3
December 2024
Oxford Metrics
plc
("Oxford Metrics", the
"Company" or the "Group")
Unaudited Preliminary
Results for the financial year ended 30 September
2024
-
|
Established presence in smart manufacturing - taking us into
new markets and applications
|
-
|
Markerless technology ready to commercialise and new Vicon
products to stimulate growth
|
-
|
Delayed purchase decisions impacted H2
performance against exceptional FY23
comparative
|
-
|
Well placed to build out smart manufacturing offering via
M&A with healthy pipeline of opportunities
|
-
|
Positioning for future success with
trading in line in the first months of the new financial
year
|
Oxford Metrics today publishes
unaudited results. While the audit is at advanced stages, the
results today are unaudited as the auditors have requested extra
time to complete their final audit procedures. The Group does not
expect any material changes to the results and will release its
audited results as soon as practically possible when the audit has
been completed.
Oxford Metrics plc (LSE: OMG), the
smart sensing and software company, servicing life sciences,
entertainment, engineering and smart manufacturing markets,
announces unaudited preliminary results for the financial year
ended 30 September 2024.
Commenting on the results Imogen O'Connor, Chief Executive
said: "Against an exceptionally strong prior year comparator where
our teams delivered more camera systems than ever before, the trend
of extended buying really developed in September - historically our
busiest month - impacting the overall result today. While
conversion rates in the final month of the year were below
historical levels, our Entertainment segment was affected most,
reflecting the slowdown in the global games industry and subsequent
content creation contraction. Geographically, UK and Europe tracked
ahead with North America and APAC behind FY23.
Our teams have been working hard as we look to commercialise
markerless - the future of our industry with Vicon setting the gold
standard. Commercial delivery is in final stages and set
to contribute modest revenue including annual recurring revenue in
FY25.
Positioning the business for future success we have also
extended our capabilities into a new growth area this year,
establishing a presence in smart manufacturing. Having secured
Industrial Vision Systems our first acquisition, we were delighted
to welcome measurement specialists, Sempre into Oxford Metrics,
post period end. With a strong balance sheet, we're well placed to
capture more of this growth market as inspection automation becomes
mainstream and smart manufacturing becomes the
standard.
FY25 trading has started in line with management
expectations with a continuation of the normalised buying behaviour
and trading patterns seen in the latter part of FY24. With a
continued focus on cost, efficiency and reallocating resources to
high-impact areas, we are positioning the business for success in
2025 and beyond."
Continuing Operations
|
FY24
|
% Change
|
FY23
|
Revenue
|
£41.5m
|
-6%
|
£44.2m
|
Adjusted Profit Before Tax*
|
£3.7m
|
-51%
|
£7.5m
|
Adjusted* Basic Earnings per Share
|
2.96p
|
-44%
|
5.29p
|
Ordinary Dividend per Share
|
3.25p
|
18%
|
2.75p
|
Statutory Profit Before Tax*
|
£2.8m
|
-62%
|
£7.3m
|
Net Cash**
|
£50.7m
|
-22%
|
£64.8m
|
* Profit Before Tax adjusted for share-based payments,
acquisition costs and amortisation of intangibles arising on
acquisition
** Including Fixed Term Deposits.
Financial and strategic highlights
●
|
Revenue of £41.5m (FY23: £44.2m),
as pipeline conversion in Vicon fell below expectations in
September, typically our busiest month
|
●
|
Geographically for Vicon,
the UK (up 34%) and Europe (up 11%) tracked
ahead, with North America (down 7%) and APAC (down 35%) behind
FY23.
|
●
|
As expected, gross margin improved
to 66.6% (FY23: 65.0%), up 1.6 percentage points on prior
year
|
●
|
Adjusted Profit Before Tax* at
£3.7m (FY23: £7.5m) as delayed purchase
decisions impacted H2 performance against an exceptional FY23
comparative
|
●
|
Strong balance sheet with net cash
at £50.7m (FY23: £64.8m)
to build out smart manufacturing via M&A, drive growth
marketing initiative and invest in R&D
|
●
|
Board proposes to maintain a
progressive final dividend of 3.25p (FY23: 2.75p per share), up 18%
in line with our progressive dividend policy
|
●
|
Zoe Fox appointed Group CFO 1 July
2024
|
Markerless - the future of our industry with
commercialisation in final stages
●
|
Our teams are working hard
optimising the future of motion capture, setting the gold
standard
|
|
○
|
Secured three more blue chip
partners to enter our beta programme, taking total to 10 (H1 FY24:
7)
|
|
○
|
Set to be deployed in the
Entertainment and Location-based Entertainment markets
first
|
●
|
On track for commercial delivery
in FY25 and modest revenue contribution
|
Established our smart manufacturing presence, extending our
capabilities in a new growth market
●
|
Acquired Industrial Vision Systems
Ltd ("IVS") adding smart manufacturing to our market-leading
portfolio
|
|
○
|
Brands today require right
first-time error-proof production
|
|
○
|
Manufacturers are revolutionising
processes, replacing inspection methods with smart
manufacturing
|
|
○
|
Revenue contribution of £2.9m,
with good order intake throughout the year
|
●
|
Post period end, acquired The
Sempre Group ("Sempre"), measurement specialists solving
manufacturing challenges
|
|
○
|
Sempre, helps manufacturers be
more efficient and improve quality - saving time and
money
|
|
○
|
Immediately earnings enhancing
Sempre has clear synergies with IVS
|
|
○
|
Adds strength to existing and
exposure to new markets and new customers
|
Outlook
●
|
Trading in the first months of the
financial year has started in line with management's
expectations
|
●
|
Continuation of normalised trading
patterns and buying behaviour seen in latter part of
FY24
|
●
|
Strong balance sheet with £46.7m
cash at close of business 30 November 2024 provides capital
allocation flexibility
|
●
|
Continued focus on cost and
efficiency, actively reallocating resources to high-impact
areas
|
●
|
Getting markerless ready and
establishing new growth area, smart manufacturing positions us for
future growth
|
●
|
Well positioned to capitalise on
growth opportunities for success in FY25 and beyond
|
Vicon has started FY25 well with:
●
|
A good spread of opportunities
across all markets
|
●
|
New products in the pipeline to
stimulate growth
|
●
|
Markerless now in final stages of
commercialisation, ready to realise revenues in FY25
|
Smart manufacturing has made a strong start entering FY25
with:
●
|
A healthy pipeline and
orderbook
|
●
|
£1.3m already secured for IVS
contributing to its healthy order book
|
●
|
Good pipeline for Sempre and
already seeing sales synergies with IVS opportunities
|
●
|
Well placed to build out smart
manufacturing via M&A programme with healthy pipeline of
opportunities
|
For further information please
contact:
Oxford Metrics
|
+44 (0) 1865 261860
|
Imogen O'Connor, CEO
|
|
Zoe Fox, CFO
Emma Colven, Head of
Communications
|
|
|
|
Deutsche Numis
|
+44 (0)20 7260 1000
|
Simon Willis / Hugo Rubinstein /
Tejas Padalkar
|
|
|
|
FTI Consulting
|
+44 (0)20 3727 1000
|
Matt Dixon / Emma Hall / Jamille
Smith / Jemima Gurney
|
|
About Oxford Metrics
Oxford Metrics is a smart sensing
and software company that enables the interface between the real
world and its virtual twin. Our smart sensing technology helps over
10,000 customers in more than 70 countries, including all of the
world's top 10 games companies and all of the top 20 universities
worldwide. Founded in 1984, we started our journey in healthcare,
expanded into entertainment, winning an OSCAR® and an Emmy®, moved
into defence, engineering and smart manufacturing. We have a strong
track record of creating value by incubating, growing and then
augmenting through acquisition, unique technology
businesses.
The Group trades through its
market-leading division Vicon, Industrial Vision Systems, and
recently acquired, The Sempre Group. Vicon
is a world leader in motion measurement analysis
to thousands of customers worldwide, including Red Bull, Imperial
College London, Dreamscape Immersive, Industrial Light & Magic,
and NASA. Industrial Vision
Systems is a specialist in
machine vision software and technology for high precision,
automated quality control systems trusted by blue-chip, smart
manufacturing companies across the globe including BD, DePuy,
Jaguar Land Rover, Johnson & Johnson, Zytronic and
Alkegen. Sempre
is a measurement specialist solving manufacturing challenges across multiple industries.
Through their expert in-house consultants and partnerships with
over 25 well-known manufacturers including Jenoptik, Renishaw and
Micro-Vu, Sempre offers an extensive range of products and software
to customers in aerospace, automotive, medical, energy and
precision engineering.
The Group is headquartered in
Oxford with offices in the United Kingdom, United States and
Germany. Since 2001, Oxford Metrics (LSE: OMG), has been a quoted
company listed on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock
Exchange. For more information about Oxford Metrics, visit
www.oxfordmetrics.com.
Chair statement
Following a solid first half
performance driven by strong Vicon execution the Group entered the
second half of the year with a growing pipeline. However, as we
moved towards the end of the financial year, we saw
customers across our markets exercising greater
caution with purchasing decisions taking longer to
conclude.
This has resulted in the Group
reporting revenues of £41.5m
(FY23: £44.2m), below initial expectations,
and an Adjusted PBT* of £3.7m
(FY23: £7.5m), reflecting
the trend of extended
buying cycles which developed in H2 against an exceptional FY23
comparative.
It is important to note that
historically, September has always been the Group's busiest trading
month. FY23 was also an exceptionally strong year following the
well-documented global supply chain challenges and with the team
successfully delivering on pent-up demand
post-pandemic.
The Entertainment segment was impacted most reflecting the widely
reported slowdown in the global games industry and subsequent
content creation contraction along with delays in academic funding
in both the Engineering and Life Sciences segments.
The Group is taking a prudent approach to
optimising the cost base, increasing efficiencies and reallocating
resources to high-impact areas in order to drive
growth.
While the closing months produced
a disappointing result overall for Oxford Metrics, this year the
Group has made clear operational progress - getting markerless
ready for launch and establishing our new growth area, smart
manufacturing and positioning the business for future
success.
Since its inception, Oxford
Metrics has provided a bridge between the physical and digital
world. We have always said our technology has many use cases across
multiple industries and in November 2023, we made the move to
establish a presence in smart manufacturing with the acquisition of
Industrial Vision Systems ("IVS"). IVS brings specialised machine
learning AI technology for automated quality control to the
Group.
Post period end, we were pleased
to announce the acquisition of the Sempre Group ("Sempre"), a measurement specialist
solving manufacturing challenges across multiple industries.
Immediately earnings enhancing, Sempre is a good strategic fit for
the Group. It strengthens our smart manufacturing division, has
clear commercial and technical synergies with IVS and brings us a
deep pool of industry knowledge, an established sales and services
organisation plus access to new customers, partners and products as
well as taking us into new markets.
Looking ahead, with a strong
balance sheet Oxford Metrics is well placed to capture much more of
this new growth area.
Staying ahead of the curve, we
revealed the fruits of our innovation efforts over the past few
years to unveil our new markerless technology which is now a
reality. With great feedback from blue chip partners, we remain on
track for commercial delivery in FY25. We believe markerless
provides the Group with new market opportunities and existing
customers with the next generation motion capture
technology.
With a continued focus on cost and
efficiency the Group is actively reallocating resources to
high-impact areas. Markerless will soon be in our customers hands
and new Vicon products are in the pipeline to stimulate growth. In
smart manufacturing we are well positioned with a healthy cash
position to execute on our M&A ambitions to build out this
growth opportunity in addition to the clear synergies we are
already seeing with the latest Sempre acquisition.
Dividend
The Board remains committed to our
progressive dividend policy and proposes a 18.2% increase to our
final dividend to 3.25p per share (FY23 final dividend £2.75p) this
year.
Share buyback programme
Post period end, we were pleased
to announce a return of up to £6m of cash to shareholders through
the means of an on-market share buyback programme. Given the
Group's cash balance, the Board believes this will deliver further
value for shareholders, while maintaining its ability to pursue
future opportunities. As of 29th November 2024, the total number of
voting rights in ordinary shares of 0.25 pence per share of Oxford
Metrics was 129,791,684. The Board will keep under review the
possibility of further buybacks.
Board changes
On behalf of the board, colleagues
and our shareholders, I want to thank our former CFO, David Deacon.
David did an outstanding job helping the Group grow and prosper
throughout his 15-year tenure and we wish him well in his future
endeavors. We are delighted to have appointed Zoe Fox as new CFO of
Oxford Metrics who joins us at a pivotal moment in our five-year
plan. Having worked as an AIM CFO and with a global corporation,
Zoe brings invaluable experience and has the right skill set,
financial rigour and tenacity that will drive us forward on our
growth plan.
Post period end, David Quantrell
retired from the board as Senior Independent Non-Executive
Director. We would like to thank David for his valuable input over
the past six years and wish him well for the future. Naomi Climer
is now our Senior Independent Non-Executive Director.
We welcomed Dr Ian Wilcock as
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee. Ian
brings over 30 years' experience, has a proven track record of
growing businesses organically and through acquisition and held
senior positions at smart sensor businesses that delivered
ambitious growth plans.
Sustainability
We are committed to working
ethically and in an environmentally and socially responsible way,
and believe sustainable working practices are an important enabler
of our growth strategy. In the last twelve months we have
focused on aligning IVS onto our sustainability model as
appropriate for its size and operations. We have also taken steps
to strengthening our understanding of ESG risks in our supply chain
across the Group. Our Environmental, Social and Governance
initiatives are available here oxfordmetrics.com/sustainability
and progress is updated throughout the
year.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone
involved in supporting our business, our customers, shareholders,
partners and employees. A special thanks to our brilliant teams
across the world who have worked tirelessly throughout the year and
are playing a valuable role in positioning the Group for future
success.
Roger Parry
Chair
CEO statement
Trend of more extended buying cycles developed in H2 against
an exceptional FY23 comparative
In my report this time last year,
I talked about it being a year of 'powering up' with our Vicon
division delivering a record performance as the Group secured its
highest-ever order, and our teams delivered more advanced camera
systems than ever before.
At the half year, with
post-pandemic disruption, subsequent pent-up demand and supply
chain challenges largely behind us, we outlined that Vicon had
returned to pre-pandemic trading patterns. Our order book had
returned to more normal levels, a trend which continued into the
second half. With a consistent pipeline throughout the year, we
started to see pipeline movement with extended buying cycles really
developing during September - historically the Group's busiest
month with large contributions achieved.
As the Group moved into September,
the pipeline conversion into revenue did not happen at the rate
expected to deliver the full year number.
Globally, we saw customers across
our markets exercising greater caution and purchasing decisions
taking longer to conclude. Entertainment was impacted most by the
widely reported and ongoing slowdown in the global games industry
and subsequent content creation contraction, with some projects
cancelled. Both Engineering and Life Sciences, as expected,
reported slightly behind the prior year, having been subject to
academic funding delays.
As detailed in the above segmental
overview, a number of factors contributed to this shortfall. More
detail can be found in the financial and segmental
review.
Below outlines Vicon performance
in the period by geography. Geographically, the UK (up 34%) and
Europe (up 11%) tracked ahead, with North America (down 7%) and
APAC (down 35%) behind FY23.
Oxford Metrics today
Markerless is on track for
commercial delivery with revenues expected in FY25. We intend
to be the gold standard as we are in marker based, winning more
market share alongside our existing customer base and building a
quality software and services revenue stream on top of the
marker-based business.
This year, we have successfully
extended our sensing capabilities into a new growth area and market
- smart manufacturing - acquiring Industrial Vision Systems
("IVS"). IVS has integrated well into Oxford Metrics, adding an
impressive client roster to our well-established, international
customer base. Our plan is to build out our smart manufacturing
offering via a targeted M&A programme, so we were delighted to
welcome measurement specialists, Sempre into the fold post period
end, helping us to capture more of this important growth
market.
After 15 years' service David
Deacon stepped down as CFO with the half year being his last. I
would like to thank David for everything over the years and for a
smooth handover with our new CFO, Zoe Fox, who joined us on 1 July
and culturally is a fantastic fit with the financial rigour to take
this business forward.
Well positioned to capitalise on growth opportunities
ahead
As part of our sense, analyze and
apply strategy, we continue to make progress across the Group to
extend our sensing capabilities, enhance the analysis we can
perform and apply our IP by embedding into other companies'
solutions.
Markerless
At our Capital Market's Day in
April, attendees got to experience first-hand our markerless
technology in action, showcased in Dreamscape's 'The Clockwork
Forest' VR experience and in a smart manufacturing demo. You can
watch the positive reactions to the demos
here.
Extending our sensing
capabilities, our team continues to work hard optimising the future
of motion capture, setting the gold standard. Following
positive feedback and demand for this next generation technology,
we have secured three more blue chip partners to enter the beta
programme, taking the total to 10 cornerstone customers. Taking
into consideration invaluable feedback from our dedicated partners
on the beta program, eight updates have been released so far to
improve and optimize the technology.
The beta programme is progressing
well with customers looking forward to the first iteration of this
next generation technology.
M&A - focused on building out our smart manufacturing
presence
Having acquired IVS in November
2023, we said we would develop a meaningful presence in the smart
manufacturing market and strengthen our offering via a targeted
M&A programme.
During the year, we continued to
actively pursue M&A opportunities in smart manufacturing and
post period end announced the acquisition of the Sempre Group.
Sempre, a measurement specialist, helps well known, blue-chip
manufacturers improve their productivity and efficiencies in
aerospace, automotive, medical and precision engineering
industries.
Immediately earnings enhancing,
Sempre has clear commercial and technical synergies with IVS, and
with a proven management team not only strengthens our offering, it
emboldens our growing sales bench with its established sales and
services organisation. We are excited about the opportunities as
highly accurate, error-proof production is mission critical and our
measurement solutions solves manufacturing challenges across a
range of industries - both existing and new to us.
Oxford Metrics has a disciplined
and consistent approach to M&A. We are actively pursuing a
number of M&A opportunities to drive more applications into the
smart manufacturing space, building the Group's position in this
important market and growth area. With a healthy pipeline, we will
continue to pursue opportunities that align with our strict
criteria and mantra; to find the right acquisitions, at the right
price, for the right reasons.
Alongside our markerless
development throughout the year, FY24 saw the release of software
updates across all of our existing markets. Regular software
updates ensure solutions stay relevant for our customers
applications, ensuring the best experience.
AI
At Oxford Metrics we have always
provided a bridge between the physical and digital world. Computer
vision and machine learning is simply an application of AI -
enabling continued learning and improving.
Across the Group, machine learning
has for many years played a role and continues to as we make
technological advancements.
For example, Markerless uses the
latest machine learning and AI techniques to process video imagery
to create 3D visualisations. In smart manufacturing IVS brings
specialised machine learning AI technology for automated quality
control to the Group. With an ongoing commitment to efficiency and
quality control, IVS is using AI to test and develop AI-powered
automated inspection for the contact lens industry. These
advancements could soon support large-scale rollouts, furthering
quality control and precision in vision care.
Across Vicon and smart
manufacturing, our teams continue to develop specialist machine
learning programs resulting in faster deployment and greater
productivity.
Current Trading and Outlook
Trading in the first months of the
financial year has started in line with management expectations
with a continuation of the normalised trading patterns and buying
behaviour seen in the latter part of FY24.
Our Vicon division has started the year with a good spread of
opportunities across all main markets and a pipeline of new
products, in addition to markerless being released throughout the
year.
Our smart manufacturing division made a strong start to the year.
IVS closed a number of large deals in excess of £1.3m, contributing
to its healthy order book. Sempre has a good pipeline and we are
already seeing sales synergies with IVS opportunities.
The Group has made clear
operational progress in FY24 -
getting markerless ready for launch and
establishing our new growth area, smart manufacturing - positioning
the business for future success.
Markerless is now in the final
stages of commercialisation, ready to realise modest revenues
within the new financial year.
The Group enters FY25 with a
strong balance sheet with a cash position of £46.7m at close of business 30 November
2024. This provides the flexibility needed
to build out our smart manufacturing division via a targeted
M&A programme as we seek to extend our capabilities into yet
more areas and capture more of this important growth
market.
With a continued focus on cost and
efficiency, actively reallocating resources to high-impact areas,
we are well positioned to capitalise on the growth opportunities,
setting the business up for success in 2025 and beyond.
Imogen O'Connor
CEO
* Profit Before Tax adjusted for share-based payments,
acquisition costs and amortisation of intangibles arising on
acquisition
FINANCAL AND SEGMENTAL REVIEW
Group performance
|
FY24
|
FY23
|
|
Revenue
|
PBT
|
Adj
PBT
|
Revenue
|
PBT
|
Adj
PBT
|
Vicon
|
38.6
|
1.1
|
4.9
|
44.2
|
5.7
|
9.2
|
IVS
|
2.9
|
(0.3)
|
0.3
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Plc
|
-
|
2.0
|
1.4
|
-
|
1.5
|
(1.7)
|
Total Group Continued
Operations
|
41.5
|
2.8
|
3.7
|
44.2
|
7.2
|
7.5
|
Discontinued Operations
|
-
|
(2.2)
|
(0.9)
|
-
|
(1.0)
|
(0.9)
|
Total Group Including Discontinued
Operations
|
41.5
|
0.6
|
2.8
|
44.2
|
6.2
|
6.6
|
Income Statement
As we
moved towards the end of the financial year, we saw
customers across our markets exercising greater
caution with purchasing decisions taking longer to conclude.
The Group has reported revenues of
£41.5m (FY23:
£44.2m), a decrease of
6% and below expectations.
The Group reports an Adjusted PBT*
from continuing operations
of £3.7m
(FY23: £7.5m), reflecting
the trend of extended
buying cycles which developed in H2 against an exceptional FY23
comparative. Historically, September has always been the Group's
busiest trading month. FY23 was an exceptionally strong year
following the well-documented global supply chain challenges and
with the team successfully delivering on pent-up demand post-pandemic.
The year-on-year FX effects were
modest: on the average FY24 USD to GBP exchange rate of 1.27 vs
average FY23 USD to GBP exchange rate of 1.23 the revenues
decreased by 1.6% for the Group.
Vicon reported revenues of £38.6m
(FY23: £44.2m) a decrease of 13% year on year (FY23: increase of
53%), based off a very strong prior year
comparator.
Having acquired IVS in November
2023 to establish our smart manufacturing offering, it delivered
revenues of £2.9m for the 11 months under our ownership. Whilst
revenues were behind expectation IVS exited the year with a strong
order book which has continued to grow in Q1 FY25.
From a geographical perspective,
Asia Pacific had a weaker year based off a very strong comparative
year with a decline of 35% (FY23: increase 75%). UK and
Europe both saw growth of 91% and 20% respectively (FY23: UK 33%
and Europe 7%). The UK increased 91% which included the
contribution of our smart manufacturing division and acquisition
of IVS plus our largest UK Vicon order in
history. Excluding smart manufacturing the UK growth
was 36% (FY23: 33% Vicon only) and Europe growth
was 11% (FY23: 7%).
Gross margin
improved to 66.6% (FY23: 65.0%), up 1.6 percentage points on prior
year, reflecting the utilisation of the higher cost
components acquired during the supply chain challenge of the last
few years and a return to more normal supply.
The gross profit for the Group was
£27.6m (FY23: £28.7m), a decrease of £1.1m.
As we explained in our FY24 interim
results, the decision was taken to discontinue IMeasureU (IMU), our
New Zealand operation, to focus on growth areas of the business
such as building out our smart manufacturing division and working
hard to commercialise markerless. This has resulted in discontinued
losses of £2.2m including the write off of goodwill and IP of
£1.3m.
At a divisional level, vertical
market segments performance and operational progress was as
follows:
Vicon
Life Sciences
Life Sciences reported revenues of
£14.6m (FY23: £14.8m) representing a slight decline of 1%, as
expected, due to an academic slowdown and reduced government
funding.
Several customers of note upgraded
to our premier Valkyrie system in the year, including:
· Long-standing customer, PING, one of the world's leading golf
club manufacturers. Our Valkyrie system is aiding their club
fitting process, helping to improve golfers' performance.
Watch PING in action.
· Liverpool John Moores University's School of Sport and
Exercise Sciences upgraded, enabling students, researchers and
partners to use state-of-the-art equipment to enhance their
understanding of the science behind human performance and
behaviour.
New customer, Center for Childhood
Deafness, Language and Learning at Boys Town National Research
Hospital invested in a Vicon system to look into how toddlers and
preschoolers develop their language and speech motor skills
required for language production.
Entertainment
Entertainment (which now includes
Location-based Entertainment) reported revenues of £15.9m (FY23:
£20.7m), representing a 23% decline, largely due to the ongoing
slowdown in the global games industry and subsequent content
creation contraction. This segment was impacted most.
· Our
partner, Dimension Studio used Vicon to help build over a dozen
worlds for Apple TV+ Time Bandits. Our Vicon system enabled them to
track the position of all elements on their virtual production
stage including a large number of fast-moving objects.
· Through our customer and partner, Arri Solutions, Vicon has
been installed at one of Europe's largest virtual production stages
to date, Gran Canaria Studios.
· NYU's
newly opened facility, Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center,
fitted with our Shogun software and 40 Vicon cameras, is providing
students with an immersive, hands-on education in the emerging
field of storytelling through virtual production.
Engineering
Engineering reported revenues of
£8.1m (FY23: £8.7m) representing a slight decline of 7%, as
expected with delays witnessed in academic funding.
High accuracy and low latency
tracking are key in the Engineering market. Contracts were secured
across automotive, aerospace, metrology and research sectors with
common applications being Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and other
autonomous vehicle tracking.
· DLR
Robotics and Mechatronics Center, German Aerospace Center, invested
in a Valkyrie system so researchers could track exploration robots
on a test site that simulates Mars and Moon test sites for robotic
missions.
· Worcester Polytechnic Institute added cameras to their
existing Vicon system which they use to track robots who are
learning to navigate complex environments at speed and scale,
tackling real-world challenges from pollination to autonomous
search & rescue. Watch their small, smart and fast robots
in
action.
Smart manufacturing - our new growth area, established in
2023
Smart manufacturing reported
first time revenues of £2.9m, slightly
behind expectations as some customers delayed placing orders
deferring production to FY25. These orders have now been
partially delivered, with the remainder orders expected to be
delivered in Q1.
Multiple new contracts have been
secured as demand continues for automated vision inspection and
quality control.
The medical sector saw the largest
growth in the year, of note were the following
applications:
· A
prominent inhaler manufacturer invested in our state-of-the-art
vision inspection technology to ensure rigorous quality control for
critical components within the inhaler sub-assembly, setting a new
standard for reliability and patient safety.
· A new
medical client invested in six inspection systems, three units for
integration within existing production lines and three high-speed
standalone pellet inspection machines.
· A
leading London hospital invested in a semi-automatic inspection
system to verify if particulates are present in fluid filled glass
containers that would otherwise contaminate the chemical-based
product.
Multiple contracts were secured
worldwide for inspection systems for high speed contact lens
production lines including an automated inspection system for a new
Spanish-based contact lens manufacturer.
A major initiative in automotive
battery safety is underway with a well-known, UK-based, blue chip
automotive manufacturer, focusing on safeguarding and automatically
inspecting precision connectors on batteries to ensure strict
adherence to quality and specification standards.
Overheads
Sales, Support and Marketing costs
were £8.8m (FY23: £8.2m) an increase of £0.6m which is due to
investment in sales, sales support and marketing structure to build
for growth.
Research & Development
expensed through the Income Statement was £5.2m (FY23: £5.9m). The
continual investment and innovation in product and services is
necessary to maintain the Group's competitive position; this
included the continued development of, the markerless project,
which was expensed during FY23 and capitalised in FY24 reflecting
the stage and the commercialisation of the project.
Administration expenses were
£12.9m (FY23: £8.8m). The large increase of £4.1m year on year is
mainly due to the £2.1m costs attributable to IVS, £0.8m new
markerless offices and facility, £0.3m investment in cloud-based
ERP system to drive efficiencies and £0.3m improving of quality
assurance.
The Group is taking a prudent
approach to managing the cost base, increasing efficiencies and
reallocating resources to high-impact areas in order to drive
growth.
Adjusted PBT* of £3.7m (FY23:
£7.5m) has been determined after adding back to the Statutory PBT
£2.8m (FY23: £7.3m) non-cash items such as amortisation and
impairment of acquired intangibles, share option charge and
non-recurring items. A full reconciliation is available in note
6.
Statement of Financial Position
The net assets of the Group amounted
to £79.0 million (FY23: £81.2 million) and can be summarised as
follows:
Goodwill and intangibles
The balance increase to £18.7m
(FY23: £10.2m) reflecting the acquisition of Industrial Vision Systems Limited for £8.8m and £3.1m (FY23: £2.1m) of capitalised development
in the year less amortisation of development costs £1.6m (FY23:
£1.7m) and the amortisation of acquired intangibles of £0.5m (FY23:
£0.3m). During FY24 there was a disposal of £1.1m of goodwill
relating to discontinuing operations.
Property, plant and equipment
The value of fixed assets
increased to £3.3m (FY23: £2.5m). The movement arising mainly due
to investment of £1.6m (FY23: £1.5m) in the year which included
leasehold improvements and furniture and fixtures for the new
office in Botley, UK, a variety of IT and demonstration related
equipment. Depreciation charge for the year of £1.0m (FY23:
£0.6m).
Right of use assets (IFRS16)
The value of Right of Use assets
increased to £3.5m (FY23: £3.1m) during the year which reflected
the commencement of a new lease for our new markerless UK offices
based in Botley, Oxford and £0.5m relating to IVS
leases.
Inventories
The inventory position at the end
of the financial year was £7.7m (FY23: £7.2m). This has decreased
from £9m at H124 and given the normalisation of the supply chain
now seen the Group is expecting to continue to drive inventory down
to optimise working capital but ensuring we have sufficient
inventory for growth. An additional provision of £0.3m was provided
at the year end to cover inventory which was at risk of end of life
or excess.
Trade and other receivables
At the year-end Trade and other
receivables were £8.9m (FY23: £9.9m). The net overall decrease is
due to lower Vicon Trade receivables £6.7m (FY23: £7.6m), which
reflected the pattern of trading seen in 2H24. There is no change
in accrued interest year on year at £0.6m (FY23: £0.6m).
Current liabilities
At the year-end, Trade and other
payables were £7.3m (FY23: £11.3m). The decrease is reflective of
the trade payables decreased at the year-end to £1.4m (FY23:
£3.8m), accruals were lower at £2.6m (FY23: £3.5m) and
support contract liabilities and deferred income
were lower at £2.9m (FY23: £3.7m) due in part to exceptional
level of customer deposits last year and trade payables reduced due
to the actions to reduce the inventory within the Group.
The lease liabilities balance
reported at £1.2m (FY23: £0.7m) represents the value of lease
payments due within one year relating to right of use assets. The
increase is due to IVS and the new facilities for Vicon, previously
mentioned.
Statement of cashflows
The Group finished the year with
Net cash of £50.7m (FY23: £64.8m) including Fixed Term deposits of
£30.0m (FY23: £42.0m). The amount on fixed term deposit was reduced
at year-end in readiness for the acquisition of Sempre post year
end.
Cash outflow from operating
activities was £0.4m (FY23: cash inflow £3.4m).
The cash reserves were utilised in
continued investment in development giving rise to a purchase of
intangibles of £3.1m (FY23: £2.1m), acquisition of subsidiary
undertaking IVS £6.2m, net of £1.1m cash acquired with the business
and initial cash consideration paid of £7.3m payment of dividends
of £3.6m (FY23: £3.2m) and the aforementioned increase in
Inventory.
Surplus cash not required for the
day to day working capital needs of the business is on a variety of
3-12 month bank deposits with NatWest and Lloyds Bank. Interest
received in cash for the year was £2.4m (FY23: £1.2m).
Tax
The Group tax credit this year is
£0.1m (FY23: Charge £0.6m). The tax credit in the year arose due to
various deferred tax adjustments including but not exclusively
Research & Development tax credits which continues to have a
beneficial effect on the level of corporation tax payable in the
UK.
The Group has a net deferred tax
liability of £1.9m (FY23: £1.1m).
Zoe Fox
CFO
consolidated INCOME statement
for the year ended 30 september 2024
|
|
(Unaudited)
2024
|
(Audited)
2023
|
|
Note
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Revenue
|
3
|
41,459
|
44,240
|
Cost of sales
|
|
(13,868)
|
(15,497)
|
|
|
|
|
Gross profit
|
|
27,591
|
28,743
|
Sales, support and marketing
costs
|
|
(8,795)
|
(8,169)
|
Research and development
costs
|
|
(5,152)
|
(5,899)
|
Administrative expenses
|
|
(12,920)
|
(8,797)
|
|
|
|
|
Operating profit
|
|
724
|
5,878
|
Finance income
|
|
2,334
|
1,561
|
Finance expense
|
|
(276)
|
(163)
|
|
|
|
|
Profit before taxation
|
|
2,782
|
7,276
|
Taxation
|
7
|
149
|
(612)
|
Profit from continuing
operations
|
|
2,931
|
6,664
|
Loss from discontinued operations
net of tax
|
|
(2,173)
|
(1,008)
|
|
|
|
|
Profit attributable to owners of the parent during the
year
|
|
758
|
5,656
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings per share for profit on continuing operations
attributable to owners of the parent during the
year
|
|
|
|
Basic earnings per ordinary share
(pence)
|
8
|
2.24p
|
5.13p
|
Diluted earnings per ordinary share
(pence)
|
8
|
2.22p
|
5.10p
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings per share for profit on total operations attributable
to owners of the parent during the year
|
|
|
|
Basic earnings per ordinary share
(pence)
|
8
|
0.58p
|
4.35p
|
Diluted earnings per ordinary share
(pence)
|
8
|
0.56p
|
4.32p
|
|
|
|
|
COnsolidated statement of
comprehensive income FOR THE YEAR
ENDED 30 sEPTEMBER 2024
|
|
(Unaudited)
|
(Audited)
|
|
|
2024
|
2023
|
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Net
profit for the year
|
|
758
|
5,656
|
Other comprehensive expense
|
|
|
|
Items that will or may be reclassified to profit or
loss
|
|
|
|
Exchange differences on
retranslation of overseas subsidiaries
|
|
(406)
|
(110)
|
Tax credit on translation
differences
|
|
81
|
|
Total other comprehensive expense
|
|
(325)
|
(110)
|
Total comprehensive income for the year attributable to owners
of the parent
|
|
433
|
5,546
|
consolidated statement of financial position AS AT 30
september 2024
COMPANY NUMBER: 03998880
|
|
(Unaudited)
|
(Audited)
|
|
|
2024
|
2023
|
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Non-current assets
|
|
|
|
Goodwill and intangible
assets
|
|
18,714
|
10,203
|
Property, plant and
equipment
|
|
3,257
|
2,480
|
Right of use assets
|
|
3,534
|
3,135
|
Financial asset -
investments
|
|
236
|
236
|
|
|
25,741
|
16,054
|
Current assets
|
|
|
|
Inventories
|
|
7,737
|
7,240
|
Trade and other
receivables
|
|
8,932
|
9,907
|
Current tax receivable
|
|
425
|
-
|
Fixed term deposits
|
|
30,000
|
42,000
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
|
20,723
|
23,965
|
|
|
67,817
|
83,112
|
|
|
|
|
Current liabilities
|
|
|
|
Trade and other payables
|
|
(7,344)
|
(11,304)
|
Current tax payable
|
|
(124)
|
(275)
|
Deferred consideration
payable
|
|
(436)
|
-
|
Bank overdraft
|
|
-
|
(1,174)
|
Lease liabilities
|
|
(1,174)
|
(724)
|
|
|
(9,078)
|
(13,477)
|
|
|
|
|
Net
current assets
|
|
58,739
|
69,635
|
Total assets less current liabilities
|
|
84,480
|
85,689
|
|
|
|
|
Non-current liabilities
|
|
|
|
Other liabilities
|
|
(848)
|
(820)
|
Lease liabilities
|
|
(2,601)
|
(2,498)
|
Provisions
|
|
(59)
|
(48)
|
Deferred tax liability
|
|
(1,879)
|
(1,118)
|
|
|
(5,387)
|
(4,484)
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets
|
|
79,093
|
81,205
|
|
|
|
|
Capital and reserves attributable to
owners of the parent
|
|
|
|
Share capital
|
|
329
|
326
|
Shares to be issued
|
|
65
|
65
|
Share premium account
|
|
19,494
|
19,487
|
Merger reserve
|
|
870
|
-
|
Retained earnings
|
|
57,865
|
60,451
|
Foreign currency translation
reserve
|
|
470
|
876
|
Total equity shareholders' funds
|
|
79,093
|
81,205
|
|
|
|
|
consolidated STATEMENT of CASHFLOWS
For
the year ended 30 september 2024
|
|
(Unaudited)
|
(Audited)
|
|
|
2024
|
2023
|
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Cash flows from operating activities
|
|
|
|
Profit for the year from continuing
operations
|
|
2,931
|
6,664
|
Loss for the year from discontinued
operations
|
|
(2,173)
|
(1,008)
|
Total profit for the year
|
|
758
|
5,656
|
|
|
|
|
Income tax
(credit)/expense
|
|
(216)
|
594
|
Finance income
|
|
(2,334)
|
(1,561)
|
Finance expense
|
|
276
|
163
|
Depreciation and
amortisation
|
|
4,072
|
2,898
|
Impairment of intangible
assets
|
|
1,273
|
217
|
Profit on sale of property, plant
and equipment
|
|
-
|
(8)
|
Share-based payments
|
|
211
|
59
|
Increase in inventories
|
|
(285)
|
(2,799)
|
Decrease/(increase) in
receivables
|
|
1,108
|
(2,274)
|
(Decrease)/increase in
payables
|
|
(4,540)
|
205
|
Cash generated from operating activities
|
|
323
|
3,150
|
|
|
|
|
Tax (paid) / received
|
|
(755)
|
209
|
|
|
|
|
Net
cash from operating activities
|
|
(432)
|
3,359
|
|
|
|
|
Cash flows from investing activities
|
|
|
|
Purchase of property, plant and
equipment
|
|
(1,611)
|
(1,499)
|
Purchase of intangible
assets
|
|
(3,086)
|
(2,127)
|
Acquisition of subsidiary
undertaking, net of cash acquired
|
|
(6,231)
|
-
|
Proceeds on disposal of property,
plant and equipment
|
|
12
|
8
|
Dividends received
|
|
-
|
--
|
Cash placed on fixed term
deposits
|
|
(57,968)
|
(67,000)
|
Fixed term deposits
maturing
|
|
69,968
|
80,000
|
Interest received
|
|
2,388
|
1,219
|
|
|
|
|
Net
cash generated from/(used in) investing
activities
|
|
3,472
|
10,601
|
|
|
|
|
Cash flows from financing activities
|
|
|
|
Principal paid on lease
liabilities
|
|
(825)
|
(579)
|
Interest paid
|
|
(3)
|
(4)
|
Interest paid on lease
liabilities
|
|
(291)
|
(159)
|
Issue of ordinary shares
|
|
10
|
370
|
Equity dividends paid
|
|
(3,615)
|
(3,246)
|
|
|
|
|
Net
cash used in financing activities
|
|
(4,724)
|
(3,618)
|
|
|
|
|
Net
(decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents
|
|
(1,684)
|
10,342
|
|
|
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the
period
|
|
22,791
|
12,679
|
|
|
|
|
Exchange loss on cash and cash equivalents
|
|
(384)
|
(230)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
20,723
|
22,791
|
|
|
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents included in current
assets
|
|
20,723
|
23,965
|
Bank overdraft included in current
liabilities
|
|
-
|
(1,174)
|
|
|
20,723
|
22,791
|
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY FOR THE YEAR ENDED
30 SEPTEMBER 2024
Group
|
Share
capital
|
Shares
to be
issued
|
Share premium
account
|
Merger
Reserve
|
Retained
earnings
|
Foreign currency translation
reserve
|
Total
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Balance as at 30 September
2022
(Audited)
|
324
|
65
|
19,094
|
-
|
57,917
|
986
|
78,386
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net profit for the year
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
5,656
|
-
|
5,656
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exchange differences on
retranslation of overseas subsidiaries
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(110)
|
(110)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Transactions with
owners:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tax recognised directly in equity
in relation to employee share option schemes
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
90
|
-
|
90
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dividends
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(3,246)
|
-
|
(3,246)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Issue of share capital
|
2
|
-
|
393
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
395
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Share based payment
charge
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
34
|
-
|
34
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance as at 30 September 2023
(Audited)
|
326
|
65
|
19,487
|
-
|
60,451
|
876
|
81,205
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net profit for the year
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
758
|
-
|
758
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exchange differences on retranslation of overseas
subsidiaries
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(406)
|
(406)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tax credit on translation differences
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
81
|
-
|
81
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Transactions with owners:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tax recognised directly in equity in relation to employee
share option schemes
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(21)
|
-
|
(21)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dividends
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(3,615)
|
-
|
(3,615)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Issue of share capital
|
3
|
-
|
7
|
870
|
-
|
-
|
880
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Share based payment charge
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
211
|
-
|
211
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance as at 30 September 2024 (Unaudited)
|
329
|
65
|
19,494
|
870
|
57,865
|
470
|
79,093
|
|
1.
Basis of preparation of
the financial information
The financial information in this
preliminary announcement has been prepared in accordance with the
recognition and measurement criteria of IFRSs, this announcement
does not itself contain sufficient information to comply with
IFRSs.
The preparation of financial
statements in conformity with IFRS requires the use of certain
critical accounting estimates. It also requires management to
exercise judgement in the process of applying the Group's
accounting policies which affect the reported amount of assets and
liabilities at the statement of financial position date and the
reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reported
period. Although the estimates are based on management's best
knowledge of the amount, event or actions, actual results may
ultimately differ from those estimates.
The financial information for the
year ended 30 September 2024 as set out in this preliminary
announcement does not constitute the statutory accounts of the
Group for the relevant year within the meaning of section 435 of
the Companies Act 2006. The audit of the statutory financial
statements for the year ended 30 September 2024 is not yet
complete. These accounts will be finalised on the basis of the
financial information presented by the Directors in this
preliminary announcement and will be delivered to the Registrar of
Companies following the Company's annual general meeting. The
Consolidated Income Statement, Consolidated Statement of
Comprehensive Income, Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
and Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 30
September 2023 and the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
as at 30 September 2023 have been derived from the full Group
accounts published in the Annual Report and Financial Statements
2023. These have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and
on which the report of the independent auditors was unqualified and
did not contain a statement under section 498(2) or section 498(3)
of the Companies Act 2006.
2. Basis of
consolidation
The consolidated financial
information incorporates the results of the Company and all of its
subsidiary undertakings drawn up to 30 September 2024.
3.
Revenue from contracts with customers
|
|
|
|
(Unaudited)
2024
|
(Audited)
2023
|
|
Revenue
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
Continuing operations
|
|
|
|
Vicon UK
|
21,250
|
25,545
|
|
Vicon USA
|
17,340
|
18,695
|
|
Smart manufacturing
|
2,869
|
-
|
|
|
41,459
|
44,240
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Timing of the transfer of goods
and services
|
Smart
Manufacturing
|
Vicon UK
|
Vicon USA
|
Total
|
2024 (Unaudited)
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
|
|
|
|
Point in time
|
393
|
19,196
|
14,569
|
34,158
|
Over time
|
2,476
|
2,054
|
2,771
|
7,301
|
Total
|
2,869
|
21,250
|
17,340
|
41,459
|
|
|
|
|
|
Contract Counterparties
|
|
|
|
|
Direct to consumers
|
2,869
|
7,866
|
16,356
|
27,091
|
Third party distributor
|
-
|
13,384
|
984
|
14,368
|
Total
|
2,869
|
21,250
|
17,340
|
41,459
|
|
|
|
|
|
By
destination
|
|
|
|
|
UK
|
1,761
|
4,326
|
-
|
6,087
|
|
|
|
|
|
Germany
|
-
|
1,077
|
94
|
1,171
|
Italy
|
-
|
426
|
-
|
426
|
Netherlands
|
-
|
659
|
-
|
659
|
France
|
3
|
485
|
-
|
488
|
Poland
|
-
|
78
|
-
|
78
|
Spain
|
234
|
149
|
-
|
383
|
Ireland
|
162
|
30
|
-
|
192
|
Czech Republic
|
4
|
1,333
|
-
|
1,337
|
Switzerland
|
-
|
1,268
|
-
|
1,268
|
Rest of Europe
|
72
|
339
|
-
|
411
|
Total Europe
|
475
|
5,844
|
94
|
6,413
|
|
|
|
|
|
Canada
|
480
|
6
|
1,527
|
2,013
|
USA
|
6
|
35
|
15,481
|
15,522
|
Total North America
|
486
|
41
|
17,008
|
17,535
|
|
|
|
|
|
Australia
|
-
|
1,344
|
8
|
1,352
|
Hong Kong
|
-
|
1,223
|
2
|
1,225
|
Japan
|
-
|
4,009
|
-
|
4,009
|
South Korea
|
11
|
874
|
-
|
885
|
China
|
-
|
1,530
|
-
|
1,530
|
India
|
-
|
477
|
-
|
477
|
Rest of Asia Pacific
|
-
|
1,500
|
1
|
1,501
|
Total Asia Pacific
|
11
|
10,957
|
11
|
10,979
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other
|
136
|
82
|
227
|
445
|
Total
|
2,869
|
21,250
|
17,340
|
41,459
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Timing of the transfer of goods
and services
|
Vicon
UK
|
Vicon
USA
|
Total
|
2023 (Audited)
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
|
|
|
Point in time
|
23,714
|
16,032
|
39,746
|
Over time
|
1,831
|
2,663
|
4,494
|
Total
|
25,545
|
18,695
|
44,240
|
|
|
|
|
Contract Counterparties
|
|
|
|
Direct to consumers
|
5,341
|
17,673
|
23,014
|
Third party distributor
|
20,204
|
1,022
|
21,226
|
Total
|
25,545
|
18,695
|
44,240
|
|
|
|
|
By destination
|
|
|
|
UK
|
3,176
|
-
|
3,176
|
|
|
|
|
Germany
|
1,973
|
-
|
1,973
|
Italy
|
633
|
-
|
633
|
Netherlands
|
646
|
-
|
646
|
France
|
155
|
-
|
155
|
Poland
|
178
|
-
|
178
|
Spain
|
88
|
-
|
88
|
Ireland
|
565
|
-
|
565
|
Rest of Europe
|
1,087
|
-
|
1,087
|
|
5,325
|
-
|
5,325
|
|
|
|
|
Canada
|
9
|
1,878
|
1,887
|
USA
|
12
|
16,533
|
16,545
|
Total North America
|
21
|
18,411
|
18,432
|
|
|
|
|
Australia
|
939
|
13
|
952
|
Hong Kong
|
2,517
|
-
|
2,517
|
Japan
|
5,680
|
-
|
5,680
|
South Korea
|
2,835
|
-
|
2,835
|
China
|
3,957
|
-
|
3,957
|
India
|
574
|
-
|
574
|
Rest of Asia Pacific
|
397
|
-
|
397
|
Total Asia Pacific
|
16,899
|
13
|
16,912
|
|
|
|
|
Other
|
124
|
271
|
395
|
Total
|
25,545
|
18,695
|
44,240
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Unaudited)
2024
£'000
|
(Audited)
2023
£'000
|
Group revenue by market - Continuing
operations
|
|
|
Engineering
|
8,100
|
8,708
|
Entertainment
|
15,851
|
20,691
|
Life sciences
|
14,639
|
14,841
|
Smart Manufacturing
|
2,869
|
-
|
Total
|
41,459
|
44,240
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Group revenue by type
Continuing operations
|
|
|
Sale of hardware
|
33,360
|
36,158
|
Sale of software
|
1,753
|
1,974
|
Rendering of services
|
5,334
|
5,209
|
Support
|
1,012
|
899
|
Total
|
41,459
|
44,240
|
Group revenue by origin
|
|
|
Continuing operations
|
|
|
UK
|
22,559
|
23,690
|
Europe
|
1,560
|
1,852
|
North America
|
17,340
|
18,695
|
Asia Pacific
|
-
|
3
|
Total
|
41,459
|
44,240
|
Contract
balances
|
2024
(Unaudited)
|
|
Contract
assets
|
Contract
liabilities
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
|
|
At 1 October 2023
|
-
|
(4,528)
|
|
|
|
On acquisition
|
18
|
(438)
|
|
|
|
Transfers from contract assets to
trade receivables during the period
|
(18)
|
-
|
|
|
|
Amounts included in contract
liabilities recognised as revenue during the period
|
-
|
11,524
|
|
|
|
Excess of revenue recognised over
invoices raised during the period
|
144
|
-
|
|
|
|
Invoices raised in advance of
performance and not recognised as revenue during the
period
|
-
|
(10,578)
|
|
|
|
Foreign exchange
differences
|
-
|
247
|
|
|
|
At
30 September 2024
|
144
|
(3,773)
|
|
2023
(Audited)
|
|
Contract
assets
|
Contract
liabilities
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
At 1 October 2022
|
-
|
(6,043)
|
|
|
|
Amounts included in contract
liabilities recognised as revenue during the period
|
-
|
18,400
|
|
|
|
Cash received in advance of
performance and not recognised as revenue during the
period
|
-
|
(17,138)
|
|
|
|
Foreign exchange
differences
|
-
|
253
|
|
|
|
At
30 September 2023
|
-
|
(4,528)
|
|
|
|
Contract assets and contract
liabilities are included within trade and other assets and trade
and other payables and other liabilities respectively on the face
of the statement of financial position. They arise primarily from
the Group's support contracts which are delivered over time and
where the cumulative payments received from customers at each
balance sheet date do not necessarily equal the amount of revenue
recognised on the contract.
Remaining
performance obligations
The majority of the Group's
contracts are for the delivery of goods and services within the
next 12 months. However, some software and support contracts
are for a period greater than 12 months and the amount of revenue
that will be recognised in future periods on these contracts is as
follows:
At
30 September 2024
(Unaudited)
|
2025
|
2026
|
2027
|
2028
|
2029
|
2030 and
beyond
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Support contracts
|
2,732
|
480
|
225
|
99
|
23
|
21
|
Smart Manufacturing
contracts
|
193
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
2,925
|
480
|
225
|
99
|
23
|
21
|
At 30 September 2023
(Audited)
|
2024
|
2025
|
2026
|
2027
|
2028
|
2029 and
beyond
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Support contracts
|
3,707
|
493
|
199
|
86
|
39
|
4
|
4.
Segmental analysis
Segment information is presented in
the financial statements in respect of the Group's business
segments, which are reported to the Chief Operating Decision Maker
(CODM). The Group has identified the Board of Directors of
Oxford Metrics plc ("the Board") as the CODM. The business
segment reporting reflects the Group's management and internal
reporting structure.
During the year the Group comprised
the following business segments:
· Vicon
Group: This is the development, production and sale of computer
software and equipment for the engineering, entertainment and life
science markets.
· Smart
Manufacturing: This is the development, production and sale
of vision inspection systems.
Other unallocated costs represent
head office expenses not recharged to subsidiary companies and
interest received on surplus cash balances.
Inter segment transfers are priced
along the same lines as sales to external customers, with an
appropriate discount being applied to encourage use of Group
resources. This policy was applied consistently throughout
the current and prior year. There were no significant inter
segment transfers during the current or prior year.
Segment assets consist primarily of
property, plant and equipment, intangible assets, inventories and
trade and other receivables. Unallocated assets comprise
deferred taxation, investments and cash and cash
equivalents.
|
2024
(Unaudited)
|
2023
(Audited)
|
|
Adjusted profit/(loss) before
tax
|
Adjusting
items
|
Group
recharges
|
Profit/(loss) before
tax
|
Adjusted
profit/(loss) before tax
|
Adjusting
items
|
Group
recharges
|
Profit/(loss) before tax
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Continuing operations
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vicon Group
|
4,919
|
(207)
|
(3,654)
|
1,058
|
9,189
|
(215)
|
(3,243)
|
5,731
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Smart manufacturing
|
252
|
(262)
|
(304)
|
(314)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unallocated
|
(1,431)
|
(489)
|
3,958
|
2,038
|
(1,690)
|
(8)
|
3,243
|
1,545
|
Total continuing
operations
|
3,740
|
(958)
|
-
|
2,782
|
7,499
|
(223)
|
-
|
7,276
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Discontinued operations
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vicon UK - IMU
|
(895)
|
(1,345)
|
-
|
(2,240)
|
(954)
|
(72)
|
-
|
(1,026)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oxford Metrics Group
|
2,845
|
(2,303)
|
-
|
542
|
6,545
|
(295)
|
-
|
6,250
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-current
assets
|
Additions to non-current
assets
|
Carrying amount of segment
assets
|
Carrying amount of segment
liabilities
|
|
(Unaudited)
2024
|
(Audited)
2023
|
(Unaudited)
2024
|
(Audited)
2023
|
(Unaudited)
2024
|
(Audited)
2023
|
(Unaudited)
2024
|
(Audited)
2023
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vicon Group
|
16,440
|
15,773
|
4,684
|
5,883
|
35,767
|
41,268
|
(11,292)
|
(16,833)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Smart manufacturing
|
9,038
|
-
|
8,858
|
-
|
10,593
|
-
|
(1,872)
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unallocated
|
263
|
281
|
7
|
55
|
53,250
|
63,950
|
(1,301)
|
(1,128)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OMG Life Group*
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(6,052)
|
(6,052)
|
-
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oxford Metrics Group
|
25,741
|
16,054
|
13,549
|
5,938
|
93,558
|
99,166
|
(14,465)
|
(17,961)
|
* The
negative balance within segment assets represents a cash overdraft
which is part of the Group's cash offset facility.
5.
Profit for the year
The profit for the year is stated
after charging / (crediting):
|
(Unaudited) 2024
|
(Audited)
2023
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Amortisation of right of use
assets
|
1,021
|
523
|
Depreciation of property, plant and
equipment - owned
|
955
|
639
|
Amortisation of intellectual
property
|
394
|
274
|
Amortisation of customer
relationships
|
124
|
-
|
Amortisation of brand
|
17
|
-
|
Amortisation of development
costs
|
1,561
|
1,462
|
Impairment of development
costs
|
-
|
217
|
Impairment of intellectual
property
|
197
|
-
|
Impairment of goodwill
|
1,076
|
-
|
Share based payments - equity
settled
|
-
|
25
|
Share option charges
|
211
|
34
|
Foreign exchange
loss/(gain)
|
601
|
(108)
|
6.
Reconciliation of adjusted profit before tax
The adjusted profit before
tax is considered by the Board to more accurately reflect the
underlying operating performance of the business on a go-forward
basis and complements the statutory measure as reported in the
Consolidated Income Statement.
The reconciliation of profit
before tax to adjusted profit provided below includes items that
are:
•
non-recurring in nature, such as redundancy costs incurred from
time to time and acquisition costs.
•
non-cash moving items which arise from the accounting treatment of
share based payments and the amortisation of acquired intangibles
which affect neither future operating performance nor cash
generation.
The above definition has been
consistently applied historically and is the measure by which the
market generally judges PBT performance.
|
(Unaudited)
2024
|
(Audited) 2023
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Profit before tax - continuing
operations
|
2,782
|
7,276
|
Share option charges
|
211
|
34
|
Amortisation of intangibles arising
on acquisition
|
452
|
189
|
Acquisition costs
|
295
|
-
|
Adjusted profit before tax -
continuing operations
|
3,740
|
7,499
|
|
|
|
Profit before tax - discontinued
operations
|
(2,240)
|
(1,026)
|
Amortisation of intangibles arising
on acquisition
|
72
|
72
|
Impairment of goodwill and
intangible assets
|
1,273
|
-
|
Adjusted profit before tax -
discontinued operations
|
(895)
|
(954)
|
Adjusted profit before tax - total
operations
|
2,845
|
6,545
|
|
|
|
Adjusted earnings per share for profit on continuing
operations attributable to owners of the parent during the
year
|
|
|
|
|
Basic earnings per share
(pence)
|
|
|
2.96p
|
5.29p
|
Diluted earnings per share
(pence)
|
|
|
2.93p
|
5.26p
|
7.
Taxation
The tax is based on the profit for
the year and represents:
|
(Unaudited)
2024
|
(Audited) 2023
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
United Kingdom corporation
tax at 25.0% (2023:
22.0%)
|
1
|
218
|
Overseas taxation
|
288
|
143
|
Adjustments in respect of prior
year
|
(140)
|
15
|
Current taxation
|
149
|
376
|
Deferred taxation
|
(365)
|
218
|
Total taxation
(credit)/expense
|
(216)
|
594
|
In the prior year UK corporation
tax was calculated at 19.0% up to 31 March 2023 and 25.0% from 1
April 2023. This gives rise to a blended tax rate of 22.0%
for the prior year.
Continuing and discontinued
operations:
|
(Unaudited) 2024
|
(Audited)
2023
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Income tax (credit)/expense from
continuing operations
|
(149)
|
612
|
Income tax credit from discontinued
operations excluding gain on sale
|
(67)
|
(18)
|
Total tax (credit)/
expense
|
(216)
|
594
|
At 30 September 2024, the Group had
an undiscounted deferred tax asset of
£2,266,000 (2023: £1,618,000). The
asset comprises principally short term timing differences, future
tax relief available on the exercise of outstanding employee share
options in Oxford Metrics plc and unrelieved trading losses carried
forward for which recoverability is reasonably certain.
Deferred tax assets and liabilities
have been measured at an effective rate of 25% in both the UK and USA (2023:
25%).
The tax assessed for the year is
lower than the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of
25.0% (2023: lower than the
blended rate of 22%).
The
differences are explained as follows:
|
(Unaudited)
2024
|
(Audited) 2023
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Profit for the year
|
758
|
5,656
|
Income tax (credit)/expense
including discontinued operations
|
(216)
|
594
|
Profit on ordinary activities
before tax
|
542
|
6,250
|
Expected tax expense based on the
rate of
corporation tax in the UK of 25.0%
(2023: 22.0%)
|
136
|
1,375
|
Effect of:
|
|
|
Expenses not deductible for tax
purposes
|
436
|
82
|
Movement in unrecognised deferred
tax asset
|
281
|
149
|
Adjustments to tax charge in
respect of prior year current tax
|
(140)
|
15
|
Adjustments to tax charge in
respect of prior year deferred tax
|
(84)
|
(309)
|
Higher rates on overseas
taxation
|
(70)
|
44
|
Research and development enhanced
deduction
|
(775)
|
(682)
|
Effect of tax rate
change
|
-
|
(80)
|
Total tax
(credit)/expense
|
(216)
|
594
|
8.
Earnings/(loss) per share
|
(Unaudited)
2024
|
(Audited)
2023
|
|
Earnings
|
Weighted average number of
shares
|
Per share
amount
|
Earnings
|
Weighted
average number of shares
|
Per share
amount
|
|
£'000
|
'000
|
pence
|
£'000
|
'000
|
pence
|
Continuing operations
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic earnings per share
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings attributable to ordinary
shareholders
|
2,931
|
131,338
|
2.24
|
6,664
|
130,162
|
5.13
|
Dilutive effect of employee share
options
|
-
|
1,504
|
(0.02)
|
-
|
904
|
(0.03)
|
Diluted earnings per share
|
2,931
|
132,842
|
2.22
|
6,664
|
131,066
|
5.10
|
Discontinued operations
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic earnings per share
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings attributable to ordinary
shareholders
|
(2,173)
|
131,338
|
(1.66)
|
(1,008)
|
130,162
|
(0.78)
|
Dilutive effect of employee share
options
|
-
|
1,504
|
-
|
-
|
904
|
-
|
Diluted earnings per share
|
(2,173)
|
132,842
|
(1.66)
|
(1,008)
|
131,066
|
(0.78)
|
Total operations
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic earnings per share
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings attributable to ordinary
shareholders
|
758
|
131,338
|
0.58
|
5,656
|
130,162
|
4.35
|
Dilutive effect of employee share
options
|
-
|
1,504
|
(0.02)
|
-
|
904
|
(0.03)
|
Diluted earnings per share
|
758
|
132,842
|
0.56
|
5,656
|
131,066
|
4.32
|
Basic earnings per share is
calculated by dividing the profit attributable to equity holders of
the Company by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in
issue during the year.
Diluted earnings per share is
calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary
shares outstanding to assume conversion of all dilutive potential
ordinary shares (share options). For share options a
calculation is done to determine the number of shares that could
have been acquired at fair value (determined as the average annual
market share price of the Company's shares) based on the monetary
value of the subscriptions rights and outstanding share based
payment charges attached to outstanding share options. The
number of shares calculated as above is compared with the number of
shares that would have been issued assuming the exercise price of
the share options.
9.
Dividends
|
(Unaudited) 2024
|
(Audited)
2023
|
Equity - ordinary
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Final 2023 paid in 2024 (2.75 pence
per share)
|
3,615
|
-
|
Final 2022 paid in 2023 (2.50 pence
per share)
|
-
|
3,246
|
|
3,615
|
3,246
|
The directors are proposing a final
dividend in respect of the financial year ended 30 September 2024
of 3.25 pence per share (2023: 2.75 pence per share) which will
absorb an estimated £4,218,000 of shareholders' funds. This
dividend will be paid on 5 March 2025 to shareholders who are on
the register of members at close of business on 13 December 2024
subject to approval at the AGM. These dividends have not been
accrued in these financial statements.
10. Copies of announcement
Copies of this announcement will be
available from the Company's registered office at 6 Oxford Pioneer
Park, Yarnton, Oxfordshire, OX5 1QU and from the Company's
website: www.oxfordmetrics.com.