Simonds Farsons Cisk plc - Full Year Results & Dividends

The Board of Directors of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc met on 27 April 2005 and approved the financial statements for the twelve months ended 31 January 2005.

Turnover of the Farsons Group increased by 8.3% during the year ended 31 January 2005 to Lm26.8 million mainly as a result of the acquisition of Quintano Foods Ltd. in April 2004. This is confirmed from the breakdown of the different categories of turnover which show that while revenue from the brewing, production and sale of beer and branded beverages dropped by 0.4% to Lm15.85 million, the turnover generated from the importation, wholesale and retail of food and beverages grew by 38.8% to Lm7.7 million. Revenue from the operation of franchised food retailing establishments dropped by 2.5% to Lm2.9 million with turnover from property management amounting to Lm251,000 (2004: Lm209,000).

Gross profit of the Farsons Group edged 4% higher to Lm9.8 million, with operating profit dropping by 25.6% to Lm1.3 million. The operating profit generated from the brewing, production and sale of beer and branded beverages amounted to Lm1.55 million, a 25.6% decrease compared to the profit in 2004. This could be partly attributed to lower temperatures in the summer months as well as the removal of levies as from 1 May 2004, which initially had a negative impact on local production. There was also a drop (-35.6%) in operating profit from the operation of franchised food retailing establishments, which totalled Lm89,000. Meanwhile, profits from the importation, wholesale and retail of food and beverages increased from Lm350,000 to Lm435,000.

Group profit before taxation amounted to Lm826,000 for the twelve months ended 31 January 2005, a decrease of 27.4% over last year.

Profit after tax for the period under review totalled Lm609,000 compared to Lm2.6 million in 2004. One must note however that for the year ended 31 January 2004 the Company benefited from a substantial one-off tax write back of Lm1.5 million following the Company’s eligibility to benefits available under the Business Promotion Regulations, 2001.

After adjusting for minority interests (reflecting lower losses incurred by Galleria Management Ltd. and Vita Sana srl) the Group profit attributable to shareholders amounted to Lm624,000 resulting in earnings per share of 2c4.

In the Preliminary Statement of Annual Results, the Directors note that these results were effected by various factors, namely: