TIDMOBC
RNS Number : 9606G
Online Blockchain PLC
12 November 2018
For immediate release
12 November 2018
Online Blockchain Plc
(formerly On-Line Plc)
('Online' or 'the Company')
Audited Results for the Year Ended 30 June 2018
Online today announces audited results for the year ended 30
June 2018.
CEO'S STATEMENT
Earlier in the financial year we changed our name to Online
Blockchain to reflect our focus on developing Blockchain
projects.
In 2018, the Blockchain bubble burst and the market price for
Crypto-assets has fallen back a long way. While this is undoubtably
disappointing in the short term, we firmly believe Blockchain
technology has a huge future.
The recent market development in crypto-assets is in many ways
reminiscent of the internet boom of the late 1990s, and bust in the
early 2000s, which some third-party commentators find as a cause
for concern, yet today some of those first dotcom companies
developing products at that time, such as Amazon, are now the
giants of the technology and stock market world of today. As such
we feel this is a chance to be at the forefront of a new
technological revolution which offers a chance to develop something
with exciting potential.
Blockchain development is where our current focus lies and will
be for the foreseeable future. We believe that if we can create a
"hit product" early-on in the development of the Blockchain
industry, then that creates the potential to make a high return.
This is of course not a foregone conclusion as our products are at
an early stage of commercialisation and other than some very small
crypto mining activities, we have not yet earned our first revenue,
but we believe that the projects we have in development have the
potential in an emerging market that has many growth cycles ahead
of it.
We think that eventually Blockchain will be a giant industry and
we are building a business to grow into this "once-in-a-generation"
opportunity.
Since the beginning of the year we have announced and developed
several coins, PlusOne, Brazio, Buenos, Manila and Veggi. These
coins form the basis for development of various cryptocurrency
projects. We have also developed Happypool, a cloud mining pool
which is part of the ecosystem Online Blockchain is building.
PlusOne Coin, Online Blockchain's initial project, is a
cryptocurrency that financially rewards social media community
activity, and was first launched on ADVFN and IHub (InvestorsHub).
PlusOne Coin is a marketing tool rewarding audience retention with
coins. PlusOne Coin has helped increase ADVFN advertising revenue
and PlusOne Coin's price has risen from a low of 2c a coin in May
to 9c a coin in November and is one of the few cryptocurrencies
that has seen an uptrend in price over the last 6 months. While
still in its early stages, PlusOne Coin has generated Online
Blockchain a small amount of fiat income from amounts it has
circulated in the market.
Online Blockchain has also built a small mining facility which
we primarily consider as a laboratory for research and development.
While providing a useful testbed for our projects, our facility has
also generated some revenue from mining activities. While these
revenues are barely material for now, it is nice to earn revenue as
a spin-off from what is essentially an overhead for building-out
and supporting our emerging products.
Our coins are currently listed on the following exchanges:
PlusOne: Cryptobridge and Tradesatoshi
Brazio: Southexchange and Bigbitex
Buenos: Southexchange
Veggi: Crex24, Cryptobridge, Southexchange
Manila: Unlisted
The focus on involvement in crypto and blockchain projects has
required investment of both money and management time. This has
meant an increase in costs which has, this year, resulted in Online
Blockchain making a loss. However, we expect that in the
foreseeable future, we will see this reversed and look forward to
the company being at the centre of a blossoming blockchain industry
in the future
The Group's turnover for the year was GBP56,000 (2017:
GBP98,000) giving a loss before tax of GBP188,000 (2017: profit of
GBP62,000).
CHANGE OF COMPANY NAME
On 26 October 2017 it was announced that the Board intended to
change the name of the Company to Online Blockchain Plc. This was
proposed and passed at the Annual General Meeting on 15 December
2017.
CHANGE OF NOMINATED ADVISOR
On 26 October 2017 a new Nominated Advisor was appointed;
Beaumont Cornish Limited.
EVENTS AFTER THE BALANCE SHEET DATE
As we announced in August 2018, we have agreed to invest in
Encrypted Gaming Inc, a talented development group building games
on the Ethereum Blockchain.
More information on this project is available on the company
website:
www.onlineblockchain.io
EXTRACT FROM THE ADVFN plc CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S STATEMENT
The financial year 2017/18 was a very interesting and
challenging year, one that has seen us add significant upside
potential to ADVFN. 2017 was the year of Bitcoin, which saw
Cryptocurrency and blockchains explode on to centre stage of the
financial markets. While even at the peak around Xmas of 2017 the
Cryptocurrency market was a tiny market in comparison with forex
and equities markets, it is of huge interest to the global private
investor.
This year we took advantage of these opportunities and have
positioned ourselves in the US and UK market with a strong
cryptocurrency information offering which has since become stronger
since the year end.
We have an operating profit of GBP384,000 (GBP47,000 in 2017), a
solid improvement. Sales are up to GBP9,201,000 (GBP8,186,000 in
2017) and this is a strong result in the circumstances.
The timing of the Bitcoin bubble was fortunate as private
investor interest in equities has been at an all-time low. It is
perverse but our business in equities flourishes best when the
market crashes and our customers are hurt by corrections and
crashes. In strong markets investor complacency is not good for our
business and we rely on the diversified nature of our sales to
maintain revenue.
Happily, we were able to sail past these equity doldrums powered
by a compensating tailwind of Cryptocurrency information traffic.
Cryptocurrency information for the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum is
a new category of financial information and one we are excited
about.
We are very bullish about the potential of future demand for
Cryptocurrency information and feel this can be a business
multiplier for us in the next 3-5 years. As you will see from the
figures, we have made the investment in technology and skills to
master and provide this information, without the costs materially
affecting our bottom line and you can see for yourself the quality
of our offering on the ADVFN and Investorshub website. This is the
platform from which we are building out our Blockchain information
offerings which we believe can be as lucrative as our equity
offerings.
Equities and Blockchain have distinct audiences and we find the
combination exciting. We believe our market potential just grew
significantly and that we can grow to fill it.
EXTRACT FROM THE ADVFN plc STRATEGIC REPORT
Our product, which is our website, can be seen at www.advfn.com.
Operating our websites is very technically challenging and is
subject to constant maintenance and engineering.
With the advent of the Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies we have
now added a new segment to the website to cater for the need of the
global cryptocurrency audience for timely and accurate data. We
expect this to expand the audience and traffic of our sites.
For our UK audience Brexit will be on most people's agenda over
the next year and perhaps several years. We believe this market
stressing event could create increased interest in the markets in
the UK which is a very important market for us. ADVFN's information
sites are important windows onto world markets that private
investors around the world use to help manage their investing and
trading and we see opportunities for growth in providing these
sites.
Turnover has grown substantially in the last year and, as has
happened in previous years, the growth in the headcount has been in
parallel. This underlines the importance of having the talented
staff available in the company when there are opportunities to
expand. Our registered users go on increasing and provide us with a
ready market for the new products we are able to offer.
SUMMARY OF ADVFN'S KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
2018 2018 2017 2017
Actual Target Actual Target
-------- -------- -------- --------
Turnover GBP9.2M GBP8.5M GBP8.2M GBP8.0M
-------- --------
Average head count 46 40 32 35
-------- -------- --------
ADVFN registered users 4.5M 4.2M 4.0M 3.8M
-------- -------- -------- --------
Clement Chambers
CEO
9 November 2018
The annual report and accounts will shortly be sent to
shareholders and will be available on the Company's website,
www.onlineblockchain.io
Enquiries:
For further information please contact:
Online Blockchain PLC
Clem Chambers +44 (0) 207 070 0909
Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated
Adviser)
www.beaumontcornish.com
Roland Cornish/Michael Cornish +44 (0) 207 628 3396
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse
Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. The person who arranged for the
release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was Clem
Chambers, Director.
Online Blockchain Plc's STRATEGIC REPORT
The Directors present their Strategic Report for the year ended
30 June 2018.
The strategy for the Group is that of an incubator and developer
of businesses in internet and information-based technologies
including developers, administrators and custodians of blockchains
and cryptocurrencies.
We created ADVFN www.advfn.com and today we still have a holding
of 17.98% in ADVFN plc.
Online Blockchain plc continues to consider new related
opportunities and particularly crypto currencies and blockchain
opportunities.
Principal risks and uncertainties
The management of the Company and the nature of the Company's
strategy are subject to a number of risks. The directors have set
out on page 5 and below, the principal risks facing the business.
The directors are of the opinion that a thorough risk management
process is adopted which involves the formal review of all the
risks identified below. Where possible, processes are in place to
monitor and mitigate such risks.
The principal risks and uncertainties around our involvement in
crypto-currency are that it remains an unregulated market which
means that it will be unpredictable. In addition, the market is not
liquid except in the case of the big players such as Bitcoin which
means that, for the smaller players, transfer between crypto and
fiat currencies may be difficult.
As has been demonstrated in the recent past, the relationship
between crypto currencies and fiat currencies has been extremely
volatile. It is also uncertain where the current interest in crypto
currencies will take the market. It may be that it will become a
major industry central to the economies of the world or the
interest we currently see may not develop as we had hoped.
Economic downturn
The success of the world's stock markets might affect the
business given the sector ADVFN operates in. Many things around the
world can affect a stock market from war to human error. As far as
the UK is concerned Brexit will be at the forefront of most
people's thoughts for the next year at least. This could create
market upsets and turmoil. All things that in the past have been
good for ADVFN as its customers want to know what is happening in
the market.
However, the US Dollar and Euro exchange rates could be affected
in aftermath of Brexit, there is still a lack of confidence and a
risk of volatility.
High proportion of fixed overheads
A large proportion of the Company's overheads are fixed. There
is the risk that any significant changes in revenue may lead to the
inability to cover such costs. We closely monitor fixed overheads
against budget on a monthly basis and cost saving exercises are
implemented on a constant review basis.
Performance
The performance of the Company is closely linked to ADVFN plc.
The Company supplies management services and makes advertising
recharges to ADVFN which forms the turnover of the Company. As a
result of this reliance the extract of the ADVFN accounts on page 4
will give necessary information and background on the factors
affecting the performance of the Company. For the future we will
look forward to our investments in Blockchain bearing fruit.
The following financial KPIs may prove helpful:
2018 2018 2017 2017
Actual Target Actual Target
--------- ------- ------- -------
Turnover (GBP'000) 56 90 98 90
------- -------
Operating (loss)/profit
(GBP'000) (258) 12 20 12
--------- ------- -------
Basic (loss)/earnings
per share (pence) (2.32 p) 0.16 p 0.81 p 0.16 p
--------- ------- ------- -------
The financial indicators are designed to offer a dashboard check
of the significant measures of the company's operations. The change
in focus during the current year has meant a short-term downturn in
these Key Performance measures.
The company does not currently monitor non-financial KPI's and
will do so when they can offer additional clarity to the financial
performance measures.
STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)
Operating costs
Our costs remain reasonably fixed and predictable and we do not
see that changing in the immediate future. They are firmly under
control.
Fund raising
On 10 January 2018 the Company raised GBP1,000,000 following the
placement of 1,000,000 new Ordinary Shares of 5p each at 100p. The
proceeds of the placing will be used to provide general working
capital for the Company and to provide additional resources to
invest further in the development of block-chain projects.
Research and development
We believe in trying to get the best from all areas that we work
in. It is very important that Online Blockchain and ADVFN continue
to invest in the quality and design of our products. We believe
continued investment in our research and development is fundamental
to the continuing growth of the business.
Environmental policy
This has always been important to the Company and as a whole we
continue to look for ways to develop our environmental policy. We
have a very small footprint and try to reduce any waste we create;
we are a small team which makes this task easier. Most of our
communications are electronic which again cuts our use of
non-environmentally friendly products.
Future developments for the business
We feel that there will be opportunities with the Blockchain and
with Crypto currencies and as a result we have made the significant
move to add two subsidiaries to our group to enable us to grasp
these opportunities to the best effect. This investment has given
rise to expenditure in assets (computer equipment) and in
management time and our results, in the short term, will reflect
this.
It is also right that we continue to work with our investment in
ADVFN and assist it with its growth as well. The prospect of ADVFN
continuing to grow in the medium term provides the incentive to go
on concentrating on this business in the immediate future.
Should other investment opportunities present themselves the
Directors will investigate them appropriately.
Approved and signed on behalf of the Board of Directors
Clement Chambers
CEO
9 November 2018
Consolidated income statement incorporating the statement of
comprehensive income
30 June 30 June
2018 2017
Notes GBP'000 GBP'000
Revenue 56 98
Cost of sales (2) -
--------- --------
Gross profit 54 98
Share based payment (15) -
Other administrative expenses (297) (78)
--------- --------
Total administrative expenses (312) (78)
Operating (loss)/profit (258) 20
Finance income and expense (1) (2)
Share of post-tax profits of equity accounted
associate 71 44
(Loss)/profit before tax (188) 62
Taxation - -
--------- --------
Total (loss)/profit for the period attributable
to shareholders of the parent (188) 62
(Loss)/profit per share
Basic 1 (2.32 p) 0.81 p
Diluted 1 (2.32 p) 0.81 p
There is no other comprehensive income for either the current or
prior year.
Consolidated balance sheet
30 June 30 June 1 July
2018 2017 2016
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Assets
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 65 - -
Other receivables 6 - -
Investment in associate 1,243 1,174 1,161
1,314 1,174 1,161
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 183 125 159
Cash and cash equivalents 652 2 -
-------- -------- --------
835 127 159
Total assets 2,149 1,301 1,320
Equity and liabilities
Equity
Issued capital 3,292 3,242 3,242
Share premium 3,155 2,205 2,205
Share based payment reserve 51 36 36
Retained earnings (4,409) (4,219) (4,250)
-------- -------- --------
2,089 1,264 1,233
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 60 37 32
Borrowings (bank overdraft) - - 55
60 37 87
Total liabilities 60 37 87
Total equity and liabilities 2,149 1,301 1,320
======== ======== ========
Consolidated statement of changes in equity
Share Share Share Retained Total
capital premium based earnings equity
payment
reserve
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
At 1 July 2016 3,242 2,205 36 (4,250) 1,233
Net asset movements of associate - - - (31) (31)
Total comprehensive income for
the year - - - 62 62
At 30 June 2017 3,242 2,205 36 (4,219) 1,264
Share based payment - - 15 - 15
Issue of shares 50 950 - - 1,000
--------- --------- --------- ---------- ----------
Transactions with shareholders 50 950 15 - 1,015
Net asset movements of associate - - - (2) (2)
Total comprehensive income for
the year - - - (188) (188)
--------- --------- --------- ---------- ----------
At 30 June 2018 3,292 3,155 51 (4,409) 2,089
========= ========= ========= ========== ==========
Consolidated cash flow statement
12 months 12 months
to to
30 June 30 June
2018 2017
GBP'000 GBP'000
Cash flows from operating activities
(Loss)/profit for the year (188) 62
Profit from equity accounted associate (71) (44)
Net finance income in the income statement 1 2
Depreciation of property, plant & equipment 5 -
Share based payments - options 15 -
(Increase)/decrease in trade and other
receivables (64) 34
Increase in trade and other payables 23 5
Net cash generated by continuing operations (279) 59
Income tax receivable - -
---------- ----------
Net cash generated by operating activities (279) 59
Cash flows from financing activities
Issue of share capital 1,000 -
Interest paid (1) (2)
Net cash generated/(used) by financing
activities 999 (2)
Cash flows from investing activities
Payments for property plant and equipment (70) -
Net cash used by investing activities (70) -
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 650 57
Cash and cash equivalents at the start
of the period 2 (55)
---------- ----------
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of
the period 652 2
========== ==========
1. Loss per share
12 months 12 months
to to
30 June 30 June
2018 2017
GBP'000 GBP'000
(Loss)/profit for the year attributable to equity
shareholders (188) 62
Total (loss)/profit per share - basic and diluted
Basic (2.32 p) 0.81 p
Diluted (2.32 p) 0.81 p
Shares Shares
Weighted average number of Ordinary shares in
issue for the year 8,130,841 7,662,348
Dilutive effect of options 227,049 -
---------- ----------
Weighted average shares for diluted earnings
per share 8,357,890 7,662,348
========== ==========
Where a loss has been recorded for the year the diluted loss per
share does not differ from the basic loss per share as the exercise
of share options would have the effect of reducing the loss per
share and is therefore not dilutive under the terms of IAS 33.
Where a profit has been recorded but the average share price for
the year remains under the exercise price the existence of options
is likewise not dilutive.
2. Transition to IFRS
This is the first time that the Group has presented its
financial information for the three years ended 30 June 2018 under
IFRS, issued by the IASB as adopted by the EU. Online Blockchain
Plc prepared its last statutory accounts for the year ended 30 June
2017 under FRS 102 (new UK GAAP). The new companies forming the
group were incorporated during the current year. For the purposes
of these financial statements, the date of transition to IFRS was 1
July 2016 as the year from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017 is the
earliest period for which the Group has adopted International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the preparation of its
financial statements.
Transitional provisions under IFRS 1
IFRS 1, First-time adoption of International Financial Reporting
Standards, allows a number of transitional provisions, primarily
exemptions and exceptions, when applying IFRS for the first time.
The Group has elected not to utilise any of these exemptions.
IFRS Impact
The transition from reporting under FRS 102 to reporting under
IFRS as adopted by the EU resulting from the incorporation of two
subsidiaries does not result in any transition adjustments which
affect the Group. However, within the Online Blockchain Plc company
it has meant that the disclosure of the associate entity ADVFN Plc
has moved from a carrying value at cost to being equity accounted.
The reconciliation to the disclosures presented previously is as
follows:
Reconciliation of equity at transition date 1 July 2016:
2016 UK GAAP Equity IFRS
(FRS 102) accounted
associate
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Equity
Issued capital 3,242 - 3,242
Share premium 2,205 - 2,205
Share based payment reserve 36 - 36
Retained earnings (4,543) 293 (4,250)
----------- ----------- --------
940 293 1,233
=========== =========== ========
Reconciliation of equity at 30 June 2017
2017 UK GAAP Equity IFRS
(FRS 102) accounted
associate
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Equity
Issued capital 3,242 3,242
Share premium 2,205 2,205
Share based payment reserve 36 36
Retained earnings (4,525) 306 (4,219)
----------- ----------- --------
958 306 1,264
=========== =========== ========
Reconciliation of total comprehensive income for the year ended
30 June 2017
2017 UK GAAP Equity IFRS
(FRS 102) accounted
associate
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Revenue 98 - 98
Other administrative expenses (78) - (78)
Operating (loss)/profit 20 - 20
Finance income and expense (2) - (2)
Share of post-tax profits of equity accounted
associate - 44 44
----------- ----------- --------
(Loss)/profit before tax 18 44 62
Taxation - -
----------- ----------- --------
Total loss for the period 18 44 62
=========== =========== ========
3. Events after the balance sheet date
As we announced in August 2018, we have agreed to invest in
Encrypted Gaming Inc, a talented development group building games
on the Ethereum Blockchain.
More information on this project is available on the company
website:
www.onlineblockchain.io
4. Publication of Non-Statutory Accounts
The financial information set out in this preliminary
announcement does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in
section 435 of the Companies Act 2006.
The balance sheet at 30 June 2018 and the income statement,
statement of changes in equity, the statement of cashflows and
associated notes for the year then ended have been extracted from
the Company's 2018 statutory financial statements upon which the
auditors' opinion is unqualified and does not include any statement
under Section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
FR BLBFTMBBMBPP
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