Released: 05/11/2008
com:20081105:RnsE4518H
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RNS Number : 4518H
Spiritel PLC
05 November 2008
5 November 2008
SPIRITEL PLC
("SpiriTel", "the Group" or "the Company")
TRADING UPDATE
SpiriTel plc, (AIM: STP), the business communications service provider, today
issues an update on current trading for the six months to 31 October 2008.
* First halfrevenue expected to be not less than £10.50million (2007: £6.84
million), up 54%
* Underlying EBITDA**expected to be not less than £0.85 million (2007: £0.23
million), up 270%
* Balance sheet restructure including conversion of Penta debt at significant
premium to share price delivering £800,000 annual interest savings
* Penta debt reduced from £11.46 million at 30 April 2008 to £7.85 million at
31 October 2008
* On track to meet current market expectations for the full year
Revenue for the first half of the current year to 30 April 2009 is expected to
be over 54% ahead of the comparable period from last year with Underlying
EBITDA** profitability increasing by 270%. The Company's funding partner, Penta
Capital, remains fully committed to the business and during the period converted
£3.2m of loan facilities to ordinary shares at prices of 1.1p and 1.5p per
share. Penta now holds 313.8 million shares in SpiriTel, representing 49.99% of
the issued ordinary shares of the Company.
The significant improvement in financial performance is a result of both organic
and acquisitive growth. The management team is successfully implementing the
Group's strategy of acquiring complementary businesses with corporate customer
bases, integrating the acquired businesses quickly and efficiently, and driving
organic growth from the cross-selling opportunities presented by a rapidly
growing customer base. During the period, SpiriTel completed the integration of
WN1 (a B2B mobile reseller) and acquired and integrated ED Communications (a
network services provider). Performance of both acquisitions has, to date,
exceeded management expectations. The results for the first half will reflect
only a partial contribution from ED Communications, which was acquired in August
2008.
The Company recently announced a £1 million, three year managed service
agreement with Young and Co.'s, Brewery Plc. Work on the contract will commence
this month and represents further progress toward the key strategic objective of
increasing future earnings visibility.
Commenting on the update, Alastair Mills, CEO of SpiriTel, said: "Our
significantly improved financial performance demonstrates successful delivery of
our strategy of acquisition, integration and growth. All acquired businesses
have been rapidly integrated into our existing operations in Wigan and London
and are now fully rebranded within SpiriTel Business. We are continuing to focus
on cross-selling our integrated product portfolio into the substantially
enlarged customer base."
He added: "Our increasing level of contracted revenues and the continued growth
in our order pipeline, despite a tough economic climate, underpin our
expectation to meet full year market forecasts and continue the delivery of
value to shareholders."
**Underlying EBITDA is defined as Operating Profit after adding back charges for
depreciation, amortisation, share based payments and exceptional costs.
For further information please visit www.spiritelplc.com or contact:
SpiriTel plc Tavistock Communications Daniel Stewart & Co.
Alastair Mills Simon Hudson Simon Leathers
Chief Executive Duncan McCormick Stewart Dick
Tel: 020 7160 0100 Tel: 020 7920 3150 Tel. 020 7776 6550
Notes to Editors
SpiriTel is a fully integrated business communications group which enables its
customers to take advantage of the opportunities created by rapidly changing
telecoms markets as the migration to Internet Protocol (IP) based services
accelerates. The Group is a consolidator of the highly fragmented UK telecoms
reseller market and is building a substantial customer base and scale through
selective acquisitions. We are organised into two divisions: SpiriTel
Technologies, which focuses on IP networking and wholesale voice services; and
SpiriTel Business, which provides a full range of voice and data services
directly to our Business customers.
SpiriTel offers fixed and mobile voice and data communications solutions
including Voice over IP (VoIP), data networking, telephone systems and ISP
services to a rapidly expanding customer base. We are a leader in the provision
of new, but proven, VoIP solutions that are firmly based on the old-fashioned
service values which run throughout the Group.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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