "Group")

Final Results for the year ended 31 March 2016

Trafalgar New Homes plc (AIM: TRAF), the AIM quoted residential property developer operating in South East England, announces its final results for the 12 months ended 31 March 2016. A copy of the annual report and accounts, along with notice of the Company's annual general meeting, to be held at the Company's offices at Chequers Bank, Bough Beech, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 9PD at 11.00 a.m. on 8 September 2016, will be posted to shareholders shortly and made available on the Company's website, www.trafalgar-new-homes.co.uk.

Financial Highlights:

· Turnover for the Period was £2,235,000 (2015: £3,898,250);

· Profit before and after tax of £204,877 (2015: Loss £619,106);

· EPS of 0.09p (2015: loss per share of 0.26p); and

· Cash on the balance sheet at the end of the year was £278,406 (2015: £490,770).

Operational Highlights:

· Construction work continues at Tunbridge Wells, Kent for six luxury apartments;

· Work commenced at: 1) High Street, Edenbridge, Kent for three terraced houses; 2) Vines Lane, Hildenborough, Kent for two detached houses; and 3) Sheerness, Kent for six terraced houses; and

· Completed the purchase of a development site in Speldhurst, Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

Commenting on today's Results, CEO, Chris Johnson, said: 

"I am delighted to report that the Group has returned to profitability. We are confident that the Company has a strong development pipeline and that we are well positioned to improve financial performance for FY2017 and beyond. Despite Brexit, we believe the market fundamentals remain strong and that huge demand still remains for homes as a result of the chronic lack of supply. We remain committed to building new homes in the South East where we believe there is still high demand, to growing the Group's profitability and, in time, rewarding our shareholders through dividend payments. We believe the outlook for the Company is exciting."

Enquiries:

Trafalgar New Homes plc +44 (0)1732 700000Christopher Johnson

Allenby Capital Ltd - Nominated Adviser and Broker +44 (0)20 3328 5656

Jeremy Porter/James Reeve

Yellow Jersey PR Limited +44 (0)7825 916 715 

Dominic Barretto/Alistair de Kare-Silver

Notes to Editors:

Trafalgar New Homes is the holding company of Combe Bank Homes, a successful residential property developer operating in the southeast of England. The founders of Combe Bank homes have a long track record of developing new and refurbished homes, principally in Kent.

The Company's focus is on the select situation of land for residential property development. The Company outsources all development activities, for example the obtaining of planning permission, design and construction and uses fixed price build contracts. This enables the Company to tightly control its development and overhead costs.

The Company focuses on the regions of Kent, Surrey, Sussex and the M25 ring south of London and targets development sites of up to 20 homes, with sales prices typically ranging from £250,000 to £1,500,000 per unit.

Trafalgar New Homes Plc

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENTfor the year ended 31 March 2016

On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to present Trafalgar New Homes' results for the year ended 31 March 2016 which saw the Group return to profitability. The Board is confident that it has a strong development pipeline and that the Company is well positioned to deliver profitability for FY2017 and onwards.

Our driving focus is now on acquiring new sites that should produce increased turnover and a significant improvement in the financial performance for FY2017. In addition, we have been progressing with the preparation of a revised planning application for our Staplehurst site, which, if successful, should make a significant contribution to our bottom line and address the chronic shortage in the area of good quality housing stock.

Financials

The year under review saw Group turnover at £2,235,000 (2015: £3,898,250), with a profit before and after tax of £204,877 (2015: Loss £619,106). The cash on the balance sheet at the end of the year was £278,406 (2015: £490,770) and the Group continues to have sufficient capital for all planned activities.

Business Environment and Outlook

The decision to exit the European Union at the end of June 2016 was unprecedented. It led to an immediate drop in the value of sterling and a sell-off in house building stocks. Following the initial market panic the stock market has rebounded in anticipation of improved macro-economic conditions. However, it is too soon to predict the long-term impact of Brexit on the UK homes market.

The market fundamentals remain strong with robust demand for homes as a result of chronic undersupply. A recent report by the Resolution Foundation showed that home ownership in the UK had dropped to its lowest levels in 30 years, with outer London seeing the second biggest drop of 13.5% to just under 58%. Further, the Bank of England's decision on 4th August 2016 to reduce interest rates to a record low of 0.25% should reduce the cost of financing and may also provide potential buyers with cheaper mortgages. Nevertheless, we strongly believe that as long as planning restrictions remain obstructive there will continue to be a considerable shortage of housing supply in the South East.

These fundamentals provide attractive opportunities for house builders with the right strategic focus and access to finance. We are confident that our focus on traditional housing for a wide range of buyers in the South East, along with the price of our current housing stock, will keep sale prices stable and we will continue to attract customers. The recent increases in Stamp Duty Tax are mainly applicable to the luxury end of the market and do not adversely affect our operations. The Group remains committed to building new homes in the South East that are in such high demand.

The Group remains confident about its prospects for FY2017 and beyond. Trafalgar New Homes is in a stronger position now than ever, having returned to profitability and having secured several banking facilities to fund its strong development pipeline. The Executive Directors collectively have many years of residential development experience, which enables the Group to negotiate land and property purchases and construction contracts efficiently and quickly. This, in turn, enables the Group to adapt to changing market conditions and exploit opportunities. We are committed to growing the Group's profitability and to rewarding our shareholders through dividend payments when appropriate. We believe the outlook for the Company is exciting.

James Dubois

Chairman9 August 2016 

Operations review

A summary of the Results for the year is as follows:-

Group turnover for the year related to the sale of the final house at Oakhurst Park Gardens, Hildenborough, and the completion and sale of the houses on the sites at The Bell Inn, Ticehurst, East Sussex and the land at Station Road, Borough Green, Kent. The revenue from these sales totalled £2,235,000, generating a gross profit of £476,607. After deducting overhead costs of £279,250 for the year the Company recorded a pre-tax profit of £204,877.

As the Company has approved tax losses brought forward of a sum in excess of the profitability, there will be no tax charge and, therefore, the post-tax profit amounts to £204,877 and with 238,375,190 shares in issue, (no change from the previous year) the Company achieved earnings per share of 0.09p, which compares favourably to the earnings per share loss of 0.26p recorded for the year ended 31st March 2015.

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Management are closely involved in the day to day operations of the group and are very aware of cashflows and expenditure. However management believe that the key indicators of performance for the group are the revenue and profitability achieved during the period. These measures are disclosed above in the operations review.

Management do not use any non-financial KPIs.

Development Pipeline

Construction work continues on our site at Tunbridge Wells, Kent for six luxury apartments. Work has also commenced on sites at High Street, Edenbridge, Kent for three terraced houses and at Vines Lane, Hildenborough, Kent for two detached houses. Construction work on all three sites is expected to be completed during the current calendar year and most of these eleven units should be sold before 31st March 2017, which will contribute to the profitability of the Group for the year ending 31st March 2017.

The funding for the sites at Edenbridge and Hildenborough is being provided by Coutts, with RateSetter financing the Tunbridge Wells site. The Company's arrangements with its funders now provide Trafalgar New Homes with 100% of the finance required to build on all three sites, having committed its own funds at the time of the acquisition of the sites and for the initial construction costs.

The Company has also commenced work on the site at Sheerness, Kent, which has been owned by the Group for some time. Trafalgar New Homes has secured funding from Lloyds Bank for the construction of the development on this site, which, after an initial payment by the Group, will result in 100% of the finance required being provided by the Bank.

Since the year-end the Company has completed the purchase of a development site in Speldhurst, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, with the benefit of receiving planning permission for the demolition of the existing house and the erection of a substantial new build detached house. Funding for the acquisition and development is being provided by Lloyds Bank and construction work should commence shortly. It is anticipated that the build work will be completed in the spring of 2017 with a sale hopefully being achieved during the summer of 2017.

Trafalgar New Homes believes that all the funding it has secured for these developments are on competitive commercial terms.

The site at Staplehurst, Kent

The Company has been refused planning permission on its most recent planning application for its site at Staplehurst, Kent. This was received post year-end. Under the guidance of its planning consultants, the Company felt it had addressed the requirements and concerns set out by the authorities to the fullest. The Company is now preparing a further application for planning permission, having received advice from its planning consultants stating that: "In formulating the emerging Local Plan, the Council's planning policy team have clearly concluded (in writing and on public record) that this is a site that is suitable to accommodate residential development. In this context it is impossible to comprehend how an 'in principle' objection to housing development can be justified and maintained".

Outlook

The Company is confident that its current development programme will deliver profits for the Group for the year ended March 2017 and will enable it to meet market expectations. Looking ahead, the Company is negotiating the purchase of other sites in the South East of England, its chosen area of operation, which will contribute to turnover and anticipated profitability for the Group for the year ended 31st March 2018 and beyond.

The Board of Trafalgar New Homes remains focused on growing the Group, both through site acquisition and development and corporate acquisition, should any opportunities present themselves. The Company is committed to creating value for its shareholders and although it will not be paying a dividend this year Trafalgar New Homes intends to declare and pay a dividend when circumstances permit.

Christopher Johnson

Director

9th August, 2016

Trafalgar New Homes Plc

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOMEFor the year ended 31 March 2016

All results in the current and preceding financial year derive from continuing operations.

Trafalgar New Homes Plc

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITIONFor the year ended 31 March 2016

Trafalgar New Homes Plc

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITYFor the year ended 31 March 2016

Re

For the purpose of preparing the consolidated financial statement of the Group, the share capital represents the nominal value of the issued share capital of 1p per share. Share premium represents the excess over nominal value of the fair value consideration received for equity shares net of expenses of the share issue.

Trafalgar New Homes Plc

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS For the year ended 31 March 2016

BASIS OF PREPARATION 

The financial information set out in this announcement is abridged and does not constitute the Company's statutory financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2016. The financial information has been extracted from the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2016, which have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and interpretations adopted by the European Union ("EU") and as applied in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 and were approved by the Board on 9 August 2016 and on which the auditors have reported without qualification.

 The statutory financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2016 will be posted to shareholders next week and, once approved, will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the Annual General Meeting on 8 September 2016.

Trafalgar New Homes Plc

NOTES TO THE FINAL RESULTS For the year ended 31 March 2016

1 SEGMENTAL REPORTING

For the purpose of IFRS 8, the chief operating decision maker ("CODM") takes the form of the Board of Directors. The Directors' opinion of the business of the Group is as follows.

The principal activity of the Group was property development. All the Group's non-current assets are located in the UK.

Based on the above considerations, there is considered to be one reportable segment. The internal and external reporting is on a consolidated basis with transactions between Group companies eliminated on consolidation. Therefore the financial information of the single segment is the same as that set out in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income, the consolidated statement of changes in equity, the consolidated statement of financial position and cashflows.

Geographical segments

The following tables present revenue regarding the Group's geographical segments for the year ended 31 March 2016.

2 OTHER INTEREST RECEIVABLE AND SIMILAR INCOME

3 PROFIT FOR THE YEAR

The Group's profit for the year is stated after charging the following:

Amounts payable to Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP and its related entities in respect of audit and non-audit services are disclosed in the table above.

4 EMPLOYEES AND DIRECTORS' REMUNERATION

Staff costs during the year were as follows:

The average number of employees of the company during the year was:

Key management are the Group's Directors. Remuneration in respect of key management was as follows:

There are retirement benefits accruing to Mr C C Johnson for whom a company contribution was paid during the year of £18,000 (2015: £18,000).

Consultancy fees of £ 4,994 (2015: £8,748) were paid to Mr N Lott during the year.

5 INTEREST PAYABLE AND SIMILAR CHARGES

During the year all interest paid on borrowings was capitalised as part of work in progress (£166,869) with the interest capitalised on properties sold in the period forming part of cost of sales. All interest was capitalised with the exception of:-

6 TAXATION

No deferred tax asset has been recognised in respect of historical losses due to the uncertainty in future profits against which to offset these losses. As at the 31 March 2016 the group had cumulative tax losses of £1,837,724 (2015: £2,056,907) that are available to offset against future taxable profits.

7 PROFIT/(LOSS) PER ORDINARY SHARE

The calculation of profit/(loss) per ordinary share is based on the following profits/(losses) and number of shares:

8 PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

9 TRADE AND OTHER RECEIVABLES

There are no receivables that are past due but not impaired at the year-end. There are no provisions for irrecoverable debt included in the balances above.

10 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

All of the Group's cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 2016 are in sterling and held at floating interest rates.

The Directors consider that the carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents approximates to their fair value.

11 INVENTORY

12 TRADE AND OTHER PAYABLES

13 BORROWINGS

Included in other loans is the sum of £300,000 (2015: £300,000) advanced by the DFM Pension Scheme of which Mr J Dubois is the principal beneficiary. This loan bears interest at 12% per annum (2015: 12% per annum).

C C Johnson is a named guarantor on the loan included within bank loans.

The bank borrowings are repayable as follows:

The weighted average interest rates paid on the bank loans were as follows:

Bank Loans -5.33% (2015: 4.73%)

All of the Directors' loans are repayable after more than 1 year. All loans are interest bearing and charged accordingly. However Mr C C Johnson has waived his right to interest in the year and as a result interest of £Nil (2015: £ Nil) was paid to Mr C C Johnson. The rate of interest on the loan is 5% pa (2015: 5% pa). Interest of £36,000 (2015: £36,000) was paid to Mr J Dubois at the rate of 12 % pa (2015: 12% pa).

14 Share capital

Authorised Share Capital

Issued, allotted and fully paid

15 Share PREMIUM ACCOUNT

16 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Mr C C Johnson holds 78.4% (2015: 78.4%) of the total issued share capital of the Group.

The following working capital loans have been provided by the Directors:

J Dubois - £300,000 £300,000

Mr Johnson's Loan bore interest during the year at 5% (2015: 5% pa), but he has chosen to forego the interest in the year. Mr Dubois's Loan, which is from his Pension Fund of which he is the sole beneficiary, was at 12% pa interest (2015: 12% pa).

Mrs L C Howard (daughter of Mr C C Johnson) has provided a loan to the company at a rate of 10% per annum of £nil (2015: £100,000).

Mr G Howard (son-in-law of Mr C C Johnson) has provided a loan to the company at a rate of 10% per annum of £800,000 (2015: nil).

During the year, the Directors agreed to sell 11 Oakhurst Park Gardens, Hildenborough Kent to Mr C C Johnson for a consideration of £ 525,000 (2015: £ nil) being the market value.

17 SHARE OPTIONS AND WARRANTS

There are no share options or warrants.

18 CATEGORIES OF Financial instruments

The Group's financial assets are divided as cash and cash equivalents. The Group's financial liabilities are divided as Directors loans, bank loans and other loans.

The Board has overall responsibility for the determination of the Group's risk management objectives and policies and it sets policies that seek to reduce risk as far as possible without unduly affecting the Group's competitiveness and flexibility. Further details regarding these policies are set out below:

Capital risk management

The Group considers its capital to comprise its share capital and share premium. The Group's capital management objectives are to safeguard the entity's ability to continue as a going concern, so that it can continue to provide returns for shareholders and benefits for other stakeholders and to provide an adequate return to shareholders by pricing products and services commensurately with the level of risk.

Significant Accounting Policies

Details of the significant accounting policies and methods adopted, including the criteria for recognition, the basis of measurement and the basis on which income and expenses are recognised, in respect of each class of financial asset, financial liability and equity instrument are disclosed in the Company's annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2016.

Foreign currency risk

The Group has minimal exposure to the differing types of foreign currency risk. It has no foreign currency denominated monetary assets or liabilities and does not make sales or purchases from overseas countries.

Interest rate risk

The Group is sensitive to changes in interest rates principally on the loans from banks. £ 2,000,000 of the loans from Mr Johnson bears interest at 5% pa (2015: 5% pa), although Mr Johnson has waived his right to receive interest in the year. Mr Dubois' loan of £300,000 within other loans, from his Pension Fund attracts interest at 12% pa (2015: 12%). Additional loans of £800,000 included in other loans attract interest at 10%pa (2015: 10% pa).

The impact of a 100 basis point increase in interest rates would result in additional interest cost for the year of £ 7,280 (2015: £24,325).

Credit risk management

Credit risk refers to the risk that a counter-party will default on its contractual obligations resulting in financial loss to the Group.

Liquidity risk management

This is the risk of the Company not being able to continue to operate as a going concern.

The Directors have, after careful consideration of the factors set out above, concluded that it is appropriate to adopt the going concern basis for the preparation of the financial statements and the financial statements do not include any adjustments that would result if the going concern basis was not appropriate.

Mr Johnson confirms that he will continue to support the Group for its anticipated needs for the next two years. As with all business forecasts, the Directors' statement cannot guarantee that the going concern basis will remain appropriate given the inherent uncertainty about the future events.

Derivative financial instruments

The Group does not currently use derivative financial instruments as hedging is not considered necessary. Should the Group identify a requirement for the future use of such financial instruments, a comprehensive set of policies and systems as approved by the Directors will be implemented.

In accordance with IAS 39, "Financial instruments: recognition and measurement", the Group has reviewed all contracts for embedded derivatives that are required to be separately accounted for if they do not meet specific requirements set out in the standard. No material embedded derivatives have been identified.