Fprop upbeat after £3.9m loss
Article Date: Jun 25 2002Chief executive Ben Habib says Aim-listed First Property Online, provider of financial and internet services to the property sector, is 'moving positively towards profitability', after announcing a £3.9 million loss for the year to March, writes James Crux.
Habib says Fprop 'progressed from a start-up towards an established business' in its last financial year. Sales came in at £372,000 (nil), with the bulk of that figure generated in the second half, although the company lost £575,000 before goodwill.
Goodwill charges of £3.34 million increased the headline loss figure to £3.9 million. Habib will not be drawn on when he expects to achieve profitability, commenting only that 'it all depends on us having a fair wind'. Though he is bullish about current prospects.
'The group has generated significant revenues and is moving positively towards profitability. We think the outlook for commercial property in the UK is buoyant', he adds.
Fprop is a web-based property transaction play, offering services such as website design and web-hosting, on-line transactions at www.fprop.com, loan and valuation services and the underwriting of property transactions. Highlights of the year included the acquisition and integration of Commercial Property Database into the Fprop business.
This commercial property database and website design specialist contributed £255,000 to sales. Fprop's commercial property underwriting services brought in £84,000.
Habib flags up impressive progress at Fprop's loan arrangement business, which went live in August. He says the company has received loan quote requests on property worth about £135 million in total, and has organised or is in the process of organising loans for properties collectively worth some £7.5 million.
Habib holds a 14.5 per cent stake in Fprop. The company came to Aim in December 2000 by reversing into cash shell and former taxi business Hansom.
Investors seemed to like today's news. The shares sparked up by 0.25p to 5.25p in early play, valuing the business at £4.46 million.
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