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Company Announcements
Lo-Q plc is an AIM (Alternative Investment Market) listed company.
Information about the management and financial information required
by Rule 26 of the AIM rules for companies can be accessed by following
this link.
| Date |
Subject
|
Announcement
|
| 13 June 2008 |
Annual Report and Accounts |
The Company notifies that its Annual Report and Accounts
for the year ended 31 December 2007 were posted to shareholders
on 18 April 2008 and are available at www.lo-q.com
|
| 11 April
2008 |
GRANT
OF OPTIONS |
Lo-Q announces that it today granted options
over ordinary shares of 1p each in
the Company ("Shares") under the Lo-Q EMI Share
Scheme, exerciseable at 25p per
Share, to certain directors as follows:
Director Options Options Exercise Resultant
granted
(1) granted (2)
price option holding
Jeffrey McManus 100,000 25p
100,000
Steve Drake 100,000 25p
295,921
Leonard Sim 100,000
25p 100,000
Colin Robertson 100,000 100,000
25p
200,000
A consideration of £1 was paid in respect
of each grant.
(1) These options will vest in four equal
tranches on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th
anniversaries of the grant, subject to the achievement of
performance
targets for the financial years 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011,
and expire on
the 10th anniversary of grant.
(2) These options may be exercised from 11
April 2009, and expire on the 10th
anniversary of grant.
|
| 10 April
2008 |
2008
RESULTS |
Preliminary Results for the year ended 31
December 2008 (LINK
to final results)
Chairman's Report
For The Year Ended 31 December 2007
I am pleased to report that the company made progress on all
fronts in 2007 with
a second year of operating profit. Our profit before tax for
2007 was £551,235.
As our staff are responsible for collecting
the Q-bot rental from park guests in
all of the major customer's parks in which we operate, the
profit and loss
statement this year includes the total income that is derived
from these daily
rentals. The value of our sales, at over £7 million,
illustrates the advances
that the Company has made in recent years with annual growth
running in the
region of 40% for each of the last three years.
Based on our in depth experience over six
years of operation, we have
established a minimum useable life of all the major components
of the system,
including software, of five years. We have therefore agreed
with our auditors to
write down the capital and research and development cost of
upgrades over a
matching five-year basis. As previously required by the accounting
standard we
were writing off the costs as they occurred.
The introduction of the new VQ2020 system
into our major customer's parks in
Chicago and Montreal, Canada was well received by the parks'
guests. The ability
to book rides using the Q-bot, from any where in the park,
rather than from a
booking station, has proved very popular.
We have also enhanced the Q-bot's operating
system so that the guest can reserve
shows as well as rides, and we installed this upgraded software
into Dollywood.
All credit is due to our development and installation
teams for getting the
systems up and running in all these parks, in time for the
start of the 2007
season.
In 2008 our systems are now in an eighth major
customer's park, in San Antonio,
Texas, as well as Legoland Windsor. With the introduction
of the Text-Q system
in Drayton Manor on a trial basis, we have increased the number
of parks in
which we operate by 40%.
As well as selling more of the upgraded VQ2020
systems we hope to be selling
more Text-Q systems this year. Our ability to offer potential
customers a choice
of line management solutions is proving to be quite beneficial.
We are currently talking to a number of different
companies in terms of product
cross-integration and we expect these discussions will be
of medium and
long-term benefit.
We look forward to a successful summer season
in 2008.
|
| 21 February
2008 |
Appointment
of Sales Director |
The Board of Lo-Q plc is pleased to announce
the appointment of Colin John
Robertson (51) to the board as Sales Director.
Colin has been working with Lo-Q as a consultant
to the company since August
2007 and joined on a full time basis at the beginning of February
this year.
Previously Colin was in charge of the UK and
Ireland Operation of Avnet Inc. He
has an excellent track record in system sales over the last
25 years.
Colin Robertson currently holds 148,000 ordinary
shares of £0.01 in Lo-Q.
There are no other disclosures under paragraph
(g) of Schedule Two of the Aim
Rules.
|
| 12 February
2008 |
LO-Q
wins first European theme park installation of its VQ2020 queue
management
system |
Lo-Q plc today announces
it has reached agreement with Lego Windsor Park Ltd for
the use of its VQ2020 queue management system. The two year
extendable agreement
provides for the operation of the system from March 15th this
year.
The LEGOLAND park is part of the Merlin group,
which is a major global player
in the theme park market. Lo-Q's Text-Q product is already
in use at the London
Dungeon and other Merlin venues.
VQ2020 is Lo-Q's flagship product and was
introduced last year to capitalise on
Lo-Q's extensive operational experience and in-house system
development
capabilities. Park visitors who use the system employ a proprietary,
hand held,
wireless unit, the Q-bot, to make reservations for their favourite
rides from
anywhere in the park. The true virtual queuing employed in
VQ2020 means
that all visitors wait the same time for the ride so the Q-bot
system is fair
to all.
Vicky Brown, General Manager of LEGOLAND said:
"Our new system allows our park
visitors to avoid physically waiting in the queue line for
our major rides. Our
park is aimed at the under 12 age group, and they will especially
enjoy having
the Q-bot wait in the queue for them. The Q-bot is a key part
of our objective
of giving our visitors an even more enjoyable experience.
Lo-Q's Managing Director, Leonard Sim, said:
"It is really exciting for us to
have one of our systems operating in the UK, and we are particularly
pleased to
work with LEGOLAND. We expect the system to be well received
by visitors to the
park, and look forward to it contributing to our revenues
for the year ending
31 December 2008.
Enquiries:
Jeff McManus
Lo-Q plc 01491 577 210
John Prior
Arbuthnot Securities Limited 0207 012 2000
|
| 4 February
2008 |
Text-Q
trial agreement with
Drayton Manor Theme Park |
Lo-Q plc today announces it has agreed with
Drayton Manor Theme Park to run a
trial of its Text-Q queue management system in the early summer.
Text-Q is Lo-Q's mobile phone based reservation
system, and it will be available
to be used by Drayton Manor's visitors between May 31st and
June 8th 2008.
Lo-Q acquired the Text-Q Technology from Avius
Technology Ltd in November of
last year and this is the first installation of the system
in a theme park
although the system has been in use in other venues in the
last twelve months.
Lo-Q's Managing Director, Leonard Sim, said:
"We are very pleased to establish
a relationship with this prestigious park"
Edward Pawley, General Manager Park Operations
of Drayton Manor Theme Park said:
"The advanced technology of the Text-Q system allows
our park visitors to make
reservations for a number of our major rides using their mobile
phone from
anywhere in the park.. The visitors no longer need to stand
in line, providing
for an even more enjoyable experience. We look forward to
a successful trial
leading to a long term relationship with Lo-Q."
|
| 31 January
2008 |
Directors'
shareholdings |
The Company received notification that John
Lillywhite and Tony Bone, directors
of the Company, have today exercised options over 209,000
ordinary shares of 1p
each in the Company ("Shares") and 182,875 Shares
respectively, all at an
exercise price of 3.5p per Share.
The Company also received notification that
today Mr Lillywhite and Mr Bone have
sold 104,500 Shares and 91,437 Shares respectively at 18p
per Share in order to
realise sufficient funds to settle the resultant tax and national
insurance
liability arising as a result of the exercise of their options.
As a result of the above transactions, Mr
Lillywhite's interest comprises
145,500 Shares, representing 0.9 per cent. of the enlarged
issued share capital
of the Company, and Mr Bone's interest comprises 331,517 Shares,
representing
2.12 per cent. of the enlarged issued share capital of the
Company.
The Company also received notification today
that Jeff McManus, Chairman of the
Company, purchased 50,000 Shares at a price of 18p per Share,
and that Steve
Drake, director of the Company, purchased 20,000 Shares at
a price of 18.5p per
Share. As a result of these purchases, Mr McManus is now interested
in 953,414
Shares representing 6.2 per cent. of the enlarged issued share
capital of the
Company, and Mr Drake is now interested in 234,384 Shares
representing 1.53 per
cent. of the enlarged issued share capital of the Company.
Application has been made for the 391,875
new Shares to be admitted to trading
on AIM. The new Shares will rank pari passu with the Company's
existing issued
Shares. Admission is expected to take place on 6 February
2008 ("Admission").
Total Voting Rights
In accordance with the FSA's Disclosure and
Transparency Rules, the Company
notifies that upon Admission the Company's total issued share
capital with
voting rights will consist of 15,321,101 ordinary shares of
1p each, with one
voting right per share. The Company holds no shares in Treasury.
The above figure may be used from Admission
by shareholders in the Company as
the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine
if they are
required to notify their interest in, or a change in their
interest in, the
share capital of the Company.
Contact:
Jeffrey McManus +44 (0) 1491 577 210
Non-Executive Chairman
John Prior +44 (0) 20 7012 2000
Arbuthnot Securities Limited
|
| 28/1/2008 |
Trading
Update |
Following its year end on 31 December 2007,
Lo-Q is pleased to provide the following update to the market.
The Company installed the new VQ2020 guest queuing system
into three theme parks during the spring of last year, including
Dollywood, and the systems worked successfully during the
whole season in their new operating environments.
As announced earlier this month, the extension of our agreement
with Six Flags Inc provides for installation of the VQ2020
system into four more of the existing parks, as well as into
a new park, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, for the 2008 operating
season. Should the new system be successfully installed into
these parks, this will result in all but one of the 8 Six
Flags parks using the VQ2020 system.
The enhanced technology and functionality of the VQ2020 system
results in it being a more attractive product to theme park
guests and we expect to derive increased revenues from it
compared to its predecessor.
The Company will look to increase the marketing of its products
during the coming year, with the aim of winning additional
theme park operators as customers, and expanding the number
of operators adopting the Text-Q system, which was acquired
by the Company in November 2007.
The Company anticipates reporting a pre-tax profit for the
year ended 31 December 2007 marginally in excess of £500,000,
an increase of at least 46 per cent. on the normalised pre-tax
profit for the prior year. Cash balances at 31 December 07
are estimated at £620,000.
The Company will announce its results for the year ending
31 December 2007, the week commencing 14 April.
Jeff McManus
Lo-Q plc 01491 577 210
John Prior
Arbuthnot Securities Limited 0207 012 2000
|
| 17/1/2008 |
Extended
and enlarged Six Flags contract |
Lo-Q plc announces
extension and enhancement of Six Flags agreement
Lo-Q plc ("Lo-Q" or "the Company")
today announces it has signed an extended agreement with Six
Flags, Inc.
Lo-Q's new VQ2020 system will be installed
in an additional Six Flags park, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, for
the 2008 operating season which will increase the number of
Six Flags parks employing the Company's queuing systems for
2008 to eight. It is anticipated that this will grow to nine
for the 2009 park operating season.
Lo-Q plans to replace its existing product
with its new VQ2020 system in four of the existing parks before
the start of the 2008 park operating season bringing the number
of Six Flags parks using the VQ2020 system to seven.
The Lo-Q agreement with Six Flags has been
extended for all parks until 2010.
Lo-Q is among the select group of companies
who enjoy sponsorship opportunities in the Six Flags parks.
Other current Six Flags sponsors include: Nintendo Wii, Kraft,
Kodak and Papa John's.
Lo-Q's Managing Director, Leonard Sim, said:
"We are very pleased to strengthen our relationship with
our major customer, particularly given the positive feedback
from Six Flags guests and the continued growth of Q-bot use."
Six Flags' Executive Vice President, In-Park
Services, Andrew Schleimer, commented: "The advanced
technology in our new system allows Flash Pass users to see
the wait times for their favourite attractions and make their
reservations using their new Flash Pass unit from anywhere
in the park. The VQ2020 system continues to eliminate the
need for guests to stand in line, providing for an ever further
enjoyable experience. We look forward to working with Lo-Q
throughout the upcoming seasons."
Jeff McManus
Lo-Q plc, 01491 577 210
John Prior / Philip Young
Arbuthnot Securities Limited, 0207 012 2000
Lissa M. Brown
Six Flags, Inc. 212-652-9394
|
| 24/10/2007 |
Exercise
of options |
The Company announces
that it has issued 74,489 ordinary shares of 1p each in
the Company pursuant to the exercise of options by an employee.
Application has
been made to the London Stock Exchange for these shares to be
admitted to
trading on AIM, which is expected to take place on 30 October
2007.
Following admission, the Company will have
14,840,326 voting ordinary shares in
issue.
|
| 17/10/2007 |
Change
of Adviser and Broker |
Lo-Q plc is pleased to announce the appointment
of Arbuthnot Securities Limited
as Nomad and Broker to the Company.
|
| 24/08/2007 |
Interim results |
Interim results - 2007 first half
year (link) |
| 17/08/2007 |
Online
information fully pursuant to AIM Listing Rules |
Lo-Q plc is pleased to announce that its corporate
website is now fully
compliant with Rule 26 of the AIM Listing Rules. The Company
also notifies that the information required by AIM rule 26
can now be found on its website at http://www.lo-q.com
|
|
27/06/2007
|
Holding(s) in Company
|
The Company was informed on 25
June 2007 that Barclays PLC is interested in
908,121 ordinary shares representing approximately 6.15% of
the total voting
rights of the Company. |
| 25/06/2007 |
Stmnt re Share Price
Movement |
Lo-Q plc ('the Company' or Lo-Q)
notes the recent rise in its share price. The
Board of Lo-Q confirms that it knows of no specific reason for
the recent
increase in its share price. |
| 21/06/2007 |
Holding(s) in Company |
The Company was informed on 18
June 2007 that Barclays PLC is interested in
879,785 ordinary shares representing approximately 5.96% of
the total voting
rights of the Company. |
| 30/05/2007
|
Result
of AGM |
At the Annual General Meeting of Lo-Q Plc
held on 29 May 2007, all resolutions
were duly passed.
|
| 24/04/2007 |
Lo-Q plc Finalises
Six Flags Agreement |
Lo-Q plc ("Lo-Q" or "the
Company") announced today that it has finalised its agreement
with Six Flags Inc ("SIX") for their use of the Lo-Q
Guest Services System through December 2009. This agreement
expands the relationship to include two additional parks situated
in Chicago and Montreal. The company previously announced,in
November 2006 that it would be entering into this agreement.
As stated the previous announcement, the two additional parks
will use Lo-Q's new VQ2020 system; other parks in which the
Lo-Q system is used will transition to the new system before
the start of the 2008 season. Moving forward, Lo-Q and Six Flags
intend to work together to continue to improve the system. |
| |
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|
| 20/04/07 |
FINAL RESULTS FOR
THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2006 |
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
" Strong revenue growth with sales of
£2.0m (15 months ended Dec 2005: £1.6m)
" Year ended with operating profit £0.34m
(2005: loss £0.1m) and net cash of £0.6m
" Secured a 3 year contract with Dollywood
and a three year agreement for the use of the Lo-Q Guest Services
System in 7 Six Flags park
" Secured Radio Frequency Identification
("RFID") agreement with Proximities, Inc. of Florida,
USA, to accelerate the development of its cyber queuing product
line. Proximities develops, markets and supports a suite of
secure RFID business solutions for the leisure and entertainment
Contacts:
Jeff McManus, Lo-Q Plc - 01491 577 210
Romil Patel / Jerry Keen, Corporate Synergy Plc - 0207 448
4400
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
Before 2006 started, we knew that we were
facing the most important year of the Company's operation.
The prime objective that we set for the year was to generate
an operating profit for the twelve months of 2006 and to retain
sufficient cash from our operations so that there would be
adequate funding at the end of the year to take us through
the winter and into the spring with some degree of financial
comfort. The Board charged the operating team, led by Steve
Drake, to more than meet these objectives and encouraged maximum
performance by implementing an aggressive bonus plan. I am
pleased to report that an excellent team performance led to
a commendable level of sales with an outstanding performance
in the Six Flags Georgia Park in Atlanta. The year ended with
an operating profit of £341,729 (2005: £139,423
loss) with a £643,967 net cash balance.
The performance in the Six Flags parks was
at such a high level that the chief executive officer of Six
Flags announced to the New York stock exchange in the late
autumn that he would be asking Lo-Q to sell Q-bots in two
further parks and he also wanted our operations team to manage
and run the sales of Q-bots in all of the Six Flags park in
which we were present. This was a great complement to Steve's
team, and will require us to employ approximately 350 seasonal
staff (24 seasonal staff in 2005).
Patent Settlement
The operating profit was, however, offset
by an exceptional item during the year. On 14 December 2006,
the Company announced that it has concluded negotiations with
Palmtop Productions Inc. ('Palmtop'), the owners of a theme
park line management patent based on hand-held personal organisers.
Whilst it was alleged that Lo-Q has been contravening their
patent, the Company's lawyers and specialist patent attorneys
believe this not to be the case. As a result, it had been
the view of the Board that this claim could be successfully
defended. After weighing the balance of risk present in any
USA patent law case, the Company made the decision to pursue
an out of court agreement to settle the case expediently.
The Company recognises that this has the advantage of releasing
a significant amount of management time and avoids the potential
costs if any defence case were to become protracted.
The cost involved in this legal settlement
is taken as an extraordinary item in the 2006 accounts and
has led to an after tax loss of £269,208. The Board
and I can confirm that the Company has not been notified of
any similar legal action.
Theme Park Contracts
The trial at the Dollywood Park in Tennessee
progressed well with the new software for booking the prime
shows that are continuously run in the park, helping park
guests throughout the last three months of the year. This
park's management were pleased with the system and saw the
guests' reaction as positive confirmation that a full system,
including reservations for coaster and other attractions,
would benefit the park. A three-year contract, with the provision
of a further three-year extension on expiration, was signed
by both parties at the end of February. Our Company is very
pleased with this commitment and looks forward to discussing
with other members of the Silver Dollar theme park chain,
which owns Dollywood Park, how the system could give guests
in those parks a more enjoyable day.
Research and Development
Our team started work on a new and improved
version of our software at the beginning of the year and in
the late summer we were able to trial the new system, VQ 2020,
and, following the success of this trial, we are now installing
this system in new parks. Users will find the system to be
more flexible and the larger Q-bot screen will enable much
better communication with the central system. We expect to
develop extended systems to add to the ride/show reservation
backbone. A major consideration for the new Six Flags senior
management, in committing to our system in their new contract,
was that through joint communication in forecasting theme
parks future methods of operation, and through our ability
to harness new technology, we are charged by them in keeping
our system as the world leader in the line management/guest
communication field. We believe that this will lead to us
installing our system and renting Q-bots in more Six Flags
parks in the future.
The Company has also signed an agreement with
Proximities, Inc. of Florida, USA ('Proximities'), that will
accelerate the Company's development of its virtual queuing
product line. Under this RFID Agreement, Lo Q and Proximities
will work together to add RFID functionality to Lo-Q's product
offering, and Lo-Q's queuing software will be integrated with
Proximities product offering.
The relationship established with Proximities
will allow Lo-Q to expand its product offerings into water
parks and other markets where a less sophisticated or lower
cost queuing device is required. It also supports Lo Q's vision
of having every guest in the park on the system and not waiting
in line for the prime attractions.
AGM
The AGM of the Company will be held at its
offices at The Smith Centre, Fairmile, Henley-On-Thames, Oxfordshire
at11:00 a.m. on 29 May 2007.
To sum up the last year, I believe that Lo-Q
has come of age that we have now finished the building of
the structural foundations of our Company and this year will
see the first floor of the new building arising through the
commitment of our staff. I wish to thank every one of them
for the hard work and expertise that has been contributed
in this important year.
Jeff McManus
17 April 2007
|
| 22/02/07 |
Dollywood Agreed |
Lo-Q plc ("Lo-Q" or the
"Company") today announce that they have concluded
an agreement to install a Lo-Q Guest Services System into the
Dollywood Theme Park ("Dollywood") based in Tennessee,
USA. This park, with annual attendances of over 2,000,000 is
part of the Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation group,
which has other leisure properties including Silver Dollar City
in Branson Missouri.
The contract follows last year's successful Pilot System where
Dollywood evaluated the suitability of a Lo-Q system in their
park. The Pilot offered reservations only on shows, which are
an important part of the Dollywood offering. The 2007 implementation
will add ride reservation capability on eight rides and the
famous Dollywood Express Train.
The new 3 year agreement, for a System to be operational in
time for the start of the 2007 season, will increase the numbers
of Q-bots available and is the first of three installations
of the VQ2020 System that Lo-Q expects to install in time for
the start of the 2007 season.
Leonard Sim, Managing Director of Lo-Q commented:
"Dollywood have grown significantly in recent years and
their offering of popular shows and top-class rides in an attractively
themed environment has proved very successful. We believe that
the use of the Lo-Q system will provide their guests with an
attractive option to plan their day.
The agreement with Dollywood firmly confirms our belief that
the theme park industry is more open to addressing the queuing
issue and we expect "
|
| 14/12/06 |
Trading
statement |
Trading Update
With the season over and the majority of the
parks in which the Company operates now being closed for the
winter, the board of Lo-Q (the "Board") would like
to provide an update on the progress made by the Company this
year.
The Company is pleased to announce that it
has had a very successful season in the theme parks in which
it operates with Q-bots selling well. This is attributable
to the performance of the US team, led by Steve Drake, supported
by a product that continues to have a remarkable quality record.
The Q-bot rental revenue to date has performed ahead of management
expectations.
The Company also announces that it has concluded
negotiations with Palmtop Productions Inc. ("Palmtop"),
the owners of a theme park line management patent based on
hand-held personal organisers. Whilst it was alleged that
Lo-Q has been contravening their patent, the Company's lawyers
and specialist patent attorneys believe this not to be the
case. As a result it had been the view of the Board that this
claim could be successfully defended. After weighing the balance
of risk present in any USA patent law case, the Company made
the decision to pursue an out of court agreement to settle
the case expediently. The Company recognises that this has
the advantage of releasing a significant amount of management
time and avoids the potential costs if any defence case were
to become protracted.
The initial settlement payable to Palmtop
is for US$900,000. Lo-Q is also required to make additional
annual payments for the years 2007, 2008 and 2009. The company
expects its resulting costs in meeting these three additional
obligations to be in the region of $70,000 in each of these
years. After these payments the company will have fulfilled
its requirements under the settlement. The Board are confident
that these exceptional costs can be absorbed by the cash flows
from the business from the current and following financial
years.
The Company's normalised profit before tax
for the year ended 31 December 2006 is expected to be in line
with market expectations. However, with the inclusion of both
legal and settlement costs, which will be included as exceptional
items in this years accounts of approximately £600,000,
the Company will report a loss of approximately £0.3
million for the year ended 31 December 2006.
|
| 24/11/2006 |
Six Flags
Agreement |
Lo-Q plc ("Lo-Q"
or the "Company") today announces that it has finalised
a new three year agreement for the use of the Lo-Q Guest Services
System in the Six Flags Inc (Six Flags) chain. This agreement
covers the five parks already using the system and adds two
further parks situated in Chicago and Montreal.
A further responsibility given to Lo-Q under the agreement is
to take over the in-park operation, including sales of Q-bots
and other aspects of the system operation.
The two new parks will use Lo-Q's revolutionary
new VQ2020 system and the other parks will transition to its
use before the start of the 2008 season.
This expansion in Lo-Q's operation is in line
with the Six Flags CEO's drive to improve the experience in
his parks for families. Additionally the two companies plan
to apply resources to the future development of the system,
with the objective of ensuring Six Flags remains at the forefront
of theme park line management and thereby giving their guests
happier experiences.
Leonard Sim, Managing Director of Lo-Q commented:
"This agreement from Six Flags is excellent
news for our company especially because the decision to expand
came from the new Six Flags senior management team. They have
been extremely busy examining all aspects of their business
to ensure they meet their goal of repositioning their parks
to become successful family oriented destinations
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