Brulines, the beer flow monitoring company, this morning reported a dip in turnover in its leisure division due to continuing pub closures, and a fall in profits overall, mitigated by the introduction of its new “high value” iDraught units.
Turnover in its leisure arm was £18.16m (2010: £19.33m), against an overall increase in turnover of 22.4% to £24.28m, largely due to three key acquisitons in its fuel solutions division over the period; turnover in the fuel arm was £6.12m (2010: £0.5m).
Profit before tax fell to £3.02m (2010: £4.03m). Operating profit before amortisation of goodwill, share option and exceptional costs was £3.96m (2010: £5.07m). Gross margin was 54% (2009: 59%).
In total 761 new beer flow monitoring systems were installed over the period, of which 677 were iDraught units, which the company launched in March 2011 - these now account for 8% of installations. However, overall penetration within the pub sector fell to around 20,000 sites.
The company said: “Although it was disappointing that new installations fell over the year the fact that nearly 90% of these were higher value iDraught was highly encouraging.
“During the period, the group continued the roll-out of iDraught to several customers including the Greene King Pub Partners estate.
"Further iDraught progress is expected through 2012, both in the tenanted and managed arenas as commercial pilot tests and contract negotiations are concluded, although the impact of this could be offset to some extent by further pub disposals that certain pub companies are evaluating.”
Brulines said that its Nucleus Smart Till electronic point of sale system, launched in March 2011, “is currently undergoing commercial pilots in several leading pub companies and recently commenced an initial 100 system full roll out”. It plans to roll out 500 of the systems during 2012.
Meanwhile, Brulines’s board is proposing changing the name of the company to Vianet plc.
The board “believes that the name Vianet more accurately describes the fundamental business of the Group, which is the delivery of solutions (be they leisure, fuel or vending related) primarily by way of networks and web-based reporting.” The directors intend to change the name when it becomes available “or, if not, to select another name that is more reflective of the strategic direction and capability of the Group as a whole”. A resolution on the plan will be held at its AGM on 12 July.
The company said its had “open dialogue” with the Business, Innovation & Skills Committee investogating pubcos, which examined the accuracy of Brulines equipment.
Brulines chairman James Newman said: “Despite the ongoing difficult economic conditions, this has been a transformational year for the group. We have made a total of four acquisitions, three of which strengthen our Fuel Solutions division in particular, where the Board sees considerable opportunity for growth.
“The group has made good progress in terms of both developing its products and enhancing its market positioning, ensuring that our offering is highly targeted for the significant markets that are available.
“With our expanded offering across all four of our sectors, leisure, vending telemetry, forecourt operations and telemetry solutions, the board believes that the group is well positioned to continue to gain market share and achieve market leadership in each of these areas. We look forward to updating shareholders on our progress in achieving that strategy over the coming year.”
A final dividend of 3.98p per share gave a full year increase of 2.7% to 5.65p (2010: 5.5p).
