Photo-Me announces fiscal-year results; laundry segment continues growth

Investment in Laundry continues to drive growth

 Photo-Me International plc, the instant-service equipment group, announces its results for the year ended 30 April 2018.

 RESULTS HIGHLIGHTS:

	Reported			At constant currency
	2018	2017	Change	20171	Change1
Revenue	£229.8m	£214.7m	+7.1%	£216.9m	+5.9%
EBITDA (excluding associates)	£71.0m	£69.0m	+2.8%	£70.4m	+1.0%
Underlying profit before tax2	£46.8m	£46.6m	+0.3%	£47.5m	-1.6%
Reported profit before tax	£50.2m	£48.0m	+4.4%	£49.0m	+2.5%
Profit after tax	£40.3m	£35.1m	+14.7%
Net cash 3	£26.7m	£39.2m	-31.9%
Earnings per share (diluted)	10.60p	9.27p	+14.2%
Total dividend per share	8.44p	7.03p	+20.0%

¹2017 trading results of overseas subsidiaries converted at 2018 exchange rates.

² Underlying profit before tax is 2018 profit before tax adjusted to exclude the gain on the Group’s shareholding in Max Sight Group Holdings Limited, the profit on disposal of the former head office building, and restructuring fees relating Photo-Me Retail. 2017 profit before tax is adjusted to exclude the translation reserve taken to profit on disposal of subsidiaries.

³ Refer to note 7 for the reconciliation of Net Cash to Cash and cash equivalents as per the financial statements.

All percentage change figures are calculated from actual figures in the financial statements as opposed to the rounded figures included in the above table. 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 

• Revenues up 7.1% at £229.8 million driven by continued growth in Identification and rapid expansion of Laundry. At constant currency, growth was 5.9%.
• EBITDA up 2.8% at £71.0 million, reflecting investment in strategic acquisitions and organic growth, and favourable euro to sterling exchange rates in 2018. EBITDA margin was 30.9%.
• Underlying profit before tax increased by 0.3%, and at constant currency declined by 1.6%.
• Reported profit before tax was £50.2 million, up 4.4% and at constant currency was up 2.5%, profit margin was 21.8% as percentage of sales.
• Profit after tax up 14.7%, supported by a reduction of Photo-Me’s effective tax rate to 19.7% (2017: 26.9%).
• Net cash position of £26.7 million after distribution of £26.5 million dividends and investment in future growth, with 35% of capex spent on the ongoing expansion of Laundry.
• Total Ordinary dividend increased by 20% to 8.44 pence per share.

OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Continued revenue growth in all of Photo-Me’s territories, apart from Japan.
• Continued rapid growth of higher margin Laundry business, with revenue growth of 69% and contributing 16% of total Group revenue. (2017: 10%).
• Identification continuing to deliver profit growth and strong cashflow:
• Rollout of secure upload passport ID technology launched with HMPO in the UK (2,200 booths upgraded at 30 April 2018).
• Continued rollout of secure upload solution in partnership with governments in France, Ireland and Germany, and discussions ongoing with the Dutch government.
• Kiosks continue to deliver revenue growth: 24.1%
• Refocus of Photo-Me Retail completed, with improved profitability already achieved.
• Restructuring of Japanese subsidiary expected to improve profitability in FY2019 and beyond.

 Commenting on the results, Serge Crasnianski, CEO, said:

“2018 has been another year of good operational progress, reflected in revenue growth of 7.1%, 4.4% growth in PBT, including a one-off gain on the Group’s shareholding in Max Sight Holdings Limited, and double-digit EPS growth. Revenue in our Laundry business rose 69% in the year, and we expect that these operations will contribute an increasingly dominant share to Group profits as we capitalise on the significant expansion opportunities in our markets. Our Identification business continues to perform wellas we focus on government partnerships for the adoption of our secure ID upload technology in new countries.

“Supported by steady cash flows from our global, market-leading photobooth estate, the Group will remain focused on investing in new and complementary products to drive further profitability and extend the suite of services available through our established instant-service equipment network. We remain confident for the future.”