TIDMBAB
RNS Number : 6486P
Babcock International Group PLC
11 June 2020
Babcock International Group PLC
full year results for the year ended 31 March 2020
11 June 2020 This announcement contains inside information
Resilient business model ready for the year ahead
Archie Bethel, Chief Executive, said:
"We end a busy year in a strong position to deal with the
current Coronavirus (COVID-19) uncertainty. We saw strong
performances across our Marine, Nuclear and Land sectors and have
taken action to address weaknesses in Aviation, including writing
down goodwill to reflect our updated expectations of the oil and
gas market. The early impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic had a
limited impact on the Group in the last financial year but is
creating uncertainty as we head into this new financial year.
"I am immensely proud of the way our people have responded in
these challenging times. At Babcock we pride ourselves on the fact
that we support customers responsible for providing critical
services: our work in defence and aerial emergency services saves
lives, supports national defence and protects communities. As
always, my priority, and the priority of the Group, is to keep our
people safe whilst making sure that those vital services can
continue.
"I am also extremely grateful to HM Government and in particular
the Cabinet Office and Ministry of Defence who acted quickly and
decisively to ensure that contracts continue to be funded and that
cash flowed effectively through the main suppliers and down into
the supply chain. Also, working with us and other major suppliers,
we have together quickly developed safe working solutions at site
level supported by our employees, trades unions and regulators.
These solutions are being widely shared to ensure that the entire
sector is benefiting from the experiences of individual
companies.
"The majority of our work has been declared to be critical and
our people designated as key workers. All of our major sites have
remained open, and we have worked closely with our customers to
understand and support their changing requirements and operational
priorities. Whether working on site or at home, we have continued
to work on major defence programmes, to design new systems, to
provide emergency services and to keep nuclear power sites
operational. Across Europe our emergency medical services teams
have worked courageously alongside national health services in the
transport by air of critically ill patients to hospital.
"We have also contributed to the fight against the pandemic with
new innovative technical solutions. We pioneered the introduction
of biocontainment isolation stretcher units which allow virus
positive patients to be transported safely, and new in-helicopter
barrier systems that provide added protection to flight crews and
medical staff. We have shared the experiences gained in Italy,
Spain and France with our teams elsewhere, including Sweden where
we refitted one of our aircraft to create a dedicated COVID-19 air
ambulance.
"By establishing strong safety protocols, many of our contracts
have continued to operate throughout the crisis. The business
impact of the virus will be felt most significantly in our
short-cycle work and adjacent market businesses. We have put
mitigation measures into place, including reducing and deferring
non-essential operating and capital expenditure to protect the
business in the short term. We continue to model a number of
scenarios around the ongoing impact of the virus. We have also
developed detailed plans to return to productive operating capacity
in response to government guidance and customer need as the
countries in which we operate begin to emerge from varied
restrictions.
"Looking back over last year, we made solid progress in driving
our strategy forward. We achieved good revenue growth across our
defence businesses and won significant opportunities, including
building the next generation of UK warships, securing long term
positions on major submarine projects for the USA and Australia,
and expanding our aviation defence operations in France. Our
expanding technology capabilities were crucial in these wins, and I
am really pleased with the high level of growth seen across our
technology businesses this year.
"Our area of weakness was in the Oil and Gas aviation business.
The global oil and gas market has become even more competitive and
we have written down the value of assets in that business to
reflect this and impaired Aviation goodwill to reflect how the
market has changed and that we do not expect any recovery any time
soon. We have also addressed the cost base of our civil aviation
and civil nuclear businesses to right size them for the future
given the weaker oil and gas market, price and cost pressures in
our emergency services business and the smaller civil nuclear
business following the end of the Magnox contract and a slowing UK
civil nuclear market, exacerbated by COVID-19.
"We enter the new financial year facing uncertain times but the
long term characteristics of our business remain strong. We provide
some commentary on the year ahead across our sectors but are unable
to provide detailed financial guidance at this time. Given this
uncertainty, the Board has deferred the decision on our final
dividend until there is greater certainty on the impact COVID-19
will have on our business and stakeholders.
"Despite this uncertainty, the Group's strong liquidity
position, robust business model, record order book and pipeline and
focus on critical services gives us confidence that we will deliver
for all our stakeholders in the current year."
Archie Bethel CBE
Chief Executive
Financial results
31 March
31 March 2019
2020 Pre-IFRS 16
IFRS 16 basis basis
----------------------------------------------------- -------------- ------------
Statutory revenue GBP4,449.5m GBP4,474.8m
===================================================== ============== ============
Underlying revenue(1) GBP4,871.7m GBP5,160.6m
===================================================== ============== ============
Statutory operating (loss) / profit GBP(164.9)m GBP196.5m
===================================================== ============== ============
Underlying operating profit(2) GBP524.2m GBP588.4m
===================================================== ============== ============
Exceptional items GBP(502.9)m GBP(160.8)m
===================================================== ============== ============
Statutory (loss) / profit before tax GBP(178.2)m GBP235.2m
===================================================== ============== ============
Underlying profit before tax(3) GBP428.4m GBP517.9m
===================================================== ============== ============
Statutory basic earnings per share (38.6)p 39.5p
===================================================== ============== ============
Underlying basic earnings per share(4) 69.1p 84.0p
===================================================== ============== ============
Underlying operating cash flow (post net capex) GBP344.4m GBP469.3m
===================================================== ============== ============
Underlying free cash flow (post pension payments)(5) GBP192.2m GBP323.7m
===================================================== ============== ============
Net debt(6) GBP(922.1)m GBP(957.7)m
===================================================== ============== ============
Net debt/EBITDA(7) 1.7x 1.6x
===================================================== ============== ============
Full year dividend for the year (reflecting interim
dividend already paid) 7.2p 30.0p
----------------------------------------------------- -------------- ------------
See notes on page 3. Results for this year are reported under
IFRS 16 without prior year restatement. The adoption of IFRS 16
increased operating profit by GBP23.6 million.
Results for this year include the impact of step downs (detailed
on page 19). The revenue impact (including FX) was GBP428 million
and the operating profit impact (including FX) was GBP60
million.
Financial highlights
-- Underlying revenue of GBP4.9 billion in line with our FY20
guidance, statutory revenue of GBP4.4 billion
-- Underlying operating profit of GBP524 million after a small impact of COVID-19
-- Statutory operating loss of GBP165 million after exceptional items
-- Exceptional items of GBP503 million include Aviation goodwill
impairment of GBP395 million, other Aviation charges of GBP143
million (including Oil and Gas write downs, an Italy anti-trust
fine and a sector restructure). Other exceptionals include a
restructure of Nuclear and a profit on the sale of Context
-- Total cash outflows from these charges expected to be GBP129
million, reduced to GBP27 million after proceeds from sale of
Context
-- Exceptional net cash inflow in FY20 of GBP23 million, including Context proceeds
-- Underlying basic EPS of 69.1p
-- Underlying free cash flow of GBP192 million compared to FY20
guidance of over GBP250 million, with the shortfall reflecting the
impact of COVID-19
-- Statutory net cash flows from operating activities of GBP330 million (2019: GBP386 million)
-- Net debt(6) of GBP922 million with net debt / EBITDA at 1.7
times. Net debt including lease obligations was GBP1,595
million
-- Final dividend decision deferred until COVID-19 situation becomes clearer
Operational highlights
-- Record combined order book and pipeline of around GBP35
billion (March 2019: around GBP31 billion) with an order book of
GBP17.6 billion and a pipeline of GBP17 billion
-- Contract wins in the year included Type 31 frigate programme,
Met Police training, Australia and USA submarine programmes
-- Win rates continue at over 40% for new business and over 90%
for rebids in our focus markets
-- Increasing international presence: Aviation operations
started in Norway and Canada, second defence contract in France
-- Completed sale of Context for over GBP100 million in March 2020
-- Announced today, we completed the sale of our share of the
Holdfast joint venture for GBP85 million, taking pro forma net debt
/ EBITDA to 1.5 times
Financial strength and liquidity
-- Group comfortable with liquidity under stress-tests performed
-- Group has access to around a total of GBP2.4 billion of
borrowings and facilities of mostly long-term maturities
-- Significant cash balance at 31 March 2020 of GBP1.35 billion
-- Net debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.7 times well within our covenant levels of 3.5 times
Outlook for the year ending 31 March 2021
-- Given the current level of uncertainty we are not providing
financial guidance for the year ahead
-- Work on critical, non-discretionary long term contracts
(around 80% of Group revenue) continues
-- Work across our short-cycle businesses (around 20% of Group
revenue) will be more heavily impacted due to lower demand
levels
-- Sector margins will be impacted by lower demand and productivity levels
-- Performance is expected to be weighted to the second half,
reflecting normal business phasing and the expected impact of
COVID-19
-- We will provide a further update at our trading statement on
4 August 2020, the date of our AGM
Contact:
Babcock International Group PLC
Simon McGough Kate Hill
Director of Investor Relations Group Director of
Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 203 823 5592 Tel: +44 (0) 207 355 5312
FTI Consulting
Andrew Lorenz / Nick Hasell / Alex Le May
Tel: +44 (0) 203 727 1340
Results presentation:
A virtual meeting for investors and analysts will be held on 11
June 2020 at 9.00 am.
The presentation will be webcast live at
www.babcockinternational.com/investors and subsequently will be
available on demand at
www.babcockinternational.com/investors/results-and-presentations. A
transcript of the presentation and Q&A will also be made
available on our website.
Notes
The adjustments described below, collectively, are made to
derive the underlying results of the Group. The underlying figures
provide a consistent measure of business performance year-to-year,
thereby enabling comparison and understanding of Group financial
performance. A reconciliation from statutory to underlying is
provided within the financial review on page 17.
1. Underlying revenue includes the Group's share of joint ventures and associates revenues.
2. Underlying operating profit includes IFRIC 12 investment
income and joint ventures' and associates' operating profit but is
before amortisation of acquired intangibles and exceptional items.
Underlying operating profit excludes exceptional items of GBP502.9
million.
3. Underlying profit before tax is inclusive of pre-tax joint
ventures and associates income but before amortisation of acquired
intangibles and exceptional items.
4. Underlying basic earnings per share is before amortisation of
acquired intangibles, and exceptional items, before the related tax
effects and before the effect of corporate tax rate changes.
5. Includes pension payments in excess of income statement of GBP70.2 million.
6. Excludes lease obligations. This measure now excludes GBP40
million of lease obligations which were previously treated as
finance leases.
7. Group net debt (excluding non-recourse JV debt and all lease
obligations) divided by underlying Group EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16) and
JV dividends received. This is comparable to our covenant measure
of net debt / EBITDA which includes finance leases but also makes
some adjustments to EBITDA. The calculation is on page 22.
Update on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Our focus remains firmly on the health, safety and wellbeing of
our employees and those we work alongside - our customers, our
supply chain partners and our communities. All employees who can
work from home are doing so and across our sites we are following
strict safety measures in line with evolving government guidance
and are working closely with our customers, governments, trade
unions and regulators.
The majority of our service delivery is non-discretionary and
critical to our customers' operations. Major sites including the
Devonport Royal Dockyard, Clyde Naval Base, Rosyth Royal Dockyard
and many Army and RAF land and air bases have remained operational
during this crisis, as well as key civil nuclear sites around the
UK. Where we continue to operate sites, we comply with government
guidance as it evolves and have worked with our customers,
regulators, staff and trade unions to establish new flexible work
patterns and procedures on a site-by-site basis. As such most of
our work has continued during this crisis, including:
-- Our defence businesses providing crucial support to the
national defence of all the countries we operate in
-- Continued work on key defence programmes such as submarine
and surface ship refits and life extensions, design and build of
new submarine equipment, design of the Type 31 frigates and
critical defence training activities
-- Our Emergency Services businesses have kept all bases open as
they operate on the front line of this crisis and our aerial
firefighting businesses are preparing for a new season
-- Our Nuclear businesses continue to support the safe operation of nuclear power stations and decommissioned sites
-- Our South African business continues to provide the
maintenance and engineering support that keeps the power stations
running
In the UK, many of our people are working from home, enabled by
IT solutions with video and teleconferencing playing a critical
role in making working from home an effective solution.
We have also helped our customers by sharing our experience from
other countries and regions. In Italy, we pioneered the use of
biocontainment isolation stretchers that allow infected patients to
be transported to hospital by air, while at the same time
protecting the flight and medical crews from infection. Once proven
in Italy, similar approaches have been introduced in Spain, France,
Sweden and the UK. In Spain we developed a new internal helicopter
barrier arrangement that isolates aircrew from patients being
transported and this has now been shared with our customers in the
UK.
Babcock joined forces with a leading medical equipment company
to design, manufacture and supply critical care ventilators in
response to the UK Government's urgent request for help from
industry. Working round the clock, our specialists developed a
brand-new design. And when the technical requirements changed, we
were able to make sure that our ground-breaking Zephyr Plus
ventilator was flexible enough to meet the UK's need. Combining our
engineering expertise and ability to create innovative supply chain
solutions with developments in medical technology has resulted in a
solution that could help medics in these extreme circumstances. We
are incredibly proud of what our people, our suppliers, and
everyone who has been involved in the project, has achieved in such
a short space of time.
While many areas of our business continue to operate, they are
experiencing lower levels of productivity due to staff absence and
social distancing measures. There are some areas of our business
that have been particularly affected by lower levels of demand,
including:
-- Many parts of our short-cycle work such as rail and power in
the UK and our airports businesses are running at significantly
lower levels of activity
-- Lower levels of flying in our aerial emergency services
business following lockdowns and lower flying hours in our Oil and
Gas business
-- Reduced activity at some civil nuclear sites with only essential safety works taking place
-- Training activity, both defence and civil, has reduced with
some programmes paused and others operating at reduced levels
This led to a small financial impact to our results for the year
ended 31 March 2020. The ongoing crisis creates significant
uncertainty for the year ahead and while the financial impact
cannot yet be quantified, we have taken many steps to mitigate the
impact to the Group to ensure a prudent approach to protect the
long term health of the Group for all stakeholders. These steps
include:
-- Deferring non-essential operating and capital expenditure and
tightening rules around spending across the business
-- Accelerating restructuring plans in our Aviation and Nuclear sectors
-- Limited use of furloughing staff in a number of areas such as
our airports and civil training businesses
-- Senior executive management have taken a temporary 20%
reduction in basic salary and the annual bonus and pay rise for the
new financial year have been deferred
-- Non-Executive Board members have taken a temporary 20%
reduction in fees and will have no increase in fees for this new
financial year
-- Decision on final dividend deferred until there is greater certainty
We are also preparing for the gradual easing of restrictions
over the next few months that will allow more of our people to
return safely to their workplaces in strict accordance with
evolving government guidance.
Overview of the year
Trading
Underlying revenue and underlying operating profit were in line
with our expectations set out in our April trading update after a
small impact from COVID-19 and exchange rates in the final months
of the year. Performance in our Marine sector was particularly
strong and exceeded our expectations at the start of the year, with
growth across every business area. Our Land sector delivered solid
results while our defence businesses in Nuclear and Aviation had
strong years.
We saw increasing challenges in parts of the business during the
year. The oil and gas aviation market has deteriorated while we saw
delays and increased cost pressures in aerial emergency services.
Because of these pressures we have taken action to further reduce
our Oil and Gas fleet and restructure our Aviation sector. We have
also recognised a significant goodwill impairment charge to reflect
our current expectations of the oil and gas market and the
deterioration in the business since the acquisition of Avincis in
2014. A slowing in the UK civil nuclear market combined with a
smaller business following the end of the Magnox contract has also
led us to restructure our Nuclear sector, including closer
integration of our civil and naval nuclear activities under a
single management team.
We continue to generate significant free cash flow however the
impact of COVID-19 resulted in free cash flow below our
expectations for the year. COVID-19 impacted customer receipts and
invoicing in the final month of the year and also stopped some
asset sales completing in March which led to higher than expected
net capital expenditure.
Net debt excluding lease obligations was GBP922 million, after
paying our ordinary dividend last year, and we end the year
well-placed for the future with a net debt to EBITDA of 1.7
times.
Exceptional items
In response to the further deterioration in the oil and gas
aviation market and business challenges in our Aviation and Nuclear
sectors, we have taken action this year to stabilise the business
for the medium and long term. These actions have incurred
exceptional charges which were partly offset by the gain on the
sale of Context in March 2020.
Income statement
charge /
(credit)
--------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------
Aviation
=============================================================== ================
- Goodwill impairment GBP395.0m
=============================================================== ================
- Asset impairment (Oil and Gas) GBP22.2m
=============================================================== ================
- Right of use asset impairment and onerous customer contracts
(Oil and Gas) GBP31.2m
=============================================================== ================
- Exit of Ghana and Congo (Oil and Gas) GBP7.1m
=============================================================== ================
- Aviation restructuring GBP26.5m
=============================================================== ================
- Aviation other (including Italy anti-trust fine) GBP55.8m
--------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------
Total Aviation GBP537.8m
--------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------
Capacity restructuring (Nuclear and Rail) GBP24.3m
=============================================================== ================
Exits and disposals (GBP59.2m)
=============================================================== ================
Total GBP502.9m
--------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------
Tax (GBP26.1m)
--------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------
Net GBP476.8m
--------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------
Aviation market
Our Aviation sector operates in the defence, emergency services
and oil and gas markets. While the defence market has remained
robust, and the emergency services market remains attractive in the
medium term, the oil and gas market deteriorated significantly
during the year. Two of the three large providers of helicopter
services who operate worldwide in oil and gas emerged from Chapter
11 bankruptcy protection with reduced debt and written-down assets.
This effectively reset global market pricing levels and forced us
to respond quickly to remain competitive. Furthermore, with a
significant fall in the price of oil, we do not expect any recovery
in this market any time soon.
Aviation: Goodwill impairment
The further deterioration in the oil and gas market contributed
significantly to our review of goodwill in the Aviation sector,
which relates to the acquisition of Avincis in 2014. As a result of
this review, we have taken an impairment charge of GBP395.0 million
to reflect revised estimates of the future performance of the
sector given the change in market conditions.
Aviation: Oil and Gas
We have written down assets in our Oil and Gas business by
GBP22.2 million and recognised costs of GBP31.2 million in relation
to the impairment of right of use assets and onerous customer
contracts. We also exited our oil and gas businesses in Ghana and
Congo and incurred charges of
GBP7.1 million in relation to this.
Aviation: Restructuring
The impact of trading in our Oil and Gas aviation business
combined with the impact of delays in our aerial emergency services
business led us to take action to reduce the cost base as a whole
for the Aviation sector, creating a simplified European structure
to create an agile business competitive for the medium term. The
Aviation restructuring charge was GBP26.5 million and primarily
relates to redundancy costs.
Aviation: Other (including Italy anti-trust fine)
Other charges in our Aviation sector relate to a fine in Italy
and associated legal costs, plus additional costs from our
Brexit-related restructure in addition to those recognised in the
prior financial year.
We have recognised a provision of GBP46 million in respect of a
EUR51 million fine issued by the Italian Competition Authority to
our subsidiary, Babcock Mission Critical Services Italia S.p.A
("BMCS Italy") following an unsuccessful first instance court
decision. This matter was previously a contingent liability to the
Group. The fine relates to a publicly available "tariff list"
dating back to 2001 produced by a trade association of which BMCS
Italy was a member. BMCS Italy does not accept the basis of this
decision. In particular, BMCS Italy is convinced that the tariff
list never related to the helicopter emergency medical services
("HEMS") and, indeed, this lack of relevance was explicitly stated
on the front of the list from 2012, two years prior to the
acquisition of BMCS Italy by Babcock in 2014. BMCS Italy will
appeal this decision.
Capacity restructuring
This relates to restructuring programmes outside the Aviation
section. The end of the Magnox contract in our civil nuclear
business and the ongoing trading environment in the UK civil
nuclear market has led us to take action to reduce the cost base of
our civil nuclear business. The Nuclear restructuring charge was
GBP16.5 million. We have also further restructured our Rail
business. The total restructuring cost of GBP24.3m primarily
relates to redundancy costs.
Exits and disposals
The total net credit related to exits and disposals was GBP59.2
million, consisting of a GBP74.7 million gain on the sale of
Context partially offset by additional costs from exits in the last
financial year and the costs of exiting areas of our nuclear
manufacturing business.
Cash costs of exceptional items
The net exceptional cash inflow in the year ended 31 March 2020
was GBP23.1 million, consisting of GBP37.8 million of costs from
exceptional items identified in the 2019 financial year and a net
cash inflow of GBP60.9 million from the 2020 financial year
exceptionals, which included net cash proceeds from the sale of
Context of GBP102 million.
Looking ahead, we expect net exceptional cash costs for the 2021
financial year of around GBP100 million, consisting of around GBP50
million of cash costs from restructuring programmes, the payment of
the Italy anti-trust fine and other smaller cash costs partly
offset by a saving in cash tax. This is before the GBP85 million
proceeds from the sale of Holdfast.
We expect a small exceptional cash inflow in the 2022 financial
year as cash tax savings offset small cash costs.
In addition to this, we expect to make additional payments into
the Rosyth pension scheme of around GBP90 million over the next two
financial years. These payments will be treated as exceptional cash
flows.
Our strategy
We outlined our strategy at our Capital Markets Day in June
2019. We are a leading provider of critical, complex engineering
services for customers for whom failure is not an option. We focus
on three markets where we enjoy leadership positions: defence,
emergency services and civil nuclear. These markets make up around
three-quarters of our business. We also operate in adjacent markets
where we apply our engineering capabilities to a range of
activities.
Our strategy is delivered across our four sectors and we focus
on a set of strategic priorities to ensure delivery:
-- Deliver operational excellence for our customers
-- Grow our international businesses in focus markets
-- Grow market share and expand our offering in the UK
-- Develop our people
-- Use technology to strengthen our offering
-- Focus on value creation
Our strategy aims to deliver our medium term financial
targets:
-- Earnings growth of 3% to 4% CAGR
-- Sustain margins at around 11%
-- Increase cash flows each year in line with earnings
-- Generate around GBP1.4 billion of free cash flow over the next five years
-- Continue to reduce net debt and increase flexibility
-- Improve ROIC from FY20
-- Sustainable dividend
Given the uncertain impact of COVID-19, these medium term
targets will not be achieved in the current financial year. The
drivers of our strategy remain unchanged and the long term
characteristics of our business remain strong. We will continually
assess our medium term targets as we emerge from the pandemic and
they are aiming points for us to return to.
Progress in the year
We made good progress in the year on our strategy. We delivered
operational excellence for customers across programmes with
continuous improvement exemplified through the development of our
Strategic Partnering Programme. We had some significant contract
wins in the UK including the design and build of Type 31 frigates
in Defence, Met Police training in Emergency Services and
additional scope in our Ascent aviation contract, and we maintained
our win rates for bids in the UK overall in the year.
International expansion is a key part of our strategy. This year
we increased our international presence with Aviation operations
starting in Norway and Canada and we won our second defence
contract in France. International markets represented 31% of
underlying revenue in the year and account for around 48% of our
pipeline with significant opportunities in all of our focus
markets.
The use of technology to strengthen our offering was crucial in
many winning bids this year, most notably the Type 31 frigates. The
technology products businesses in our Marine sector had a
particularly strong year with very high revenue growth.
Throughout the year we kept a focus on value creation. We
continue to run our adjacent markets for value and saw revenue
growth in our Marine and Land adjacent markets. In March 2020, we
completed the sale of Context for net proceeds of GBP102
million.
We have, however, seen some significant pressures on our
business this year. As well as the impact of COVID-19, we saw
increasingly tough trading conditions in our civil aviation and
civil nuclear businesses and have taken actions to right-size these
businesses to ensure we remain on track to deliver for the medium
term.
Liquidity
Our primary financial focus is on ensuring the strength of the
Group's cash flows and balance sheet while we work through the
uncertainty and negative impacts from COVID-19.
During the year we renewed our revolving credit facility of
GBP775 million and issued EUR550 million (c.GBP500 million) of
bonds in September 2019 and our credit rating was confirmed as BBB
by Standard and Poor's.
In total, the Group has access to around a total of GBP2.4
billion of borrowings and facilities of mostly long-term
maturities. This includes our revolving credit facility of up to
GBP775 million which expires in August 2024. In light of the
uncertainty created by COVID-19, the Group drew down all of this
facility. As such, the Group had a significant cash balance at 31
March 2020 of GBP1.35 billion and has substantial liquidity for the
next financial year and beyond. Our net debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.7
times is well within our covenant levels of 3.5 times.
Capital allocation
Given the current challenging environment from the impact of
COVID-19, our immediate focus is ensuring the Group has sufficient
capital and liquidity to cope with COVID-19 and other risks. If
these are met then the capital allocation policy we set out in
November 2019 still applies. We target a net debt (excluding lease
obligations) to EBITDA range of 1.0 times to 1.5 times. This
enables us to organically invest in the business, fund our pension
schemes and continue a sustainable ordinary dividend while
providing scope for additional opportunities as we continue to
de-gear.
We have redefined our net debt to EBITDA measure this year to a
basis comparable to that used in the covenants included in some of
our debt. This gearing measure compares net debt (excluding
non-recourse JV debt and all lease obligations) to Group EBITDA
(excluding our share of JV's EBITDA) plus joint venture dividends.
At 31 March 2020 our net debt to EBITDA was 1.7 times, slightly
higher than the 1.6 times at 31 March 2019.
We do not include our proportion of net debt held in joint
ventures of GBP260 million (31 March 2019: GBP311 million) as this
is non-recourse to the Group. Around 85% of JV net debt relates to
the AirTanker joint venture, which continues to perform very well.
This PFI contract has five shareholders and multiple layers of
protection over financing risk, with guaranteed minimum payments
covering financing. Our share of total joint venture debt reduced
by GBP51 million this year after paying dividends and in the year
we received GBP52 million of dividends from our joint ventures.
Final dividend
Given the current level of uncertainty over the impact of
COVID-19, the Board has decided to defer the decision on our final
dividend for the year ended 31 March 2020. We recognise the
importance of the dividend to our shareholders and the Board will
keep this under review during the financial year as the impact of
COVID-19 becomes clearer.
Order book and pipeline
Our combined order book and pipeline remains at the record level
of around GBP35 billion. The Group continued to win work across all
sectors in the year, with win rates in line with our targets. For
new business, win rates exceeded 40% while win rates for rebids and
extensions in our focus markets exceeded 90%.
Our order book is based on contracted and committed work. This
order book provides a base level of revenue for the years ahead
which is then complemented by contract growth and short-cycle work.
The Group's order book at 31 March 2020 was GBP17.6 billion with an
order book intake of GBP5.3 billion in the year more than
replenishing GBP4.9 billion of revenue. Over GBP1 billion of order
intake this year came through contract growth and not through the
bid pipeline.
The Group's pipeline represents those bids formally in process,
following our rigorous stage gate approvals. The Group's pipeline
at 31 March 2020 was GBP17 billion compared to around GBP14 billion
at 31 March 2019. The GBP3 billion increase relates to a range of
opportunities predominantly in UK and international defence.
Market update
We operate across three focus markets and a range of adjacent
markets. All of these offer significant medium term potential for
growth and value creation, however, market conditions in the
financial year varied. While COVID-19 has impacted our markets, as
discussed on page 4, the long term fundamentals of our focus
markets remain strong.
During the year, the UK defence market saw the award of key
programmes, including the design and build of five Type 31 frigates
to Babcock. Activity levels across surface ship and submarine
support remained high throughout the year to meet the increased
needs of the Royal Navy. In Land, we started work on a programme of
Warrior vehicle overhauls while in Aviation we are working with the
customer on the next stages of pilot training. Work across all of
UK defence has been deemed critical during the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic.
The opportunities across international defence markets remain
significant for the Group. This year we started to maintain
Australia's fleet of amphibious landing ships and in France our
Fomedec flying training contract is performing well and we have
commenced our second defence contract, providing H160 aircraft and
support to the French Navy. The pipeline of Group bids includes
many opportunities across defence in Australia, Canada, France and
South Korea. Work across international defence programmes has been
deemed critical during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The market for aerial emergency services across Southern Europe
was challenging in the year with some contract delays in Italy and
Spain and lower levels of firefighting activity. Our aerial medical
emergency services teams have been contributing directly in the
fight against COVID-19 and have introduced innovative solutions to
continually adapt and transfer learnings from country to country.
In the period we started new Aviation operations in Norway and
Canada and, in our Land sector, we won a large contract to provide
training for the Metropolitan Police Service in London.
The market for civil nuclear in the UK continues to see lower
levels of customer spending. The long term growth opportunities
remain significant as ageing power stations come offline and new
power stations are built but these opportunities have moved further
out in our timeline.
Highlights across our adjacent markets this year included
improvements in trading conditions in our South African business
and the successful start of our CP6/7 contract in Rail. The market
for oil and gas aviation deteriorated further as explained above.
The impact of COVID-19 has been more significant in our adjacent
markets, partly due to greater exposure to short-cycle work.
ESG strategy
This year we have introduced a new ESG strategy for the Group.
Sustainability is at the heart of our business, and is a key part
of our planning, our operational delivery and our approach to
through-life support. We are committed to minimising the impact of
our operations on the environment, focusing on the safety of our
people and ensuring a positive impact in the communities in which
we operate. Full details of our ESG strategy and the progress we
are making will be available in this year's Annual Report.
Board changes
We have made some changes to our Board over the last year. Ruth
Cairnie took over as Chair at our AGM in July 2019 and Russ Houlden
joined the Board as Non-Executive Director on 1 April 2020 and will
take over as Chair of the Audit Committee at our 2020 AGM.
Carl-Peter Forster joined the Board as Non-Executive Director on 1
June 2020 and will become our senior independent director after the
AGM when Sir David Omand will step down from the role. Ian Duncan,
our current Chair of the Audit Committee, and Jeff Randall intend
to retire from the Board at our forthcoming AGM after nine and six
years' service respectively. Jeff was succeeded as Chair of the
Remuneration Committee by Kjersti Wiklund on 1 April 2020.
After 16 years working for Babcock, Archie Bethel advised the
Board in February 2020 of his intention to retire as Chief
Executive. The process to appoint his successor is progressing and
an announcement will be made when appropriate. Archie will remain
in his role as Chief Executive until his successor is in place.
Sale of Holdfast
In June 2020, we completed the sale of our 74% shareholding in
Holdfast Training Services Ltd ("Holdfast") to HICL Infrastructure
PLC ("HICL") for a cash consideration of GBP85 million. Holdfast
was a joint venture in the Babcock Group created in 2008 to
undertake a 30-year contract for the Ministry of Defence to provide
training infrastructure and services for the Royal School of
Military Engineering ("RSME"). Babcock will continue to provide
services for RSME on its existing subcontract.
Outlook for the year ending 31 March 2021
Given the level of uncertainty we are not providing financial
guidance for the year ahead. Work on critical, non-discretionary
long term contracts (around 80% of Group revenue) continues. Work
across our short cycle businesses (around 20% of Group revenue)
will be more heavily impacted due to lower demand levels. Sector
margins will be impacted by lower demand and productivity
levels.
Performance for the year is expected to be weighted to the
second half, reflecting both normal phasing and the expected impact
of COVID-19.
We will provide an update on our first quarter's trading on 4
August 2020.
Underlying financial performance
31 March
31 March 2019
2020 pre-IFRS 16
IFRS 16 basis basis
------------------ ------ -------------- ------------
Group GBP4,449.5m GBP4,474.8m
====== ============== ============
JV GBP422.2m GBP685.8m
------ -------------- ------------
Underlying
revenue Total GBP4,871.7m GBP5,160.6m
------ -------------- ------------
Group GBP418.5m GBP453.8m
====== ============== ============
Underlying
operating profit JV GBP105.7m GBP134.6m
------ -------------- ------------
Total GBP524.2m GBP588.4m
------------------ ------ -------------- ------------
Group 9.4% 10.1%
========================= ============== ============
Underlying
operating margin JV 25.0% 19.6%
------ -------------- ------------
Total 10.8% 11.4%
------------------------- -------------- ------------
Results for this full year are reported under IFRS 16 (Leases)
without prior year restatement. The adoption of IFRS 16 increased
operating profit by GBP23.6 million.
Underlying revenue of GBP4,871.7 million was in line with our
guidance for revenue of around GBP4.9 billion. This reflects growth
of around 3% after excluding the impacts of step downs related to
the end of our QEC and Magnox contracts and exits and disposals of
businesses made last year. Last year benefited from around GBP125
million of revenue from asset sales on our Fomedec contract in
Aviation. Excluding this and the step downs, revenue for the Group
this year grew by around 5%.
Our underlying operating profit of GBP524.2 million includes a
GBP23.6 million benefit from the adoption of IFRS 16 and step
downs, including exchange rates, of GBP60.0 million. Excluding
these, the reduction in underlying operating profit was GBP27.8
million. The majority of this decline relates to our Aviation
sector which saw tough trading in its oil and gas business and
lower margins in aerial emergency services.
The weakness in our Aviation sector led to a change of our
guidance for underlying operating profit in February 2020 from a
range of GBP540 million to GBP560 million to around GBP540 million.
The impact of COVID-19 in the final couple of months in the year
resulted in the final outcome of
GBP524 million.
The contribution from joint ventures declined from GBP134.6
million to GBP105.7 million this year, reflecting step downs in
Holdfast (RSME) and Magnox partially offset by strong performances
in our Aviation joint ventures (AirTanker and Ascent) and our ALC
joint venture in Land. The joint venture margin has increased due
to the mix impact of lower Magnox revenue and strong performances
across AirTanker, Ascent and ALC.
The Group total underlying margin of 10.8% includes the benefit
of IFRS 16, which had a positive 0.5 percentage point impact. The
majority of the decline in underlying margin related to the
Aviation sector.
As expected, cash generation this year was below last year which
included a significant contribution of over GBP50 million of
working capital inflows from our Fomedec contract.
Excluding IFRS 16, net capital expenditure was GBP147.5 million
in the period (2019: GBP148.5 million) comprised of gross capital
expenditure of GBP174.6 million (2019: GBP227.0 million) and asset
disposals, mainly related to the sale and leaseback of new
aircraft, of GBP30.1 million (2019:
GBP78.5 million). Net capital expenditure of 1.5 times
depreciation was slightly higher than last year and higher than the
1.0 times depreciation we had expected. This was due to lower
assets disposals as COVID-19 led to some asset sales on delayed
contracts in Southern Europe not completing as both lessors and
customers experienced difficulties.
Underlying free cash flow was GBP192.2 million (2019: GBP323.7
million) after pension payments in excess of the income statement
of GBP70.2 million (2019: GBP55.8 million) and including dividends
from joint ventures of GBP52.0 million (2019: GBP44.6 million).
Underlying free cash flow was lower than expected due to the
lower operating profit and higher net capital expenditure.
Outperformance in our working capital position was expected to
offset the lower operating profit but COVID-19 had an impact on
customer receipts and invoicing at the end of the year. March is
our most important month of the year, with significant profits and
cash flows, as many of our government customers settle their
debtors however this year not all were able to meet this objective
in full as COVID-19 impacted timings.
The net cash inflow in the period was GBP57.4 million,
reflecting the free cash flow, dividends paid of GBP153.9 million
and a net GBP23.1 million inflow from exceptional cash movements
which included the proceeds from the sale of Context.
At 31 March 2020, net debt including lease obligations was
GBP1,594.9 million and includes a negative impact of GBP53.8
million from foreign exchange translation. Net debt excluding lease
obligations at 31 March 2020 was GBP922.1 million. This measure now
excludes GBP40 million of lease obligations which were previously
treated as finance leases.
Marine
31 March 31 March
2020 2019
IFRS 16 pre-IFRS
basis 16 basis
------------------ ------ ----------- -----------
Group GBP1,163.8m GBP1,065.7m
====== =========== ===========
JV GBP43.1m GBP20.3m
------ ----------- -----------
Underlying
revenue Total GBP1,206.9m GBP1,086.0m
------ ----------- -----------
Group GBP140.7m GBP137.9m
------------------ ====== =========== ===========
JV GBP3.3m GBP3.3m
------ ----------- -----------
Underlying
operating profit Total GBP144.0m GBP141.2m
------------------ ------ ----------- -----------
Group 12.1% 12.9%
========================= =========== ===========
JV 7.7% 16.3%
------------------------- ----------- -----------
Underlying
operating margin Total 11.9% 13.0%
------------------ ------ ----------- -----------
The adoption of IFRS 16 increases operating profit by GBP2.2
million in the year
JV revenue is after deducting an appropriate portion of JV
revenue to reflect revenue already included in Group revenue
Financial review
Our Marine sector had a very strong year and exceeded our
expectations. Strong revenue growth of 11.1% was led by strong
growth in our technology businesses, increased warship support
activity and the start of work on the Type 31 frigate programme.
The increase in joint venture revenue reflects the start of work
supporting Australia's LHD ships. The strong revenue growth in the
year was despite a step down in revenue related to the QEC
programme of GBP50.4 million.
There was no material trading impact from COVID-19 in the
financial year.
Underlying operating profit of GBP144.0 million includes a small
uplift from IFRS 16. Excluding this, underlying operating profit
increased by
GBP0.6 million with the total underlying margin falling
year-on-year as expected, from 13.0% to 11.9%. This mainly reflects
comparison to some contract outperformances last year and some
lower profit take in the early stages of contracts this year, both
for Group and joint ventures.
Operational review
UK Defence
Revenue across our businesses in UK Defence was higher in the
year as increased warship support activity, higher volumes of
technology products and the start of Type 31 work offset the step
down in QEC revenues and the end of our Irish OPV contract, which
was completed in the previous financial year.
The Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) build programme completed this
year with HMS Prince of Wales leaving our Rosyth facility in
September 2019 for sea trials. Work on the QEC ships will continue
into the future and in April 2019 HMS Queen Elizabeth returned to
Rosyth for a planned six-week dry docking and inspection work
package.
The Type 23 frigate life-extension programme at our Devonport
facilities continues with a number of vessels undergoing deep
maintenance and structural upgrade work simultaneously. During the
year, HMS Lancaster was successfully returned to the fleet
following her life extension package, HMS Richmond completed a
power generation and machinery controls upgrade. HMS Portland is in
the final stages of her refit. Our iFrigate support product
underwent pioneering trials in the year on HMS Sutherland. iFrigate
is an innovative smart technology used to predict and support
future maintenance and through-life support decisions. We have also
continued refit work for the UK's minehunter vessels during the
year.
We continue to deliver training support to the Royal Navy under
our FOAP contract and we are one of two parties down-selected for
Project Selborne, which will consolidate the majority of Royal Navy
training contracts into a single contract for the next 10-12
years.
We saw strong revenue growth across our defence technology
businesses with increased activity on weapons handling systems and
higher volumes on our MSSP contract, which supports the Type 45 and
QEC platforms.
The US/UK Common Missile Compartment programme has continued
well and in the year additional orders have been received to take
our total contract to supply missile tube assemblies to over GBP250
million. This includes an award of a further 18 tubes placed in
March 2020.
We see many opportunities for further growth in our technology
businesses with some large opportunities in our pipeline. This
includes a bid for the Maritime Electronic Warfare Programme and
the Skynet 6 Service Delivery Wrap contract that will support the
next generation of UK military satellite communications. We are
also engaged with a range of partners bidding on opportunities on
the GBP3.2 billion Morpheus programme which aims to deliver the
next generation of land environment Tactical Communication and
Information Systems (TacCIS) for the UK Armed Forces.
International Defence
We saw good revenue growth across our international businesses
this year, helped by the start of the LHD contract in Australia and
higher activity levels in Canada.
In Australia, our Naval Ship Management joint venture started
work in July 2019 on the contract to sustain and support the
largest vessels in the Royal Australian Navy: two flagship Canberra
Class Landing Helicopter Docks (LHD) and their twelve associated
amphibious landing craft. We have also secured the weapons handling
and launch system contract for the Australian Attack class
submarines. The initial design phase will be completed in Bristol,
UK while the latter design phase and manufacture will be done in
Osborne, Australia. Revenue from this programme will be small in
the early years but we expect work to be over GBP1 billion over the
decades-long lifetime of the programme.
In New Zealand, we won a 20-year contract with the Ministry of
Defence to procure, deliver and support the country's high
frequency communications network. High frequency communications
represents a great opportunity for the sector and we have large
bids in place in the UK and Australia.
In Canada, work continues on the HMCS Corner Brook extended
docking work period as part of the Victoria Class in Service
Support Contract (VISSC) and we have been pre-qualified for the
VISSC II re-bid competition that starts in 2022.
In South Korea, we will now be providing our weapons handling
and launch systems for the fourth boat in the Jangbogo-III
Submarine programme. We have built up our Korea office and have
invested in an in-service support facility in Busan from where we
will continue to develop our presence and in country
capability.
Looking ahead we see opportunities for export orders for our
Arrowhead 140 frigate design used for the Type 31 programme and we
are working with a cross UK Government General Purpose Frigate
Export Working Group to explore opportunities around the world.
Adjacent markets: Energy and Marine
Revenue growth was strong across our Energy and Marine
businesses in the year led by high demand for complex liquid gas
transportation systems.
We continue to win contracts across our LGE business, with both
LPG and ecoSMRT(R) systems, with orders of over GBP200 million in
the year. We have now sold seventeen of our patented ecoSMRT(R)
systems, bringing the total sold to date to 39. In the year we sold
23 reliquefaction systems for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
ships.
Outlook for the year ending 31 March 2021
Around 75% of the work we do in the Marine sector relates to
defence, mostly delivered through long term contracts, and this
work continues throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The defence
support we provide in the UK, Australia and Canada is vital to
national defence as are the defence programmes we are involved with
across the world. Work on the Type 31 frigate programme will
continue to ramp up. We expect our Energy and Marine business to
see a greater impact from COVID-19 due to weaker demand.
Operating profit for the sector will be impacted by any revenue
impact from COVID-19, as well as the sector margin impact from
lower demand and productivity levels.
Nuclear
31 March 31 March
2020 2019
IFRS 16 pre-IFRS
basis 16 basis
------------------ ------ ----------- -----------
Group GBP898.4m GBP853.2m
====== =========== ===========
Underlying
revenue JV GBP212.5m GBP465.7m
------ ----------- -----------
Total GBP1,110.9m GBP1,318.9m
------------------ ------ ----------- -----------
Group GBP114.1m GBP106.5m
====== =========== ===========
Underlying
operating profit JV GBP12.2m GBP37.0m
------ ----------- -----------
Total GBP126.3m GBP143.5m
------------------ ------ ----------- -----------
Group 12.7% 12.5%
========================= =========== ===========
Underlying
operating margin JV 5.7% 7.9%
------ ----------- -----------
Total 11.4% 10.9%
------------------------- ----------- -----------
The adoption of IFRS 16 increases operating profit by GBP0.8
million in the year
JV revenue is after deducting an appropriate portion of JV
revenue to reflect revenue already included in Group revenue
Financial review
Underlying revenue in our Nuclear sector was down 15.8% due to
the GBP270.8 million step down in revenue from our Magnox JV which
ended in August 2019. Excluding Magnox, revenue grew by 6.0% with a
small decline in civil nuclear offset by good growth across the
defence business.
There was a small impact from COVID-19 in the period as activity
levels across our civil nuclear business were reduced.
Underlying operating profit of GBP126.3 million includes a small
uplift from IFRS 16. Excluding this, underlying operating profit
was GBP18.0 million lower than last year with a strong performance
in Defence offsetting a GBP25.0 million step down in Magnox. The
sector total margin increased to 11.4% reflecting a stable Group
margin and a mix impact from lower joint venture revenue.
Due to the ongoing challenges across the UK civil nuclear market
and to right-size our business following the end of the Magnox
contract, we have implemented a restructuring programme across the
Nuclear sector. This is focused on reducing overheads and
simplifying our structure.
Operational review
Defence
The Defence business saw strong growth in the year supported by
higher levels of activity in submarine support, design work for the
Dreadnought Class and the start of work on the strategic
infrastructure programme.
Our performance on our key contract, the Maritime Support
Delivery Framework (MSDF) remains in line with expectations, with
efficiencies and cost reductions being delivered. The replacement
Future Maritime Support Programme (FMSP) contract is being
developed and will be within our Terms of Business Agreement (TOBA)
that runs to 2025.
We support the UK's submarine fleet at both HMNB Clyde and HMNB
Devonport. Activity levels in Clyde have been higher throughout the
year as we work closely with the customer across three submarine
classes. In Devonport, we continue to work on the Revalidation
Assisted Maintenance Period (RAMP) programmes for the Trafalgar
Class and the first life-extension of the Vanguard Class.
Work started this year on the infrastructure design for the deep
maintenance of the Astute Class of submarines in Devonport in the
mid-2020s and we are engaging with the customer on further
infrastructure upgrades at HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport.
Civil Nuclear
Excluding Magnox, revenue across our Civil Nuclear businesses
was lower this year reflecting lower levels of customer funding as
the civil nuclear market in the UK remains tough.
In decommissioning, all Magnox sites were handed back to the
customer as planned at the end of August 2019 while work at
Dounreay continues to deliver on its revised scope. The scope of
our Dounreay joint venture continues to reduce each year as
decommissioning work progresses.
We saw lower levels of activity in our nuclear services business
in the period with lower levels of customer funding and some
project delays at Sellafield. We continued to support EDF power
stations through a challenging year of extended outages which
impacted our levels of work activity.
Work on new build nuclear power stations is a small but
strategically significant part of our business for the long term.
In August 2019, the MEH Alliance was launched. This alliance will
work across the Hinkley Point C site to integrate and coordinate
the delivery of all the main MEH (Mechanical, Electrical and HVAC)
activity. Our share of this work will be around GBP300 million over
a five-to-six year period starting in 2022.
Civil nuclear work for our UK defence customer is a significant
opportunity for the medium term and during the year we were
selected as the Nuclear Technical Service Provider for HMNB
Clyde.
We continued to make progress in building a presence in
international markets this year. We secured a small contract in
Japan and have won a series of small consultancy contracts in
Canada.
Outlook for the year ending 31 March 2021
Defence accounts for the significant majority of the work we do
in nuclear and is delivered through long term contracts. The
support we provide to the Royal Navy's submarine fleet is critical
to the UK's national defence and has been prioritised. Design work
on new submarine classes and work on the strategic infrastructure
programme will continue. The outlook for our civil nuclear business
is tougher as a slowing UK market combined with the impacts of
COVID-19 are expected to impact revenue. Year on year comparison
will also be impacted by the completion of our Magnox contract in
the year ended 31 March 2020.
Operating profit for the sector will be impacted by any revenue
impact from COVID-19, as well as the sector margin impact from
lower demand and productivity levels.
Land
31 March 31 March
2020 2019
IFRS 16 pre-IFRS
basis 16 basis
------------------ ------ ----------- -----------
Group GBP1,534.7m GBP1,560.0m
====== =========== ===========
JV GBP18.9m GBP60.2m
------ ----------- -----------
Underlying
revenue Total GBP1,553.6m GBP1,620.2m
------ ----------- -----------
Group GBP100.5m GBP105.1m
====== =========== ===========
Underlying
operating profit JV GBP33.4m GBP40.9m
------ ----------- -----------
Total GBP133.9m GBP146.0m
------------------ ------ ----------- -----------
Group 6.5% 6.7%
========================= =========== ===========
Underlying
operating margin JV 176.7% 67.9%
------ ----------- -----------
Total 8.6% 9.0%
------------------------- ----------- -----------
The adoption of IFRS 16 increases operating profit by GBP2.6
million in the year
JV revenue is after deducting an appropriate portion of JV
revenue to reflect revenue already included in Group revenue. The
effect of this is that there is no revenue recognised in relation
to our Holdfast (RSME) JV
Financial review
Underlying revenue was slightly lower in the year due to a
GBP61.1 million impact from exits and disposals and a GBP24.0
million negative impact from foreign exchange movements. Excluding
these, underlying revenue grew by 1.2% with stronger trading in
South Africa and higher defence procurement revenues partly offset
by a lower contribution from joint ventures following the end of
our ABC joint venture.
There was a small impact to revenue in the final month of the
year from COVID-19 as training activities were suspended and we saw
lower activity in our short cycle areas including Airports and UK
rail and power. We also saw lower procurement-related revenue.
Underlying operating profit of GBP133.9 million was slightly
ahead of our expectations and includes the impact of GBP18.4
million of step downs. These relate to foreign exchange movements,
exits and disposals, and a GBP10.2 million reduction in profits
from our Holdfast (RSME) joint venture. Excluding these step downs
and the benefit of IFRS 16, underlying operating profit increased
by GBP3.7 million. This increase represents the strong performance
of South Africa and an improved performance in our ALC joint
venture. The step down in the Holdfast (RSME) profit contribution
was less than originally expected as we were able to realise more
lifecycle operating cost savings in the year.
The increase in the joint venture margin in the year reflects
the absence of ABC joint venture revenue, which ended in the last
financial year, and an improved performance in our ALC joint
venture. Revenue from the Holdfast (RSME) joint venture is not
included in JV revenue, as it is already included in Group revenue
as the work is performed by Babcock Group on behalf of the joint
venture. The operating profit is included in JV operating profit
and this leads to the high JV margin for Land.
Operational review
Defence
We saw a strong performance across our defence businesses in the
year with revenue growth led by higher defence procurement
revenues, although these fell in the final month of the year.
We made great progress in our Defence Support Group (DSG)
business, helped by working collaboratively with the MOD as part of
the Cabinet Office's Strategic Partnering Programme. We continue to
invest in a new ERP system to drive further efficiencies in our
vehicle maintenance and spares procurement activities. During the
year, we secured new orders worth around GBP80 million in equipment
support activities, including additional Warrior platforms and we
continue to discuss further initiatives for fleet support for
future years.
We had a good year across Defence training, where we support the
British Army in delivering training to around 20,000 service
personnel. We continued to drive efficiencies in training for the
Royal School of Mechanical Engineers (RSME) though our Holdfast
joint venture and we were able to realise more lifecycle operating
cost savings. We secured a two-year extension to our Defence
College of Technical Training contract and a three-year extension
to our Training, Maintenance and Support Services contract. We
continue to work closely with our customer as they develop their
Collective Training Transformation Programme, including mobilising
Project Hannibal to develop a dynamic opposing force for the Army
to train against in a realistic synthetic environment.
Additionally, we secured a two-year extension to our contract to
support the British Army in Germany and have successfully
pre-qualified for the National Training Estate opportunity, which
will come to market later in the 2021 financial year.
Our ALC JV continued to perform well in the period but we were
unsuccessful in the bid for Project Miter, the replacement contract
for ALC. As such, our work supporting the Army's C vehicles will
end in May 2021.
Emergency Services
Trading across our Emergency Services businesses was strong over
the period with good revenue growth and a significant new contract
win.
Our fleet support and training contracts for the London Fire
Brigade (LFB) continue to perform well and during the year we
acquired and introduced a number of new vehicles into the LFB fleet
to help them meet their low carbon initiatives.
Our fleet support contract for London's Metropolitan Police
Service (MPS) also performed well in the year and we completed the
move to a dedicated new workshop facility to support further
improvements in contract delivery. In November 2019, we won a new
contract worth around GBP300 million to act as the MPS's learning
partner. This partnership to support the UK's largest police
service with its new training recruits will last at least eight
years and starts in the next financial year.
Adjacent markets
The Land sector operates a range of contracts across markets
adjacent to our key markets, all benefiting from our engineering
capabilities.
In line with our strategy, we continue to exit non-strategic
areas of our business. In June 2019 we concluded our services for
British Airways ground support and in December 2019 we exited our
final aggregates and cement fleet management contract. These exits
are in addition to the set of exits and disposals made in the 2019
financial year.
In Rail, work has now started on the new ten-year CP6/7 contract
for track works in Scotland, a contract worth up to GBP1 billion
over its life. We were also awarded a signals and telecoms
framework contract by Network Rail worth GBP65 million over the
next five years.
Our Airports business had a solid year of contract performance
and was successful in the rebid of the Schiphol Baggage Maintenance
contract. Our rebid for Heathrow baggage handling was unsuccessful,
with the existing contract ending in October 2020.
Our business in South Africa delivered a record year with good
revenue growth, record margins and significant improvements in
health and safety. However, the devaluation of the rand,
particularly in the final months of the year, reduced the Group
pound sterling benefit. Revenue growth came from the energy
business which saw increased work with Eskom, the state-owned power
generation company. The construction and mining equipment supply
business saw lower revenue reflecting overall market demand but we
were able to grow our market share.
Outlook for the year ending 31 March 2021
Work on defence programmes, which make up around 40% of work in
our Land sector, continues during the COVID-19 pandemic and is
delivered across long term contracts. Work across our South African
energy business and emergency services businesses also continues
with relatively little disruption. The impact from COVID-19 will be
greater across our adjacent markets, particularly in civil
training, rail, power, airports and our South African equipment
business.
Operating profit for the sector will be impacted by any revenue
impact from COVID-19, as well as the sector margin impact from
lower demand and productivity levels. Operating profit will also
reflect only two months of contribution from our Holdfast (RSME)
joint venture following the sale of our interest in June 2020.
Aviation
31 March 31 March
2020 2019
IFRS 16 pre-IFRS
basis 16 basis
------------------ ------ ----------- ----------
GBP995.9
Group GBP852.6m m
====== =========== ==========
Underlying GBP139.6
revenue JV GBP147.7m m
------ ----------- ----------
GBP1,135.5
Total GBP1,000.3m m
------------------ ------ ----------- ----------
GBP107.1
Group GBP64.2m m
====== =========== ==========
Underlying GBP53.4
operating profit JV GBP56.8m m
------ ----------- ----------
GBP160.5
Total GBP121.0m m
------------------ ------ ----------- ----------
Group 7.5% 10.8%
========================= =========== ==========
Underlying
operating margin JV 38.5% 38.3%
------ ----------- ----------
Total 12.1% 14.1%
------------------------- ----------- ----------
The adoption of IFRS 16 increases operating profit by GBP17.9
million in the year
JV revenue is after deducting an appropriate portion of JV
revenue to reflect revenue already included in Group revenue
Financial review
Underlying revenue of GBP1,000.3 million was GBP135.2 million
lower than last year, which included around GBP125 million of asset
sales in our Fomedec contract, plus revenue from the Helidax joint
venture which was disposed of in March 2019. Excluding Fomedec and
Helidax, revenue for the sector was broadly flat over the year
following a stronger second half of trading in our defence and
aerial emergency services businesses.
There was a small impact from COVID-19 in the final two months
of the year as we saw reduced flying hours and increased costs in
our aerial medical services businesses.
Underlying operating profit of GBP121.0 million includes a
GBP17.9 million benefit from the adoption of IFRS 16. Excluding
this, operating profit is GBP57.4 million lower than last year. The
reduction in operating profit reflects the lower revenue across the
sector combined with a fall in margin, with the sector margin
falling to 12.1%, or 7.5% excluding joint ventures. These lower
margins reflect the pressures in our Oil and Gas business, the
impact of contract delays both in pricing and costs in aerial
medical emergency services in Italy and Spain and a comparison to
some contract outperformances in the sector in the last financial
year. The profit contribution from joint ventures was slightly
higher with an improved contract performance in Ascent and better
than expected contract performance in AirTanker offsetting the end
of contributions from Helidax.
To address the lower margins in the sector this year we have
reduced our fleet in Oil and Gas and implemented a restructuring
programme across the sector. We have impaired the value of goodwill
to reflect changes to market conditions.
Operational review
Defence
As expected, revenue in our Defence business was lower given the
impact of Fomedec equipment sales last year.
Our defence business across the UK had a good year. Our HADES
contract, which provides technical support at 17 RAF air bases, has
now been fully operational for over a year and we signed a
three-year extension to our existing Light Aircraft Flying Task
contract to provide our Babcock-owned Grob 115 aircraft through to
March 2022.
Our Ascent joint venture performed well in the period with key
milestones met and it was awarded a contract uplift, with our share
worth around GBP100 million, to provide additional helicopter
flight training. Work will start in the March 2022 financial
year.
Expanding our services across international defence markets
remains a key part of our strategy. In France, our Fomedec contract
has performed well and we are exploring opportunities to expand the
scope of work. In December 2019 we won our second defence contract
in France. We will provide four H160 helicopters to the French Navy
for search and rescue operations and be responsible for
modifications and through-life support over the ten-year contract
worth at least GBP100 million. International opportunities remain a
significant part of our pipeline, including defence flying training
opportunities in Canada and France.
Aerial Emergency Services
Revenue across our aerial emergency services was flat over the
year as the positive impact of the start of operations in Norway
and Canada were offset by the impact of delayed contracts in
Southern Europe and lower flying hours in the final months of the
year as COVID-19 lockdowns led to fewer primary emergency missions
in Italy, Spain and France. We have, however, continued to provide
aerial emergency services in all geographies, introducing new
safety measures to keep crew and patients safe.
Across Italy and Spain we saw delays this year in the award of
new aerial medical emergency services contracts. These delays were
a mix of rebids and new regions and were caused by customer
decisions and appeals from other bidders. In addition, we are
increasingly seeing customers demand additional and more complex
services without full budgets. We are addressing the impact this
has on profitability with the restructuring programme across the
sector.
Our firefighting operations in Europe had a successful year of
operations though total flying hours were lower than last year. We
have expanded our market presence in Spain with a contract
expansion in the AndalucÃa region. As part of efforts to help
countries outside our operations this year we flew operations in
Greece and Israel to assist with their fire season.
We entered two new countries in the year. The Norwegian fixed
wing contract began operations in July 2019 with 11 aircraft
providing aerial medical emergency services. We also entered the
Canadian market, with the start of our firefighting contract in
April 2019 in Manitoba. We manage, maintain and operate Manitoba's
fleet of seven firefighting amphibious aircraft and provide three
of our own aircraft.
Adjacent markets: Oil and Gas
Our Oil and Gas business continues to face challenging market
conditions and revenue was down significantly this year following
the loss of some key contracts, lower pricing and lower flying
activity.
We are addressing the difficult trading environment through the
restructuring actions we are taking. We have significantly
rationalised our fleet, removing many heavy helicopters. We have
returned seven S92s and five EC225 leased assets. This
rationalisation programme has enabled us to significantly improve
our fleet utilisation across all bases. In March 2020 we won a five
year contract in the North Sea with three operators starting in
July, albeit at pricing reflective of the tough environment and
current lease rates.
Outlook for the year ending 31 March 2021
Defence accounts for around 30% of the work we do in our
Aviation sector and work continues throughout the COVID-19
pandemic. Lower productivity is expected to impact operating profit
however.
Despite directly contributing to the fight against COVID-19, our
Emergency Services business is seeing lower flying hours. The
response to COVID-19 has created additional costs on top of the
pressures on our cost base from contract delays in Southern Europe.
The market for oil and gas aviation is expected to remain weak and
revenue will be lower next year due to contracts lost in the last
financial year, plus some impact from COVID-19.
Operating profit for the sector will be impacted by any revenue
impact from COVID-19, as well as the sector margin impact from
lower demand and productivity levels. We will look to accelerate
fleet rationalisation to drive cash generation and future cost
reduction.
Financial review
Headline underlying results
31 March 31 March
2020 2019
IFRS 16 pre-IFRS
basis 16 basis
------------------------------------------ ----------- -----------
Group underlying revenue GBP4,449.5m GBP4,474.8m
========================================== =========== ===========
Joint venture underlying revenue GBP422.2m GBP685.8m
------------------------------------------ ----------- -----------
Total underlying revenue GBP4,871.7m GBP5,160.6m
========================================== =========== ===========
Group underlying operating profit GBP418.5m GBP453.8m
========================================== =========== ===========
Joint venture underlying operating profit GBP105.7m GBP134.6m
------------------------------------------ ----------- -----------
Total underlying operating profit GBP524.2m GBP588.4m
========================================== =========== ===========
Net finance cost - Group GBP(72.9)m GBP(46.7)m
Net finance cost - JV GBP(22.8)m GBP(24.1)m
IAS 19 pension credit/(charge) GBP(0.1)m GBP0.3m
------------------------------------------ ----------- -----------
Total net interest GBP(95.8)m GBP(70.5)m
------------------------------------------ ----------- -----------
Underlying profit before tax GBP428.4m GBP517.9m
Tax GBP(77.1)m GBP(93.2)m
------------------------------------------ ----------- -----------
Underlying profit after tax GBP351.3m GBP424.7m
Non-controlling interests GBP(2.0)m GBP(0.4)m
------------------------------------------ ----------- -----------
Underlying basic EPS 69.1p 84.0p
------------------------------------------ ----------- -----------
Results for the year are reported under IFRS 16 (Leases) without
prior year restatement. The adoption of IFRS 16 increases operating
profit by GBP23.6 million, increases net interest by GBP24.7
million and has a negative impact on underlying basic EPS of
0.2p
Statutory to underlying reconciliation
Joint
ventures
and associates
---------------
Revenue
and IFRIC Amortisation Change
operating Finance 12 of acquired Exceptional in tax
Statutory profit costs Tax income intangibles items rate Underlying
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
---------------- --------- --------------- ------- ------ ------- ------------ ----------- ------- ----------
31 March 2020
================ ========= =============== ======= ====== ======= ============ =========== ======= ==========
Revenue 4,449.5 422.2 4,871.7
---------------- --------- --------------- ------- ------ ------- ------------ ----------- ------- ----------
Operating
(loss)/profit (164.9) 79.8 27.0 81.5 500.8 524.2
================ ========= =============== ======= ====== ======= ============ =========== ======= ==========
Share of profit
from JV 58.6 (79.8) 22.8 16.4 (25.9) 5.8 2.1 -
================ ========= =============== ======= ====== ======= ============ =========== ======= ==========
Investment
income 1.1 (1.1) -
================ ========= =============== ======= ====== ======= ============ =========== ======= ==========
Net finance
costs (73.0) (22.8) (95.8)
---------------- --------- --------------- ------- ------ ------- ------------ ----------- ------- ----------
(Loss)/Profit
before
tax (178.2) - - 16.4 - 87.3 502.9 - 428.4
================ ========= =============== ======= ====== ======= ============ =========== ======= ==========
Tax (15.0) (16.4) (18.4) (26.1) (1.2) (77.1)
---------------- --------- --------------- ------- ------ ------- ------------ ----------- ------- ----------
(Loss)/Profit
after
tax (193.2) - - - - 68.9 476.8 (1.2) 351.3
---------------- --------- --------------- ------- ------ ------- ------------ ----------- ------- ----------
Return on
revenue (3.7)% 10.8%
---------------- --------- --------------- ------- ------ ------- ------------ ----------- ------- ----------
31 March 2019
================ ========= =============== ======= ====== ======= ============ =========== ======= ==========
Revenue 4,474.8 685.8 5,160.6
---------------- --------- --------------- ------- ------ ------- ------------ ----------- ------- ----------
Operating profit 196.5 106.8 29.1 95.2 160.8 588.4
================ ========= =============== ======= ====== ======= ============ =========== ======= ==========
Share of profit
from JV 83.8 (106.8) 24.1 20.9 (27.8) 5.8 -
================ ========= =============== ======= ====== ======= ============ =========== ======= ==========
Investment
income 1.3 (1.3) -
================ ========= =============== ======= ====== ======= ============ =========== ======= ==========
Net finance
costs (46.4) (24.1) (70.5)
---------------- --------- --------------- ------- ------ ------- ------------ ----------- ------- ----------
Profit before
tax 235.2 - - 20.9 - 101.0 160.8 - 517.9
================ ========= =============== ======= ====== ======= ============ =========== ======= ==========
Tax (35.4) (20.9) (21.5) (16.7) 1.3 (93.2)
---------------- --------- --------------- ------- ------ ------- ------------ ----------- ------- ----------
Profit after tax 199.8 - - - - 79.5 144.1 1.3 424.7
---------------- --------- --------------- ------- ------ ------- ------------ ----------- ------- ----------
Return on
revenue 4.4% 11.4%
---------------- --------- --------------- ------- ------ ------- ------------ ----------- ------- ----------
Adjustments between statutory and underlying
Our underlying results include some adjustments to our statutory
results that we make to provide a consistent measure of business
performance year to year. Underlying results are used by management
to measure operating performance and as a basis for forecasting and
the Group believes they are used by investors in analysing business
performance. The adjustments made are:
-- Underlying revenue, underlying operating profit and
underlying net finance costs include the Group's share of
equity-accounted joint ventures and associates. These are included
as they are a key part of our business and the way work is
conducted in the markets in which we operate, with joint venture
structures common in the defence industry. Our bidding pipeline
includes the potential for more joint ventures to be added to the
Group in the future and they remain a key part of our strategy.
-- Underlying operating profit includes investment income
arising under IFRIC 12 which is presented as financial income in
the Income Statement. Like joint ventures, the income we receive
under IFRIC 12 relates to key parts of our business and its
contribution is dependent on the performance of the business
-- Underlying operating profit excludes the amortisation of
acquired intangibles. This item is excluded from underlying results
as it is a non-cash item that does not change each year based on
the performance of the business.
-- Underlying operating profit excludes exceptional items.
Details of these items are included on page 5 of this
statement.
Income statement
Statutory performance
Statutory revenue was GBP4,449.5 million (2019: GBP4,474.8
million) and reflects the step downs in our QEC contract as well as
the impact of exits and disposals in the last financial year.
Statutory operating loss was GBP(164.9) million (2019 profit:
GBP196.5 million) and statutory loss before tax was GBP(178.2)
million (2019 profit: GBP235.2 million), reflecting higher
exceptional charges in the current year compared to the prior year.
Basic earnings per share, as defined by IAS 33, was (38.6) pence
(2019: 39.5 pence) per share.
Underlying revenue performance
Underlying revenue for the year was GBP4,871.7 million (2019:
GBP5,160.6 million), down GBP288.9 million. This reduction reflects
the impact of GBP428.4 million of step downs including foreign
exchange movements. Excluding these, underlying revenue grew by
2.7%.
Underlying operating profit performance
The Group's underlying operating profit performance reflects
strong trading in our Marine sector offset by weakness in our
Aviation sector and a small impact from COVID-19.
Underlying operating profit includes a GBP23.6 million benefit
from the adoption of IFRS 16. Excluding this, underlying operating
profit of
GBP500.6 million was down GBP87.8 million on last year. This
reduction includes a combined GBP60.0 million impact of step downs
as detailed below. These step downs relate to:
-- The end of our contract for design and build of the Queen
Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers and the step down in
revenue and profit year-on-year
-- The end of our Magnox contract and the step down in revenue
-- The impact of exits and disposals with the step down being
the absence of revenue and profit contribution in the FY20 year
-- The normalisation of the profit contribution from our Holdfast (RSME) joint venture
-- The additional costs incurred in the FY20 financial year as a
result of our Brexit-related restructure in Aviation
-- The adverse impact of foreign exchange in the 2020 financial year
FY20 step downs
Operating
Revenue profit
GBPm GBPm
------------------------------------------------------ ------- ---------
QEC (50.4) (2.0)
====================================================== ======= =========
Magnox (270.8) (25.0)
====================================================== ======= =========
Exits and disposals (70.8) (9.6)
====================================================== ======= =========
Normalisation of Holdfast profit contribution - (10.2)
====================================================== ======= =========
Brexit-related Aviation restructuring - (10.0)
====================================================== ======= =========
Total impact of step downs (392.0) (56.8)
------------------------------------------------------ ------- ---------
Impact of foreign exchange movements (36.4) (3.2)
------------------------------------------------------ ------- ---------
Total impact of step downs including foreign exchange
movements (428.4) (60.0)
------------------------------------------------------ ------- ---------
Excluding IFRS 16, step downs and exchange rates, underlying
operating profit was down 4.7%, mainly due to performance in our
Aviation sector and a small impact from COVID-19.
Exceptional items
During the year we incurred exceptional costs related to actions
taken to strengthen the business that were partly offset by a gain
on the sale of Context. We also impaired goodwill related to our
Aviation sector. Further details are on page 5.
Underlying organic growth
Marine Nuclear Land Aviation Unallocated Total
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
-------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Underlying revenue
-------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
31 March 2019 1,086.0 1,318.9 1,620.2 1,135.5 - 5,160.6
================================ ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Exchange adjustment (0.1) - (24.0) (12.3) - (36.4)
================================ ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Disposals - - (37.9) (8.7) - (46.6)
================================ ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Step downs excl. disposals (51.4) (270.8) (23.2) - - (345.4)
================================ ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Organic growth excl. step downs 172.4 62.8 18.5 (114.2) - 139.5
================================ ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
31 March 2020 1,206.9 1,110.9 1,553.6 1,000.3 - 4,871.7
-------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Underlying revenue growth 11.1% - 15.8% - 4.1% - 11.9% - - 5.6%
-------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Organic growth at constant
exchange rates 11.1% - 15.8% - 0.3% - 10.1% - - 4.0%
-------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Organic growth excl. step downs
at constant exchange rates 15.9% 4.8% 1.1% - 10.1% - 2.7%
-------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Underlying operating profit
================================ ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
31 March 2019 141.2 143.5 146.0 160.5 (2.8) 588.4
================================ ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
IFRS 16 impact 2.2 0.8 2.6 17.9 0.1 23.6
================================ ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Exchange adjustment (0.1) - (1.6) (1.5) - (3.2)
================================ ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Disposals - - (4.3) (3.0) - (7.3)
================================ ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Step downs excl. disposals (2.0) (25.0) (12.5) (10.0) - (49.5)
-------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Organic growth excl. step downs 2.7 7.0 3.7 (42.9) 1.7 (27.8)
-------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
31 March 2020 144.0 126.3 133.9 121.0 (1.0) 524.2
-------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Underlying operating profit
growth (pre-IFRS 16) 0.4% - 12.5% - 10.1% - 35.8% - 60.7% - 14.9%
-------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Organic growth at constant
exchange rates (pre-IFRS 16) 0.5% - 12.5% - 6.0% - 33.0% - 13.1%
-------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Organic growth excl. step downs
at constant exchange rates
(pre-IFRS 16) 1.9% 4.9% 2.5% - 26.7% - 4.7%
-------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Finance costs
Total net finance costs increased to GBP95.8 million (2019:
GBP70.5 million), mainly reflecting the impact of adoption of IFRS
16 and the group refinancing in September 2019, which increased
group costs, partly offset by lower JV finance costs.
The Group's share of joint venture net interest expense
decreased to GBP22.8 million (2019: GBP24.1 million), following the
pay down of joint venture debt. The IAS 19 pension finance charge
was GBP0.1 million (2019: GBP0.3 million credit).
The refinancing in 2019 increased group finance costs by around
GBP5 million year-on-year and is expected to increase finance costs
further in the 2021 financial year by around another GBP2
million.
Tax charge
The underlying tax charge, including the Group's share of joint
venture tax of GBP16.4 million (2019: GBP20.9 million), totalled
GBP77.1 million (2019: GBP93.2 million), representing an effective
underlying tax rate of 18.0% (2019: 18.0%). The effective tax rate
is calculated by using the Group's underlying profit before tax and
therefore excludes the tax effect of amortisation of acquired
intangibles, together with the tax credit in respect of exceptional
items.
The underlying tax rate for the year ending 31 March 2021 will
be dependent on country mix post COVID-19 but is not expected to
exceed 19%.
Pensions
The Group's net pension position moved to a surplus of GBP145.2
million (2019: GBP28.0 million deficit), with the movement due to
slightly higher discount rates and significantly lower inflation
rate assumptions.
Amortisation of acquired intangibles
Amortisation of acquired intangibles was GBP81.5 million (2019:
GBP95.2 million). This represents the amortisation of the value
attributed on business acquisitions to customer relationships (both
contractual and non-contractual).
Exchange rates
The impact of foreign currency movements over the year resulted
in a decrease in underlying revenue of GBP36.4 million and a
corresponding
GBP3.2 million decrease in underlying operating profit. The main
currencies that have impacted our results are the South African
Rand and the Euro. The currencies with the greatest potential to
impact our results are the Euro, the South African Rand and the
Canadian Dollar:
-- A 10% movement in the Euro against Sterling would affect
underlying revenue by around GBP39 million and underlying operating
profit by around GBP3 million
-- A 10% movement in the South African Rand against Sterling
would affect underlying revenue by around GBP33 million and
underlying operating profit by around GBP4 million
-- A 10% movement in the Canadian Dollar against Sterling would
affect underlying revenue by around GBP15 million and underlying
operating profit by around GBP2 million
Earnings per share
Underlying earnings per share for the year was 69.1 pence (2019:
84.0 pence), reflecting the lower underlying operating profit. The
adoption of IFRS 16 had a minimal impact on underlying EPS, with
higher operating profit offset by higher finance charges.
Basic continuing earnings per share, as defined by IAS 33, was
(38.6) pence (2019: 39.5 pence) reflecting statutory earnings which
included exceptional items.
Cash flow and net debt
The table below compares our underlying and statutory cash
flows. Our underlying cash flows are used by management to measure
operating performance as they provide a more consistent measure of
business performance year to year.
2020 2019 2019
---------- ------------- --------- ---------- ---------
Underlying
Underlying adjustments* Statutory Underlying Statutory
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
---------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------- --------- ---------- ---------
Operating profit before amortisation of
acquired intangibles 417.4 (582.3) (164.9) 452.5 291.7
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Amortisation, depreciation and impairments 95.7 490.0 585.7 108.6 137.9
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Depreciation of right of use asset - IFRS
16 129.4 14.2 143.6 - -
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Profit on disposal of subsidiaries - (74.7) (74.7)
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Other non-cash items 5.4 2.1 7.5 (1.4) (16.2)
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Working capital (excluding excess retirement
benefits) (26.8) 14.9 (11.9) 86.8 108.9
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Provisions (19.4) 81.8 62.4 (28.7) 10.7
---------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------- --------- ---------- ---------
Operating cash flow 601.7 (54.0) 547.7 617.8 533.0
---------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------- --------- ---------- ---------
Capital expenditure (net) (147.5) 3.0 (144.5) (148.5) (148.5)
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
IFRS 16 additions less exceptional payments** (109.8) (18.3) (128.1) - -
---------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------- --------- ---------- ---------
Operating cash flow after capital expenditure 344.4 (69.3) 275.1 469.3 384.5
---------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------- --------- ---------- ---------
Cash conversion % - after capital expenditure 83% - (167)% 104% 132%
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Interest paid (net) (46.7) - (46.7) (47.5) (47.5)
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Interest paid - IFRS 16 (24.7) - (24.7) - -
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Taxation (62.6) (9.8) (72.4) (86.9) (74.0)
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Dividends from joint ventures 52.0 - 52.0 44.6 44.6
---------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------- --------- ---------- ---------
Free cash flow before pension contribution
in excess of income statement 262.4 (79.1) 183.3 379.5 307.6
---------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------- --------- ---------- ---------
Retirement benefit contributions in excess
of income statement (70.2) (3.3) (73.5) (55.8) (25.1)
---------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------- --------- ---------- ---------
Free cash flow after pension contribution
in excess of income statement 192.2 (82.4) 109.8 323.7 282.5
---------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------- --------- ---------- ---------
Acquisitions and disposals net of cash/debt
acquired (0.8) 105.5 104.7 (0.8) 29.5
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Investments in joint ventures (0.3) - (0.3) 0.1 0.1
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Movement in own shares (2.9) - (2.9) - -
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Dividends paid (153.9) - (153.9) (153.3) (153.3)
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Exceptional cash movement 23.1 (23.1) - (11.4) (0.5)
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Movement in net debt excluding exchange
rates 57.4 - 57.4 158.3 158.3
---------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------- --------- ---------- ---------
Net debt reconciliation
---------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------- --------- ---------- ---------
Opening net debt (957.7) (1,115.0)
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
IFRS 16 transition (640.8) -
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Net cash flow 57.4 158.3
============================================== ========== ============= ========= ========== =========
Exchange difference (53.8) (1.0)
---------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------- --------- ---------- ---------
Closing net debt (1,594.9) (957.7)
---------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------- --------- ---------- ---------
*Adjustments for exceptional cash flows (including lease
payments) and acquired intangible amortisation
**Additional leases entered into during the year less
exceptional payments which we include in underlying cash flow for
the purposes of explaining net debt movement
Our underlying free cash flow excludes exceptional lease cash
payments. Cash flows relating to onerous leases before the adoption
of IFRS 16 continue to be considered exceptional cash flows.
The IFRS 16 additions line has been adjusted by the amount of
exceptional lease payments; being defined as the net increase to
lease obligations (additions) after underlying lease principal
payments and foreign exchange impact are removed.
The table below provides the reconciliation between the
statutory cash flow and trading cash flow table above.
2020 2019 2019
---------- ----------- --------- ---------- ---------
Exceptional
Underlying items Statutory Underlying Statutory
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
------------------------------------------- ---------- ----------- --------- ---------- ---------
Cash generated from operations 531.5 (57.3) 474.2 562.0 507.9
=========================================== ========== =========== ========= ========== =========
Retirement benefit contributions in excess
of income statement 70.2 3.3 73.5 55.8 25.1
=========================================== ========== =========== ========= ========== =========
Operating cash flow 601.7 (54.0) 547.7 617.8 533.0
------------------------------------------- ---------- ----------- --------- ---------- ---------
IFRS 16 impact
IFRS 16 impacts various cash flows. There was an additional
GBP23.6 million of operating profit, a GBP129.4 million
depreciation charge of the right of use assets, GBP109.8 million of
IFRS 16 additions less exceptional payments, and GBP24.7 million
interest on the lease liabilities.
The PPE depreciation charge excludes GBP10.3 million related to
leases designated as finance leases prior to the adoption of IFRS
16. This is now included in the depreciation of right of use
assets.
The net impact of these was to increase free cash flow by GBP8.2
million.
Operating cash flow
Underlying operating cash flow in the period was GBP601.7
million which includes a benefit of GBP129.4 million of right of
use asset depreciation this year. Underlying operating cash flow
after capital expenditure was GBP344.4 million, representing cash
conversion of 83%. This compares to underlying operating cash flow
after capital expenditure of GBP469.3 million last year, which
included a significant contribution of over GBP50 million from
working capital inflows related to our Fomedec contract.
Working capital
Total underlying working capital cash outflows for the period,
excluding excess retirement benefits, were GBP26.8 million compared
to a
GBP86.8 million inflow last year, which benefited from the
Fomedec working capital unwind. The working capital out flow this
year represents a GBP23.0 million outflow in receivables and a
GBP10.9 million outflow in inventories partly offset by a GBP7.1
million inflow in payables.
Within receivables, we saw increased capitalised contract costs
related to Norway, Canada and the Type 31 frigate programme and VAT
timing differences partly related to COVID-19. We made good
progress this year on reducing amounts due for contract work but
the reduction was less than expected as COVID-19 impacted invoicing
to customers in the final month of the year. Trade receivables were
slightly higher year-on-year as COVID-19 led to delays in customer
receipts at the end of the year.
The Group factors receivables in its Southern European Aviation
operations. At 31 March 2020, the level of factoring was similar to
last year at around GBP100 million.
Within payables, lower activity levels were partly offset by
higher contract cost accruals, due to the Type 31 programme, and an
increase in advanced customer payments in our LGE business.
The outflow in inventory primarily relates to increased stock
levels in our South African business reflecting the expected higher
activity levels.
Provisions
Underlying operating cash flow includes a GBP19.4 million
outflow due to underlying provision movements (2019: GBP28.7
million outflow) relating to contracts, onerous leases, personnel
(taxation and reorganisation) and property. During the year GBP1.0
million of net underlying provisions were credited to the income
statement. The level of non-exceptional provision outflow in the
next financial year is expected to be around GBP10 million.
Capital expenditure
Excluding IFRS 16, net capital expenditure was GBP147.5 million
in the year (2019: GBP148.5 million) comprised of gross capital
expenditure of GBP174.6 million (2019: GBP227.0 million) and asset
disposals, mainly related to the sale and leaseback of new aircraft
of GBP27.1 million (2019:
GBP78.5 million). Net capital expenditure of 1.5 times
depreciation was slightly higher than last year and higher than the
1.0 times depreciation we had expected. This was due to lower
assets disposals as COVID-19 led to some asset sales on delayed
contracts in Southern Europe not completing as both lessors and
customers experienced difficulties.
In addition to net capital expenditure, GBP128.1 million of
additional operating leases were entered into in the period. This,
less GBP18.3 million of onerous lease payments, led to GBP109.8
million of other IFRS 16 cash flows included within our underlying
free cash flow. Onerous lease payments are not included in our
underlying free cash flow as cash flows relating to what would have
been onerous leases before the adoption of IFRS 16 continue to be
considered exceptional.
Cash interest paid
Net Group cash interest paid, excluding that paid by joint
ventures, was GBP71.4 million (2019: GBP47.5 million).
Taxation
Underlying cash tax payments of GBP62.6 million (2019: GBP86.9
million) decreased, reflecting lower underlying profit before tax
and comparison to higher tax payments last year following the
settlement of a tax dispute in Spain relating to pre-acquisition
activity. In addition to this, we saw an increase in R&D tax
credits received.
Pensions
Pension cash outflow in excess of the income statement charge
excluding exceptionals was GBP70.2 million (2019: GBP55.8
million).
The uneven distribution of funding deficits between our three
large schemes, will result in more volatility in pensions funding
over the coming years. An estimate of the current technical
provisions actuarial deficit for the three main schemes is around
GBP500 million, predominantly reflecting discount rates based on UK
gilts. This differs from the accounting valuation which is based on
discounting using corporate bond yields where credit spreads have
increased. This resulted in an IAS 19 position of a GBP145.2
million net surplus at 31 March 2020.
We expect to make additional pension payments into the Rosyth
scheme of around GBP90 million over two years, with the starting
point yet to be determined.
For the next financial year the cash outflow in excess of the
income statement charge is expected to be around GBP75 million
excluding the Rosyth additional payments, which will be treated as
exceptional cash items.
Dividends
During the period the Group received GBP52.0 million in
dividends from its joint ventures (2019: GBP44.6 million). Cash
dividends (including to minorities of GBP1.8 million) paid out in
the year totalled GBP153.9 million (2019: GBP153.3 million).
We expect dividends from joint ventures to be around GBP30
million in the next financial year before increasing in the
following year.
Free cash flow
Free cash flow was GBP192.2 million compared to GBP323.7 million
last year, primarily reflecting the lower operating profit and the
movement in working capital described above.
Exceptional cash movement
There was a cash inflow of GBP23.1 million in the year with the
proceeds from the sale of Context partly offset by exceptional cash
costs relates to 2019 and 2020 exceptional charges.
Net debt
The Group's net cash inflow was GBP57.4 million (2019: GBP158.3
million). Net debt at 31 March 2020 was GBP1,594.9 million. Net
debt excluding lease obligations was GBP922.1 million. This measure
now excludes GBP40 million of lease obligations which were
previously treated as finance leases.
Looking ahead at our forecasts for next year, we expect average
net debt to be around GBP300 million higher than the year end
position, reflecting the normal phasing of our business.
Net debt to EBITDA
We have redefined our net debt to EBITDA on a basis comparable
to that used in the covenants for some of our debt. This gearing
measure compares net debt (excluding non-recourse JV debt and all
leases) to Group EBITDA (excluding our share of JV's EBITDA) plus
joint venture dividends. The tables below show the calculation as
well as the calculation on an IFRS 16 basis.
Net debt to EBITDA saw a small increase to 1.7 times this year
with the reduction in EBITDA partially offset by higher joint
venture dividends and lower net debt. This level remains below our
covenant level of 3.5 times. On an IFRS 16 basis, net debt to
EBITDA was 2.3 times.
Pre IFRS 16 (per debt covenants):
31 March 31 March
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
----------------------------------------- -------- --------
Underlying operating profit excl. JVs
(pre-IFRS 16) 393.8 452.5
------------------------------------------ -------- --------
Depreciation (pre-IFRS 16) 80.7 93.8
========================================== ======== ========
Amortisation of software and development
costs 15.0 14.6
========================================== ======== ========
Group IFRIC 12 income 1.1 1.3
========================================== ======== ========
EBITDA 490.6 562.2
------------------------------------------ -------- --------
JV dividends 52.0 44.6
------------------------------------------ -------- --------
EBITDA + JV dividends 542.6 606.8
------------------------------------------ -------- --------
Net debt excl. lease obligations 922.1 957.7
------------------------------------------ -------- --------
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 1.6x
------------------------------------------ -------- --------
Post-IFRS 16:
31 March
2020
GBPm
------------------------------------- --------
EBITDA + JV dividends (pre-IFRS 16) 542.6
-------------------------------------- --------
IFRS 16 EBITDA adjustment 153.0
====================================== ========
EBITDA + JV dividends (post-IFRS 16) 695.6
====================================== ========
Net debt excl. leases payable 922.1
-------------------------------------- --------
Leases payable 672.8
-------------------------------------- --------
Net debt (post-IFRS 16) 1,594.9
-------------------------------------- --------
Net debt / EBITDA 2.3x
-------------------------------------- --------
Interest cover
Interest cover pre-IFRS 16 is another metric used in the
covenants for some of our debt. This year interest cover was 11.3
times, lower than last year due to lower profits and a small
increase in net finance costs following our refinancing in
September 2019. The interest cover in the debt covenants is four
times.
Pre IFRS 16 (per debt covenants):
31 March 31 March
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
-------------------------------- -------- --------
EBITDA + JV dividends (pre-IFRS
16) (as above) 542.6 606.8
------------------------------------ -------- --------
Finance costs (pre-IFRS
16) 61.2 62.7
==================================== ======== ========
Finance income (13.0) (16.0)
==================================== ======== ========
Net group finance costs
(pre-IFRS 16) 48.2 46.7
------------------------------------ -------- --------
Interest cover 11.3x 13.0x
------------------------------------ -------- --------
Return on invested capital (ROIC)
Return on invested capital (ROIC) is defined as underlying
operating profit divided by net debt and shareholder funds
excluding retirement deficits or surpluses. Post tax, ROIC for the
year was 12.3%, a slight decrease from 12.5% last year. This small
decrease primarily reflects lower underlying operating profit this
year offset by the impairment of assets.
Pre IFRS 16:
31 March 31 March
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
--------------------------------- -------- --------
Underlying operating profit 500.6 588.4
------------------------------------- -------- --------
Tax at 18.0% (90.1) (105.9)
===================================== ======== ========
Underlying operating profit post
tax 410.5 482.5
------------------------------------- -------- --------
Net debt excl. lease obligations 922.1 957.7
------------------------------------- -------- --------
Shareholder funds 2,550.0 2,884.9
------------------------------------- -------- --------
Retirement deficit / (surplus) (145.2) 28.0
------------------------------------- -------- --------
Invested capital 3,326.9 3,870.6
------------------------------------- -------- --------
ROIC (pre-tax) 15.0% 15.2%
------------------------------------- -------- --------
ROIC (post-tax) 12.3% 12.5%
------------------------------------- -------- --------
Post-IFRS 16:
31 March
2020
GBPm
--------------------------------- --------
Underlying operating profit 524.2
------------------------------------- --------
Tax at 18.0% (94.4)
===================================== ========
Underlying operating profit post
tax 429.8
------------------------------------- --------
Net debt excl. lease obligations 922.1
------------------------------------- --------
Lease liabilities 672.8
------------------------------------- --------
Shareholder funds 2,550.0
------------------------------------- --------
Retirement deficit (145.2)
------------------------------------- --------
Invested capital 3,999.7
------------------------------------- --------
ROIC (pre-tax) 13.1%
------------------------------------- --------
ROIC (post-tax) 10.7%
------------------------------------- --------
Pensions
The IAS 19 valuation for accounting purposes showed a market
value of assets of GBP4,411.3 million in comparison to a valuation
of the liabilities based on AA corporate bond yields of GBP4,266.1
million. The net accounting position, pre-tax, of the Group's
combined defined benefit pension schemes moved from a deficit to a
surplus of GBP145.2 million (31 March 2019: deficit of GBP28.0
million).
Discount rate 2.4% (31 March 2019: 2.4%)
Inflation rate (RPI) 2.6% (31 March 2019: 3.2%)
Going concern statement
The financial statements have been prepared on the going concern
basis because the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the
Group has adequate resources for a period of at least 12 months
from the date of the approval of the financial statements and that
there are no material uncertainties to disclose.
In assessing the appropriateness of the going concern basis of
accounting, the Directors reviewed the resources available to the
Group in the form of cash and committed facilities, which are the
GBP775 million five year multi-currency revolving credit facility,
the US$500 million loan notes, and the three tranches of notes
(EUR550 million 1.75% notes, GBP300 million 1.875% notes and EUR550
million 1.375% notes) issued under the Group's Euro Bond programme,
along with a baseline plan.
The baseline plan was adjusted to reflect a range of estimated
impacts of COVID-19 on the Group over varying periods (three
months, six months and twelve months). This adjusted baseline plan
has then been subject to a further downside stress scenario. The
Directors also considered mitigating actions, including deferral of
non-essential capital and revenue expenditure as well as the
deferral of dividends.
Having considered these matters, the Directors do not believe
there are any material uncertainties to disclose in relation to the
Group's ability to continue as a going concern.
Group income statement
2020 2019
--------------------------------------------- ---- ------------------ ------------------
Total Total
Note GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
--------------------------------------------- ---- ------- --------- ------- ---------
Revenue(1) 2 4,449.5 4,474.8
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Cost of revenue (3,940.5) (3,928.3)
============================================= ==== ======= --------- ======= ---------
Gross profit 509.0 546.5
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Distribution expenses (9.3) (11.9)
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Administration expenses (344.3) (352.9)
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Goodwill impairment (395.0) -
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Profit on disposal of subsidiaries 74.7 14.8
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Operating (loss)/profit before share
of results of joint ventures and associates 2 (164.9) 196.5
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Share of results of joint ventures 2,
and associates 9 58.6 83.8
============================================= ==== ======= --------- ======= ---------
Group and joint ventures and associates
============================================= ==== ------- ========= ------- =========
Operating profit before amortisation
of acquired intangibles and exceptional
items 497.2 559.3
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Investment income 27.0 29.1
============================================= ==== ------- ========= ------- =========
Underlying operating profit(2) 2 524.2 588.4
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Amortisation of acquired intangibles 3 (87.3) (101.0)
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Exceptional items - Group 3 (500.8) (160.8)
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Exceptional items - joint ventures
and associates 3 (2.1) -
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Investment income - Group (1.1) (1.3)
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Joint ventures and associates finance
costs (22.8) (24.1)
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Joint ventures and associates income
tax expense (16.4) (20.9)
============================================= ==== ------- --------- ------- ---------
Operating (loss)/profit (106.3) 280.3
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Finance costs
============================================= ==== ------- ========= ------- =========
Investment income 1.1 1.3
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Retirement benefit interest 16 (0.1) 0.3
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Finance costs 4 (85.9) (62.7)
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Finance income 4 13.0 16.0
============================================= ==== ------- ========= ------- =========
(71.9) (45.1)
============================================= ==== ======= --------- ======= ---------
(Loss)/profit before tax 2 (178.2) 235.2
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Income tax expense 5 (15.0) (35.4)
--------------------------------------------- ---- ------- --------- ------- ---------
(Loss)/profit for the year (193.2) 199.8
--------------------------------------------- ---- ------- --------- ------- ---------
Attributable to:
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Owners of the parent (195.2) 199.4
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Non-controlling interest 2.0 0.4
============================================= ==== ======= --------- ======= ---------
(193.2) 199.8
============================================= ==== ======= --------- ======= ---------
(Loss)/earnings per share 6
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Basic (38.6)p 39.5p
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
Diluted (38.6)p 39.4p
============================================= ==== ======= ========= ======= =========
1. Revenue does not include the Group's share of revenue from
joint ventures and associates of GBP422.2 million (2019: GBP685.8
million.)
2. Including IFRIC 12 investment income but before exceptional
items and amortisation of acquired intangibles.
Group statement of comprehensive income
2020 2019
Note GBPm GBPm
--------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- ------
(Loss)/profit for the year (193.2) 199.8
========================================================= ==== ======= ======
Other comprehensive income
========================================================= ==== ======= ======
Items that may be subsequently reclassified to income
statement
========================================================= ==== ======= ======
Currency translation differences (26.3) (31.0)
========================================================= ==== ======= ======
Fair value adjustment of interest rate and foreign
exchange hedges (12.0) (0.5)
========================================================= ==== ======= ======
Tax on fair value adjustment of interest rate and
foreign exchange hedges 2.5 0.4
========================================================= ==== ======= ======
Hedging gains reclassified to profit or loss - (1.3)
========================================================= ==== ======= ======
Fair value adjustment of joint ventures and associates
derivatives 9 (14.4) 1.8
========================================================= ==== ======= ======
Tax, including rate change impact, on fair value
adjustment of joint ventures and associates derivatives 9 2.3 (0.3)
========================================================= ==== ======= ======
Items that will not be subsequently reclassified
to income statement
========================================================= ==== ======= ======
Remeasurement of retirement benefit obligations 99.9 (58.4)
========================================================= ==== ======= ======
Tax on remeasurement of retirement benefit obligations (20.2) 10.4
========================================================= ==== ======= ======
Impact of change in UK tax rates 0.9 (0.4)
--------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- ------
Other comprehensive income/(loss), net of tax 32.7 (79.3)
--------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- ------
Total comprehensive (loss)/income (160.5) 120.5
--------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- ------
Total comprehensive (loss)/income attributable to:
========================================================= ==== ======= ======
Owners of the parent (160.4) 122.3
========================================================= ==== ======= ======
Non-controlling interest (0.1) (1.8)
--------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- ------
Total comprehensive (loss)/income (160.5) 120.5
--------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- ------
Group statement of changes in equity
Owners
Share Share Other Capital Retained Hedging Translation of the Non-controlling Total
capital premium reserve redemption earnings reserve reserve parent interest equity
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
---------------- ------- ------- ------- ---------- -------- ------- ----------- ------- --------------- -------
At 1 April 2018 303.4 873.0 768.8 30.6 994.9 (74.5) (3.3) 2,892.9 18.1 2,911.0
================ ======= ======= ======= ========== ======== ======= =========== ======= =============== =======
Total
comprehensive
income/(loss) - - - - 151.0 0.1 (28.8) 122.3 (1.8) 120.5
================ ======= ======= ======= ========== ======== ======= =========== ======= =============== =======
Dividends - - - - (150.5) - - (150.5) (2.8) (153.3)
================ ======= ======= ======= ========== ======== ======= =========== ======= =============== =======
Share-based
payments - - - - 2.4 - - 2.4 - 2.4
================ ======= ======= ======= ========== ======== ======= =========== ======= =============== =======
Tax on
shared-based
payments - - - - 2.4 - - 2.4 - 2.4
================ ======= ======= ======= ========== ======== ======= =========== ======= =============== =======
Transactions
with
non-controlling
interests - - - - (2.0) - - (2.0) 3.9 1.9
================ ======= ======= ======= ========== ======== ======= =========== ======= =============== =======
Net movement in
equity - - - - 3.3 0.1 (28.8) (25.4) (0.7) (26.1)
---------------- ------- ------- ------- ---------- -------- ------- ----------- ------- --------------- -------
At 31 March 2019 303.4 873.0 768.8 30.6 998.2 (74.4) (32.1) 2,867.5 17.4 2,884.9
---------------- ------- ------- ------- ---------- -------- ------- ----------- ------- --------------- -------
Transition to
IFRS
16 - - - - (22.4) - - (22.4) - (22.4)
---------------- ------- ------- ------- ---------- -------- ------- ----------- ------- --------------- -------
At 1 April 2019 303.4 873.0 768.8 30.6 975.8 (74.4) (32.1) 2,845.1 17.4 2,862.5
================ ======= ======= ======= ========== ======== ======= =========== ======= =============== =======
Total
comprehensive
(loss)/income - - - - (114.6) (21.6) (24.2) (160.4) (0.1) (160.5)
================ ======= ======= ======= ========== ======== ======= =========== ======= =============== =======
Dividends - - - - (152.1) - - (152.1) (1.8) (153.9)
================ ======= ======= ======= ========== ======== ======= =========== ======= =============== =======
Share-based
payments - - - - 2.9 - - 2.9 - 2.9
================ ======= ======= ======= ========== ======== ======= =========== ======= =============== =======
Tax on
shared-based
payments - - - - 1.9 - - 1.9 - 1.9
================ ======= ======= ======= ========== ======== ======= =========== ======= =============== =======
Own shares - - - - (2.9) - - (2.9) - (2.9)
================ ======= ======= ======= ========== ======== ======= =========== ======= =============== =======
Transactions
with
non-controlling
interests - - - - (0.2) - - (0.2) 0.2 -
================ ======= ======= ======= ========== ======== ======= =========== ======= =============== =======
Net movement in
equity - - - - (265.0) (21.6) (24.2) (310.8) (1.7) (312.5)
---------------- ------- ------- ------- ---------- -------- ------- ----------- ------- --------------- -------
At 31 March 2020 303.4 873.0 768.8 30.6 710.8 (96.0) (56.3) 2,534.3 15.7 2,550.0
---------------- ------- ------- ------- ---------- -------- ------- ----------- ------- --------------- -------
The other reserve relates to the rights issue of new ordinary
shares on 7 May 2014 and the capital redemption reserve relates to
the issue and redemption of redeemable "B" preference shares in
2001.
Group statement of financial position
2020 2019
Note GBPm GBPm
-------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Assets
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Non-current assets
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Goodwill 8 2,171.3 2,584.2
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Other intangible assets 379.5 448.9
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Property, plant and equipment 951.1 1,014.3
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Right of use assets 638.8 -
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Investment in joint ventures and associates 9 148.0 153.2
============================================ ==== ======= =======
9,
Loan to joint ventures and associates 15 48.6 42.5
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Retirement benefit surpluses 16 325.3 226.9
============================================ ==== ======= =======
IFRIC 12 financial assets 12.8 15.5
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Other financial assets 12 21.5 93.8
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Deferred tax asset 190.6 150.9
-------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
4,887.5 4,730.2
-------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Current assets
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Inventories 193.5 196.5
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Trade and other receivables 10 930.8 917.1
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Income tax recoverable 13.6 11.1
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Other financial assets 12 153.9 48.0
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Cash and cash equivalents 15 1,351.4 275.2
-------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
2,643.2 1,447.9
-------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Total assets 7,530.7 6,178.1
-------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Equity and liabilities
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Equity attributable to owners of the parent
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Share capital 303.4 303.4
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Share premium 873.0 873.0
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Capital redemption and other reserves 647.1 692.9
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Retained earnings 710.8 998.2
-------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
2,534.3 2,867.5
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Non-controlling interest 15.7 17.4
-------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Total equity 2,550.0 2,884.9
-------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Non-current liabilities
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Bank and other borrowings 15 2,050.0 1,357.6
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Lease liabilities 15 534.8 -
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Trade and other payables 11 2.1 2.0
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Deferred tax liabilities 115.2 103.2
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Other financial liabilities 12 35.6 9.3
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Retirement benefit deficits 16 180.1 254.9
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Provisions for other liabilities 13 30.4 40.5
-------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
2,948.2 1,767.5
-------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Current liabilities
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Bank and other borrowings 15 400.1 53.9
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Lease liabilities 15 138.0 -
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Trade and other payables 11 1,366.3 1,381.4
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Income tax payable 5.9 22.1
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Other financial liabilities 12 9.0 4.9
============================================ ==== ======= =======
Provisions for other liabilities 13 113.2 63.4
-------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
2,032.5 1,525.7
-------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Total liabilities 4,980.7 3,293.2
-------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Total equity and liabilities 7,530.7 6,178.1
-------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Group cash flow statement
2020 2019
Note GBPm GBPm
-------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Cash flows from operating activities
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Operating profit before amortisation of acquired
intangible and exceptional items 417.4 452.5
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Amortisation of acquired intangible and exceptional
items 3 (582.3) (256.0)
-------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Operating (loss)/profit before share of results
of joint ventures and associates 2 (164.9) 196.5
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Depreciation and impairment of property, plant
and equipment 94.2 123.1
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Depreciation and impairment of right of use assets 143.6 -
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Amortisation of intangible assets 96.5 110.0
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Goodwill impairment 395.0 -
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Investment income 2 1.1 1.3
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Equity share-based payments 2.9 2.4
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Profit on disposal of subsidiaries, businesses
and joint ventures and associates 18 (74.7) (14.8)
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Loss/(profit) on disposal of property, plant and
equipment 3.3 (5.4)
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Loss on disposal of intangible assets 0.2 0.3
-------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Cash generated from operations before movement
in working capital and retirement benefit payments 497.2 413.4
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Increase in inventories (10.9) (34.0)
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
(Increase)/decrease in receivables (8.4) 138.8
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Increase in payables 7.4 4.1
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Increase in provisions 62.4 10.7
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Retirement benefit payments in excess of income
statement (73.5) (25.1)
-------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Cash generated from operations 474.2 507.9
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Income tax paid (72.4) (74.0)
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Interest paid (84.9) (63.1)
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Interest received 13.5 15.6
-------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Net cash flows from operating activities 330.4 386.4
-------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Cash flows from investing activities
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Disposal of subsidiaries and joint ventures and
associates, net of cash disposed 18 101.6 29.5
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Dividends received from joint ventures and associates 52.0 44.6
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment 30.1 78.5
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Purchases of property, plant and equipment (145.5) (194.3)
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Purchases of intangible assets (29.1) (32.7)
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Investment in, loans to and interest received from
joint ventures and associates 9 (6.4) (14.6)
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Net cash flows from investing activities 2.7 (89.0)
-------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Cash flows from financing activities
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Dividends paid (152.1) (150.5)
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Lease payments (175.0) (26.4)
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Lease assets repaid 19.9 (19.4)
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Bank loans repaid (140.0) (103.4)
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Loans raised and facilities drawn down 1,202.4 -
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Dividends paid to non-controlling interest (1.8) (2.8)
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Transactions with non-controlling interests - (0.5)
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Movement on own shares (2.9) -
-------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Net cash flows from financing activities 750.5 (303.0)
-------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Net increase/(decrease) in cash, cash equivalents
and bank overdrafts 14 1,083.6 (5.6)
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Cash, cash equivalents and bank overdrafts at beginning
of year 275.2 286.3
======================================================== ==== ======= =======
Effects of exchange rate fluctuations (10.1) (5.5)
-------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Cash, cash equivalents and bank overdrafts at end
of year 15 1,348.7 275.2
-------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- -------
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
1. Basis of preparation and significant accounting policies
The financial information has been extracted from the Annual
Report, including the audited financial statements for the year
ended 31 March 2020. They should be read in conjunction with the
Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2019, which was prepared
in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards
(IFRS) as adopted by the European Union. The accounting policies
used and presentation of these consolidated financial statements
are consistent with those in the Annual Report for the year ended
31 March 2019, except as noted below and to comply with amendments
to IFRS.
Significant accounting policies
The significant accounting policies adopted by the Group are set
out below. They have been applied consistently throughout the year
and the comparative period except as specified below.
New and amended standards adopted by the Group
The Group applied the following standards and amendments for the
first time for the period beginning on 1 April 2019:
-- IFRS 16, 'Leases'.
The impact of the adoption of this standard and the key changes
to the accounting policies are disclosed below.
-- IFRS 9, 'Financial Instruments', amended.
The following standards and amendments to IFRSs became effective
for the period beginning on 1 April 2019 and did not have a
material impact on the consolidated financial statements:
-- IAS 19, 'Employee Benefits', amendment. The amendment related
to treatment of plan amendments, curtailments and settlements.
-- IFRIC 23, 'Uncertainty over Income Tax Treatments'.
-- Annual improvement 2015-2017 Cycle. This included
clarifications on IFRS 3, IFRS 11, IAS 12 and IAS 23.
The following standards, amendments and interpretations are not
yet effective and the impact on the Group's operations is not
expected to be material.
-- IFRS 3, 'Business Combinations', amended effective from 1
January 2020. The amendment related to the definition of a business
on a combination.
-- IAS 1, 'Presentation of Financial Statements', and IAS 8,
'Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors',
amended effective from 1 January 2020 related to the definition of
material.
-- IFRS 17, 'Insurance Contracts', effective 1 January 2021.
IFRS 16, 'Leases'
IFRS 16 'Leases' became effective from 1 January 2019 and
replaces IAS 17, 'Leases' as the definitive accounting standard for
the recognition, measurement and disclosure of leases. The Group
adopted the standard from 1 April 2019.
Under the new standard, the Group has now recognised almost all
leases, where the Group is a lessee, on the statement of financial
position as the distinction between finance leases and operating
leases has been removed. Both short-term leases and low-value
leases are exempt from IFRS 16, and instead their lease payments
continue to be recognised as expenses on a straight-line basis. The
approach for lessors has remained largely unchanged.
Transition
The Group has adopted the modified retrospective transition
approach, with the right-of-use assets measured at the amount of
the lease liability on the date of transition for the majority of
leases. The lease liability was calculated as the present value of
the minimum lease payments on the date of transition. For a number
of high value property and aircraft leases however, the
right-of-use assets have been calculated as if the leases had
always existed and their value on the date of transition is
measured as the present value of the minimum lease payments at the
inception date less accrued depreciation and any impairments. The
difference between the right-of-use assets and lease liabilities on
the date of transition is taken to retained earnings. Comparative
figures have not been restated for the year ended 31 March
2019.
The following practical expedients have been adopted on
transition:
-- Single discount rates have been applied to portfolios of leases with similar characteristics
-- IFRS 16 has only been applied to contracts that were previously classified as leases
-- For leases with onerous lease provisions recognised against
them immediately prior to the date of transition, the provisions
have been utilised and offset against the right-of-use assets on
the date of transition
-- Initial direct costs have been excluded from the measurement
of right-of-use assets on the date of transition
-- The lease term has been determined with the use of hindsight
where the contract contains options to extend the lease
Subsequent measurement
Right-of-use assets are held at cost less accumulated
depreciation and impairment. Where leases are deemed to be onerous,
the right of use asset is impaired, with the impairment determined
in line with IAS 36, "Impairment of Assets". Depreciation is
charged on a straight-line basis over the full length of the
lease.
Lease liabilities decrease over time by the net of lease
payments made and the interest accrued. Interest is charged to the
income statement as the effect of discounting the future lease
payments is unwound.
As a lessor, the Group recognises assets held under a lease in
the statement of financial position as an asset. The lease payment
receivable is treated as finance income and a repayment of
principal including initial direct costs. Finance income is
allocated over the lease term, with the gross receivable being
reviewed for impairment on a regular basis.
2. Segmental information
The Group has four reporting segments, determined by reference
to the goods and services they provide and the markets they
serve.
Marine - through life support of naval ships and infrastructure
in the UK and internationally.
Nuclear - through life support of submarines and complex
engineering services in support of major decommissioning programmes
and projects, training and operation support, new build programme
management and design and installation in the UK.
Land - large scale critical vehicle fleet management, equipment
support and training for military and civil customers
worldwide.
Aviation - critical engineering services to defence and civil
customers worldwide, including pilot training, equipment support,
airbase management and operation of aviation fleets delivering
emergency and offshore services.
The Group chief executive, the chief operating decision maker as
defined by IFRS 8, monitors the results of these reporting segments
and makes decisions about the allocation of resources. The Group's
business in South Africa meets the definition of an operating
segment, as defined by
IFRS 8. However the business represents less than 10% of the
Group's revenues, profits and assets and, as permitted by IFRS 8,
the Group includes the business in the Land sector reporting
segment on the basis that they have similar economic
characteristics (assessed with reference to their operating profit
margins) and that the nature of the services provided, the type of
customer and the methods used to deliver services are similar to
those of the Land sector.
On 1 April a single Nuclear operating segment was established by
combining our naval nuclear business, included within the Marine
operating segment, with our civil nuclear business within the
Nuclear operating segment. The 2019 comparative has been restated
for the reallocation.
Marine Nuclear Land Aviation Unallocated Total
31 March 2020 GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
---------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Revenue including joint
ventures and associates 1,206.9 1,110.9 1,553.6 1,000.3 - 4,871.7
================================== ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Less: joint ventures and
associates revenue 43.1 212.5 18.9 147.7 - 422.2
---------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Revenue 1,163.8 898.4 1,534.7 852.6 - 4,449.5
---------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Operating (loss)/profit
before share of results
of joint ventures and associates 207.7 94.2 49.6 (513.9) (2.5) (164.9)
================================== ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Exceptional items (72.5) 19.5 14.2 538.1 1.5 500.8
================================== ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Acquired intangible amortisation
- Group 5.3 0.4 35.8 40.0 - 81.5
---------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Operating profit* 140.5 114.1 99.6 64.2 (1.0) 417.4
================================== ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
IFRIC 12 investment income
- Group 0.2 - 0.9 - - 1.1
================================== ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Share of operating profit
- joint ventures and associates 3.3 12.2 32.0 32.3 - 79.8
================================== ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Share of IFRIC 12 investment
income - joint ventures
and associates - - 1.4 24.5 - 25.9
---------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Underlying operating profit 144.0 126.3 133.9 121.0 (1.0) 524.2
================================== ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Share of finance costs -
joint ventures and associates (0.5) - 0.3 (22.6) - (22.8)
================================== ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Share of tax - joint ventures
and associates (1.1) (2.5) (7.0) (5.8) - (16.4)
================================== ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Acquired intangible amortisation
- Group (5.3) (0.4) (35.8) (40.0) - (81.5)
================================== ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Share of acquired intangible
amortisation - joint ventures
and associates - - (2.0) (3.8) - (5.8)
================================== ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Net finance costs - Group - - - - (73.0) (73.0)
================================== ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Exceptional items - Group 72.5 (19.5) (14.2) (538.1) (1.5) (500.8)
================================== ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
Exceptional items - joint
ventures and associates - (2.1) - - - (2.1)
================================== ======= ======= ======= ======== =========== =======
(Loss)/profit before tax 209.6 101.8 75.2 (489.3) (75.5) (178.2)
---------------------------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
* Before amortisation of acquired intangibles.
Marine Nuclear
(restated) (restated) Land Aviation Unallocated Total
31 March 2019 GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Revenue including joint
ventures and associates 1,086.0 1,318.9 1,620.2 1,135.5 - 5,160.6
================================== =========== =========== ======= ======== =========== =======
Less: joint venture and
associate revenue 20.3 465.7 60.2 139.6 - 685.8
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Revenue 1,065.7 853.2 1,560.0 995.9 - 4,474.8
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Operating profit/(loss)
before share of results
of joint ventures and associates 110.4 89.8 42.3 (25.0) (21.0) 196.5
================================== =========== =========== ======= ======== =========== =======
Exceptional items - Group 22.5 16.0 17.7 86.4 18.2 160.8
================================== =========== =========== ======= ======== =========== =======
Acquired intangible amortisation
- Group 4.7 0.7 44.1 45.7 - 95.2
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Operating profit* 137.6 106.5 104.1 107.1 (2.8) 452.5
================================== =========== =========== ======= ======== =========== =======
IFRIC 12 investment income
- Group 0.3 - 1.0 - - 1.3
================================== =========== =========== ======= ======== =========== =======
Share of operating profit
- joint ventures and associates 3.3 37.0 39.5 27.0 - 106.8
================================== =========== =========== ======= ======== =========== =======
Share of IFRIC 12 investment
income - joint ventures
and associates - - 1.4 26.4 - 27.8
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Underlying operating profit 141.2 143.5 146.0 160.5 (2.8) 588.4
================================== =========== =========== ======= ======== =========== =======
Share of finance costs -
joint ventures and associates (0.4) - (0.1) (23.6) - (24.1)
================================== =========== =========== ======= ======== =========== =======
Share of tax - joint ventures
and associates (1.3) (7.2) (7.1) (5.3) - (20.9)
================================== =========== =========== ======= ======== =========== =======
Acquired intangible amortisation
- Group (4.7) (0.7) (44.1) (45.7) - (95.2)
================================== =========== =========== ======= ======== =========== =======
Share of acquired intangible
amortisation - joint ventures
and associates - - (2.0) (3.8) - (5.8)
================================== =========== =========== ======= ======== =========== =======
Net finance costs - Group - - - - (46.4) (46.4)
================================== =========== =========== ======= ======== =========== =======
Exceptional items - Group (22.5) (16.0) (17.7) (86.4) (18.2) (160.8)
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
Profit before tax 112.3 119.6 75.0 (4.3) (67.4) 235.2
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- ------- -------- ----------- -------
* Before amortisation of acquired intangibles and exceptional items.
The analysis of revenue for the year ended 31 March 2020 is as
follows:
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
----------------------------------------------- ------- -------
Sale of goods - transferred at a point in time 607.5 635.7
=============================================== ======= =======
Sale of goods - transferred over time 101.6 61.8
----------------------------------------------- ------- -------
Sale of Goods 709.1 697.5
=============================================== ======= =======
Provision of services - transferred over time 3,734.3 3,768.6
=============================================== ======= =======
Rental income 6.1 8.7
----------------------------------------------- ------- -------
Revenue 4,449.5 4,474.8
----------------------------------------------- ------- -------
The sale of goods at a point in time is mainly in the Land
sector. This includes revenue subject to judgement as to whether
the Group operates as principal or agent. The sale of goods over
time is in the Marine sector. Provision of services over time is
across all sectors.
The geographic analysis of revenue by origin of customer for the
years ended 31 March 2020 and 2019 are as follows:
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
--------------- ------- -------
United Kingdom 2,998.9 2,954.3
=============== ======= =======
Rest of Europe 509.0 649.4
=============== ======= =======
Africa 358.0 353.6
=============== ======= =======
North America 198.5 181.3
=============== ======= =======
Australasia 196.1 189.2
=============== ======= =======
Rest of World 189.0 147.0
--------------- ------- -------
Revenue 4,449.5 4,474.8
--------------- ------- -------
3. Exceptional items and acquired intangible amortisation
Joint ventures
Group and associates Total
-------------- ----------------- --------------
2020 2019 2020 2019 2020 2019
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
----------------------------------------- ------ ------ -------- ------- ------ ------
Aviation
========================================= ====== ====== ======== ======= ====== ======
- Goodwill impairment 395.0 - - - 395.0 -
========================================= ====== ====== ======== ======= ====== ======
- Asset impairment 22.2 39.0 - - 22.2 39.0
========================================= ====== ====== ======== ======= ====== ======
- Right-of-use asset impairment 14.2 - - - 14.2 -
========================================= ====== ====== ======== ======= ====== ======
- Onerous contracts 17.0 - - - 17.0 -
========================================= ====== ====== ======== ======= ====== ======
- Onerous lease provisions - 42.1 - - 42.1
========================================= ====== ====== ======== ======= ====== ======
- Exit of Ghana and Congo 7.1 - - - 7.1 -
========================================= ====== ====== ======== ======= ====== ======
- Aviation restructuring 26.5 - - - 26.5 -
========================================= ====== ====== ======== ======= ====== ======
- Aviation other 55.8 - - - 55.8 -
----------------------------------------- ------ ------ -------- ------- ------ ------
Total Aviation 537.8 81.1 - - 537.8 81.1
----------------------------------------- ------ ------ -------- ------- ------ ------
Restructuring 24.3 42.4 - - 24.3 42.4
========================================= ====== ====== ======== ======= ====== ======
Exit and disposals (61.3) 6.6 2.1 - (59.2) 6.6
========================================= ====== ====== ======== ======= ====== ======
Pension GMP equalisation and
bulk transfer - 30.7 - - - 30.7
========================================= ====== ====== ======== ======= ====== ======
Exceptional items 500.8 160.8 2.1 - 502.9 160.8
========================================= ====== ====== ======== ======= ====== ======
Exceptional tax items and tax
on exceptional items (25.7) (16.7) (0.4) - (26.1) (16.7)
----------------------------------------- ------ ------ -------- ------- ------ ------
Exceptional items - net of tax 475.1 144.1 1.7 - 476.8 144.1
----------------------------------------- ------ ------ -------- ------- ------ ------
Acquired intangible amortisation 81.5 95.2 5.8 5.8 87.3 101.0
========================================= ====== ====== ======== ======= ====== ======
Tax on acquired intangibles amortisation (17.3) (20.4) (1.1) (1.1) (18.4) (21.5)
----------------------------------------- ------ ------ -------- ------- ------ ------
Acquired intangible amortisation
- net of tax 64.2 74.8 4.7 4.7 68.9 79.5
----------------------------------------- ------ ------ -------- ------- ------ ------
* Included with the asset impairment charge of GBP22.2 million
is GBP13.5 million relating to the impairment of property, plant
and equipment
Exceptional items are those items which are exceptional in
nature or size.
Aviation market
Our Aviation sector operates in the defence, emergency services
and oil and gas markets. While the defence market has remained
robust, and the emergency services market remains attractive in the
medium term, the oil and gas market deteriorated significantly
during the year. Two of the three large providers of helicopter
services who operate worldwide in oil and gas emerged from Chapter
11 bankruptcy protection with reduced debt and written-down assets.
This effectively reset global market pricing levels and forced us
to respond quickly to remain competitive. Furthermore, with a
significant fall in the price of oil, we do not expect any recovery
in this market any time soon.
Aviation: Goodwill impairment
The further deterioration in the oil and gas market contributed
significantly to our review of goodwill in the Aviation sector,
which relates to the acquisition of Avincis in 2014. As a result of
this review, we have taken an impairment charge of GBP395.0 million
to reflect revised estimates of the future performance of the
sector given the change in market conditions.
Aviation: Oil and Gas
We have written down assets in our oil and gas business by
GBP22.2 million and recognised costs of GBP31.2 million in relation
to the impairment of right of use assets and onerous customer
contracts. We also exited our oil and gas businesses in Ghana and
Congo and incurred charges of GBP7.1 million in relation to
this.
Aviation: Restructuring
The impact of trading in our oil and gas aviation business
combined with the impact of delays in our aerial emergency services
business led us to take action to reduce the cost base as a whole
for the Aviation sector, creating a simplified European structure
to create an agile business competitive for the medium term. The
Aviation restructuring charge was GBP26.5 million and includes
substantial redundancy costs.
Aviation: Other (including Italy anti-trust fine)
Other charges in our Aviation sector relate to a fine in Italy
and associated legal costs, plus additional costs from our
Brexit-related restructure in addition to those recognised in the
prior financial year.
We have recognised a provision of GBP46 million in respect of a
EUR51 million fine issued by the Italian Competition Authority to
our subsidiary, Babcock Mission Critical Services Italia S.p.A
("BMCS Italy") following an unsuccessful first instance court
decision. This matter was previously a contingent liability to the
Group. The fine relates to a publicly available "tariff list"
dating back to 2001 produced by a trade association of which BMCS
Italy was a member. BMCS Italy does not accept the basis of this
decision. In particular, BMCS Italy is convinced that the tariff
list never related to the helicopter emergency medical services
("HEMS") and, indeed, this lack of relevance was explicitly stated
on the front of the list from 2012, two years prior to the
acquisition of BMCS Italy by Babcock in 2014. BMCS Italy will
appeal this decision.
Restructuring
This relates to restructuring programmes outside the Aviation
section. The end of the Magnox contract in our civil nuclear
business and the ongoing trading environment in the UK civil
nuclear market has led us to take action to reduce the cost base of
our civil nuclear business as well. The Nuclear restructuring
charge was GBP16.5 million. We have also further restructured our
Rail business. The total restructuring cost of GBP24.3m includes
substantial redundancy costs.
Exits and disposals
The total net credit related to exits and disposals was GBP59.2
million, consisting of a GBP74.7 million gain on the sale of
Context partially offset by additional costs from exits in the last
financial year and the costs of exiting areas of our nuclear
manufacturing business.
4. Net finance costs
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
------------------------------------------------------ ----- -----
Finance costs
====================================================== ===== =====
Loans, overdrafts and associated interest rate hedges 45.6 41.9
====================================================== ===== =====
Lease interest 28.2 5.3
====================================================== ===== =====
Amortisation of issue costs of bank loan 2.1 1.4
====================================================== ===== =====
Other 10.0 14.1
====================================================== ===== =====
Total finance costs 85.9 62.7
====================================================== ===== =====
Finance income
====================================================== ===== =====
Bank deposits, loans and leases 13.0 16.0
====================================================== ===== =====
Total finance income 13.0 16.0
====================================================== ===== =====
Net finance costs 72.9 46.7
====================================================== ===== =====
5. Income tax expense
The charge for taxation of GBP15.0 million (2019: GBP35.4
million) is after including an exceptional tax credit of GBP25.7
million (2019: GBP16.7 million), a tax credit of GBP17.3 million
(2019: GBP20.4 million) relating to acquired intangible
amortisation and a credit of GBP1.2 million (2019: GBP1.3 million)
in respect of deferred tax rate changes. Additionally, there are
credits of GBP0.4 million (2019: nil) (exceptional items) and
GBP1.1 million (2019: GBP1.1 million) (acquired intangible
amortisation) included in the share of profit from JVs and
associates. The charge for taxation gives an underlying effective
rate of 18.0% (2019: 18.0%).
The European Commission decided during 2019 that certain aspects
of the UK Finance Company Partial Exemption ("FCPE") rules
constituted partial State Aid for the period from 2013 to 2018. The
Group has been applying the FCPE rules to certain intra-group
interest income earned in that period. The Group submitted an
appeal against the decision in September 2019, the UK Government
having, by then, also appealed the decision. Regardless of the
outcome of these appeals, the Group believes the risk of a
potential liability to be remote, and that, in any event, such a
liability would be immaterial.
6. (Loss)/earnings per share
The calculation of the basic and diluted EPS is based on the
following data:
2020 2019
Number Number
----------------------------------------------- ----------- -----------
Number of shares
=============================================== =========== ===========
Weighted average number of ordinary shares for
the purpose of basic EPS 505,284,584 505,165,728
=============================================== =========== ===========
Effect of dilutive potential ordinary shares:
share options 872,749 947,702
----------------------------------------------- ----------- -----------
Weighted average number of ordinary shares for
the purpose of diluted EPS 506,157,333 506,113,430
----------------------------------------------- ----------- -----------
Earnings
2020 2019
-------------------------------- --------------------------------
Basic Diluted Basic Diluted
Earnings per share per share Earnings per share per share
GBPm Pence Pence GBPm Pence Pence
------------------------------------ -------- ---------- ---------- -------- ---------- ----------
(Loss)/earnings from continuing
operations (195.2) (38.6) (38.6) 199.4 39.5 39.4
==================================== ======== ========== ========== ======== ========== ==========
Add back:
==================================== ======== ========== ========== ======== ========== ==========
Amortisation of acquired intangible
assets, net of tax 68.9 13.6 13.6 79.5 15.7 15.7
==================================== ======== ========== ========== ======== ========== ==========
Exceptional items, net of tax 476.8 94.3 94.3 144.1 28.5 28.5
==================================== ======== ========== ========== ======== ========== ==========
Impact of change in statutory
tax rates (1.2) (0.2) (0.2) 1.3 0.3 0.3
==================================== ======== ========== ========== ======== ========== ==========
Earnings before amortisation,
exceptional items and other 349.3 69.1 69.1 424.3 84.0 83.9
------------------------------------ -------- ---------- ---------- -------- ---------- ----------
7. Dividends
The Directors have deferred a decision on a final dividend in
respect of the financial year ended 31 March 2020 until further
notice (2019: 22.9p per 60p ordinary share).
8. Goodwill
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
====================================== ======= =======
Cost
====================================== ======= =======
At 1 April 2,589.0 2,608.0
====================================== ======= =======
On disposal of subsidiaries (note 18) (20.6) (9.4)
====================================== ======= =======
Exchange adjustments 2.7 (9.6)
====================================== ======= =======
At 31 March 2,571.1 2,589.0
====================================== ======= =======
Accumulated impairment
====================================== ======= =======
At 1 April 4.8 7.1
====================================== ======= =======
On disposal of subsidiaries (note 18) - (2.3)
====================================== ======= =======
Impairment 395.0 -
====================================== ======= =======
At 31 March 399.8 4.8
====================================== ======= =======
Net book value at 31 March 2,171.3 2,584.2
====================================== ======= =======
During the year, goodwill was tested for impairment in
accordance with IAS 36. The recoverable amount of the Group's
goodwill was assessed by reference to value-in-use calculations
derived from the Group's three-year budget risk adjusted cash
flows, a further year from the Group's strategy plan and
extrapolated cash flows thereafter based on an estimated long term
growth rate of 2.0% (2019: 3.0%). The process by which the budget
and strategy plan is prepared, reviewed and approved benefits from
historical experience, visibility of long-term work programmes in
relation to work undertaken for the UK government, available
government spending information (both UK and overseas), the Group's
GBP35 billion order book and bid pipeline and the Group's
significant tracking pipeline which monitors opportunities prior to
release of tenders. The Group's FY21 budget cash flows include an
assessment of the impact of COVID -19. Recognising the current
economic uncertainties the Group has reduced the long term growth
rate used to value the extrapolated cash flows from 3% to 2%,
equivalent to no growth in real terms.
The Group's weighted average cost of capital post-tax is
approximately 7.8% to 8.2% (2019: 7.8% to 8.6%). This equates to a
pre-tax discount rate in the range 9.5% to 10.0% (2019: 9.5% to
10.5%) and a rate within this range, other than in relation to the
Aviation CGU as set out below, was used in the value-in-use
calculations.
Goodwill is allocated to the Group's cash-generating units
(CGUs) as presented below. These align with the Group's operating
segments and represent the lowest level in the Group at which
goodwill is monitored. A single Nuclear operating segment was
established on 1 April 2019 by combining our naval nuclear
business, included within the Marine operating segment, with our
civil nuclear business and goodwill of GBP163 million was
reallocated from the Marine operating segment to the Nuclear
operating segment based on a relative value in use calculation at
that date. The 2019 comparative has been restated for the
reallocation.
2019
2020 (restated)
GBPm GBPm
========= ======= ============
Marine 341.7 361.2
========= ======= ============
Nuclear 233.1 233.1
========= ======= ============
Land 887.1 889.7
========= ======= ============
Aviation 709.4 1,100.2
========= ======= ============
2,171.3 2,584.2
========= ======= ============
Key assumptions in relation to the risk adjusted budget and
strategy plan cash flows included in the value in use models are
set out below, noting that the budget cash flows include an
assessment of the impact of COVID-19:
Continuing delivery of work programmes with the UK Ministry
Marine of Defence.
======== =================================================================
Continuing delivery of naval nuclear services to the UK
government under long term contracts. Continuing delivery
of opportunities in the civil nuclear decommissioning programme
together with maintenance of ongoing spend in provision
Nuclear of nuclear engineering services to operational power stations.
======== =================================================================
Continuing demand for large scale vehicle fleet management,
equipment support and training from both military and civil
customers, noting that significant elements of equipment
Land support and training are the subject of long-term contracts.
======== =================================================================
Continuing delivery of long-term contracts with the UK Ministry
of Defence and growth in aerial emergency services worldwide
where the Group has a number of leadership positions. Reflecting
the low oil price and the highly competitive oil and gas
Aviation market, no improvement is expected in this area.
======== =================================================================
The value in use calculations present significant headroom in
respect of all the CGUs other than Aviation. There are no
reasonably possible changes in assumptions for all CGUs other than
Aviation which could give rise to the recoverable amount being
lower than the carrying amount. In this respect it would require
long term growth of nil (effectively negative growth of 2% in real
terms), together with discount rates of 58%, 46% and 14% to
eliminate the headroom in the Marine, Nuclear and Land CGUs
respectively. The directors do not consider these to be plausible
assumptions.
Recognising the current economic conditions and market
expectations, particularly in oil and gas, the directors revised
the estimate of risk adjusted cash flows expected from the Aviation
CGU and additionally, in consideration of CGU specific risk
factors, used an increased discount rate of 10.9% (2019:10%) to
determine the value in use. These revisions, together with the
reduced long term growth rate applied to all CGUs, resulted in an
impairment of GBP395 million.
The recoverable amount of Aviation goodwill continues to be
subject to sensitivities. An increase in the discount rate of 25bps
would decrease value in use by GBP46 million and a reduction in the
long term growth rate of 25bps would decrease value in use by GBP34
million. A reduction of GBP10 million in the operating profit of
the continuing year used to extrapolate cash flows would result in
a reduction in value in use by GBP79 million. Accordingly,
reasonably possible changes exist which would give rise to a
further impairment.
9. Investment in and loans to joint ventures and associates
Investment in Loans to joint
joint ventures ventures
and associates and associates Total
----------------- ----------------- --------------
2020 2019 2020 2019 2020 2019
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
------------------------------------- -------- ------- -------- ------- ------ ------
At 1 April 153.2 119.3 42.5 27.8 195.7 147.1
===================================== ======== ======= ======== ======= ====== ======
Disposal of joint ventures
and associates - (6.6) - - - (6.6)
===================================== ======== ======= ======== ======= ====== ======
Loans repaid by joint ventures
and associates - - (0.7) (2.3) (0.7) (2.3)
===================================== ======== ======= ======== ======= ====== ======
Investment in joint ventures
and associates 0.3 - 5.5 10.8 5.8 10.8
===================================== ======== ======= ======== ======= ====== ======
Share of profits 58.6 83.8 - - 58.6 83.8
===================================== ======== ======= ======== ======= ====== ======
Amounts accrued and capitalised - - 3.8 6.5 3.8 6.5
===================================== ======== ======= ======== ======= ====== ======
Interest received - - (2.5) (0.3) (2.5) (0.3)
===================================== ======== ======= ======== ======= ====== ======
Dividends received (52.0) (44.6) - - (52.0) (44.6)
===================================== ======== ======= ======== ======= ====== ======
Fair value adjustment of derivatives (14.4) 1.8 - - (14.4) 1.8
===================================== ======== ======= ======== ======= ====== ======
Tax on fair value adjustment
of derivatives 2.3 (0.3) - - 2.3 (0.3)
===================================== ======== ======= ======== ======= ====== ======
Foreign exchange - (0.2) - - - (0.2)
------------------------------------- -------- ------- -------- ------- ------ ------
At 31 March 148.0 153.2 48.6 42.5 196.6 195.7
------------------------------------- -------- ------- -------- ------- ------ ------
Included within investment in joint ventures and associates is
goodwill of GBP1.2 million (2019: GBP1.2 million).
The total investment in and loans to joint ventures and
associates is attributable to the following segments:
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
--------------- ----- -----
Marine 5.8 6.0
=============== ===== =====
Nuclear 25.6 42.1
=============== ===== =====
Land 90.6 77.4
=============== ===== =====
Aviation 74.6 70.2
=============== ===== =====
Net book value 196.6 195.7
=============== ===== =====
Included within joint ventures and associates are:
Total
Country Operating comprehensive
of Assets Liabilities Revenue profit/(loss)* income/(loss) % interest
incorporation GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm held
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
2020
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
Holdfast Training Services
Limited United Kingdom 61.5 (5.7) 69.3 18.4 14.4 74%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
ALC (Superholdco) Limited United Kingdom 34.4 (14.5) 18.9 14.6 11.2 50%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
AirTanker Limited United Kingdom 405.1 (394.2) 38.2 9.8 7.1 13%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
AirTanker Services Limited United Kingdom 35.5 (5.1) 40.2 4.4 2.6 22%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
Ascent Flight Training
(Holdings) Limited United Kingdom 94.6 (69.7) 85.9 18.0 14.8 50%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
Naval Ship Management
(Australia)
Pty Limited Australia 13.9 (12.4) 48.0 3.7 2.6 50%
Cavendish Dounreay
Partnership
Limited United Kingdom 38.7 (16.0) 99.8 6.9 5.5 50%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
Cavendish Fluor
Partnership
Limited United Kingdom 3.3 - 130.1 5.2 2.2 65%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
Other 45.0 (17.8) 15.7 (1.2) (1.8)
=========================================== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
732.0 (535.4) 546.1 79.8 58.6
========================================== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
2019
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
Holdfast Training Services
Limited United Kingdom 46.3 (3.6) 80.6 28.4 23.6 74%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
ALC (Superholdco) Limited United Kingdom 19.1 - 19.3 11.3 8.3 50%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
AirTanker Limited United Kingdom 409.3 (390.6) 42.5 13.4 10.2 13%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
AirTanker Services Limited United Kingdom 32.9 - 43.7 5.0 3.1 22%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
Ascent Flight Training
(Holdings) Limited United Kingdom 113.5 (98.7) 61.5 5.0 5.3 50%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
Naval Ship Management
(Australia)
Pty Limited Australia 5.2 (4.1) 23.7 4.2 2.9 50%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
Cavendish Dounreay
Partnership
Limited United Kingdom 39.4 (19.8) 110.5 7.8 6.2 50%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
Cavendish Fluor
Partnership
Limited United Kingdom 102.6 (80.2) 390.8 28.9 23.4 65%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
ABC Electrification
Limited United Kingdom 2.6 - 50.7 (0.2) (0.2) 33%
========================== =============== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
Other 21.8 - 33.9 3.0 1.0
=========================================== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
792.7 (597.0) 857.2 106.8 83.8
========================================== ====== =========== ======= =============== ============== ==========
* Before amortisation of acquired intangibles.
Joint ventures and associates revenue excluding Group
sub-contract revenue is GBP422.2 million (2019: GBP685.8
million).
The joint ventures and associates have no significant contingent
liabilities to which the Group is exposed.
None (2019: none) of the joint ventures or associates had
material amounts of other comprehensive income or profits from
discontinued operations and therefore the total comprehensive
income noted in the table above is in line with profits from
continuing operations.
Holdfast Training Services Limited and Cavendish Fluor
Partnership Limited are equity accounted as unanimous decision
making is required over key decisions which drive the relevant
activities of the business. Both the Holdfast Training Services
Limited and Cavendish Fluor Partnership Limited joint arrangements
are shown as joint ventures as the Group has the right to net
assets of the joint arrangement rather than separate rights and
obligations to the assets and liabilities of the joint arrangement
respectively. Holdfast Training Services Limited and Cavendish
Fluor Partnership Limited had other comprehensive income of GBPnil
in the year (2019: GBPnil). The Magnox decommissioning contract
being delivered by the Cavendish Flour Partnership Limited
completed on 31 August 2019.
AirTanker Limited is included as an associate due to the level
of management input and the relative share ownership.
Ascent Flight Training (Holdings) Limited benefitted from an
improved cumulative margin position in the year.
No joint ventures and associates are deemed individually
material to the Group.
10. Trade and other receivables
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
============================================== ===== =====
Current assets
============================================== ===== =====
Trade receivables 283.6 255.5
============================================== ===== =====
Less: provision for impairment of receivables (7.0) (6.0)
============================================== ===== =====
Trade receivables - net 276.6 249.5
============================================== ===== =====
Amounts due from customers for contract work 242.3 266.0
============================================== ===== =====
Accrued income 108.6 133.2
============================================== ===== =====
Capitalised contract costs 80.8 62.9
============================================== ===== =====
Contract assets 431.7 462.1
============================================== ===== =====
Retentions 8.1 9.1
============================================== ===== =====
Amounts due from related parties (note 19) 2.9 11.4
============================================== ===== =====
Other debtors 127.9 108.3
============================================== ===== =====
Prepayments 83.6 76.7
============================================== ===== =====
930.8 917.1
============================================== ===== =====
Trade and other receivables are stated at amortised cost.
Significant changes in contract assets during the year are as
follows:
Amounts
due from
customers Capitalised
for contract Accrued contract Contract
work income costs assets
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
31 March 2019 266.0 133.2 62.9 462.1
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
Transfers from contract assets recognised
at the beginning of the year to receivables (240.1) (118.7) - (358.8)
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
Increase due to work done not transferred
from contract assets 222.4 104.8 - 327.2
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
Amounts capitalised - - 39.3 39.3
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
Amortisation of contract assets - - (9.9) (9.9)
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
Write down of contract assets* (4.6) (8.7) (0.2) (13.5)
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
Other - (2.2) (5.3) (7.5)
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
Exchange adjustment (1.4) 0.2 (6.0) (7.2)
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
31 March 2020 242.3 108.6 80.8 431.7
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
31 March 2018 462.8 118.5 - 581.3
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
Reclassification - IFRS 15 adoption (53.5) - 53.5 -
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
1 April 2018 - restated 409.3 118.5 53.5 581.3
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
Transfers from contract assets recognised
at the beginning of the year to receivables (394.7) (112.5) - (507.2)
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
Increase due to work done not transferred
from contract assets 264.5 128.5 - 393.0
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
Amounts capitalised - - 26.5 26.5
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
Amortisation of contract assets - - (8.7) (8.7)
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
Write down of contract assets* (14.4) - (6.3) (20.7)
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
Other - (1.0) - (1.0)
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
Exchange adjustment 1.3 (0.3) (2.1) (1.1)
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
31 March 2019 266.0 133.2 62.9 462.1
============================================= ============= ======= =========== ========
*The asset write downs are included in exceptional charges in
Note 3; amounts due from customers for contract work relate to
business exits and accrued income relates to the Aviation
sector.
11. Trade and other payables
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
=========================================== ======= =======
Current liabilities
=========================================== ======= =======
Contract cost accruals 222.8 188.5
=========================================== ======= =======
Amounts due to customers for contract work 207.3 192.8
=========================================== ======= =======
Deferred income 32.8 40.0
=========================================== ======= =======
Contract liabilities 462.9 421.3
=========================================== ======= =======
Trade creditors 474.3 510.6
=========================================== ======= =======
Amounts due to related parties (note 19) 0.7 1.0
=========================================== ======= =======
Other creditors 80.8 63.9
=========================================== ======= =======
Other taxes and social security 125.2 125.6
=========================================== ======= =======
Accruals 222.4 259.0
=========================================== ======= =======
1,366.3 1,381.4
=========================================== ======= =======
Non-current liabilities
=========================================== ======= =======
Other creditors 2.1 2.0
=========================================== ======= =======
Included in creditors is GBP6.1 million (2019: GBP19.5 million)
relating to capital expenditure which has therefore not been
included in working capital movements within the cash flow.
Significant changes in contract liabilities during the year are
as follows:
Amounts
due to
customers
Contract for contract Deferred Contract
cost accrual work income liabilities
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
31 March 2019 188.5 192.8 40.0 421.3
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
Revenue recognised that was included in
the contract liability balance at the
beginning of the year - (141.1) (38.5) (179.6)
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
Increase due to cash received, excluding
amounts recognised as revenue - 158.0 33.9 191.9
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
Amounts accrued 219.2 - - 219.2
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
Amounts utilised (182.1) - - (182.1)
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
Disposal - - (1.2) (1.2)
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
Exchange adjustment (2.8) (2.4) (1.4) (6.6)
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
31 March 2020 222.8 207.3 32.8 462.9
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
31 March 2018 179.9 173.4 60.0 413.3
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
Revenue recognised that was included in
the contract liability balance at the
beginning of the year - (143.8) (56.4) (200.2)
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
Increase due to cash received, excluding
amounts recognised as revenue - 168.5 37.4 205.9
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
Amounts accrued 183.7 - - 183.7
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
Amounts utilised (167.2) - - (167.2)
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
Disposal (6.0) (4.1) - (10.1)
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
Exchange adjustment (1.9) (1.2) (1.0) (4.1)
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
31 March 2019 188.5 192.8 40.0 421.3
========================================= ============= ============= ======== ============
12. Other financial assets and liabilities
Fair value
-------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
Assets Liabilities
------------ -------------
2020 2019 2020 2019
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
-------------------------------------------- ----- ----- ------ -----
Non-current
============================================ ===== ===== ====== =====
US private placement - derivative - 75.2 - -
============================================ ===== ===== ====== =====
US private placement - interest rate
swaps - - - 1.0
============================================ ===== ===== ====== =====
8 year Eurobond September 2027 - derivative - - 6.1 -
============================================ ===== ===== ====== =====
8 year Eurobond September 2027 - interest
rate swaps - - 17.0 -
============================================ ===== ===== ====== =====
Interest rate hedge - - 0.8 0.8
============================================ ===== ===== ====== =====
Other currency hedges 14.6 2.0 11.7 7.5
-------------------------------------------- ----- ----- ------ -----
Financial derivatives 14.6 77.2 35.6 9.3
============================================ ===== ===== ====== =====
Leases granted 6.9 16.6 - -
-------------------------------------------- ----- ----- ------ -----
Total non-current other financial assets
and liabilities 21.5 93.8 35.6 9.3
-------------------------------------------- ----- ----- ------ -----
Current
============================================ ===== ===== ====== =====
US private placement - derivative 95.5 - - -
============================================ ===== ===== ====== =====
US private placement - interest rate
swaps 9.2 - - -
============================================ ===== ===== ====== =====
Interest rate hedge - - 0.1 0.1
============================================ ===== ===== ====== =====
Other currency hedge 17.5 3.7 8.9 4.8
-------------------------------------------- ----- ----- ------ -----
Financial derivatives 122.2 3.7 9.0 4.9
============================================ ===== ===== ====== =====
Leases granted 31.7 44.3 - -
-------------------------------------------- ----- ----- ------ -----
Total current other financial assets
and liabilities 153.9 48.0 9.0 4.9
-------------------------------------------- ----- ----- ------ -----
The Group enters into forward foreign currency contracts to
hedge the currency exposures that arise on sales, purchases,
deposits and borrowings denominated in foreign currencies, as the
transactions occur. There is no material ineffectiveness on any of
the Group's hedging activities.
The Group enters into interest rate hedges against interest rate
exposure and to create a balance between fixed and floating
interest rates.
The fair values of the financial instruments are based on
valuation techniques (level 2) using underlying market data and
discounted
cash flows.
13. Provisions for other liabilities
Employee
benefits
and business
Insurance Contract/ reorganisation Property Expected
provisions warranty costs and other credit Total
(a) (b) (c) (d) losses provisions
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
=============================== =========== ========= =============== ========== ======== ===========
At 1 April 2020 0.5 8.8 65.3 29.0 0.3 103.9
=============================== =========== ========= =============== ========== ======== ===========
IFRS 16 transition - - (17.1) (4.1) - (21.2)
=============================== =========== ========= =============== ========== ======== ===========
Disposal of subsidiaries - - - (0.3) - (0.3)
=============================== =========== ========= =============== ========== ======== ===========
Net charge to income statement - 9.4 56.0 45.4 0.1 110.9
=============================== =========== ========= =============== ========== ======== ===========
Utilised in year 0.1 (0.9) (42.9) (4.8) - (48.5)
=============================== =========== ========= =============== ========== ======== ===========
Foreign exchange - - (0.4) (0.8) - (1.2)
=============================== =========== ========= =============== ========== ======== ===========
At 31 March 2020 0.6 17.3 60.9 64.4 0.4 143.6
=============================== =========== ========= =============== ========== ======== ===========
Included within net charge to income statement is GBP111.7
million relating to exceptional items, with GBP10.3 million
relating to contract/warranty, GBP53.8 million relating to employee
benefits and business reorganisation, and GBP47.6 million relating
to property and other.
Provisions have been analysed between current and non-current as
follows:
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
============ ===== =====
Current 113.2 63.4
============ ===== =====
Non-current 30.4 40.5
============ ===== =====
143.6 103.9
============ ===== =====
(a) The insurance provisions arise in the Group's captive
insurance company, Chepstow Insurance Limited. They relate to
specific claims assessed in accordance with the advice of
independent actuaries.
(b) The contract/warranty provisions relate to onerous contracts
(see note 3) and warranty obligations on completed contracts and
disposals.
(c) The employee benefits and reorganisation costs arise mainly
in relation to restructuring (see note 3), acquired businesses,
personnel related costs and payroll taxes.
(d) Property and other in the main relate to provisions for the
fine in Italy (see note 3), dilapidation costs and contractual
obligations in respect of infrastructure. Onerous lease provisions
have been utilised and offset against right-of-use assets as part
of the IFRS 16 transition (refer to note 17).
Included within provisions is GBP5 million expected to be
utilised over approximately ten years. Other than these provisions
the Group's non-current provisions are expected to be utilised
within two to five years.
14. Movement in net debt
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
-------------------------------------------------------- --------- ---------
Increase /(decrease) in cash in the year 1,083.6 (5.6)
======================================================== ========= =========
Cash flow from the increase in debt and lease financing (937.3) (27.4)
-------------------------------------------------------- --------- ---------
Change in net funds resulting from cash flows 146.3 (33.0)
======================================================== ========= =========
Debt disposed of with subsidiaries 3.1 -
======================================================== ========= =========
Additional lease obligations (128.1) -
======================================================== ========= =========
Leases - granted 30.0 176.6
======================================================== ========= =========
Movement in joint ventures and associates loans 6.1 14.7
======================================================== ========= =========
Foreign currency translation differences (53.8) (1.0)
======================================================== ========= =========
Transition to IFRS 16 (640.8) -
-------------------------------------------------------- --------- ---------
Movement in net debt in the year (637.2) 157.3
======================================================== ========= =========
Net debt at the beginning of the year (957.7) (1,115.0)
-------------------------------------------------------- --------- ---------
Net debt at the end of the year (1,594.9) (957.7)
-------------------------------------------------------- --------- ---------
15. Changes in net debt
Transition
31 March Disposal Additional to IFRS Exchange 31 March
2019 Cash flow of subsidiaries leases 16 movement 2020
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
------------------------------ --------- --------- ---------------- ---------- ---------- --------- ---------
Cash and bank balances 275.2 985.0 101.6 - - (10.4) 1,351.4
============================== ========= ========= ================ ========== ========== ========= =========
Bank overdrafts - (3.0) - - - 0.3 (2.7)
------------------------------ --------- --------- ---------------- ---------- ---------- --------- ---------
Cash, cash equivalents
and bank overdrafts 275.2 982.0 101.6 - - (10.1) 1,348.7
------------------------------ --------- --------- ---------------- ---------- ---------- --------- ---------
Debt (1,345.7) (1,062.4) - - - (39.3) (2,447.4)
============================== ========= ========= ================ ========== ========== ========= =========
Leases - payable (65.8) 175.0 3.1 (128.1) (640.8) (16.2) (672.8)
============================== ========= ========= ================ ========== ========== ========= =========
Leases - granted 60.9 (49.9) - 30.0 - (2.4) 38.6
------------------------------ --------- --------- ---------------- ---------- ---------- --------- ---------
(1,350.6) (937.3) 3.1 (98.1) (640.8) (57.9) (3,081.6)
------------------------------ --------- --------- ---------------- ---------- ---------- --------- ---------
Net debt before derivatives
and joint ventures and
associates loans (1,075.4) 44.7 104.7 (98.1) (640.8) (68.0) (1,732.9)
------------------------------ --------- --------- ---------------- ---------- ---------- --------- ---------
Net debt derivative 75.2 - - - - 14.2 89.4
============================== ========= ========= ================ ========== ========== ========= =========
Joint ventures and associates
loans 42.5 6.1 - - - - 48.6
------------------------------ --------- --------- ---------------- ---------- ---------- --------- ---------
Net debt (957.7) 50.8 104.7 (98.1) (640.8) (53.8) (1,594.9)
------------------------------ --------- --------- ---------------- ---------- ---------- --------- ---------
16. Retirement benefits and liabilities
Analysis of movement in the Group statement of financial
position.
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
----------------------------------------------------------- ------- -------
Fair value of plan assets (including reimbursement rights)
=========================================================== ======= =======
At 1 April 4,582.2 4,734.9
=========================================================== ======= =======
Interest on assets 104.8 115.4
=========================================================== ======= =======
Actuarial gain on assets (36.1) 137.2
=========================================================== ======= =======
Employer contributions 110.9 95.5
=========================================================== ======= =======
Employee contributions 0.3 0.5
=========================================================== ======= =======
Benefits paid (270.5) (339.4)
=========================================================== ======= =======
Settlements (80.3) (161.9)
----------------------------------------------------------- ------- -------
At 31 March 4,411.3 4,582.2
----------------------------------------------------------- ------- -------
Present value of benefit obligations
=========================================================== ======= =======
At 1 April 4,610.2 4,739.7
=========================================================== ======= =======
Service cost 33.7 38.9
=========================================================== ======= =======
Incurred expenses 3.7 3.8
=========================================================== ======= =======
Interest cost 104.9 115.1
=========================================================== ======= =======
Employee contributions 0.3 0.5
=========================================================== ======= =======
Experience losses 29.2 38.2
=========================================================== ======= =======
Actuarial (loss)/gain - demographics 14.8 (47.2)
=========================================================== ======= =======
Actuarial gain/(loss) - financial (180.0) 204.6
=========================================================== ======= =======
Benefits paid (including transfers) (270.5) (339.4)
=========================================================== ======= =======
Past service costs - 25.9
=========================================================== ======= =======
Settlements (80.2) (169.9)
----------------------------------------------------------- ------- -------
At 31 March 4,266.1 4,610.2
=========================================================== ======= =======
Net surplus/(deficit) at 31 March 145.2 (28.0)
----------------------------------------------------------- ------- -------
The amounts recognised in the Group income statement are as
follows:
2020 2019
GBPm GBPm
--------------------------------------- ----- -----
Current service cost 33.7 38.9
======================================= ===== =====
Incurred expenses 3.7 3.8
======================================= ===== =====
Past service costs - 25.9
======================================= ===== =====
Settlements - (8.0)
======================================= ===== =====
Total included within operating profit 37.4 60.6
======================================= ===== =====
Net interest cost/(credit) 0.1 (0.3)
======================================= ===== =====
Total included within income statement 37.5 60.3
--------------------------------------- ----- -----
As at 31 March 2020 the key assumptions used in valuing pension
liabilities were:
Discount rate 2.4% (31 March 2019: 2.4%)
Inflation rate
(RPI) 2.6% (31 March 2019: 3.2%)
17. IFRS 16, 'Leases'
IFRS 16, 'Leases' became effective from 1 January 2019 and replaced
IAS 17, 'Leases' as the definitive accounting standard for the recognition,
measurement and disclosure of leases. The Group adopted the standard
from 1 April 2019.
Under the new standard, lessees recognise almost all leases on the
statement of financial position as the distinction between finance
leases and operating leases is removed. Both short-term leases and
low-value leases are exempt from IFRS 16, and instead their lease
payments can be recognised as expenses on a straight-line basis.
The approach for lessors remains largely unchanged.
The Group adopted the modified retrospective transition approach,
with the right-of-use assets measured at the amount of the lease
liability on the date of transition for the majority of leases. The
lease liability was calculated as the present value of the minimum
lease payments on the date of transition. For a number of high value
property and aircraft leases however, the right-of-use assets have
been calculated as if the leases had always existed and their value
on the date of transition was measured as the present value of the
minimum lease payments at the inception date less accrued depreciation
and any impairments. The difference between the right-of-use assets
and lease liabilities on the date of transition was taken to retained
earnings. Comparative figures have not been restated for the year
ended 31 March 2019.
The Group has completed its transition to IFRS 16 and has taken advantage
of permitted expedience to exclude leases under GBP5,000, leases
of less than one year and service contracts in place at the date
of transition
The weighted average incremental borrowing rate applied by the Group
to the lease liabilities on 1 January 2019 was 3.99%.
The adoption of IFRS 16, 'Leases' does not impact the covenants of
the Group's existing borrowing facilities as they are all based on
IAS17, 'Leases'. The impact on the Group statement of financial position
at 1 April 2019 is set out below:
As At
1 April
2019
GBPm
================================================================== ===========
Assets
Non-current assets
================================================================== ===========
Right-of-use assets 592.7
==================================================================== ===========
Deferred tax asset 5.0
==================================================================== ===========
Other receivables (0.4)
==================================================================== ===========
Total assets 597.3
==================================================================== ===========
Equity and liabilities
Equity attributable to owners of the parent
================================================================== ===========
Retained earnings (22.3)
==================================================================== ===========
Total equity (22.3)
==================================================================== ===========
Non-current liabilities
================================================================== ===========
Lease liabilities 533.7
==================================================================== ===========
Provisions (6.7)
==================================================================== ===========
Total non-current liabilities 527.0
==================================================================== ===========
Current liabilities
Lease liabilities 107.1
==================================================================== ===========
Provisions (14.5)
==================================================================== ===========
Total current liabilities 92.6
==================================================================== ===========
Total equity and liabilities 597.3
==================================================================== ===========
Following a detailed review of the new IFRS 16 transition
balances an adjustment has been made to both right-of-use assets
and lease liabilities to the balances previously disclosed,
primarily reflecting hindsight on lease extensions.
18. Disposals of subsidiaries, businesses and joint ventures and
associates
On 5 March 2020 the Group disposed of Context Information
Security Limited for GBP107.1 million, which resulted in a profit
on disposal of GBP74.7 million.
During the previous year the Group disposed of its media
business for GBP28.7 million, which resulted in a profit of GBP14.0
million. A further three disposals were made for a total
consideration of GBP11.4 million, which resulted in a profit on
disposal of GBP0.8 million.
During both the current and the previous year the Group paid
certain accrued costs on previously disposed of businesses of
GBP0.8 million (2019: GBP0.8 million).
2020 2019
----------------- -------------------------------- --------- ----------- ---------- ------- ------------ ------
Context Previously Previously
Information disposed Babcock disposed
Security of Media Babcock Helidax of
Limited businesses Total Services 4S Limited Powerlines S.A.S businesses Total
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
----------------- ------------ ----------- ----- --------- ----------- ---------- ------- ------------ ------
Goodwill 20.6 - 20.6 7.1 - - - - 7.1
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Investments in
joint
ventures and
associates - - - - - - 6.6 6.6
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Other intangible
assets 4.0 - 4.0 - - - - - -
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Property, plant
and
equipment 1.6 - 1.6 1.4 - 3.6 - - 5.0
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Right-of-use
assets 2.3 - 2.3 - - - - - -
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Inventory - - - 7.4 - - - - 7.4
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Current assets 6.7 - 6.7 4.0 0.5 - - - 4.5
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Cash, cash
equivalents
and bank
overdrafts 1.8 - 1.8 2.6 4.9 - - - 7.5
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Lease liabilities (3.1) - (3.1) - - - - - -
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Current
liabilities (3.7) - (3.7) (9.6) (2.2) - - - (11.8)
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Taxation (0.4) - (0.4) - - - - - -
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Provisions (0.3) - (0.3) - (0.9) - - - (0.9)
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Net assets
disposed 29.5 - 29.5 12.9 2.3 3.6 6.6 - 25.4
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Disposal costs 2.9 - 2.9 1.8 1.3 - - - 3.1
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Deferred
consideration - - - - - (3.2) - (3.2)
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Profit on
disposal of
subsidiary 74.7 - 74.7 14.0 (1.5) (0.1) 2.4 - 14.8
----------------- ------------ ----------- ----- --------- ----------- ---------- ------- ------------ ------
Sale proceeds 107.1 - 107.1 28.7 2.1 0.3 9.0 - 40.1
----------------- ------------ ----------- ----- --------- ----------- ---------- ------- ------------ ------
Sale proceeds
less cash
disposed of 105.3 - 105.3 26.1 (2.8) 0.3 9.0 - 32.6
================= ============ =========== ===== ========= =========== ========== ======= ============ ======
Less costs paid
in the
year (2.9) (0.8) (3.7) (1.8) (0.5) - - (0.8) (3.1)
----------------- ------------ ----------- ----- --------- ----------- ---------- ------- ------------ ------
Net cash
inflow/(outflow) 102.4 (0.8) 101.6 24.3 (3.3) 0.3 9.0 (0.8) 29.5
----------------- ------------ ----------- ----- --------- ----------- ---------- ------- ------------ ------
19. Related party transactions
Related party transactions for the year to 31 March 2020 are:
sales to joint ventures and associates of GBP134.9 million (2019:
GBP162.1 million) and purchases from joint ventures and associates
of GBPnil million (2019: GBP0.4 million). The year end receivables
balance was GBP2.9 million (2019: GBP11.4 million) and the payable
balance was GBP0.7 million (2019: GBP1.0 million).
For annualised key management compensation, please refer to note
7 and the Remuneration Report in the Annual Report for the year
ended
31 March 2020.
For transactions with Group defined benefit pension schemes,
please refer to note 16 above and note 26 in the Annual Report for
the year ended 31 March 2020.
20. Contingent liabilities
In the normal course of business the Group is subject to certain
claims and litigation against it. Other than elsewhere disclosed,
as at 31 March 2020, the Group is not subject to any litigation
that the directors believe may result in a material loss. Certain
aspects of specific issues are set out below:
(a) Pursuant to the Rosyth Dockyard privatisation agreement, the
MOD will share in the net proceeds of sale or development of the
dockyard following planning enhancement, on terms set out in the
asset purchase agreement between the RRDL and the MOD dated 30
January 1997. By way of security for the MOD's rights to such
share, the Company has granted a fixed charge (standard security)
over the dockyard in favour of the Authority.
(b) The Group has given certain indemnities and warranties in
the course of disposing of businesses and companies and in
completing contracts. The Group believes that any liability in
respect of these is unlikely to have a material effect on the
Group's financial position.
(c) The Group is involved in disputes and litigation which have
arisen in the course of normal trading. The Directors do not
believe that
the outcome of these matters will result in any material adverse
change in the Group's financial position.
(d) As part of its role in the Submarine Enterprise Performance
Program, the Group has provided a GBP9 million financial guarantee
for a supplier to ensure continuity of supply.
21. Subsequent events
Holdfast Training Services Limited
In June 2020, the Group completed the sale of its 74%
shareholding in Holdfast Training Services Limited ("Holdfast") to
HICL Infrastructure PLC ("HICL") for a cash consideration of GBP85
million.
Holdfast was a joint venture in the Babcock Group created in
2008 to undertake a 30-year contract for the Ministry of Defence to
provide training infrastructure and services for the Royal School
of Military Engineering ("RSME"). Babcock will continue to provide
services for RSME on its existing subcontract.
Italy competition fine
During May 2020 the Group lost a first instance decision in
relation to a EUR51 million fine imposed by the Italian Competition
Authority during February 2019 on its subsidiary Babcock Mission
Critical Services Italia S p A ("BMCS Italy"). The Group had
reasonable grounds to believe that the court would overturn the
fine or substantially reduce it and the matter was therefore
previously reported as a contingent liability. BMCS Italy will
appeal the decision but given the loss of the first instance
decision the Group has recognised a provision of GBP46 million in
respect of the fine and related legal costs. Further details of
this matter are included in note 3.
Details on dividends are given in note 7. There are no further
material events subsequent to 31 March 2020 that require
disclosure.
22. Financial information
The financial information in this full year results statement
does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of
Section 434 of the Companies Act 2006.
Statutory accounts for the year ending 31 March 2019 have been
delivered to the Registrar of Companies and those for 2020 will be
delivered following the Company's Annual General Meeting.
The Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2020 and this
full year results statement were approved by the Board on 11 June
2020. The auditors have reported on the Annual Report for the years
ended on 31 March 2020 and 2019 and neither report was qualified
and neither contained a statement under Section 498(2) or (3) of
the Companies Act 2006.
Annual General Meeting 2020
This year's Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, 4
August 2020 at 11.00 am. Details of the resolutions to be proposed
at that meeting will be included in the Notice of Annual General
Meeting that will be published at the beginning of July 2020. It is
expected that in the light of the current UK Government
restrictions on public gatherings that the AGM will be run as a
closed meeting at the Company's registered office.
At our Annual General Meeting in 2007 our shareholders
unanimously agreed to proposals to allow us to use electronic
communications with them as allowed for under the Companies Act
2006. For shareholders who agreed, or who are treated as having
agreed, to receive electronic communications, the Company website
is now the main way for them to access shareholder information.
These shareholders will be sent a 'notice of availability'
notifying them when the Annual Report and Accounts is available on
the Company website www.babcockinternational.com. Hard copies of
the Annual Report and Accounts will be distributed to those
shareholders who have requested or subsequently request them.
Additional copies will be available from the Company's registered
office 33 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 1QX.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking
statements. Such statements may relate to Babcock's business,
strategy and plans. Statements that are not historical facts,
including statements about Babcock's or its management's beliefs
and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Words such as
'believe', 'anticipate', 'estimates', 'expects', 'intends', 'aims',
'potential', 'will', 'would', 'could', 'considered', 'likely', and
variations of these words and similar future or conditional
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but
are not the exclusive means of doing so. By their nature,
forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties
or assumptions, some known and some unknown, many of which are
beyond Babcock's control that could cause actual results or events
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties or
assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial
effects of the plans and events described herein. Forward-looking
statements contained in this announcement regarding past trends or
activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends
or activities will continue in the future. Nor are they indicative
of future performance and Babcock's actual results of operations
and financial condition and the development of the industry and
markets in which Babcock operates may differ materially from those
made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. You should
not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because such
statements relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or
may not occur in the future. Except as required by law, Babcock is
under no obligation to update (and will not) or keep current the
forward-looking statements contained herein or to correct any
inaccuracies which may become apparent in such forward-looking
statements.
Forward-looking statements reflect Babcock's judgement at the
time of preparation of this announcement and are not intended to
give any assurance as to future results.
Approved by the Board and signed on behalf of the Directors
by:
Archie Bethel
Chief Executive
Franco Martinelli
Group Finance Director
11 June 2020
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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