Petards Group, the surveillance systems developer expects to make a profit in the second half after it completed its restructuring.

Friday 29 Sep 2006:
Chairman Tim Wightman said, From an operational perspective we have now completed the structural changes necessary to implement the board's longer term strategy that was embarked upon over 18 months ago.

Petards said it expects significant deliveries to customers in the last quarter, adding that it is encouraged by the promising pipeline of orders that should secure its continued recovery in 2007 and beyond.

Petards' UVMSTM software is a versatile and totally scaleable network management
tool for the recording, storage and instant retrieval of high volumes of digital
surveillance video. It features advanced recording, camera mapping & image
replay functions and will form the backbone for any new or existing CCTV system.
Its flexibility to grow with clients' security requirements ensures their CCTV
systems have the ability to expand in the future whilst working over a variety
of network protocols.

More information on the on-board digital CCTV systems can be found on:
http://www.petardsjoyce-loebl.net/en/Products/cctv.aspx

Contacts:

Petards Group plc Parkgreen Communications Ltd

Tim Wightman, Chairman Paul McManus
Andy Wonnacott, Finance Director Tel: 020 7493 3716
Tel: 01932 788 288 Mob: 07980 541 893

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

I am pleased to present my report on the Group's activities and results for the
six months to 30 June 2006.

Introduction

During the period to the date of this report the management has continued to
implement its strategy to transform the Group from a fragmented business with a
high cost base making significant losses, to a focussed Group capable of making
sustainable profits and cash flows.

Operations

From an operational perspective we have now completed the structural changes
necessary to implement the Board's longer term strategy that was embarked upon
over 18 months ago. That strategy was to put in place a structure that enabled
the Group to exploit the synergies that exist between its various businesses.
Those synergies arise from an overlap between the businesses and are a
combination of operational, technological and market factors.

Following the appointment of Bill Conn as Group Chief Executive and in
conjunction with the acquisition of EIMC, the Group's production, purchasing,
finance and administrative functions were centralised onto our Gateshead site.
This restructuring gave rise to an exceptional cost of 419,000 in the period
but will result in anticipated cost savings of approximately 600,000 in 2007.
The benefits for customers of combining all of our production onto our largest
site will be enhanced quality and an improvement in delivery schedules.

The synergies between the technologies used on our different platforms are also
being exploited further. By bringing together our engineering resources across
our product range we are benefiting from the sharing of experience gained in
similar applications across the Group. For example, our expertise in the design
and production of ruggedised equipment for the military is being applied to our
Provida in-car digital recording systems and our UVMSTM network video recording
software is being integrated with eyeTrainTM, our on-board digital CCTV system.
Our long history and respected position as a supplier within the defence
industry is starting to result in opportunities for our surveillance
technologies within that sector. In addition within the rail industry, our
ability to supply both on-board and land based surveillance solutions is proving
attractive to customers.

We continued to win significant contracts during the period. In the transport
sector, we secured the 1.8m contract to supply and install eyeTrainTM to 133
trains for Arriva Trains Wales and a repeat order worth 0.9m to supply
passenger information displays to Alstom for the Belgian railway. While demand
for countermeasure dispensing systems peaked at the time of the early stages of
the Iraqi conflict, during the period we received 2m of orders for these
systems from the UK MOD for the Royal Navy and Army Lynx Aircraft and a further
0.25m from Bell Helicopters for the Norwegian Air Force. Customer interest in
UVMSTM is continuing to grow and the systems installed in the first half
included one for the new Ascot racecourse. In addition, prospects for UVMSTM
within our US customer base remain strong particularly within the casino
industry. We have been steadily growing our market presence in the USA for our
other technologies and have been developing partner and customer relationships
from which we believe benefits will accrue in 2007. At 30 June 2006 the order
book stood at over 14m.

Since its acquisition in March, EIMC has performed well and demand to date for
its range of infra-red cameras for use within ANPR (Automatic Number Plate
Recognition) systems has been strong.

Results

The trading performance in the first half year showed an improvement over the
second half of 2005, but was behind that reported for the first half of 2005.
On continuing operations, turnover for the six months to 30 June 2006 was 9.4m
(2005: 13.0m) while the turnover of EIMC which we acquired in March was 1m.
The reduction in turnover from continuing operations reflected an exceptional
increase in defence sales in the first half of 2005 following the military phase
of the war in Iraq. Those sales were not repeated in 2006. In addition, as I
reported in June 2006, software sales were significantly lower as compared with
the first half of 2005. Gross margins increased to 35% (2005: 33%) despite the
lower software sales which attract better margins.

The operating loss for the period, before exceptional expenses arising on the
reorganisation, was 179,000 (2005: 257,000 profit as restated). This is after
a charge of 19,000 (2005: 15,000) relating to the implementation of FRS 20
"Share based payments" which has been implemented for the first time and for
which comparative figures for prior periods have been restated. After the
exceptional expenses of 419,000 the Group made a loss for the financial period
of 736,000 (2005: 83,000 loss as restated) and the underlying loss per share
was 0.12p (2005: loss 0.02p).

Cash flow

The operating cash inflow for the period was 345,000 (2005: 432,000 outflow)
which is stated after outflows of 0.2m in respect of exceptional reorganisation
costs.

Net interest paid in the period amounted to 433,000 which included 295,000
paid in January in respect of 2005. Net cash outflows associated with the
acquisition of EIMC amounted to 187,000 which together with capital expenditure
of 144,000 resulted in a cash outflow before financing of 419,000.

Dividends

The Board is not recommending the payment of a dividend.

Outlook

While the first half year's operating result is behind that of last year, the
Board is confident that in the second half year the Group will be profitable.
We are anticipating significant deliveries to customers during the last quarter
and expect that profit before exceptional items for the year will show an
improvement over 2005. The Board is encouraged by the promising pipeline of
orders that should secure the Group's continued recovery in 2007 and beyond.

29 September 2006

01 November 2006

Petards Group plc ("Petards" or "the Company")

New USA Contract Awards

Petards, the AIM listed developer of advanced surveillance systems, announces
that it has been awarded orders worth over $2m to supply UVMSTM network video
recording systems to a further two casinos in the USA. These orders follow on
from the successful implementation of UVMSTM at another casino owned by the same customer last year.

Petards' UVMSTM software is a versatile and totally scaleable network management
tool for the recording, storage and instant retrieval of high volumes of digital
surveillance video. It features advanced recording, camera mapping & image
replay functions and will form the backbone for any new or existing CCTV system.
Its flexibility to grow with clients' security requirements ensures their CCTV
systems have the ability to expand in the future whilst working over a variety
of network protocols.

Petards Chief Executive Bill Conn said "We are very pleased to secure these
orders which are a result of Petards working in close partnership with its
customers and are indicative of Petards' growing reputation in the US market and
within the gaming sector in particular".

For further information:

Petards Group plc
Andy Wonnacott, Finance Director 01932 788 288
www.petards.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Petards Group PLC
12 December 2006

Petards Group plc ("Petards" or "the Company")

New Contract Awards

Petards, the AIM listed developer of advanced surveillance systems, announces
that it has been awarded significant orders to supply UVMSTM network video
recording systems to customers in the USA and in the UK for eyeTrainTM on-board
digital CCTV systems. Together these orders are worth approximately 1.2m.

The orders from the USA include a further casino development for Choctaw Nation,
who have already placed orders worth over $2m, and it is expected that this
further system will be delivered in the first quarter of 2007. In addition, the
Group has secured its first order for UVMSTM for a supply into the US rail
market.

In the UK Petards has been awarded a contract to supply its eyeTrainTM digital
CCTV systems to Porterbrook for use on its South West Trains Class 158 and 159
DMU Fleets. A total of 112 vehicles are to be fitted with internal and forward
facing cameras, as part of a franchise commitment to improve staff and passenger
safety. It is expected that deliveries of the eyeTrainTM systems will commence
in March 2007.

Petards Chief Executive Bill Conn said "It is very pleasing to secure these
orders for supply to the transport and casino markets, both of which are sectors
that we consider to be important in our plans for the future growth of the
business. The orders from the US will provide us with important reference sites
in that market and by securing our first contract from Porterbrook we have
further strengthened our position in the UK rail CCTV market."

For further information:
Petards Group plc
Andy Wonnacott, Finance Director 01932 788 288
www.petards.com
Parkgreen Communications 020 7493 3713
Ben Knowles 07900 346 978

15/12/06 08:02 AFXF

Petards Group wins UK Defence Ministry contracts worth 1.3 mln stg

LONDON (AFX) - Petards Group PLC said it has won contracts from the UK
Ministry of Defence valued at 1.3 mln stg to supply electronic countermeasures
dispensers and missile warning equipment repair services.
The AIM-listed developer of advanced surveillance systems said the
countermeasures dispensers will be used for self-protection on the British Army
Lynx Mk9 aircraft, adding that deliveries are expected to commence in June 2007.
The company said it has also been awarded a one-year extension until April
2008 to its existing exclusive enabling contract to cover the supply of
commercial VHF and UHF non-secure radio products and systems to the Ministry of
Defence.

Petards Holding(s) in Company

RNS Number:3906O
Petards Group PLC
20 December 2006

Petards Group plc ("the Company")

The Company was informed on 20th December 2006 that Chelverton Growth Trust has
a notifiable interest in 25,000,000 ordinary shares representing approximately
3.926% of the issued share capital of the Company.

20th December 2006

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END

petards is a french word which means farts..

potatohead: That's below the belt!

All blue today!

Nice to see the MM buy this morning!

Holding nice and steady!

Most people will be very negative on this one grevis2 as a lot of money has been lost investing in it.
I have a miniscule holding at the moment and breaking even, but am starting to get tempted to top up as this could be a very good recovery play.
The thing holding me back more than anything is their debt. I will continue to watch.

I cannot disagree with you trigger. It's gone through a bad patch like a lot of small companies but it does seem to be getting its act together. I like the area in which they operate. Surveillance is an undoubted growth business and Petards have been picking up some nice contracts of late, many of which are from the MOD, rail networks, gaming industry, etc. As Hanson used to say, "they are doing rather well over here and over there" and are forcasting going into profit in H2. No one can be certain about anything, but at these levels I believe they are well worth a punt. Good Luck!

This must be a growth industry with all the new CCTV systems being installed in every town and city in this country.

Correct, Superjock.

"In the last few decades, heightened fear of terrorism in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US, in tandem with rising conventional crime rates in many countries, analysts predict that the access control technologies and other security systems (like biometric, CCTV and Video surveillance equipment) are likely to witness a colossal demand with an approximate annual growth rate of 36.9 percent across the world, by 2009."

link to source

grevis, would you regard petard as a direct competitor to apn?

apn thread

Bosley, I think it's safe to say that both companies use similar technology, so perhaps they are made for each other. However APN produces those annoying camera traps for the unobservant motorist, of which, of late, I am one*, whereas Petards concentrates on systems for observing real trouble makers.

*My crime was to exceed the 30MPH limit by 6 MPH for which I've just been fined 60 and 3 penalty points. I'm not a happy boy!

Good to see steady buying today!

Just to add TWO pennyworth:
I hold PEG and APN - there is a difference IMHO.
- PEG is in recovery from poor management (who else?) and the notion [mentioned here]....that more CCTV cameras about is good for PEG -it doesn't follow IMHO. PEG needs to develop its sales teams to get business. Many CCTV contracts will go to whoever got there first...so it is by having a better alternative that PEG could drive sales. They have some good products (esp Swift, the "clip-on Camera" for anticipated hot-spots due to Marches, animal rights etc)
Re ANPR and [APN] in particular: APN is developing an intelligent model that can read numberplates at an angle, or if the numbers are unclear - many other systems match numbers (hence the need for consistancy) - but as long as there is a human operator it will be possible to "process" the difficult images, that's why I am none too keen n APN's idea of being the best - when alternatives are perfectly "good enough" and there are plenty of potential targets out there (us idiot motorists for allowing "speed" to be the only issue.....I'll wager Grevis2 had a stopping distance far shorter than cars of ten, or twenty years ago, or even a new transit van fully loaded - but cameras can only register speed....Ho -Hum. Bad luck,..."There but for the Grace....."
Why did I invest? PEG was the scrapings of "Screen" which I sold out at about 8p having lost a lot.....and I bought into PEG on the basis there were still there and at a fraction over 1p it looks like revcovery won't be too far.
APN was bought believing "numberplate business" was bound to be lucrative - it was for Capita and Our Ken, but no-one else has seen much of the Loy....
These companies have stood the test of time and that is worth considering.
....Both have been Buys in 2006.....

Hi hangon! I've been busy helping my daughter do up her new pad which she bought a few weeks ago. The plasterer's in today, so I'm keeping well out of the way.

I've reluctantly paid my 60 fine to Thames Valley Police and now have 3 penalty points for my sin. It will teach me to switch on the cruise control in future. My fault was to turn out of a side road straight into a speed camera, so there was no time to look down a my speedo. I was in 3rd gear at that time, which is my norm when driving through built up areas.

In regard to PEG, they are certainly operating in an area with massive potential. This is illustrated by the fact that Smiths Group recently agreed to sell their aerospace division and are now looking to grow their profitable 'detection' interests.

'By selling Aerospace, we crystallise the value for our shareholders. At the same time, we know this business is going to a great owner.

'Looking forward, Smiths continuing businesses serve markets with attractive growth prospects, enabling delivery of enhanced returns and strong cash conversion.'

Smiths said the detection joint venture with GE, entitled Smiths GE Detection, would combine Smiths Detection with GE Homeland Protection 'to create a leading global business serving the fast-growing detection and homeland protection markets.'

With all this anti-terrorist activity, must be a good for companies like Petard