TIDMVSA
RNS Number : 8973J
VSA Capital Group PLC
16 December 2022
16 December 2022
VSA CAPITAL GROUP PLC
("VSA Capital" "VSA" or the "Company")
UNAUDITED INTERIM REPORT FOR THE SIX MONTHSED 30 SEPTEMBER
2022
VSA Capital Group plc (AQSE: VSA), announces its interim results
for the half year ending 30 September 2022.
Chairman's Interim Report
In introducing the Company's interim report this year, I am as
conscious as anyone of the difficult prevailing political, economic
and market conditions.
As previously announced, we are reporting a loss for the period,
although, as Andrew Monk highlights, we have completed a very
significant transaction post the period end that will make a
significant positive impact on the Group's performance in the
second half.
We finish the calendar year in a good position with a strong
balance sheet and are cautiously optimistic about 2023. We have a
great team and an absolute determination to be a strong player
advising and raising funds for small and medium sized public and
private companies internationally.
Mark Steeves
Chairman
16 December 2022
CEO Interim report
What a difference 12 months can make. Since last year's interim
report, the world has completely changed and market conditions have
done a total U-turn. Deal flow has dried up and liquidity to invest
has almost disappeared completely. This is an industry-wide problem
and is causing many firms to reconsider their approach to the
future. Equity markets are no longer growing as Private Equity
appears more attractive and with lower costs and substantially less
regulation. Without growth the economics for our industry become
very difficult and so change needs to happen. At VSA we do have the
advantage of being small and nimble and we are less exposed to the
treadmill of "doing deals" than larger firms. This is also why at
VSA we look to find areas or sectors that have less competition and
where we effectively become "a big fish hopefully in a growing
pond".
We indicated in our full year results that we would report an
interim loss and we have of GBP840,693 as a headline number; this
looks pretty bad but as we know headline PBT no longer gives a
clear picture of a Company's performance. Within that figure is a
paper loss on investments of approximately GBP350,000 and goodwill
amortization of c.GBP165,000 and so our cash loss was only about
GBP300,000. This would still be disappointing but since our interim
period we have announced a substantial deal with Silverwood Brands
plc acquiring, what is in effect about 20% of Lush (Lush and
Cosmetic Warriors) owned by Andrew Gerrie and Alison Hawksley for
GBP216.8m. The fee to VSA for advising on this transaction was in
Silverwood equity and so becomes an investment and will mean we can
forecast a profit for the year ending 31 March 2023. We also have
other deals we expect to land before our year end that will also
have a further positive impact. We have always had a second half
bias, which is explained by our year end being March and
historically the market tends to have its two busiest periods
between January-March and September-November.
VSA now have a substantial shareholding in Silverwood Brands
plc, which in turn has a substantial shareholding in Lush and so
whilst we hold that position, the performance of Lush is very
important. Lush is a very well-respected global brand that still
has great growth potential and therefore we are very happy to be
shareholders. As of today, it is our intention to hold the stock as
we believe there is good upside, but longer term we will look to
divest at the right time as it is not core to VSA's business.
The deal by Silverwood was only achievable because the company
was listed on the Aquis Growth Market and the fact that it has
rules that are modern, pragmatic and sensible for smaller
companies. This transaction could never have been achieved on AIM
or the LSE. VSA has a stated ambition to be the leading adviser on
Aquis, and I believe this transaction cements that position and
will lead to further good quality business as more companies come
to Aquis. Many of today's domestic brokers grew off the back of AIM
in the mid 1990's and early 2000's when AIM grew from nothing to
2,000 Companies, i.e., 2,000 IPOs and fundraises! Today AIM has
shrunk significantly to well below 1,000 companies and there is
little growth. We believe Aquis can repeat this performance and VSA
can grow with Aquis as it expands. London needs a competitive
exchange to the LSE, and this will not happen overnight. When AIM
started, Institutions would not touch it but slowly they did, with
Aquis it is retail who have been slow to adopt, not helped by the
monopolistic positions of the SIPP providers, but slowly they are
also adopting.
Transitional Energy is still a major sector for VSA, and we
continue to believe it is a key area of focus and will produce
significant results. Sadly, the stock market today has switched off
interest in this sector and we are seeing a similar pattern to what
happened during the dot-com boom where investors got over-excited
and drove prices too high and then got disillusioned and took
prices too low. Time has shown though that 20 years later many of
those companies have flourished and become the largest in the
World. We expect a similar pattern to happen in the Transitional
Energy space. Most of the larger brokers have also developed
expertise in this sector and everyone professes to understand
lithium! That is like saying you understood the internet in 2000.
At VSA our knowledge runs across the whole value chain and into
many different chemistries and sciences.
China and our capabilities there are on hold due to Zero Covid
and travel restrictions and we have sadly short-term scaled back
the activities of Shanghai Mining Club, but we do expect to revive
this in the future.
In summary, it has not been an easy six months for anyone, and
it was not for VSA but we are positive about our full year outcome.
I wish to record thanks to our shareholders at this time. We do not
expect market conditions to improve in the near future, but we
believe we can buck the trend with our innovative approach and
clever thinking, and we are always open to ideas and ways to
increase shareholder value. Our staff are our most important asset,
and so I am pleased to see a strong team spirit and thank them for
their support of VSA.
Andrew Monk
CEO
16 December 2022
The directors of the Company take responsibility for this
announcement.
For further information, please contact:
VSA Capital Group plc +44 20 3005 5000
Andrew Monk - Chief Executive Officer amonk@vsacapital.com
Andrew Raca - Head of Corporate Finance araca@vsacapital.com
Marcia Manarin - Finance Director mmanarin@vsacapital.com
& COO
AQSE Exchange Growth Market Corporate
Adviser
Alfred Henry Corporate
Finance Limited +44 20 3772 0021
Nick Michaels / Maya Klein Wassink enquiries@alfredhenry.com
GROUP STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIOD TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2022
Six months Six months Year ended
ended ended 31 March 2022
30 September 30 September Audited
2022 2021
Unaudited Unaudited
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
GBP GBP GBP
Turnover 846 1,163 3,606
Cost of sales (82) - (176)
--------------------------- ---------------------------- --------------------------
Gross profit 764 1,163 3,430
Other operating income 20 - 35
Administrative expenses (1,271) (1,398) (2,955)
--------------------------- ---------------------------- --------------------------
Operating (loss) / profit (487) (235) 510
Finance income 1 - 1
Gains / (losses) on
investments (355) - (443)
--------------------------- ---------------------------- --------------------------
(Loss) / profit on ordinary
activities before taxation (841) (235) 68
Tax on profit/loss on
ordinary activities - (3) (26)
--------------------------- ---------------------------- --------------------------
(Loss) / profit for the year (841) (238) 42
Other Comprehensive income - - -
--------------------------- ---------------------------- --------------------------
Total Comprehensive income (841) (238) 42
=========================== ============================ ==========================
Earnings per share - profit after
tax
pence pence pence
Basic (4.3) (1.2) 0.2
Diluted (2.7) (0.8) 0.1
GROUP STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
AS AT 30 SEPTEMBER 2022
As at As at As at
30 September 30 September 31 March
2022 Unaudited 2021 Unaudited 2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 Audited
GBP'000
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment
- right of use 557 234 645
Property, plant and equipment
- owned 94 11 108
Intangible Assets 1,158 1,488 1,323
---------------- ---------------- ----------
Total non-current assets 1,809 1,733 2,076
---------------- ---------------- ----------
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 497 876 537
Investments 555 1,152 692
Cash and cash equivalents 1,247 814 2,010
Total current assets 2,299 2,842 3,239
---------------- ---------------- ----------
Total assets 4,108 4,575 5,315
================ ================ ==========
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 272 565 557
Finance liabilities - borrowings 189 104 108
Total current liabilities 461 669 665
---------------- ---------------- ----------
Non-current liabilities
Finance liabilities - borrowings 325 23 487
Total non-current liabilities 325 23 487
---------------- ---------------- ----------
Total liabilities 786 692 1,152
---------------- ---------------- ----------
Equity
Share Capital 3,524 3,524 3,524
Share premium account 418 418 418
Share-based payments reserve 52 52 52
Accumulated profits/(losses) (672) (111) 169
Total equity 3,322 3,883 4,163
---------------- ---------------- ----------
Total Equity and Liabilities 4,108 4,575 5,315
================ ================ ==========
CONSOLIDATED GROUP CASHFLOW STATEMENT
FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIODED 30 SEPTEMBER 2022
Six months Six months Year
ended ended ended
30 September 30 September 31 March
2022 2021 2022
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit / (loss) before income tax (841) (238) 68
Tax paid - - (20)
Depreciation and amortisation 270 232 522
Gain / (loss) on current asset
investments 405 (110) 439
(Increase) / decrease in trade
/ other receivables 40 (641) (301)
Increase / (decrease) in trade
/ other payables (285) (490) (504)
Change in share based payments reserve - 25 25
NET CASH USED IN OPERATING ACTIVITIES (411) (1,222) 229
-------------- -------------- ----------
Cash flows from investing activities
Proceeds from disposal of plant,
property and equipment - - 213
Purchase of plant, property and equipment (3) (2) (848)
Proceeds from other investing activities 11 124 210
Purchase of other investments (279) - (177)
NET CASH GENERATED FROM INVESTING
ACTIVITIES (271) 122 (602)
-------------- -------------- ----------
Cash flows from financing activities
Share capital issue - 118 253
Purchase of shares into treasury - - (134)
New finance leases - - 595
Finance lease repayments (81) (68) (195)
-------------- -------------- ----------
NET CASH GENERATED FROM FINANCING
ACTIVITIES (81) 50 519
-------------- -------------- ----------
NET (DECREASE)/INCREASE IN CASH AND
CASH EQUIVALENTS (763) (1,050) 146
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning
of period 2,010 1,864 1,864
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT
OF PERIOD 1,247 814 2,010
============== ============== ==========
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIOD TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2022
1 General Information
VSA Capital Group plc is a listed public limited company (Aquis:
VSA) incorporated in the UK and registered in England and Wales
(Company Number 04918684). The Company's registered office is at
Park House, 16-18 Finsbury Circus, London, EC2M 7EB.
These interim financial statements do not include all of the
information required for full annual financial statements and
should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial
statements of the Group as at and for the year ended 31 March 2022
which have been prepared in accordance with International Financial
Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as adopted by the European Union.
The interim financial statements for the six months ended 30
September 2022 are unaudited and have not been reviewed by the
Company's auditors Hilden Park Accountants Limited. The comparative
interim figures for the six months ended 30 September 2021 are also
unaudited.
2 Basis of preparation
The accounting policies applied by the Group in the preparation
of these condensed consolidated interim financial statements are
the same as those applied by the Group in its consolidated
financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022.
3 Profit or loss per share
Six months Six months
ended 30 ended 30 Year ended
September September 31 March
2022 2021 2022
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
----------- ----------- -----------
Basic
Profit/ (Loss) for the period
attributable to owners of
the Company (841) (238) 42
Weighted average number of
shares: 19,428,966 19,428,966 19,428,466
Basic earnings/(loss) per
share (pence): (4.3) (1.2) 0.2
Diluted
Profit/ (Loss) for the period
attributable to owners of
the Company (841) (238) 42
Weighted average number of
shares: 30,899,366 30,408,166 30,279,466
Diluted earnings/(loss)
per share (pence): (2.7) (0.8) 0.1
----------- ----------- -----------
The basic and diluted earnings per share were determined by
dividing the profit or loss attributable to the equity holders of
the Company by the weighted average number of shares outstanding
during the periods.
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END
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 16, 2022 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
Grafico Azioni VSA Capital (AQSE:VSA)
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Da Dic 2024 a Gen 2025
Grafico Azioni VSA Capital (AQSE:VSA)
Storico
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