Annual Report and Accounts

You can download our current Annual Report in PDF format, or request that we send you the report by post or email. Please click on the relevant link below.

Annual Report to January 2010- Click here to download
Interim Report to July 2009 - Click here to download
Annual Report to January 2009- Click here to download
Annual Report to January 2008- Click here to download

To request a hard copy to be posted to you, click here.

Highlights:

The Board of Vitesse Media Plc (AIM: VIS), the online, print and events company, today announces its financial  results for the year ending 31 January 2010.

Highlights for the year ending 31 January 2010:

• Significant improvement in profitability delivering a profit for 2009/10 of £36,706 and EBITDA of £192,742  (2008/9 loss of £(493,930) and £(306,570))
• Online revenues held up well
• Gross profit margin of 63.3% (2008/9 64.8%)
• Overheads reduced by nearly 40%
• Market leading positions and brand values maintained during a difficult trading period
• Management team worked hard to retain good staff loyalty and morale
• Since the year-end, the company has carried out a successful fundraising, thus reducing borrowings, improving working capital and providing funds for improvement in our database operations.
• Improvement in profitability has continued and there is a significant turnaround for the first quarter of the financial year 2010/11

Chairman’s report

Performance during the financial year 2009/10

This was undoubtedly the most difficult trading period that the Company has endured. During the year, despite having trimmed costs during the previous financial year 2008/9, the management team unfortunately had to make further cost savings and reduced the headcount again.

Such actions are always extremely difficult for all concerned, especially in a close-knit business such as Vitesse Media. I would like to take the opportunity to extend my appreciation to all members of staff who bore these difficult times with calmness and understanding.

During the year I also took the opportunity to split the role of Chairman and Chief Executive. In July, Leslie Copeland was appointed Chief Executive and Niki Baker appointed Chief Operating Officer and, along with the rest of the management team, the credit for the turnaround in results in the second half of the year is all theirs.

Results have tended to show a skewed performance towards the second half and this was certainly true during the financial year under review when a loss of £(91K) at the interim stage was turned into a profit of £36K for the full year.

Update for the first quarter

The improvement in profitability has continued and there is a significant turnaround for the first quarter of the financial year 2010/11. This is against a backdrop of further reductions in revenue compared to the same period last year. Some of the fall in revenue is attributed to continuing difficulties in some print areas. However, the management team has also undertaken an intense focus on existing operations and an examination of the profitability of individual sources of revenue, which has meant the discontinuation of certain activities, leading to one-off reductions in revenue.

Positive aspects include the improvement experienced towards the end of the quarter in our online activities which had slightly dipped in the second half of last year and a sustained increase in our subscription numbers, a change which had begun last autumn. Further investment in subscription building will be carried out during the rest of the year.

A summary by the management team is that the trading background for the business is healthier than it has been for many, many months.

During the first quarter, we were able to carry out a successful fundraising, raising £475,000 before expenses, amongst existing and new shareholders. This has provided the business with the funds to redeem the borrowings incurred last year and to repurchase SmallBusiness.co.uk, to provide adequate working capital for the group and to fund improvements in our database operations, which should lead to significant efficiency and revenue gains.

The year ahead

The second quarter of the year is traditionally the weakest for the group and this is exacerbated by our decision to move an event from June to September, a decision which has been taken by the management team to improve the group’s profit in the long term. However, the team anticipate that the turnaround in profitability for the business will continue, barring the economy lurching into a second leg of a recession. There has been a sustained improvement in the level of forward bookings and we are now looking with more certainty at the figures for the rest of the year.

The Directors regard the business as being in the best shape for many years, both in terms of profitability and funding, and look forward with confidence to the results for the full year.

ESM Williams
Chairman

Financial History

Consolidated Profit and Loss Account £000's

Turnover and operating (loss)/profit all derive from continuing operations.

Consolidated Statement of total recognised Gains and Losses for the year ended 6 February 2007 £000's

Vitesse Annual Financial Dates

Year End: 31 January
Interims: Last week of October
Finals: Last Week of June
Annual General Meeting: Last week in June