Financial Results
Record revenue, EBITDA, profit before tax and profit after tax
18.8% increase in profit after tax to £5.43m (2014: £4.57m as restated)
5.6% increase in revenue to £28.53m (2014: £27.02m)
5.7% increase in EBITDA to £9.53m (2014: £9.02m)
10.5% increase in profit before tax to £5.94m (2014: £5.38m)
17.5% increase in basic earnings per share to 6.40p (2014: 5.44p as restated)
182.3% proposed increase in final dividend to 1.75p per share (2014: 0.62p)
Operational Highlights
Strong financial performance driven by core business of renting proprietary POS-GRIP® friction-grip exploration wellhead equipment particularly for High Pressure/High Temperature ('HP/HT') applications, resulting in repeat business and the winning of new major international oil and gas customers in new territories around the world
- Contracts secured include: £0.6m from Centrica for North Sea; £0.9m from Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA in Norway; significant contract from BG Group for North Sea; £1.9m order from undisclosed customer for North Sea; £1.5m from Brunei Shell in Brunei; USD$0.8m from new customer Cardon IV in Venezuela; £1.0m from Premier Oil Norge AS for North Sea; £1.25m Maersk for North Sea; and £3.3m from new customer Total offshore Norway for an Ultra-HP/HT exploration well which is potentially the highest pressure well ever drilled in the North Sea
Acceleration of planned international expansion through strategic initiatives:
- First major licence agreement signed post period end with major Yantai Jereh Oilfield Services Group Co., Ltd ('Jereh') in China to facilitate the rental, sale, and manufacture of Plexus' wellhead equipment to supply the major Chinese, wider Asian, Brazil, Indian and Middle East oil and gas markets
- Formation of a new Malaysian company Plexus Products (Asia) Sdn Bhd ('PPA') in conjunction with a local Malaysian oil and gas partner, Integrated Petroleum Services Sdn Bhd ('IPS') to create a fully operational Plexus Asian business hub to increase the supply of POS-GRIP wellhead equipment and services to the Australian, Brunei, Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai, and Singaporean oil and gas exploration and production markets
- Secured a local Petronas licence post period end to manufacture and supply Plexus' POS-GRIP wellhead equipment in Malaysia through PPA
Disposal of non-core investment interest in a private UK oil and gas equipment manufacturing and engineering company for £1.5m as Plexus focuses on its global expansion strategy of identifying new international manufacturing partners
Significant strategic progress made in relation to research and development and new product innovation:
- Launched new PythonTM Subsea Wellhead post period end as a new best in class and safest standard for subsea wellheads - supported by BG, Royal Dutch Shell, Wintershall, Maersk, Total, Tullow Oil, eni, Senergy, and Oil States Industries Inc
- Signed £0.8m agreement with Centrica for new POS-SET™ Connector ('POS-SET') product for the growing de-commissioning and abandonment market
- Collaboration with Aquaterra post period end to develop HP/HT dual marine risers to provide a safer, technically superior and cost efficient solution for use on jack-up rigs
- HP/HT Tie-Back connector product and its unique operational and cost saving advantages now beginning to be marketed to the industry
- Capital investment in additional POS-GRIP rental wellhead assets for exploration was £2.53m, consistent with the prior year's level (2014: £2.32m)
- Research and Development ('R&D') spend, excluding cost of building test fixtures, increased by 46.7% to £3.47m (2014: £2.37m)
Corporate Highlights
Growing global awareness of both Plexus and the safety and operational benefits of POS-GRIP technology among international oil and gas companies, not only in relation to organic exploration drilling activities, but also to production and subsea applications
- Alongside the first major licencing agreement with Jereh a share subscription agreement was entered into with Jereh International (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd which subscribed in July post period end for 5% of the issued share capital of Plexus for a consideration of £8.04m
- Size of Aberdeen operational headquarters doubled with the acquisition in September 2014 of a circa 36,000 sq.ft work shop and office facility from Baker Hughes for £2.4m
- Presented on its POS-GRIP metal sealing in September 2014 at the "World Oil HP/HT Drilling and Completions Conference" in Houston, Texas, and in London at the Oil and Gas iQ "HP/HT Wells Summit 2014" and 2015 regarding pioneering techniques and technology in HP/HT drilling and completions
- Won the "Commitment to Innovative Use of Research and Development" award at the 11th annual Northern Star Business Awards 2014, the flagship event for the Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce in recognition of Plexus' long standing commitment to R&D
Strengthened Board with the appointment of Charles Jones as a non-executive director - with over 30 years of experience in the US energy sector he will advise and assist in building relationships in the important US wellhead equipment market
Bank facilities renewed post period end with Bank of Scotland, comprising an existing £5m revolving credit facility on a three year term with an additional £1m overdraft on a yearly term in October 2015 - also a five year £1.5m term loan was put in place in September 2014 to part fund the purchase of the additional Aberdeen facility
Proposing a 182.3% increased final dividend of 1.75p per share (2014: 0.62p), which will be subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting ('AGM') to be held on 10 December 2015 - this follows on from the 6.3% increase in the interim dividend (to 0.51p) making a total dividend for the financial year of 2.26p per share. If approved the final dividend will be paid on 16 December 2015 to all members appearing on the register of members on the record date 6 November 2015. The ex-dividend date for the shares is 5 November 2015
