Interim Results and Equity Placing
30 March 2010
Hot Tuna (International) PLC (AIM: HTT), a leading surf wear and fashion brand, announces its interim results for the six months ending 31 December 2009. In addition, the Company is pleased to report that it has raised £1.5 million via an equity placing with new and existing investors including the Directors.
Highlights
- Operational loss reduced by 21.1% to £543,000
- Successfully raised £1.5 million via an equity placing
- New partnerships with key e-tailers including ASOS & Amazon
- Increased presence in new regions within Europe including France and Italy
- Australian market continues to perform strongly
Equity Placing
Hot Tuna announces that it has today successfully raised £1.5 million (gross) through a placing of 500,000,000 new ordinary shares of 0.01 pence ("Placing Shares") at a price of 0.3 pence each with new and existing shareholders ("the Placing").
The Board is particularly pleased that, in addition to its two largest institutional shareholders supporting this fundraising, a number of new high quality institutional investors have participated. As well as institutional support, Geoff O'Connell, CEO, and Kiran Morzaria, Non-Executive Director, have both subscribed for 8,333,333 new ordinary shares in the Placing.
The net funds will be used to continue the development of product across all ranges and increase production for the upcoming ranges this year.
Following the Placing, the Directors will have an interest in the following ordinary shares in the Company:
| Number of Placing Shares |
Number of shares following Placing |
Percentage of enlarged issued share capital of Company | |
| Geoff O'Connell | 8,333,333 | 16,669,334 | 1.45% |
| Kiran Morzaria | 8,333,333 | 12,333,333 | 1.07% |
Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for admission of the 500,000,000 new ordinary shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. Admission is expected to occur on 1 April 2010.
For the purposes of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules, Hot Tuna's total issued share capital following the issue of these shares consists of 1,153,303,090 ordinary shares of 0.01 penny each.
The above figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, Hot Tuna, under the Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
Interim Review
The Group's performance for the six months to 31 December 2009 has been in line with management's expectations. Revenue; compared to the same period last year has been less robust due to the challenging retail environment and the lack of funds to allow production to continue at the same level as the year before.
However, following a cost cutting programme and efficiency drive, the Company reduced its operational loss by 21.1% to £543,000.
During the period, the Company made a number of changes to enable further efficiencies within the business. Main production was relocated from China to Turkey providing an extended selling season for its Summer 2010/11 collection in Europe due to shortened transportation times. The Company also reduced its discount stock by 50%.
In Europe, the Company is pleased to announce a number of new partnerships with high profile e-tailers including ASOS.com, EMP.com, Amazon.com, Shreadhead.com and Surfdome.com. These new e-tail partnerships will significantly expand the number of internet users exposed to the Hot Tuna product range and will enable the product to be sold for the first time in France and Italy.
The US business has undergone a full restructuring and is now a leaner, more focused operation capable of servicing existing major partners including Delias, Karmaloop and Victoria's Secret.
Australia continues to produce good returns from its major account customers including Myers and David Jones, and uptake of new product lines for 2010/2011 has been encouraging. Product expansion of men's and women's swimwear into the Australian market will be completed by end of 2010/2011.
Current trading and outlook
The spring/summer and autumn/winter collections have been very well received. Both collections were presented at the major trade shows in Europe and North America with significant interest from retailers in all regions.
The focus has been on a design led offering which differentiates itself from other surf apparel. In addition to improving the design element and ensuring each garment displays the iconic pink piranha, the Company has refined the product offering to focus on t-shirts, board shorts and swimwear.
The Company continues to talk to new partners and new markets and is confident that these will result in new distribution agreements.
Geoff O'Connell, CEO of Hot Tuna:
"We remain encouraged by these interim results and are positive about the continued appeal of the brand internationally for existing and new customers. Our focus has been on highlighting the brand's successful heritage and the iconic pink piranha which has been extremely well received.
The equity placing and new e-tail partnerships illustrate the continued support for the brand. We are now focused on growing the business and continuing our expansion into new markets and we go forward with great confidence."
Enquiries: |
|
| Hot Tuna PLC Geoff O'Connell - CEO |
Tel: 020 7016 7862 |
| Pelham Bell Pottinger Kate Catchpole Lucy Frankland |
Tel: 020 7337 1512 |
| Seymour Pierce Limited Mark Percy (Nominated Adviser) Paul Jewell (Corporate Broking) |
Tel: 0207 107 8000 |