News

July 27, 2009

REG-Dialight PLC Half Yearly Report – Part 1

Date/Range:   27-JUL-2009

Short Abstract: REG-Dialight PLC Half Yearly Report – Part 1

 

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RNS Number : 2594W

Dialight PLC

27 July 2009

DIALIGHT

INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2009

Highlights

* Group Revenue unchanged at £34.6m

* Strong growth in sales of Obstruction products with excellent prospects based
on major contract win

* Good cash generation and cash balance of £7 million

* Operating profit of £0.6m (2008:£2m)

* Interim Dividend increased by 10% to 2.3p (2008:2.1p)

Contacts:

Roy Burton – Group Chief Executive

Cathy Buckley – Finance Director

Dialight Plc

Tel: 01480 447490

Robert Speed/Kirsten Molyneux

Kreab Gavin Anderson

Tel: 020 75541400

Email:  dialight@gavinanderson.co.uk

Chairman and Chief Executive’s Statement

Financial Results

We are pleased to report a creditable performance in a period of extremely
difficult economic conditions with all business segments reporting a profit.

Group revenues for the six months ended 30 June 2009 were unchanged from 2008 at
£34.6m (2008: £34.5m). Operating profit was £0.6m (2008:£2m) and profit before
tax was £0.5m (2008:£2.1m). Two-thirds of the Group’s sales are denominated in
US$ and the strengthening of the US$ against sterling has had a positive effect
on Dialight’s results. The average US$:£ was 1.975 in 2008 compared to 1.49 in
2009.At constant currency Group sales were £28.2m and operating profit was
£0.1m.

Signals/Illumination revenue grew by 12% (decrease of 11% at constant currency)
and we are particularly pleased to report the increase in obstruction product
sales driven by adoption of our dual strobe product in the US. Overall within
Signals/Illumination, obstruction sales grew by 54% (23% at constant currency).
In addition the Signals business has improved its contribution margin by 4%
compared with the first half of 2008 through the continuing processes to reduce
material costs and by improving operational efficiencies.

Basic earnings per share increased to 7.3p in 2009 from 4.2p in 2008. The
underlying earnings per share decreased to 1p in 2009 from 4.2p in 2008. The
basic earnings per share is adjusted to the underlying earnings by the non-cash
release of provisions of £1.9m no longer required, held against the profit on
businesses sold in prior years.

The Group has generated net cash inflows from operations of £5.4m (2008:£2.4m)
representing 875% (2008: 122%) of operating profit. During the first half
working capital reduced by £3.3m including a reduction in inventory of £2.5m.
The Group also paid the final dividend to shareholders of £1.2m (2008: £1.2m).

As at 30 June 2009 the Group had a cash balance of £7m (December 2008:£4.1m,
June 2008:£3.5m).

Dividend

The Board is pleased to declare an interim dividend of 2.3 pence per share
(2008:2.1pence). The interim dividend is covered 3.14 times by profit after
taxation (2008: 1.99 times).

The interim dividend is payable on 17 September 2009 to shareholders whose names
are on the Register of Members at close of business on 7 August 2009.

Business Review

Signals/Illumination

The Signals/Illumination segment addresses the increasing demands for Energy
Efficient Lighting solutions. Through the use of high brightness LEDs and
utilisation of a number of associated technologies we create and deliver
compelling value propositions to our customers. In the view of the Board, this
segment is a significant driver for growth as new applications gain increased
relevance in a society which is ever more conscious of the potential scarceness
of energy and harm to the environment.

Our strategy of identifying and servicing sizeable regulated niche markets
remains unchanged. The Company will continue to work closely with LED developers
to identify and bring to market Solid State Lighting and Signalling Products
which deliver value to its customers through savings in energy and significantly
improved product lifetimes and reliability.

Traffic Lights

Overall, sales of Traffic Lights reduced by 16% in constant currency with both
North America and Europe contributing to the lower sales.

In North America this slowdown can be attributed largely to an exceptional
performance in the prior year due primarily to shipments against the Miami Dade
contract. After a slow start to the year, we saw a recovery in the second
quarter and expect the government stimulus package to favourably influence the
second half; the recently announced order from the State of New Mexico being the
first significant indication of stimulus money being allocated to LED traffic
Lights.

The largest potential market for Traffic Signals growth remains in Europe where
the adoption of LED technology for Traffic Lights rests at less than 10%. Whilst
this potential for growth still exists and we believe over 7,000,000 traffic
Lights are still to be converted to LED technology, sales in the first half were
adversely affected by lack of funding in Eastern Europe. Sales in Western Europe
remained flat with the exception of the UK where we saw some significant
increase in sales to our two key customers. Prospects for the second half look
promising and we are starting the half with a strong order book and expect
Europe to return to levels comparable with the second half of 2008.

Obstruction Lights

Once again Obstruction Lights demonstrated continued excellent growth with sales
up over 23% from 2008 H1 despite some slowdown in products for the Wind Turbine
Market due to funding difficulties for such projects .Dialight has been selling
LED based products into this market since 2002 but until late 2007, all these
lights have been based on red LEDs. The introduction at the end of 2007 of a
white strobe product for the North American Telecommunication market is expected
to be the significant growth driver for the future. The recently announced
agreements with a major Telecommunications Tower operator is expected to drive
significant sales growth. This contract, whilst significant, represents less
than 5% of the $ 250m installed base of Xenon based strobes which can be
replaced by Dialight’s White LED Strobe with significant operational
advantages.

We anticipate continued strong growth in this product line driven not only by
the White Strobe demand but also by the anticipated recovery of the Wind Turbine
Market – wind turbines requiring the efficient and rugged lights provided by our
LED products.

Transportation

Sales in this sector are primarily to the US Transit Bus market and for use on
Heavy Duty Trucks. Revenues in the first half of this year at constant currency
were unchanged from 2008. Long life and ruggedness are the primary attributes of
our products for this market. Dialight maintains its strong position in this
market which is subject to assistance from the US Federal Stimulus package.

Lighting

Sales to the Architectural Lighting market were adversely affected by the weak
economy on both sides of the Atlantic. Lighting revenues in total were down by
29% at constant currency although sales in the more strategically important
sector of Industrial White Lighting grew. In 2009 the run rate for sales of our
Safesite Hazardous Location Light grew by 50% compared to the whole of 2008.
Whilst our sales are small in relation to the size of the market, we shipped
product to many different customers including some leading players in the oil,
petrochemical, pharmaceutical and mining industries. We anticipate that these
initial trial sales will lead to strong adoption of these white LED products in
challenging applications.

Dialight has a pipeline of new white lighting products which will be introduced
over the coming months – all for use in the Industrial sector- and which are
expected to consolidate our position as the leader in bringing LED lighting to
challenging environments.

There has been significant interest in the use of LED lighting for streetlights.
Dialight has supplied products for trial with a number of US authorities and
whilst it is yet early days for this application, we anticipate the use of LEDs
in street lighting when allied with intelligent control.

Growth in Solid State Lighting will be driven by more efficient LEDs and the
increasing requirement to save more energy and to reduce carbon emissions.
Dialight is ideally placed to service this demand by firstly identifying those
areas where a strong energy efficient value exists and then bringing innovative
products to market early to satisfy that growing demand.

Components

Indication Business

It is important to recognise Dialight’s strong position in this market when
viewed against the 36% (at constant currency) drop in sales versus 2008.These
products are sold primarily to Electronics OEMs for status indication. This is a
market niche and Dialight is an Approved Vendor to most of the world’s major
OEMs in the professional electronic equipment market. We also sell to over
15,000 different customers through a number of major Electronic Distributors.
The significant drop in sales merely reflects the market and we fully expect
that Dialight’s sales will recover in line with the market.

Demand has steadied through the first half with perhaps the first signs of some
recovery although it is difficult to predict market trends. We expect modest
improvement in the second half driven by a return of the sales channel to more
normal inventory levels.

Electromagnetic Disconnects

The move towards “smart metering” and a “smart grid” has been well publicised
and significant funding has been provided in the US Stimulus Package. Dialight
has been supplying high reliability, high current switches to this market in the
US for some time and whilst revenues show an 11% drop versus 2008, this is in
the older products of this segment. The recently announced orders for the new
“smart” products support the future growth of this segment and Dialight remains
well positioned with a number of US meter manufacturers.

There are in the US over 100 million domestic electricity meters which
represents a potential market of more than $1Bn for Dialight.

Costs & Margins

Reengineering and cost reduction are part of the normal course of business for
Dialight and we pay close attention to the effects of incoming material costs
and the prices that we can charge for our products and the obvious effects on
our margins . The margins in our Component businesses have remained stable in
the period except for some excess labour cost incurred in the first quarter
whilst we reduced the direct labour work force.

Signals/Illumination is a business which is subject to much product development
and new product introduction, giving us opportunities for improvements to the
solutions which we offer to the market. Over the past years, we have seen
improving contribution margins in this sector and the first half of 2009 is no
exception to that trend. The contribution margin for the half for
Signals/Illumination is a full four points better than the same period in 2008
and two points better than the second half of 2008.This improvement is partly
due to a richer mix of sales but is also a major endorsement of the ongoing
improvement programmes driven by our Engineering and Operations teams in all of
our locations.

Current trading and outlook

Whilst the major economic downturn at the end of 2008 affected all of our
businesses, the Board is pleased with the progress made in penetration of new
markets and adoption of our new products. Although we expect only modest
improvement in our Indication business, the recently announced contracts for
Obstruction Lighting and Meter Disconnects supported by the strong opening
orders for European Traffic, lend support to significantly improved prospects
for the second half of the year. We also confidently expect accelerated adoption
of our strategically important white lighting products.

The Board remains confident in the Group’s prospects for the rest of the year
and its ability to generate substantial sales of its Ultra Efficient Lighting
products in the future.

Harry Tee CBE      Roy Burton

Chairman       Chief Executive

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

For the period ended 30 June 2009

6 months ended    6 months ended    12 months ended
30 June 2009      30 June 2008      31 December 2008
Note    (unaudited)       (unaudited)       (audited)
£’000             £’000             £’000

Continuing operations
Revenue                                                2       34,625            34,543            77,855

Cost of sales                                                  (27,626)          (27,504)          (61,595)
Gross Profit                                                   6,999             7,039             16,260

Distribution costs                                             (3,018)           (2,391)           (5,146)

Administrative expenses                                        (3,367)           (2,675)           (5,793)

Results from operating activities                      2       614               1,973             5,321

Financial income                                               880                                 2,177
Financial expense                                              (965)                               (1,861)
1,104
(936)

Net financing (expense)/ income                        4       (85)              168               316

Profit before income tax                               2       529               2,141             5,637

Income tax expense                                     5       (207)             (835)             (2,168)

Profit from continuing operations                              322               1,306             3,469

Prior Periods Discontinued Operations                  3                                           –
Adjustment to profit from businesses sold in prior             1,939             –
years
Profit for the period attributable to equity holders           2,261             1,306             3,469
of the Company

Earnings per share
Basic                                                  7       7.3p              4.2p              11.2p
Diluted                                                7       7.1p              4.1p              10.9p

The accompanying Notes form an integral part of these Interim Financial
Statements

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

For the period ended 30 June 2009

6 months ended    6 months ended    12 months ended
30 June 2009      30 June 2008      31 December 2008
(unaudited)       (unaudited)       (audited)
£’000             £’000             £’000
Other comprehensive income
Exchange difference on translation of foreign operations   (3,081)           317               7,183
Actuarial losses on defined benefit pension schemes        (2,172)           –                 (3,407)
Income tax on other comprehensive income                   548               –                 1,289

Other comprehensive income for the period, net of tax      (4,705)           317               5,065

Profit for the period                                      2,261             1,306             3,469

Total comprehensive income for the period attributable to  (2,444)           1,623             8,534
equity holders of the company

The accompanying Notes form an integral part of these Interim Financial
Statements

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 30
JUNE 2009 (Unaudited)

Share capital    Merger reserve    Translation reserve    Capital redemption reserve    Retained earnings    Total

£’000
£’000            £’000             £’000                                                £’000
£’000
Balance at 1 January 2009                               591              546               5,486                  2,232                         28,649               37,504
Profit or loss                                          –                –                 –                      –                             2,261                2,261
Other comprehensive income                              –                                                         –
Foreign currency translation differences                                 –                                        –                             –
(3,081)                                                                   (3,081)

Defined benefit plan actuarial losses, net of taxes                                                                                             (1,624)
–                      –                                                  (1,624)

Total comprehensive income for the period               –                –                 (3,081)                –                             637                  (2,444)

Transactions with owners recorded directly in equity:
Dividends to equity holders                             –                –                 –                      –                             (1,218)              (1,218)
Share based payment transactions                        –                –                 –                      –                             93                   93
Total transactions with holders                         –                –                 –                      –                             (1,125)              (1,125)
Balance at 30 June 2009                                 591              546               2,405                  2,232                         28,161               33,935

Balance at 1 January 2008                               591              546               (1,697)                60                            31,349               30,849

Profit or loss                                          –                –                 –                      –                             1,306                1,306
Other comprehensive income
Foreign currency translation differences                –                –                 317                    –                             –                    317

Total comprehensive income for the period               –                –                 317                    –                             1,306                1,623

Transactions with owners recorded directly in equity:
Dividends to equity holders                             –                –                 –                      –                             (1,187)              (1,187)
Share based payment transactions                        –                –                 –                      –                             51                   51
Own shares purchased                                    –                –                 –                      –                             (191)                (191)
Redemption of shares                                    –                –                 –                      2,021                         (2,021)              –
Total transactions with holders                         –                –                 –                      2,021                         (3,348)              (1,327)
Balance at 30 June 2008                                 591              546               (1,380)                2,081                         29,307               31,145

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF TOTAL FINANCIAL POSITION

As at 30 June 2009

30 June 2009    30 June 2008    31 December 2008
(unaudited)     (unaudited)     (audited)
£’000           £’000           £’000
Assets
Property, plant & equipment                                6,735           6,121           7,793
Intangible assets                                          8,237           8,109           8,932
Deferred tax asset                                         3,560           1,035           3,042

Total non-current assets                                   18,532          15,265          19,767

Inventories                                                9,490           10,936          12,994
Trade and other receivables                                14,624          16,560          20,366
Cash and cash equivalents                                  7,041           3,540           4,145

Total current assets                                       31,155          31,036          37,505
Total assets                                               49,687          46,301          57,272

Liabilities                                                                (151)
Loans and borrowings                                                       (10,631)        –
Trade and other payables                                   –               (2,513)         (11,059)
Tax liabilities                                            (8,032)                         (2,786)
(1,141)

Total current liabilities                                  (9,173)         (13,295)        (13,845)

Employee benefits                                          (5,418)         (888)           (4,469)
Provisions                                                 (1,011)         (851)           (1,307)
Deferred tax liability                                     (150)           (122)           (147)

Total non-current liabilities                              (6,579)         (1,861)         (5,923)
Total liabilities                                          (15,752)        (15,156)        (19,768)
Net assets                                                 33,935          31,145          37,504

Equity
Issued share capital                                       591             591             591
Merger reserve                                             546             546             546
Other reserves                                             4,637           701             7,718
Retained earnings                                          28,161          29,307          28,649

Total equity attributable to equity shareholders of        33,935          31,145          37,504
the parent company

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

For the period ended 30 June 2009

6 months ended    6 months ended    12 months ended
30 June 2009      30 June 2008      31 December 2008
(unaudited)       (unaudited)       (audited)
£’000             £’000             £’000
Operating activities
Profit for the year                                        2,261             1,306             3,469
Adjustments for:
Financial income                                           (880)             (1,104)           (2,177)
Financial expense                                          965               936               1,861
Income tax expense                                         207               835               2,168
Adjustment to profit on sale of businesses in prior years  (1,939)           –                 –
Share based payments                                      93                51                154
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment                                615
Amortisation of intangible assets                          782               477               1,598
561                                 1,075
Operating cash flow before movements in working capital    2,050             3,116             8,148

Decrease/(increase) in inventories
2,546             (1,132)           (421)
Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables
(Decrease)/increase in trade and other payables            3,781             (969)             (1,041)
Transfer from Creditors Cash Account (Note 8)
Pension contributions in excess of the income statement    (2,180)           1,489             297
charge                                                     21                –                 –
(845)             (100)             (994)
Cash generated from operations                             5,373             2,404             5,989

Income taxes (paid)/received                               (387)             (964)             (2,382)

Interest paid                                              –                 (40)              (47)
Net cash from operating activities                         4,986             1,400             3,560
Investing activities
Interest received                                          12                95                125
Capital expenditure                                        (385)             (579)  (369)      (1,796)
Expenditure on development                                 (467)                               (771)

Net cash generated from/(used in)investing activities      (840)             (853)             (2,442)
Financing activities
Dividends paid                                             (1,218)           (1,187)           (1,843)
Redemption of preference shares treated as debt            –                 (2,021)           (2,172)
Own shares acquired
Transfer from Creditors Cash Account (Note 8)              –                 (191)             (190)
416               –                 –
Net cash used in financing activities                      (802)             (3,399)           (4,205)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents       3,344             (2,852)           (3,087)

Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January                     4,145             6,561             6,561

Effect of exchange rates on cash held                      (448)             (169)             671

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period                 7,041             3,540             4,145

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the period ended 30 June 2009 (unaudited)

1. Basis of Preparation and Principal Accounting Policies

Dialight Plc (the “Company”) is a company domiciled in the UK. The condensed set
of financial statements as at, and for, the six month period ended 30 June 2009
comprises the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the
“Group”).

The Group financial statements as at, and for, the year ended 31 December 2008
prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the EU and with those parts of
the Companies Act 1985 applicable to companies reporting under IFRS, are
available upon request from the Company’s registered office at 2B Vantage Park,
Washingley Road, Huntingdon PE29 6SR.

The comparative figures for the year ended 31 December 2008 are not the
Company’s statutory accounts for that year. Those accounts have been reported on
by the Company’s auditors and delivered to the registrar of companies. The
report of the auditors was (i) unqualified (ii) did not include any reference to
any matters to which the auditors drew attention by way of emphasis without
qualifying their report, and (iii) did not contain a statement under section
237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985.

The condensed set of financial statements for the six month ended 30 June 2009
is unaudited but has been reviewed by the auditors. The Independent Review
Report is set out on the last page.

Statement of Compliance

The condensed set of financial statements included in this half-yearly financial
report has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting
as adopted by the EU. The condensed set of financial statements do not include
all of the information required for full annual financial statements, and should
be read in conjunction with the Group’s financial statements as at, and for the
year ended 31 December 2008.

This condensed set of financial statements was approved by the Board of
Directors on 27 July 2009.

Significant Accounting Policies

The accounting policies applied by the Group in this condensed set of financial
statements are the same as those applied by the Group in its financial
statements as at, and for the year ended 31 December 2008.

The following new standards, amendments to standards or interpretations are
mandatory for the first time for the year ending 31 December 2009 but have no
material impact to the Group.

* IFRS 8 Operating Segments introduces the “management approach” to segment
reporting. IFRS 8, which becomes mandatory for the Group’s 2009 financial
statements, will require the disclosure of segment information based on the
internal reports regularly reviewed by the Group’s Chief Executive in order to
assess each segment’s performance and to allocate resources to them. The Company
expanded the segment information in 2005 to bring it more closely in line with
the format of internal reporting. The Company has adopted IFRS 8 however has not
changed the presentation of the segment information (see note 2) to that
presented under IAS 14 as the disclosure is already in compliance. The segment
information is in the format of internal reports provided to and reviewed by the
Group Chief Executive and also presented to the Board.Goodwill relating to
previous acquisitions within the Signals/Illumination segment remains in that
segment.

* The Group applies revised IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements (2007),
which became effective as of 1 January 2009. As a result, the Group presents in
the consolidated changes in equity all owners changes in equity, whereas all non
owner changes in equity are presented in the consolidated statement of income.
This presentation has been applied in these condensed interim financial
statements as of and for the six months ended on 30 June 2009.  Cmparative
information has been re-presented so that it is also in conformity with the
revised standard. Since the change in accounting policy only impacts
presentation aspects, there is no impact on earnings per share.

The following new standards, amendments to standards or interpretations are
mandatory for the first time for the year ending 31 December 2009 but are not
currently relevant for the Group.

* Amendment to IAS 23 – Borrowing costs
* IAS 32 (Amendment)- Financial instruments: Presentation
* IFRIC 13-Customer loyalty programmes
* IFRIC 16- Hedges of a net investment in a foreign operation

The following new standards, amendments to standards or interpretations have
been issued, but are not effective for the financial year beginning 1 January
2009 and have not been early adopted:

* IFRS 3 (revised), ‘Business combinations’ and consequential amendments to

More to follow