TIDMSMIN

RNS Number : 8164I

Smiths Group PLC

06 April 2020

Smiths Group plc Interim Results for the half year ended 31 January 2020

London, Monday 6 April 2020

Strength & Resilience

   --    Good growth that continued into the first 2 months of the second half. 
   --          Excellent cash conversion. 
   --          Strong balance sheet. 
   --          Increasing trend of weakening demand with the exception of Smiths Medical. 
   --          Resilient business model and actions in place to respond to market changes. 
 
                                               Headline(1)                               Statutory 
                               HY 2020   HY 2019(2)   Reported   Underlying   HY 2020   HY 2019(2)   Reported 
                                  GBPm         GBPm     growth    growth(3)      GBPm         GBPm     growth 
----------------------------  --------  -----------  ---------               --------  -----------  --------- 
 Continuing Operations(4) 
 Revenue                         1,240        1,143        +8%          +3%     1,240        1,143        +8% 
 Operating profit                  186          175        +6%          +1%       145          127       +14% 
 Pre-tax profit                    160          146       +10%          +4%        46           89      (48)% 
 Cash conversion                  109%          63%       +46% 
 
 Discontinued Operations(5) 
 Profit after tax                   70           54       +30%                    133           67       +99% 
 
 Total Group 
 Profit for the half 
  year                             187          160       +17%                    145          121       +20% 
 Basic EPS                       46.9p        40.2p       +17%          +3%     36.3p        30.3p       +20% 
 Cash conversion                   98%          74%       +24% 
                              --------  -----------  ---------  -----------  --------  -----------  --------- 
 

The differences between headline and statutory operating profit are non-headline items as defined in note 3 to the accounts, of which the largest constituents are the offsetting impact of foreign exchange on an intercompany loan between the continuing and discontinued operations, amortisation of acquisition related intangible assets and provision for asbestos litigation in John Crane, Inc.

Smiths Continuing Operations: strong results

-- 4(th) consecutive half of good growth with underlying revenue up +3%, and United Flexible acquisition adding a further 5% of growth. As a result, reported revenue increased +8%.

-- Strong profit growth across John Crane, Smiths Detection and Flex-Tek, held back by market weakness in Smiths Interconnect.

   --    Excellent cash generation; 109% cash conversion. 

Smiths Medical discontinued operations: excellent further progress

   --    Another period of revenue and profit growth, both up +1% on an underlying basis. 
   --    As previously announced, separation delayed due to uncertain conditions. 
   --    A strong start to the second half with increasing demand for critical care products globally. 

Financial strength

   --    Free Cash Flow GBP132m, up 86%. 

-- Net debt of GBP1.3bn (including leases) and EBITDA (Continuing and Discontinued) of GBP699m; a ratio of 1.8x.

-- Issued debt has average maturity of 4.6 years, no maturities until October 2022 & no covenants.

-- Cash of c.GBP250m and undrawn RCF of c.GBP600m; total liquidity headroom in excess of GBP850m.

   --    Based on credit rating, eligible for up to GBP600m in funding via the CCFF. 
   --    Pension plans well hedged, well funded and well invested. 

COVID-19 update

   --    In HY2020 only the Chinese operations of John Crane and Interconnect were disrupted. 

-- Trading to the end of March was affected to some extent by early COVID-19 disruption; this is now accelerating with impact on both demand and supply in the near-term.

-- Resilient characteristics: capex-light, flexible cost base, significant aftermarket activity serving critical industries and strong cash generation.

   --    Actions to reduce costs and protect cash in place. 

Attractive strategic fundamentals

   --    Well-positioned in long term, attractive growth markets. 
   --    Highly-differentiated, market-leading products and services. 
   --    Organic growth complemented by disciplined M&A. 
   --    World-class operational excellence. 
   --    A culture of innovation, entrepreneurship and relentless execution. 

Andy Reynolds Smith , Group Chief Executive, commented:

"We started the year strongly, delivering good growth and cash across the Group. This positive start has also continued during the first two months of the second half, demonstrating the quality and financial strength of our business.

Over the coming months, COVID-19 presents significant uncertainty and our number one priority is to keep our people safe and well. We enter this period confident in our resilience and preparedness; financially, operationally and strategically. We have clear plans underway to contain costs, flex our operations, maximise business continuity and conserve cash. This combined with the significant built-in resilience and our diverse critical end markets with long term structural drivers, will deliver the very best performance through this period and position us well for the future. I'm deeply grateful to our incredible people who are handling this terrible situation with real grit and determination in these challenging times."

Statutory reporting

Statutory reporting takes account of all items excluded from headline performance. On a statutory basis, total Group profit for the half year was GBP145m (HY 2019: GBP121m) and basic earnings per share were 36.3p (HY 2019: 30.3p).

See accounting policies for an explanation of the presentation of results and note 3 to the financial statements for an analysis of non-headline items.

Definitions

The following definitions are applied throughout the document:

(1) Headline: In addition to statutory reporting, the Group reports on a headline basis. Definitions of headline metrics, and information about the adjustments to statutory measures, are provided in note 3 to the financial statements.

(2) HY 2019 has been restated for the reclassification of Smiths Medical as discontinued operations.

(3) Underlying modifies headline performance to adjust prior year to reflect an equivalent period of ownership for divested businesses, excludes the effects of foreign exchange and acquisitions, and adds back the depreciation and amortisation of discontinued operations for comparability purposes.

(4) Continuing operations exclude Smiths Medical which is accounted for as 'discontinued operations - businesses held for distribution to owners'.

(5) Discontinued operations are defined in note 17 to the financial statements.

Contact details

 
 Investor enquiries             Media enquiries              Alex Le May, FTI Consulting 
  Marion Le Bot, Smiths Group    Deborah Scott, FTI           +44 (0)20 3727 1308 
  +44 (0)20 7004 1672            Consulting                   +44 (0)770 244 3312 
  +44 (0)75 8315 4386            +44 (0)20 3727 1459          smiths@fticonsulting.com 
  marion.lebot@smiths.com        +44 (0)797 953 7449 
                                 smiths@fticonsulting.com 
 

Legal Entity Identifier (LEI): 213800MJL6IPZS3ASA11

Presentation

The presentation slides and a live webcast of the analyst presentation will be available at https://smiths.com/investors/results-reports-and-presentations at 09.00 (UK time) today. A recording of the webcast will be made available from 13.00 (UK time).

Photography

Original high-resolution photography is available to the media from the media contacts above or from http://www.smiths-images.com/

This document contains certain statements that are forward-looking statements. They appear in a number of places throughout this document and include statements regarding the intentions, beliefs and/or current expectations of Smiths Group plc (the "Company") and its subsidiaries (together, the "Group") and those of their respective officers, directors and employees concerning, amongst other things, the results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the businesses operated by the Group. By their nature, these statements involve uncertainty since future events and circumstances can cause results and developments to differ materially from those anticipated. The forward-looking statements reflect knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this document and, unless otherwise required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements. Nothing in this document should be construed as a profit forecast. The Company and its directors accept no liability to third parties. This document contains brands that are trademarks and are registered and/or otherwise protected in accordance with applicable law.

COVID-19

As communicated in a trading statement on 31 March 2020, Smiths activated its central crisis management team in January 2020 to drive the Smiths response, first in China and now globally.

People

The health and safety of our people is our number one priority and we have put measures in place to ensure that they remain safe. These include working from home for employees who can, alternating shift schedules and infection controls in manufacturing sites.

Impact on trading year-to-date

Group trading to the end of March was affected to some extent by early COVID-19 disruption, which is now accelerating. In HY2020 only the Chinese operations of John Crane and Interconnect were disrupted. All our sites in China have now reopened and are operating at close to normal levels.

For the 8 weeks ended 28 March 2020, percentage underlying revenue growth for continuing operations and for Smiths Medical was mid-single digit.

All measures are in place to flex cost and conserve cash including hiring freezes, cancellation of discretionary expenditure and, postponement of non-critical capex. We have reinforced controls around receivables and payables, including cash tax (corporate, indirect and payroll).

Demand

We are now seeing generally weaker demand with the exception of Medical, but with some mitigating factors;

-- Some customers have temporarily closed their facilities and have not been able to accept delivery of equipment and services.

-- Together with lower oil prices, energy customers have announced reductions in capital expenditure. John Crane is not exposed to upstream oil & gas and has a very strong order book, two thirds of which is aftermarket.

-- Many airports are closing or operating at significantly reduced capacity, with delays impacting both OE and aftermarket revenue. As a counter balance some customers are starting to pull forward installation, service and software activity in order to use the downtime effectively and enable instant restart when required. Smiths Detection has a record order book to meet global regulatory changes.

-- Smiths is responding to a significant increase in demand globally for critical care devices including ventilators. Smiths Medical is contracting with the UK government and is in discussion with other governments around the world for a significant ramp-up in production of its paraPAC plus(TM) ventilator.

Supply

We are experiencing increasing disruption to supply chain and production;

-- As of 3 April 2020, sites accounting for more than 90% of manufacturing capacity were open but a large number of sites and service centres continue to be affected and this is changing daily.

-- We are pre-emptively obtaining government authorisation for sites supplying critical products to remain operational.

-- A group team is working daily with operating units and suppliers, to identify and resolve potential operations and supply chain issues.

Forward guidance

We are moving decisively on all fronts to address the near-term challenges. Although we believe that we are in a strong position as we enter this period of high uncertainty, it is too early to assess the full impact of COVID-19. Therefore we are withdrawing forward guidance for FY2020.

Results overview

 
Continuing operations                 Foreign   Acquisitions  Underlying 
 (GBPm)                    HY 2019   exchange   & disposals*    movement  HY 2020 
=========================  =======  =========  =============  ==========  ======= 
Group revenue                1,143          5             56          36    1,240 
=========================  =======  =========  =============  ==========  ======= 
Group headline operating 
 profit                        175          1              9           1      186 
=========================  =======  =========  =============  ==========  ======= 
 

* Includes disposals and FY2019 performance from acquisitions that do not have comparators for the prior year

 
                      Underlying revenue                    Variance in operating 
HY 2020 - Headline          growth        Operating margin          margin 
John Crane                   +6%               21.3%               (40)bps 
Smiths Detection             +4%               15.0%               (20)bps 
Flex-Tek                     +3%               18.4%               +40bps 
Smiths Interconnect          (7)%               6.5%              (540)bps 
Group                        +3%               15.0%               (30)bps 
====================  ==================  ================  ===================== 
 

Smiths continuing operations

The commentary below refers to continuing operations (excluding Smiths Medical), unless otherwise stated.

Revenue

The Group has delivered four consecutive halves of good underlying growth. Underlying revenue growth for the half was +3%. John Crane, Smiths Detection and Flex-Tek delivered good performances, whilst Smiths Interconnect was impacted by previously communicated market weakness.

The United Flexible acquisition added a further +5% (GBP56m) of growth. The impact of foreign exchange translation (GBP5m) was marginal. As a result, reported revenue increased to GBP1,240m (HY 2019: GBP1,143m), up +8% or GBP97m.

Operating profit and margin

Underlying headline operating profit growth of +1% was driven by growth in John Crane, Smiths Detection and Flex-Tek, offset by Smiths Interconnect. Headline operating margin decreased (30)bps to 15.0% on a reported basis. The reduction was mainly driven by Smiths Interconnect. The favourable impact of foreign exchange translation (+GBP1m) was marginal. The United Flexible acquisition (+GBP9m) added a further +5% to profit growth. Central costs reduced by +GBP1m to GBP(27)m (HY 2019: GBP(28)m). As a result, reported headline operating profit increased to GBP186m (HY 2019: GBP175m), up +6% or GBP11m.

The GBP(41)m difference between headline and statutory operating profit is non-headline items as defined in note 3 to the financial statements. The largest constituents relate to amortisation of acquisition related intangible assets and provision for asbestos litigation in John Crane, Inc. On a statutory basis, after taking into account all items excluded from headline performance, operating profit of GBP145m was +GBP18m higher than last year (HY 2019: GBP127m).

Finance costs

Headline finance costs of GBP(26)m (HY 2019: GBP(29)m) were lower than last year. This reflects the early repayment of higher coupon debt, which more than offset the inclusion of lease interest following the adoption of IFRS16. Statutory finance costs were GBP(99)m (HY 2019: GBP(38)m) due to a GBP(68)m foreign exchange loss on an intercompany loan with Smiths Medical; the corresponding credit in discontinued operations nets out to zero in total Group earnings.

Taxation

The headline tax charge for the half year of GBP(43)m (HY 2019: GBP(40)m) represents an effective rate of 27.0%

(HY 2019: 27.0%).

Non-headline taxation items of GBP9m (HY 2019: GBP5m) related to tax on non-headline profit, including tax relief on acquired intangibles, and legacy provisions. Therefore, the statutory tax rate is 74.3% (HY 2019: 39.3%). Please refer to notes 3 and 5 of the financial statements for further details.

The headline tax rate for continuing operations is expected to be c.27% for the year ending 31 July 2020.

R&D and capex

The income statement cost of R&D was broadly in line with last year, being GBP(46)m for HY 2020 (HY 2019: GBP(45)m). The cash cost increased to GBP(62)m or 5.0% of sales (HY 2019: GBP(55)m or 4.8%).

Capex at GBP(37)m (HY 2019: GBP(29)m) represented 1.4x depreciation and amortisation (HY 2019: 1.1x), excluding the first time adoption impact of IFRS16.

Cash generation

Strong cash generation is a central feature of our business. Headline operating cash-flow was GBP202m (HY 2019: GBP109m). This strong performance was achieved in spite of higher inventory levels which reflect good order books in John Crane and Smiths Detection. Operating cash conversion was 109% (HY 2019: 63%), with the adoption of IFRS16 providing a tailwind of 9%.

Statutory net cash inflow from operating activities was GBP143m (HY 2019: GBP43m). See note 15 to the financial statements for a reconciliation of headline operating cash to statutory cash-flow measures.

Portfolio

In October 2019, Smiths Interconnect completed the acquisition of Reflex Photonics ("Reflex") for an enterprise value of CAD$40m. Reflex's technological leadership in ruggedized fibre optics significantly strengthens Smiths Interconnect's product offering in defence, space, aerospace and industrial market segments.

For more information, please read note 13 of the financial statements.

Smiths Medical discontinued operations

Smiths Medical continued its return to growth in the first half and has started the second half strongly. Revenue was up +1% on an underlying basis to GBP434m, in line with expectations. The result reflects good growth in ambulatory pumps and vascular access as well as the contribution of new products like convective warming, partially offset by disruption of supply for our syringe pump.

Reported revenue was up +1% after inclusion of GBP4m favourable foreign exchange translation and GBP(3)m revenue from prior year's disposals.

Headline operating profit of GBP94m was up +1% on an underlying basis. Operating profit benefitted from volume growth, offset by restructuring costs (now recorded in headline operating costs) and one-off costs. The costs associated with the Notified Body transition and implementation of the new EU Medical Device Regulation were GBP(4)m, as anticipated. For FY2020 we continue to expect costs of c.GBP(10)m. Underlying headline operating margin was broadly in line with last year at 16.4%, after including full proforma depreciation and amortisation. The difference between statutory and headline operating profit mainly comprised separation costs.

Accounting standards require the Group to stop charging depreciation and amortisation within Smiths Medical, since it has been reclassified as discontinued operations. For comparability purposes, depreciation and amortisation have been included in the calculation of underlying measures.

As disclosed on 31 March 2020, the Board has decided to delay the previously announced separation of Smiths Medical until conditions improve. It is simply not practicable to complete the separation in current circumstances. Moreover, Smiths and Smiths Medical need to focus on navigating the external challenges - including the delivery of ventilators and other critical care devices.

Total Group

The commentary below refers to Total Group, unless otherwise stated.

Total profit and EPS

Total headline profit after tax increased by +17% on a reported basis. Headline basic EPS was up +3% on an underlying basis and up +17% on a reported basis, excluding amortisation and depreciation for discontinued operations and including the United Flexible acquisition. Total statutory profit after tax increased by +20% to GBP145m (HY 2019: GBP121m), driven by the headline performance and lower non-headline items. Statutory basic EPS was also up +20% to 36.3p (HY 2019: 30.3p).

Cash-flow

Headline operating cash conversion for the Group was 98% (HY 2019: 74%), with the adoption of IFRS16 providing a tailwind of 8%. Free cash-flow of GBP132m (HY 2019: GBP71m) increased by GBP61m, underpinned by the strong operating cash-flow. See note 15 to the financial statements for a reconciliation of headline operating cash to statutory cash-flow measures.

Debt

Net debt at 31 January 2020 was GBP(1,270)m, an increase of GBP(73)m in the period, driven by the adoption of IFRS16 (GBP134m). Annualised EBITDA (continuing and discontinued operations) was GBP699m. Hence net debt to EBITDA was 1.8x after inclusion of leases.

Gross debt was GBP(1,517)m (FY2019: GBP1,512m), including leases. There are no covenants associated with this debt. The weighted average maturity was 4.6 years and there are no maturities before October 2022.

Cash reserves were GBP247m (FY2019: GBP315m).

An $800m (c.GBP600m at the period-end exchange rate) revolving credit facility ('RCF') remains undrawn. $160m of the RCF extends until November 2023 and $640m until November 2024. The only covenant relates to interest cover which must be greater than or equal to 3 times, compared with 13 times at the half year.

Taking cash and the RCF together, total liquidity was in excess of GBP850m at the half year.

It is our understanding that the Group should also be eligible to access up to GBP600m in funding via the Bank of England's Covid Corporate Financing Facility ('CCFF').

Together with high cash conversion, a conservative balance sheet means that we are very well placed to withstand external shocks.

Pension

The net accounting pension surplus increased to GBP343m (FY2019: GBP311m), driven by lower inflation expectations, asset returns and experience gains, partially offset by a lower discount rate. Taken together, the two UK schemes are fully funded on a technical provisions basis.

Pension contributions for the half were GBP(16)m (HY 2019: GBP(15)m). For the year, we expect total cash contributions of up to GBP40m across all schemes (FY2019: GBP36m).

The two UK pension schemes are well positioned to withstand the current market environment. The schemes are well hedged, so that a movement in liabilities is largely reflected in the movement in assets. Approximately 35% of the liabilities have been de-risked through the purchase of annuities from third party insurers. Approximately 90% of assets are invested in third-party annuities, government bonds and investment grade credit. Only around 1% of assets is invested in equities.

Dividend

We remain confident in the strength of the Group's financial position. However, as announced on 31 March 2020 and at this time of unprecedented uncertainty, the Board considers it prudent not to declare an interim dividend for HY2020. Recognising the importance of the dividend to shareholders, the Board will review this decision again later in the financial year as trading conditions become clearer.

ROCE

ROCE was 14.7% (HY 2019: 14.5%). The increase reflects the absence of depreciation and amortisation in discontinued operations, partially offset by recent investments (such as the acquisition of United Flexible, which are expected to generate superior returns over the longer-term) and the adoption of IFRS16.

IFRS 16 - Leases

The Group has adopted IFRS 16 from 1 August 2019 and has elected to apply the modified retrospective transition approach, requiring no restatement of the comparative period. The main changes include recognition of right of use assets and lease liabilities with a value of GBP134m (of which GBP43m relates to discontinued operations), and a marginal increase in operating profit due to reclassification of the financing charges inherent in operating lease costs to finance costs.

Foreign exchange

The results of overseas operations are translated into sterling at average exchange rates. The net assets are translated at period-end rates. The principal exchange rates, expressed in terms of the value of sterling, are shown in the following table.

 
               Average rates                   Period-end rates 
      --------------------------------  ------------------------------- 
      31 January  31 January   31 July 
         2020 (6     2019 (6   2019 (1  31 January  31 January  31 July 
         months)     months)     year)        2020        2019     2019 
----  ----------  ----------  --------  ----------  ----------  ------- 
USD         1.27        1.29      1.29        1.32        1.31     1.22 
EUR         1.15        1.12      1.13        1.19        1.15     1.10 
----  ----------  ----------  --------  ----------  ----------  ------- 
 

With over 95% of revenue originating outside the UK, the Group is exposed to foreign exchange movements, mainly the US Dollar and the Euro.

Business review

John Crane

John Crane is a leading provider of mission-critical engineered solutions for global energy and process industries. c.63% of revenue is derived from the energy sector (downstream and midstream oil & gas and power generation) and c.37% comes from other process industries (including chemical, pharmaceutical, mining, water treatment, and pulp & paper). 67% of John Crane revenue comes from aftermarket sales. John Crane represents 38% of continuing Group revenue.

 
                                 HY 2020  HY 2019  Reported  Underlying 
                                    GBPm     GBPm    growth      growth 
-------------------------------  -------  -------  --------  ---------- 
Revenue                              474      449       +6%         +6% 
            Original Equipment       154      142                   +8% 
            Aftermarket              320      307                   +5% 
Headline operating profit            101       97       +4%         +4% 
Headline operating margin          21.3%    21.7%   (40)bps 
Statutory operating profit            94       94      Flat 
Return on capital employed         23.3%    23.0%    +30bps 
R&D cash costs % sales              1.9%     1.9%      Flat 
-------------------------------  -------  -------  --------  ---------- 
 

Revenue

John Crane delivered another good performance, with revenue up +6% on an underlying basis. Reported revenue was also up +6%, as foreign exchange translation had a neutral impact.

Underlying revenue from John Crane's Energy segment was up around +11%. Revenue from Industrial activities was down around (2)% due to a strong comparator and the phasing of orders. John Crane continued to invest in Original Equipment ('OE') projects and expansion of the installed base; OE sales grew +8% overall in the period. Multiple new contracts were secured, including oil and gas expansion projects in the Middle East, Africa and APAC, an oil field development project in Brazil, large petrochemical plants in APAC and the United States, as well as new power, pulp and paper, and chemical contracts across all regions.

John Crane's large installed base and leading service offering position it well to satisfy aftermarket demand for repairs, maintenance and upgrades; underlying aftermarket revenue grew +5% during the year and represents 67% of John Crane's revenue (HY 2019: 68%).

Operating profit

Headline operating profit of GBP101m increased +4% on an underlying basis, mainly driven by good volumes. Headline operating profit margin was 21.3%, down (40)bps, with the positive impact of volume growth being offset by the higher mix of OE. The difference between statutory and headline operating profit includes the net cost in relation to the provision for John Crane, Inc. asbestos litigation.

ROCE

ROCE was up +30bps at 23.3%, despite the adverse impact of IFRS16 adoption.

R&D

Cash R&D expenditure during the period represented 1.9% of sales, in line with last year. John Crane's innovation is primarily focused on enhancing efficiency, performance and sustainability by using materials science advancements, coatings and additive manufacturing. John Crane is also leveraging the Group's digital expertise to support the development of predictive diagnostic platforms and other innovative digital technologies.

During the half, John Crane introduced a standby gas booster to provide constant supply of clean seal gas, at a pressure above that of the process during "off conditions", such as standby or shut down. The advanced seal for crude oil pipeline pumps, launched last year, has been complemented by an equivalent product for light end hydrocarbon applications.

Smiths Detection

Smiths Detection is a global leader in the detection and identification of security threats and contraband. It produces equipment for customers in the Aviation market and Other Security Systems for ports & borders, defence and urban security markets. 48% of Smiths Detection's sales are derived from the aftermarket. Smiths Detection represents 31% of continuing Group revenue.

 
                                     HY 2020  HY 2019  Reported  Underlying 
                                        GBPm     GBPm    growth      growth 
-----------------------------------  -------  -------  --------  ---------- 
Revenue                                  378      361       +5%         +4% 
            Aviation                     254      241                   +5% 
            Other Security Systems       124      120                   +3% 
Headline operating profit                 57       55       +4%         +4% 
Headline operating margin              15.0%    15.2%   (20)bps 
Statutory operating profit                44       43       +2% 
Return on capital employed             11.5%    11.8%   (30)bps 
R&D cash costs % sales                 10.5%     8.8%   +170bps 
-----------------------------------  -------  -------  --------  ---------- 
 

Revenue

Smiths Detection's underlying revenue increased by +4%. The delivery of previously announced contract wins drove Original Equipment ('OE') up +8% on an underlying basis. Aftermarket revenue grew +1% on an underlying basis, accounting for 48% of the division's revenue (HY 2019: 50%). Reported revenue was up +5%, including GBP2m of favourable impact from foreign exchange translation.

Revenue from Aviation activities increased +5% on an underlying basis. Aviation is Smiths Detection's largest segment, representing 67% of total revenue. We continued to see strong demand for hold-baggage systems ('HBS') across Europe, as a result of the ECAC standard-3 regulation, and globally, as airports upgrade their fleets. Demand is also driven by Computed Tomography ('CT') based screening systems for cabin baggage, which allow laptops and liquids to remain in bags. Deliveries in the half included part of the previously announced contracts with Aena in Spain, Airports Authority India (AAI) and with the TSA in the US. Additionally, Smiths Detection secured in the half a large order for HBS at Singapore's airport and orders for cabin baggage screening for airports in Australia, contributing to a record order book for the division.

Revenue from Other Security Systems grew by +3%, reflecting an improved focus in Smiths Detection's other core vertical markets, particularly ports and borders which grew by +4%. Additionally, Smiths Detection secured contracts to deliver inspection systems to improve border infrastructure in Pakistan and Azerbaijan.

Operating profit

Headline operating profit increased +4% on an underlying basis, reflecting good volume growth but also a higher proportion of OE sales (where pricing pressures continued) and increased investment in R&D. As a result, headline reported operating margin decreased (20)bps to 15.0%. The difference between statutory and headline operating profit primarily reflects amortisation of acquired intangibles.

ROCE

ROCE decreased by (30)bps to 11.5%, impacted by the adoption of IFRS16.

R&D

Cash R&D expenditure during the period was 10.5% of sales (excluding customer funded R&D, HY 2020: 7.9%, HY 2019: 6.8%). We continue to invest in the development of the next generation of detection devices for the defence market, new algorithms to improve the detection of dangerous goods for cargo applications and operational efficiency, and digital solutions to strengthen our aftermarket proposition to make people and infrastructure safer. Certain programmes are co-funded by strategic customers seeking next-generation solutions to security challenges.

Flex-Tek

Flex-Tek provides innovative components to heat and move fluids and gases for aerospace and industrial applications. 31% of Flex-Tek's revenue is derived from the Aerospace sector and 69% from Industrials. 41% of Flex-Tek's revenue comes from aftermarket sales. Flex-Tek represents 20% of continuing Group revenue.

 
                             HY 2020  HY 2019    Reported  Underlying 
                                GBPm     GBPm      growth      growth 
---------------------------  -------  -------  ----------  ---------- 
Revenue                          248      184        +35%         +3% 
            Aerospace             77       44                     +5% 
            Industrials          171      140                     +2% 
Headline operating profit         46       33        +39%         +9% 
Headline operating margin      18.4%    18.0%      +40bps 
Statutory operating profit        25       32       (22)% 
Return on capital employed     20.6%    33.3%  (1,270)bps 
R&D cash costs % sales          0.5%     0.7%     (20)bps 
---------------------------  -------  -------  ----------  ---------- 
 

Revenue

Flex-Tek delivered another good half, with revenue up +3% on an underlying basis, driven by growth in both Aerospace and Industrials. On a reported basis, revenue increased +34%, including +GBP56m incremental revenue associated with the acquisition of United Flexible (where integration is progressing well), and +GBP2m favourable foreign exchange translation.

Aerospace revenue was up +5% on an underlying basis, driven by growth in engine and airframe platforms including GEnx, Airbus 320, and LEAP engines, as well as good growth in the overhaul and repair aftermarket business and higher levels of development work for new engine platforms. Industrials revenue was up +2% driven by product innovation in flexible gas tubing and strong growth in flexible duct for construction applications, offset by weakness in some core industrial markets. In the half, Flex-Tek also secured a 2-year $25m contract for heat application products for the aerospace market.

Operating profit

On an underlying basis headline operating profit increased +9% to GBP46m, driven by revenue growth, strong cost management and the non-repeat of one-off costs. As a result, headline operating margin increased +40bps to 18.4%. The difference between statutory and headline operating profit is due to amortisation of acquired intangible assets, provision for Titeflex Corporation subrogation claims, and acquisition costs.

ROCE

ROCE decreased (1,270)bps to 20.6%, driven by the acquisition of United Flexible in the prior year. Excluding this, ROCE improved by +150bps as a result of improved profitability.

R&D

Cash R&D expenditure remained consistent at 0.5% of sales, focused on developing new products to meet specific customer needs for improved efficiency.

Smiths Interconnect

Smiths Interconnect designs solutions for high-speed, secure connectivity in demanding applications for various end markets including defence, semiconductor test, medical, space, commercial aerospace, and rail. Smiths Interconnect represents 11% of continuing Group revenue.

 
                             HY 2020  HY 2019  Reported  Underlying 
                                GBPm     GBPm    growth      growth 
---------------------------  -------  -------  --------  ---------- 
Revenue                          140      149      (6)%        (7)% 
Headline operating profit          9       18     (50)%       (50)% 
Headline operating margin       6.5%    11.9%  (540)bps 
Statutory operating profit         7       17     (59)% 
Return on capital employed     10.1%    12.9%  (280)bps 
R&D cash costs % sales          8.2%     7.4%    +80bps 
---------------------------  -------  -------  --------  ---------- 
 

Revenue

Revenue on an underlying basis was down (7)% reflecting the previously communicated slowdown in the market and a strong comparator. On a reported basis, revenue decreased by (6)% including GBP1m favourable foreign exchange translation.

The volume decline reflects a general slowdown in Interconnect's markets, which were impacted by the China-US trade dispute. This was combined with a strong comparator in the prior year driven by first-half weighted defence and semiconductor programmes.

Operating profit

Headline operating profit decreased (50)% on an underlying basis to GBP9m, reflecting lower volumes and also costs to relocate and rationalise production capacity. As a result, headline operating margin of 6.5% decreased (540)bps. We continue to optimise the operational footprint and to strengthen the product portfolio, through organic R&D and selective acquisition. The difference between statutory and headline operating profit reflects adjustments for amortisation of acquired intangibles and acquisition costs.

Portfolio

In October 2019, Smiths Interconnect completed the acquisition of Reflex Photonics ("Reflex") for an enterprise value of CAD$40m. Reflex's technological leadership in shock-resistant fibre optics significantly strengthens Smiths Interconnect's product offering in defence, space, aerospace and industrial market segments.

ROCE

ROCE decreased (280)bps to 10.1%, driven by lower profitability.

R&D

Cash R&D expenditure increased to 8.2% of sales (7.4% excluding customer funded R&D, HY 2019: 6.4%), as we continued to invest in technology-led growth. R&D is focused on bringing to market new products that improve connectivity in difficult operating environments. Product launches in the half included connectors for power transmission in harsh environments and efficient probe heads for the semiconductor packaging industry.

Smiths Medical - Discontinued operations

Smiths Medical supplies high-quality, cost-effective medical devices and consumables vital to patient care globally. Its portfolio incorporates established brands, with strong positions in select segments of the Infusion Systems, Vascular Access, and Vital Care markets. 82% of Smiths Medical's sales are from consumable and disposable products.

 
                             HY 2020  HY 2019  Reported  Underlying 
                                GBPm     GBPm    growth      growth 
---------------------------  -------  -------  --------  ---------- 
Revenue                          434      430       +1%         +1% 
Headline operating profit         94       71      +32%         +1% 
Headline operating margin      21.7%    16.5%   +520bps     (10)bps 
Statutory operating profit        83       86      (3)% 
Return on capital employed     13.2%    11.9%   +130bps 
R&D cash costs % sales          6.1%     5.8%    +30bps 
---------------------------  -------  -------  --------  ---------- 
 

Accounting standards require the Group to stop charging depreciation and amortisation within Smiths Medical, since it has been reclassified as discontinued operations. For comparability purposes, depreciation and amortisation have been included in the calculation of underlying measures.

Update on separation

As disclosed on 31 March 2020, the Board has decided to delay the previously announced separation of Smiths Medical until conditions improve. It is simply not practicable to complete the separation in current circumstances. Moreover, Smiths and Smiths Medical need to focus on navigating the external challenges - including the delivery of ventilators and other critical care devices.

Revenue

Smiths Medical continued its return to growth in the first half. Revenue was up +1% on an underlying basis to GBP434m, in line with expectations. The result reflects good growth in ambulatory pumps and vascular access as well as the contribution of new products like convective warming, partially offset by disruption of supply for our syringe pump. Reported revenue was up +1% after inclusion of GBP4m favourable foreign exchange translation and GBP(3)m revenue from prior year's disposals.

Underlying revenue was down (3)% year-on-year in Infusion Systems, with good growth in ambulatory pumps offset by the syringe pump. Vascular Access underlying revenue increased by +3% as a result of strong performance in sharps safety and catheters, with successful account conversions to active safety catheters. Underlying revenue from Vital Care and Specialty Products grew +2%, with good growth in the COPD product line, which is now being sold directly, and temperature management, supported by a new product.

Operating profit

Headline operating profit of GBP94m was up +32% on a reported basis (excluding depreciation and amortisation) and up +1% on an underlying basis. Operating profit benefitted from volume growth, offset by restructuring costs (now recorded in headline operating costs) and one-off costs. The costs associated with the Notified Body transition and implementation of the new EU Medical Device Regulation were GBP(4)m, as anticipated. For FY2020 we continue to expect costs of c. GBP(10)m. Underlying headline operating margin was broadly in line with last year at 16.4%, after including full proforma depreciation and amortisation. The difference between statutory and headline operating profit mainly comprised separation costs.

ROCE

ROCE increased by +130bps to 13.2% due to the absence of depreciation and amortisation, partially offset by the adoption of IFRS16.

R&D

Cash R&D expenditure was 6.1% of sales. Smiths Medical continues to invest in the development of innovative, commercially focused products across the portfolio to support long-term, sustainable growth. Product launches in the half included: wireless radio connectivity enhancements to CADD(TM) Solis ambulatory pumps, enhancements to PharmGuard software for infusion systems, next generation range of tracheostomy free from DEHP chemical, an enhanced basic percutaneous kit, and a full component procedural tray. One of the division's most significant new product investments, the large volume pump, has been submitted for approval to the US regulator and to the European Notified Body. The large volume pump market represents a c.GBP2bn extension to Smiths Medical's addressable market.

Other financial matters

Risk management

The principal risks and uncertainties which may affect the Group during the second half of FY2020 are set out below.

COVID-19: The Group is closely monitoring the fast-moving global spread of COVID-19 and taking prudent steps to mitigate any potential impacts to the health and safety of employees, customers and suppliers, and to the successful operation of our business. More information on how Smiths is being impacted by and responding to COVID-19 is set out in page 4 and note 1 to the condensed interim financial statements of this release.

Technology: Differentiated new products and services are critical to our success. We may be unable to maintain technological differentiation or to meet customers' needs and may face disruptive innovation by a competitor.

Economy and geopolitics: Economic and financial market conditions may cause adverse effects on customers or suppliers with consequential capacity or cash-flow implications for Smiths Group.

Acquisitions / integration and divestment / separation: Acquisitions bring risk as well as opportunity. We may invest substantial funds and resources in acquisitions which fail to deliver on expectations - due to incorrect appraisal of the target and/or poor execution. Divestments also carry risk. We may divest an asset at the wrong time or may not realise the appropriate value for the asset. Separation may be complex and, if poorly executed, may impact the wider business.

Product quality: Manufacturing flaws, component failures, damage to persons / property, and / or design defects could require us to recall products causing damage to our reputation and reduction in market acceptance of, and demand for, our products. Also, we are potentially subject to product liability claims and lawsuits, including potential class actions. The mission-critical nature of many of our solutions makes the potential consequences of failure more serious than may otherwise be the case. This includes potential exposure to losses in the event of a cyber security breach relating to the Group's products.

Ethical breach: We have more than 22,000 employees in more than 50 countries. Individuals may not all behave in accordance with the Group's values and ethical standards. We operate in highly regulated markets requiring strict adherence to laws with risk areas including: bribery and corruption , anti-trust matters, international trade laws and sanctions, human rights, modern slavery and international labour standards, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and government contracting regulations.

Cyber security: Cyber-attacks seeking to compromise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of IT systems and the data held on them are a continuing risk. We operate in markets and product areas which are known to be of interest to cyber criminals.

Integrated supply chain: Timely , efficient supply of raw materials and purchased components is critical to our ability to deliver to our customers. Manufacturing continues to be exposed to external events which could have significant adverse consequences , including natural catastrophes, disease pandemics and terrorist attacks. We are also affected by the social, economic, regulatory and political conditions where we operate. This applies to our own manufacturing sites and those of our key component suppliers.

Markets: A significant proportion of our revenue comes from the US and European markets, with a notable proportion coming from governments. In addition to geographical markets, there is a risk we do not focus on attractive market sectors where we have, or could have, a sustainable position.

Customers : Our markets are evolving at a fast pace, creating potential for customers to change their business models as they look to deliver products and services at higher quality, with better service and at lower cost. Failure to keep pace with customer changes / requirements (innovation, go to market, strategies) could have a materially adverse impact on Group performance.

Contractual obligations: We may fail to deliver the products and services we are obliged to deliver , or fail in our contractual execution due to delays or breaches by our suppliers or other counterparties. This may result in significant expenses due to disputes and claims, loss of customers, damage to reputation and adversely impact our financial performance.

People: People are our only truly sustainable source of competitive advantage and competition for key skills is intense, especially around science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. We may not be successful in attracting, retaining, developing, engaging and inspiring the right people with the right skills to achieve our growth ambitions.

Statement of directors' responsibilities

The directors confirm that, to the best of our knowledge:

-- the condensed set of financial statements has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as adopted by the EU;

   --     the interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by: 

a) DTR 4.2.7R of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, being an indication of important events that have occurred during the first six months of the financial year and their impact on the condensed set of financial statements; and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the year; and

b) DTR 4.2.8R of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, being related party transactions that have taken place in the first six months of the current financial year and that have materially affected the financial position or performance of the entity during that period; and any changes in the related party transactions described in the last annual report that could do so.

For and on behalf of the Board of directors:

 
 
  Andy Reynolds Smith    John Shipsey 
Chief Executive        Chief Financial Officer 
 

5 April 2020 5 April 2020

Independent review report to Smiths Group plc

Conclusion

We have been engaged by the company to review the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 31 January 2020 which comprises the consolidated income statement, the consolidated statement of comprehensive income, the consolidated balance sheet, the consolidated statement of changes in equity, the consolidated cash-flow statement and the related explanatory notes.

Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 31 January 2020 is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as adopted by the EU and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules ("the DTR") of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority ("the UK FCA").

Scope of review

We conducted our review in accordance with International Standard on Review Engagements (UK and Ireland) 2410 Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use in the UK. A review of interim financial information consists of making enquiries, primarily of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures. We read the other information contained in the half-yearly financial report and consider whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the information in the condensed set of financial statements.

A review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) and consequently does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion.

Directors' responsibilities

The half-yearly financial report is the responsibility of, and has been approved by, the directors. The directors are responsible for preparing the half-yearly financial report in accordance with the DTR of the UK FCA.

As disclosed in note 1, the annual financial statements of the group are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the EU. The directors are responsible for preparing the condensed set of financial statements included in the half-yearly financial report in accordance with IAS 34 as adopted by the EU.

Our responsibility

Our responsibility is to express to the company a conclusion on the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report based on our review.

The purpose of our review work and to whom we owe our responsibilities

This report is made solely to the company in accordance with the terms of our engagement to assist the company in meeting the requirements of the DTR of the UK FCA. Our review has been undertaken so that we might state to the company those matters we are required to state to it in this report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company for our review work, for this report, or for the conclusions we have reached.

Michael Maloney

for and on behalf of KPMG LLP

Chartered Accountants

15 Canada Square

London

E14 5GL

5 April 2020

Consolidated income statement (unaudited)

 
                                                                                       Six months ended 
                                                        Six months ended               31 January 2019 - 
                                                         31 January 2020                   restated* 
                                                  =============================  ============================= 
                                                            Non-headline                   Non-headline 
                                                                   (note                          (note 
                                                  Headline            3)  Total  Headline            3)  Total 
                                           Notes      GBPm          GBPm   GBPm      GBPm          GBPm   GBPm 
=========================================  =====  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
Continuing operations 
Revenue                                        2     1,240                1,240     1,143                1,143 
Cost of sales                                        (731)                (731)     (652)                (652) 
=========================================  =====  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
Gross profit                                           509                  509       491                  491 
Sales and distribution costs                         (138)                (138)     (130)                (130) 
Administrative expenses                              (185)          (41)  (226)     (186)          (48)  (234) 
Operating profit/(loss)                                186          (41)    145       175          (48)    127 
=========================================  =====  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
Interest receivable                                      4                    4         4                    4 
Interest payable                                      (30)                 (30)      (33)                 (33) 
Other financing losses                                              (77)   (77)                    (15)   (15) 
Other finance income - retirement 
 benefits                                                              4      4                       6      6 
=========================================  =====  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
Finance costs                                         (26)          (73)   (99)      (29)           (9)   (38) 
=========================================  =====  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
Continuing operations - profit 
 before taxation                                       160         (114)     46       146          (57)     89 
=========================================  =====  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
Taxation                                       5      (43)             9   (34)      (40)             5   (35) 
=========================================  =====  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
Continuing operations - profit 
 for the period                                        117         (105)     12       106          (52)     54 
=========================================  =====  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
Discontinued operations 
Profit from discontinued operations           17        70            63    133        54            13     67 
=========================================  =====  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
PROFIT FOR THE PERIOD                                  187          (42)    145       160          (39)    121 
 
  Attributable to: 
Smiths Group shareholders - continuing 
 operations                                            116         (105)     11       105          (52)     53 
Smiths Group shareholders - discontinued 
 operations                                             70            63    133        54            13     67 
Non-controlling interests in respect 
 of continuing operations                                1                    1         1                    1 
                                                       187          (42)    145       160          (39)    121 
=========================================  =====  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
Earnings per share                             4 
Basic                                                                     36.3p                          30.3p 
Basic - continuing                                                         2.8p                          13.4p 
Diluted                                                                   36.2p                          29.9p 
                                                                                                          13.2 
Diluted - continuing                                                       2.8p                              p 
=========================================  =====  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
Dividends per share (declared)                14                                                         14.1p 
=========================================  =====  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
 

* Results for the period ended 31 January 2019 have been restated to reflect the reclassification of the Smiths Medical business as a discontinued operation.

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income (unaudited)

 
                                                                           Six months   Six months 
                                                                                ended        ended 
                                                                           31 January   31 January 
                                                                                 2020         2019 
                                                                   Notes         GBPm         GBPm 
================================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Profit for the period                                                             145          121 
================================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Other comprehensive income: 
Actuarial gains/(losses) on retirement benefits                        6            1        (117) 
Taxation                                                                                        20 
================================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Other comprehensive income/(expenditure) which will 
 not be reclassified to the consolidated 
 income statement                                                                   1         (97) 
 
Other comprehensive income/(expenditure) which will 
 be, or has been, reclassified: 
Exchange losses                                                                 (257)         (14) 
Fair value gains and reclassification adjustments: 
- on financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive 
 income                                                                             1 
- deferred in the period on cash-flow and net investment 
 hedges                                                                           112            7 
- reclassified to income statement on cash-flow and 
 net investment hedges                                                            (1)          (1) 
Total other comprehensive expenditure                                           (144)        (105) 
Total comprehensive income                                                          1           16 
================================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Attributable to: 
Smiths Group shareholders                                                           1           15 
Non-controlling interests                                                                        1 
================================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
                                                                                    1           16 
================================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
 

Consolidated balance sheet (unaudited)

 
                                                     31 January  31 July 
                                                           2020     2019 
                                              Notes        GBPm     GBPm 
============================================  =====  ==========  ======= 
Non-current assets 
Intangible assets                                 7       1,560    1,684 
Property, plant and equipment                     8         218      232 
Right of use assets                               9          92 
Financial assets - other investments                         21       19 
Retirement benefit assets                         6         486      469 
Deferred tax assets                                         106      115 
Trade and other receivables                                  53       52 
Financial derivatives                                        40       47 
============================================  =====  ==========  ======= 
                                                          2,576    2,618 
Current assets 
Inventories                                                 470      417 
Current tax receivable                                       30       11 
Trade and other receivables                                 613      764 
Cash and cash equivalents                        10         206      289 
Financial derivatives                                         2        3 
Assets held for distribution to owners           17       1,219    1,216 
============================================  =====  ==========  ======= 
                                                          2,540    2,700 
============================================  =====  ==========  ======= 
Total assets                                              5,116    5,318 
============================================  =====  ==========  ======= 
Current liabilities 
Financial liabilities: 
- borrowings                                     10        (18)      (9) 
- lease liabilities                              10        (26) 
- financial derivatives                                     (3)      (5) 
Provisions for liabilities and charges           12        (62)     (66) 
Trade and other payables                                  (498)    (569) 
Current tax payable                                        (62)     (56) 
Liabilities held for distribution to owners      17       (253)    (213) 
============================================  =====  ==========  ======= 
                                                          (922)    (918) 
Non-current liabilities 
Financial liabilities: 
- borrowings                                     10     (1,386)  (1,500) 
- lease liabilities                              10        (67) 
- financial derivatives                                              (1) 
Provisions for liabilities and charges           12       (265)    (285) 
Retirement benefit obligations                    6       (138)    (152) 
Corporation tax payable                                     (5)      (6) 
Deferred tax liabilities                                   (44)     (45) 
Trade and other payables                                   (49)     (30) 
============================================  =====  ==========  ======= 
                                                        (1,954)  (2,019) 
============================================  =====  ==========  ======= 
Total liabilities                                       (2,876)  (2,937) 
============================================  =====  ==========  ======= 
Net assets                                                2,240    2,381 
============================================  =====  ==========  ======= 
Shareholders' equity 
Share capital                                               149      148 
Share premium account                                       361      360 
Capital redemption reserve                                    6        6 
Revaluation reserve                                           1        1 
Merger reserve                                              235      235 
Retained earnings                                         1,740    1,993 
Hedge reserve                                             (272)    (383) 
============================================  =====  ==========  ======= 
Total shareholders' equity                                2,220    2,360 
Non-controlling interest equity                              20       21 
============================================  =====  ==========  ======= 
Total equity                                              2,240    2,381 
============================================  =====  ==========  ======= 
 

Consolidated statement of changes in equity (unaudited)

 
                                       Share 
                                     capital 
                                         and                                          Equity 
                                       share      Other   Retained     Hedge   shareholders'  Non-controlling    Total 
                                     premium   reserves   earnings   reserve           funds         Interest   equity 
                             Notes      GBPm       GBPm       GBPm      GBPm            GBPm             GBPm     GBPm 
==========================  ======  ========  =========  =========  ========  ==============  ===============  ======= 
At 1 August 2019                         508        242      1,993     (383)           2,360               21    2,381 
Impact of adopting IFRS 
 16                                                            (1)                       (1)                       (1) 
Impact of adopting IFRIC 
 23                                                            (4)                       (4)                       (4) 
==========================  ======  ========  =========  =========  ========  ==============  ===============  ======= 
Profit for the period                                          144                       144                1      145 
Other comprehensive 
income: 
- exchange losses net of 
 recycling                                                   (256)                     (256)              (1)    (257) 
- actuarial losses on 
 retirement 
 benefits and tax                                                1                         1                         1 
- fair value gains                                               1       111             112                       112 
==========================  ======  ========  =========  =========  ========  ==============  ===============  ======= 
Total comprehensive income 
 for the period                                              (110)       111               1                         1 
Transactions relating to 
 ownership interests: 
Exercises of share options                 2                                               2                         2 
Purchase of own shares                                        (18)                      (18)                      (18) 
Dividends: 
- equity shareholders           14                           (126)                     (126)                     (126) 
- non-controlling 
 interests                                                                                                (1)      (1) 
Share-based payment                                              6                         6                         6 
==========================  ======  ========  =========  =========  ========  ==============  ===============  ======= 
At 31 January 2020                       510        242      1,740     (272)           2,220               20    2,240 
==========================  ======  ========  =========  =========  ========  ==============  ===============  ======= 
 
 
                                       Share 
                                     capital 
                                         and                                          Equity 
                                       share      Other   Retained     Hedge   shareholders'  Non-controlling    Total 
                                     premium   reserves   earnings   reserve           funds         Interest   equity 
                             Notes      GBPm       GBPm       GBPm      GBPm            GBPm             GBPm     GBPm 
===========================  =====  ========  =========  =========  ========  ==============  ===============  ======= 
At 1 August 2018                         506        242      1,826     (302)           2,272               16    2,288 
===========================  =====  ========  =========  =========  ========  ==============  ===============  ======= 
Profit for the period                                          120                       120                1      121 
Other comprehensive income: 
- exchange losses net of 
 recycling                                                    (14)                      (14)                      (14) 
- actuarial losses on 
 retirement 
 benefits and tax                                             (97)                      (97)                      (97) 
- fair value gains                                                         6               6                         6 
===========================  =====  ========  =========  =========  ========  ==============  ===============  ======= 
Total comprehensive income 
 for the period                                                  9         6              15                1       16 
Transactions relating to 
 ownership interests: 
Exercises of share options                 2                                               2                         2 
Purchase of own shares                                        (19)                      (19)                      (19) 
Dividends - equity 
 shareholders                   14                           (122)                     (122)                     (122) 
Share-based payment                                              4                         4                         4 
===========================  =====  ========  =========  =========  ========  ==============  ===============  ======= 
At 31 January 2019                       508        242      1,698     (296)           2,152               17    2,169 
===========================  =====  ========  =========  =========  ========  ==============  ===============  ======= 
 

Consolidated cash-flow statement (unaudited)

 
                                                                        Six months   Six months 
                                                                             ended        ended 
                                                                        31 January   31 January 
                                                                              2020         2019 
                                                                Notes         GBPm         GBPm 
=============================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Net cash inflow from operating activities                          15          187          123 
Cash-flows from investing activities 
Expenditure on capitalised development                                        (18)         (12) 
Expenditure on other intangible assets                                         (8)          (7) 
Purchase of property, plant and equipment                                     (29)         (35) 
Disposal of property, plant and equipment                                                     1 
Net movement in investment in financial assets                                                1 
Acquisition of businesses                                                     (24) 
Disposal of businesses - continuing operations                                               29 
Net cash-flow used in investing activities                                    (79)         (23) 
 
Cash-flows from financing activities 
Proceeds from exercise of share options                                          2            2 
Purchase of own shares                                                        (18)         (19) 
Dividends paid to equity shareholders                                        (126)        (122) 
Settlement of cash share awards                                                (1) 
Cash (outflow) from matured derivative financial instruments                   (1)          (4) 
Principal elements of lease payments                                          (22) 
Reduction and repayment of borrowings                                                     (194) 
=============================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Net cash-flow used in financing activities                                   (166)        (337) 
 
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents                                         (58)        (237) 
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period                           289          717 
Net debt/ (cash) held in disposal group                                          4 
Exchange differences                                                          (29) 
=============================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period                                 206          480 
=============================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period comprise: 
- cash at bank and in hand                                                     179          203 
- short-term deposits                                                           27          277 
                                                                               206          480 
=============================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
 

Reconciliation of net cash-flow to movement in net debt

 
                                                                          Six months   Six months 
                                                                               ended        ended 
                                                                          31 January   31 January 
                                                                                2020         2019 
                                                                  Notes         GBPm         GBPm 
===============================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Net debt at start of period (as previously reported)                 10      (1,220)        (893) 
===============================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Fair value of derivatives used to hedge net debt                                  45           43 
Adoption of IFRS 16                                                            (148) 
===============================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Net debt at start of period (represented)                                    (1,323)        (850) 
===============================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents                                       (58)        (237) 
Net cash held in disposal group                                                   42         (29) 
Repayment of lease liabilities                                                    22 
Reduction and repayment of borrowings                                                         194 
===============================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Movement in net debt resulting from cash-flows                                     6         (72) 
Increase in lease liabilities in the period                                     (11) 
Capitalisation, interest accruals and unwind of capitalisation 
 of fees                                                                        (12)          (6) 
Fair value movement from interest rate hedging                                   (4)         (20) 
Foreign exchange gains                                                            93           21 
===============================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Movement in net debt in the period                                                72         (77) 
===============================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Net debt at end of period                                            10      (1,251)        (927) 
===============================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
 

Notes to the condensed interim financial statements (unaudited)

   1   Basis of preparation 

The financial information for the period ended 31 January 2020 does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. A copy of the statutory accounts for the year ended 31 July 2019 has been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditor's report on those accounts was not qualified, did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying the report, and did not contain statements under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

This condensed set of financial statements has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as adopted by the EU.

The annual financial statements of the Group are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the EU. As required by the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority, this condensed set of financial statements has been prepared applying the accounting policies and presentation that were applied in the preparation of the company's published consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2019, except for the changes detailed in the accounting policies section below.

The Directors have assessed the principal risks discussed on page 13, including by modelling a severe but plausible downside scenario for COVID-19, whereby the Group experiences:

- a closure of operating plants for 2 months across all countries, except China where activities have already begun to recover;

   -       ongoing supply chain disruption due to availability of suppliers; 

- a significant reduction in demand over the next six months across all its continuing divisions, which in conjunction with plant closures, depresses revenue by 20-40% versus prior year; and

- a further period of depressed activity into the next financial year which reduces revenue by 15-35% versus prior year;

Furthermore, this downside scenario assumes;

   -       no material cost mitigation, including staff reductions or government subsidies; and 

- the Medical division remains under the Group's control and continues to operate all its factories with smaller reductions than the other divisions due to continued (and in some instances increased) demand for its critical products.

Throughout this severe but plausible downside scenario, the Group continues to have significant liquidity headroom on existing facilities and against the RCF financial covenant. Moreover, based on its credit rating, the Group should be eligible to participate in the Bank of England's Covid Corporate Financing Facility ("CCFF"); however participation has not been incorporated into the downside scenario.

The Directors believe that the Group is well placed to manage its financing and other business risks satisfactorily, and have a reasonable expectation that the Group will have adequate resources to continue in operation for at least 12 months from the signing date of these condensed consolidated interim financial statements. They therefore consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

The interim financial information was approved by the Board on 5 April 2020.

Accounting policies

The same accounting policies, estimates, presentation and methods of computation are followed in the condensed interim financial statements as applied in the Group's latest annual audited financial statements, with the exception of updating accounting policies to reflect changes required by the adoption of IFRS 16 and IFRIC 23.

Newly adopted accounting policies - IFRS 16 - Leases

The Group adopted IFRS 16 - Leases with effect from 1 August 2019. The standard fundamentally changed the accounting treatment of leased assets, requiring that all material lease liabilities and corresponding 'right of use' assets are recognised on the balance sheet. The operating lease rental expense previously charged to operating profit in the income statement has been replaced by a depreciation charge for the 'right of use' assets recognised in operating profit and an interest charge on the lease liabilities recognised in finance costs.

The Group has adopted IFRS 16 using the modified retrospective transition approach, which does not require the restatement of comparative figures. Adoption of IFRS 16 resulted in right of use assets totalling GBP106m being recognised, together with lease liabilities of GBP105m and a net GBP1m increase in net assets within continuing operations. The weighted average incremental borrowing rate (IBR) was 4.0%. Discounting the operating lease commitments at 31 July 2019 at the IBR reduced the lease liabilities by GBP11m, which was largely offset by increases in the lease liability arising from revised lease extension and termination assumptions.

Within continuing operations during the period, lease interest of GBP2m has been recognised within finance costs and GBP16m of depreciation has been charged to the income statement. In total, payments of GBP18m were made under leasing contracts, of which GBP16m was made to repay the principal portion of the lease. Additionally, administrative expenses include GBP3m in respect of variable lease payments for short term and low value leases which are not included in the lease liabilities and payments disclosed above.

On transition the Group applied the following available practical expedients permitted by the standard:

   -       the exclusion of leases relating to low-value assets (less than GBP5,000 when new); 
   -       the exclusion of short-term leases, being those with a lease term of 12 months or less; and 

- applying the new definition of a lease only to contracts entered into after the transition date.

Newly adopted interpretations IFRIC 23 - Uncertainty over Income Tax Treatments

The Group adopted IFRIC 23 - Uncertainty over Income Tax Treatments on 1 August 2019. This interpretation clarifies how to recognise and measure uncertainties over income tax treatments. The Group already provides for tax uncertainties and the net impact on the Group of implementing IFRIC 23 did not have a material impact on the financial statements.

New standards and interpretations not yet adopted

Certain new standards, amendments to standards and interpretations are not yet effective for the period ended 31 January 2020 and have, therefore, not been applied in preparing these condensed consolidated interim financial statements. These standards are not expected to have a material impact on the Group in the current or future reporting periods.

Presentation of results

In order to provide users of the accounts with a clear and consistent presentation of the performance of the Group's ongoing trading activity, the income statement is presented in a three column format with 'headline' profits shown separately from non-headline items in a form consistent with the prior year.

Judgement is required in determining which items should be included as non-headline. The amortisation of acquired intangibles, impairments, legacy liabilities, material one-off items and certain re-measurements are included in a separate column of the income statement. See note 3 for a breakdown of the items excluded from headline operating profit and headline finance costs.

Performance measures for the Group's ongoing trading activity are described as 'headline' and used by management to measure and monitor performance. See note 2 for disclosures of headline operating profit and note 18 for more information about the calculation of return on capital employed and credit metrics.

In addition, the Group reports underlying growth rates for sales and profit measures, and determining which items should be adjusted for involves judgement. Underlying growth excludes the impact of acquisitions, divestments and the effects of foreign exchange translation, by making the following adjustments:

   -       exclude acquisitions from the current period for the first 12 months of ownership; 

- exclude the performance of divested businesses after the date of disposal from comparative period; and

- retranslate the comparative to current year exchange rates before calculating growth measures.

   2   Segment information 

Analysis by operating segment

The Group is organised into five divisions: John Crane, Smiths Detection, Flex-Tek, Smiths Interconnect and Smiths Medical. These divisions design and manufacture the following products:

- John Crane - mechanical seals, seal support systems, power transmission couplings and specialised filtration systems;

- Smiths Detection - sensors and systems that detect and identify explosives, narcotics, weapons, chemical agents, biohazards and contraband;

- Flex-Tek - engineered components, flexible hosing and rigid tubing which heat and move fluids and gases;

- Smiths Interconnect - specialised electronic and radio frequency board-level and waveguide devices, connectors, cables, test sockets and sub-systems used in high-speed, high reliability, secure connectivity applications; and

- Smiths Medical - infusion systems, vascular access products, patient airway and temperature management equipment and specialised devices in areas of diagnostics and emergency patient transport.

The position and performance of each division is reported at each Board meeting to the Board of Directors. This information is prepared using the same accounting policies as the consolidated financial information, except that the Group uses headline operating profit to monitor divisional results and operating assets to monitor divisional position. See note 3 for an explanation of which items are excluded from headline profit measures.

Following the reclassification of the Smiths Medical business as a discontinued operation, the segmental information for the Smiths Medical division is disclosed in note 17.

Intersegment sales and transfers are charged at arm's length prices.

Segment trading performance

 
                                                                 Six months ended 31 January 2020 
                                    ============================================================= 
                                      John      Smiths                   Smiths  Corporate 
                                     Crane   Detection  Flex-Tek   Interconnect      costs  Total 
                                      GBPm        GBPm      GBPm           GBPm       GBPm   GBPm 
=================================   ======  ==========  ========  =============  =========  ===== 
Revenue                                474         378       248            140             1,240 
==================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =========  ===== 
Divisional headline operating 
 profit                                101          57        46              9               213 
Corporate headline operating 
 costs                                                                                (27)   (27) 
==================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =========  ===== 
Headline operating profit/(loss)       101          57        46              9       (27)    186 
Items excluded from headline 
 measures (note 3)                     (7)        (13)      (21)            (2)          2   (41) 
Operating profit/(loss) for the 
 period                                 94          44        25              7       (25)    145 
==================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =========  ===== 
Headline operating margin            21.3%       15.0%     18.4%           6.5%             15.0% 
==================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =========  ===== 
 
 
                                                                   Six months ended 31 January 2019 - 
                                                                                             restated 
                                    ================================================================= 
                                      John      Smiths                   Smiths  Corporate      Total 
                                     Crane   Detection  Flex-Tek   Interconnect      costs   Restated 
                                      GBPm        GBPm      GBPm           GBPm       GBPm       GBPm 
=================================   ======  ==========  ========  =============  =========  ========= 
Revenue                                449         361       184            149                 1,143 
==================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =========  ========= 
Divisional headline operating 
 profit                                 97          55        33             18                   203 
Corporate headline operating 
 costs                                                                                (28)       (28) 
==================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =========  ========= 
Headline operating profit/(loss)        97          55        33             18       (28)        175 
Items excluded from headline 
 measures (note 3)                     (3)        (12)       (1)            (1)       (31)       (48) 
Operating profit/(loss) for the 
 period                                 94          43        32             17       (59)        127 
==================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =========  ========= 
Headline operating margin            21.7%       15.2%     18.0%          11.9%                 15.3% 
==================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =========  ========= 
 

Segment assets and liabilities

Segment assets

 
                                                                                            31 January 2020 
                                         ================================================================== 
                                                                                           Corporate 
                                            John      Smiths                   Smiths            and 
                                           Crane   Detection  Flex-Tek   Interconnect   non-headline  Total 
                                            GBPm        GBPm      GBPm           GBPm           GBPm   GBPm 
=======================================   ======  ==========  ========  =============  =============  ===== 
Property, plant, equipment, right 
 of use assets, development projects, 
 other intangibles and investments           144         132        60             46             27    409 
Inventory, trade and other receivables       394         461       151            113             17  1,136 
========================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =============  ===== 
Segment assets                               538         593       211            159             44  1,545 
========================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =============  ===== 
 
 
                                                                                                31 July 2019 
                                          ================================================================== 
                                                                                            Corporate 
                                             John      Smiths                   Smiths            and 
                                            Crane   Detection  Flex-Tek   Interconnect   non-headline  Total 
                                             GBPm        GBPm      GBPm           GBPm           GBPm   GBPm 
========================================   ======  ==========  ========  =============  =============  ===== 
Property, plant, equipment, development 
 projects, other intangibles and 
 investments                                  113         106        52             38             20    329 
Inventory, trade and other receivables        428         485       171            132             17  1,233 
=========================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =============  ===== 
Segment assets                                541         591       223            170             37  1,562 
=========================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =============  ===== 
 

Non-headline assets comprise receivables relating to non-headline items, acquisitions and disposals.

Segment liabilities

 
                                                                                            31 January 2020 
                                         ================================================================== 
                                                                                           Corporate 
                                            John      Smiths                   Smiths            and 
                                           Crane   Detection  Flex-Tek   Interconnect   non-headline  Total 
                                            GBPm        GBPm      GBPm           GBPm           GBPm   GBPm 
=======================================   ======  ==========  ========  =============  =============  ===== 
Divisional liabilities                     (166)       (321)      (71)           (47)                 (605) 
Corporate and non-headline liabilities                                                         (362)  (362) 
========================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =============  ===== 
Segment liabilities                        (166)       (321)      (71)           (47)          (362)  (967) 
========================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =============  ===== 
 
 
                                                                                               31 July 2019 
                                         ================================================================== 
                                                                                           Corporate 
                                            John      Smiths                   Smiths            and 
                                           Crane   Detection  Flex-Tek   Interconnect   non-headline  Total 
                                            GBPm        GBPm      GBPm           GBPm           GBPm   GBPm 
=======================================   ======  ==========  ========  =============  =============  ===== 
Divisional liabilities                     (158)       (287)      (63)           (56)                 (564) 
Corporate and non-headline liabilities                                                         (386)  (386) 
========================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =============  ===== 
Segment liabilities                        (158)       (287)      (63)           (56)          (386)  (950) 
========================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  =============  ===== 
 

Non-headline liabilities comprise provisions and accruals relating to non-headline items, acquisitions and disposals.

Reconciliation of segment assets and liabilities to statutory assets and liabilities

 
                                                      Assets             Liabilities 
                                                ===================  =================== 
                                                31 January  31 July  31 January  31 July 
                                                      2020     2019        2020     2019 
                                                      GBPm     GBPm        GBPm     GBPm 
=============================================   ==========  =======  ==========  ======= 
Segment assets and liabilities                       1,545    1,562       (967)    (950) 
Goodwill and acquired intangibles                    1,482    1,606 
Derivatives                                             42       50         (3)      (6) 
Current and deferred tax                               136      126       (111)    (107) 
Retirement benefit assets and obligations              486      469       (138)    (152) 
Cash and borrowings                                    206      289     (1,404)  (1,509) 
Assets and liabilities held for distribution 
 to owners                                           1,219    1,216       (253)    (213) 
Statutory assets and liabilities                     5,116    5,318     (2,876)  (2,937) 
==============================================  ==========  =======  ==========  ======= 
 

Segment capital employed

Capital employed is a non-statutory measure of invested resources. It comprises statutory net assets adjusted to add goodwill recognised directly in reserves in respect of subsidiaries acquired before 1 August 1998 of GBP787m (31 July 2019: GBP787m), and eliminate post-retirement benefit assets and liabilities and litigation provisions relating to non-headline items, both net of related tax, and net debt. See note 18 for additional details.

The 12-month rolling average capital employed by division, which Smiths uses to calculate divisional return on capital employed, is set out below:

 
                                                                              31 January 2020 
                                          =================================================== 
                                             John      Smiths                   Smiths 
                                            Crane   Detection  Flex-Tek   Interconnect  Total 
                                             GBPm        GBPm      GBPm           GBPm   GBPm 
=======================================    ======  ==========  ========  =============  ===== 
Average divisional capital employed           962       1,125       469            380  2,936 
Average capital employed - assets held 
 for distribution to owners                                                             1,290 
Average corporate capital employed                                                       (70) 
=========================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  ===== 
Average total capital employed                                                          4,156 
=========================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  ===== 
Return on capital employed                  23.3%       11.5%     20.6%          10.1%  14.7% 
=========================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  ===== 
 
 
                                                                              31 January 2019 
                                          =================================================== 
                                             John      Smiths                   Smiths 
                                            Crane   Detection  Flex-Tek   Interconnect  Total 
                                             GBPm        GBPm      GBPm           GBPm   GBPm 
=======================================    ======  ==========  ========  =============  ===== 
Average divisional capital employed           905       1,099       206            357  2,567 
Average capital employed - assets held 
 for distribution to owners                                                             1,222 
Average corporate capital employed                                                       (43) 
=========================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  ===== 
Average total capital employed                                                          3,746 
=========================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  ===== 
Return on capital employed                  23.0%       11.8%     33.3%          12.9%  14.5% 
=========================================  ======  ==========  ========  =============  ===== 
 

Analysis of revenue

The revenue for the main product and service lines for each division is:

 
                                            Original 
                                           equipment  Aftermarket  Total 
John Crane                                      GBPm         GBPm   GBPm 
====================================      ==========  ===========  ===== 
Revenue six months ended 31 January 
 2020                                            154          320    474 
Revenue six months ended 31 January 
 2019                                            142          307    449 
========================================  ==========  ===========  ===== 
 
 
                                                         Other 
                                           Aviation   security 
                                           security    systems  Total 
Smiths Detection                               GBPm       GBPm   GBPm 
====================================      =========  =========  ===== 
Revenue six months ended 31 January 
 2020                                           254        124    378 
Revenue six months ended 31 January 
 2019                                           241        120    361 
========================================  =========  =========  ===== 
 
 
                                          Aerospace  Industrials  Total 
Flex-Tek                                       GBPm         GBPm   GBPm 
====================================      =========  ===========  ===== 
Revenue six months ended 31 January 
 2020                                            77          171    248 
Revenue six months ended 31 January 
 2019                                            44          140    184 
========================================  =========  ===========  ===== 
 
 
                                              Components, 
                                               Connectors 
                                             & Subsystems 
Smiths Interconnect                                  GBPm 
====================================        ============= 
Revenue six months ended 31 January 
 2020                                                 140 
Revenue six months ended 31 January 
 2019                                                 149 
==========================================  ============= 
 

Following a review, the Group has rationalised the analysis of divisional revenue to focus on the key markets of each division and to reflect the measures of revenue performance that are reported to and reviewed by the chief operating decision maker of the business. This review resulted in the following changes to the analysis of revenue, and comparatives have been updated accordingly:

- Smiths Detection - Air Transportation has been renamed as Aviation, whilst Urban Security, Defence and Ports & Borders have been aggregated and reported as Other Security Systems;

- Flex-Tek - revenue is now analysed by end market, Aerospace and Industrials. Previously revenue was analysed by product line; and

- Smiths Interconnect - the Connectors and Microwave sectors have been aggregated and reported as Components, Connectors & Subsystems.

The Group's statutory revenue is analysed as follows:

 
                                                           Six months 
                                              Six months        ended 
                                                   ended   31 January 
                                              31 January         2019 
                                                    2020     Restated 
                                                    GBPm         GBPm 
=======================================      ===========  =========== 
Sale of goods recognised as a point in 
 time                                                979          899 
Sale of goods recognised over time                    23           15 
Services                                             238          229 
Revenue - continuing operations                    1,240        1,143 
===========================================  ===========  =========== 
 
   3   Non-statutory profit measures 

Headline profit measures

The Group seeks to present a measure of performance which is not impacted by material non-recurring items or items considered non-operational in nature. This measure of profit is described as 'headline' and is used by management to measure and monitor performance. See the disclosures on presentation of results in accounting policies for an explanation of the adjustments. The items excluded from 'headline' are referred to as 'non-headline' items.

Non-headline operating profit items

The non-headline items included in statutory operating profit for continuing operations are as follows:

 
                                                                              Six months 
                                                                                   ended 
                                                                 Six months   31 January 
                                                                      ended         2019 
                                                                 31 January     Restated 
                                                                       2020            * 
                                                                       GBPm         GBPm 
=============================================================   ===========  =========== 
Post-acquisition integration costs and fair value adjustment 
 unwind 
Integration programmes                                                  (3)          (5) 
Acquisition and disposal related transactions costs 
 and provision releases 
Business acquisition / disposal costs                                   (2)          (6) 
Release of acquisition related provisions                                              4 
Legacy pension scheme arrangements 
Settlement gains on post-retirement benefit schemes                       8 
Guaranteed Minimum Pensions (GMP) equalisation                                      (29) 
Non-headline litigation provision movements 
Provision for John Crane, Inc. asbestos litigation                     (11)          (2) 
Cost recovery for John Crane, Inc. asbestos litigation                                 4 
Movement in provision held against Titeflex Corporation 
 subrogation claims                                                     (5)            2 
Other items 
Amortisation of acquisition related intangible assets                  (28)         (16) 
==============================================================  ===========  =========== 
Non-headline items in operating profit - continuing 
 operations                                                            (41)         (48) 
==============================================================  ===========  =========== 
 

* The comparatives for the period to 31 January 2019 have been restated to reflect the reclassification of Smiths Medical as a discontinued operation.

Post-acquisition integration costs and fair value adjustment unwind

The GBP3m (31 January 2019: GBP5m) of integration programme costs relate to defined projects for the integration of Morpho Detection into the existing Smiths Detection business and United Flexible into the existing Flex-Tek business. Integration programme costs include the direct costs of organisational change, IT system harmonisation expenses, site rationalisation and entity closure costs. The Morpho Detection integration programme is due to conclude in the current financial year and the United Flexible integration programme is due to conclude in 2021. Integration costs are recognised as non-headline items because they are considered material and non-recurring.

Acquisition and disposal transaction costs and provision releases

The GBP2m of business acquisition / disposal costs (31 January 2019: GBP6m) comprise GBP1m of directly linked incremental transaction costs, principally related to the acquisition of Reflex Photonic Inc. which completed in October 2019, and GBP1m of litigation settlement costs relating to a prior year disposal. These costs do not include the cost of employees working on transactions, and are reported as non-headline because they are dependent on the level of acquisition and disposal activity in the year.

The GBP4m release of acquisition related provisions in the prior period represents the release of excess accruals for deferred consideration on business acquisitions. These are reported as non-headline as the initial provision accrual was recognised as a non-headline expense.

Legacy pension scheme arrangement

The GBP8m settlement gain on post-retirement benefit schemes (31 January 2019: GBPnil) is due to changes to the US post-retirement healthcare plans as a result of the US Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

In the prior period GBP29m of past service costs were recognised following the UK High Court ruling that Guaranteed Minimum Pension equalisation is required. This was included in non-headline as it is material, non-recurring and relates to legacy pension liabilities.

Non-headline litigation provision movements

The following litigation costs and recoveries have been treated as non-headline items because the provisions were treated as non-headline when originally recognised and the subrogation claims and litigation relate to products that the Group no longer sells in these markets:

- The GBP11m (31 January 2019: GBP2m) charge in respect of John Crane, Inc. asbestos litigation is principally due to litigation management expenses and discount rate movements following a reduction in US treasury bond yields. The costs recovered via insurer settlements in the prior period were GBP4m. See note 12 for further details; and

- A GBP5m charge (31 January 2019: GBP2m credit) has been recognised by Titeflex Corporation in respect of changes to the estimated cost of future claims. The additional charge is driven by discount rate movements following a reduction in US treasury bond yields. See note 12 for further details.

Other items

Acquisition related intangible asset amortisation costs of GBP28m (31 January 2019: GBP16m) were recognised in the current period. This is considered to be a non-headline item on the basis that these charges result from acquisition accounting and do not relate to current trading activity.

Non-headline finance costs items

The non-headline items included in finance costs for continuing operations are as follows:

 
                                                                                Six months 
                                                                   Six months        ended 
                                                                        ended   31 January 
                                                                   31 January         2019 
                                                                         2020     Restated 
                                                                         GBPm         GBPm 
===============================================================   ===========  =========== 
Unwind of discount on provisions                                          (3)          (4) 
Other finance income - retirement benefits                                  4            6 
Foreign exchange (loss) on intercompany loan with discontinued 
 operations                                                              (68) 
Other financing losses                                                    (6)         (11) 
Non-headline items in finance costs - continuing operations              (73)          (9) 
================================================================  ===========  =========== 
Continuing operations - non-headline loss before taxation               (114)         (57) 
================================================================  ===========  =========== 
 

The financing elements of non-headline legacy liabilities, including the GBP3m (31 January 2019: GBP4m) unwind of discount on provisions, are excluded from headline finance costs because these provisions were originally recognised as non-headline and this treatment has been maintained for ongoing costs and credits.

Other finance income comprises GBP4m (31 January 2019: GBP6m) of financing credits relating to retirement benefits. These are excluded from headline finance costs because the ongoing costs and credits are a legacy of previous employee pension arrangements.

Following the reclassification of Smiths Medical as a discontinued operation, foreign exchange gains or losses on intercompany financing between Smiths Medical and the continuing group are recognised on the face of the income statement as a non-headline item. The GBP68m foreign exchange loss in continuing operations (31 January 2019: GBPnil) directly offsets the foreign exchange gain in discontinued operations. This is excluded from headline net finance costs as these fair value movements are non-operational in nature and are purely a consequence of the presentational requirements for discontinued operations.

Other financing losses represent fair value movements on financial instruments and foreign exchange movements on borrowings, which the Group excludes from headline net finance costs. The current period loss of GBP6m (31 January 2019: GBP11m) is principally due to hedge ineffectiveness on the Group's 2023 and 2027 Eurobonds, which will reverse over the remaining period to maturity. These fair value movements are excluded from headline net finance costs when the following requirements are met:

- Fair value gains and losses on the interest element of derivative financial instruments hedging the Group's net debt exposures are excluded from headline, as they will either reverse over time or be matched in future periods by interest charges.

- Fair value gains and losses on the currency element of derivative financial instruments hedging the Group's net debt and exposures, and exchange gains and losses on borrowings are excluded, as the relevant foreign exchange gains and losses on the commercially hedged items are recognised as a separate component of other comprehensive income, in accordance with the Group's foreign currencies accounting policy.

Non-headline taxation items

The GBP9m of non-headline taxation for continuing operations (31 January 2019: GBP5m) represents the tax attributable to the non-headline items above.

Non-headline items for discontinued operations

The non-headline items for discontinued operations are as follows:

 
                                                              Six months   Six months 
                                                                   ended        ended 
                                                              31 January   31 January 
                                                                    2020         2019 
                                                                    GBPm         GBPm 
==========================================================   ===========  =========== 
Acquisition and disposal related transactions costs 
 and provision releases 
Medical separation costs                                            (11)          (1) 
Other items 
Amortisation of acquisition related intangible assets                             (1) 
Profit on disposal of businesses                                                   17 
Non-headline finance costs items 
Foreign exchange gain on intercompany loan with parent                68 
Non-headline taxation items 
Taxation on non-headline profit                                        6          (2) 
Non-headline items in profit from discontinued operations             63           13 
===========================================================  ===========  =========== 
Profit for the period - non-headline items for continuing 
 and discontinued operations                                        (42)         (39) 
===========================================================  ===========  =========== 
 

The GBP11m of Medical separation costs (31 January 2019: GBP1m) represent incremental costs incurred by the Group to demerge Smiths Medical. This cost has been reported as non-headline as the full year effect of the transaction on the Group's financial statements is both material and non-recurring.

Profit on disposal of businesses in the prior period of GBP17m relates to the sale of Medical's sterile water bottling and EMEA kitting businesses. These are considered to be non-headline items since the profit and cash impact are material and non-recurring arising from the sale of a business.

The GBP68m foreign exchange gain on intercompany loan with parent (31 January 2019: GBPnil) directly offsets the foreign exchange loss in continuing operations. This is excluded from headline net finance costs as these fair value movements are non-operational in nature and are purely a consequence of the presentational requirements for discontinued operations.

   4   Earnings per share 

Basic earnings per share are calculated by dividing the profit for the period attributable to equity shareholders of the Company by the average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period.

 
                                                                             Six months 
                                                                Six months        ended 
                                                                     ended   31 January 
                                                                31 January         2019 
                                                                      2020     Restated 
                                                                      GBPm         GBPm 
=============================================================  ===========  =========== 
Profit attributable to equity shareholders for the period 
 - Continuing                                                           11           53 
 - Discontinuing                                                       133           67 
Total                                                                  144          120 
=============================================================  ===========  =========== 
Average number of shares in issue during the period            396,181,277  395,924,559 
=============================================================  ===========  =========== 
Statutory earnings per share continuing operations - basic             2.8         13.4 
Statutory earnings per share continuing operations - diluted           2.8         13.2 
=============================================================  ===========  =========== 
Statutory earnings per share total - basic                            36.3         30.3 
Statutory earnings per share total - diluted                          36.2         29.9 
=============================================================  ===========  =========== 
 

Diluted earnings per share are calculated by dividing the profit attributable to ordinary shareholders by 397,160,603 (31 January 2019: 400,943,218) ordinary shares, being the average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year adjusted by the dilutive effect of employee share schemes.

A reconciliation of statutory and headline earnings per share is as follows:

 
                                                                    Six months ended 
                                             Six months ended       31 January 2019 - 
                                              31 January 2020           Restated 
                                                                 ====================== 
                                                 Basic  Diluted          Basic  Diluted 
                                                   EPS      EPS            EPS      EPS 
                                           GBPm    (p)      (p)   GBPm     (p)      (p) 
=========================================  ====  =====  =======  =====  ======  ======= 
Basic earnings per share: 
Total profit attributable to equity 
 shareholders of the Parent Company         144   36.3     36.2    120    30.3     29.9 
Exclude: Non-headline items (note 
 3)                                          42   10.6     10.6     39     9.9      9.7 
-----------------------------------------  ----  -----  -------  -----  ------  ------- 
Headline earnings per share                 186   46.9     46.8    159    40.2     39.6 
-----------------------------------------  ----  -----  -------  -----  ------  ------- 
Profit from continuing operations 
 attributable to equity shareholders 
 of 
 the Parent Company                          11    2.8      2.8     53    13.4     13.2 
Exclude: Non-headline items (note 
 3)                                         105   26.5     26.4     52    13.1     13.0 
-----------------------------------------  ----  -----  -------  -----  ------  ------- 
Headline earnings per share - continuing 
 operations                                 116   29.3     29.2    105    26.5     26.2 
-----------------------------------------  ----  -----  -------  -----  ------  ------- 
 
   5   Taxation 

The interim tax rate of 74.3% (31 January 2019: 39.3%) is calculated by applying the estimated effective headline tax rate for continuing operations of 27.0% (31 January 2019: 27.0%) for the year ended 31 July 2020 to headline profit before tax and then taking into account the tax effect of non-headline items in the interim period.

A reconciliation of headline and total tax charge is as follows:

 
                                                             Six months             Six months 
                                                       ended 31 January       ended 31 January 
                                                                   2020        2019 - Restated 
                                                  =====================  ===================== 
                                                   Continuing             Continuing 
                                                   operations             operations 
                                                         GBPm  Tax rate         GBPm  Tax rate 
================================================  ===========  ========  ===========  ======== 
Headline tax rate 
Headline profit before taxation                           160                    146 
Taxation on headline profit                              (43)     27.0%         (40)     27.0% 
================================================  ===========  ========  ===========  ======== 
Adjustments 
Non-headline items excluded from profit before 
 taxation (note 3)                                      (114)                   (57) 
Taxation on non-headline items and non-headline 
 tax adjustment                                             9                      5 
================================================  ===========  ========  ===========  ======== 
Total interim tax rate 
Profit before taxation                                     46                     89 
Taxation                                                 (34)     74.3%         (35)     39.3% 
------------------------------------------------  -----------  --------  -----------  -------- 
 

The changes in the value of the net tax asset/(liability) in the period were:

 
                                         Current  Deferred   Net tax 
                                             tax       tax   balance 
                                            GBPm      GBPm      GBPm 
====================================     =======  ========  ======== 
At 31 July 2019                             (51)        70        19 
Foreign exchange gains and losses              2       (7)       (5) 
Business combinations (note 13)                        (3)       (3) 
(Charge)/credit to income statement         (36)         2      (34) 
Tax paid                                      48                  48 
=======================================  =======  ========  ======== 
At 31 January 2020                          (37)        62        25 
=======================================  =======  ========  ======== 
 

Developments in the Group tax position

Franked Investment Income Group Litigation Order (FII GLO)

Smiths Group is one of the companies enrolled in the FII GLO litigation against the UK's HM Revenue and Customs ("HMRC"). The court actions first filed in 2003 are nearing an end and some claimants with different fact patterns have received payments. There are further relevant legal actions that could impact Smiths' recoveries that amount to approximately GBP28m (31 January 2019: GBP28m), after deducting the 45% withholding tax. The Group has not recognised any impact to the financial statements in the current period or in prior years, due to the uncertainty of the eventual outcome.

EU Commission Investigation regarding Claims for Partial (75%) Exemption for Profits from qualifying loan relationships under Chapter 9 FA2012

In April 2019, the European Commission issued its decision in respect of a state aid investigation into the Group Financing Exemption under the UK controlled foreign company ("CFC") rules. The European Commission's decision found that part of the Group Financing Exemption constitutes state aid. The Group Financing Exemption was introduced in legislation by the UK Government in 2013. In common with other UK-based international companies whose arrangements were in line with the then UK CFC legislation, Smiths Group may be affected by the ultimate outcome of this decision.

In June 2019 the UK government appealed to the General Court of the European Union against the decision. Many UK based International companies have also appealed the decision, including Smiths in October 2019. Nonetheless, the UK Government is required to commence recovery from beneficiaries of the alleged aid in line with the European Commission's decision. As the first step in this recovery process, HMRC have written to beneficiaries, including Smiths, for information.

In December 2019 HMRC issued general guidance on reliefs which can be taken into account in computing the amount of State Aid. If the European Commission's decision is ultimately upheld, Smiths should be able to use tax attributes, including tax losses, resulting in no material cash outlay for Smiths. Nevertheless, the use of these attributes is not certain and the estimated maximum potential liability (which includes both tax and interest) remains at GBP15m. Based on our current assessment, no provision is being made in respect of this issue.

   6   Post retirement benefits 

The Group provides post-retirement benefits to employees in a number of countries throughout the world. The arrangements include defined benefit and defined contribution plans and, mainly in the United Kingdom (UK) and United States of America (US), post-retirement healthcare. The principal defined benefit pension plans are in the UK and US, and these have been closed so that no future benefits are accrued.

Where any individual scheme shows a surplus under IAS 19, this is disclosed on the balance sheet as a retirement benefit asset. The IAS 19 surplus of any one scheme is not available to fund the IAS 19 deficit of another scheme. The retirement benefit asset arises from the rights of the employers to recover the surplus at the end of the life of the scheme. The schemes in surplus are mature, with a duration averaged over all scheme participants, of 17 years. However 33% of the liabilities of these schemes are expected to be paid after 2040.

The amounts recognised in the balance sheet are as follows:

 
                                                    31 January  31 July 
                                                          2020     2019 
                                                          GBPm     GBPm 
=================================================   ==========  ======= 
Market value of scheme assets                            4,422    4,424 
Present value of funded scheme liabilities             (3,953)  (3,973) 
--------------------------------------------------  ----------  ------- 
Surplus                                                    469      451 
--------------------------------------------------  ----------  ------- 
Unfunded pension plans                                   (118)    (123) 
Post-retirement healthcare                                 (8)     (17) 
--------------------------------------------------  ----------  ------- 
Present value of unfunded obligations                    (126)    (140) 
--------------------------------------------------  ----------  ------- 
Net retirement benefit asset                               343      311 
==================================================  ==========  ======= 
Post-retirement assets                                     486      469 
Post-retirement liabilities                              (138)    (152) 
Liabilities held for distribution to owners (see 
 note 17)                                                  (5)      (6) 
--------------------------------------------------  ----------  ------- 
Net retirement benefit asset                               343      311 
==================================================  ==========  ======= 
 

The principal assumptions used in updating the valuations are set out below:

 
                                                31 January 
                                                   2020       31 July 2019 
                                               ============  ============== 
                                                  UK     US      UK      US 
=============================================  =====  =====  ======  ====== 
Rate of increase for active deferred members    3.8%    n/a    4.2%     n/a 
Rate of increase in pensions in payment         2.9%    n/a    3.3%     n/a 
Rate of increase in deferred pensions           2.9%    n/a    3.3%     n/a 
Discount rate                                   1.7%  2.95%    2.1%    3.5% 
=============================================  =====  =====  ======  ====== 
 

The methods for setting the mortality assumptions for the UK schemes are consistent with the 31 July 2019 valuation. The US schemes have adopted the mortality improvement scale MP-2019 (31 July 2019: MP-2018).

Present value of funded scheme liabilities and assets for the main UK and US schemes

 
                                                  31 January 2020 - 
                                                         GBPm                  31 July 2019 - GBPm 
                                             ============================  ============================ 
                                                SIPS    TIGPS  US schemes     SIPS    TIGPS  US schemes 
===========================================  =======  =======  ==========  =======  =======  ========== 
Present value of funded scheme liabilities 
- Active deferred members                       (42)     (60)        (96)     (42)     (60)        (95) 
- Deferred members                             (928)    (582)       (129)    (930)    (587)       (123) 
- Pensioners                                 (1,139)    (851)        (64)  (1,142)    (857)        (72) 
===========================================  =======  =======  ==========  =======  =======  ========== 
Present value of funded scheme liabilities   (2,109)  (1,493)       (289)  (2,114)  (1,504)       (290) 
Market value of scheme assets                  2,379    1,709         281    2,377    1,710         282 
===========================================  =======  =======  ==========  =======  =======  ========== 
Surplus/(deficit)                                270      216         (8)      263      206         (8) 
===========================================  =======  =======  ==========  =======  =======  ========== 
 

Contributions

Group contributions to the funded defined benefit pension plans in the period totalled GBP12m (31 January 2019: GBP12m), comprising regular contributions of GBP6m to SIPS and GBP6m to TIGPS. In addition, GBP4m (31 January 2019: GBP3m) was spent on providing benefits under unfunded defined benefit pension and post-retirement healthcare plans. No additional contributions to support risk reduction programmes were made in the current period.

The changes in the present value of the net pension balance in the period were:

 
                                                      Six months      Year 
                                                           ended     ended 
                                                      31 January   31 July 
                                                            2020      2019 
                                                            GBPm      GBPm 
=================================================    ===========  ======== 
At beginning of period                                       311       381 
Exchange adjustment                                            7       (4) 
Current service cost                                         (2)       (3) 
Scheme administration costs                                  (2)       (4) 
Finance income - retirement benefits                           4        11 
Contributions by employer                                     16        36 
Past service costs, curtailments and settlements               8      (30) 
Actuarial gain/(loss)                                          1      (76) 
Net retirement benefit asset at end of period                343       311 
===================================================  ===========  ======== 
 

Past service costs, curtailments and settlements

In the current period the Group recognised a curtailment gain of GBP8m due to changes to the US post-retirement healthcare plans, as a result of the US Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, that mean over 65s will no longer be covered by the healthcare plans. In the prior period the Group recognised a past service cost of GBP29m in respect of Guaranteed Minimum Pension equalisation.

   7   Intangible assets 
 
                                                                                     Software, 
                                                                                       patents 
                                                  Development      Acquired   and intellectual 
                                        Goodwill        costs   intangibles           property  Total 
                                            GBPm         GBPm          GBPm               GBPm   GBPm 
==================================      ========  ===========  ============  =================  ===== 
Cost 
At 31 July 2019                            1,312          144           565                171  2,192 
Exchange adjustments                        (98)         (10)          (43)                (7)  (158) 
Business combinations               13         9                         14                        23 
Additions                                                   8                                5     13 
At 31 January 2020                         1,223          142           536                169  2,070 
==================================      ========  ===========  ============  =================  ===== 
Amortisation 
At 31 July 2019                               66           99           205                138    508 
Exchange adjustments                         (5)          (7)          (17)                (4)   (33) 
Charge for the period                                       3            28                  4     35 
At 31 January 2020                            61           95           216                138    510 
==================================      ========  ===========  ============  =================  ===== 
Net book value at 31 January 2020          1,162           47           320                 31  1,560 
Net book value at 31 July 2019             1,246           45           360                 33  1,684 
==================================      ========  ===========  ============  =================  ===== 
 
   8   Property, plant and equipment 
 
                                                             Fixtures, 
                                                             fittings, 
                                          Land       Plant       tools 
                                           and         and         and 
                                     buildings   machinery   equipment  Total 
                                          GBPm        GBPm        GBPm   GBPm 
==================================  ==========  ==========  ==========  ===== 
Cost or valuation 
At 31 July 2019                            186         396         138    720 
Exchange adjustments                      (13)        (29)         (9)   (51) 
Business combinations (note 13)                          2                  2 
Additions                                    4          14           5     23 
Disposals                                  (4)         (8)         (1)   (13) 
At 31 January 2020                         173         375         133    681 
==================================  ==========  ==========  ==========  ===== 
Depreciation 
At 31 July 2019                            104         271         113    488 
Exchange adjustments                       (7)        (18)         (7)   (32) 
Charge for the period                        5          10           5     20 
Disposals                                  (4)         (8)         (1)   (13) 
At 31 January 2020                          98         255         110    463 
==================================  ==========  ==========  ==========  ===== 
Net book value at 31 January 2020           75         120          23    218 
==================================  ==========  ==========  ==========  ===== 
Net book value at 31 July 2019              82         125          25    232 
==================================  ==========  ==========  ==========  ===== 
 
   9   Right of use assets 
 
                                       Properties  Vehicles  Equipment  Total 
                                             GBPm      GBPm       GBPm   GBPm 
=====================================  ==========  ========  =========  ===== 
Cost 
Right of use assets on transition              95        10          1    106 
Exchange adjustments                          (6)       (1)               (7) 
Business combinations (note 13)                 1                           1 
Recognition of right of use assets              6         3                 9 
Derecognition of right of use assets          (1)                         (1) 
At 31 January 2020                             95        12          1    108 
=====================================  ==========  ========  =========  ===== 
Depreciation 
Charge for the period                          13         3                16 
At 31 January 2020                             13         3                16 
=====================================  ==========  ========  =========  ===== 
Net book value at 31 January 2020              82         9          1     92 
=====================================  ==========  ========  =========  ===== 
 

10 Borrowings and net debt

This note sets out the calculation of net debt, an important measure in explaining our financing position. The net debt figure includes accrued interest and the fair value adjustments to debt relating to hedge accounting.

 
                                                                                 31 July 
                                                               31 January           2019 
                                                                     2020   represented* 
                                                                     GBPm           GBPm 
=============================================================  ==========  ============= 
Cash and cash equivalents 
Cash and cash equivalents                                             206            289 
-------------------------------------------------------------  ----------  ------------- 
Short-term borrowings 
Lease liabilities                                                    (26) 
Interest accrual                                                     (18)            (9) 
=============================================================  ==========  ============= 
                                                                     (44)            (9) 
-------------------------------------------------------------  ----------  ------------- 
Long-term borrowings 
$400m 3.625% US$ Guaranteed notes 2022                              (306)          (329) 
EUR600m 1.25% Eurobond 2023                                         (520)          (564) 
EUR650m 2.00% Eurobond 2027                                         (560)          (607) 
Lease liabilities                                                    (67) 
                                                                  (1,453)        (1,500) 
=============================================================  ==========  ============= 
Borrowings                                                        (1,497)        (1,509) 
-------------------------------------------------------------  ----------  ------------- 
Derivatives managing interest rate risk and currency profile 
 of the debt                                                           40             45 
-------------------------------------------------------------  ----------  ------------- 
Net debt                                                          (1,251)        (1,175) 
=============================================================  ==========  ============= 
 

* The 31 July 2019 comparatives have been represented to include the fair value of the derivatives used for the management of net debt interest rate and currency risks as part of the net debt balance.

Movements in net debt

 
                                                                                       Interest 
                                                     Cash                                  rate 
                                                      and                             and cross 
                                                     cash   Short-term    Long-term    currency 
                                              equivalents   borrowings   borrowings       swaps  Net debt 
                                                     GBPm         GBPm         GBPm        GBPm      GBPm 
==========================================   ============  ===========  ===========  ==========  ======== 
At 31 July 2019                                       289          (9)      (1,500)          45   (1,175) 
Adoption of IFRS 16                                               (37)        (111)                 (148) 
===========================================  ============  ===========  ===========  ==========  ======== 
Net debt at start of period (represented)             289         (46)      (1,611)          45   (1,323) 
Foreign exchange gains and losses                    (29)                       122                    93 
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents                (58)                                            (58) 
Net movement on lease liabilities                                                11                    11 
Capitalisation, interest accruals 
 and unwind of capitalised fees                                    (8)          (4)                  (12) 
Fair value movement from interest 
 rate hedging                                                                     1         (5)       (4) 
Movement in discontinued operations 
 cash, loans and lease liabilities                      4           10           28                    42 
===========================================  ============  ===========  ===========  ==========  ======== 
At 31 January 2020                                    206         (44)      (1,453)          40   (1,251) 
===========================================  ============  ===========  ===========  ==========  ======== 
 
   11   Fair value of financial instruments 
 
                                        As at 31 January 2020                        As at 31 July 2019** 
                              ==========================================  ========================================== 
                                             At fair                                     At fair 
                       Basis                   value                                       value 
                         for                 through      Total    Total                 through      Total    Total 
                 determining  At amortised    profit   carrying     fair  At amortised    profit   carrying     fair 
                        fair          cost   or loss      value    value          cost   or loss      value    value 
                       value          GBPm      GBPm       GBPm     GBPm          GBPm      GBPm       GBPm     GBPm 
-------------  -------------  ------------  --------  ---------  -------  ------------  --------  ---------  ------- 
Financial 
assets 
Other 
 investments               A                      11         11       11                      13         13       13 
Other 
 investments*              E                      10         10       10                       6          6        6 
Cash and cash 
 equivalents               A           138        68        206      206           153       136        289      289 
Trade and 
 other 
 financial 
 receivables             A/B           666                  666      666           816                  816      816 
Derivative 
 financial 
 instruments               B                      42         42       42                      50         50       50 
Total f inancial 
 assets                                804       131        935      935           969       205      1,174    1,174 
============================  ============  ========  =========  =======  ============  ========  =========  ======= 
Financial 
liabilities 
Trade and 
 other 
 financial 
 payables                  A         (547)                (547)    (547)         (599)                (599)    (599) 
Short-term 
 borrowings                C          (18)                 (18)     (18)           (9)                  (9)      (9) 
Long-term 
 borrowings                C       (1,386)              (1,386)  (1,434)       (1,500)              (1,500)  (1,535) 
Lease 
 liabilities               D          (93)                 (93)     (93) 
Derivative 
 financial 
 instruments               B                     (3)        (3)      (3)                     (6)        (6)      (6) 
=============  =============  ============  ========  =========  =======  ============  ========  =========  ======= 
Total financial liabilities        (2,044)       (3)    (2,047)  (2,095)       (2,108)       (6)    (2,114)  (2,149) 
============================  ============  ========  =========  =======  ============  ========  =========  ======= 
 

* Fair value gains and losses in this category of financial assets are recognised in other comprehensive income.

** Amounts as at 31 July 2019 have been represented to include non-current trade receivables and trade payables.

The fair value of a financial instrument is the price at which an asset could be exchanged, or a liability settled, between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arm's-length transaction. Fair values have been determined with reference to available market information at the balance sheet date, using the methodologies described below:

 
 A   Carrying value is assumed to be a reasonable approximation to fair 
      value for all of these assets and liabilities (Level 2 as defined 
      by IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement). 
 B   Fair values of derivative financial assets and liabilities and 
      trade receivables held to collect or sell are estimated by discounting 
      expected future contractual cash-flows using prevailing interest 
      rate curves. Amounts denominated in foreign currencies are valued 
      at the exchange rate prevailing at the balance sheet date. These 
      financial instruments are included on the balance sheet at fair 
      value, derived from observable market prices (Level 2 as defined 
      by IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement). 
 C   Borrowings are carried at amortised cost. Amounts denominated in 
      foreign currencies are valued at the exchange rate prevailing at 
      the balance sheet date. The fair value of borrowings is estimated 
      using quoted prices (Level 1 as defined by IFRS 13). 
 D   Leases are carried at amortised cost. Amounts denominated in foreign 
      currencies are valued at the exchange rate prevailing at the balance 
      sheet date. The fair value of the lease contract is estimated by 
      discounting contractual future cash-flows (Level 2 as defined by 
      IFRS 13). 
 E   The fair value of instruments is estimated by using unobservable 
      inputs to the extent that relevant observable inputs are not available. 
      Unobservable inputs are developed using the best information available 
      in the circumstances, which may include the Group's own data, taking 
      into account all information about market participation assumptions 
      that is reliably available. (Level 3 as defined by IFRS 13). 
 
      IFRS 13 defines a three level valuation hierarchy 
      Level 1 - quoted prices for similar instruments 
      Level 2 - directly observable market inputs other than Level 1 
      inputs 
      Level 3 - inputs not based on observable market data 
 
   12             Provisions and contingent liabilities 
 
                                                  Non-headline and 
                                Headline               legacy               Total 
                                ========  ================================  ===== 
                                                 John 
                                               Crane,      Titeflex 
                                                 Inc.   Corporation 
                                           litigation    litigation  Other 
                                    GBPm         GBPm          GBPm   GBPm   GBPm 
=============================   ========  ===========  ============  =====  ===== 
Current liabilities                   17           29            16      4     66 
Non-current liabilities                1          208            58     18    285 
==============================  ========  ===========  ============  =====  ===== 
At 31 July 2019                       18          237            74     22    351 
Exchange adjustments                 (1)         (18)           (6)    (1)   (26) 
Provision charged                      4           10             5      3     22 
Provision released                   (3)                                      (3) 
Unwind of provision discount                        2             1             3 
Utilisation                          (5)          (9)           (4)    (2)   (20) 
At 31 January 2020                    13          222            70     22    327 
==============================  ========  ===========  ============  =====  ===== 
Current liabilities                   13           30            14      5     62 
Non-current liabilities                           192            56     17    265 
==============================  ========  ===========  ============  =====  ===== 
At 31 January 2020                    13          222            70     22    327 
==============================  ========  ===========  ============  =====  ===== 
 

The John Crane, Inc. and Titeflex Corporation litigation provisions are the only provisions which are discounted.

Headline provisions and contingent liabilities:

Warranty provision and product liability

At 31 January 2020 there are warranty and product liability provisions of GBP11m (31 July 2019: GBP17m). Warranties over the Group's products typically cover periods of between one and three years. Provision is made for the likely cost of after-sales support based on the recent past experience of individual businesses.

Commercial disputes and litigation in respect of ongoing business activities

The Group has on occasion been required to take legal action to protect its intellectual property and other rights against infringement. It has also had to defend itself against proceedings brought by other parties, including product liability and insurance subrogation claims. Provision is made for any expected costs and liabilities in relation to these proceedings where appropriate, although there can be no guarantee that such provisions (which may be subject to potentially material revision from time to time) will accurately predict the actual costs and liabilities that may be incurred.

Contingent liabilities

In the ordinary course of its business, the Group is subject to commercial disputes and litigation such as government price audits, product liability claims, employee disputes and other kinds of lawsuits, and faces different types of legal issues in different jurisdictions. The high level of activity in the US, for example, exposes the Group to the likelihood of various types of litigation commonplace in that country, such as 'mass tort' and 'class action' litigation, legal challenges to the scope and validity of patents, and product liability and insurance subrogation claims. These types of proceedings (or the threat of them) are also used to create pressure to encourage negotiated settlement of disputes. Any claim brought against the Group (with or without merit), could be costly to defend. These matters are inherently difficult to quantify. In appropriate cases a provision is recognised based on best estimates and management judgement, but there can be no guarantee that these provisions (which may be subject to potentially material revision from time to time) will result in an accurate prediction of the actual costs and liabilities that may be incurred. There are also contingent liabilities in respect of litigation for which no provisions are made.

The Group operates in some markets where the risk of unethical or corrupt behaviour is material and has procedures, including an employee 'Ethics Alertline', to help it identify potential issues. Such procedures will, from time to time, give rise to internal investigations, sometimes conducted with external support, to ensure that the Group properly understands risks and concerns and can take steps both to manage immediate issues and to improve its practices and procedures for the future. The Group also co-operates with relevant authorities in investigating business conduct issues whenever requested to. The Group is not aware of any issues which are expected to generate material financial exposures.

Non-headline and legacy provisions and contingent liabilities:

John Crane, Inc.

John Crane, Inc. ("JCI") is one of many co-defendants in numerous lawsuits pending in the United States in which plaintiffs are claiming damages arising from alleged exposure to, or use of, products previously manufactured which contained asbestos. The JCI products generally referred to in these cases consist of industrial sealing product, primarily packing and gaskets. The asbestos was encapsulated within these products in such a manner that causes JCI to believe, based on tests conducted on its behalf, that the products were safe. JCI ceased manufacturing products containing asbestos in 1985.

The table below summarises the JCI claims experience over the last 40 years since the start of this litigation:

 
                                                 31 January  31 July 
                                                       2020     2019 
============================================     ==========  ======= 
JCI claims experience 
Claims against JCI that have been dismissed         287,000  285,000 
Claims which JCI is currently a defendant 
 in                                                  37,000   38,000 
Cumulative final judgments, after appeals, 
 against JCI since 1979                                 145      144 
Cumulative value of awards ($m) since 
 1979                                                   169      168 
===============================================  ==========  ======= 
 

John Crane, Inc. litigation insurance recoveries

While JCI has excess liability insurance, the availability of such insurance and scope of the cover are currently the subject of litigation in the United States. Pending the outcome of that litigation, JCI has met defence costs directly. The calculation of the provision does not take account of any potential recoveries from insurers. See note 3 for the cost recovery achieved in both the current and prior periods.

John Crane, Inc. litigation provision

The provision is based on past history and published tables of asbestos incidence projections and is determined using asbestos valuation experts, Bates White LLC. The assumptions made in assessing the appropriate level of provision include: the period over which the expenditure can be reliably estimated; the future trend of legal costs; the rate of future claims filed; the rate of successful resolution of claims; and the average amount of judgments awarded.

The JCI asbestos litigation provision has developed in the period as follows:

 
                                                               Six months 
                                                                    ended  Year ended 
                                                               31 January     31 July 
                                                                     2020        2019 
                                                                     GBPm        GBPm 
============================================================  ===========  ========== 
John Crane, Inc. litigation provision 
Gross provision                                                       236         257 
Discount                                                             (14)        (20) 
============================================================  ===========  ========== 
Discounted provision                                                  222         237 
============================================================  ===========  ========== 
Operating profit charge 
Increased provision for adverse judgments and legal defence 
 costs                                                                  6           7 
Change in US risk free rates                                            4           8 
------------------------------------------------------------  -----------  ---------- 
Subtotal - items charged to the provision                              10          15 
Litigation management expense - legal fees in connection 
 with litigation against insurers and defence strategy                  1           2 
Recoveries from insurers                                                         (11) 
============================================================  ===========  ========== 
Total operating profit charge                                          11           6 
============================================================  ===========  ========== 
Cash-flow 
Provision utilisation                                                 (9)        (24) 
John Crane, Inc. litigation spend                                       9          26 
============================================================  ===========  ========== 
 

John Crane, Inc. litigation provision sensitivities

The provision may be subject to potentially material revision from time to time if new information becomes available as a result of future events. There can be no guarantee that the assumptions used to estimate the provision will result in an accurate prediction of the actual costs that may be incurred because of the significant uncertainty associated with the future level of asbestos claims and of the costs arising out of related litigation.

Statistical reliability of projections over the ten year time horizon

In order to evaluate the statistical reliability of the projections, a population of outcomes is modelled using randomised verdict outcomes. This generated a distribution of outcomes with future spend at the 5th percentile of GBP225m and future spend at the 95th percentile of GBP284m (31 July 2019: GBP234m and GBP297m, respectively). Statistical analysis of the distribution of these outcomes indicates that there is a 50% probability that the total future spend will fall between GBP224m and GBP246m (31 July 2019: between GBP242m and GBP267m), compared with the gross provision value of GBP236m (31 July 2019: GBP257m).

Sensitivity of the projections to changes in the time horizon used

If the asbestos litigation environment becomes more volatile and uncertain, for example if defendants are successful in legal cases against plaintiff law firms and this impacts the nature of claims filed, the time horizon over which the provision can be calculated may reduce. Conversely, if the environment became more stable, or JCI changed approach and committed to long term settlement arrangements, the time period covered by the provision might be extended.

The projections use a 10 year time horizon. Reducing the time horizon by one year would reduce the provision by GBP17m (31 July 2019: GBP17m) and reducing it by five years would reduce the provision by GBP98m (31 July 2019: GBP100m).

We consider, after obtaining advice from Bates White LLC, that to forecast beyond ten years requires that the litigation environment remains largely unchanged with respect to the historical experience used for estimating future asbestos expenditures. Historically, the asbestos litigation environment has undergone significant changes more often than every ten years. If one assumed that the asbestos litigation environment would remain unchanged for longer and extended the time horizon by one year it would increase the provision by GBP14m (31 July 2019: GBP14m); extending it by five years would increase the provision by GBP58m (31 July 2019: GBP59m). However, there are also reasonable scenarios that, given certain recent events in the US asbestos litigation environment, would result in no additional asbestos litigation for JCI beyond ten years. At this time, how the asbestos litigation environment may evolve beyond 10 years is not reasonably estimable.

John Crane, Inc. contingent liabilities

Provision has been made for future defence costs and the cost of adverse judgments expected to occur. JCI's claims experience is significantly impacted by other factors which influence the US litigation environment. These include: changing approaches on the part of the plaintiffs' bar; changing attitudes amongst the judiciary at both trial and appellate levels; and legislative and procedural changes in both the state and federal court systems. As a result, whilst the Group anticipates that asbestos litigation will continue beyond the period covered by the provision, the uncertainty surrounding the US litigation environment beyond this point is such that the costs cannot be reliably estimated.

Although the methodology used to calculate the JCI litigation provision can in theory be applied to show claims and costs for longer periods, the directors consider, based on advice from Bates White LLC, that the level of uncertainty regarding the factors used in estimating future costs is too great to provide for reasonable estimation of the number of future claims, the nature of such claims or the cost to resolve them for years beyond the 10 year time horizon.

Titeflex Corporation litigation

In recent years Titeflex Corporation, a subsidiary of the Group in the Flex-Tek division, has received a number of claims from insurance companies seeking recompense on a subrogated basis for the effects of damage allegedly caused by lightning strikes in relation to its flexible gas piping product. It has also received a number of product liability claims regarding this product, some in the form of purported class actions. Titeflex Corporation believes that its products are a safe and effective means of delivering gas when installed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and local and national codes; however some claims have been settled on an individual basis without admission of liability. Equivalent third-party products in the US marketplace face similar challenges.

Titeflex Corporation litigation provision

The continuing progress of claims and the pattern of settlement provide sufficient evidence to recognise a liability in the accounts. Therefore provision has been made for the costs which the Group is expected to incur in respect of future claims to the extent that such costs can be reliably estimated. Titeflex Corporation sells flexible gas piping with extensive installation and safety guidance (revised in 2008) designed to assure the safety of the product and minimise the risk of damage associated with lightning strikes.

The assumptions made in assessing the appropriate level of provision, which are based on past experience, include: the period over which expenditure can be reliably estimated; the number of future settlements; the average amount of settlements; and the impact of statutes of repose and safe installation initiatives on the expected number of future claims.

The provision of GBP70m (31 July 2019: GBP74m) is a discounted pre-tax provision using discount rates, being the risk-free rate on US debt instruments for the appropriate period. The deferred tax asset related to this provision is shown within the deferred tax balance.

 
                                31 January  31 July 
                                      2020     2019 
                                      GBPm     GBPm 
==============================  ==========  ======= 
Gross provision                        105      118 
Discount                              (35)     (44) 
==============================  ==========  ======= 
Discounted pre-tax provision            70       74 
Deferred tax                          (17)     (18) 
==============================  ==========  ======= 
Discounted post-tax provision           53       56 
==============================  ==========  ======= 
 

Titeflex Corporation litigation provision sensitivities

The significant uncertainty associated with the future level of claims and of the costs arising out of related litigation means that there can be no guarantee that the assumptions used to estimate the provision will result in an accurate prediction of the actual costs that may be incurred. Therefore the provision may be subject to potentially material revision from time to time, if new information becomes available as a result of future events.

The projections incorporate a long-term assumption regarding the impact of safe installation initiatives on the level of future claims. If the assumed annual benefit of bonding and grounding initiatives were 0.5% higher, the provision would be GBP5m (31 July 2019: GBP5m) lower, and if the benefit were 0.5% lower, the provision would be GBP6m (31 July 2019: GBP6m) higher.

Other non-headline and legacy

Legacy provisions comprise provisions relating to former business activities and properties no longer used by the Group. Non-headline provisions comprise all provisions which were disclosed as non-headline items when they were charged to the income statement.

These provisions cover non-headline reorganisation, vacant properties, disposal indemnities, and litigation in respect of old products and discontinued business activities.

   13    Acquisitions 

In October 2019, Interconnect completed the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of Reflex Photonics Inc. for an enterprise value of CAD$40m. Reflex Photonics is a business that manufactures ruggedised high-speed optics products for space, aerospace, defence, avionics, and industrial applications. The acquisition strengthens Interconnect's position in these markets.

The intangible assets recognised on acquisition comprise customer relationships, intellectual property and technology. Goodwill represents the expected synergies from the strategic fit of the acquisition and the value of the expertise in the assembled workforce. From the date of acquisition to 31 January 2020, Reflex Photonics contributed GBP2m to revenue and less than GBP1m to profit before taxation. If the Group had acquired this business from the beginning of the financial year, the acquisition would have contributed GBP5m to revenue and less than GBP1m to profit before taxation.

The provisional balance sheet at the date of acquisition is:

 
                                                             Reflex 
                                                           Photonic 
                                                               Inc. 
                                                               GBPm 
========================  ==============================  ========= 
Non-current assets        - acquired intangible assets           14 
 - plant and machinery                                            2 
 - right of use assets                                            1 
Current assets            - inventory                             2 
 - trade and other receivables                                    2 
Current liabilities       - trade and other payables            (1) 
Non-current liabilities   - lease liabilities                   (1) 
 - deferred tax                                                 (3) 
Net assets acquired                                              16 
========================================================  ========= 
Goodwill on current period acquisitions                           8 
========================================================  ========= 
Cash paid during 
 the period                                                      24 
========================================================  ========= 
Total consideration                                              24 
========================================================  ========= 
 

Acquisitions in previous years

The Group acquired United Flexible in the prior year. Since the acquisition the Group has undertaken a thorough review of the business and has adjusted the fair value of assets and liabilities on the acquisition balance sheet, resulting in a GBP1m increase in the goodwill associated with this acquisition in the current year.

14 Dividends

The following dividends were declared and paid in the period:

 
                                                             Six months   Six months 
                                                                  ended        ended 
                                                             31 January   31 January 
                                                                   2020         2019 
                                                                   GBPm         GBPm 
==========================================================  ===========  =========== 
Ordinary final dividend of 31.80p for 2019 (2018: 30.75p) 
 paid 15 November 2019                                              126          122 
==========================================================  ===========  =========== 
 
   15   Cash-flow from operating activities 
 
                                                         Six months ended                 Six months ended 
                                                          31 January 2020                  31 January 2019 
                                                   =============================  ================================ 
                                                             Non-headline                   Non-headline 
                                                                    (note         Headline         (note     Total 
                                                   Headline            3)  Total  Restated            3)  Restated 
                                                       GBPm          GBPm   GBPm      GBPm          GBPm      GBPm 
================================================   ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ======== 
Operating profit/(loss) - continuing 
 operations                                             186          (41)    145       175          (48)       127 
                                   - discontinued 
                                    operations           94          (11)     83        71            15        86 
Amortisation of intangible assets                         7            28     35        17            17        34 
Depreciation of property, plant 
 and equipment                                           20                   20        27                      27 
Depreciation of right of use 
 assets                                                  16                   16 
Loss on disposal of property, 
 plant and equipment                                      1                    1         1                       1 
Loss/(profit) on disposal of 
 businesses                                                             1      1                    (17)      (17) 
Share-based payment expense                               8                    8         7                       7 
Retirement benefits                                       4          (24)   (20)         3            15        18 
(Increase) in inventories                              (98)                 (98)      (50)                    (50) 
Decrease(increase) in trade 
 and other receivables                                  149                  149       (2)             3         1 
(Decrease) in trade and other 
 payables                                              (78)                 (78)      (10)           (6)      (16) 
(Decrease)/increase in provisions                       (2)             3      1       (6)          (12)      (18) 
=================================================  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ======== 
Cash generated from operations                          307          (44)    263       233          (33)       200 
Interest paid                                          (17)                 (17)      (29)                    (29) 
Interest received                                         1                    1         4                       4 
Tax paid                                               (60)                 (60)      (52)                    (52) 
=================================================  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ======== 
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from 
 operating activities                                   231          (44)    187       156          (33)       123 
=================================================  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ======== 
 - continuing operations                                177          (34)    143        75          (32)        43 
 - discontinued operations                               54          (10)     44        81           (1)        80 
=================================================  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ======== 
 

The split of tax payments between headline and non-headline only considers the nature of payments made. No adjustment has been made for reductions in tax payments required as a result of tax relief received on non-headline items.

Headline cash measures - continuing operations

The Group measure of headline operating cash excludes interest and tax, and includes capital expenditure supporting organic growth.

 
                                                    Six months ended               Six months ended 
                                                     31 January 2020                31 January 2019 
                                              =============================  ============================= 
                                              Headline  Non-headline  Total  Headline  Non-headline  Total 
                                                  GBPm          GBPm   GBPm      GBPm          GBPm   GBPm 
============================================  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating 
 activities                                        177          (34)    143        75          (32)     43 
============================================  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
Include: 
Expenditure on capitalised development, 
 other intangible assets and property, 
 plant and equipment                              (37)                 (37)      (29)                 (29) 
Investment in financial assets relating 
 to operating activities and pensions 
 financing                                                                          1                    1 
============================================  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
Free cash-flow                                                          106                             15 
============================================  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
Exclude: 
Investment in financial assets relating 
 to operating activities and 
 pensions financing outstanding at 
 the balance sheet                                                                (1)                  (1) 
Interest paid                                       14                   14        28                   28 
Interest received                                                                 (4)                  (4) 
Tax paid                                            48                   48        39                   39 
============================================  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
Operating cash-flow - continuing operations        202          (34)    168       109          (32)     77 
============================================  ========  ============  =====  ========  ============  ===== 
 

Headline cash conversion - continuing operations

Headline operating cash conversion for the Group's continuing operations is calculated as follows:

 
                                      Six months   Six months 
                                           ended        ended 
                                      31 January   31 January 
                                            2020         2019 
                                            GBPm         GBPm 
===================================  ===========  =========== 
Headline operating profit                    186          175 
Headline operating cash-flow                 202          109 
Headline operating cash conversion          109%          63% 
===================================  ===========  =========== 
 

Reconciliation of free cash-flow to total movement in cash and cash equivalents

 
                                              Six months   Six months 
                                                   ended        ended 
                                              31 January   31 January 
                                                    2020         2019 
                                                    GBPm         GBPm 
===========================================  ===========  =========== 
Free cash-flow - continuing operations               106           15 
Free cash-flow - discontinued operations              26           56 
===========================================  ===========  =========== 
Free cash-flow - total Group                         132           71 
Disposal of businesses                                             29 
Acquisition of business                             (24) 
Net cash-flow used in financing activities         (166)        (337) 
===========================================  ===========  =========== 
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents           (58)        (237) 
===========================================  ===========  =========== 
 

16 Related party transactions

The related party transactions in the period were consistent with the nature and size of transactions disclosed in the Annual Report for the year ended 31 July 2019.

   17   Discontinued operations and businesses held for distribution to owners 

The Group is currently pursuing the demerger of the Smiths Medical business to list it separately on the UK Stock Exchange; accordingly the Smiths Medical business has been accounted for as a discontinued operation and as a business held for distribution to owners at 31 January 2020.

The previously announced separation of Smiths Medical was on track to be delivered by the end of the first half of 2020. However, it is simply not practicable to complete the separation in current circumstances. Therefore, the Board has decided to delay separation until conditions improve. See page 6 for further information.

Discontinued operations

The financial performance of the Smiths Medical business in the current and prior period is presented below:

 
                                             Six months ended                  Six months ended 
                                              31 January 2020                   31 January 2019 
                                       =============================  ================================== 
                                                 Non-headline                    Non-headline 
                                                        (note          Headline         (note      Total 
                                       Headline            3)  Total   Restated            3)   Restated 
                                           GBPm          GBPm   GBPm       GBPm          GBPm       GBPm 
====================================   ========  ============  =====  =========  ============  ========= 
Revenue                                     434                  434        430                      430 
Cost of sales                             (186)                (186)      (204)                    (204) 
-------------------------------------  --------  ------------  -----  ---------  ------------  --------- 
Gross profit                                248                  248        226                      226 
Sales and distribution costs               (89)                 (89)       (89)                     (89) 
Administrative expenses                    (65)          (11)   (76)       (66)           (2)       (68) 
Profit on business disposal                                                                17         17 
Operating profit                             94         ( 11)     83         71            15         86 
Finance costs                               (2)            68     66        (1)                      (1) 
Taxation                                   (22)             6   (16)       (16)           (2)       (18) 
=====================================  ========  ============  =====  =========  ============  ========= 
Profit from discontinued operations          70            63    133         54            13         67 
-------------------------------------  --------  ------------  -----  ---------  ------------  --------- 
 

Following the adoption of discontinued operations accounting for Smiths Medical, the Group has ceased depreciating or amortising the Smiths Medical business assets in the consolidated results. This has increased Smiths Medical headline operating profits by GBP23m in the current half year.

Cash-flow from discontinued operations included in the consolidated cash-flow statement is as follows:

 
                                              Six months   Six months 
                                                   ended        ended 
                                              31 January   31 January 
                                                    2020         2019 
                                                    GBPm         GBPm 
===========================================  ===========  =========== 
Net cash inflow from operating activities             44           80 
Net cash-flow used in investing activities          (18)          (7) 
Net cash-flow used in financing activities          (48)         (78) 
===========================================  ===========  =========== 
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents           (22)          (5) 
===========================================  ===========  =========== 
 

Businesses held for distribution to owners

The carrying value of the assets and liabilities of the Smiths Medical business as at 31 January 2020 and 31 July 2019 are as follows:

 
                                                         31 January  31 July 
                                                               2020     2019 
                                                               GBPm     GBPm 
======================================================   ==========  ======= 
Assets classified as held for distribution to owners: 
Intangible assets                                               703      746 
Property, plant and equipment                                   132      135 
Right of use assets                                              43 
Inventories                                                     153      151 
Deferred tax assets                                              12       13 
Current tax receivable                                            4        2 
Trade and other receivables                                     126      138 
Cash and cash equivalents                                        41       26 
Financial derivatives                                             5        5 
=======================================================  ==========  ======= 
Assets classified as held for distribution to owners          1,219    1,216 
=======================================================  ==========  ======= 
Liabilities classified as held for distribution to 
 owners: 
Financial liabilities 
- borrowings                                                   (19) 
- lease liabilities                                            (41)      (3) 
- financial derivatives                                         (2)      (2) 
Trade and other payables                                      (114)    (137) 
Current tax payable                                            (15)     (11) 
Deferred tax liabilities                                       (51)     (48) 
Retirement benefit obligations                                  (5)      (6) 
Provisions for liabilities and charges                          (6)      (6) 
=======================================================  ==========  ======= 
Liabilities classified as held for distribution to 
 owners                                                       (253)    (213) 
=======================================================  ==========  ======= 
 

Additional segmental information for discontinued operations

The capital expenditure on property, plant and equipment, capitalised development and other intangible assets for discontinued operations is GBP18m (31 January 2019: GBP24m).

Revenue for the Smiths Medical discontinued operation is analysed by the following product lines: Infusion Systems GBP148m (31 January 2019: GBP151m), Vascular Access GBP145m (31 January 2019: GBP140m) and Vital Care/Other GBP141m (31 January 2019: GBP139m).

Pro-forma balance sheet of the Group excluding Smiths Medical

 
                                           31 January 
                                                 2020 
                                                 GBPm 
=======================================    ========== 
Non-current assets 
Intangible assets                               1,560 
Property, plant and equipment                     218 
Right of use assets                                92 
Financial assets - other investments               21 
Retirement benefit assets                         486 
Deferred tax assets                               106 
Trade and other receivables                        53 
Financial derivatives                              40 
=========================================  ========== 
                                                2,576 
Current assets 
Inventories                                       470 
Current tax receivable                             30 
Trade and other receivables                       613 
Cash and cash equivalents                         206 
Financial derivatives                               2 
=========================================  ========== 
                                                1,321 
  =======================================  ========== 
Total assets                                    3,897 
=========================================  ========== 
Current liabilities 
Financial liabilities 
- borrowings                                     (18) 
- lease liabilities                              (26) 
- financial derivatives                           (3) 
Provisions for liabilities and charges           (62) 
Trade and other payables                        (498) 
Current tax payable                              (62) 
=========================================  ========== 
                                                (669) 
Non-current liabilities 
Financial liabilities 
- borrowings                                  (1,386) 
- lease liabilities                              (67) 
Provisions for liabilities and charges          (265) 
Retirement benefit obligations                  (138) 
Corporation tax payable                           (5) 
Deferred tax liabilities                         (44) 
Trade and other payables                         (49) 
=========================================  ========== 
                                              (1,954) 
  =======================================  ========== 
Total liabilities                             (2,623) 
=========================================  ========== 
Net assets                                      1,274 
=========================================  ========== 
 

18 Non-statutory capital and credit metrics

In addition to the non-statutory profit measures explained in note 3, the Group calculates credit metrics and return on capital employed incorporating the same adjustments. See the disclosures on presentation of results in accounting policies for an explanation of the adjustments.

Return on capital employed (ROCE)

The Group's ROCE is calculated over a rolling 12-month period and is the percentage which headline operating profit comprises of monthly average capital employed.

See note 2 for the divisional headline operating profit and average divisional capital employed used to calculate divisional ROCE.

Capital employed

Capital employed is a non-statutory measure of invested resources. It comprises statutory net assets adjusted to add goodwill recognised directly in reserves in respect of subsidiaries acquired before 1 August 1998 of GBP787m (31 January 2019: GBP787m) and eliminates post-retirement benefit assets and liabilities and litigation provisions relating to non-headline items, both net of related tax, and net debt.

 
                                                                       31 January  31 January 
                                                                             2020        2019 
                                                                Notes        GBPm        GBPm 
==============================================================  =====  ==========  ========== 
Net assets                                                                  2,240       2,169 
Adjust for: 
Goodwill recognised directly in reserves                                      787         787 
Post-retirement benefit assets and liabilities                      6       (343)       (252) 
Tax related to post-retirement benefit assets and liabilities                  61          62 
John Crane, Inc. litigation provision and related tax                         174         172 
Titeflex Corporation litigation provision and related 
 tax                                                                           53          55 
Net debt (including GBP19m of net debt in discontinued 
 operations)                                                                1,270         938 
==============================================================  =====  ==========  ========== 
Capital employed                                                            4,242       3,931 
==============================================================  =====  ==========  ========== 
 

Return on capital employed

 
                                                              31 January  31 January 
                                                                    2020        2019 
                                                       Notes        GBPm        GBPm 
=====================================================  =====  ==========  ========== 
Headline operating profit for previous twelve months                 608         542 
Monthly average capital employed                           2       4,156       3,746 
=====================================================  =====  ==========  ========== 
ROCE                                                               14.7%       14.5% 
=====================================================  =====  ==========  ========== 
 

Credit metrics - Total Group including discontinued operations

The Group monitors the ratio of net debt to headline earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation as part of its management of credit ratings. This ratio is calculated as follows:

Headline earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation ("headline EBITDA") - Total Group including discontinued operations

 
                                                                              Six months 
                                                                 Six months        ended 
                                                                      ended   31 January 
                                                                 31 January         2019 
                                                                       2020     Restated 
                                                         Notes         GBPm         GBPm 
=======================================================  =====  ===========  =========== 
Headline operating profit                                    2          186          175 
Include: 
- headline operating profit of discontinued operations      17           94           71 
Exclude: 
- depreciation of property, plant and equipment              8           20           27 
- depreciation of right of use assets                        9           16 
- amortisation of development costs                          7            3           11 
- amortisation of software, patents and intellectual 
 property                                                    7            4            6 
=======================================================  =====  ===========  =========== 
Headline EBITDA                                                         323          290 
=======================================================  =====  ===========  =========== 
 

Annualised headline EBITDA - Total Group including discontinued operations

 
                                                                                   Six months 
                                                                      Six months        ended 
                                                                           ended   31 January 
                                                                      31 January         2019 
                                                                            2020     Restated 
                                                              Notes         GBPm         GBPm 
===========================================================  ======  ===========  =========== 
Headline EBITDA for the period                                               323          290 
Add: 
- headline EBITDA for the previous year                                      666          641 
Exclude: 
- headline EBITDA for the first six months of the previous 
 year                                                                      (290)        (298) 
===================================================================  ===========  =========== 
Annualised headline EBITDA                                                   699          633 
===================================================================  ===========  =========== 
 

Ratio of net debt to annualised headline EBITDA - Total Group including discontinued operations

 
                                                                      31 January 
                                                          31 January        2019 
                                                                2020    Restated 
                                                                GBPm        GBPm 
=======================================================   ==========  ========== 
Annualised headline EBITDA                                       699         633 
Net debt (including GBP19m of net debt in discontinued 
 operations)                                                   1,270         938 
========================================================  ==========  ========== 
Ratio of net debt to headline EBITDA                             1.8         1.5 
========================================================  ==========  ========== 
 

19 COVID-19 subsequent event

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Group's operations and trading is discussed in the results overview section on page 4 and the principal risks section on page 13. The basis of preparation section in note 1 to these condensed interim financial statements summarises the severe but plausible downside scenario for COVID--19 that the Group has modelled.

Management have concluded that COVID-19 is a non-adjusting post balance sheet event as at 31 January 2020 on the basis that at that date:

   -    the World Health Organisation had not declared a global health emergency; and 
   -    there was no significant spread of the virus outside China. 

As a non-adjusting event, no adjustment has been made in respect of COV#ID-19 over and above what was known as at 31 January 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

IR UVSWRROUSRAR

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 06, 2020 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)

Smiths (LSE:SMIN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024 Click Here for more Smiths Charts.
Smiths (LSE:SMIN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024 Click Here for more Smiths Charts.