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GATC Gattaca Plc

95.00
0.00 (0.00%)
Last Updated: 07:39:32
Delayed by 15 minutes
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Gattaca Plc LSE:GATC London Ordinary Share GB00B1FMDQ43 ORD 1P
  Price Change % Change Share Price Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  0.00 0.00% 95.00 93.00 97.00 95.00 95.00 95.00 2 07:39:32
Industry Sector Turnover Profit EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap
Employment Agencies 385.17M 1.23M 0.0386 24.61 30.26M

Gattaca PLC Preliminary Results (1940O)

03/11/2016 7:00am

UK Regulatory


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TIDMGATC

RNS Number : 1940O

Gattaca PLC

03 November 2016

3 November 2016

Gattaca plc

Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 July 2016

Gattaca plc ("Gattaca" or the "Group"), the specialist Engineering and Technology (IT & Telecoms) recruitment agency, today announces its Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 July 2016.

Financial Highlights

 
                               2016                        2015                       Change 
==================  ==========================  ==========================  ========================== 
                     Statutory   Underlying(2)   Statutory   Underlying(2)   Statutory   Underlying(2) 
==================  ==========  ==============  ==========  ==============  ==========  ============== 
                          GBPm            GBPm        GBPm            GBPm           %               % 
==================  ==========  ==============  ==========  ==============  ==========  ============== 
 Revenue                 617.6           616.9       502.3           622.8        +23%            (1%) 
==================  ==========  ==============  ==========  ==============  ==========  ============== 
 Net Fee Income 
  (NFI) (1)               73.0            72.4        54.8            72.2        +33%             +0% 
==================  ==========  ==============  ==========  ==============  ==========  ============== 
 Profit from 
  operations              15.1            21.4        12.4            21.2        +22%             +1% 
==================  ==========  ==============  ==========  ==============  ==========  ============== 
 Profit before 
  tax                     15.1            20.4        11.3            19.7        +34%             +4% 
==================  ==========  ==============  ==========  ==============  ==========  ============== 
 
 Basic earnings 
  per share              32.1p                       31.0p                         +4% 
==================  ==========  ==============  ==========  ==============  ==========  ============== 
 Diluted earnings 
  per share              31.0p                       29.6p                         +5% 
==================  ==========  ==============  ==========  ==============  ==========  ============== 
 Final dividend         17.00p                      16.32p                         +4% 
==================  ==========  ==============  ==========  ==============  ==========  ============== 
 Total dividend         23.00p                      22.00p                         +5% 
==================  ==========  ==============  ==========  ==============  ==========  ============== 
 Net debt at          GBP25.0m                    GBP33.6m                   (GBP8.6m) 
  end of period 
==================  ==========  ==============  ==========  ==============  ==========  ============== 
 

The following footnotes apply, where indicated, throughout these interim results:

(1) NFI is calculated as revenue less contractor payroll costs

2 Underlying performance is calculated on a pro-forma basis, as though Networkers had been owned by the Group for the entire prior period. Underlying results exclude the trading and net proceeds of divested businesses (2016: GBP0.3m loss; 2015: GBP0.6m loss), acquisitions costs (2016: GBPnil; 2015: GBP1.7m), amortisation of acquired intangibles (2016: GBP3.7m; 2015: GBP1.7m) and integration and restructuring costs (2016: GBP2.4m; 2015: GBP1.0m), exchange gains from revaluation of foreign assets and liabilities (2016: GBP1.0m; 2015: GBP0.3m loss) and include implied interest from acquisition funding (2016: nil; 2015 GBP0.7m).

Trading and Operational Highlights

   --      Profits in line with market expectations 
   --      Strong performance in Engineering, with NFI growth of 6% 

-- Technology NFI down 6%. Good growth in Telecoms (+9%) but offset by underperformance in IT (-17%); changes made to market focus and management structure are improving results

-- Integration of Networkers nearing completion with GBP3.1m of synergies identified, to be realised in FY2017

-- Reinvestment of GBP1.8m of synergies made to strengthen the business, including adding international headcount to support and drive forward growth outside the UK.

-- Newly created Engineering Technology division, which combined existing Networkers and Matchtech skill sets and targets the "Internet of Things", is already one of our fastest growing businesses

   --      Full year dividend increased by 5% to 23.0 pence per share (2015: 22.0 pence) 

Outlook

-- Since entering the new financial year we have a seen a slowdown in trading in the UK with Group NFI in 2017 Q1 forecast to be down 3% on 2016 Q1 (Contract down 2%; Permanent down 7%)

-- We are continuing to Invest in our overseas operations which continue to enjoy growth and which will to some extent mitigate the uncertainty around UK economy in the medium term

-- Full year effects of Networkers acquisition to come through in FY17, with first concrete sales synergies now being realised

Commenting on the results, Brian Wilkinson, Chief Executive of the Group said:

"I am pleased to report a positive year for the Group, where we delivered solid results, made significant progress on the integration of Networkers and introduced the new Group brand name, Gattaca.

"The 2017 financial year has started with growth internationally offset by a weaker performance in the UK. An early success this year has been the first sales win by our Gattaca solutions service line which significantly enhances our international delivery capability.

"Looking forward, uncertainty about the future of the British economy raises concerns for companies like ours, operating in what is seen as a highly cyclical sector. Nevertheless, our well established approach of partnering with our clients on long-term public and private infrastructure projects mitigates this risk to some extent, as does our increasing geographic diversification.

"The strategic repositioning of the Group is now complete. We have two well regarded market facing brands -Matchtech and Networkers - which are well placed to gain share in the highly attractive Engineering and Technology markets. Our investment in business development and international operations, as well as our burgeoning solutions service line, give us great confidence in the Company's future prospects."

For further information please contact:

 
 Gattaca plc                     +44 (0) 1489 898989 
-----------------------------  --------------------- 
    Brian Wilkinson, Chief 
       Executive Officer 
  Tony Dyer, Chief Financial 
            Officer 
-----------------------------  --------------------- 
 Citigate Dewe Rogerson         +44 (0) 20 7638 9571 
-----------------------------  --------------------- 
 Rob Newman / Nick Hayns 
-----------------------------  --------------------- 
 Numis Securities Limited       +44 (0) 20 7260 1000 
-----------------------------  --------------------- 
 Michael Meade / Tom Ballard 
-----------------------------  --------------------- 
 

Chairman's Statement

I am delighted to introduce the Group's 2016 Annual Results, my first as Non-Executive Chairman, having joined in December 2015.

Since arriving, whenever I meet our employees I am always impressed with the professionalism of the individuals, their enthusiasm and the teamwork that exists. This makes for a strong and unique culture, which we aim to retain as we grow the business.

It has been a transformational year, with significant investment in ensuring the successful integration of Networkers into the Group, the strengthening of our international footprint in Asia and North America and the launch of the new Group brand, Gattaca.

With Gattaca, we now have three distinct brands. Matchtech is centred on engineering and Networkers on technology. Both brands are long established and well known. The Group rebrand was the final touch in the front office integration, and we can now push forward on transforming our business into a truly global, specialist recruitment group. While we have further work to undertake in harmonizing systems, the majority of benefits will be realised this coming year.

As a result of the Networkers acquisition, the Group's overall results are up significantly on 2015. NFI increased 33%, although on a like for like basis we are flat year on year. A robust performance in Engineering was offset by some disappointing early results in the IT sector of Technology. We responded quickly, applying the same segmented marketing approach we developed in Engineering, and have already seen an improvement in results. Overall we are well placed to benefit from the growth opportunities we see in many of the markets in which we operate as the demand for skilled engineers and technology specialists continues to grow.

In the months immediately before and after the EU referendum held on 23 June 2016, there was a pause in some clients' recruitment, but activity returned quickly to pre-referendum levels. Companies that were recruiting before have continued to do so in the subsequent months. Demand for skilled engineers in both the UK public and private sectors remains strong, and we have yet to see any change to vacancy flow.

However, the outcome of the vote continues to make the economic outlook uncertain, yet it is still too early to say what its near-term impact will be for Gattaca. Whilst the amount of business we conduct in Europe is not significant, the same cannot be said for many of our clients and any uncertainty can have a knock-on effect in the investment decisions our clients make.

In the longer term, our strength within the Engineering and Technology sectors transcends international boundaries, and as the trend towards globalisation continues, we are in a good position to respond to any EU exit settlement eventually reached.

The Group's progressive dividend policy remains an important part of our investment proposition. Diluted earnings per share of 31.0p (2015: 29.6p) was up 5% and the Board feels confident in recommending to shareholders a final dividend per share of 17.0p giving a 5% increase in the total dividend for the year to 23.0p (2015: 22.0p). If approved by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting, to be held on 7 December 2016, the final dividend will be payable on 16 December 2016 to those shareholders on the register on 18 November 2016.

On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank all staff for their contribution to the success of the business. I would also like to thank my colleagues on the Board, especially Ric Piper for his time as Interim Chairman.

Outlook

The medium term outlook for Gattaca is positive, despite some weakening in demand in the UK. The Board will continue to assess UK trading over the coming months as clearly there is uncertainty over how the EU referendum result will affect UK investment.

We are, however, well placed to increase our market share in the UK, while pursing strong international growth through our regional hubs.

We are exceptionally good at what we do - specialist Engineering and Technology recruitment - and we know we have the employees who can rise to the challenge of growing this business. I look forward to the future with confidence.

Patrick Shanley

Chairman

Chief Executive's Review

Gattaca - a focused business

2016 has undoubtedly been the most significant year in the company's history since our flotation ten years ago. Our acquisition of Networkers in April 2015 saw us begin the complex process of integrating two people-businesses.

Emerging from this, we decided to re-brand our Group to Gattaca, a choice based on our culture, which is a major driver of our success. With our founding shareholder on the Board, the Group retains the feel of a family business. Gattaca expresses the idea of a group of individuals who are part of a bigger entity, who have shared DNA and a common purpose, but who each have their own specialisms.

Recruitment is about relationships, and long-term success follows a virtuous circle - we place candidates, who become clients, who seek great candidates.

We are highly specialised, with a differentiated position - we believe that there is no other recruiter of our size and geographical spread who focuses purely on engineering and technology disciplines.

We are recognised as the UK's number one engineering recruiter(1) , yet estimate our market share at around only 5%. The global engineering recruitment market is valued at US$26bn and the technology recruitment market at US$57bn. Clearly, therefore, we have capacity for substantial international growth without diversification due to our 'narrow and deep' sales strategy. ((1) Recruitment International Top 500 Report 2016)

By integrating Networkers and Matchtech, we are on track to achieve considerable cost savings of GBP3.1m. These cost savings have been largely redeployed through strategic investments of GBP1.8m in areas that include internal recruitment, learning and development, bids, business development and regional management. This incorporates the appointment of managing directors for Asia and the Americas. NFI from our international offices grew 30% and we continue to invest in these areas.

European countries are tougher markets for UK recruiters than English-speaking ones. We have laid foundations for planned expansion, having won a pan-European managed service programme for a major global technology client. For this, we established operational teams in the Netherlands, Spain and Germany, which will also make it easier to

provide services to other clients in the future.

Engineering Sector

The Engineering sector performed well with net fee income (NFI) up 6% on 2015.

Infrastructure performed particularly strongly with 18% NFI growth on the back of continued investment in the UK on major projects including Crossrail, Thames Tideway, London Bridge, South West Rail extension, major highway upgrades and High Speed 2. To accelerate growth, we have increased headcount in our London office. We also see significant opportunities internationally, particularly in the US, where Texas Road & Highway Construction alone has an annual budget of $2.5bn dedicated from 2018 and is an opportunity to mirror one of Matchtech's strongest UK divisions in our Dallas office.

Our energy business as a whole was down 7% on 2015 due to the continued global downturn in Oil & Gas but was mitigated to some extent by the Nuclear, Renewables and Transmission sectors. There was growth in the Renewables markets in the UK, the Middle East and East Africa. We are well placed to support the large-scale upgrade and new-build power transmission projects, particularly in the US, with billions of dollars in upgrades and new builds planned for the coming decades. In the UK, delays to the nuclear new build programme slowed activity, but the approval since the year end of Hinkley Point and renewal of Trident should spur activity in the coming years.

The automotive division saw NFI decrease by 4%. In the UK, new car sales are at record levels and R&D investment is high, yet there are acute skills-shortages with an estimated 50,000 additional automotive engineers needed in the UK by 2020. The success of electric vehicles is transforming environmental performance expectations, while the transport system is likely to be impacted by connected cars and smart motorways. The sector provides plenty of opportunity and we are confident of our ability to maximise this.

The aerospace division saw growth of 12% on the back of Original Equipment Manufacturers enjoying strong order books for existing aircraft model production. We are seeing demand predominantly across precision machining and interiors skill sets. Our teams provide skills to clients looking to future-proof the next five-to-ten years in materials development and technical innovations.

Maritime had a challenging year, with the lull in naval build programmes following the completion of the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers leading to a fall in Contract NFI of 17%. However, with the new aircraft carriers due to arrive in Portsmouth next year and with the Successor submarine programme approved by Parliament, we expect a return to growth. Overseas, we continue to build on our success sourcing talent for the CAD $26bn Canadian surface combatant programme helping permanent fee income grow 11% and we have recruited staff to capitalise on opportunities in Europe and Australia.

We saw good growth of 10% in General Engineering which supplies candidates across multiple sectors, where skill shortages are considerable, including fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), medical devices and special purpose machinery. Permanent fee income increased by 25% as a result. Demand remains high for science and medical staff in pharmaceutical and radiography in private healthcare, where UK shortages prompted candidate attraction campaigns in Europe and the US.

We saw a strong performance from Engineering Technology, with contract NFI increasing by 17%. This division serves as the link between our two specialist brands operating within the convergence of engineering and IT skillsets. This sector is evolving rapidly with advances in manufacturing process automation and product innovation.

We also saw good growth in our professional staffing business, which supplies finance, HR, procurement and sales staff to our Engineering and Technology clients with NFI up 16%.

Technology Sector

The Technology sector underperformed with NFI down 6% on 2015. Telecoms delivered strong growth of 9% in NFI, offset by IT which was down 17% year on year but with the rate of decline slowing (H1 down 21%; H2 down 14%).

Telecoms performed well globally, particularly strong in Africa, Asia and Latin America on the back of investment in 4G/LTE network rollouts and upgrades. New markets of IP/broadcast, post-paid billings and mobile money are also creating opportunities. The convergence of Telecoms and IT skills has presented high-end roles in IT security, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and development.

As reported at the half year, we have streamlined the IT structure to focus on five specialisms; leadership (business change), ERP, development, cloud, and security.

Our leadership business has performed steadily with NFI broadly the same as last year, supplying change and transformation experts, programme and project managers and business analysts to the engineering, leisure and retail sectors in the UK.

ERP was down 30%, impacted by a major client outsourcing its entire IT function. This business has predominantly been focused on the European market delivered from the UK and to improve resilience and growth opportunities we have increased headcount in the US and Singapore.

We also saw a 20% reduction in demand from our corporate account and public sector clients and we have integrated our two public sector businesses and formed one, industry-focussed, business unit.

Internationally, however, IT grew NFI by 8% with particularly strong performances in the Middle East, Asia and North America.

Going forwards, IT development skill shortages in permanent recruitment are resulting in an active contract market and our focus on small and medium size organisations is gaining traction, particularly in financial technology. We have a well-established team in the UK and have invested in new headcount in our US and Canada offices.

We work with system integrators on cloud implementation projects and are seeing increased demand across Europe in the niche cloud applications market and are looking to extend this into other locations.

Cyber security is a relatively new specialism and we see this as a growth market with businesses forecast to significantly increase investment, based on the vast amounts of data being created and the increasing importance of keeping it secure.

Outlook

"The 2017 financial year has started with growth internationally offset by a weaker performance in the UK. An early success this year has been the first sales win by our Gattaca solutions service line, which significantly enhances our international delivery capability.

"Looking forward, uncertainty about the future of the British economy raises concerns for companies like ours, operating in what is seen as a highly cyclical sector. Nevertheless, our well established approach of partnering with our clients on long-term public and private infrastructure projects mitigates this risk to some extent, as does our increasing geographic diversification.

"The strategic repositioning of the Group is now complete. We have two well regarded market facing brands -Matchtech and Networkers - which are well placed to gain share in the highly attractive Engineering and Technology markets. Our investment in business development and international operations, as well as our burgeoning solutions service line, give us great confidence in the Company's future prospects."

Brian Wilkinson

Chief Executive Officer

Chief Financial Officer's Review

A solid financial performance leaves the Group in a strong financial position with substantial investment headroom to implement our growth strategy.

The new international footprint of the business provides additional balance and resilience to the Group's business model and delivers a ready-made platform for the Group to grow NFI faster overseas which already represents 32% of the Group.

The Group has benefited from the combination of two cash generative businesses, with GBP15.5m of cash generated before dividends and since the year end we have extended our financing facilities with HSBC for a further four years.

Altogether, our growing financial strength has enabled us to continue our progressive dividend policy, with a proposed total dividend for the year of 23.0 pence per share (2015: 22.0 pence) up 5%.

Performance

The following results include the first full year of Networkers trading following a four month contribution in last year's results.

Revenue of GBP617.6m (2015: GBP502.3m) generated net fee income (NFI) of GBP73.0m (2015: GBP54.8m). Contract NFI of GBP53.9m (2015: GBP40.1m) was delivered at a margin of 9.0% (2015: 8.2%), and permanent recruitment fees were GBP19.1m (2015: GBP14.7m). The full year effect of Networkers higher margin business meant gross margins rose to 11.8% (2015: 10.9%).

Profits from operations of GBP15.1m were up 22% (2015: GBP12.4m). The Group benefitted from a GBP1.0m revaluation of foreign cash and assets significantly affected by the Sterling devaluation post referendum leading to an increase in profits before tax of 34% to GBP15.1m (2015: 11.3m).

On a pro-forma underlying basis, calculated as though Networkers had been owned by the Group for the entire prior period and excluding both GBP2.4m (2015: GBP2.7m) of non-recurring costs and GBP3.7m (2015: GBP1.7m) of amortisation of acquired intangibles, profits from operations were up 1% to GBP21.5m (2015: GBP21.2m).

Profits after tax of GBP9.9m were up 6% with the full year effect of the Networkers acquisition impacting the Group's effective tax rate (ETR) which increased from 26.3% to 34.4%. Our overseas entities are subject to a higher average corporate tax rate than the UK standard rate and withholding taxes, which are managed through higher gross margins charged to clients, also increase the ETR.

Dividends paid

In the year, the Group paid a final dividend of 16.32 pence per share on 11 December 2015 and an interim dividend of 6.00 pence per share on 17 June 2016, totalling GBP6.9m.

Integration synergies

On the back of the acquisition the Group has achieved GBP3.1m of cost synergies, the majority of which will be realised in FY2017. A significant proportion of this has been reinvested to support future growth. Large parts of the integration are complete but we have further work in harmonising systems. We expect a final GBP0.5m of integration related costs in the first half of FY2017.

Tangible and intangible assets

Capital expenditure in the year, including tangible assets and software, was GBP0.9m (2015: GBP0.9m). Tangible assets at 31 July 2016 of GBP1.1m (2015: GBP1.5m) consist of the Group's motor fleet, office equipment, leasehold improvements and computer equipment. Intangible assets at 31 July 2016 were GBP48.4m (2015: GBP52.2m).

Net assets and shares in issue

At 31 July 2016 the Group had net assets of GBP81.6m (2015: GBP76.5m) and had 31.2m fully paid ordinary shares in issue (2015: 30.9m).

Working capital, cash flow and net debt

Debtor days of the combined Group at the year-end were 50 days (31 July 2015: 49).

Net debt at 31 July 2016 was GBP25.0m (2015: GBP33.6m), consisting of a working capital facility of GBP18.8m (2015: GBP9.0m), bank term loan GBP13.6m (2015: GBP28.6m), bank overdrafts GBPnil (2015: GBPnil) less cash GBP7.4m (2015: GBP4.0m).

Banking facilities

On 20 October 2016 the Group extended its financing facilities with HSBC for a further four years, The Group has facilities of GBP105m consisting of a GBP75m invoice financing facility and a GBP30m revolving credit facility, both committed until October 2020.

Group financial risk management

The Board reviews and agrees policies for managing financial risks. The Group's finance function is responsible for managing investment and funding requirements including banking and cash flow monitoring. It seeks to ensure that adequate liquidity exists at all times in order to meet its cash requirements.

The Group's financial instruments comprise borrowings, cash and various items, such as trade receivables and trade payables that arise from its operations, and some matching forward foreign exchange contracts. The Group does not trade in financial instruments. The main risks arising from the Group's financial instruments are described below.

Liquidity and interest rate risk

The Group had net debt of GBP25.0m at the year end, comprising GBP32.4m debt less GBP7.4m cash. The Group's exposure to market risk for changes in interest rates relates primarily to the Group's bank loan and sales financing facility debt obligations. Bank interest is charged on a floating rate basis.

Credit risk

The Group trades only with recognised, creditworthy third parties. The international aspect of the acquisition of Networkers does increase the credit risk of the Group. Receivable balances are monitored on an on-going basis with the result that the Group's Board feels that the exposure to bad debts is not significant. There are no significant concentrations of credit risk within the Group, with no single debtor accounting for more than 4% (2015: 3%) of total receivables balances at 31 July 2016.

Foreign currency risk

Around 32% of the Group's annualised NFI is generated in overseas markets. The Group does face risks to both its reported performance and cash position arising from the effects of exchange rate fluctuations. The Group manages this risk by matching sales and direct costs in the same currency, by entering into forward exchange contracts to minimise the gap in assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies and by regularly exchanging surplus foreign currency to minimise the gap in assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currency.

Tony Dyer

Chief Financial Officer

Consolidated Income Statement

For the year ended 31 July 2016

 
                                                         2016       2015 
                                              Note    GBP'000    GBP'000 
--------------------------------------------  ----  ---------  --------- 
Revenue                                               617,604    502,293 
Cost of sales                                       (544,608)  (447,474) 
--------------------------------------------  ----  ---------  --------- 
GROSS PROFIT                                     2     72,996     54,819 
Administrative expenses                              (57,934)   (42,459) 
--------------------------------------------  ----  ---------  --------- 
PROFIT FROM OPERATIONS                           3     15,062     12,360 
--------------------------------------------  ----  ---------  --------- 
 Profit from operations before amortisation 
  of acquired intangibles and non-recurring 
  costs                                                21,089     16,750 
 Non-recurring costs included within 
  administrative expenses                        3    (2,371)    (2,710) 
 Amortisation of acquired intangibles            3    (3,656)    (1,680) 
--------------------------------------------  ----  ---------  --------- 
Profit on disposal of subsidiary                           58          - 
Finance income                                   5      1,025          - 
Finance cost                                     6    (1,076)    (1,074) 
--------------------------------------------  ----  ---------  --------- 
PROFIT BEFORE TAX                                      15,069     11,286 
Taxation                                         9    (5,152)    (2,959) 
--------------------------------------------  ----  ---------  --------- 
PROFIT FOR THE YEAR                                     9,917      8,327 
--------------------------------------------  ----  ---------  --------- 
Attributable to: 
Equity holders of the parent                            9,917      8,311 
Non-controlling interests                                   -         16 
--------------------------------------------  ----  ---------  --------- 
                                                        9,917      8,327 
--------------------------------------------  ----  ---------  --------- 
 

All of the activities of the Group are classed as continuing.

 
EARNINGS PER ORDINARY SHARE 
                                      2016    2015 
                              Note   pence   pence 
----------------------------  ----  ------  ------ 
Basic                           10    32.1    31.0 
Diluted                         10    31.0    29.6 
----------------------------  ----  ------  ------ 
 

Statement of Comprehensive Income

For the year ended 31 July 2016

 
                                                                   2016      2015 
                                                                GBP'000   GBP'000 
-------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
PROFIT FOR THE YEAR                                               9,917     8,327 
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME 
Items that may be classified to profit or loss: 
 Exchange differences on retranslation of foreign operations        835     (109) 
-------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR                             835     (109) 
-------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR                          10,752     8,218 
-------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 
  Attributable to: 
Equity holders of the parent                                     10,752     8,202 
Non-controlling interests                                             -        16 
-------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
                                                                 10,752     8,218 
-------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

Statement of Changes in Equity

For the year ended 31 July 2016

A) Group

 
                                                                 Share  Translation 
                                                                 based           of                     Non- 
                                   Share     Share    Merger   payment      foreign   Retained   controlling 
                                 capital   premium   reserve   reserve   operations   earnings     interests     Total 
                                 GBP'000   GBP'000   GBP'000   GBP'000      GBP'000    GBP'000       GBP'000   GBP'000 
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -----------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
At 1 August 2014                     250     7,388       224     1,621           89     33,091             -    42,663 
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -----------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
 
Profit for the year                    -         -         -         -            -      8,311            16     8,327 
Other comprehensive 
 income                                -         -         -         -        (109)          -             -     (109) 
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -----------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
Total comprehensive 
 income                                -         -         -         -        (109)      8,311            16     8,218 
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -----------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
 
Dividends paid in 
 the year                              -         -         -         -            -    (5,382)             -   (5,382) 
Deferred tax movement 
 re share options                      -         -         -         -            -        174             -       174 
IFRS 2 charge                          -         -         -     1,623            -          -             -     1,623 
Reacquisition of 
 non-controlling 
 interest                              -         -         -         -            -      (650)             -     (650) 
IFRS 2 reserves 
 transfer                              -         -         -   (1,104)            -      1,104             -         - 
Shares issued                         59     1,306    28,526         -            -          -             -    29,891 
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -----------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
Transactions with 
 owners                               59     1,306    28,526       519            -    (4,754)             -    25,656 
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -----------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
 
At 31 July 2015                      309     8,694    28,750     2,140         (20)     36,648            16    76,537 
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -----------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
 
At 1 August 2015                     309     8,694    28,750     2,140         (20)     36,648            16    76,537 
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -----------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
 
Profit for the year                    -         -         -         -            -      9,917             -     9,917 
Other comprehensive 
 income                                -         -         -         -          835          -             -       835 
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -----------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
Total comprehensive 
 income                                -         -         -         -          835      9,917             -    10,752 
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -----------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
 
Dividends paid in 
 the year                              -         -         -         -            -    (6,892)             -   (6,892) 
Deferred tax movement 
 re share options                      -         -         -         -            -      (185)             -     (185) 
Acquisition of non-controlling 
 interest                              -         -         -         -            -      (124)          (16)     (140) 
IFRS 2 charge                          -         -         -     1,537            -          -             -     1,537 
IFRS 2 reserves 
 transfer                              -         -         -   (1,140)            -      1,140             -         - 
Shares issued                          3         2         -         -            -          -             -         5 
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -----------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
Transactions with 
 owners                                3         2         -       397            -    (6,061)          (16)   (5,675) 
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -----------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
 
At 31 July 2016                      312     8,696    28,750     2,537          815     40,504             -    81,614 
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -----------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
 

B) Company

 
                                                                          Share 
                                                                          based 
                                    Share     Share    Merger reserve   payment    Retained 
                                  capital   premium           GBP'000   reserve    earnings      Total 
                                  GBP'000   GBP'000                     GBP'000     GBP'000    GBP'000 
-------------------------------  --------  --------  ----------------  --------  ----------  --------- 
At 1 August 2014                      250     7,388                 -     1,621       1,408     10,667 
-------------------------------  --------  --------  ----------------  --------  ----------  --------- 
 
Profit and total comprehensive 
 income for the year                    -         -                 -         -       3,482      3,482 
-------------------------------  --------  --------  ----------------  --------  ----------  --------- 
 
Dividends paid in the 
 year                                   -         -                 -         -     (5,382)    (5,382) 
IFRS 2 charge                           -         -                 -     1,623           -      1,623 
IFRS 2 reserves transfer                -         -                 -   (1,104)       1,104          - 
Shares issued                          59     1,306            28,526         -           -     29,891 
-------------------------------  --------  --------  ----------------  --------  ----------  --------- 
Transactions with owners               59     1,306            28,526       519     (4,278)     26,132 
-------------------------------  --------  --------  ----------------  --------  ----------  --------- 
 
At 31 July 2015                       309     8,694            28,526     2,140         612     40,281 
-------------------------------  --------  --------  ----------------  --------  ----------  --------- 
 
At 1 August 2015                      309     8,694            28,526     2,140         612     40,281 
-------------------------------  --------  --------  ----------------  --------  ----------  --------- 
 
Profit and total comprehensive 
 income for the year                    -         -                 -         -       7,298      7,298 
-------------------------------  --------  --------  ----------------  --------  ----------  --------- 
 
Dividends paid in the 
 year                                   -         -                 -         -     (6,892)    (6,892) 
IFRS 2 charge                           -         -                 -     1,537           -      1,537 
IFRS 2 reserves transfer                -         -                 -   (1,140)       1,140          - 
Shares issued                           3         2                 -         -           -          5 
-------------------------------  --------  --------  ----------------  --------  ----------  --------- 
Transactions with owners                3         2                 -       397     (5,752)    (5,350) 
-------------------------------  --------  --------  ----------------  --------  ----------  --------- 
 
At 31 July 2016                       312     8,696            28,526     2,537       2,158     42,229 
-------------------------------  --------  --------  ----------------  --------  ----------  --------- 
 
 
 
  Statements of Financial Position 
  For the year ended 31 July 
  2016                                            Group                Company 
                                           --------------------  -------------------- 
                                                2016       2015       2016       2015 
                                     Note    GBP'000    GBP'000    GBP'000    GBP'000 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
NON-CURRENT ASSETS 
Intangible assets                      11     48,371     52,230          -          - 
Property, plant and equipment          12      1,125      1,535          -          - 
Investments                            13          -          -      7,213      5,676 
Deferred tax asset                     14        969      1,237          -          - 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
Total Non-Current Assets                      50,465     55,002      7,213      5,676 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
CURRENT ASSETS 
Trade and other receivables            15    100,811     98,897     80,335     72,135 
Cash and cash equivalents                      7,442      3,997          -          - 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
Total Current Assets                         108,253    102,894     80,335     72,135 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
TOTAL ASSETS                                 158,718    157,896     87,548     77,811 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES 
Deferred tax liability                 14    (4,286)    (4,967)          -          - 
Provisions                             16      (278)      (278)          -          - 
Bank loans and overdrafts              22   (13,608)   (28,608)   (13,608)   (28,608) 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
Total Non-Current Liabilities               (18,172)   (33,853)   (13,608)   (28,608) 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
CURRENT LIABILITIES 
Trade and other payables               17   (37,861)   (37,562)   (31,711)    (8,922) 
Current tax liability                        (2,224)      (911)          -          - 
Bank loans and overdrafts              22   (18,847)    (9,033)          -          - 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
Total Current Liabilities                   (58,932)   (47,506)   (31,711)    (8,922) 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
TOTAL LIABILITIES                           (77,104)   (81,359)   (45,319)   (37,530) 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
NET ASSETS                                    81,614     76,537     42,229     40,281 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 
  EQUITY 
Called-up equity share capital         20        312        309        312        309 
Share premium account                          8,696      8,694      8,696      8,694 
Merger reserve                                28,750     28,750     28,526     28,526 
Share based payment reserve                    2,537      2,140      2,537      2,140 
Translation of foreign operations                815       (20)          -          - 
Retained earnings                             40,504     36,648      2,158        612 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
TOTAL EQUITY ATTRIBUTABLE 
 TO EQUITY HOLDERS OF THE PARENT              81,614     76,521     42,229     40,281 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
Non-controlling interests                          -         16          -          - 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
TOTAL EQUITY                                  81,614     76,537     42,229     40,281 
-----------------------------------  ----  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 

These financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 3 November 2016, and signed on their behalf by:

Tony Dyer

Chief Financial Officer

 
Consolidated Cash flow Statement 
 For the year ended 31 July 2016                                Group                Company 
                                                         --------------------  -------------------- 
                                                              2016       2015       2016       2015 
                                                           GBP'000    GBP'000    GBP'000    GBP'000 
-------------------------------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES 
Profit after taxation                                        9,917      8,327      7,298      3,482 
Adjustments for: 
 Depreciation and amortisation                               4,776      2,696          -          - 
 Profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment           (7)       (13)          -          - 
 Interest income                                           (1,025)          -          -          - 
 Interest expense                                            1,076      1,074          -          - 
 Taxation expense recognised in profit and loss              5,152      2,959          -          - 
 (Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables        (1,914)     12,524    (8,200)      4,101 
 Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables               299   (11,157)     22,789      6,733 
 Share based payment charge                                  1,537      1,623          -          - 
 Investment income                                               -          -    (8,200)    (4,250) 
-------------------------------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
Cash generated from operations                              19,811     18,033     13,687     10,066 
Interest paid                                              (1,186)      (848)          -          - 
Income taxes paid                                          (4,067)    (3,965)          -          - 
-------------------------------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
NET CASH FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES                          14,558     13,220     13,687     10,066 
-------------------------------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES 
Purchase of property, plant and equipment                    (471)      (524)          -          - 
Purchase of intangible assets                                (462)      (387)          -          - 
Acquisitions net of cash received                            (390)   (37,587)          -   (37,587) 
Proceeds from sale of subsidiary                               420          -          -          - 
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment             53         58          -          - 
Dividends received                                               -          -      8,200      4,250 
-------------------------------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
NET CASH USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES                        (850)   (38,440)      8,200   (33,337) 
-------------------------------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES 
Proceeds from issue of share capital                             5          6          5          6 
Drawdown of term loan                                            -     28,608          -     28,608 
Repayment of term loan                                    (15,000)          -   (15,000)          - 
Dividends paid                                             (6,892)    (5,382)    (6,892)    (5,382) 
-------------------------------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
NET CASH USED IN FINANCING                                (21,887)     23,232   (21,887)     23,232 
-------------------------------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
Effects of exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents       1,908      (143)          -          - 
NET DECREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS                  (6,271)    (2,131)          -       (39) 
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT BEGINNING OF YEAR             (5,240)    (3,109)          -         39 
-------------------------------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT OF YEAR                  (11,511)    (5,240)          -          - 
-------------------------------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS 
Cash                                                         7,442      3,997          -          - 
Bank overdrafts                                               (14)       (14)          -          - 
Working capital facility used                             (18,939)    (9,223)          -          - 
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS IN CASH FLOW STATEMENTS         (11,511)    (5,240)          -          - 
-------------------------------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 

Notes forming part of the financial statements

1 The Group and Company Significant Accounting Policies

i The Business and Address of the Group

Gattaca plc is a human capital resources business dealing with contract and permanent recruitment in the private and public sectors. The Company is incorporated in the United Kingdom. The Group's address is: Gattaca plc, 1450 Parkway, Whiteley, Fareham, Hampshire PO15 7AF.

ii Basis of Preparation of the Financial Statements

The Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (EU) and which are effective at 31 July 2016.

These Financial Statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The accounting policies have been applied consistently throughout both the Group and the Company for the purposes of preparation of these Financial Statements. A summary of the principal accounting policies of the Group is set out below.

iii Going Concern

The Directors have reviewed forecasts and budgets for the coming year, which have been drawn up with appropriate regard for the current macroeconomic environment and the particular circumstances in which the Group operates. These were prepared with reference to historical and current industry knowledge, taking future strategy of the Group into account.

As a result, at the time of approving the Financial Statements, the Directors consider that the Company and the Group have sufficient resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, and accordingly, that it is appropriate to adopt the going concern basis in the preparation of the Financial Statements. As with all business forecasts, the Directors cannot guarantee that the going concern basis will remain appropriate given the inherent uncertainty about future events.

iv New Standards and Interpretations

These following standards and amendments to existing standards is applicable for the period ending 31 July 2016:

 
                                     Effective date 
                                    (Annual periods 
                                    beginning on or 
Standard                                     after) 
--------  -----------------------  ---------------- 
IAS 19    Defined Benefit Plans:    1 February 2015 
           Employee Contributions 
--------  -----------------------  ---------------- 
 

The adoption of the above standards has had no material impact on the financial statements.

New Standards in Issue, Not Yet Effective

The following relevant standards, amendments to existing standards and Interpretations, which are new and yet to become mandatory, have not been applied in the Group financial statements.

 
                                                                    Effective date 
                                                         (Annual periods beginning 
Standard                                                              on or after) 
-----------------  -----------------------------------  -------------------------- 
IFRS 11            Joint Arrangements                               1 January 2016 
IFRS 14            Regulatory Deferral Accounts                     1 January 2016 
                   Equity Method in Separate Financial 
IAS 27              Statements                                      1 January 2016 
IFRS 9             Fair Values                                      1 January 2018 
IFRS 15            Revenue                                          1 January 2018 
IFRS 16            Leases                                           1 January 2019 
IFRS improvements  Various                                                 Various 
-----------------  -----------------------------------  -------------------------- 
 

The Board needs to assess the impact of the above new standards, however, based on the Group's current business model and accounting policies. The Directors do not expect material impacts on the figures in the Group's Financial Statements when the interpretations become effective.

The Group does not intend to apply any of these pronouncements early.

v Basis of Consolidation

The Group financial statements consolidate those of the Company and all of its subsidiary undertakings drawn up to the Statement of Financial Position date. Subsidiaries are entities controlled by the Group. The Group controls an entity when it is exposed to, or has rights to, variable returns through its involvement with an entity and it has the ability to affect those returns through its power over the entity. The financial statements of subsidiaries are included in the consolidated financial statements from the date that control commences until the date that control ceases.

Acquisitions of subsidiaries are dealt with by the purchase method. The purchase method involves the recognition at fair value of all identifiable assets and liabilities, including contingent liabilities of the subsidiary, at the acquisition date, regardless of whether or not they were recorded in the financial statements of the subsidiary prior to acquisition. On initial recognition, the assets and liabilities of the subsidiary are included in the Group Statement of Financial Position at their fair values, which are also used as the bases for subsequent measurement in accordance with Group accounting policies.

Transactions between Group companies are eliminated on consolidation.

vi Revenue

Revenue is measured by reference to the fair value of consideration received or receivable by the Group for services provided, excluding VAT and trade discounts. Revenue on temporary placements is recognised upon receipt of a client approved timesheet or equivalent. Revenue from permanent placements, which is based on a percentage of the candidate's remuneration package, is recognised when candidates commence employment, at which point it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the transaction will be transferred. Fees for the provision of engineering services are recognised on completion of work performed in accordance with customer contracts. Other fees are recognised on confirmation from the client committing to the agreement.

vii Non-recurring Items

Non-recurring items are items that are unusual because of their size, nature or incidence and are presented within the consolidated income statement but highlighted through separate disclosure. The Group's Directors consider that these items should be separately identified within the income statement to enable a true and fair understanding of the Group's results.

Items which are included within this category include:

costs of acquisitions;

integration costs following acquisitions;

significant restructuring costs;

other particularly significant or unusual items.

viii Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment is stated at cost, net of depreciation and any provision for impairment.

Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost of an asset, less its estimated residual value, over the useful economic life of that asset in terms of annual depreciation as follows:

 
Motor vehicles          25.0%               Reducing balance 
Fixtures, Fittings and 
 equipment              12.5% to 33.0%         Straight line 
                        Over the period 
Leasehold Improvements   of the lease term     Straight line 
----------------------  ------------------  ---------------- 
 

Residual value estimates are updated as required, but at least annually, whether or not the asset is revalued.

ix Intangible Assets

Goodwill

Goodwill arises on the acquisition of subsidiaries and represents the excess of the fair value of the consideration given for a business over the Company's interest in the fair value of the net identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities of the acquiree. Goodwill is stated at cost less accumulated impairment.

Goodwill is allocated to cash-generating units and is not amortised, but is tested at least annually for impairment. For the purpose of impairment testing, goodwill acquired in a business acquisition is allocated to each of the cash generating units (CGUs), or groups of CGUs that is expected to benefit from the synergies of the combination. Each unit or group of units to which the goodwill is allocated represents the lowest level within the entity at which the goodwill is monitored for internal management purposes. Goodwill is monitored at the operating segment level.

Goodwill impairment reviews are undertaken annually or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate

a potential impairment. The carrying value of goodwill is compared to the recoverable amount, which is the higher of value in use and fair value less costs to sell. Any impairment is recognised immediately as an expense and is not subsequently reversed. Gains and losses on the disposal of an entity include the carrying amount of goodwill relating to the entity sold.

Expenditure on internally generated goodwill, brands and intangibles is expensed in the Income Statement when incurred.

Intangible Assets

Customer relationships

Acquired customer relationships comprise principally of existing customer relationships which may give rise to future orders (customer relationships), and existing order books (backlog orders). Acquired customer relationships are recognised at fair value at the acquisition date and have a finite useful life. Amortisation of customer relationships is amortised in line with the expected cashflows. Acquired customer relationships are stated at cost less accumulated amortisation and impairment. Backlog orders are recognised at fair value at the acquisition date and amortised in line with the expected cash flows. Backlog orders are stated at cost less accumulated amortisation and impairment. Customer relationships are amortised over their useful economic life of between 2 and 10 years.

Trade names and trademarks

Trade names and trademarks have arisen on the consolidation of acquired businesses and are recognised at fair value at the acquisition date. Where trade names and trademarks are considered to have a finite useful life, amortisation is calculated using the straight line method to allocate the cost of trade names and trademarks over their estimated useful lives. Where trade names and trademarks are considered to have an indefinite useful life, they are not subject to amortisation; they are tested annually for impairment and when there are indications that the carrying value may not be recoverable, detailed within the impairment of non-financial assets section below. Trade names and trademarks are stated at cost less accumulated amortisation and impairment. Trade names and trademarks are amortised over their useful economic life of between 2 and 11 years.

Other

Other intangible assets acquired by the Group that have a finite life useful life are measured at cost less accumulated amortisation and accumulated losses. Other intangibles are amortised over their useful economic life of between 2 and 5 years.

Amortisation of intangible assets is recognised in the income statement under administrative expenses. Provision is made against the carrying value of intangible assets where an impairment in value is deemed to have occurred. Impairment losses are recognised in the Income Statement under administrative expenses.

Software Licences

Acquired computer software licences are capitalised on the basis of the costs incurred to acquire and bring into use the specific software. These costs are amortised using the straight line method to allocate the cost of the software licences over their useful lives of between 2 and 5 years. Software licences are stated at cost less accumulated amortisation.

x Disposal of Assets

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the disposal proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset and is recognised in the Income Statement.

xi Operating Lease Agreements

Rentals applicable to operating leases are charged against profits on a straight line basis over the lease term. Lease incentives are spread over the term of the lease.

xii Taxation

Current tax is the tax currently payable based on taxable profit for the year.

Deferred income taxes are calculated using the liability method on temporary differences. Deferred tax is generally provided on the difference between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and their tax bases. However, deferred tax is not provided on the initial recognition of goodwill, nor on the initial recognition of an asset or liability unless the related transaction is a business combination or affects tax or accounting profit.

Deferred tax liabilities are provided in full, with no discounting. Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that the underlying deductible temporary differences will be able to be offset against future taxable income. Current and deferred tax assets and liabilities are calculated at tax rates that are expected to apply to their respective period of realisation, provided they are enacted or substantively enacted at the Statement of Financial Position date.

Deferred tax on temporary differences associated with shares in subsidiaries is not provided if these temporary differences can be controlled by the Group and it is probable that reversal will not occur in the foreseeable future.

Changes in deferred tax assets or liabilities are recognised as a component of tax expense in the income statement, except where they relate to items that are charged or credited directly to equity (such as share-based payments) in which case the related deferred tax is also charged or credited directly to equity.

xiii Pension Costs

The Company operates defined contribution pension schemes for employees. The assets of these schemes are held separately from those of the Company. The annual contributions payable are charged to the Income Statement as they accrue.

xiv Share-based Payments

The transitional arrangements of IFRS 1 have been applied to all grants of equity instruments after 7 November 2002 that were unvested at 1 August 2006. All share-based remuneration is ultimately recognised as an expense in the Income Statement with a corresponding credit to "share-based payment reserve". All goods and services received in exchange for the grant of any share-based remuneration are measured at their fair values. Fair values of employee services are indirectly determined by reference to the fair value of the share options awarded. Their value is appraised at the grant date and excludes the impact of non-market vesting conditions (for example, profitability and sales growth targets).

If vesting periods or other non-market vesting conditions apply, the expense is allocated over the vesting period, based on the best available estimate of the number of share options expected to vest. Estimates are subsequently revised if there is any indication that the number of share options expected to vest differs from previous estimates. Any cumulative adjustment prior to vesting is recognised in the current period. No adjustment is made to any expense recognised in prior periods if share options ultimately exercised are different to that estimated on vesting. Upon exercise of share options, proceeds received net of attributable transaction costs are credited to share capital and share premium.

The Company is the granting and settling entity in the group share-based payment arrangement where share options are granted to employees of its subsidiary companies. The Company recognises the share-based payment expense as an increase in the investment in subsidiary undertakings.

The Group operates a Share Incentive Plan (SIP) which is HMRC approved, and enables employees to purchase Company shares out of pre-tax salary. For each share purchased the Company grants an additional share at no cost to the employee. The expense in relation to these 'free' shares is recorded as employee remuneration and measured at fair value of the shares issued as at the date of grant.

xv Business Combinations Completed Prior to Date of Transition to IFRS

The Group has elected not to apply IFRS 3 Business Combinations retrospectively to business combinations prior to 1 August 2006.

Accordingly the classification of the combination (merger) remains unchanged from that used under UK GAAP. Assets and liabilities are recognised as at the date of transition if they would be recognised under IFRS, and are measured using their UK GAAP carrying amount immediately post-acquisition as deemed cost under IFRS, unless IFRS requires fair value measurement. Deferred tax is adjusted for the impact of any consequential adjustments after taking advantage of the transitional provisions.

xvi Financial Assets

All financial assets are recognised when the Group becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Financial assets are recognised at fair value plus transaction costs.

In the Company financial statements, investment in the subsidiary Company is measured at cost, and provision made where an impairment value is deemed to have occurred.

Loans and receivables are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market. Trade receivables are classified as loans and receivables. Loans and receivables are measured subsequent to initial recognition at amortised cost using effective interest method, less provision for impairment. Any change in their value through impairment or reversal of impairment is recognised in the Income Statement.

Provision against trade receivables is made when there is objective evidence that the Group will not be able to collect all amounts due to it in accordance with the original terms of those receivables. The amount of the write-down is determined as the difference between the asset's carrying amount and the present value of estimated future cash flows.

A financial asset is derecognised only where the contractual rights to cash flows from the asset expire or the financial asset is transferred and that transfer qualifies for derecognition. A financial asset is transferred if the contractual rights to receive the cash flows of the asset have been transferred or the Group retains the contractual rights to receive the cash flows of the asset but assumes a contractual obligation to pay the cash flows to one or more recipients. A financial asset that is transferred qualifies for derecognition if the Group transfers substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership of the asset, or if the Group neither retains nor transfers substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership but does transfer control of that asset.

Trade receivables subject to the invoice discounting facility are recognised in the Statement of Financial Position until they are settled by the customer.

xvii Financial Liabilities

Financial liabilities are obligations to pay cash or other financial assets and are recognised when the Group becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument and comprise trade and other payables and bank loans. Financial liabilities are recorded initially at fair value, net of direct issue costs and are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method.

A financial liability is derecognised only when the obligation is extinguished, that is, when the obligation is discharged or cancelled or expires.

xviii Financial instruments

Financial instruments often consist of a combination of debt and equity and the Group has to decide how to attribute values to each. They are treated as equity only to the extent that they meet the following two conditions:

(i) they include no contractual obligations upon the Group to deliver cash or other financial assets or to exchange financial assets or financial liabilities with another party under conditions that are potentially unfavourable to the Group; and

(ii) where the instrument will or may be settled in the Group's own equity instruments, it is either a non-derivative that includes no obligation to deliver a variable number of the Group's own equity instruments or is a derivative that will be settled by the Group exchanging a fixed amount of cash or other financial assets for a fixed number of its own equity instruments.

To the extent that this definition is not met, the proceeds of issue are classified as a financial liability, and where such an instrument takes the legal form of the Company's own shares, the amounts presented in these financial statements for called up share capital and share premium account exclude amounts in relation to those shares.

Finance payments associated with financial liabilities are dealt with as part of finance costs. Finance payments associated with financial instruments that are classified in equity are dividends and are recorded directly in equity

The Group uses financial instruments, in particular forward currency contracts to manage the financial risks associated with the Group's underlying business activities. The forward exchange contracts are used to hedge foreign currency exposures arising on forecast receipts and payments in foreign currencies. These forward contracts are revalued to the rates of exchange at the Statement of Financial Position date and any aggregate unrealised gains and losses arising on revaluation are included in other debtors or creditors. At maturity, or when the contract ceases to be a hedge, gains and losses are taken to the Income Statement. The Group does not undertake any trading activity in financial instruments.

Fair value hierarchy

The Group analyses financial instruments carried at a fair value by valuation method. The different levels have been defined as follows:

- Level 1: quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

- Level 2: inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for assets or liabilities, either directly (i.e. as prices) or indirectly (i.e. directly from prices); and

- Level 3: inputs for assets or liabilities that are not based on observable market data (unobservable inputs).

xix Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand, on demand deposits, bank overdrafts and working capital facilities.

xx Dividends

Dividend distributions payable to equity shareholders are included in "other short term financial liabilities" when the dividends are approved in the annual general meeting prior to the balance sheet date.

xxi Foreign Currencies

Transactions in foreign currencies are translated at the exchange rate ruling at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated at the rates of exchange ruling at the Statement of Financial Position date. Non-monetary items that are measured at historical cost in a foreign currency are translated at the exchange rate at the date of the transaction. Non-monetary items that are measured at fair value in a foreign currency are translated using the exchange rates at the date when the fair value was determined.

Any exchange differences arising on the settlement of monetary items or on translating monetary items at rates different from those at which they were initially recorded are recognised in the profit or loss in the period in which they arise.

The assets and liabilities in the financial statements of foreign subsidiaries are translated at the rate of exchange ruling at the Statement of Financial Position date. Income and expenses are translated at the actual rate. The exchange differences arising from the retranslation of the opening net investment in subsidiaries are taken directly to "Translation of foreign operations" in equity. On disposal of a foreign operation the cumulative translation differences are transferred to the Income Statement as part of the gain or loss on disposal.

As permitted by IFRS 1, the balance on the cumulative translation adjustment on retranslation of subsidiaries' net assets has been set to zero at the date of transition to IFRS.

xxii Equity

Equity comprises the following:

"Share capital" represents the nominal value of equity shares.

"Share premium" represents the excess over nominal value of the fair value of consideration received for equity shares, net of expenses of the share issue.

"Share based payment reserve" represents equity-settled share-based employee remuneration until such share options are exercised.

"Merger reserve" represents the equity balance arising on the merger of Matchtech Engineering and Matchmaker Personnel and to record the excess fair value above the nominal value of the consideration on the acquisition of Networkers International plc

"Translation of foreign operations" represents the foreign currency differences arising on translating foreign operations into the presentational currency of the Group.

"Retained earnings" represents retained profits.

xxiii Alternative Performance Measures

Alternative performance measures used within the Group's Annual Report are explained within Note 24 to the Financial Statements.

xxiv Significant Accounting Estimates and Judgments

Estimates and assumptions concerning the future and judgments are made in the preparation of the financial statements. They affect the application of the Group's accounting policies, reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses, and disclosures made. They are assessed on an on-going basis and are based on experience and relevant factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

Critical Judgments

The judgments made which, in the opinion of the Directors, are critical in drawing up the financial statements are as follows:

Key Sources of Estimation Uncertainty

The key assumptions concerning the future and other key sources of estimation uncertainty at the Statement of Financial Position date are discussed below. These are included for completeness, although it is the Directors' view that none of these have significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year.

Impairment Loss of Trade and Other Receivables

The Group's policy for doubtful receivables is based on the on-going evaluation of the collectability and ageing analysis of the trade and other receivables and on management's judgments. Considerable judgment is required in assessing the ultimate realisation of these receivables, including the current creditworthiness and the past collection history of each debtor. If the financial conditions of the Group's receivables were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, additional impairment loss of trade and other receivables may be required. The carrying amounts of these assets are shown in note 15.

Intangibles

The Group determines whether goodwill and other intangible assets (including acquired intangibles) are impaired on an annual basis or otherwise when changes in events or situations indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. This is requires an estimation of the recoverable amount of the cash generating unit to which the assets are allocated. Consideration is given to the future cash flows of each cash generating unit and the discount rate applied to calculate the present value of those cash flows.

2 Segmental information

The chief operating decision maker, as defined in IFRS 8, has been identified as the Board of Directors of Gattaca plc. The information reported below is consistent with the reports regularly provided to the Board of Directors.

Reportable segments

For the year to 31 July 2015, the Group was reported in three main segments: Engineering, Professional Services and Networkers. Following the integration of Networkers, from 1 August 2015 the reporting structure of the Group was changed to two main reporting segments, Engineering and Technology.

The new Engineering reporting segment includes the Engineering business previously reported together with the Engineering business included within Networkers and the Professional Services brands of Barclay Meade and Alderwood.

The Technology segment includes the Connectus brand previously reported within Professional Services and the remaining Networkers business. An explanation of the changes between the new and previous segment reporting is included below.

2016

 
                                                                                      Non- 
                                                                                 recurring 
                                                                                     items 
                                                                          and amortisation 
                                                               Divested        of acquired      Group 
All amounts in GBP'000   Engineering  Technology     Total   businesses        intangibles      Total 
-----------------------  -----------  ----------  --------  -----------  -----------------  --------- 
Revenue                      397,737     219,095   616,832          772                  -    617,604 
Gross profit                  43,508      28,879    72,387          609                  -     72,996 
Operating contribution        23,583      14,640    38,223         (46)                  -     38,177 
Central overheads            (9,614)     (7,112)  (16,726)        (362)            (6,027)   (23,115) 
-----------------------  -----------  ----------  --------  -----------  -----------------  --------- 
Profit/(loss) from 
 operations                   13,969       7,528    21,497        (408)            (6,027)     15,062 
Profit on disposal 
 of subsidiary                                                                          58         58 
Finance cost, net                                                                                (51) 
-----------------------  -----------  ----------  --------  -----------  -----------------  --------- 
Profit before tax                                                                              15,069 
-----------------------  -----------  ----------  --------  -----------  -----------------  --------- 
 
Depreciation and 
 amortisation                    877         243     1,120                           3,656      4,776 
 
Segment assets                63,292      34,864    98,156                                     98,156 
Unallocated net 
 liabilities                                                                                 (16,542) 
-----------------------  -----------  ----------  --------  -----------  -----------------  --------- 
Total net assets                                                                               81,614 
-----------------------  -----------  ----------  --------  -----------  -----------------  --------- 
 

2015

 
                                                                                      Non- 
                                                                                 recurring 
                                                                                     items 
                                                                          and amortisation 
                                                               Divested        of acquired      Group 
All amounts in GBP'000   Engineering  Technology     Total   businesses        intangibles      Total 
-----------------------  -----------  ----------  --------  -----------  -----------------  --------- 
Revenue                      366,628     129,054   495,682        6,611                  -    502,293 
Gross profit                  37,853      14,605    52,458        2,361                  -     54,819 
Operating contribution        21,135       6,925    28,060          224                  -     28,284 
Central overheads            (8,030)     (2,683)  (10,713)        (821)            (4,390)   (15,924) 
-----------------------  -----------  ----------  --------  -----------  -----------------  --------- 
Profit/(loss) from 
 operations                   13,105       4,242    17,347        (597)            (4,390)     12,360 
Finance cost, net                                                                             (1,074) 
-----------------------  -----------  ----------  --------  -----------  -----------------  --------- 
Profit before tax                                                                              11,286 
-----------------------  -----------  ----------  --------  -----------  -----------------  --------- 
 
Depreciation and 
 amortisation                    749         267     1,016                           1,680      2,696 
 
Segment assets                69,595      24,277    93,872                                     93,872 
Unallocated net 
 liabilities                                                                                 (17,335) 
-----------------------  -----------  ----------  --------  -----------  -----------------  --------- 
Total net assets                                                                               76,537 
-----------------------  -----------  ----------  --------  -----------  -----------------  --------- 
 

A segmental analysis of total assets has not been included as this information is not available to the Board; the majority of assets are centrally held and are not allocated across the reportable segments. Only trade receivables are reported by segment and as such they are included as segment assets above. Unallocated net liabilities include non-current assets, other receivables, cash and cash equivalents and current liabilities.

Changes to segment reporting from 2015 audited Financial Statements

For the year to 31 July 2015, the segment reporting was presented in three segments: Professional Services, Networkers and Engineering. The analysis below is a breakdown into the new segments reported above.

 
 
 
                                Professional Services                               Networkers 
All amounts                                    Divested                                       Divested 
 in GBP'000        Engineering  Technology   businesses    Total  Engineering  Technology   businesses   Total 
-----------------  -----------  ----------  -----------  -------  -----------  ----------  -----------  ------ 
 
Revenue                 47,503      79,515        5,764  132,782        6,631      49,539          847  57,017 
 
Gross 
 profit                  7,557       7,572        1,548   16,677        1,608       7,033          813   9,454 
Profit/(loss) 
 from operations         2,062       2,498        (347)    4,213          497       1,744        (250)   1,991 
-----------------  -----------  ----------  -----------  -------  -----------  ----------  -----------  ------ 
 
 

The total of the Engineering segment reported for the year ended 31 July 2015 is reported within the revised Engineering segment above.

Geographical Information

 
                              Revenue         Non-current assets 
                         ------------------  -------------------- 
All amounts in GBP'000       2016      2015       2016       2015 
-----------------------  --------  --------  ---------  --------- 
UK                        586,842   488,611     49,940     54,582 
Rest of Europe              1,378     1,575          -          - 
Middle East and Africa      5,532     4,298        227        199 
Americas                   20,594     6,103        138         57 
Asia Pacific                3,258     1,706        160        164 
-----------------------  --------  --------  ---------  --------- 
                          617,604   502,293     50,465     55,002 
-----------------------  --------  --------  ---------  --------- 
 

Revenue and non-current assets are allocated to the geographic market based on the domicile of the respective subsidiary.

Largest Customers

No single client contributed more than 10% of the Group's revenues (2015: none).

3 Profit from Operations

 
                                                                                                        2016      2015 
                                                                                                     GBP'000   GBP'000 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Profit from operations is stated after charging/(crediting): 
Depreciation                                                                                             835       743 
Amortisation of acquired intangibles                                                                   3,656     1,680 
Amortisation of software licences                                                                        285       273 
(Profit)/loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment                                               (7)      (13) 
Auditors' remuneration - fees payable for the audit of the Parent 
 Company financial statements                                                                             10        10 
                              - fees payable for the audit of the Subsidiary Company financial 
                               statements                                                                238       234 
                              - Non audit services: taxation                                              45        73 
                                                                   other services pursuant to 
                                                                    legislation                            -        41 
Operating lease costs: - Plant and machinery                                                             312       272 
                              - Land and buildings                                                     1,610     1,121 
Share based payment charge                                                                             1,537     1,623 
Net (gain)/loss on foreign currency exchange differences                                             (1,025)       288 
Non-recurring costs included within administrative expenses: 
Acquisition costs                                                                                          -     1,685 
Restructuring costs                                                                                    2,371     1,025 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

4 Particulars of Employees

The average number of staff employed (including Directors) by the Group during the financial year amounted to:

 
                 2016  2015 
                  No.   No. 
---------------  ----  ---- 
Sales             526   383 
Administration    203   147 
Directors          11    10 
---------------  ----  ---- 
Total             740   540 
---------------  ----  ---- 
 

The aggregate payroll costs of the above were:

 
                            2016      2015 
                         GBP'000   GBP'000 
----------------------  --------  -------- 
Wages and salaries        32,578    23,344 
Social security costs      3,262     2,515 
Other pension costs        1,255     1,190 
----------------------  --------  -------- 
Total                     37,095    27,049 
----------------------  --------  -------- 
 

Disclosure of the remuneration of key management personnel, as required by IAS 24, is detailed below. Disclosure of the remuneration of the statutory Directors is further detailed in the Directors' Remuneration Report contained in the Annual Report and Accounts.

 
                                   2016      2015 
                                GBP'000   GBP'000 
-----------------------------  --------  -------- 
Short term employee benefits      2,319     2,180 
Post employment benefits            113       212 
Share based payments                600     1,039 
-----------------------------  --------  -------- 
Total                             3,032     3,431 
-----------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

5 Finance Income

 
                                           2016      2015 
                                        GBP'000   GBP'000 
Foreign currency exchange differences     1,025         - 
-------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Total                                     1,025         - 
-------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

6 Finance Cost

 
                                                2016      2015 
                                             GBP'000   GBP'000 
------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Bank interest payable                            977       773 
Amortisation of capitalised finance costs         99        13 
Foreign currency exchange differences              -       288 
------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Total                                          1,076     1,074 
------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

7 Dividends

 
                                                                      2016      2015 
                                                                   GBP'000   GBP'000 
----------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Equity dividends paid during the year at 22.32 pence per share 
 (2015: 20.27 pence)                                                 6,892     5,382 
----------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Equity dividends proposed after the year end (not recognised as 
 a liability) at 17.00 pence per share (2015: 16.32 pence)           5,298     5,046 
----------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

A dividend will be declared from Matchtech Group (Holdings) Limited prior to the payment of the proposed dividend above.

8 Parent Company Profit

 
                                                                       2016      2015 
                                                                    GBP'000   GBP'000 
-----------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
The amount of profit dealt within the accounts of the Company is      7,298     3,482 
-----------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

The Company has taken advantage of the exemption in S408 of the Companies Act 2006 not to present the parent Company's Income Statement.

9 Taxation

 
                                                  2016      2015 
                                               GBP'000   GBP'000 
--------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Current tax: UK corporation tax                  3,606     2,977 
                  Overseas corporation tax       2,153       626 
                  Prior year over provision        (9)     (235) 
--------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
                                                 5,750     3,368 
 
Deferred tax (note 14)                           (598)     (409) 
--------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Income tax expense                               5,152     2,959 
--------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

UK corporation tax has been charged at 20.0% (2015: 20.7%).

The charge for the year can be reconciled to the profit as per the income statement as follows:

 
                                                                       2016      2015 
                                                                    GBP'000   GBP'000 
-----------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Profit before tax                                                    15,069    11,286 
-----------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Profit before tax multiplied by the standard rate of corporation 
 tax in the UK of 20.0% (2015: 20.7%)                                 3,014     2,336 
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes                                610       386 
Irrecoverable withholding tax                                         1,137       340 
Adjustments to tax charge in respect of previous periods                (9)     (235) 
Overseas losses not provided for                                          -        46 
Difference between UK and overseas tax rates                            400        86 
-----------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Total tax charge for period                                           5,152     2,959 
-----------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

Tax charge recognised directly in equity:

 
                                                 2016      2015 
                                              GBP'000   GBP'000 
-------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Deferred tax recognised directly in equity      (185)       174 
-------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Total tax recognised directly in equity         (185)       174 
-------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

The 2015 Summer Budget on 8 July 2015 announced that the UK corporation tax rate would reduce to 18% by 2020, a further reduction to 17% was announced on 16 March 2016.

Deferred tax at 31 July 2016 has been calculated based on the rate of 18% substantively enacted at the Statement of Financial Position date.

10 Earnings Per Share

Earnings per share has been calculated by dividing the consolidated profit after taxation attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period.

Diluted earnings per share has been calculated on the same basis as above, except that the weighted average number of ordinary shares that would be issued on the conversion of all the dilutive potential ordinary shares (arising from the Group's share option schemes) into ordinary shares has been added to the denominator. There are no changes to the profit (numerator) as a result of the dilutive calculation.

 
                                                             2016      2015 
                                                          GBP'000   GBP'000 
-------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Profit after tax attributable to ordinary shareholders      9,917     8,327 
-------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 
 
                                                         2016     2015 
                                                        '000s    '000s 
----------------------------------------------------  -------  ------- 
Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue    30,887   26,841 
Effect of dilutive potential ordinary shares            1,153    1,263 
----------------------------------------------------  -------  ------- 
Total                                                  32,040   28,104 
----------------------------------------------------  -------  ------- 
 
 
            2016    2015 
           pence   pence 
--------  ------  ------ 
Basic       32.1    31.0 
Diluted     31.0    29.6 
--------  ------  ------ 
 

11 Intangible Assets

 
 
                                                Customer      Trade             Software 
                                Goodwill   relationships      names     Other   licences     Total 
Group                            GBP'000         GBP'000    GBP'000   GBP'000    GBP'000   GBP'000 
---------------  -------------  --------  --------------  ---------  --------  ---------  -------- 
                 At 1 August 
COST              2014             1,643           1,600        166       876        951     5,236 
 Additions                             -               -          -         -        777       777 
 Acquisitions                     24,808          18,552      4,741     1,560         41    49,702 
 -----------------------------  --------  --------------  ---------  --------  ---------  -------- 
 At 1 August 
  2015                            26,451          20,152      4,907     2,436      1,769    55,715 
 Additions                            23               -          -       250        189       462 
 Disposals                         (380)               -          -         -          -     (380) 
 -----------------------------  --------  --------------  ---------  --------  ---------  -------- 
 At 31 July 
  2016                            26,094          20,152      4,907     2,686      1,958    55,797 
 -----------------------------  --------  --------------  ---------  --------  ---------  -------- 
                 At 1 August 
AMORTISATION      2014                 -             453         15       511        553     1,532 
 Charge for 
  the year                             -             946        511       223        273     1,953 
 -----------------------------  --------  --------------  ---------  --------  ---------  -------- 
 At 31 July 
  2015                                 -           1,399        526       734        826     3,485 
 Charge for 
  the year                             -           2,097        915       644        285     3,941 
 -----------------------------  --------  --------------  ---------  --------  ---------  -------- 
 At 31 July 
  2016                                 -           3,496      1,441     1,378      1,111     7,426 
 -----------------------------  --------  --------------  ---------  --------  ---------  -------- 
                 At 31 July 
NET BOOK VALUE    2015            26,451          18,753      4,381     1,702        943    52,230 
---------------  -------------  --------  --------------  ---------  --------  ---------  -------- 
 At 31 July 
  2016                            26,094          16,656      3,466     1,308        847    48,371 
 -----------------------------  --------  --------------  ---------  --------  ---------  -------- 
 

Goodwill arising on business combinations is reviewed and tested on an annual basis or more frequently if there is indication that goodwill might be impaired. Goodwill has been tested for impairment by comparing the carrying amount of each cash-generating unit (CGU), including goodwill, with the recoverable amount.

 
Goodwill is allocated to CGUs, which are determined as the reportable       2016      2015 
 segments, as follows:                                                   GBP'000   GBP'000 
----------------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Professional Services                                                      1,643     1,643 
Engineering                                                                4,379     4,379 
Technology                                                                20,072    20,429 
                                                                          26,094    26,451 
----------------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

The recoverable amounts of the CGUs are determined from value-in-use calculations, the key assumptions for the value-in-use calculations are as follows:

Profit from operations Profit from operations is based on the latest annual forecast approved by the Group's Board of Directors which was prepared using expectations of revenue and operating cost growth

Discount rates The pre-tax rate used to discount the forecast Engineering and Technology cash flows was 15.4% (2015: 12.5%). The pre-tax rate used to discount the forecast Professional Services cashflows was 12.5% (2015:12.5%).

Growth rates The long-term growth rates are based on management forecasts which are consistent with external sources at an average growth rate of 2.5% (2015: 2.5%)

Impairment reviews are performed at the year end by comparing the carrying value of goodwill with the recoverable amount of the CGUs to which goodwill has been allocated.

The impairment review determined that there has been no impairment to any of the CGUs. Sensitivity analysis has been performed in assessing recoverable amounts of goodwill by changing key assumptions in growth and discount rates. The sensitivity analysis shows no impairment would be reasonably foreseeable under each scenario for any of the CGUs.

Amortisation is charged through administrative expenses in the Income Statement.

12 Property, Plant and Equipment

 
                                                                    Fixtures 
                                                                    fittings 
                                            Motor      Leasehold           & 
                                         vehicles   improvements   equipment      Total 
Group                                     GBP'000        GBP'000     GBP'000    GBP'000 
---------------  ---------------------  ---------  -------------  ----------  --------- 
COST             At 1 August 2014           1,173            823       2,956      4,952 
 Additions                                      -            351         173        524 
 Acquisitions                                   -             94         377        471 
 Disposals                                  (233)              -        (16)      (249) 
 -------------------------------------  ---------  -------------  ----------  --------- 
 At 1 August 2015                             940          1,268       3,490      5,698 
 Additions                                      -             58         413        471 
 Disposals                                  (211)              -       (248)      (459) 
 -------------------------------------  ---------  -------------  ----------  --------- 
 At 31 July 2016                              729          1,326       3,655      5,710 
 -------------------------------------  ---------  -------------  ----------  --------- 
DEPRECIATION     At 1 August 2014             768            270       2,586      3,624 
 Charge for the year                          102            262         379        743 
 Released on disposal                       (204)              -           -      (204) 
 -------------------------------------  ---------  -------------  ----------  --------- 
 At 31 July 2015                              666            532       2,965      4,163 
 Charge for the year                           67            340         428        835 
 Released on disposal                       (182)              -       (231)      (413) 
 -------------------------------------  ---------  -------------  ----------  --------- 
 At 31 July 2016                              551            872       3,162      4,585 
 -------------------------------------  ---------  -------------  ----------  --------- 
NET BOOK VALUE   At 31 July 2015              274            736         525      1,535 
---------------  ---------------------  ---------  -------------  ----------  --------- 
 At 31 July 2016                              178            454         493      1,125 
 -------------------------------------  ---------  -------------  ----------  --------- 
 

Included within Leasehold Improvements is a cost of GBP215,000 (2015: GBP215,000) relating to the dilapidations provision (see note 16).

There were no capital commitments as at 31 July 2016 or 31 July 2015.

13 Investments

 
                                                    Company 
                                               ------------------ 
                                                   2016      2015 
                                                GBP'000   GBP'000 
---------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Investments in Group Companies at 1 August        5,676     3,403 
Acquisition of Networkers                             -    58,471 
Transfer of Networkers to subsidiary company          -  (58,471) 
Acquisition of non-controlling interest               -       650 
Capital contribution                              1,537     1,623 
---------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Investments in Group Companies at 31 July         7,213     5,676 
---------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

The movement in investments in Group companies represents a capital contribution made in Matchtech Group (UK) Limited relating to share based payments.

Subsidiary Undertakings

 
                                  Country            Share     % held 
Company                            of Incorporation   Class     2016    Main Activities 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Matchtech Group (Holdings)        United             Ordinary  100%     Holding 
 Limited                           Kingdom 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Matchtech Group Management        United             Ordinary  100%     Non trading 
 Company Limited                   Kingdom 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Matchtech Group (UK) Limited      United             Ordinary  99.998%  Provision of recruitment 
                                   Kingdom                               consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Matchtech Engineering Limited     United             Ordinary  100%     Non trading 
                                   Kingdom 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Matchtech Limited                 United             Ordinary  100%     Non trading 
                                   Kingdom 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Barclay Meade Limited             United             Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
                                   Kingdom                               consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Alderwood Education Limited       United             Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
                                   Kingdom                               consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Gattaca Solutions Limited         United             Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
                                   Kingdom                               consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Connectus Technology Limited      United             Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
                                   Kingdom                               consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Gattaca Recruitment Limited       United             Ordinary  100%     Non trading 
                                   Kingdom 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Matchtech GmbH                    Germany            Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
                                                                         consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Matchtech BV                      Netherlands        Ordinary  100%     Non trading 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Matchtech Engineering Inc         USA                Ordinary  100%     Non trading 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Application Services Limited      United             Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
                                   Kingdom                               consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Provanis Limited                  United             Ordinary  100%     Non trading 
                                   Kingdom 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Networkers International Limited  United             Ordinary  100%     Holding 
                                   Kingdom 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Networkers International (UK)     United             Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
 Limited                           Kingdom                               consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Networkers International LLC      United             Ordinary  100%     Non trading 
                                   States 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Networkers Telecommunications     United             Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
 Inc.                              States                                consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
NWI de Mexico S. de R.L. de       Mexico             Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
 C.V.                                                                    consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Networkers International South    South Africa       Ordinary  87%      Provision of recruitment 
 Africa Proprietary Limited                                              consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Networkers International          China              Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
 (China) Co. Limited                                                     consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Networkers International          Malaysia           Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
 (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd                                                      consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Networkers International          Canada             Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
 (Canada) Inc                                                            consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Networkers International          United             Ordinary  100%     Non trading 
 Trustees Limited                  Kingdom 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
The Comms Group Limited           United             Ordinary  100%     Holding 
                                   Kingdom 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
CommsResources Limited            United             Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
                                   Kingdom                               consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Gattaca Malaysia Sdn Bhd          Malaysia           Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
                                                                         consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Comms Software Limited            United             Ordinary  100%     Non trading 
                                   Kingdom 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Gattaca de Colombia SAS           Colombia           Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
                                                                         consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Elite Computer Staff Limited      United             Ordinary  100%     Non trading 
                                   Kingdom 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
NWKI FZ LLC (formerly SNS FZ      Dubai              Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
 LLC)                                                                    consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Networkers Recruitment            United             Ordinary  100%     Non trading 
 Services Limited                  Kingdom 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
MSB International GmbH            Germany            Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
                                                                         consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
NWKI Communications LLC           Dubai              Ordinary  49%      Provision of recruitment 
                                                                         consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Networkers Consultancy            Singapore          Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
 (Singapore) PTE Limited                                                 consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Cappo Group Limited               United             Ordinary  100%     Holding 
                                   Kingdom 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Cappo International Limited       United             Ordinary  100%     Provision of recruitment 
                                   Kingdom                               consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Cappo Qatar LLC                   Qatar              Ordinary  49%      Provision of recruitment 
                                                                         consultancy 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Networkers Consultoria Em         Brazil             Ordinary  100%     Non trading 
 Technologia Da Informacao 
 Limiteda 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Networkers International (India)  India              Ordinary  100%     Non trading 
 Private Limited 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
Kithara Limited                   South Africa       Ordinary  100%     Holding 
--------------------------------  -----------------  --------  -------  ------------------------ 
 

All holdings are indirect except Matchtech Group (Holdings) Limited, Matchtech GmbH and Matchtech Group Management Company Limited.

The Group consolidates NWKI Communications LLC and Cappo Qatar LLC as subsidiaries in the consolidation due to contractual arrangements in place giving the Group effective control of the entities.

14 Deferred Tax

 
                                                                               Credited/   Credited/ 
                                                                               (charged)   (charged) 
                                                  Asset  Liability       Net   to profit   to equity 
                                                   2016       2016      2016        2016        2016 
                                                GBP'000    GBP'000   GBP'000     GBP'000     GBP'000 
---------------------------------------------  --------  ---------  --------  ----------  ---------- 
Share based payments                                675          -       675       (143)       (185) 
Depreciation in excess of capital allowances        108          -       108          32           - 
Acquired intangibles                                  -    (4,286)   (4,286)         681           - 
Other temporary and deductible differences          186          -       186          28           - 
---------------------------------------------  --------  ---------  --------  ----------  ---------- 
Net deferred tax assets/(liabilities)               969    (4,286)   (3,317)         598       (185) 
---------------------------------------------  --------  ---------  --------  ----------  ---------- 
 
 
                                                                               Credited/   Credited/ 
                                                                               (charged)   (charged) 
                                                  Asset  Liability       Net   to profit   to equity 
                                                   2015       2015      2015        2015        2015 
                                                GBP'000    GBP'000   GBP'000     GBP'000     GBP'000 
---------------------------------------------  --------  ---------  --------  ----------  ---------- 
Share based payments                              1,003          -     1,003         116         174 
Depreciation in excess of capital allowances         76          -        76        (44)           - 
Acquired intangibles                                  -    (4,967)   (4,967)         336           - 
Other temporary and deductible differences          158          -       158           1           - 
---------------------------------------------  --------  ---------  --------  ----------  ---------- 
Net deferred tax assets/(liabilities)             1,237    (4,967)   (3,730)         409         174 
---------------------------------------------  --------  ---------  --------  ----------  ---------- 
 

The movement on the net deferred tax (liability)/asset is as shown below:

 
                             Group 
                       ------------------ 
                           2016      2015 
                        GBP'000   GBP'000 
---------------------  --------  -------- 
At 1 August             (3,730)       388 
Acquired intangibles          -   (4,971) 
Acquisitions                  -       270 
Recognised in income        598       409 
Recognised in equity      (185)       174 
---------------------  --------  -------- 
At end of year          (3,317)   (3,730) 
---------------------  --------  -------- 
 

The rate of UK corporation tax applied to deferred tax calculations is 18% (2015: 20%).

15 Trade and Other Receivables

 
                                        Group              Company 
                                  ------------------  ------------------ 
                                      2016      2015      2016      2015 
                                   GBP'000   GBP'000   GBP'000   GBP'000 
--------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
Trade receivables                   98,156    93,872         -         - 
Amounts owed by Group companies          -         -    80,335    72,135 
Other receivables                      887     3,438         -         - 
Prepayments                          1,768     1,587         -         - 
--------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
Total                              100,811    98,897    80,335    72,135 
--------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
 

The amounts due from Group undertakings in the Company Statement of Financial Position are considered to approximate to fair value.

Days sales outstanding at the year end based upon the preceding 3 months' revenue were 50.2 days (2015: 49.4 days). The allowance for doubtful debts has been determined by reference to previous experience and management assessment of recoverability.

The Directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximates to the fair value.

Included in the Group's trade receivable balance are debtors with a carrying amount of GBP10,407,000 (2015: GBP10,056,000) which are past due at the reporting date for which the Group has not provided as the Directors do not believe there has been a significant change in credit quality and consider the amounts to be recoverable in full. The Group does not hold any collateral over these balances.

The Group uses a third party credit scoring system to assess the credit worthiness of potential new customers before accepting them. Credit limits are defined by customer based on this information. All customer accounts are subject to review on a regular basis by senior management and actions are taken to address debt ageing issues.

The Directors believe that there is no requirement for further provision over and above the allowance for doubtful debts.

Ageing of past due but not impaired trade receivables:

 
                   Group 
             ------------------ 
                 2016      2015 
              GBP'000   GBP'000 
-----------  --------  -------- 
0-30 days       7,427     7,585 
31-60 days      2,046     1,663 
61-90 days        744       458 
91+ days          190       350 
-----------  --------  -------- 
Total          10,407    10,056 
-----------  --------  -------- 
 

Movement in the allowance for doubtful debts:

 
                                                Group 
                                          ------------------ 
                                              2016      2015 
                                           GBP'000   GBP'000 
----------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
At 1 August                                  1,235       300 
Acquisitions                                     -       867 
Impairment losses (reversed)/recognised      (320)        68 
----------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
At 31 July                                     915     1,235 
----------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

Ageing of impaired trade receivables:

 
                                       Group 
                                 ------------------ 
                                     2016      2015 
                                  GBP'000   GBP'000 
-------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Not past due at reporting date          -       319 
0-30 days                               -        58 
30-60 days                              1         - 
60-90 days                              -         - 
90+ days                              914       858 
-------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Total                                 915     1,235 
-------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

16 Provisions

 
                                            Group 
                                      ------------------ 
                                          2016      2015 
                                       GBP'000   GBP'000 
------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
At 1 August                                626       278 
Acquisition                                  -       364 
Provisions released during the year       (24)      (16) 
------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
At 31 July                                 602       626 
------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 
Non-current                                278       278 
Current                                    328       348 
------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
                                           602       626 
------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

Provisions are included based on the requirement to return leased buildings to their original condition at the end of the lease term, the leases expire between June 2017 and March 2027.

17 Trade and Other Payables

 
                                        Group              Company 
                                  ------------------  ------------------ 
                                      2016      2015      2016      2015 
                                   GBP'000   GBP'000   GBP'000   GBP'000 
--------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
Trade payables                         456       538         -         - 
Amounts owed to Group companies          -         -    31,711     8,922 
Taxation and Social Security         5,134     5,415         -         - 
Contractor wages creditor           19,087    16,698         -         - 
Accruals and deferred income        10,885    14,227         -         - 
Provisions                             324       348         -         - 
Other payables                       1,975       336         -         - 
--------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
Total                               37,861    37,562    31,711     8,922 
--------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
 

18 Financial Assets and Liabilities Statement of Financial Position Classification

The carrying amount of the Group's financial assets and liabilities as recognised at the Statement of Financial Position date of the reporting periods under review may also be categorised as follows:

Financial assets are included in the Statement of Financial Position within the following headings:

 
                                    Group              Company 
                              ------------------  ------------------ 
                                  2016      2015      2016      2015 
                               GBP'000   GBP'000   GBP'000   GBP'000 
----------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
Trade and other receivables 
- Loan and receivables          99,043    97,310    80,335    72,135 
 
Cash and cash equivalents 
- Loan and receivables           7,442     3,997         -         - 
----------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
Total                          106,485   101,307    80,335    72,135 
----------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
 

Financial liabilities are included in the Statement of Financial Position within the following headings:

 
                                                           Group 
                                                     ------------------ 
                                                         2016      2015 
                                                      GBP'000   GBP'000 
---------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Current liabilities 
 
Borrowings 
- Financial liabilities recorded at amortised cost     32,455    37,641 
 
Trade and other payables 
- Financial liabilities recorded at amortised cost     32,403    32,147 
---------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Total                                                  64,858    69,788 
---------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

The amounts at which the assets and liabilities above are recorded are considered to approximate to fair value.

On 20 October 2016 the Group extended its banking facilities with HSBC for a further four years until October 2020 with agreed bank facilities of GBP105m comprising a GBP75m Invoice Financing Facility and a GBP30m Revolving Credit Facility.

These facilities replaced the previous GBP95m facilities.

The Group's working capital facilities with HSBC are secured by way of an all assets debenture, which contains fixed and floating charges over the assets of the Group. This facility allows the Company to borrow up to 90% of its invoiced debtors up to a maximum of GBP75m. Interest is charged on borrowings at a rate of 1.1% over HSBC base rate.

The GBP30m Revolving Credit Facility is secured by way of a fixed and floating charge over assets of the Group. Interest is charged on borrowings at a rate of 3% over HSBC LIBOR rate.

19 Commitments under Operating Leases

At 31 July 2016 the Group had commitments to pay the following amounts under non-cancellable operating leases as set out below:

 
                                                                     Group 
                                                               ------------------ 
                                                                   2016      2015 
                                                                GBP'000   GBP'000 
---------------  ----------------------  --------------------  --------  -------- 
Land/buildings   Payments falling due:   within 1 year            1,340     1,057 
  within 1 to 5 years                                             5,221     1,157 
                                         after 5 years            5,307         - 
---------------  ----------------------  --------------------  --------  -------- 
Other            Payments falling due:   within 1 year              300       269 
  within 1 to 5 years                                               316       483 
  -----------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

20 Share Capital

 
Authorised Share Capital                          Company 
                                             ------------------ 
                                                 2016      2015 
                                              GBP'000   GBP'000 
-------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
40,000,000 Ordinary shares of GBP0.01 each        400       400 
-------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

Allotted, called up and fully paid:

 
                                                                     Company 
                                                                ------------------ 
                                                                    2016      2015 
                                                                 GBP'000   GBP'000 
--------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
31,167,000 (2015: 30,922,000) Ordinary shares of GBP0.01 each        312       309 
--------------------------------------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

The number of shares in issue in the Company is shown below:

 
                                 Company 
                             ---------------- 
                                2016     2015 
                                '000     '000 
---------------------------  -------  ------- 
In issue at 1 August          30,922   24,965 
Exercise of share options        245      399 
Issue of restricted shares         -      119 
Share placing                      -    5,439 
---------------------------  -------  ------- 
In issue at 31 July           31,167   30,922 
---------------------------  -------  ------- 
 

Share Options

The following options arrangements exist over the Company's shares:

 
                                                               Exercise period 
--------------------  ------  ------  ----------  --------  ---------------------- 
                                                  Exercise 
                        2016    2015     Date of     price 
                       '000s   '000s       grant     pence        From          To 
--------------------  ------  ------  ----------  --------  ----------  ---------- 
Key Share Options          -       5  01/12/2005       146  01/06/2007  01/12/2015 
Target/Loyalty 
 Share Options             -       2  01/12/2005       146  01/12/2006  01/12/2015 
Deferred Share 
 Bonus                     -       6  18/01/2010         1  18/01/2012  18/01/2020 
Deferred Share 
 Bonus                     -       6  18/01/2010         1  18/01/2013  18/01/2020 
Zero Priced Share 
 Option Bonus              1       1  18/01/2010         1  18/01/2012  18/01/2020 
Zero Priced Share 
 Option Bonus              1       1  18/01/2010         1  18/01/2013  18/01/2020 
Zero Priced Share 
 Option Bonus              1       1  04/02/2011         1  25/01/2013  04/02/2021 
Zero Priced Share 
 Option Bonus              1       2  04/02/2011         1  03/02/2014  04/02/2021 
Long Term Incentive 
 Plan Options              9      23  31/01/2012         1  30/01/2015  31/01/2022 
Zero Priced Share 
 Option Bonus              1       1  31/01/2012         1  30/01/2014  31/01/2022 
Zero Priced Share 
 Option Bonus              2      12  31/01/2012         1  30/01/2015  31/01/2022 
Long Term Incentive 
 Plan Options             31      32  31/01/2013         1  30/01/2016  31/01/2023 
Zero Priced Share 
 Option Bonus              4       4  31/01/2013         1  30/01/2015  31/01/2023 
Zero Priced Share 
 Option Bonus             11     206  31/01/2013         1  30/01/2016  31/01/2023 
Long Term Incentive 
 Plan Options            104     104  24/01/2014         1  24/01/2017  24/01/2024 
Deferred Share 
 Bonus                    10      10  24/01/2014         1  24/01/2015  24/01/2024 
Deferred Share 
 Bonus                    10      10  24/01/2014         1  24/01/2016  24/01/2024 
Zero Priced Share 
 Option Bonus             11      51  01/01/2014         1  01/01/2016  01/01/2024 
Zero Priced Share 
 Option Bonus            233     292  01/01/2014         1  01/01/2017  01/01/2024 
Zero Priced Share 
 Option Bonus             15      22  28/01/2015         1  28/01/2017  28/01/2025 
Zero Priced Share 
 Option Bonus            108     137  28/01/2015         1  28/01/2018  28/01/2025 
Zero Priced Share 
 Option Bonus             44      44  30/01/2015         1  30/01/2018  30/01/2025 
Zero Priced Share 
 Option Bonus             16      16  26/06/2015         1  26/06/2018  26/06/2025 
Value Creation 
 Plan                    389     389  02/07/2015         1  18/11/2016  18/11/2021 
Value Creation 
 Plan                    389     389  02/07/2015         1  18/11/2017  18/11/2021 
Long Term Incentive 
 Plan Options             45       -  11/02/2016         1  11/02/2019  11/02/2026 
Zero priced share 
 option bonus             76       -  11/02/2016         1  11/02/2018  11/02/2026 
Zero priced share 
 option bonus             76       -  11/02/2016         1  11/02/2019  11/02/2026 
Long Term Incentive 
 Plan Options             31       -  11/02/2016       225  11/02/2018  11/02/2026 
Long Term Incentive 
 Plan Options             31       -  11/02/2016       225  11/02/2019  11/02/2026 
--------------------  ------  ------  ----------  --------  ----------  ---------- 
Total                  1,650   1,766 
--------------------  ------  ------  ----------  --------  ----------  ---------- 
 

During the year, the Group granted share options under a Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) for Executive Directors and for key staff a Zero Priced Share Option Bonus and Long Term Incentive Plan Options. The LTIP options were granted on 11 February 2016 and are subject to an EPS performance target. The zero priced share options were granted on 11 February 2016 to members of staff subject to two and three year holding periods. The Long Term Incentive Plan Options were granted to staff on 11 February 2016 and were subject to two and three year holding periods with a release price of 591.75 pence per share. All share options have a life of 10 years and are equity settled on exercise.

The movement in share options is shown below:

 
                                       2016                             2015 
                          -------------------------------  ------------------------------- 
                                   Weighted                         Weighted 
                                    average      Weighted            average      Weighted 
                                   exercise       average           exercise       average 
                          Number      price   share price  Number      price   share price 
                           '000s    (pence)       (pence)   '000s    (pence)       (pence) 
------------------------  ------  ---------  ------------  ------  ---------  ------------ 
Outstanding at 1 August    1,766        1.7             -   2,051        1.7             - 
 
Granted                      277       56.0             -   1,074        1.0             - 
Forfeited/lapsed           (145)       11.0             -   (986)        1.0             - 
Exercised                  (248)        4.6         431.0   (373)        1.0         525.0 
------------------------  ------  ---------  ------------  ------  ---------  ------------ 
Outstanding at 31 July     1,650        9.3                 1,766        1.7 
Exercisable at 31 July        94        1.0                    70        1.3 
------------------------  ------  ---------  ------------  ------  ---------  ------------ 
 

The number of share options granted includes the deferred share bonus options.

The numbers and weighted average exercise prices of share options vesting in the future are shown below.

 
                            2016                            2015 
                -----------------------------  ------------------------------ 
                  Weighted                        Weighted 
                   average           Weighted      average           Weighted 
                 remaining            average    remaining            average 
                  contract           exercise     contract           exercise 
                      life  Number      price         life  Number      price 
Exercise Date     (months)   '000s    (pence)     (months)   '000s    (pence) 
--------------  ----------  ------  ---------  -----------  ------  --------- 
01/01/2016               -       -          -            5      51        1.0 
24/01/2016               -       -          -            6      10        1.0 
30/01/2016               -       -          -            6     242        1.0 
18/11/2016               4     389        1.0           16     389        1.0 
01/01/2017               5     233        1.0           17     292        1.0 
24/01/2017               6     104        1.0           18     104        1.0 
28/01/2017               6      15        1.0           18      22        1.0 
18/11/2017              16     389        1.0           28     389        1.0 
28/01/2018              18     108        1.0           30     137        1.0 
30/01/2018              18      44        1.0           30      44        1.0 
11/02/2018              19     107       46.3            -       -          - 
26/06/2018              23      16        1.0           35      16        1.0 
11/02/2019              31     151       65.2            -       -          - 
--------------  ----------  ------  ---------  -----------  ------  --------- 
Total                        1,556                           1,696 
--------------  ----------  ------  ---------  -----------  ------  --------- 
 

In addition to the share option schemes, the Group operated a share incentive plan (SIP), which is an HMRC-approved plan available to all employees enabling them to purchase shares out of pre-tax salary. For each share purchased, the Company grants an additional share at no cost.

The fair values of the LTIP options were calculated using the Monte Carlo simulation method along with the assumptions detailed below. The values of the zero price options granted in the year were calculated using the Black Scholes method along with the assumptions as detailed below. The fair values of the SIPS were calculated as the market values on the date of the grant adjusted for the assumptions as detailed below.

 
                              Share 
                              Price 
                                 on                                                Risk 
                                the                                                Free 
                               date                                                Rate 
                                 of  Exercise              Vesting  Dividend         of    Fair 
                              grant     Price  Volatility   Period     Yield   interest   Value 
Date of grant                 (GBP)     (GBP)         (%)    (yrs)       (%)        (%)   (GBP) 
--------------  -----------  ------  --------  ----------  -------  --------  ---------  ------ 
01/01/2014      LTIP           5.75      0.01       16.8%     3.00      3.1%       1.2%    5.22 
                Zero price 
24/01/2014       bonus         5.93      0.01       17.0%     3.00      3.0%       1.2%    5.40 
28/01/2015      LTIP           5.08      0.01       16.4%     2.00      3.9%       0.7%    4.51 
28/01/2015      LTIP           5.08      0.01       16.4%     3.00      3.9%       0.7%    4.51 
                Zero price 
30/01/2015       bonus         5.08      0.01       16.4%     3.00      3.9%       0.6%    4.51 
26/06/2015      LTIP           5.49      0.01       16.4%     3.00      3.9%       1.1%    4.90 
06/07/2015      SIP            5.58      0.01         N/A     3.00       N/A        N/A    5.58 
05/08/2015      SIP            5.81      0.01         N/A     3.00       N/A        N/A    5.81 
04/09/2015      SIP            5.64      0.01         N/A     3.00       N/A        N/A    5.64 
05/10/2015      SIP            5.18      0.01         N/A     3.00       N/A        N/A    5.18 
03/11/2015      SIP            5.45      0.01         N/A     3.00       N/A        N/A    5.45 
08/12/2015      SIP            5.43      0.01         N/A     3.00       N/A        N/A    5.43 
05/01/2016      SIP            5.35      0.01         N/A     3.00       N/A        N/A    5.35 
05/02/2016      SIP            5.08      0.01         N/A     3.00       N/A        N/A    5.08 
11/02/2016      LTIP           4.35      0.01       21.4%     2.00      5.1%       0.4%    1.45 
11/02/2016      LTIP           4.35      0.01       21.4%     3.00      5.1%       0.4%    1.45 
11/02/2016      LTIP           4.35      0.01       21.4%     2.00      5.1%       0.4%    0.88 
11/02/2016      LTIP           4.35      0.01       21.4%     3.00      5.1%       0.4%    0.88 
                Zero price 
11/02/2016       bonus         4.50      0.01       20.9%     3.00      4.9%       0.5%    3.88 
07/03/2016      SIP            4.29      0.01         N/A     3.00       N/A        N/A    4.29 
14/04/2016      SIP            4.74      0.01         N/A     3.00       N/A        N/A    4.74 
10/05/2016      SIP            4.65      0.01         N/A     3.00       N/A        N/A    4.65 
06/06/2016      SIP            4.25      0.01         N/A     3.00       N/A        N/A    4.25 
05/07/2016      SIP            3.54      0.01         N/A     3.00       N/A        N/A    3.54 
--------------  -----------  ------  --------  ----------  -------  --------  ---------  ------ 
 

The volatility of the Company's share price on each date of grant was calculated as the average of the annualised standard deviations of daily continuously compounded returns on the Company's stock, calculated over five years back from the date of grant, where applicable. The risk-free rate is the yield to maturity on the date of grant of a UK gilt strip, with term to maturity equal to the life of the option. The 2013 LTIP awards are subject to a TSR test - this market-based condition is taken into account in the date of grant fair calculation.

21 Transactions with Directors and Related Parties

During the year, the Group made sales of GBP370,000 (2015: GBP114,000) to InHealth Group which is a related party by virtue of the common directorship of Richard Bradford, and sales of GBP915,000 (2015: GBP624,000) to the Waterman Group by virtue of common directorship of Ric Piper. As at the year end, Waterman Group has a balance outstanding of GBP85,000 (2015: GBP137,000) and InHealth Group has a balance outstanding of GBP98,000 (2015: GBP20,000). All transactions were undertaken at an arm's length price.

There were no other related party transactions with entities outside of the Group.

During the year, Matchtech Group (UK) Limited charged Gattaca plc GBP901,000 (2015: GBP767,000) for provision of management services. Further details of transactions with directors are included in the Director's Remuneration Report on pages 44 to 63..

22 Financial Instruments

The financial risk management policies and objectives including those related to financial instruments and the qualitative risk exposure details, comprising credit and other applicable risks, are included within the Chief Financial Officer's report under the heading Group financial risk management.

Maturity of Financial Liabilities

The Group financial liabilities analysis at 31 July 2016 was as follows:

 
                                    Group              Company 
                              ------------------  ------------------ 
                                  2016      2015      2016      2015 
                               GBP'000   GBP'000   GBP'000   GBP'000 
----------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
In less than one year or on 
 demand: 
Bank overdrafts                     14        14         -         - 
Working capital facility        18,939     9,223         -         - 
Finance costs capitalised        (106)     (204)         -         - 
----------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
Bank loans and overdrafts       18,847     9,033         -         - 
Trade and other payables        32,403    32,147         -         - 
----------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
Total                           51,250    41,180         -         - 
----------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
 
More than one year but less 
 than three years: 
Term loan                       13,608    28,608    28,608         - 
----------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
 

Borrowing Facilities

The Group makes use of working capital facilities and a term loan, details of which can be found in note 18. The undrawn facility available at 31 July 2015 in respect of which all conditions precedent had been met was as follows:

 
                                      Group              Company 
                                ------------------  ------------------ 
                                    2016      2015      2016      2015 
                                 GBP'000   GBP'000   GBP'000   GBP'000 
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
Expiring in one to five years     76,061    57,169    16,392     1,392 
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  -------- 
 

The Directors have calculated that the effect on profit of a 1% movement in interest rates would be GBP450,000 (2015: GBP420,000).

The Directors believe that the carrying value of borrowings approximates to their fair value.

Foreign Currency Risk

The Group's main foreign currency risk is the short-term risk associated with the trade debtors denominated in US Dollars and Euros relating to the UK operations whose functional currency is Sterling. The risk arises on the difference between exchange rates at the time the invoice is raised to when the invoice is settled by the client. For sales denominated in foreign currency, the Group ensures that direct costs associated with the sale are denominated in the same currency. Further foreign exchange risk arises where there is a gap in the amount of assets and liabilities of the Group denominated in foreign currencies that are required to be translated into Sterling at the year end rates of exchange. Where the risk to the Group is considered to be significant, the Group will enter into a matching forward foreign exchange contract with a reputable bank.

Net foreign currency monetary assets are shown below:

 
                  Group 
            ------------------ 
                2015      2014 
             GBP'000   GBP'000 
----------  --------  -------- 
US Dollar     10,120     6,821 
Euro           4,802     2,720 
----------  --------  -------- 
 

The effect of a 25c strengthening of the Euro and Dollar against Sterling at the balance sheet date on the Euro/Dollar denominated trade and other receivables and payables carried at that date would, all other variables held constant, have resulted in a net increase in pre-tax profit for the year and increase of net assets of GBP2,433,000. A 25c weakening in the exchange rates would, on the same basis, have decreased pre-tax profit and reduced net assets by GBP3,616,000.

Company

The Company holds no material balances of this nature other than intercompany balances, which are not subject to a fair value adjustment.

23 Capital Management Policies and Procedures

Gattaca plc's capital management objectives are:

to ensure the Group's ability to continue as a going concern;

to provide an adequate return to shareholders; and

by pricing products and services commensurately with the level of risk.

The Group monitors capital on the basis of the carrying amount of equity as presented in the Statement of Financial Position.

The Group sets the amount of capital in proportion to its overall financing structure, i.e. equity and financial liabilities. The Group manages the capital structure and makes adjustments in the light of changes in economic conditions and risk characteristics of the underlying assets. Capital for the reporting period under review is summarised as follows:

 
                                           Group 
                                     ------------------ 
                                         2016      2015 
                                      GBP'000   GBP'000 
-----------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Total equity                           81,614    76,537 
Cash and cash equivalents             (7,442)   (3,997) 
-----------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Capital                                74,172    72,540 
-----------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 
Total equity                           81,614    76,537 
Borrowings                             32,561    37,845 
-----------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Overall financing                     114,175   114,382 
-----------------------------------  --------  -------- 
Capital to overall financing ratio        65%       63% 
-----------------------------------  --------  -------- 
 

24 Alternative Performance Measures

Alternative performance measures are disclosed below to show the adjusted and underlying trading performance of the Group.

The adjusted basis is reported excluding non-recurring items, amortisation of acquired intangibles and results from divested businesses. The Underlying basis shows the trading performance of the Group on a pro-forma basis as if Networkers had been owned by the Group for the entire 12 month period.

2016

 
                                         Amortisation                              Proforma     Proforma 
All amounts    Statutory  Non-recurring   of acquired     Divested    Adjusted   Networkers   underlying 
 in GBP'000        basis          costs   intangibles   businesses       basis      results        basis 
-------------  ---------  -------------  ------------  -----------  ----------  -----------  ----------- 
Revenue          617,604              -             -        (772)     616,832            -      616,832 
Gross profit      72,996              -             -        (609)      72,387            -       72,387 
Profit from 
 operations       15,062          2,371         3,656          408      21,497            -       21,497 
-------------  ---------  -------------  ------------  -----------  ----------  -----------  ----------- 
 

2015

 
                                         Amortisation                              Proforma     Proforma 
All amounts    Statutory  Non-recurring   of acquired     Divested    Adjusted   Networkers   underlying 
 in GBP'000        basis          costs   intangibles   businesses       basis      results        basis 
-------------  ---------  -------------  ------------  -----------  ----------  -----------  ----------- 
Revenue          502,293              -             -      (6,611)     495,682      108,491      604,173 
Gross profit      54,819              -             -      (2,361)      52,458       19,711       72,169 
Profit from 
 operations       12,360          2,710         1,680          597      17,347        3,849       21,196 
-------------  ---------  -------------  ------------  -----------  ----------  -----------  ----------- 
 
 
Net Debt 
 
 Net debt is calculated as follows:            Group 
                                      ----------------------- 
                                           2016          2015 
                                        GBP'000       GBP'000 
------------------------------------  ---------  ------------ 
Cash and cash equivalents                 7,442         3,997 
Bank loans and overdrafts              (32,455)      (37,641) 
Net debt                               (25,013)      (33,644) 
------------------------------------  ---------  ------------ 
 

25 Subsequent Events

On 20 October 2016 the Group extended its banking facilities with HSBC for a further four years until October 2020 with agreed bank facilities of GBP105m comprising a GBP75m Invoice Financing Facility and a GBP30m Revolving Credit Facility.

The financial information set out above does not constitute the company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 July 2016 or 2015 but is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2015 have been delivered to the registrar of companies, and those for 2015 will be delivered in due course. The auditor has reported on those accounts; their reports were (i) unqualified, (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report and (iii) did not contain a statement under section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

The financial information presented on this web site does not comprise the statutory accounts of Matchtech Group plc for the financial years ended 31 July 2016 and 31 July 2015 but represents extracts from them. These extracts do not provide as full an understanding of the financial performance and position, or financial and investing activities, of the company as the complete Annual Report.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

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November 03, 2016 03:00 ET (07:00 GMT)

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