FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Revenues up +16.7% at £214.7m and by 3.3% at constant currency
EBITDA increased by 22% and margin expanded to 32.2% (+140bpts)
Record PBT of £48m, up +19.7% and +4.2% at constant currency, PBT margin expanded to 22.4% as percentage of sales
Net cash position of £39.2m after distribution of £32.6m dividends and investments in future growth of £40.9m
Total Ordinary dividend increased by 20% to 7.03p
OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Continued good performance from Identification and laundry businesses
Further progress in deployment of ID security technology
o ANTS upgrades in France
o Rollout of encrypted photo ID upload technology under way in Ireland
o Commenced progressive rollout of secure and direct data transfer technologies in photobooths in Germany
Expansion of laundry business continued in line with the Group's target of 6,000 units by 2020
o 3,251 units deployed in France, Ireland, Belgium, Portugal and the UK
o 50 Launderette shops opened as at 30 April 2017, including first shop in Japan
o Launch of reduced footprint Revolution units, Compact and Mini formats, targeting Far East market, constrained by physical space
Strengthened market position in digital printing segment
o Acquisition of ASDA photo division in October 2016
o Next generation, social-media-enabled kiosks designed by Philippe Starck delivering enhanced returns
Continued investment in innovation for future growth focused on
o Complementary products and technologies with multiple applications across estate
o Continued development of proprietary security biometric identification solutions
o Ongoing refurbishment and upgrade to support market leading position
Commenting on the results, Serge Crasnianski, CEO, said:
"2017 has been another year of progress, reflected in record profits and our fourth consecutive year of double-digit earnings growth. The expansion of our laundry business and the ongoing investment and deployment of our integrated identification technologies have remained a key focus and we have made excellent progress in these areas.
