This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 ("MAR") as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement, the inside information is now considered to be in the public domain for the purposes of MAR.

Pebble Beach Systems Group plc

Final Results for the year ended 31 December 2021

Pebble Beach Systems Group plc (AIM: "PEB", "Pebble" or the "Group"), a leading global software business specialising in playout automation and content management solutions for the broadcast and streaming service markets, is pleased to announce its final results for the year ended 31 December 2021.

Financial Headlines

Headlines

·           Strong performance as business successfully adapted to the Covid pandemic with revenue up 27% on 2020. Recurring revenue from support contracts up 15% to £4.6 million, being 43% of total revenue

•     Order intake was up 75% on 2020 and when adjusting for Covid-related delays, order intake was still

up circa 17%

•     Adjusted EBITDA was up 23% and cash conversion of adjusted EBITDA improved 23 percentage points.

•     Increased investment in new digital platform to establish all-IP workflows

•     Strategic move to a remote working organisation in July 2021 delivering operational benefits in terms of resilience, organisational growth and performance. Won the UK Company Culture Award for "Remote Team of the Year" in April 2022

•     Reduced long-term bank debt by a further £1.0 million, with net debt at year end of £5.9 million (2020: £7.7 million)

•     Bank facilities re-negotiated in April 2022 with term loan facility until 30 September 2024

•     The current financial year has started in line with expectations

* Adjusted EBITDA is defined as operating profit before depreciation, amortisation and impairment of acquired intangibles, amortisation of capitalised development costs, share based payment expense, non-recurring items and exchange gains or losses charged to the income statement.

**Adjusted EPS is calculated on the same basis as basic earnings per share except for the adding back of the after-tax effect of the adjustments for amortisation and impairment of acquired intangibles, share based payment expense and exchange gains and losses.

*** Net debt excludes liabilities in respect of right of use assets recognised under IRFS 16.

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The Company is quoted on the LSE AIM market (PEB.L).  More information can be found at pebbleplc.com.

About Pebble Beach Systems

Pebble Beach Systems (trading as Pebble) is a world leader in designing and delivering automation, integrated channel and virtualised playout software solutions, with scalable products designed for applications of all sizes. Founded in 2000, Pebble has commissioned systems in more than 70 countries, with proven installations ranging from single up to over 150 channels in operation, and around 2000 channels currently on air under the control of our automation technology. An innovative, agile company, Pebble is focused on discovering its customers' requirements and pain points, designing solutions which will address these elegantly and efficiently, and delivering and supporting these professionally and in accordance with its users' needs.

Forward-looking statements

Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking. Although the Group believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct. Because these statements involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The Group undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast.

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

INTRODUCTION

I am very pleased to be reporting on a year of significant achievement for the Group.

Throughout 2021 we saw our customers' confidence return and investment decisions that were put on hold during 2020 were clearly being re-initiated, resulting in order intake rising 75% to £13.7 million. A proportion of this growth can be attributed to the understandable delays to orders in 2020 that came through in 2021, however, underlying order growth delivered in the year was c.17%.

Observations of the market's priorities during 2021 have reaffirmed our strongly held view that our current mission to support broadcasters by providing technology solutions to facilitate their transition from traditional broadcast infrastructure to more flexible IP-based technologies is strategically correct. Consequently, we again increased the level of investment in our new digital platform, Oceans, which has all the benefits of a cloud native environment allowing our customers to establish all-IP workflows whilst retaining their ability to utilise investment made in our existing installed solutions.

We have demonstrated that our ability to operate successfully in the context of the Covid pandemic is fully sustainable and, when coupled with the strategic decision to adopt a remote working model, positions us as a strong, resilient organisation that is responsive to our customers' needs.

In April 2022, we were delighted to win the UK Company Culture Award for "Remote Team of the Year". This achievement is a testimony to the huge efforts every employee has made since our move to fully remote working in 2021. It is recognition of the success of our operating model changes and keeps the momentum behind the continued improvements we are making as we realise our vision to ensure equality of opportunity for all employees.

FINANCIAL RESULTS

Revenue was up 27% at £10.6 million (2020: £8.4 million) including recurring revenue from support contracts up 15% to £4.6 million (2020: £4.0 million). Recurring revenue represents 43% of total revenue and provides greater visibility of future years' forecasts.

Gross profit was £8.1 million at a margin of 77% (2020: £6.4 million at a margin of 77%).

Adjusted EBITDA was £3.3 million (2020: £2.7 million), representing 31% of revenue (2020: 32%).

Conversion of profit to cash remained strong in 2021, with 116% of Adjusted EBITDA converted to cash generated from operations (2020:93%) allowing investment in new products and services at the same time as continuing to reduce our levels of debt.

We continue to view investment in the development of new products and services as key to future growth and continue to innovate by investing in new technologies. In the year, we capitalised £1.5 million of development costs (amortised £0.9 million), (2020: capitalised £1.3 million) (amortised £0.8 million). To evidence this, R&D expenditure as a proportion of revenue was 19% (2020: 20.8%).

Net finance costs remained level in 2021 reflecting the Group's pay-down of £1.0 million of its revolving credit facility ("RCF") and a marginally reduced interest rate of 3.58% (2020: 3.64%) offsetting the impact of interest costs in the United States.

The profit before tax for the year was £1.5 million (2020: £1.1 million). The adjusted earnings per share was 1.2p (2020: 1.1p)

Net debt (excluding IFRS 16 leases) at the year-end was reduced by £1.8 million to £5.9 million (2020: £7.7 million), comprising a much-improved cash position at year end of £1.6 million (2020: £0.8 million) and debt of £7.5 million (2020: £8.5 million).

New TERM LOAN April 2022

We enjoy a good relationship and regular communication with our bank, Santander, who remain very supportive of our strategy to invest in developing our new technology solutions. Post period end, on 13 April 2022, we were delighted to sign a new term loan facility, refinancing the existing £7.15 million RCF agreement. The new term loan secures a £7.15 million facility until 30 September 2024, with revised financial covenants and a repayment schedule consistent with previous years.

MARKET POSITIONING

Pebble is a leading global software business specialising in playout automation and content management solutions for broadcast and streaming services markets.

The main sector within the media tech market that is served by Pebble's software is the playout automation market. Within this sector, the customers that we principally interact with are broadcasters, either directly or through service providers who deliver playout services to those broadcasters, many of whom are global organisations. These customers include companies such as Fox News, CNBC, IMG, Phoenix Television and Globosat Canais. In addition to playout automation, Pebble's other core software technology is the Integrated Channel solution. These solutions have been designed to support broadcasters and service providers to deliver their scheduled content in a reliable and secure way. As downtime is not acceptable in the broadcast industry, playout software is exceptional at flagging any issues, creating backup channels (redundancy) and providing disaster recovery.

One of Pebble's key strengths is an ability to focus on collaboration with customers to determine their requirements and design solutions which address their needs elegantly and efficiently. During the lifecycle of the software solution, we deliver full support services in accordance with customer requirements.

Pebble's existing solutions consist of:

Automation: highly scalable enterprise level software solution for broadcasters or service providers with complex workflow requirements built around best-of-breed technology. The software allows flexible deployment either on premises, on virtual machines or in the cloud with exceptional levels of system resiliency.

Automation Lite: a simpler software offering optimised to allow control of up to six channels, offering best-of-breed functionality at an entry-level price.

Integrated Channel: under the control of our Automation software this solution provides a one-stop-shop for channel playout offering audio, video and graphics functionality. Hosted on powerful servers, the software provides all the functionality of a traditional broadcast chain.

Virtualised Playout: a software-only implementation of the Integrated Channel solution, with the ability to host channels in a private data centre or public cloud. Virtualised Playout can launch and decommission channels for short term requirements and host operational infrastructure in a standard data centre environment.

Playout in a box: a compact playout solution, combining a 'best of breed' approach with an affordable price point but without the need for high levels of flexibility. Controlling up to six channels the self-contained Playout in a box solution is suitable for new market entrants, for testing new channels, or as a backup or disaster recovery system for a smaller channel.

In addition to these core technology solutions, Pebble also provides applications with discrete functionality. The current range includes:

Pebble Remote: secure, real-time access to the playout environment from anywhere, anytime. It is easy to use with intuitive interfaces and aimed at anyone with a Pebble solution who is seeking to control, monitor and manage channels remotely.

Pebble Control: a recent release providing connection management of IP devices suitable for TV stations, OB trucks, production houses or anywhere that uses IP workflows. Control is providing Pebble with the opportunity to enter new markets outside of the automation space.

Orchestration: a soon to be released tool for the design and management of complex workflows. The first fully Oceans-native capability initially focussed on replacing and significantly enhancing the file management capability provided by the Pebble's current Automation software.

MARKET OPPORTUNITY AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

We are very focused on recognising Pebble's core strengths and technical capability to ensure we continue to enhance our portfolio of software solutions to meet the evolving requirements of our customers. An industry report from June 2020, commented that the top "Media Tech Priorities" for the industry were: multi-platform content delivery, 4K/UHD production, IP infrastructure, remote production and cloud-based solutions. Our directors believe that Pebble's current range of solutions, together with the progress being made against its product roadmap, will ensure that our technology offering will continue to be meet these priorities:
 

Multi-platform content delivery

For Pebble, multi-platform content delivery is its ability to deliver complex workflows, Video On Demand, OTT and On-demand. During the year, we supported TV2 Denmark, who acquired rights for major sporting events including the Tour de France, Wimbledon and the Euros, with their OTT service "TV 2 Play". We continue to invest in the development of our Orchestration Engine, responding to this type of market demand.

4K/UHD production

4K and UHD TV global sales have consistently increased since 2014 according to recent industry statistics, and it is our belief that this area is becoming a priority within the broadcast sector. Pebble has UHD installations such as the installation at IMG Studios, a state-of-the-art broadcast production and worldwide distribution facility based near London. Currently, these growing signal complexities are addressed through expensive third-party hardware but in future, Pebble's product development roadmap is focused on an in-house developed cloud-based media processing engine, to remove the dependency on third-party hardware.

IP infrastructure

IP infrastructure has been an area of focus for Pebble for some time, and we continue to cement our position as the experts in IP. Our customers are typically either transitioning to IP infrastructure from the legacy, SDI, or are implementing IP infrastructure in a new broadcasting facility, and Pebble supports both. Pebble Control, is a software solution for device configuration and monitoring, designed with security at its core. In the future, Pebble's Ocean's platform will be hosting an automation engine that is IP-native, allowing full, public-cloud deployment.

Remote production

At the beginning of 2020, coronavirus lockdowns across the world pushed a surge in remote working across many industries globally, the broadcast industry included. Our web-based monitoring software, Pebble Remote, gives customers secure, real-time access from anywhere allowing Pebble to successfully deliver against customers' needs as they shifted to geographically dispersed operations.

Cloud Compute

Pebble is also seeking to better address the Cloud Compute priority. We believe the move to remote working has accelerated the move to the cloud. Over 50 percent of broadcasters have already deployed some form of cloud-based technology with 40 percent stating they are likely to continue adoption according to data from the IABM. At present, Pebble's technology can be utilised through the cloud for storage and hosting capabilities. To further enhance our offering, the Oceans platform is being designed to provide customers with software that is fundamentally cloud-centric.

Having regard to the key trends being seen in the industry, and the undoubted market opportunity before it, the Board remains focussed on delivering against its product development roadmap of:

 (i) Oceans Automation; an automation only capability to replace the current playout automation offering with a secure cloud-native solution.

(ii) Media Processing Engine; to reduce the requirement for hardware to provide video playout capability. By developing a software solution, this will enable Pebble to provide a fully cloud native integrated channel capability.

(iii) Pebble Control; by accelerating the ongoing development of its IP control tool, the directors believe that this will provide the opportunity to target the product into any market requiring IP network-based device control.

GOING CONCERN

The directors are required to assess the Company's and the Group's ability to continue to trade as a going concern.

At 31 December 2021, the Group's net debt was £5.9 million (2020: £7.7 million), comprising cash of £1.6 million (2020: £0.8 million) and the drawn down RCF from Santander of £7.5 million (2020: £8.5 million).

We enjoy a close relationship with our bank and have regular review meetings with them. On 10 March 2021, we signed a 12-month extension to the RCF and have made all the required repayments of capital and interest due and met the financial covenants. On 13 April 2022, we signed a new term loan through to 30 September 2024, which re-financed the existing £7.15m RCF at the same level of commitment, with repayment levels consistent with previous years and appropriate financial covenants.

To assess the appropriateness of preparing financial statements on a going concern basis, management prepared detailed projections of the consolidated income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements through to 31 December 2023. This review period extends to the end of the financial year for 2023, which is looking forward for four six-month periods beyond that covered by the current annual report. The projections included testing against the minimum liquidity and cash flow cover covenants required by the new term loan facility.

These projections used the budget for 2022 and updated for current trading and forecasts. This analysis was then extended to the end of 2023. The projections were stress tested and pipeline project orders for 2022, at less than 50% probability were removed. The pipeline for 2023 was assessed based on historic conversion rates. The existing support service contracts, where revenue is recognised over time were assessed based on historic renewal rates, to establish the likely renewal of this recurring revenue. Management reviewed the resource levels and marketing spend required to support the reduced revenue and reflected cost reductions in the forecast. The Board has concluded from its thorough assessment of the detailed forecasts, that the Group will have sufficient resources to meet its liabilities during the review period through to 31 December 2023, that it will meet the bank covenants and that it is appropriate that the Group and the Company prepare accounts on a going concern basis.

BOARD CHANGES

As previously announced on 4 May 2021, we were pleased to appoint Chris Errington to the Board as Non-Executive Director. 

TRADING OUTLOOK

The current financial year has started in line with expectations. Pebble has demonstrated its resilience throughout the global pandemic and more recently in its response to the ongoing supply chain stresses and the Ukrainian conflict. We are confident in our strategy and encouraged by the increasing level of recurring revenue and the continued strengthening of the balance sheet.

Fundamentally, the business is in good shape and we remain focussed on ensuring we provide our customers with the technology and high level of service that they expect from Pebble. We will continue to invest in enhancing our solutions and we look forward to the future with optimism.

John Varney

Non-Executive Chairman

For the year ended 31 December 2021

CONSOLIDATED GROUP INCOME STATEMENT

for the year ended 31 December 2021

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

for the year ended 31 December 2021

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

for the year ended 31 December 2021

CONSOLIDATED GROUP STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

as at 31 December 2021

CONSOLIDATED GROUP STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

for the year ended 31 December 2021

NOTES TO THE CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 December 2021

1.   GENERAL INFORMATION

The Pebble Beach Systems Group is a leading global software business specialising in solutions for playout automation, and content serving customers in the broadcast markets.

The Company is a public limited company and is quoted on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London stock exchange. The Company is incorporated and domiciled in the UK. The address of its registered office is 12 Horizon Business Village, 1 Brooklands Road, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 0TJ.  

The registered number of the Company is 04082188.

This results announcement was approved for issue at close of business on 4 May 2022.

2.   BASIS OF PREPARATION

The financial information contained in these condensed financial statements does not constitute the Group's statutory accounts within the meaning of the Companies Act 2006.

Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021 and 31 December 2020 have been reported on by Grant Thornton UK LLP, with an unqualified audit opinion.

Whilst the financial information included in this Annual Financial Results announcement has been computed in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) this announcement, due to its condensed nature, does not itself contain sufficient information to comply with IFRS.

Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021, prepared under IFRS, will be available on the Group's website: https://www.pebbleplc.com  and will be delivered to the Registrar in due course. The Group's principal accounting policies as set out in the 2020 statutory accounts have been applied consistently in all material respects.

3.   GOING CONCERN

The directors are required to assess the Company's and the Group's ability to continue to trade as a going concern.

At 31 December 2021, the Group's net debt was £5.9 million (2020: £7.7 million), comprising cash of £1.6 million (2020: £0.8 million) and the drawn down RCF from Santander of £7.5 million (2020: £8.5 million).

We enjoy a close relationship with our bank and have regular review meetings with them. On 10 March 2021, we signed a 12-month extension to the RCF and have made all the required repayments of capital and interest due and met the financial covenants. On 13 April 2022, we signed a new term loan through to 30 September 2024, which re-financed the existing £7.15m RCF at the same level of commitment, with repayment levels consistent with previous years and appropriate financial covenants.

To assess the appropriateness of preparing financial statements on a going concern basis, management prepared detailed projections of the consolidated income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements through to 31 December 2023. This review period extends to the end of the financial year for 2023, which is looking forward for four six-month periods beyond that covered by the current annual report. The projections included testing against the minimum liquidity and cash flow cover covenants required by the new term loan facility.

These projections used the budget for 2022 and updated for current trading and forecasts. This analysis was then extended to the end of 2023. The projections were stress tested and pipeline project orders for 2022, at less than 50% probability were removed. The pipeline for 2023 was assessed based on historic conversion rates. The existing support service contracts, where revenue is recognised over time were assessed based on historic renewal rates, to establish the likely renewal of this recurring revenue. Management reviewed the resource levels and marketing spend required to support the reduced revenue and reflected cost reductions in the forecast. The Board has concluded from its thorough assessment of the detailed forecasts, that the Group will have sufficient resources to meet its liabilities during the review period through to 31 December 2023, that it will meet the bank covenants and that it is appropriate that the Group and the Company prepare accounts on a going concern basis.

4.   SEGMENTAL REPORTING

The Group's internal organisational and management structure and its system of internal financial reporting to the Board of Directors comprise of Pebble Beach Systems Limited and PLC costs. The chief operating decision-maker has been identified as the Board.

The Board reviews the Group's internal financial reporting in order to assess performance and allocate resources. Management have therefore determined that the operating segments for the Group will be based on these reports.

The Pebble Beach Systems Limited business is responsible for the sales and marketing of all Group software products and services.

The table below shows the analysis of Group external revenue and operating profit from continuing operations by business segment.

Geographic external revenue analysis

The revenue analysis in the table below is based on the geographical location of the customer for continuing operations of the business.

Net assets

The table below summarises the net assets of the Group by division. Balance sheet reporting is disclosed by the divisional assets and liabilities of the Group as this is consistent with the presentation of internal information provided to the Executive Management Board and the Board of Directors.

concern

5.   OPERATING PROFIT

The following items have been included in arriving at the operating profit for the continuing business:

Other expenses

Other expenses comprise:

Non-recurring items

The following items are excluded from management's assessment of profit because by their nature they could distort the annual trend in the Group's earnings. These are excluded to reflect performance in a consistent manner and are in line with how the business is managed and measured on a day-to-day basis:

6.   FINANCE COSTS - NET

Finance income is derived from cash held on deposit.

7.   INCOME TAX EXPENSE

In the Spring Budget 2021, the Government announced that from 1 April 2023 the corporation tax rate would increase from 19 per cent to 25 per cent. Deferred taxes at the balance sheet date have been measured using these enacted tax rates and reflected in these financial statements.

8.   EARNINGS PER ORDINARY SHARE (EPS)

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year.

For diluted earnings per share the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue is adjusted to assume conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares. The dilutive shares are those share options granted to employees where the exercise price is less than the average market price of the Company's ordinary shares during the year. The average market value of the Company's shares for the purpose of calculating the dilutive effect of share options was based on quoted market prices for the year during which the options were outstanding.

Reconciliations of the earnings and weighted average number of shares used in the calculations are set out below.

Potential ordinary shares were non-dilutive in prior years because they would decrease the loss per share from continuing operations.

Adjusted earnings

The directors believe that adjusted EBITDA, adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings per share provide additional useful information on annual trends to shareholders. These measures are used by management for internal performance analysis and incentive compensation arrangements. The term "adjusted" is not a defined term used under IFRS and may not therefore be comparable with similarly titled profit measurements reported by other companies. The principal adjustments to earnings are made in respect of the amortisation of acquired intangibles, share based payment expense and exchange gains or losses charged to the income statement and their related tax effects.

The reconciliation between reported and adjusted earnings and basic earnings per share is shown below:

9.   CASH FLOW GENERATED FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Reconciliation of profit before taxation to net cash flows from operations.

10.  CALLED UP SHARE CAPITAL, SHARE PREMIUM AND CAPITAL REDEMPTION RESERVE

11.  NET DEBT

Reconciliation of decrease in cash and cash equivalents to movement in net cash:

12.  POST BALANCE SHEET EVENT

New TERM LOAN

We maintain a good relationship and regular communication with our bank, Santander, who remain very supportive of our strategy to invest in developing our new technology solutions. On 13 April 2022, a new term loan facility was signed, refinancing the existing £7.15 million revolving credit facility agreement. The new term loan secures a £7.15 million facility until 30 September 2024, with revised financial covenants and a repayment schedule consistent with previous years.

The Board is pleased to confirm that following the publication of its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2021, the annual report and financial statements will be posted to shareholders by 23 May 2022 and a copy will also be available to download from the Group's website at pebbleplc.com.

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