November 5, 2015 | Photo-Me Press Release
TAGS: photo booth, vending, Photo-Me International, Photo-Me annual general meeting, amusements, kiddie rides, coin machines, automated laundry, Kärcher, vending operator |
PRESS RELEASE
Source: Photo-Me International | Released Oct. 21, 2015 LONDON -- Oct. 21 --Photo-Me held its annual general meeting on Oct. 21. The following statement covering trading in the first four months of its financial year was issued at the meeting:The group is pleased to report that further good operational progress has been made in the year to date. Turnover in the first four months improved by 4.4% at constant rate of exchange compared with the same period last year, and pre-tax profits (also at constant rates) are over 10% ahead. Currency movements have hindered the underlying performance, as had been anticipated in the group's projections. The board therefore remains confident of the outlook for the full year.
The group's core Photobooth business is performing well, with continued overall growth -- noticeably in Japan ahead of the new ID card legislation next year.
The expansion of the laundry business in Europe is increasingly contributing to the financial performance of the business. In France alone, over 1,000 units have been deployed, delivering a very encouraging performance with the more established units continuing to deliver year-on-year revenue increases. In other countries, like Ireland and Portugal, the laundry business was only launched respectively in September 2013 and May 2014. It now represents some 50% of recent months' revenues in these countries, confirming the product's growth potential. The laundry rollout overall continues in accordance with our stated plan.
In line with its innovative strategy to introduce new products leveraging Photo-Me's relationships with retailers and its operational expertise, Photo-Me and Kärcher, one of the market leaders in cleaning technology, have agreed a three-year period of exclusivity for carwash systems in the retail market in France with the initial focus on large supermarkets. Since the signature of the partnership in August 2015, four Kärcher units have been deployed. Those units are performing well and after investing in some 40 further units in the coming year, the group will re-assess the opportunity for further expansion at the end of 2016.
The group's cash generation remains very strong, trending ahead of last year's performance and this continues to support our progressive dividend policy.
The board will provide a further update on trading and outlook at the time of Photo-Me's half-year results announcement in December 2015.
Photo-Me operates, sells and services a wide range of unattended instant service equipment, in particular photobooths, digital photo kiosks, photobook makers, amusement machines, business service equipment and laundry machines. Photo-Me is the world's leading operator of photobooths, with more than 26,000 located worldwide.
A detailed report on this annual general meeting can be found here.