REG - Christie Group PLC - Final Results
24/04/2023 07:00
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RNS Number : 1151X Christie Group PLC 24 April 2023
24 April 2023
Christie Group plc
Preliminary results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2022
Christie Group plc ('Christie Group' or the 'Group'), the leading provider of
Professional & Financial Services (PFS) and Stock & Inventory Systems
& Services (SISS) to the hospitality, leisure, healthcare, medical,
childcare & education and retail sectors, is pleased to announce its
audited preliminary results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2022.
Key points:
· Strong revenue growth of 13% to £69.2m (2021: £61.3m)
· 5% increase in operating profit to £5.5m (2021: £5.2m) ahead of
original market expectation
· Has again sold in excess of 1,000 businesses during the year
· Excellent PFS performance - ahead of pre pandemic revenue levels
· SISS division largely re-established business as usual - although
not yet back to 2019 levels
· Earned revenues to replace £2.6m of government support that we
received in 2021
· Balance sheet significantly strengthened
· Elimination of pension deficits on both defined pension schemes -
which are now in surplus
· 56% improvement in net funds to £7.2m (2021: £4.6m)
· Final dividend increased by 25% to 2.50p (2021: 2.00p) to give
total in year of 3.75p (2021: 3.00p)
Commenting on the results, David Rugg, Chairman and Chief Executive of
Christie Group said:
"A very positive set of results in a year when we substantially grew
revenue, increased profit, grew cash & saw our balance sheet transformed."
Enquiries:
Christie Group plc
David Rugg 020 7227 0707
Chairman and Chief Executive
Daniel Prickett 020 7227 0700
Chief Operating Officer
Simon Hawkins 020 7227 0700
Group Finance Director
Shore Capital
Patrick Castle/Iain Sexton 020 7408 4090
Nominated Adviser & Broker
Notes to Editors:
Christie Group plc (CTG.L), quoted on AIM, is a leading professional business
services group with 38 offices across the UK and Europe, catering to its
specialist markets in the hospitality, leisure, healthcare, medical, childcare
& education and retail sectors.
Christie Group operates in two complementary business divisions:
Professional & Financial Services (PFS) and Stock & Inventory Systems
& Services (SISS). These divisions trade under the brand names: PFS
- Christie & Co, Pinders, Christie Finance and Christie Insurance: SISS
- Orridge, Venners and Vennersys.
Tracing its origins back to 1846, the Group has a long-established reputation
for offering valued services to client companies in agency, valuation
services, investment, consultancy, project management, multi-functional
trading systems and online ticketing services, stock audit and inventory
management. The diversity of these services provides a natural balance to the
Group's core agency business.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to
constitute inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the UK Market
Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 which is part of the UK law by virtue of
the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
For more information, please go to www.christiegroup.com
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___http:/www.christiegroup.com___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86ODMzYzJlNWNhZTYzNDZiMTM5ZGI2Yjg5MGE3NTA0Yzc6NjpmZGMyOmIxNDczNDBmZDI4MzQxYWJlOWEwNDUxMGJlZjhiODc0MzJkNmMyYjg2YTRiMzkxNThjODc3ZGYxMzVmMDBlN2E6cDpU)
.
CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REVIEW OF THE YEAR
Maximising the benefits of connectivity
I am delighted to report a very positive set of results for the year ended 31
December 2022. Building further on the prior year's excellent performance,
this time we delivered a 13% growth in Group revenues to £69.2m, underpinning
a 5% increase in operating profit to £5.5m (2021: £5.2m operating profit
from revenue of £61.3m).
The growth in revenue was particularly pleasing, as it was achieved despite
having to replace the £2.6m we received in Government support during 2021.
Our operating profit, too, was delivered in the face of a significant increase
in expenses as our business operations normalised during the year.
These results reflect the continuing strength of our recovery from the impact
of COVID-19. Our balance sheet is significantly stronger than 12 months ago,
not only because of our strong cash-generation but also due to the elimination
during the year of deficits on both our final-salary pension schemes, which
are now in surplus.
This removes the requirement to continue funding the ongoing deficit-repair
plan that was in place until this year. This cost approximately £1.0m in cash
per annum, equivalent to an additional dividend of approximately 4.0p per
share. Going forward, therefore, this cash should be available for alternative
purposes, such as investment to support our strategic aims and a progressive
dividend approach to reward our shareholders.
In addition, we paid off a further £2.0m of our Coronavirus Large Business
Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) loan during the year, which is on course to
be fully paid off by the end of June 2023. This will leave the Group with no
long-term debt, which is particularly pleasing having borrowed £6.0m in 2020.
Above all, however, this was a year when returning normality emphasised the
Christie Group's unique position as a leading specialist across multiple
sectors, affording unrivalled opportunity for connectivity and collaboration
between our operating divisions and their constituent companies.
To provide an operational overview, I would characterise 2022 as the year when
our Professional & Financial Services (PFS) division achieved full
recovery. There were also strong signs of recovery in our Stock &
Inventory Systems & Services (SISS) division, although progress was
initially slower in the hospitality sector, where restrictions were still in
place as late as April. Happily, uptake of our services accelerated as 2022
progressed.
This was also the year during which we focused more than ever before on
strengthening the connectivity between our Group companies. We did this in
several ways. First and foremost, we invested in our operational capabilities,
further expanding our Group Executives so as to include functional directors
responsible for marketing, HR and technology to increase the level of in-house
expertise available to our subsidiaries.
We also delivered a significant increase in the number of marketing campaigns
and other initiatives covering several Group companies. These included our
first Group Marketing Team day and a strengthened focus on collaboration and
knowledge-sharing between our social media and technology teams. We have also
strengthened our focus on training, including induction programmes for new
starters that introduce the wider Group.
As ever, there were significant levels of collaboration between our operating
companies as our people constantly sought opportunities to add value for
clients by drawing on the expertise of colleagues and teams from across the
Group.
The work of our teams has been widely recognised during the year, receiving an
exceptional number of industry awards and commendations. The total of 12
awards and commendations received across all our Group companies speaks
volumes for the way we are perceived in our markets.
We are continuously prepared to make the changes necessary to drive further
improvement. For example, I believe the creation of our focused
Cross-Fertilisation Committee will help us build further on the unique
advantages of our Group structure by exploring in greater depth than ever
before the opportunities offered by inter-company collaboration.
Overall, therefore, this was a great year of progress for the Christie Group,
and I would like to thank my colleagues in all departments, divisions and
operating companies for their contributions to our collective success and
return to 'normal' trading. I want in particular to welcome everybody who
joined us during the year and wish them well for a long and mutually
beneficial career with us.
Professional & Financial Services
I am very pleased again to report a tremendous result for our PFS division,
which built on the prior year's exceptional performance to exceed 2019 in
terms of both revenue (£47.4m) and operating profit (£7.6m). Our ability to
achieve this in the face of significantly higher business expenses than those
incurred during the COVID-19 crisis emphasises the strength of our recovery.
This is supported, at least in part, by the sectorisation of our advisory
businesses to focus on valuation and advisory services for all the sectors we
serve.
Christie & Co delivered a strong improvement in its trading performance,
particularly after a slow start to the year that was affected by the Omicron
variant. Once activity levels started to rise, however, we quickly saw rapid
uptake of our services in several core sectors. These included Pharmacy and
Dental in our Medical practice area, in both of which we managed the sales of
several multi-site practices. We also enabled landmark deals in both the
childcare and adult-care sectors, underpinning a strong performance across the
year.
This was the first year since 2019 when the pub industry could return to
unrestricted trading, and demand for valuations and consultancy showed
encouraging growth. Some early signs of distress in the hotel sector drove
demand for disposals and business reviews, and we strengthened our position as
the leading enabler in the UK hotel and leisure transactional market. The
Retail sector, too, showed signs of growth, with growth in garden-centre
activity reflecting the strength of the grey pound.
While around 50% of our hotels business is now outside the UK, the impact over
the last two years of COVID-19, associated with that of war in Ukraine, has
emphasised the risk associated with over-reliance on one industry. We are
therefore addressing our reliance on hotels by developing a second
international trade sector, on which we will report in due course.
Christie Finance delivered another strong year, with satisfactory growth in
both instruction numbers and average fee levels. We gained strongly from the
interconnection between Group companies, successfully financing 10% of all
business sales made by Christie & Co. We appointed new sector-leads in
multiple areas, including care, childcare & education, hospitality,
retail, pharmacy and dental, and anticipate accelerated revenue growth
throughout 2023 and beyond.
We exceeded budget in many areas at our Pinders valuation and consulting
business, achieving a remarkable combined value in excess of £1.4 billion
across all the properties it valued in 2022. A particular highlight was our
work alongside Christie & Co for London's Sterling Dental Group. Our
increased average fee levels combated inflationary pressures in salaries and
insurance costs.
Our Christie Insurance business successfully renewed the great majority of
existing commercial insurance client contracts, while supporting buyers and
borrowers with the key-man, mortgage-protection and other covers they require.
Stock & Inventory Systems & Services
This was the year in which the businesses in our SISS division largely
re-established business as usual, despite challenges involved with onboarding
and training many new team members. Although stocktaking levels are not yet at
their 2019 levels, the division drove revenues of £21.8m to deliver a reduced
operating loss of £2.1m. Given the conditions, this was a creditable
performance, that emphasises our progress in this area of the economy.
After a heavily COVID-affected start to 2022, our Venners hospitality
stocktaking business ended the year having won more new corporate clients than
in any other year in its 126-year history. As a result, the business returned
to profit, partly at least enabled by our work for leading household-name
businesses such as Brewdog, Stonegate and Revolution Bars.
Our Orridge retail-stocktaking business delivered a very strong year in terms
of service levels and operational performance as bounce-back became
increasingly visible in areas including shopping centres and retail parks.
With an emphasis on delivering market-leading service levels, we successfully
grew our business with clients including the Co-op, DHL and the Tesco-owned
One Stop convenience chain. Looking ahead, to protect us against any future
restrictions on entering client premises, we aim to balance our SISS division
by investing more in online stocktaking.
We developed a new internet-based journey for our Vennersys
software-as-a-service (SAAS) business during the year, which will increase
future online revenues. The company also made excellent progress in terms of
an expanded offering, both via its VenPos Cloud product and through links with
more than 900 other products used by leisure clients.
Looking ahead
On 28 June 2022, Christie & Co was instructed to launch a sales process of
the Four Seasons Health Care core property portfolio. The portfolio
comprises 111 core freehold care homes in England, Scotland and Jersey and
certain ancillary assets. The sales process has progressed well and has
generated significant market interest to date and we are actively engaged in
on-going diligence with potential purchasers currently. Subject to
maximising value for Four Season Health Care's creditors, and the
attractiveness of offers received, the sales process is expected to complete
later in 2023, with any sales subject to appropriate legal and regulatory
considerations.
Despite some continued negative political and economic headwinds, we regard
our future opportunities with optimism. As in previous years, we anticipate a
year with a stronger second half weighting. We believe we have the right mix
of services, the right people and the right commitment through a challenging
and supportive culture to complete the recovery of the Christie Group and
drive its constituent companies to new heights in the years ahead.
I am also pleased to announce that your Directors recommend a final dividend
of 2.50p per share (2021: 2.00p), increasing the total dividend for the year
to 3.75p (2021: 3.00p). If approved, the dividend will be paid on 7 July 2023
to those shareholders on the register on 9 June 2023.
David Rugg
Chairman and Chief Executive
21 April 2023
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER'S REVIEW
Having navigated the challenges that stubbornly remained at the start of the
year with the ongoing Covid restrictions, I am pleased to be able to write a
review which comments on a number of positive achievements across both of our
divisions and all seven of our brands.
Our Professional & Financial Services ("PFS") Division delivered growth in
both revenues and operating profit and benefitted from profitable
contributions from all our sector teams and all four of our trading brands.
In our Stock & Inventory Systems & Services ("SISS") division, the
headline financials continue to illustrate challenges that remain, notably an
operating loss of £2.1m for the year. However, the division grew revenues in
the year by 25%, absorbed the cessation of furlough support of £2.6m received
in 2021 and after a very difficult first quarter, saw its hospitality stock
audit business return to trading profitably over the remainder of the year
with a record number of corporate sales wins and well placed for further
growth in 2023. Moving forwards, our management teams across the division
are intensely focused on delivering the growth in revenues and maintenance of
margins required to restore the division to profit.
Professional & Financial Services Division
Christie & Co, our agency and advisory business, continued the activity
levels it had achieved in 2021 with an excellent 2022. The year began a little
slowly, but soon picked up to maintain and in some areas improve on the
performance of the previous year. Transactional volumes were very close to
2021, with our UK and European operations once again selling just under 1,100
businesses in the year. However, in terms of the value of those businesses
sold, 2022 saw a 14.5% increase, with Christie & Co acting on the sale of
£1.5bn worth of asset sales (2021: £1.3bn).
Our Medical team delivered a strong performance, with fee income up 11% on
2021. The Dental and Pharmacy teams were both involved in a number of
portfolio transactions, advising on the sale of Dawood & Tanner to Dentex,
the sale of the UK-wide Hanji Dental Group to Riverdale Healthcare and the
16-strong Hub Pharmacy Group to Allcures plc.
We saw positive signs of recovery across the UK hotel sector in 2022, which
was reflected in Christie & Co's own Hotel team performance, albeit ahead
of economic headwinds for the sector which are expected to impact owners and
operators in 2023. Notable deals for the team included the Premier Inn in
Glasgow City Centre and The Metropole Hotel & Spa in Llandrindod Wells. As
some distressed activity returned to the sector, our Consultancy team were
also engaged in a number of independent business reviews.
Internationally our teams were busy again on a variety of assignments. In the
Nordics we provided a feasibility study for the hotel which forms part of the
Arena 3.3 indoor-arena project near Helsinki. In Austria, we completed the
sale of Hotel Bassena Kagran, Vienna, having originally been instructed in
March 2020 on a forward deal where the buyer paused due to the onset of
Covid-19. In Germany, we acted on the sale of the newly built Hamburg
Residence Inn/Moxy on behalf of a German developer having successfully
identified a European institutional investor as a buyer for the hotel.
In Spain and Portugal our teams were more active than they had been for
several years on both agency and consultancy assignments. In France, our
Bordeaux office completed the swift sale of the Mercure Libourne St Emilion, a
4-star property with 81 rooms.
Returning to the UK, the Pubs & Restaurant sectors remained confronted by
challenges and this undoubtedly impacted on the transactional market in 2022.
Cost pressures had an acute effect on operator margins. Nonetheless, our teams
were instructed on a number of assignments, including acting on the sale by
Berkeley Inns Limited of two of their Derbyshire sites to RedCat Pub Company
and the sale of the profitable freehold restaurant, The Bull Auberge, Ipswich,
after 27 years' private ownership.
Confidence and growth appetite returned to the Childcare & Education
sector in 2022. Our Childcare & Education team delivered an impressive 46%
year-on-year growth in fee income, with highlights including the sale of The
Egg Day Nursery Portfolio in Hampshire to Busy Bees and the sale of the former
Hawley Place School campus, Surrey, to a private SEMH school operator
following appointment by the Administrators.
2022 was an outstanding year for Care transactions, a sector in which Christie
& Co continues to lead the way. Highlights included brokering the sale for
Aspire LLP of a development site in Kent with planning consent for a
64-bedroom care home to Barchester Healthcare, the sale of four high quality
care homes in Bristol and South Gloucestershire by Grove Care Ltd to dementia
and nursing care provider, Allegra Care and the acquisition by Anchor of the
entire share capital of Halcyon Care Homes Topco Limited in a deal comprising
a new build leasehold platform of 11 residential care homes.
In the face of rising operational costs and record inflation levels, the UK's
convenience retail, petrol retailing and garden centre markets have proved to
be more resilient than ever. Our team continued to gain instructions across
all three areas of the sector. Our capabilities were illustrated by the
confidential sale, on behalf of D&S Retail group, of six high turnover
leasehold convenience stores located throughout the East Riding of Yorkshire
to Naeem Ahmad, a growing multi-site operator based in the North of England.
PFS divisional KPIs 2022 2021
Total businesses sold 1,057 1,069
% Increase / (decrease) in average fee per business sold 14.4% (8.8%)
Total value of businesses sold (£m) 1,493 1,304
Total valuations carried out (units) 5,515 3,705
% increase in average fee per valuation 0.7% 1.8%
Value of businesses valued (£m) 10,057 7,622
% increase in number of loan offers secured 4.2% (5.1%)
Average loan size (£'000) 440 457
Lenders continue to recognise the objectivity and service levels that our
businesses consistently deliver. Both Christie & Co and Pinders
successfully sustained all of their panel positions during 2022, as well as
adding several new lenders.
Our Valuation teams in both businesses were extremely busy. In aggregate
across the two businesses, we valued over £10 billion worth of businesses, a
32% increase on the previous year, as we benefitted from an increase in
revaluation activity among existing lenders. We valued 49% more units than we
did in 2021, completing valuations on over 5,500 units.
Average fee levels reflect the completion of a number of larger portfolio
assignments which contributed to the significant increase in volume, ensuring
that in aggregate we were able to deliver double-digit year-on-year revenue
growth from our Valuation and Business Appraisal activities. Highlights
included the provision of existing and proposed valuations by Pinders which
supported the successful development of the Bluebell Dental Practice in
Chigwell and the valuation by Christie & Co of a 700-pitch holiday and
residential park portfolio in the North West of England, in support of a £10m
acquisition.
The dramatic increase in base rates during the year has impacted lender
assessments of borrowing affordability. Christie Finance did not see any
meaningful new entrants into the lending market during 2022 but were still
able to secure offers of finance from 40 different lenders and completed loans
via 33. Challenger banks continue to provide a route for accessing finance in
our sectors, with 75% of Christie Finance's 'core' commercial mortgage loan
offers obtained from challengers, as high street lenders continue to adopt a
more conservative approach.
While average loan sizes were down slightly at £440k versus £457k a year
ago, activity levels reflected our finance brokerage team's ability to
consistently obtain solutions for their clients. Offers of finance secured
increased by 13% in our Core division. In our Unsecured division, average debt
size increased by 7%, highlighting the attraction and availability of
unsecured borrowing for owners and operators.
Christie Finances ability to source debt from intra-group referrals continues
to be a strength and an opportunity. One such example in the year was the
Chequers Inn, Worcestershire where the vendor had appointed Christie & Co
to broker the sale of the business but Christie Finance helped the buyer - an
established operator in the sector, obtain finance via a digital bank that
would otherwise have been inaccessible.
Investing for growth and continuing to plan for the future, Christie Finance
increased their headcount by 12.5% in the year adding new starters across
their Core, Unsecured and Corporate divisions.
2022 also saw Christie Finance continuing to be recognised as experts in their
field, receiving a highly commended award for 'Deal of the Year' from the
National Association of Commercial Financial Brokers (NACFB).
Our insurance brokerage business, Christie Insurance, experienced a 2022
insurance market where premiums continued to harden, in some areas quite
significantly. Underwriting capacity in certain sectors diminished sharply.
Insurers remained averse to underwriting new business in the Care sector in
particular, which remains a feature of the post-Covid environment. Inflation
across the global economy has driven up the costs of repair of almost all
asset classes, and insurers are focusing on the true cost of repair when
setting premiums. A good broker, with in-depth knowledge of specific sectors,
remains a valuable relationship for any business owner.
Stock & Inventory Systems & Services Division
In our stocktaking businesses, which serve the Hospitality, Retail and
Pharmacy sectors, the year saw a significant growth in activity, despite the
disruptive effects of Q1 Covid-19 restrictions and a challenging recruitment
market. Overall stocktaking activity was up by more than 33% on a year
earlier.
Our hospitality Stock Audit, Compliance and Consultancy business, Venners,
continued its post-Covid recovery, ultimately delivering an encouraging 2022
performance after a tough first quarter. Sales activity throughout the year
was strong, with a number of corporate client wins in the year. The business
issued more quotations in the year than its previous record year of 2019, and
successfully converted more than 51% of those quotes to wins.
A scarcity of labour in the first half of the year subdued the pace of
recovery that would otherwise have been achieved with the strong demand for
its services but the business acted decisively, introducing a number of
employee-focused measures which enabled a growth in headcount in the second
half of the year and an improved level of staff retention.
This increase in capacity - delivered gradually through the second half of the
year - was combined with a robust approach to pricing in the face of strong
inflationary pressures, with average fee levels up nearly 10% over the year.
Venners ended 2022 with stock audit volumes up over 50% on the previous year.
Despite this, they remained at only 70% of their 2019 levels, highlighting the
further growth opportunities that remain as operators in the sector continued
to recognise the need for good stock and margin control.
The value that Venners' Compliance and Consultancy services can also bring to
clients was endorsed by Stonegate's re-engagement of Venners for its critical
cash and security audits across their night-time venues.
SISS divisional KPIs 2022 2021
Total stocktakes & audits carried out (number of jobs) 53,818 40,341
% increase in average income per job 4.7% 3.1%
% of visitor attraction client admissions purchased online 53.7% 62.0%
Orridge remains well placed to assist retailers with the challenges they face.
Supply chain issues, stock loss and stock availability can all be improved by
Orridge's stocktaking services. While consumer retail spending continues to
gravitate towards online shopping, reducing the number of physical stores, the
overall retail market remains substantial and provides significant opportunity
for growth whether that be to aid in-store stock control or ensuring goods-in
processes and procedures are efficient at the growing number of distribution
centres. Recognising this opportunity, Orridge were successful in winning
several new Supply Chain clients in 2022 and will begin to expand their Supply
Chain services in Europe in 2023.
Its own post-Covid recovery continued with the number of stocktaking jobs it
undertook across the UK and Europe up by 18% on 2021 levels. Service levels
and on-the-job operating margins both remained strong, providing the platform
for a successful year in terms of key client retention.
In the Pharmacy sector from which Orridge originated in 1846, gaining reliable
stock valuations at a time of sale or purchase remain as indispensable as
ever. Whether that be from referrals from Christie & Co, or
independently won work, Orridge remains a leader in a UK sector with over
14,000 sites. It grew pharmacy stocktaking revenues by over 12% in the year,
with change-of-ownership valuations complimenting more regular stocktaking
requirements from clients.
Our SaaS ticketing and visitor-management solutions business, Vennersys
continued to progress. While the proportion of visitors choosing to purchase
their tickets online fell back to just under 54% in comparison to the levels
of 60% and above that we saw in 2020 and 2021, this remains a significant and
positive change in purchasing behaviour to that which prevailed pre-pandemic.
Indeed, Vennersys' 2022 revenues earned from their clients' own e-ticketing
admissions and online sales stood at 277% of their 2019 levels.
As smaller and medium sized attractions emerged from the pandemic with
inflationary pressures looming large, they exercised caution in making
investment decisions. As a consequence, after a more subdued first half we saw
sales activity gather momentum in the latter part of the year as clients
looked to the first half of 2023 with their new system installation plans.
For existing clients, we continued to offer additional solutions and
enhancements through the integration power of Venpos Connect and additional
applications available through Venpos Cloud such as Campaign Monitor, Shopify
and Microsoft Power BI.
Summary
We ended 2022 having achieved an operating profit of £5.5m (2021: £5.2m)
from revenue of £69.2m (2021: £61.3m). That translates to an operating
profit margin of 7.9% but with significant opportunities ahead of us to seek
to improve on those performance measures. All of our businesses are capable of
assisting and benefitting from each other, to a greater extent than they
already do, and all of our businesses have growth opportunities that they have
the potential to take advantage of. We should continue to look forward with
optimism.
Dan Prickett
Chief Operating Officer
21 April 2023
CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
For the year ended 31 December 2022
2022 2021
£'000 £'000
Revenue 69,192 61,252
Other income - government grants 34 2,592
Employee benefit expenses (47,390) (44,332)
21,836 19,512
Other operating expenses (16,384) (14,318)
Operating profit 5,452 5,194
Finance costs (1,077) (1,329)
Finance income 49 26
Total finance costs (1,028) (1,303)
Profit before tax 4,424 3,891
Taxation (1,213) (316)
Profit after tax 3,211 3,575
Earnings per share
Basic 12.32 13.71
Diluted 12.15 13.34
All amounts derive from continuing activities.
All profit after tax is attributable to the equity shareholders of the parent.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these preliminary results.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
For the year ended 31 December 2022
2022 2021
£'000 £'000
Profit after tax 3,211 3,575
Other comprehensive income:
Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:
Exchange differences on translating foreign operations (119) 100
Net other comprehensive (loss)/income to be reclassified to profit or loss in (119) 100
subsequent years
Items that will not be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:
Actuarial gains on defined benefit plans 20,616 13,181
Effect of asset ceiling (13,896) (1,788)
6,720 11,393
Income tax effect on defined benefit plans (3,759) (2,089)
Income tax effect of asset ceiling 1,748 447
(2,011) (1,642)
Net other comprehensive income not being reclassified to profit or loss in 4,709 9,751
subsequent years
Other comprehensive income for the year net of tax 4,590 9,851
Total comprehensive income for the year 7,801 13,426
Total comprehensive income is attributable to the equity shareholders of the
parent.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these preliminary results.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
As at 31 December 2022
For the year ended 31 December 2021 Share capital Cumulative translation reserve Retained earnings Total equity £'000
£'000 Other reserves £'000 £'000
£'000
Balance at 1 January 2021 531 5,462 586 (17,972) (11,393)
Profit for the year after tax - - - 3,575 3,575
Other comprehensive income - - 100 9,751 9,851
Total comprehensive profit for the year - - 100 13,326 13,426
Movement in respect of employee share scheme - (278) - - (278)
Employee share option scheme
- value of services provided - 62 - - 62
Dividends paid - - - (260) (260)
Transactions with shareholders - (216) - (260) (476)
Balance at 31 December 2021 531 5,246 686 (4,906) 1,557
For the year ended 31 December 2022 Share capital Cumulative translation reserve Retained earnings Total equity £'000
£'000 Other reserves £'000 £'000
£'000
Balance at 1 January 2022 531 5,246 686 (4,906) 1,557
Profit for the year after tax - - - 3,211 3,211
Other comprehensive (loss)/income - - (119) 4,709 4,590
Total comprehensive (loss)/profit for the year - - (119) 7,920 7,801
Movement in respect of employee share scheme - (184) - - (184)
Employee share option scheme
- value of services provided - 66 - - 66
Dividends paid - - - (844) (844)
Transactions with shareholders - (118) - (844) (962)
Balance at 31 December 2022 531 5,128 567 2,170 8,396
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
At 31 December 2022
2022 2021
£'000 £'000
Assets
Non-current assets
Intangible assets - Goodwill 1,843 1,800
Intangible assets - Other 1,104 1,043
Property, plant and equipment 1,178 1,346
Right of use assets 6,397 5,106
Deferred tax assets 1,565 3,460
Other receivables 2,811 2,555
14,898 15,310
Current assets
Inventories 25 15
Trade and other receivables 12,437 12,502
Current tax assets 238 946
Cash and cash equivalents 8,839 8,167
21,539 21,630
Total assets 36,437 36,940
Equity
Share capital 531 531
Other reserves 5,128 5,246
Cumulative translation reserve 567 686
Retained earnings 2,170 (4,906)
Total equity 8,396 1,557
Liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Trade and other payables 620 546
Retirement benefit obligations 953 8,997
Lease liabilities 8,731 7,488
Borrowings - 1,000
Provisions 1,383 1,352
11,687 19,383
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 11,463 10,863
Lease liabilities 1,297 1,170
Current tax liabilities 840 299
Borrowings 1,623 2,568
Provisions 1,131 1,100
16,354 16,000
Total liabilities 28,041 35,383
Total equity and liabilities 36,437 36,940
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these preliminary results.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
For the year ended 31 December 2022
Note 2022 2021
£'000 £'000
Cash flow from operating activities
Cash generated from operations 6,306 3,197
Interest paid (975) (982)
Tax (paid)/received (200) 96
Net cash generated from operating activities 5,131 2,311
Cash flow from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (334) (147)
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment 1 22
Intangible asset expenditure (454) (388)
Interest received 49 26
Net cash used in investing activities (738) (487)
Cash flow from financing activities
Repayment of bank loan (2,000) (2,000)
Net drawdown of invoice finance 55 81
Repayment of lease liabilities (925) (1,036)
Dividends paid (844) (260)
Net cash used in generated financing activities (3,714) (3,215)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash 679 (1,391)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 8,167 9,565
Exchange gains on euro bank accounts (7) (7)
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year 8,839 8,167
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these preliminary results.
NOTES TO THE PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT
1. BASIS OF PREPARATION
The financial information set out in this announcement does not comprise the
Company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2022 or 31
December 2021.
The financial information has been extracted from the statutory accounts of
the Company for the years ended 31 December 2022 and 31 December 2021. The
auditors reported on those accounts; their reports were unqualified.
The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021 have been delivered
to the Registrar of Companies, whereas those for the year ended 31 December
2022 will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the Company's
Annual General Meeting.
While the financial information included in this preliminary announcement has
been prepared in accordance with the recognition and measurement criteria of
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), this announcement does
not itself contain sufficient information to comply with IFRSs. The Company
expects to publish full financial statements that comply with IFRSs in June
2023.
These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented, unless
otherwise stated.
2. SEGMENT INFORMATION
The Group is organised into three main operating segments: Professional
& Financial Services (PFS), Stock & Inventory Systems & Services
(SISS) and Other.
The segment results for the year ended 31 December 2022 are as follows:
PFS SISS Other Group
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Total gross segment sales 47,487 21,815 - 69,302
Inter-segment sales (110) - - (110)
Revenue 47,377 21,815 - 69,192
Operating profit/(loss) 7,570 (2,118) - 5,452
Finance costs (554) (292) (182) (1,028)
Profit/(loss) before tax 7,016 (2,410) (182) 4,424
Taxation (1,213)
Profit for the year after tax 3,211
The segment results for the year ended 31 December 2021 are as follows:
PFS SISS Other Group
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Total gross segment sales 43,882 17,480 3,454 64,816
Inter-segment sales (110) - (3,454) (3,564)
Revenue 43,772 17,480 - 61,252
Operating profit/(loss) 7,565 (2,371) - 5,194
Finance costs (843) (239) (221) (1,303)
Profit/(loss) before tax 6,722 (2,610) (221) 3,891
Taxation (316)
Profit for the year after tax 3,575
Revenue is allocated below based on the entity's country of domicile.
2022 2021
£'000 £'000
Revenue
Europe 69,176 61,202
Rest of the World 16 50
69,192 61,252
3. DIVIDENDS
A final dividend in respect of the year ended 31 December 2022 of 2.50p per
share (2021: 2.00p), amounting to a payment of £663,000 (2021: £520,000) is
to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting on 14 June 2023.
In the year the Group paid an interim dividend of 1.25p per share (2021:
1.00p) totalling £324,000 (2021: £260,000).
4. EARNINGS PER SHARE
Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit attributable to
equity holders of the Company by the weighted average number of ordinary
shares in issue during the year, which excludes the shares held in the
Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) trust.
2022 2021
£'000 £'000
Profit attributable to equity holders of the Company 3,211 3,575
Thousands Thousands
Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue 26,062 26,071
Adjustment for share options 361 729
Weighted average number of ordinary shares for diluted earnings per share 26,423 26,800
Pence Pence
Basic earnings per share 12.32 13.71
Diluted earnings per share 12.15 13.34
5. NOTES TO THE CASH FLOW STATEMENT
Cash generated from operations 2022 2021
£'000 £'000
Profit for the year after tax 3,211 3,575
Adjustments for:
Taxation 1,213 316
Finance costs 1,028 1,303
Depreciation 1,463 1,599
Amortisation of intangible assets 388 383
Profit on sale of property, plant and equipment - (14)
Increase in provisions 62 291
Payments to ESOT (284) (175)
Foreign currency translation (437) 143
Share option charge 66 62
Movement in non-current other receivables (256) (292)
Movement in working capital:
Decrease in inventories (10) 9
(Decrease)/increase in trade and other receivables 65 (1,878)
(Decrease)/increase in trade and other payables (203) (2,125)
Cash generated from operations 6,306 3,197
Report and Accounts
Copies of the 2022 Annual Report and Accounts will be posted to shareholders
in May. Further copies may be obtained by contacting the Company Secretary
at the registered office. Alternatively, the 2022 Annual Report and Accounts
will be available to download from the investors section on the Company's
website www.christiegroup.com
Key dates
The Annual General Meeting of the Company is scheduled to take place at
10.00am on Wednesday 14 June 2023 at Whitefriars House, 6 Carmelite Street,
London, EC4Y 0BS.
Group Companies
Professional & Financial Services
Christie & Co
Christie & Co is the leading specialist firm providing business intelligence in the hospitality, leisure, healthcare, medical, childcare & education and retail sectors. A leader in its specialist markets, it employs the largest team of sector experts in the UK & Europe providing professional agency, valuation and consultancy services.
www.christie.com (https://url.avanan.click/v2/___http:/www.christie.com___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86ODMzYzJlNWNhZTYzNDZiMTM5ZGI2Yjg5MGE3NTA0Yzc6Njo2MTZmOmJlNGE4ODYyYTA4MGVkNmNmYmU0OGIxNTQ1NjUzN2QzNzIwZDUwNWQ2OGZlZjNkNWZmY2JlNzNlNmU3ZTc1NjU6cDpU)
Christie Finance
Christie Finance has 40 years' experience in financing businesses in the hospitality, leisure, healthcare, medical, childcare & education, retail and medical sectors. Christie Finance prides itself on its speed of response to client opportunities and its strong relationships with finance providers.
www.christiefinance.com (https://url.avanan.click/v2/___http:/www.christiefinance.com___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86ODMzYzJlNWNhZTYzNDZiMTM5ZGI2Yjg5MGE3NTA0Yzc6NjoyNDA1OjU1ZDhmMjQyYzE0NmQ5NzViN2UwNTNhMGNlN2I4NTZlMGYwMjdhMjg3NGJmZjEzNDMwNDNhNDRmYjlkMTg2ODU6cDpU)
Christie Insurance
Christie Insurance has over 40 years' experience arranging business insurance in the hospitality, leisure, healthcare, medical, childcare & education and retail sectors. It delivers and exceeds clients' expectations in terms of the cost of their insurance and the breadth of its cover.
www.christieinsurance.com (https://url.avanan.click/v2/___http:/www.christieinsurance.com___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86ODMzYzJlNWNhZTYzNDZiMTM5ZGI2Yjg5MGE3NTA0Yzc6NjoyMTI5Ojk4ZGUxNmFkNmM3N2YyMWY1ZjJhNjA1YjEwYjRkYzM0NGVjZTQ1OTZhYmQzM2M4ZjQ0MzJiMDA4Njg0YWJmZmI6cDpU)
Pinders
Pinders is the UK's leading specialist business appraisal, valuation and
consultancy company, providing professional services to the licensed, leisure,
retail and care sectors, and also the commercial and corporate business
sectors. Its Building Consultancy Division offers a full range of project
management, building monitoring and building surveying services. Pinders staff
use business analysis and surveying skills to look at the detail of the
businesses to arrive at accurate assessments of their trading potential and
value.
www.pinders.co.uk
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___http:/www.pinders.co.uk___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86ODMzYzJlNWNhZTYzNDZiMTM5ZGI2Yjg5MGE3NTA0Yzc6Njo0ZTZhOmYxMWQxOWU5MzU5OWNkZWJmOGY1YjExNTIxMmI0YjNhY2E4YTU4OWFkYzU5Mzc4NTJlODdjMzU3NmRkZjIzOWU6cDpU)
Stock & Inventory Systems & Services
Orridge
Orridge is Europe's longest established stocktaking business specialising in all fields of retail stocktaking including high street, warehousing and factory operations, pharmacy and supply chain services. It also has a specialised pharmacy division providing valuation and stocktaking services. Orridge prides itself in its ability to deliver high-quality management information to its clients effectively and conveniently.
www.orridge.eu
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___http:/www.orridge.eu___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86ODMzYzJlNWNhZTYzNDZiMTM5ZGI2Yjg5MGE3NTA0Yzc6NjozNmEwOjhiMzg4YTY1YzIxNWIyMmZiOWZhNDQ0ZTk4NGMwNzQ4MWRkMDMwOGY1NWIwZWRmYTE5MzU5NDYxYmY2NWQ3YzE6cDpU)
Venners
Venners is the leading supplier of stocktaking, inventory, consultancy &
compliance services and related stock management systems to the hospitality
sector. Consultancy & compliance services include control audits and live
event stock taking. Bespoke software and systems enable real-time management
reporting to customers using the best available technologies. Venners is the
largest and longest established stock audit company in the sector in the UK.
www.venners.com
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___http:/www.venners.com___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86ODMzYzJlNWNhZTYzNDZiMTM5ZGI2Yjg5MGE3NTA0Yzc6Njo0YjRlOjYyYjE3YjUwNGFiZDZkMGIxMWRkMTlmMzhkNWI0ODhiYWI2Y2MzNjgxMjgyOWIwMTUzNmU1NWJhMTBmYzk5ZDM6cDpU)
Vennersys
Vennersys operates in the UK and deliveries online Cloud-based ticketing sales
and admission Systems to visitor attractions such as historic houses and
estates, museums, zoos, safari parks, aquaria and cinemas. It has over 25
years' experience delivering purpose-designed solutions for clients'
ticketing, admissions, EPoS and food and beverages sales requirements.
www.vennersys.co.uk
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___http:/www.vennersys.co.uk___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86ODMzYzJlNWNhZTYzNDZiMTM5ZGI2Yjg5MGE3NTA0Yzc6NjplY2QzOjlkNWNiNjczMTU1NmM3NzNlMTFlZjA5ZmM0ZDg3ZDE4ZjBjZDhlNGVkOWNhYzc1NmM2MDIzYzk3OWZkZDZlNDM6cDpU)
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