AGM Statement
21 1월 2004 - 4:00PM
UK Regulatory
Next Fifteen Communications Plc
Next Fifteen Communications Group plc
AGM Trading Update
The following is the text of the statement which will be made by the chairman
Will Whitehorn, at the AGM, to be held at the offices of AUGUST.ONE, Network
House, Wood Lane, London W12 at 2pm today:
"I am pleased to report in my first trading update as Chairman, that with five
months of the financial year behind us, the Next Fifteen Communications Group is
trading in line with the forecasts in the market. Our most recent set of
full-year figures demonstrate that we can operate profitably and generate cash
in difficult times; happily, this is continuing into the current financial year.
While some of the Group's markets remain difficult, overall we are seeing a
healthier picture.
Text 100, the largest of our businesses, has made a very strong start to the
year in all its regions. In the US the business has added Fujifilm and Earthlink
to its client list, while within EMEA and APAC business has been added from
Hitachi Data Systems, Intel, Siebel, Red Hat and Adobe. Text 100 also expanded
its relationships with IBM into China and Xerox into India.
Bite Communications, which recently enjoyed significant enlargement in the US
following the acquisition of the Applied Communications business, has also made
a good start to the year, with new business from Atari and BT being added.
AUGUST.ONE, the smallest of our businesses, has made a strong start in APAC
where it has returned to a state of profitability. However, its UK operation has
experienced a slower than anticipated start to the year due to clients delaying
or canceling planned activity.
Another issue to be noted is the impact that any long-term weakness of the US
dollar will have on the Group. The growing importance of US-based businesses
within the Group and the rebound in the US economy bode well for the future.
However, although a weak dollar would make further US investments more
attractive to buy, it would also cause lower translated sterling results from
our existing US operations.
Overall, the Group remains confident about its prospects. To date, the strong
performances are outweighing any remaining weaknesses and our excellent cash
position leaves us well placed to take advantage of any opportunities that arise
as the PR sector continues to recover. I will update you on progress when we
report our Interim Results on 31 March 2004."
Will Whitehorn
Chairman
Date: 21 January 2004
Contact: David Dewhurst 07974 161 183
Tim Dyson 001 415 350 2801
Next Fifteen Communications Group plc 020 8996 4154
David Bick 07831 381 201
Chris Steele 07979 604 687
Holborn 020 7929 5599