Azlan, the leading value added distributor of network computing products and services in Europe, announces results for the year ended March 31, 1995.WOKINGHAM, U.K.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 14, 1995--Azlan, the leading value-added val·ue-add·ed adj. Of or relating to the estimated value that is added to a product or material at each stage of its manufacture or distribution: distributor of network computing Storing and/or running applications in servers in a network. See cloud computing and network computer. products and services in Europe Europe (y  r`əp), 6th largest continent, c.4,000,000 sq mi (10,360,000 sq km) including adjacent islands (1992 est. pop. 512,000,000). , today announced results for the year ended March 31, 1995.Financial Highlights - Strong recovery in second half with operating profits Operating profit (or loss) Revenue from a firm's regular activities less costs and expenses and before income deductions. operating profit See operating income. up 54% on the same period last year at L3.1 million - Turnover up 47% to L90.5 million (1994: L61.5 million) - Operating profit up 6% to L4.3 million (1994: L4.1 million) - Profit before tax rose 0.9% to L3.91 million (1994: L3.87 million) - Gross margins increased to 24.6% (1994: 24.2%) - Earnings per share at 12.5p (1994: 12.4p) - Proposed final dividend of 2.1p making a total for the year of 3.1p (1994: 2.0p) Commenting today, Christian Martin Christian Martin, a VP and Executive Producer for NBC Universal - iVillage, is married to Elizabeth Catherine Cole, Executive Editor of Dateline NBC. They have two children, Charlie and Emilia, and live in Brooklyn. Childhood Christian was born in New York City in 1967. , Chief Executive, (who was appointed Group Managing Director in September September: see month. 1994), said, "We are pleased with the Group's second half performance which reflects the impact of the measures the new management team took at the end of the first half to improve profitability. Strong growth continued in Continental Europe Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands and, at times, peninsulas. and the UK had an encouraging second half. "The current year has started well with sales and operating profits in April and May substantially ahead of last year and with this strong start the Group looks forward to a year of continuing success. In addition, we are pleased to announce today, that in line with our strategy to increase coverage in Europe, we have expanded our operations into Italy Italy (ĭt`əlē), Ital. Italia, officially Italian Republic, republic (2005 est. pop. 58,103,000), 116,303 sq mi (301,225 sq km), S Europe. with the acquisition of Adcomp Data Systems, based in Milan." Results During the year the Group has made significant progress in establishing its trading position across Europe. Whilst the first half of the year was disappointing for our UK business, the actions taken in September 1994 by the new management team to improve sales and profitability proved effective. Group turnover in the second half increased by 60% against the same period last year and operating profit by 54%. This result, when taken with the first half performance gives an operating profit of L4.3 million for the year, 6% ahead of last year and a full year profit before tax of L3.9 million. Group turnover for the year advanced 47% to L90.5 million (1994: L61.5 million). Strong growth continued in Continental Europe where sales increased from L8.4 million to L36.6 million, as a result of organic growth and acquisitions. Sales in Continental Europe represented 40% of Group turnover compared with 14% in 1994. Sales in the UK had a strong second half which resulted in a small increase for the full year. Overall gross margins were 24.6%, representing an improvement over last year. Dividend The Board is recommending a final net dividend of 2.1p per share for the year to 31 March 1995, an increase of 5%. Together with the interim dividend this makes a total for the year of 3.1p per share. This dividend maintains cover at a level appropriate for the organic growth of the business. The final dividend is payable on 31 August 1995 to shareholders on the register at 25 July July: see month. 1995. Group Activities Azlan has expanded its operations to cover six European European emanating from or pertaining to Europe. European bat lyssavirus see lyssavirus. European beech tree fagussylvaticus. European blastomycosis see cryptococcosis. countries and the Group now operates out of fifteen cities. In addition, Azlan today announces that it has extended its market coverage further with the acquisition of Adcomp Data Systems based in Milan, Italy. In February February: see month. 1995, the Group opened its new pan European distribution centre in York York, former name of Toronto, Canada York, Ont.: see Toronto, Ont., Canada. York, city, England York, city (1991 pop. 123,126) and district, North Yorkshire, N England, at the confluence of the Ouse and Foss rivers. . This building replaces four warehouses used in and around York. As a result the Group has already started to benefit from operational efficiencies. France In May 1994 the Group commenced its operations in France by the acquisition of Research & Development SA, now renamed Azlan SA, based in Paris. Since acquisition, Azlan SA has achieved strong sales growth. Significant new customers have been attracted, consolidating Azlan SA as a recognised major force in the French market with a leading position with many of the Group's key vendors. Germany Germany (jûr`mənē), Ger. Deutschland, officially Federal Republic of Germany, republic (2005 est. pop. 82,431,000), 137,699 sq mi (356,733 sq km). In October October: see month. 1994 Azlan's German business was developed through the acquisition of the distribution division of Asonic Computer Equipment AG which has been fully integrated with the Group's existing subsidiary. As a result of the growth of the business the number of employees increased and new offices were acquired to provide additional training facilities and space for staff. Scandinavia Scandinavia (skăn'dĭnā`vēə), region of N Europe. It consists of the kingdoms of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark; Finland and Iceland are usually considered part of Scandinavia. During the year the network division of Damgaard Data, which was acquired in June June: see month. 1994, was successfully integrated with our existing business in Denmark Denmark (dĕn`märk), Dan. Danmark, officially Kingdom of Denmark, kingdom (2005 est. pop. 5,432,000), 16,629 sq mi (43,069 sq km), N Europe. . Close relationships were consolidated with many of the Group's key vendors, including 3Com, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , Lotus and Novell (Novell Inc., Provo, UT, www.novell.com) Novell was founded as Novell Data Systems in 1981 by Jack Davis and George Canova and initially manufactured terminals for IBM mainframes. In 1983, Ray Noorda became CEO and president of a restructured Novell, Inc. . Azlan began to serve the Swedish market and now has an increasing presence there. UK During the year, the UK operation focused on a number of initiatives to consolidate its position as a leading provider of network computing products, training and technical services. The UK Company acted as a pilot for the Group's new relationships with IBM and Cisco. Success with the products of these vendors in the UK has accelerated their introduction to the markets of other Group companies. Investment in training continued with the opening of a training facility in London London, city, Canada London, city (1991 pop. 303,165), SE Ont., Canada, on the Thames River. The site was chosen in 1792 by Governor Simcoe to be the capital of Upper Canada, but York was made capital instead. London was settled in 1826. , which quickly achieved full occupancy, and with expansion of the Company's facility in Wokingham to meet the increasing demand for Azlan's technical network training. Italian Acquisition The Group announces today that it has expanded its operations to Italy with the acquisition of the Italian value added network (networking) Value Added Network - (VAN) A privately owned network that provides a specific service, such as legal research or access to a specialised database, for a fee. A Value Added Network usually offers some service or information that is not readily available on public computing computing - computer distributor, Adcomp Data Systems Italia S.r.l. (Adcomp). This acquisition is in line with our strategic objective of increasing our coverage of the market in Europe for network computing products and services. The initial consideration paid was L0.08 million. In July 1995 additional consideration of L0.07 million is payable and this will be satisfied by the issue of shares. In addition, further consideration is payable in cash and shares in each of the years 1996 to 1998 depending on the profit performance of Adcomp up to a maximum aggregate consideration of L0.6 million. The net assets Net assets The difference between total assets on the one hand and current liabilities and noncapitalized long-term liabilities on the other hand. net assets See owners' equity. acquired were L0.1 million. In the year ended 31 December December: see month. 1994 the company made a small pre-tax pre-tax adj → anterior al impuesto pre-tax adj → avant impôt(s) pre-tax adj → al lordo d'imposta profit. New Products and Services During the year the Group continued its strategy of building a pan European value added Value Added The enhancement a company gives its product or service before offering the product to customers. Notes: This can either increase the products price or value. distribution capability with focus on five key areas of network computing; Workgroup Two or more individuals who share files and databases. Local networks (LANs) are designed to provide electronic sharing of data within workgroups. In general, products designed for workgroups support approximately 50 people, whereas departmental devices support several hundred, and Productivity, Information Management, Network Management, Network Integration and Network Infrastructure. In addition, the Group continued to build the Product Development Group which plays a key role in ensuring that the Group has a continuing flow of high margin products to maintain the value added model and to bring new technologies to market. New distribution agreements with major manufacturers have been signed during the year. These provide product and service opportunities in network storage, voice, computer telephony integration Computer Telephony Integration - Computer Telephone Integration and multimedia products which integrate voice, video, image and data communications data communications, application of telecommunications technology to the problem of transmitting data, especially to, from, or between computers. In popular usage, it is said that data communications make it possible for one computer to "talk" with another. . Group Management During the year a number of changes were made to strengthen the management within the Group. In September 1994 Christian Martin became Group Managing Director and in February 1995 Adrian Adrian, Roman emperor Adrian, Roman emperor: see Hadrian. Adrian, city, United States Adrian, city (1990 pop. 22,097), seat of Lenawee co., SE Mich., on the Raisin River; inc. 1836. Lamb was appointed Group Finance Director. As from today Christian Christian flees the City of Destruction. [Br. Lit.: Pilgrim’s Progress] See : Escape Christian travels to Celestial City with cumbrous burden on back. [Br. Lit. Martin's title has changed to Chief Executive. David Randall Randall may refer to the following: In places:
In order to facilitate effective management and communication across the Group, an Operating Board was established in February 1995. This comprises the Chief Executive, the Group Finance Director, the Managing Directors of Azlan's operations in France, Germany, Scandinavia and the UK and the two Directors responsible for the central management functions of Logistics and Strategy. Finance The control and management of working capital has been effective throughout the year. The rise in turnover in the second half of the year increased the components of working capital at the Balance Sheet date. Debtor One who owes a debt or the performance of an obligation to another, who is called the creditor; one who may be compelled to pay a claim or demand; anyone liable on a claim, whether due or to become due. days were maintained at last year's levels and stock turn continued to be satisfactory given the increased trading levels. Net cash at the year end was L4.5 million (1994: L6.1 million). Capital expenditure in the year totalled L1.2 million (excluding acquisitions) and represents investment in new training facilities, computer systems and the expansion of the distribution centre. The effective tax rate for the Group at 30.2% is less than last year at 33.5%. This primarily reflects the utilisation in part of tax losses which were brought into the Group on the acquisition of Azlan SA. As the Balance Sheet indicates, shareholders' funds have reduced in the year. This reflects the elimination of goodwill on the acquisitions in Denmark, France and Germany and follows UK accounting standards. This reduction does not signify sig·ni·fy v. sig·ni·fied, sig·ni·fy·ing, sig·ni·fies v.tr. 1. To denote; mean. 2. To make known, as with a sign or word: signify one's intent. any adverse comment on the quality or profitability of these acquisitions. Prospects It is the intention to continue to develop the Group as the leading value added distributor of network computing products and services across Europe. The Directors believe that the prospects for value added distribution are good as more manufacturers recognise the need to use distribution channels which offer a rapid, wide and low cost route to market with a high level of technical expertise and ability to create demand. Sales and operating profits in April and May are substantially ahead of last year and with this strong start the Group looks forward to a year of continuing success. -0-
Azlan Group PLC
Consolidated Profit & Loss Account
for the year ended 31 March 1995
(pounds sterling amounts in thousands)
1995 1994
Turnover Continuing operations 75,837 59,348 Acquisitions 14,651 2,158
90,488 61,506
Cost of sales (68,272) (46,596) Gross profit 22,216 14,910 Distribution costs (12,365) (6,729) Administrative expenses (5,520) (4,082)
Operating profit
Continuing operations 3,476 4,190
Acquisitions 855 (91)
4,331 4,099
Interest receivable and similar
income 48 41
Interest payable and similar
charges (473) (269)
Profit on ordinary activities before taxation 3,906 3,871 Tax on profit on ordinary activities (1,179) (1,298) Profit on ordinary activities after taxation 2,727 2,573 Minority interest - (112) Profit for the financial year 2,727 2,461 Dividends payable (677) (437) Retained profit for the financial year 2,050 2,024 Earnings per ordinary share of 5p 12.5p 12.4p
Consolidated Statement of Recognised Gains and Losses
for the year ended 31 March 1995
(pounds sterling amounts in thousands)
1995 1994
Profit before the deduction of dividends and minority interest 2,727 2,573 Differences in the net investments in foreign enterprises arising from changes in foreign currency exchange rates 131 3 Total recognised gains 2,858 2,576
Azlan Group PLC
Consolidated Balance Sheet
at 31 March 1995
(pounds sterling amounts in thousands)
1995 1995 1994 1994
Fixed assets
Intangible assets 21 33
Tangible assets 1,915 1,151
1,936 1,184
Current assets Stocks 9,859 4,576 Debtors 20,213 11,679 Cash at bank and in hand 4,452 6,103
34,524 22,358
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (28,421) (14,767) Net current assets 6,103 7,591 Total assets less current liabilities 8,039 8,775 Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year (2,065) (294) Net assets 5,974 8,481 Capital and reserves Called up share capital 1,092 1,092 Share premium account 5,683 5,691 Capital reserve 2,208 2,208 Profit and loss account 1,671 (510) Shareholders' funds before deduction of goodwill write off reserve 10,654 8,481 Goodwill write-off reserve (4,680) -
5,974 8,481
Azlan Group PLC
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
for the year ended 31 March 1995
(pounds sterling amounts in thousands)
1995 1995 1994 1994
Net cash inflow from operating activities 4,623 4,070 Return on investments and servicing of finance Interest received 48 41 Interest paid (425) (248) Interest on finance leases (48) (21) Dividends paid to minority interest - (112) Dividends paid to ordinary shareholders (655) - Net cash outflow from returns on investment and servicing of finance (1,080) (340) Taxation Corporation tax paid (1,416) (1,582) Investing activities Purchase of subsidiary undertaking (net of cash and cash equivalents acquired) (724) - Purchase of businesses by subsidiaries (1,959) (88) Payments to acquire tangible fixed assets (1,217) (882) Receipts from sales of tangible fixed assets 19 28 Payment to acquire intangible fixed assets - (17) Net cash outflow from investing activities (3,881) (959) Net cash (outflow)/inflow before financing (1,754) 1,189 Financing Gross flotation proceeds - 7,000 Costs of issuing new shares (8) (1,159) Other share issues - 9 Redemption of preference share capital - (1,625) New finance leases 181 442 Capital element of finance lease repayments (119) (61) Net cash inflow from financing 54 4,606 (Decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents (1,700) 5,795 Notes to the Profit and Loss Account 1. Turnover is analysed by geographical segment as follows:
1995 1994
(pounds sterling amounts in thousands)
By geographical location of origin:
United Kingdom 76,674 59,699
Germany 15,254 6,227
Scandinavia 6,704 2,158
France 14,651 -
113,283 68,084
Less intra-group
turnover (22,795) (6,578)
90,488 61,506
2. The proposed final dividend of 2.1p per share (net) for the year to 31 March 1995 will be paid on 31 August 1995 to shareholders on the register at 25 July 1995. 3. The calculation of earnings per ordinary share is based on profit for the financial year. The weighted average number of shares used in the calculation is 21,843,470 (1994: 19,867,294) 4. The financial information set out above does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 March 1995 or 1994. Statutory Accounts for 1994 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and those for 1995 will be delivered following the Company's Annual General Meeting. The Auditors have reported on these accounts; their reports are unqualified and do not contain statements under Section 237 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. 5. The Report and Accounts will be posted to shareholders. Additional copies can be obtained from the Company Secretary, Azlan Group PLC, Auster Road, Clifton Moorgate, York Y03 4XD. 6. The Annual General Meeting of Azlan Group PLC will be held at 1 Finsbury Avenue, London, EC2M 2PA on Thursday 10 August 1995 at 11.30 am. -0- CONTACT: Azlan Group PLC Christian Martin, 0171 404 5959 until 4:00 p.m. 01734 894 400 after 4:00 p.m. or Portfolio Communications Mike Gleeson Gleeson is an Irish surname. Gleeson was a translation of the Gaelic name O Glasain or O Gliasain. The name is first found in county Tipperary where they held a family seat from very ancient times. , 44 0171 240 6959 or Brunswick Brunswick, cities, United States Brunswick. 1 City (1990 pop. 16,433), seat of Glynn co., SE Ga., on St. Simon's Sound near the Atlantic coast; laid out 1771–72, inc. 1856. It is a port of entry with numerous container docks. Public Relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most Andrew Fenwick Fenwick may be: A location in the United Kingdom:
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