The business to be conducted at the meeting will be to review the audited accounts for the year to 30 June 2014 and to vote on resolutions, including the re-election of directors
As in previous years, the AGM will be conducted "virtually" (this year we will use the software package GoToMeeting), and you are encouraged to submit your vote using this proxy form. You are welcome to participate in the webcast and ask any questions live to the Chairman i.e. me Although of course you can ask questions at any time during the year using our forum
General guidance with regard to our AGMs can be found here
Below is my "Review of business" which is also included in the accounts:
If you have any questions on the accounts, no need to wait until the AGM - ask away!REVIEW OF BUSINESS
The year under review was the company's fourth year of operation. We made continuous improvements to
our cashback service, with a dual aim of generating the maximum amount of cashback for members whilst
also establishing a reputation as the most reliable and trustworthy cashback website. Since the last annual report, imutual has:
- Maintained a highly reliable cashback service across over 3000 merchants.
- Integrated feeds of thousands of products from several Daily Deals sites
- Launched daily and weekly email services for deals matching member's preferences and local to their postcode
- Launched our unique "Cashback guarantee" to cement our growing reputation as the UK's most trustworthy cashback site
- Won the "Commended" award in the "Best Cashback Website" category of the Consumer Moneyfacts Awards
- Launched the Cashback Investment club, allowing members to dripfeed their cashback earnings into stockmarket investments
During the year, our revenues were £158,315. Although this represents a significant decrease on the previous year's figure of £260,881, that figure did include a one-off deal which generated over £100,000 of revenue during 2012-13. Excluding this, the figures for 2013-14 show a small increase in revenue which we believe more accurately reflects the development and underlying performance of your company.
Our administrative expenses for the year were £59,830, down from £65,339 in 2012-13. By way of comparison, the equivalent figures for the two largest UK cashback websites were £8.2m (year to July 2013) and £4.6m (year to Jan 2014).
The accounts show a loss £20,147. imutual is different from other companies, in that it seeks to maximise the benefits to members rather than the profits for its shareholders, and this loss can be partly attributed to our desire to invest in the development of the site. That said, we recognise the importance of building the strength of the company's balance sheet and expect to return to an approximate break-even position in the year 2014-15. Uniquely amongst cashback websites, your directors continue to protect members cashback balances courtesy of personal guarantees.
A major strength of our company is that it operates a low-risk business model. During the year, the highest proportion of unpaid debtors from a single source was around £5000; hence, the company's potential exposure to bad debts is not significant. Additionally, a major element of our administrative costs is Director's salaries, and we can reduce these as necessary in line with the company's cashflow.
We attracted a further 932 members to the website during the year. imutual's approach to recruitment has
been to rely on word-of-mouth recommendation rather than spend members' funds on advertising. Increasing the size of our membership is vital to the continued growth of your company, and we will continue to support, encourage and reward members who help to generate positive publicity for imutual.