Audited Final Results for the period ended 31 March 2012
Posted by tnh at 15:00, August 31 2012.
TIDMTRAFPL
Audited Final Results for the period ended 31 March 2012
31 August 2012
Page 2
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
It is with great pleasure that I present the Report and Accounts for the Company for the period ended 31st March 2012.
The year has seen great changes in the Company. On 13th September 2011 completion of the Administration Procedure of the Company was announced, confirming that the Company was no longer in Administration.
On 13th October 2011 the Company announced that it had entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of Combe Bank Homes Ltd and its subsidiaries ("CBH") by the issue of new shares in the Company. CBH was established in 2006 to undertake residential development in both new build and conversions/refurbishments.
On 11th November 2011 the Company was pleased to announce both completion of the acquisition of CBH and the re-
At the same time Mr. Robert McKendrick and Mr. James Reid resigned as Directors of the Company and Christopher Johnson and Alexander Johnson, the Directors of CBH, joined the Board as Executive Directors of your Company, forming the new management team. Mr. Andrew Moore subsequently resigned his Directorship of the Company for personal reasons but continues to undertake the Company Secretarial role.
Following the issue of shares at the time of the completion of the Administration and the issue of shares for the acquisition of CBH, the Company now has 214,375,200 ordinary shares in issue.
On 6th December 2011, Mr. Norman Lott FCA was appointed a Non-
I was delighted to accept the role of Chairman of this Company as I have a strong belief in the management team, having known them for many years. I believe that they will successfully pursue their stated aim to make this Company and its subsidiaries a force to be reckoned with in the house building market in the South East of England, their chosen area of operation.
The benefit of the acquisition of CBH and its subsidiaries can be seen in the results for the financial period ended 31st March 2012 which shows a post tax profit for the financial period of GBP208,464 (year ended 30 November 2010: loss of GBP903,100) and earnings of 0.1p per ordinary share (year ended 30 November 2010: loss per ordinary share of 0.47p). This is however, after writing-
I am encouraged by the growth strategy now in place, with development underway on sites, which are anticipated to contribute to the Company's financial performance for the years ending March 2013 and 2014.
It leaves me now only to thank those who have served the Company through its difficult times and to congratulate my fellow board members on their efforts in achieving a positive set of results for the period under review, enabling us all to look forward to the future with optimism.
James Dubois
Chairman
Operations Review
The last year has seen the Group make great progress in fulfilling its aim to be a force in the house building market, in its chosen geographical area of operation which remains primarily Kent, East Sussex, Surrey and the outer London M25 ring.
The year under review has seen an improvement in the fortunes of house building companies generally and it is no surprise that we are no exception. However, the very satisfactory results achieved are exciting and augur well for the future.
At the start of the last financial period the Group was on site and building out developments at Deal and Aylesford in Kent and Crowborough in East Sussex and undertaking a project management role for a fee on a development in Frant Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. The type of housing units being developed ranged from one bed starter homes to an executive five bed detached house. The sites were all in the preferred range, being one to twenty unit sites. No flat developments were undertaken during the period. All the houses were completed and sold contributing to the turnover for the period and the profit.
The consolidated profit of GBP499,536 (year ended 30 November 2010: loss of GBP903,100) before exceptional costs of GBP291,075 (year ended 30 November 2010: nil) is a good start. The losses carried forward from previous years indicate that it is unlikely that there will be a tax charge in 2012 or 2013.
The success of our development activities through the period is shown in the gross profit achieved for the period under review; this profitability being further enhanced by the addition of rental income generated from some of the developments undertaken by the Group in previous periods which were retained and rented out owing to a lack lustre sales market at the time.
The period under review also saw us commence work on our flagship site at Oakhurst Park Gardens, Hildenborough, Kent and our site at Edenbridge, Kent. These two sites (of 24 units in total) should generate a substantial turnover over the two financial years ended 31.03.2013 and 31.03.2014.
During the current period, we also intend to start work on two smaller sites owned by the Company in Sheerness, Kent (six units) and Chatham, Kent (three units).
As stated in the Company's circular to shareholders dated 8th November, 2011, the declaration and payment of dividends is at the discretion of the Board and depends upon future funding requirements, profits generated and the available reserves of the Company. It remains the Board's intention to give consideration to the payment of a dividend as soon as possible.
We continue to negotiate the purchase of a number of sites, some with planning permission and some without planning consent where we are confident that we will obtain planning permission, which should result in an enhancement of the land value accordingly. We have and are entering into options and conditional contracts on
land in our chosen area of operation, to ensure continuity of development activity, with a view to laying the ground work for 2015 and onwards.
The principal area of operations for the Group has remained Kent and the Southern outer London Boroughs, Surrey and East Sussex. We intend for the Group to continue its successful policy of developing property of high quality in its chosen area. It will continue to pursue an aggressive, but controlled land acquisition programme to satisfy the likely needs and demands of house buyers, preferring to develop a broad and varied range of residential homes.
As mentioned above, our forward land supply situation has remained good and we have sites which are either being developed out now or owned by us or are in the throes of being acquired, either conditionally or unconditionally with or without planning permission, which should contribute to the Company's anticipated financial performance for 2013 and beyond.
On the financial side, I am very pleased to report that our main Bankers have continued their full support for the Group and its activities and remain prepared to lend on sensible terms for both land acquisition and construction cost. We have three main Bankers now lending to us to support our activities and development programme and the cost of our borrowing remains very competitive. The Johnson family will continue to support the Group in its activities, via their established loan accounts providing the necessary financial support to cover the balance of monies needed to buy land and build out sites and for overheads.
The PLUSquotation of the Company's shares may, in due course, be a further source of capital funding. The Group intends to capitalise upon its funding sources to acquire and develop prime new build land sites on a favourable cost base, where opportunities arise and it is prudent so to do.
By continuing to outsource most of our activities, we are able to keep our overheads very low and thereby increase profitability accordingly. Your executive management team of myself and Alex Johnson have, between us, more than forty years experience in the house building industry, our collective experience enabling us to handle 'in house' almost any eventuality that might arise and cover all aspects of land acquisition, development and sales and marketing.
We continue to be able to negotiate satisfactory building prices with our favoured contractors and, notwithstanding any increase in building prices generally (and despite delays in the planning process being experienced throughout the industry), we are confident of developing out sufficient sites to continue the Group's growth trend.
The outsourcing by the Group of construction work and professional services and the operation of a minimal head office centre, with low fixed overheads, enables the Group to scale up or down the trading activity very quickly to react to changing market conditions and opportunities.
Needless to say, we are working tirelessly to achieve an increase in the profile of our product at the same time as working to increase profitability and the potential for dividends to be payable to shareholders in the future as a result.
Finally, we remain committed to providing quality homes in areas of undoubted demand at realistic prices.
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