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Aggreko plc

agk · LSE Utilities
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Ticker agk
Exchange LSE
Sector Utilities
Industry Rental & Leasing Services
Employees 5001-10,000
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FY2018 Annual Report · Aggreko plc
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A strengthened base 
for improving returns

Aggreko plc Annual Report 
and Accounts 2018

Aggreko is well placed to benefi  t from profound 
shifts in the energy market. The need for power 
continues to grow, only with added complexity 
from decarbonisation, decentralisation, 
digitalisation and demographic change – 
the four Ds. 

We are focused on the needs of our customers, 
tailoring solutions to improve their experience; 
we are investing in technology to reduce the 
cost of energy through innovation; we seek to 
optimise the deployment of our resources to 
deliver operational and capital effi ciency and we 
are cultivating a high-performance organisation 
focused on realising the full potential of our 
expert people.

OUR STRATEGIC APPROACH

The core strategic priorities 
remain unchanged since 
2015, but we have evolved 
them and will continue to 
ensure that our objectives 
remain relevant as our 
markets change.

Read more on page 10

Customer 
focus

Technology 
investment

Capital 
effi  ciency

Expert 
people

 → Being particular 

about the sectors 
we target

 → Offering specialist 

solutions

 → Being simple to 
do business with

 → Developing 
competitive 
confi gurable 
products

 → Smarter use 
of connected 
systems and 
data analytics

 → Integrated 
renewable 
and storage 
technology

 → Being mobile 
and modular

 → Getting the very 
maximum out 
of our assets

 → Staying safe 

and professional 
at all times

 → Nurturing our 
full potential 

 → Striving for the 

 → Living Always 

most competitive 
cost base

Orange

OUR INVESTMENT CASE

With our leading positions 
in diversifi  ed markets, we 
believe we are well placed 
to return to growth and 
deliver improved ROCE 
(return on capital employed) 
while continuing to return 
value to shareholders 
through dividend payments. 

Read more on page 06

Market leadership: 
Maintaining our leading position 
in our global markets

Potential for growth: Group 
well positioned to return to 
sustainable growth

Diversifi ed markets: Focusing 
on key sectors where our 
specialism differentiates us

Improving returns: Targeting 
Group ROCE in the mid-teens 
in 2020

Strategy for the change in 
energy markets: At the forefront 
of renewables integration

Cash returns to shareholders: 
An attractive, sustainable 
dividend

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We have worked hard 
since 2015 to strengthen 
the foundations of this 
business while dealing 
with the very signifi cant 
challenges and changes 
in our markets. We believe 
we are now better structured 
and positioned to begin 
to reap the rewards of 
this work and improve 
our returns.
Chris Weston
Chief Executive Offi cer

Learn more about us at 
www.plc.aggreko.com

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

CONTENTS

Revenue

£1,760m

2017: £1,698m1

Diluted EPS

49.2p

2017: 52.4p1

Profi  t before tax

£182m

2017: £190m1, 2

Operating profi  t 

£219m

2017: £224m1, 2

Strategic report

Financial statements

01  Performance highlights

86  Independent auditor’s report

02  Aggreko at a glance

90  Group income statement

04  Chairman’s statement

90   Group statement of 

05 

Interview with our CEO & CFO

06   Our business model

08   The opportunities 
in our markets

comprehensive income

91 

 Group balance sheet

92  Group cash fl ow statement

93 

 Reconciliation of net cash fl ow 
to movement in net debt

Return on capital employed3

Dividend per share

10  Our strategic priorities

10.3%

2017: 10.7%1

Read more on page 20

27.12p

2017: 27.12p

1  2017 numbers are shown on a pre-exceptional basis and have been 
restated for the implementation of IFRS 15. Refer to Note 1 of the 
Accounts on page 96.

2  2017 operating profi t and profi t before tax post-exceptional items 

were £183 million and £149 million respectively.

3  ROCE calculation is detailed on page 141.

20  Group performance review

94   Group statement of 
changes in equity

27  Financial review

34  Stakeholders

36  Sustainability

38  Risk

Governance

96 

 Notes to the Group accounts

135   Company balance sheet

136   Company statement of 
comprehensive income

137   Company statement of 
changes in equity

46  Introduction to governance

138   Notes to the Company 

48  Leadership

accounts

51  Leadership and effectiveness

141   Defi nition and calculation 
of non-GAAP measures

54  Accountability

62  Remuneration

80  Statutory disclosures

85 

 Statement of Directors’ 
responsibilities

Shareholder information

143   Notice of Annual General 

Meeting and notes

ibc  Shareholder information

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

01

 
 
 
AGGREKO AT A GLANCE

Aggreko is a world-leading provider 
of mobile modular power, temperature 
control and energy services. 

We are working at the forefront of a rapidly changing energy market and 
are focused on solving our customers’ challenges to provide cost-effective, 
fl exible and greener solutions across the globe.

Our global reach

Read more on page 06

80

Countries

195

Sales and 
service centres

6,000+ 

Permanent 
employees

6,659MW

Average MW on hire 
excluding hybrids

Rental Solutions

Power Solutions

Sales and 
service centres

Notable events 
managed in 2018

Ryder Cup
Paris, France

Super Bowl
Minnesota, USA

Winter 
Olympics 2018
Pyeongchang, 
South Korea

Commonwealth 
Games 2018
Gold Coast, Australia

02 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

Rental Solutions
We provide power, heating 
and cooling in developed 
markets. Our customer 
requirements tend to revolve 
around smaller, short-term 
projects and key events.

Power Solutions
We provide power, heating and cooling to emerging markets 
for customers with longer-term power needs. 

Industrial (PSI)
Comprises medium-term projects 
for industrial customers, as well 
as shorter-term rental contracts.

Utility (PSU)
Longer-term projects 
providing power to national 
utility customers.

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 Revenue

£822m

52% of Group revenue

 Operating profi  t

£105m

 Revenue

£424m

27% of Group revenue

 Operating profi  t

£71m

 Revenue

£342m

21% of Group revenue

 Operating profi  t

£43m

48% of Group operating profi t

32% of Group operating profi t

20% of Group operating profi t

Key sectors % of revenus

Key sectors % of revenue

1.   Building services and 

construction  

2. Petrochemical & refi ning  

3. Oil & gas  

4. Utilities  

5. Events  

6. Manufacturing  

7.  Quarrying & mining  

8. Other 

18% 

18% 

13% 

12% 

10% 

7% 

5% 

1.  Oil & gas  

2. Mining  

3. Events 

4.  Building services and

construction  

5. Manufacturing  

6. Utilities  

7.  Petrochemical & refi ning  

17% 

8. Other  

39% 

13% 

13% 

11% 

8% 

6% 

2%

8% 

Read more on page 24

Read more on page 25

* PSU revenue excludes pass-through fuel.

100% of revenue is derived 
from national utility customers. 

The longer-term opportunity for Aggreko: an energy market in transition

We are anticipating and responding 
to the megatrends of Decarbonisation, 
Decentralisation, Digitalisation and 
Demographic change in our markets.

We have identifi ed the opportunities these 
trends present, playing to our established strength 
in providing modular, temporary power and to the 
new skills we are developing. We offer maximum 
fuel fl exibility, using gas, diesel, renewable fuel 
sources and microgrid and storage solutions. 

We have developed specifi c applications 
and tools to help our customers adapt 
to the energy transition. 

Our strategic priorities are designed to ensure 
that we make the most of these changes, and 
we are investing in our capabilities accordingly.

Read more about our strategy on page 10 
and our marketplace on page 08

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

03

 
 
 
CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT

Introduction from 
Ken Hanna

A critical year for the 
Group in which we have 
begun to see a return 
on the very signifi cant 
work that has been 
done to strengthen 
Aggreko’s foundations 
and respond to its 
changing markets, with 
an additional focus on 
the operational disciplines 
and cultural changes 
needed to compete.
Ken Hanna
Chairman

And while the comprehensive review 
this year confi rmed that our strategy 
is right, we have reduced our ROCE 
expectations to a more realistic level 
of mid-teens in 2020. 

I would like to thank everyone in Aggreko 
who has embraced our values and 
helped to improve the business and, 
by delivering their local objectives, 
has contributed to a good fi nancial 
performance this year. I know that this 
does not happen without commitment 
and discipline, and I am very grateful for 
their support.

As you read through this year’s Annual 
Report, I believe that you will see how 
much stronger Aggreko is and where its 
ambition lies, as well as the challenges we 
still face and the many self-help measures 
we have in place to deal with them.

Ken Hanna
Chairman

2018 has been a critical year for the Group 
in which we have begun to see a return 
on the very signifi cant work that has 
been done to strengthen Aggreko’s 
foundations and respond to its changing 
markets. Over the past three years we 
have undertaken a wide-ranging agenda 
of improvements across the business.

We have seen increased competition 
enter our markets, in particular in the 
utility market, which signifi cantly 
impacted our contract rates and returns. 
The dramatic fall in the oil price also took 
its toll on the business as a result of our 
previous high concentration in the oil 
and gas market, which we have taken 
steps to address over the past three years. 
Finally, the liquidity constraints of some 
of our key customers in the emerging 
markets resulted in a signifi cant increase 
in the level of working capital across our 
project portfolio.

Our strategic priorities since 2015 have 
sought to address these challenges 
by focusing on operating effi ciency 
improvements and increased investment 
in new technology to develop a more 
cost-effi cient fl eet, a more diversifi ed 
sales strategy, and an increase in our 
focus on working capital management 
across the Group. As a result of these 
changes, with an additional focus on 
the operational disciplines and cultural 
changes needed to compete, I believe 
that Aggreko is now a much stronger 
business.

With the appointment of a new CFO in 
January 2018, we took the opportunity 
to review our strategy with a particular 
focus on fi nancial returns. The original 
Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) 
target of around 20% that was set in 2015, 
before the full impact of the changes 
our markets were undergoing could be 
understood, proved to be over-optimistic. 

04 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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INTERVIEW WITH OUR CEO & CFO

Our markets are changing, 
and so are we

Here is a selection of 
investors’ questions which 
go to the heart of the issues 
we are addressing. 

Q.
When you changed your ROCE 
target, you gave yourselves 
just two and a half years to 
get to the mid-teens target. 
Is it the right target and what 
makes you so confi  dent that 
you can achieve it?

A.
Chris Weston Given the detailed plans 
we have in place to improve the Group’s 
ROCE, we are confi dent that we can 
meet the mid-teens target in 2020 and 
felt it was important to give shareholders 
a shorter-term target than previously. 
As we set out at the time of our Interim 
Results in August 2018, delivery of the 
target will require both growth in 
operating profi t and a reduction in 
the Group’s capital employed. We have 
spent considerable time explaining to 
all our people the importance of ROCE 
and how their actions can infl uence it.

A.
Heath Drewett Improving our 
operating profi t will be achieved 
through a combination of top-line 
growth and cost effi ciency. We will take 
various self-help measures to manage 
down our capital employed, including a 
continued focus on the utilisation of our 
fl eet, a disciplined approach to capital 
expenditure, tighter management of our 
inventory levels and working closely with 
our customers to ensure that, over time, 
we reduce the level of outstanding debt 
on our balance sheet.

Q.
With Power Solutions Utility 
now only 21% of Group 
revenue, are you comfortable 
with your scale in this market?

A.
Chris Weston As the Chairman notes, 
this market has changed considerably 
as competition has increased and we 
have had to absorb the substantial 
decline in the profi tability of various 
legacy contracts as they have re-priced 
or off-hired. We believe our actions, 
in particular sales discipline focused 
on margin improvement and cost 
management, will drive improvement 
in this business. 

We are encouraged by the growth we 
have seen elsewhere, within both Rental 
Solutions and Power Solutions Industrial, 
and are comfortable with the changing 
balance of the overall Group.

Q.
Are you over-exposed to 
oil & gas and is a potential 
downturn in the US market 
a threat?

A.
Chris Weston We have very deliberately 
diversifi ed our business in North 
America, where oil and gas now 
accounts for only around 20% of 
our revenue. That said, it remains 
an important sector for us. With the 
introduction of the sector-specifi c 
dedication of our sales force and 
processes, we are doing more to ensure 
we benefi t from the growth available 
in all the sectors in which we specialise.

We are confi dent that 
we have a stronger 
base upon which our 
plans can take hold. 
At the same time, we 
are excited about the 
opportunities for 
Aggreko both in our 
existing markets as well 
as in new opportunities 
created by the transition 
in the energy market.
Chris Weston
Chief Executive Offi cer

Q.
You are heavily weighted to 
diesel – does this mean there 
is a risk of ending up with a lot 
of stranded diesel assets with 
regulatory change?

A.
Chris Weston Our current fl eet is about 
78% diesel, refl ecting the fact that the 
vast majority of our customers do not 
have access to gas or simply want the 
immediacy and reliability that diesel 
brings. Emissions regulations have been 
tightening for a number of years and we 
work with our suppliers on an ongoing 
basis to ensure we continue to comply 
with the changes. We do not see 
stranded diesel assets as a signifi cant 
risk to the business. 

Q.
Do you really believe you have 
reached the low point and are 
now at a point of infl ection?

A.
Heath Drewett The bottom-up 
projections we have for the Group 
indicate that 2018 was indeed a point of 
infl ection in our fi nancial performance. 
That said, we know we have hard work 
ahead to drive operating profi t growth 
and a more effi cient capital base. 
However, I believe that the platform 
we have built and the detail with which 
we are addressing our challenges at 
every level in the business should enable 
us to begin to improve returns this year 
and beyond.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

05

 
 
 
OUR BUSINESS MODEL

Aggreko creates value by providing 
mobile and modular temporary power 
and temperature control

Our value proposition

Working at the forefront of a 
rapidly changing energy market, 
we are focused on solving our 
customers’ energy problems by 
providing cost-effective, fl exible, 
and more effi cient power and 
temperature control solutions. 

Along with our mobile, modular 
equipment, we bring sector-
specifi c expertise in any location, 
from the world’s busiest cities to 
its most remote places, for a wide 
range of commercial industrial 
projects, events, emergencies 
and utilities. 

We offer maximum fuel fl exibility, 
using diesel, gas, heavy fuel oil 
(HFO) and renewable fuel sources, 
as well as microgrid and storage 
solutions, and we also have tools 
to help our customers adapt to 
the energy transition the world is 
experiencing. 

The extensive technical 
capability and experience of 
our people, together with our 
values, continue to reinforce 
our reputation for appropriate, 
reliable and, where necessary, 
innovative solutions for every 
customer. 

The sustainable competitive advantages that set us apart

1. 

Brand strength 
and reputation 
Our customers 
value our fl exibility, 
reliability, ethics 
and innovation in 
offering options 
for lower cost 
and emissions. 

2.

Extensive global 
network of sales 
and service 
centres 
We are truly 
global. The map 
on page 2 shows 
the geographies 
we cover and the 
location of our 
195 sales and 
service centres. 

3. 

Investment in 
solutions to build 
our digital 
capability 
Our Market 
Intelligence 
Platform, CRM, 
e-commerce 
portal and data 
analytics capability 
give us the edge 
in the digital fi eld.

4. 

Highly trained 
team of 
specialists 
Our sector 
specialisation, 
which is now 
well embedded 
in our sales teams, 
differentiates 
us from our 
competitors. 

5. 

High-quality 
innovation 
and execution 
Without our 
competent 
engineering, data 
analytics and 
agility we could 
not deliver the 
reliability, fl exibility 
or innovation our 
customers value.

6. 

Delivery 
of bespoke 
solutions for 
customers
We excel in the 
most challenging 
conditions where 
Group-wide 
expertise is 
brought to bear 
to deliver specifi c 
solutions to the 
most complex 
of situations.

Our customers and how we reach them 

While we focus on seven key sectors 
in which we have proven specialist 
knowledge and experience, this is 
not exclusive, and we are constantly 
looking to expand our relevance 
and broaden our customer base. 
Our key sectors are shown on page 12 
with a discussion on our approach 
to customers. 

 → We engage with our customers via 
our specialist, sector-specifi c sales 
team, backed up by a global network 
of 195 sales and service centres. 
 → We leverage our experience for the 
benefi t of all customers through 
formal and informal sharing of 
knowledge across the Group. 
Our digital channels are playing 
an increasingly important role 
in the specifi cation, monitoring 
and analysing of operational 
performance. For our more 
immediate, transactional sales, 
we are developing an e-commerce 
platform. 

 → Our customers can range from 
a hospital in urgent need of 
backup power, to a country with an 
unreliable grid; from the organising 
committee of a big event like the 
Olympics, to a mining company 
setting up in a new location. Case 
studies on our website and on 
pages 12 to 17 describe what we 
are capable of delivering, the 
sophistication of our bespoke 
solutions and of our provision of 
power in the most challenging 
of conditions.

06 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Our three inter-related but distinct businesses 

Rental Solutions

Power Solutions
Industrial

Power Solutions
Utility

Key revenue streams 
Focusing on high-value sectors in developed 
markets, we use our specialist expertise to 
deliver our customers’ requirements, which are: 
 → Immediate availability for short-term 

contracts

 → Delivery of secure power supply 

and temperature control

 → Ability to work in remote locations
 → Flexibility in our solutions
 → Environmentally friendly options 
for large corporate customers

Driving our returns 
 → Growing revenue and improving 

operating margins

 → Improving profi tability from higher-value, 
higher-margin work through specialist 
sales resources and processes

 → New systems to support the customer 
journey, improve effi ciency and enable 
real-time pricing with improved 
governance

 → E-commerce platform and telesales 
for the more transactional market
 → Deploying assets more effi ciently 

to reduce capital employed 

Key revenue streams 
Focusing on natural resource and industrial 
sectors, we use our specialist expertise, 
gained from similar industries to Rental 
Solutions, but in different geographies 
in the developing markets, to deliver our 
customers’ requirements, which are: 
 → Delivery of secure power supply 

and temperature control

 → Ability to work in remote locations
 → Flexibility in our solutions
 → Environmentally friendly options 
for large corporate customers

Driving our returns 
 → Growing revenue and lowering the cost 

of our operating model to increase 
operating profi t

 → Improving profi tability from higher-value, 
higher-margin work through specialist 
sales resources and processes

 → New systems to support the customer 
journey, improve effi ciency, and enable 
real-time pricing with improved 
governance

 → Offering hybrid solutions to provide 

new growth opportunities

 → Optimising fl eet allocation and achieving 
a more effi cient hub and spoke depot 
network to reduce capital employed

Key revenue streams 
Focusing on utilities in emerging markets, 
overlapping with those in which Power 
Solutions Industrial operates, our customers’ 
requirements are driven by a lack of reliable 
power supply from the grid or seasonal 
fl uctuations in demand/supply and are: 
 → Temporary power provision, across one to 

three years generally

 → Ability to work in remote locations
 → Flexibility in our solutions 

Driving our returns 
 → Reducing our cost base to improve 

operating profi t

 → Cost reduction programme described 

in more detail on page 16
 → Reducing capital employed
 → Focusing new diesel product build 
programme on fl eet upgrades 

 → Optimising fl eet allocation and transfers 

to improve utilisation 

  Our approach to improving our returns 
is discussed in more detail on page 11.

How we create value for our customers and shareholders

6

5

1

4

2

3

1   Differentiation to 
attract customers

Our reputation and brand are backed up 
by our technical capability, experience and 
understanding of our industry based on:
 → Flexibility through our mobile, modular 

approach with multiple fuel types 
 → Scale and global reach with pooled 

experience
 → Reliability 
 → Innovation and ability to deliver unique 

or bespoke solutions 

 → Capability to deal with constraints and 

requirements on emissions, noise and cost

2   Understanding and 

identifying customers’ needs
We are particularly well positioned to help 
customers with the following needs:
 → Low-cost energy 
 → Reliable energy
 → Immediate or rapid response 
 → Access to remote, less accessible locations
 → Cleaner energy
 → Temperature control

3   Refi  ning the specifi  cation 

and problem solving
Our problem solving ability, technical 
capability and knowledge-sharing enable 
us to develop more sophisticated solutions 
and applications, particularly for highly 
complex or valuable installations, or where 
environmental concerns are paramount. 
These capabilities include: 
 → Our constant focus on improving 

effi ciency without compromising reliability 

 → Transparent pricing through our cost of 
energy calculator and other initiatives 
 → Additions to our product portfolio over 
recent years, including hybrid, storage, 
system optimisation and HFO

4   Deployment and 

operational support

By deploying the appropriate equipment 
for each project, we ensure customer 
satisfaction and improved utilisation. 
We focus on: 
 → Deploying the right equipment and fuel 

type whether new, refurbished or bespoke 

 → Digital applications covering data 

monitoring of our equipment so we deliver 
higher service levels 

 → CRM to track customers’ needs and 
our own performance, feeding back 
experience and improving our knowledge

5  Demobilisation
At the end of a contract, we move 
equipment to new projects to keep costs 
down for customers and improve our 
utilisation based on:
 → Increased longevity of our equipment 

supported by more sophisticated remote 
data monitoring and condition-based 
maintenance programmes 

 → Optimisation of fl eet logistics and 

project manning to manage transfers 
of equipment more effi ciently

6   Preparing for the next 

customer

Both our customers’ and our own 
operational feedback from each contract 
are built into our data analytics so that 
lessons can be learned and applied 
Group-wide with: 
 → Digitalisation and data analytics 

supporting decisions on best allocation 
of resources 

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

07

 
 
 
THE OPPORTUNITIES IN OUR MARKETS

We are helping our customers in their transition 
to the new realities of global energy markets

Globally, the energy sector is going through a major transition; the 
challenge today is to fi nd the optimal way to secure more energy, 
affordably and sustainably.

The challenges of the energy transition

Demographic change
means that grid investment is not 
keeping up with the growth in the 
world’s urban population.

15%

growth in urban population 
by 2025 and 25% by 2030

Decentralisation
leads to demand for fl exible power 
solutions addressing more complex 
power systems.

1GW

of microgrids in the past few years; 
we believe a further 6GW of capacity 
is planned 

 → There are also vast geographic areas 
where the population density does 
not, and may never, support grid 
investment.

 → Global population is expected to 

increase by one billion during the 
next decade with 94% of this in urban 
populations of less developed regions. 
 → In these regions, power supply is often 
unreliable. The World Bank reports 
that electricity supply in 26 such 
countries has deteriorated since 2016 
and there are currently 1.1 billion 
people, mainly in Africa, without 
access to power. 

 → Demand for lower-cost generation 
technologies, renewables, fl exibility 
and security of supply has led to 
rapid growth in the demand for 
decentralised power generation, 
including distributed or off-grid 
solutions. The 6GW of new microgrid 
projects planned affect all segments 
of the energy market – business, 
residential and communities. 

 → In emerging markets, off-grid or 

‘behind the meter’  power systems are 
an increasingly important self-supply 
solution and distributed energy could 
represent between 40% and 60% of all 
the remaining investment required to 
provide universal access to electricity. 
 → With $55 billion invested in distributed 
energy hardware (rooftop solar, smart 
metering, behind the meter storage, 
etc.) in 2017, decentralisation 
represents a rapidly growing and 
sizeable market opportunity.

Decarbonisation
drives investment towards renewables 
and lower emission fuels.

By the late 

2020s 

renewable technologies are expected 
to be cheaper than conventional 
thermal technology

 → Decarbonisation imperative is causing 

pressure to improve the effi ciency 
of existing installations and to limit 
emissions. This comes at a time when 
population and economic growth are 
pushing up both energy demand 
and CO2 emissions. Decarbonisation 
represents both risks and opportunities 
for our activities in these key markets. 

 → Higher energy effi ciency and 
investment in renewables are 
expected to be the main enablers of 
CO2 emissions reductions. The falling 
cost of renewable technologies will 
drive investment in wind, solar and 

storage capacity as these sources are 
expected to be cheaper than running 
existing grid-scale coal and gas plants 
on a levelised basis by the late 2020s.

 → Increasing renewable capacity will 

require fl exible power units, including 
batteries and small peaking gas 
plants, and demand management 
to effectively balance the system. 

 → Hybrid systems, which include thermal 

generation, provide a pathway to 
integrate more renewable energy 
while reducing CO2 emissions. 

Digitalisation
will help optimise operations, driving 
out cost and ensuring integration of 
intermittent renewable power. 

 → Digitalisation improves electricity 

systems by increasing connectivity, 
visibility and performance of devices 
through digital communications, 
analytics and insight. Implementing 
digitalisation at each stage of the 
value chain of the energy system can 
enable increased effi ciency, stability 
and reliability through monitoring and 
optimisation of a grid and associated 
power assets. 

 → Digitalisation may have its biggest 
impact in renewable energy where 
there is a growing need to integrate 
a diverse mix of energy systems, 
including distributed generation and 
energy storage. As the main renewable 
energies are intermittent and power 
systems more complex, digitalisation 
will help to balance the system in the 
most effi cient way.

08 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Competition
To maintain our competitive position 
in this changing environment we have, 
in line with our strategic priorities, 
improved our technology offering, 
customer focus and effi ciency. 

All markets
We compete with regional, national 
and local businesses, many of which 
are privately-owned specialist rental 
businesses, divisions of large plant 
hire companies, or OEM (Original 
Equipment Manufacturer) dealerships. 
Very few provide our sector-specifi c 
solutions or engineering expertise.

Developed markets
The larger general rental companies do 
operate in specialist sectors, including 
power, heating and cooling, with a focus 
on transactional equipment hiring. 
Our strategic priorities and individual 
country and sector strategies address 
the competition in these markets. 

Emerging markets 
Several competitors cover wide 
geographical areas across emerging 
markets. However, we believe we are 
the only company with a truly global 
footprint, capable of high standards of 
innovation for bespoke solutions. In the 
utility market, demand has mainly been 
towards longer-term contracts while 
our modular, mobile and temporary 
equipment favours contracts of one 
to three years in length, in which we 
believe we have maintained a market 
share above 50% of the addressable 
market.

 The marketplace in which we operate

Increasing demand 
for power
Our markets have historically grown as 
a country’s economy grows, particularly 
in industrial sectors where fi nance is 
more available. Projected global GDP 
growth of 3.5% for 2019 (IMF) is 
expected to drive this demand. 

Globally there is a move for greater 
integration of networks with cross-
border transmission infrastructure 
development.

In the power sector, there is an 
estimated 2,390GW of capacity 
currently under construction or 
planned in the next few years with 
almost half of this in Asia (Platts). 

Investment in power supply is expected 
to focus mainly on solar and wind (with 
around 43% from fossil fuels) driven by 
declining costs, batteries and fl exible 
power solutions such as peaking gas. 

An increase in distributed energy 
resources will tend to decrease the 
average size of power plants and 
increase the number of power 
producers. Construction of those 
plants should be faster than large 
utility-scale projects, but the 
development, duration and funding 
processes remain challenging. 

The high potential for gas technology 
along with batteries over the mid and 
long term will drive the shift towards 
decentralised and decarbonised energy 
systems. Gas is expected to remain at 
around 20% of the global power mix.

Increasing demand for power, 
construction of new power plants, the 
move towards renewables and storage, 
and increased focus on decentralised, 
decarbonised energy systems will 
provide opportunities for Aggreko.

3.5%

Projected global growth driving demand 
for power in 2019 (IMF)

Commodities
Improved commodity prices in 2018 
resulted in a rise in industrial activity 
in many of our markets.
The cost of energy is a key concern for 
customers in these sectors and our 
sector specifi c applications, such as the 
solar-diesel hybrid on mining sites and 
fl are gas-to-power solutions, will be an 
important revenue driver for us. 

Oil & gas
 → Oil demand is supported by 

global GDP growth, particularly 
in emerging markets. 

 → Positive oil and gas price forecasts 
underpin infrastructure projects 
and support signifi cant capital 
expenditure in production. 

 → The oilfi eld services sector has seen 
recovery, particularly in the US, and 
current trends remain favourable. 

 → Liquid petroleum gas (LPG) is available 

in over 130 countries, compared to 
around 40 for natural gas, and is a 
very attractive solution in countries 
looking for cheaper, cleaner power. 

 → Liquefi ed natural gas (LNG) 

development, coupled with investment 
in pipeline and infrastructure, will make 
gas available more widely.

Petrochemicals and refi  ning
 → The global market for petrochemicals 

is expected to grow at an annual 
average rate of 9% by 2023 (Energias 
Market Research). The Asia-Pacifi c 
region has been the main contributor 
in the past and is expected to 
continue leading the sector, with the 
Middle East remaining the most 
competitive place for production. 

Mining
 → Positive developments in commodity 
prices have meant that this sector 
has had access to more funding for 
new projects. 

 → Gold production levels are expected 

to grow, particularly in Australia 
and Canada.

 → Demand for commodities of the 
future, such as copper, nickel, 
aluminium, lithium and cobalt, is 
being driven by growth in electric 
vehicles and battery storage arising 
from pressure to decarbonise. 

2,390GW

Power sector capacity currently under 
construction or planned (Platts)

9% CAGR

Growth rate of global petrochemicals market 
by 2023 (Energias Market Research)

5.5%

Investment growth over the next fi ve years in 
emerging and developing economies (IMF)

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

09

 
 
 
OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

Our strategic priorities will enable 
us to succeed in a changing world

Since we fi rst set out our strategy in 2015, it is clear that our markets have changed, and will 
continue to do so, and we have evolved our strategy in response to this. This year we reviewed 
our strategy, the markets in which we operate and the returns we can expect to make. We have 
confi rmed that our evolved 2015 strategy remains relevant, although we have reduced our 
medium term ROCE target. 

Our four priorities to drive growth

Customer focus

Tailoring solutions 
to improve 
customer 
experience

Continued focus on key sectors
 → Focus on key sectors, using our 
technical capability to enable 
us to tackle higher value, more 
complex challenges

 → Hybrid solutions using solar power 
and battery storage to regulate 
and integrate power 

Sales and marketing discipline 
and process enhancements 
 → Segmentation and channel 

development, including telesales 
and e-commerce 

 → Real-time pricing governance

System investment to improve 
customer experience 
 → Deployment of end-to-end 
customer journey systems

Remote monitoring and 
data analytics 
 → Improved customer service 
and product development

Continued focus on reducing the 
total cost of energy
 → Fuel effi ciency, hybrid solutions 

and emissions

Hybrid solutions and storage 
integration
 → Integrating renewables, 

storage and thermal assets

Technology investment

Reduce the 
total cost of energy 
through innovation

Complex sector-specifi c applications 
leveraging the technical capability 
of our people 
 → Creating specifi c applications through 

relevant experience

Remote monitoring platform 
and data analytics capability

 → Deploy to existing sites to improve 

effi ciency and reliability

More centralised fl eet management 
to drive utilisation

Remote monitoring 
and data analytics 
 → Reduce maintenance costs
 → Improve utilisation

Deploy Rental Solutions systems 
into Power Solutions Industrial 
 → Back-offi ce and process effi ciencies

Cost reduction programme to deliver 
£50m of savings 

Reduction in working capital

Living Always Orange
 → Our values underpin all we 
do and how we behave

 → Extensive internal communication 
ensures that this is fully embraced

Nurturing our full potential 
 → Valuing our people, incentivising 

them, monitoring their performance 
and enabling them to achieve 
greater things

Staying safe and professional 
at all times
 → Safety is the top priority for 

our people

 → Professionalism remains core 

to our reputation and customer 
relationships

Capital effi  ciency

Optimise 
deployment 
of resources

Expert people

Cultivate a high 
performance 
organisation

10 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Plans to improve our returns

Improvements to ROCE will be driven in each of the three business segments
As part of our 2018 strategy and markets review, we built detailed plans to enable us to meet our revised Group target for mid-teens 
ROCE in 2020. While there is considerable overlap, particularly between Rental Solutions and Power Solutions Industrial, which are 
subject to many of the same drivers, the detailed plans for improved ROCE are specifi c to each division, as set out below:

Rental Solutions Power Solutions

Industrial

Power Solutions
Utility

Operating profi t

 → Sector focus and specialisation 

 → Higher value, complex solutions

 →  New real-time pricing governance systems

 → Remote asset monitoring to reduce 

unplanned downtime 

 →  Data analytics to reduce servicing costs

 → New customer journey systems 

 → Introduction of e-commerce 

 → Sales disciplines driving revenue growth 

and margin improvement

 → Cost disciplines to improve margins 

 → Cost reduction programme

Capital employed

 → Global fl eet and inventory management 

 → Capital expenditure discipline

 → Utilisation improvements

 → Billing and collections under spotlight 

and part of the sales process

Over the following pages we report on 
each of our strategic priorities in more detail...

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

11

 
 
 
OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES CONTINUED

Customer focus
Tailoring our 
solutions 
to improve 
our customer 
experience

Being particular about 
the sectors we target

Offering specialist 
solutions 

Being simple to do 
business with

Strongly diversifi  ed but 
focused on seven key sectors
What our customers have in common 
is the critical need for power and 
temperature control to solve 
complex problems and provide 
reliable operational delivery. 

Utilities 
Expertise in high voltage and grid 
connections, providing solutions 
from emergency response to base 
load power.

Petrochemical & refining 
Power and temperature control 
solutions to optimise processes 
and improve production rates.

Events 
A valued and trusted partner, offering 
high-profile event knowledge, cost-
effi cient design capability combined 
with fl exibility and reliability. 

Building services & construction 
Provision of reliable power, heating, 
cooling and dehumidification solutions 
to our customers in construction, 
services and contracting. 

Oil & gas 
Solutions where the grid is unavailable, 
to eliminate bottlenecks and monetise 
gas by-products, from exploration 
to production.

Mining 
Fully flexible, cost-effective solutions 
for every stage of the mining lifecycle. 

Manufacturing 
Solutions to enhance processes and 
overcome power and temperature 
control challenges, reducing 
costly downtime.

Our approach

 → By being particular about the sectors 

we serve, we can develop our 
expertise, create specifi c applications, 
and offer relevant experience and 
advice to ensure that customers get 
a tailored solution. 

 → We are also widely geographically 

diversifi ed. Rental Solutions operates 
in North America, Northern Europe, 
Continental Europe and Australia 
Pacifi c. Power Solutions, both 
Industrial and Utility, operate in less 
well developed markets in Latin 
America, the Middle East, Asia, 
Africa and Eurasia. 

 → Our customers’ requirements range 

from short-term, simpler, transactional 
rental of equipment, to providing 
temporary power for three to six 
months where the complexity 
depends on the sector and geography, 
to longer-term projects where we may 
be providing a solution for anything 
up to three years, or even beyond. 

 → The majority of our revenue is derived 
through our ability to manage and 
deliver increasingly complex, higher-
value solutions. This may include the 
provision of off-grid, low cost or green 
power, a high level of reliability 
whatever the operating conditions, 
immediate response during 
emergencies or sector-specifi c 
problem solving, while the balance 
of revenue comprises shorter, more 
transactional rental contracts.

Customer-focused disciplines 
and systems, making us 
simpler to do business with
 → We enhance our sales capability 
through a bespoke training 
programme, supported by a new 
online tool which provides detailed 
knowledge of our products, our 
sectors, delivery and logistics, 
as well as ethics and safety. 

 → Our Market Intelligence Platform 
gives us an accessible, in-depth 
understanding of the market 
dynamics affecting customers in 
each of our geographic markets, 
helping us to focus on the greatest 
opportunities for our business. It uses 
data from multiple sources to give our 
sales teams a detailed view of their 
markets, factoring in economic and 
political stability; ability of customers 
to pay; the electricity supply and 
demand balance; and fuel availability 
and pricing. 

 → Our enhanced CRM (customer 
relationship management) has 
been rolled out and gives us a 
better understanding of customer 
requirements by analysing our 
operating history and service provision 
and is increasing internal collaboration 
and the speed of our service delivery. 

 → For more transactional sales, we are 
evolving our e-commerce platform, 
providing a more agile, cost-effective 
telesales channel and a better service 
proposition. Alongside this, our new 
system enables real-time pricing, 
building in much more disciplined 
pricing governance, which should 
improve rates.

12

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

 
Powering the 
Winter Olympic 
and Paralympic 
Games

 → Remote monitoring and data 

analytics are benefi ting customer 
service by improving our 
management of downtime, servicing 
and the effi cient running of our 
equipment. This also enhances our 
understanding of our equipment and 
the sharing of knowledge across the 
Group, which feeds back into the 
development of our products and 
bespoke solutions. 

 → A Voice of Customer programme 
is transforming how we measure 
our performance through the eyes 
of our customer. This programme 
demonstrates that ‘Aggreko listens’ by 
delivering greater transparency and 
clarity on what to tackle and improve 
across our business at both a local 
and global level by tracking the 
customer experience throughout 
the contract lifecycle rather than just 
measuring the customer experience 
at the end of the project.

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985km
length of cabling

95
experts on site

-40C
average temperature

20
venues powered

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Challenge
The Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games captivate 
millions of people around the world, and the 2018 
event in South Korea was the biggest ever. An event 
of this scale demands a signifi cant amount of power. 
Given the environment and conditions, we knew 
deploying equipment on site would be very diffi cult 
for all involved and that it would be challenging to 
guarantee the reliable service Aggreko is renowned for.

Solution 
Our experts devised a turnkey solution that consisted 
of 140MW; 232 of our containerised generators and 
985km of cabling. We stationed 95 of our engineers on 
site; both before, and throughout the Games to ensure 
that power levels were optimised and constant and 
the equipment continued to operate in the face of 
extreme temperatures.

Impact
With the successful implementation of our power 
solution to supply the Games, we delivered on our 
customer’s requirements. This meant that thousands 
of competitors could entertain the worldwide 
audience watching the action unfold.

Measuring our performance

Customer activity 
Measure
Group average power megawatts 
on hire. 

Relevance
Average megawatts on hire across the 
year provides a good measure of the 
activity of the business globally. 

Target
We will not increase average megawatts 
on hire at the expense of price and 
this KPI should always be considered 
alongside our fi nancial metrics. 

Performance
During the year we have seen a very 
slight improvement in the average 
megawatts on hire. However, the table 
below also shows that over the past fi ve 
years this metric has been fairly steady. 
This demonstrates the resilience of 
our business and the strength of our 
products and brand.

Customer loyalty 
Measure
We use an industry standard known 
as Net Promoter Score (NPS) to 
measure and benchmark our 
performance against competitors 
and other B2B organisations. 

Relevance
It is important that we understand 
the extent to which we exceed our 
customers’ expectations. The statistical 
insight we now collect is driving our 
customer-focused change agenda 
to enable us to be simple to do 
business with.

Target
Sustainable improvements in the NPS 
over time.

Performance
With the introduction of multiple 
touch-point surveys this year, through 
the Voice of Customer programme, our 
pure NPS performance is not comparable 
with the NPS scores previously reported 
which only measured performance 
post-transaction. We know that our 
performance is in the top 5% of B2B 
service organisations on a global basis, 
and we strive to improve the customer 
experience further.

Net Promoter Score

Group average power on hire (MW)*

59%

2018*

2017

2016

2015

2014

6,659MW

59%

65%

63%

63%

58%

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

*  Refl ects a change in how we measure. 

*  Excludes hybrids.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

6,659

6,613

6,571

6,771

6,621

13

 
 
 
OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES CONTINUED

Technology investment
Reducing the 
total cost of 
energy through 
innovation

Developing competitive 
confi gurable products 

  Smarter use of connected 
systems and data analytics

Integrating renewable and 
storage technology

An innovative approach 
to reducing costs and/or 
emissions
 → We use our in-house technical 

expertise, understanding of local 
emissions requirements on a 
country by country basis, and 
ability to innovate to achieve savings 
and/or reduced emissions for our 
customers. Our knowledge of the 
regulatory requirements and the 
environments in which the fl eet 
operates has signifi cantly 
strengthened our capability to adapt 
to the changing market conditions. 

 → We have implemented a process to 

capture and manage our intellectual 
property resulting from our design 
and operations. The in-house 
design of our equipment and the 
development of unique, tailored 
solutions for our customers, 
some of which are patented, 
have considerable value and are 
shared globally across Aggreko. 

 → We are encouraged by the 

opportunity to provide solutions 
into the developing market for 
renewables that require complex 
control systems to integrate existing 
power sources with battery storage to 
effectively manage security of supply.

We work closely with our strategic 
suppliers and, using market leading 
but established technology, we design 
and assemble our fl eet in a modular, 
mobile format, typically using 20-foot 
shipping containers which facilitate 
transport logistics and lower costs.

 → We continue to integrate Younicos, 

 → We are increasing the longevity 

which we acquired in July 2017. As part 
of this integration, we have merged 
our Manufacturing & Technology and 
Global Solutions teams, to create 
Global Products & Technology. This 
will drive innovation with sales and 
delivery managed by our existing 
divisions, Rental Solutions and 
Power Solutions. 

Flexibility and reliability of 
our fl eet driving utilisation
 → Increasing utilisation is a key focus 
for improving our returns. Our fl eet 
is modular and mobile, so it can be 
confi gured to provide any number 
of different solutions and moved to 
where it is needed around the world, 
which ensures a quick response 
as well as optimum utilisation. 

of our fl eet with the support of our 
remote data monitoring capability 
and data analytics. Our supplier 
agreements cover the life of the 
assets, but we have scope to reduce 
the initial build cost as well as 
planned and unplanned maintenance. 
The performance data collected on 
our equipment provides valuable 
insight into the optimum operating 
conditions to benefi t our customers.

 → Part of our cost saving programme 
is reducing planned maintenance 
by introducing a condition-based 
maintenance regime.

Upgrading our existing fl eet to improve effi  ciency and offer greater choice

Average MW on hire

5,296MW on hire 

1,332MW on hire 

8MW on hire 

31MW on hire

Diesel 

Gas 

Hybrid/Renewables

HFO

Integration of new 
technology

Refurbished 31% of 
our 1MW fl eet to G3+

Benefi ts

•  5% improvement 
in fuel effi ciency 

•  15% improvement 
in power output

Addition of 323MW 
of Next Generation 
Gas since 2016

•  11% improvement 
in fuel effi ciency 

Contract in Eritrea 
(solar and diesel)

•  Emissions reduced by 

10-13%

Addition of 181MW 
of HFO to our fl eet 
since 2016

•  8% improvement 
in effi ciency vs. G3 

•  33% improvement in 

•  Provides a reduction 

power output at lower 
capital cost

in the overall total cost 
of energy

•  Modular and mobile 
HFO offering using 
proven engine

14 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

 
Providing clean, 
uninterrupted 
power to an island 
community

Mitigating our environmental 
impact 
 → In 2018, 99% of our greenhouse gas 
emissions came from the operation 
of our fl eet and we see it as our 
responsibility to mitigate the carbon 
footprint of our products where we 
can. Three main factors which drive 
our emissions are the fuel type our 
customers use; the pattern of their 
usage; and the fuel effi ciency of 
our fl eet.

 → Our equipment and processes are 

designed to comply with applicable 
laws, regulations and industry 
standards wherever we operate in 
the world. In addition, we constantly 
explore new ways of reducing 
emissions from our fl eet and 
increasing fuel effi ciency, and we 
regularly review product technologies 
that we can adopt into our product 
portfolio including bio-fuels, fuel cells 
and waste heat recovery. 

 → We also work to reduce the impact 
of other environmental effects of 
our operations, such as refrigerant 
emissions and noise pollution, in 
which we have made signifi cant 
advances using custom-built 
acoustic enclosures, high performance 
isolation and attenuation systems to 
reduce noise. 

  Read more about our greenhouse 

gas emissions on page 83

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20MW
power

$6m
saving in the fi rst 
two years

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Challenge 
St Croix, part of the Virgin Islands, has a long-term energy 
plan, which includes revamping its current ageing and 
ineffi cient power generation infrastructure. In 2017 one 
of its power generators suffered mechanical failure and 
a new power plant was required to avoid power shortfalls. 
The Virgin Island’s Water and Power Authority required 
a solution for the many businesses, homes and critical 
infrastructure that keep the island running. It also 
needed cleaner energy, to cut costs and to comply with 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. 

Solution 
Aggreko is delivering 20MW of power to replace the 
defective plant from March 2019, using Liquefi ed Petroleum 
Gas (LPG) powered Next Generation Gas (NGG) generators. 
Our new power package comprises 1.2MW power modules 
to maximise fl exibility, so the island’s unique night and day 
demands can be met.

Impact
This solution will not only bring reliable power to the people 
of St Croix, but it also lowers emissions, providing cleaner 
power for this idyllic island and, most importantly, at a 
lower total cost of energy to both our customer and its end 
users. The island itself will benefi t from savings of around 
$6 million in the fi rst two years.

Measuring our performance

Fleet size and composition
Measure
Total power fleet size (in MW), split 
between generation type (diesel, 
diesel G3+, gas, NGG and HFO).

Relevance
Our strategy is to grow ahead of the 
market. To remain competitive we have 
to offer our customers cheaper and 
cleaner sources of energy that can be 
adapted to meet their needs. The best 
way to do this is through more fuel-
efficient engines and using cheaper 
and cleaner fuels where appropriate.

Target
Increasing proportions of our market 
leading products in fuel effi ciency, 
the diesel G3+ and NGG engine, and 
introducing clean energy sources such 
as solar and storage.

Performance
During the year we have refurbished 
more diesel engines to the G3+ and 
introduced more NGG engines. We have 
also begun to introduce solar, although 
this remains immaterial in the context 
of the overall fleet at this stage.

Power fl eet composition

10,009MW

4 5

1

3

2

1.  Diesel

2.  Diesel G3+ 

3. Gas

4.  NGG

5.  HFO

2017 total: 9.9GW

2018

2017

62% (64%)

16% (14%) 

17% (18%)

3% (2%)

2% (2%)

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

15

 
 
 
OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES CONTINUED

Capital effi  ciency
Optimise 
deployment 
of resources

Being mobile and modular 

Getting the very maximum 
out of our assets 

Striving for the most 
competitive cost base

Capital allocation strategy 
Effective capital allocation is critical 
to delivering value given the capital 
intensive nature of our business. This 
keeps the business focused on return 
on capital employed as a key metric for 
ensuring we deliver long-term value.

Our approach to allocating our capital 
is disciplined both in terms of capex 
and working capital, and we have a 
ROCE hurdle rate for all new projects. 
A key objective is to improve our 
performance in working capital 
management. 

Our capital allocation is focused on 
organic investment and we do not 
expect to make acquisitions unless 
the rationale for scale or capability 
is compelling. 

We remain committed to a sustainable 
ordinary dividend and, where we have 
excess capital will look to distribute 
it to our shareholders. Subject to 
shareholder approval, the proposed 
fi nal dividend of 17.74 pence (2017: 
17.74 pence), combined with the interim 
dividend of 9.38 pence (2017: 9.38 
pence), will result in a full year dividend 
of 27.12 pence (2017: 27.12 pence) per 
Ordinary Share.

Our aim is to maintain a balance sheet 
structure that safeguards our fi nancial 
position through economic cycles. 
Given the proven ability of the business 
to fund organic growth from operating 
cash fl ows, together with the nature 
of our business model, we believe it is 
appropriate to run the business with a 
modest amount of debt. However, given 
our high operational gearing we do not 
believe it is appropriate to couple this 

with high fi nancial gearing. Therefore, 
we target gearing of around one times 
net debt to EBITDA, recognising from 
time to time it may be higher as 
investment opportunities present 
themselves. At the end of 2018, 
net debt to EBITDA* was 1.3 times 
(2017: 1.2 times). During the year, 
cash fl ows from operations were 
£423 million (2017: £450 million). 

Optimising the deployment 
of our assets to improve 
utilisation
Our scale brings operational effi ciencies 
and minimises our capital costs, but we 
have further opportunity to improve 
the utilisation of our assets. Measures 
are in place to improve utilisation 
including more centralised fl eet 
management, making it easier 
to deploy fl eet across the world, 
particularly from Utility projects to 
the faster growing businesses – 
Rental Solutions and Power Solutions 
Industrial. 

Capital expenditure is allocated where 
it can deliver the best returns over the 
long term. We reduced our investment 
in new fl eet by £50 million, comparing 
2018 with 2017, and we expect to 
maintain fl eet capex at a similar level in 
2019. While there is the opportunity to 
improve the utilisation of our existing 
fl eet, particularly in Power Solutions 
Utility, we expect capital expenditure to 
remain below depreciation this year.

Asset monitoring and condition-based 
servicing reduce fl eet redundancies, 
helping to extend the working life of 
the assets. 

Improved operational 
effi  ciency

We have, over the past few years, 
removed duplication by streamlining 
back offi ce processes through 
signifi cant savings in procurement 
disciplines and improved productivity 
in HR policies to align performance 
and remuneration. However, there is 
more to be done yet to improve 
operational effi ciency. 

We are targeting improved operating 
effi ciency in Rental Solutions and 
Power Solutions Industrial through 
the sharing of best practice. This 
includes extending effective customer-
journey and remote asset monitoring 
systems from Rental Solutions to 
Power Solutions Industrial and 
introducing data analytics to 
reduce costs of regular servicing and 
maintenance in both business units.

Our planned cost reduction 
programme, which is focused on 
Power Solutions Utility, is expected 
to achieve net savings of £50 million 
in 2021. The programme includes 
condition-based maintenance to reduce 
servicing costs; procurement savings 
through the extension of our spare 
parts supplier base; optimisation of fl eet 
logistics and project manning; a review 
of regional offi ce and support function 
locations and the improvement of 
sales productivity through training 
and development. 

*Net debt to EBITA calculation is on page 142

16 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

32 remote 
Amazonian 
communities 
needed power 

Challenge 
The State of Amazonas is the largest in Brazil, it is isolated 
and predominantly rain forest. While most of the area 
is connected by the river Amazon, including the 
60 municipalities overseen by the area’s capital city, 
Manaus, this is not an area that is easy to access. 
Therefore the national grid struggles to provide the 
power all the communities needs.

Solution 
While the grid could not get there, we could – by fl oating 
65 generators up the Amazon on eight barges that covered 
about 20,000km of river network. 65MW of power is being 
delivered to 32 remote locations under a 15-year contract. 
This was one of the more challenging projects we have 
undertaken over the years, but it was also one of the most 
rewarding, clearly demonstrating our can-do attitude.

Impact
32 isolated communities received the long-term security 
of supply they need to thrive. Among the communities 
that will be supported over the 15-year contract is Parintins, 
Amazonas’ second city; Maraã, a settlement located within 
a Sustainable Development Reserve; and Coari, which 
needs to power its gas industry.

20,000km
of river network used 
to carry the generators

8 barges
commissioned

65MW
of power provided

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Focus on reducing 
working capital 
Our Group-wide programme 
to improve our working capital 
management has seen some 
positive signs. 

Receivables remain a key focus, we 
still have some customers in Africa, 
Venezuela and Yemen in particular 
who are taking longer to pay owing 
to issues of liquidity and access to 
foreign currency. We believe that 
with the introduction of clear targets, 
increased frequency and levels of 
review, together with the addition of 
further resources to focus on this area, 
we are beginning to make progress.

We have begun to adopt best 
practice principles in our supply 
chain management and our efforts 
on payables have delivered 
improvements. 

In 2018, we increased our focus on 
inventory management with actions 
including the systematisation and 
automation of inventory buying across 
the Group and the centralisation of 
inventory management to ensure 
we are utilising stock more effi ciently 
across all our geographies. We are 
also working closely with suppliers 
to establish consignment stock 
arrangements where we can and 
proactively working on stock sales 
and buy-backs. 

Measuring our performance

Capital effi  ciency
Measure
Fleet utilisation by business unit.

Relevance
We are a capital intensive business and 
in order to generate strong returns on 
our capital investment our fleet needs 
to be well utilised. Across our businesses 
we use megawatt utilisation as the 
metric (average MW on hire divided 
by the total fleet size in MW).

Target
In our Rental Solutions and Power 
Solutions Industrial businesses we are 
targeting utilisation of 60-70%, while in 
our Power Solutions Utility business we 
target over 80%.

Performance
In 2018 we saw utilisation in our Rental 
Solutions and Power Solutions Industrial 
businesses improve as our business 
priority initiatives helped grow our 
businesses. We need to see further 
improvements to meet our targets, but 
the progress is encouraging. Lower order 
intake and a higher level of off-hires in 
2018 resulted in a fall in the utilisation 
of our Power Solutions Utility fl eet.

Power Solutions: 
Industrial utilisation

71%

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

Power Solutions: 
Utility utilisation

66%

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

Rental Solutions: 
Rental Solutions utilisation

62%

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

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71%

69%

63%

65%

65%

66%

73%

79%

77%

76%

62%

56%

52%

55%

57%

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

17

 
 
 
OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES CONTINUED

Expert people
Cultivating 
a high-
performance 
organisation

Living Always Orange 

Nurturing our full potential 

Staying safe and 
professional at all times

At Aggreko we believe our 
culture is a strategic lever for 
growth and Always Orange 
was implemented in April 2017 
to defi ne the culture we 
need. Our four values and 
their respective day-to-day 
behaviours govern the way 
in which we work, remain 
safe and professional, develop 
the expertise of our people, 
infl uence our social interaction 
across our markets and 
ultimately allow us to deliver 
our business objectives. 

Creating a high-performance 
culture – Living Always Orange
 → Our people have a good 

Operating safely and 
responsibly at all times
 → We continue to promote Standard 

understanding of our Always Orange 
culture and the important part it plays 
in helping us to grow. 83% of our 
people stated they agreed with this 
statement in our 2018 employee 
survey (Be Heard), up 3% on 2017.

 → We expect all our people to act like 
owners and have increased our 
commercial acumen through 
the virtual ROCE learning and 
interactive quiz on our internal 
business strategy microsite. 

 → We focus on the importance of 

managing our assets as well as the 
more obvious area of improving 
operating profi t, thereby increasing 
the understanding of the levers we 
can exercise to infl uence ROCE.

 → Recognising the importance of 
the technical capability of our 
people to serve our customers, 
and the importance of our brand, 
we continually invest in ongoing 
training and development, and 
sharing of experience.

Zero, setting the foundation for how 
we manage risks to ensure we stay 
safe and professional at all times 
across the world. Thirteen specifi c 
HSE risk aspects directly related to our 
people and our business are being 
embedded to ensure we are staying 
safe and responsible. 

 → We have created a Security Incident 

Reporting app for our people, 
wherever they are, to effectively report 
a security incident at any time.

 → In our Be Heard employee survey, 
97% of our people state that they 
would use their ‘stop-work authority’ 
if a colleague placed themselves in 
immediate danger or they personally 
were tasked to do something that 
was unsafe. 

 → We have introduced a ‘Being Expert 
with our Data’ policy to ensure we 
comply with the new data protection 
regulation and that our people do 
the right thing when they handle 
personal data.

18 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

Be Together
Asking the best of each other, 
harnessing our scale and diverse 
skills to grow stronger together.

Be Expert
Using our blend of experience, 
expertise and planning to keep 
us ahead of the game.

Be Dynamic
Using our entrepreneurial 
passion to deliver and make 
great things happen.

Be Innovative
Learning from the world for 
a better today and for great 
leaps tomorrow.

Our Always Orange 
culture is supported 
by our values and 
their respective 
behaviours

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Nurturing our full potential 
 → The 2018 Be Heard Employee 

Engagement Survey achieved a 
very high engagement score of 76% 
(up 1% on last year) with 88% of staff 
(similar to last year) declaring an 
overall pride in working at Aggreko. 
Lower scoring areas were on the topics 
of remuneration and work-life balance. 
The feedback helps us focus our efforts 
to make Aggreko an even better place 
to work and we are committed to 
improving our scores across all areas.

 → With the establishment of our Value 
Difference team, we are continuing 
our focus on diversity and inclusion. 
We are launching a new mobile 
intranet which will include a 
translation feature ensuring that our 
people can access information and 
discussions in their local language. 
We also analyse the results of our 
employee engagement survey from 
the perspective of gender to ensure 
we are dealing with underlying 
gender-based perceptions. Our latest 
Gender Pay Gap Report is available 
on our corporate website. 

 → Through a globally consistent 
approach to performance and 
development (‘Be Your Best’) we 
are encouraging the strongest 
performance from our people by 
providing training and development 
and through personal objectives and 
performance-based remuneration. 
We are now aligning any potential 
bonus payments to individual, 
as well as Company and strategic 
business unit, performance.

Measuring our performance

Safety
Measure
Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR).

Employee satisfaction
Measure
Employee turnover.

Relevance
Rigorous safety processes are absolutely 
essential if we are to avoid accidents or 
incidents which could cause injury to 
people and damage to property and 
reputation. The main KPI we use to 
measure safety performance is LTIFR 
which is calculated by dividing the 
number of recorded LTI cases by the 
number of hours worked at the 
Company multiplied by 200,000. A lost 
time accident is a work related injury 
that results in an employee’s inability 
to work the shift after the initial injury.

Target
Continued reduction in accident rates.

Performance
Safety continues to be a key area of focus 
in 2018. At the beginning of the year 
we introduced ‘stop work authority’, 
designed to empower people to act on 
risks they witness and to ensure that 
they don’t put themselves or others at 
risk. We also introduced our ‘Leading 
Safety’ programme for our frontline 
leaders, which focuses on engagement 
and how to have meaningful and 
positive safety conversations. 

Relevance
It is the attitude, skill and motivation of 
our people which makes the difference 
between mediocre and excellent 
performance. We monitor permanent 
employee turnover as a proxy for how 
our employees feel. It is measured as 
the number of employees who leave the 
Group (other than through redundancy) 
during the period as a proportion of the 
total average number of employees 
during the period. 

Target
We aim to keep permanent employee 
turnover below historic levels in order 
to retain the skill base that we have 
developed.

Performance
This year employee turnover was in line 
with last year as the measures taken 
to improve engagement take effect. 
Our employee engagement score 
continues to rise with a score of 76% in 
2018, up 1% compared with the prior year. 

Lost time injury frequency rate

Employee turnover

0.20

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

8%

0.20

0.25

0.45

0.39

0.40

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

8%

8%

9%

11%

13%

19

 
 
 
GROUP PERFORMANCE REVIEW

A strong performance with good revenue 
and earnings growth

We are pleased to report results which continue the 
positive momentum demonstrated at the interims. 
We have delivered results in line with market 
expectations and ahead of our guidance at the start 
of the year, with 10% growth in the Group’s underlying 
profi ts. The overall result was supported by a strong 
performance in Rental Solutions, which represents 
52% of the Group’s revenue. With the wide-ranging 
initiatives we are implementing to improve our 
operational and capital effi ciency, we are confi dent 
we can meet our mid-teens ROCE target in 2020.
Chris Weston
Chief Executive Offi cer

 → Good underlying1 Group revenue 

growth of 8%

Measuring our performance

 – Rental Solutions underlying1 revenue 

up 22% (52% of Group revenue)

 – Power Solutions Industrial 
underlying1 revenue up 7% 
(27% of Group revenue) 

 – Power Solutions Utility underlying1 
revenue down 14% (21% of Group 
revenue), refl ecting known off-hires

 → Profi t before tax of £182 million, 

up 10% on an underlying1 basis and 
in line with market expectations 
despite currency headwinds

 → ROCE2 of 10.3% (2017: 10.7%), up 
0.5 percentage points on an 
underlying1 basis 

 → Operating cash fl ow of £423 million 

(2017: £450 million), impacted 
by cash outfl ows relating to 
mobilisation activities on a 
number of new contracts

 → Working capital outfl ow of £56 million 

(2017: £53 million), including 
£60 million outfl ow on payables

 → Fleet capex of £196 million (2017: 

£246 million), refl ecting increased 
discipline and focus on utilisation

 → Full year dividend maintained at 

27.1 pence

 → Awarded the supply contract for 
temporary electricity generation 
for the Olympic and Paralympic 
Games in Tokyo, worth an expected 
$200 million revenue in 2020

 → Plans to improve ROCE are well 

under way, including the launch of our 
£50 million cost reduction programme

1  Underlying excludes pass-through fuel, currency 
and 2017 exceptional items (no exceptional items 
reported in 2018). A reconciliation between reported 
and underlying performance is detailed on page 28.

2  ROCE calculation is on page 141.

Underlying revenue growth 
Measure
Revenue growth excluding the 
impact of currency movements 
and pass-through fuel.

Relevance
As a business that is exposed to different 
cycles, we look at revenue growth over 
time in order to deliver shareholder 
value. This is calculated as the adjusted 
revenue growth over the previous year. 

Further detail including why we exclude 
the impact of currency movements 
and pass-through fuel is provided in 
the reported fi nancial measures on 
pages 21 and 22.

Target
Our medium-term target is to grow 
ahead of our markets.

Performance
Rental Solutions was up 22% driven by 
strong growth across most sectors in 
North America. We also achieved good 
growth in Europe and Australia Pacifi c. 
Power Solutions Industrial increased 7%, 
supported by strong growth in Latin 
America and the South Korea Winter 
Olympics. Power Solutions Utility was 
down 14% primarily due to known 
off-hires, and lower volumes and pricing 
in Argentina. 

Pre-exceptional operating 
profi  t margin
Measure
Pre-exceptional operating profit margin.

Relevance
Our business has a large fixed cost 
base, therefore strong operating profit 
margins demonstrate disciplined 
variable cost control and our ability 
to leverage the fixed asset base. This 
is calculated as operating profit pre-
exceptional items divided by revenue.

Target
Our medium-term target is for Group 
operating profit margins to achieve 
levels that support mid-teens ROCE 
in 2020.

Performance
The operating margin was down 0.7pp 
however after adjusting for currency 
and pass-through fuel operating margin 
increased 0.2pp with improvements 
in Rental Solutions and Power Solutions 
Industrial partially offset by a reduction 
in Power Solutions Utility. 

Underlying revenue growth

Pre-exceptional operating profi t margin

8%

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

12.5%

8%

4%

(10)%

(3)%

9%

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

12.5%

13.2%*

16.4%

17.6%

19.7%

*  2017 numbers are shown on a pre-exceptional basis and have been restated for the implementation of IFRS 15. 

Refer to Note 1 of the Accounts page 96.

20 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Group trading performance

£m

Group revenue

Operating profi t 

Operating profi t margin (%)

Profi t before tax

Diluted EPS (p)
Operating cash infl ow 

Dividend per share (p)
ROCE (%)3

2018

1,760

219

12.5

182

49.2
423

27.1
10.3

20172 

1,698

224

13.2

190

52.4
450 

27.1
10.7

Change 

4% 

(2)%

(0.7)pp

(4)% 

(6)%

–
(0.4)pp

Underlying 
change1

8%

10%

0.2pp

10%

7%

0.5pp

Post exceptional items

2017 

1,698

183 

10.7

149

40.0

Change 

4%

20%

1.8pp

23%

23%

The Group has adopted IFRS 15 ‘Revenue from Contracts with Customers’ with effect from 1 January 2018. Note 1 to the Accounts explains these changes in detail. 
Comparative fi gures for 2017 have been restated to refl ect this change. 

1  Underlying excludes pass-through fuel, currency and 2017 exceptional items (no exceptional items reported in 2018). A reconciliation between reported and underlying 

performance is detailed on page 28.

2  Pre-exceptional items in 2017.
3  ROCE calculation is on page 141.

Pre-exceptional diluted 
earnings per share
Measure
Pre-exceptional diluted EPS.

Relevance
We believe that EPS, while not perfect, 
is a good measure of the returns we 
are generating as a Group for our 
shareholders, and reflects both revenue 
growth and trading margins. So, for the 
Group as a whole, the key measure of 
short-term financial performance is 
diluted EPS, pre-exceptional items. EPS 
is calculated based on profit attributable 
to equity shareholders (adjusted to 
exclude exceptional items) divided by 
the diluted weighted average number 
of ordinary shares ranking for dividend 
during the relevant period.

Target
While we are exposed to different 
cycles and EPS varies accordingly, 
we target growing EPS in line with 
our strategic aims.

Performance
EPS was down 6% however after 
adjusting for currency and pass-
through fuel EPS was up 7% driven 
by the growth in operating profi t.

Pre-exceptional return on 
capital employed 
Measure
Pre-exceptional return on capital 
employed (ROCE).

Relevance
In a business as capital intensive as 
Aggreko’s, profitability alone is not an 
adequate measure of performance: 
it is perfectly possible to be generating 
good margins, but poor value for 
Shareholders, if assets (and in particular, 
fleet) are not managed effi ciently. 
We calculate ROCE by dividing 
operating profit pre-exceptional items 
in the period by the average of the 
net operating assets as at 1 January, 
30 June and 31 December.

Target
Our target is to achieve mid-teens 
ROCE in 2020.

Performance
ROCE decreased 0.4pp mainly owning 
to the impact of currency. Excluding 
currency and pass-through fuel ROCE 
rose 0.5pp refl ecting the increase in 
underlying profi t. 

Pre-exceptional diluted EPS

49.18p

Pre-exceptional return on 
capital employed

10.3%**

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

49.18p

52.44p*

61.95p

71.68p

82.49p

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

10.3%

10.7%

12.8%

16.3%

19.0%

*  2017 numbers are shown on a pre-exceptional basis and have been restated for the implementation of IFRS 15. 

Refer to Note 1 of the Accounts page 96.

**  ROCE calculation is on page 141.

Group trading performance
Underlying1 Group revenue rose 
8%, driven primarily by a strong 
performance in Rental Solutions, offset 
by a decline in Power Solutions Utility, 
which now represents only 21% of 
Group revenue. Underlying1 profi t 
before tax was up 10% at £182 million. 
The operating margin was 12.5% (2017: 
13.2%), up 0.2 percentage points on an 
underlying1 basis, with improvements in 
Rental Solutions and Power Solutions 
Industrial partially offset by a reduction 
in Power Solutions Utility. Diluted 
earnings per share (DEPS) were 
49.2 pence (2017: 52.4 pence, excluding 
exceptional items), up 7% on an 
underlying1 basis. 

The Group’s return on capital employed 
(ROCE) decreased to 10.3% (2017: 10.7%) 
primarily due to the impact of currency. 
On an underlying1 basis ROCE rose 
0.5 percentage points. 

Reported fi  nancial measures
Reported revenue and operating profi t 
include the translational impact of 
currency as Aggreko’s revenue and 
profi t are earned in different currencies 
(most notably the US Dollar), which are 
then translated and reported in Sterling. 
The movement in exchange rates in the 
period had the translational impact of 
decreasing revenue by £112 million and 
operating profi t by £24 million.

In addition, the Group separately reports 
fuel revenue from certain contracts in 
the Power Solutions Utility business in 
Brazil and Sri Lanka, where we manage 
fuel on a pass-through basis on behalf 
of our customers. The reason for the 
separate reporting is that fuel revenue 
on these contracts is entirely dependent 
on fuel prices and the volumes of fuel 
consumed, which can be volatile and 
may distort the view of the performance 
of the underlying business. In 2018, 
fuel revenue from these contracts was 
£172 million (2017: £139 million).

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

21

 
 
 
 
GROUP PERFORMANCE REVIEW CONTINUED

Divisional headlines

Revenue £m

Rental Solutions

Power Solutions

Industrial

Utility excl. pass-through fuel

Pass-through fuel

Group

Operating profi  t £m

Rental Solutions

Power Solutions

Industrial

Utility excl. pass-through fuel 

Pass-through fuel

Group

2018

822

424

342

172

1,760

2018

105

71

46

(3)

219

2017

690

429

440

139

1,698

20172

81

73

73

(3)

224

 Change

19%

(1)%

(22)%

24%

4%

Change

30%

(3)%

(37)%

n/m

(2)%

 Underlying 
change1 

22%

7%

(14)%

47%

8%

Underlying 
change1

34%

10%

(23)%

n/m

10%

Post exceptional items

2017

68

62

56

(3)

183

Change

55%

15%

(17)%

n/m

20%

1  Underlying excludes pass-through fuel, currency and 2017 exceptional items (no exceptional items reported in 2018). A reconciliation between reported and underlying 

performance is detailed on page 28.

2  Pre-exceptional items in 2017.

Proms in the park

Powering the 
Winter Olympics

Reported fi  nancial measures 
(continued)
Reported Group revenue was up 4% on 
the prior year, with Rental Solutions up 
19%, Power Solutions Industrial down 1% 
and Utility (excluding pass-through fuel) 
down 22%. 

There were no exceptional items 
reported in 2018. During 2017 the Group 
incurred exceptional costs of £41 million 
relating to the implementation of our 
Business Priorities programme, split 
as follows: Rental Solutions £13 million, 
Power Solutions Industrial £11 million 
and Power Solutions Utility £17 million. 

Divisional headlines
As previously announced, as a result of 
the Group’s increased sector focus, we 
have refi ned our segmental reporting 
and reassigned all non-utility sector 
customer contracts from within our 
Power Solutions Utility business into 
Power Solutions Industrial. The details 
of the impact of this change are 
contained in Note 4(a) to the Accounts. 
Comparative fi gures for 2017 have been 
restated to refl ect this change. 

Rental Solutions underlying1 revenue 
was up 22% and represented 52% of 
Group revenue. North America had 
a strong year with revenue up 25%, 
including £27 million (2017: £22 million) 
earned from hurricane related work (net 
of base business lost due to hurricanes) 
and a strong performance across 
several key sectors including oil & gas, 
petrochemical & refi ning, utilities and 
building services & construction. We also 
achieved good revenue growth of 17% 
and 16% in Europe and Australia Pacifi c 
respectively. Operating margin on an 
underlying1 basis rose 1.2 percentage 
points to 12.9%, driven by improved rates 
and operational effi ciency.

22 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

Power Solutions Industrial underlying1 
revenue (27% of Group revenue) 
increased 7%, supported by particularly 
strong growth in Latin America of 31%, 
Asia up 11% and the Winter Olympics 
in South Korea. Underlying1 revenue 
was up 4% excluding the Winter 
Olympics. Operating margin rose by 
0.4 percentage points to 16.6% on an 
underlying1 basis representing good 
performance across key sectors in Latin 
America partially offset by the Middle 
East with the impact of the ongoing 
Qatar blockade.

Power Solutions Utility underlying1 
revenue (21% of Group revenue) was 
down 14% primarily due to known 
off-hires in Zimbabwe, Bangladesh 
and Japan, and lower volumes and 
pricing in Argentina. As a result, the 
Power Solutions Utility margin was 
down 1.4 percentage points on an 
underlying1 basis to 13.4%.

Cash fl ow  and balance sheet
During the year cash generated from 
operations was £423 million (2017: 
£450 million). The decrease in operating 
cash fl ow is mainly driven by cash 
outfl ows relating to mobilisation 
(fulfi lments assets) and demobilisation 
activities, with an outfl ow of £48 million 
in 2018 compared to £22 million in 
2017. The higher outfl ows in 2018 relate 
primarily to mobilisation costs for new 
contracts in Bangladesh, Brazil and 
St Croix. 

In 2018 we had a working capital outfl ow 
of £56 million compared to a £53 million 
outfl ow in 2017. This year’s outfl ow 
consisted of a £10 million outfl ow from 
trade and other receivables, and a 
£60 million outfl ow from trade and 
other payables, partially offset by a 
£14 million infl ow from inventory.

Additional performance metrics

Average megawatts on hire (MW)

Rental Solutions average megawatts on hire

Power Solutions Industrial average megawatts on hire

Power Solutions Utility average megawatts on hire
Total Power Solutions order intake (MW)

Power Solutions Industrial (ex. Eurasia)

Power Solutions Industrial (Eurasia only)

Power Solutions Utility
Utilisation 

Rental Solutions

Power Solutions Industrial

Power Solutions Utility 
Financial

Effective tax rate

Fleet capex (£m)

Fleet depreciation (£m)
Average net operating assets (£m)

Net debt (£m)

* Pre-exceptional items

2018

6,659
 1,531

 2,445

 2,683

1,002

 271

333

 398

62%

71%

66%

31%

196

273
 2,119

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2017 

Change

 6,613
1,271

 2,244

 3,098

1,132

 137

333 

 662

n/m
20%

9%

(13)%

(11)%

98%

Flat

(40)%

56%

69%

6.0pp

2.0pp

73% (7.0)pp

29%*

246

275
2,090

2.0pp

(20)%

(1)%
1%

5%

(686)

 (652)

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Outlook 
We will continue to build on the work 
we have done over the past three years 
to drive effi ciency and strengthen the 
foundations of the business and the 
improvements we have seen in 2018.

Our outlook for the Group in 2019 is in 
line with the market’s expectations, 
despite currency headwinds and the 
impact of IFRS 16, although with a 
greater weighting to the second 
half than in 2018. In addition, the 
performance initiatives we announced 
in August, to drive operational and 
capital effi ciency, are beginning to take 
effect and we expect to make progress 
this year towards our mid-teens ROCE 
target in 2020.

The £14 million decrease in inventory 
was driven by the initiatives we put in 
place during the year to improve our 
performance in this area, including 
reduced levels of manufacturing activity 
aligned with our more disciplined 
approach to capital expenditure. 

The decrease in trade and other 
payables balances was primarily as a 
result of the reduced manufacturing, 
together with the release of deferred 
revenue associated with the Winter 
Olympics in South Korea, and the 
timing of some contract payments in 
our Power Solutions Utility business.

The increase in trade and other 
receivables of £10 million comprised a 
£9 million increase in Rental Solutions 
(2017: £47 million increase), a £2 million 
increase in Power Solutions Industrial 
(2017: £30 million increase), and a 
decrease of £1 million in Power Solutions 
Utility (2017: £86 million increase). 
The increase in Rental Solutions is 
driven by revenue growth, principally 
in North America. In Power Solutions 
Utility, the level of our bad debt provision 
is broadly unchanged at $83 million 
and we remain focused on managing 
the trade receivables which have risen 
over recent years, primarily as a result 
of our customers’ liquidity and limited 
access to foreign currency rather than 
any dispute or otherwise over the 
amounts due.

Fleet capital expenditure was 
£196 million (2017: £246 million), 
representing 0.7 times fl eet depreciation 
(2017: 0.9 times). Within this overall fl eet 
spend, £79 million was invested in our 
Rental Solutions business, primarily on 
new temperature control equipment 
and the renewal of our oil free air (OFA) 
fl eet, and £117 million in Power Solutions, 
including £27 million upgrading our G3 
diesel engine to the market leading G3+.  
As we continue to drive increased 
utilisation, fl eet capital expenditure is 
expected to remain below £200 million 
in 2019.

Net debt was £686 million at 
31 December 2018, £34 million higher 
than the prior year. This resulted in net 
debt to EBITDA on a rolling 12-month 
basis of 1.3* times compared to 
1.2 times at December 2017. We remain 
committed to reducing our leverage 
over time, despite the adverse impact 
of IFRS 16. 

Dividends
The Group is proposing to maintain the 
fi nal dividend at 17.7 pence per share. 
Subject to shareholder approval, this will 
result in a full year dividend of 27.1 pence 
(2017: 27.1 pence) per Ordinary Share; this 
equates to dividend cover of 1.8* times 
(2017: 1.9 times, pre-exceptional items). 
Dividend cover is calculated as basic 
earnings per share for the period 
divided by the full year dividend 
per share. We remain committed to 
a sustainable dividend. 

*  Refer to pages 141 and 142 for calculations.

Our experts and equipment

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

23

 
 
 
GROUP PERFORMANCE REVIEW CONTINUED

Rental Solutions

I am pleased with the fi nancial performance 
of all the regions across Rental Solutions. 
We have shown good revenue growth as a result 
of increased focus on key sectors where customers 
value our specialist knowledge and experience. 
We are also beginning to achieve benefi ts from 
the hard work of implementing new systems 
and ways of working which make us easy 
to do business with, while enabling us to better 
leverage our cost base.

Bruce Pool
President, Rental Solutions

Rental Solutions

 → 52% of Group revenue 

excluding pass-through fuel

 → Operates in North America, 

Northern Europe, Continental 
Europe and Australia Pacifi c

 → Average length of contract 

3 to 6 months

 → Utilisation 62%

 → Key sectors: oil & gas, petrochemical 

& refi ning, utilities and building services 
& construction

Revenue £m

Rental Solutions

Operating profi  t £m

Rental Solutions

Operating margin %
ROCE

2018

822

2018

105

12.9%
14.7%

2017

690

2017

81

11.8%
12.2%

Change

19%

Change

30%

1.1pp
2.5pp

Underlying 
change1 

22%

Underlying 
change1

34%

1.2pp
2.7pp

Post 2017 exceptional items

2017

68

9.9%

Change

55%

3.0pp

1  Underlying excludes pass-through fuel, currency and 2017 exceptional items (no exceptional items reported in 2018). A reconciliation between reported and underlying 

performance is detailed on page 28.

Remote monitoring 
of equipment

Rental Solutions

Average MW on hire 

1,531MW

2017: 1,271MW

Utilisation

62%

2017: 56%

 → Our Rental Solutions business had a 
very good year, with improvements 
across all key metrics 

 → Underlying1 revenue and operating 
profi t up 22% and 34% respectively
 → Improved operating margin of 12.9%, 

up 1.2 percentage points on an 
underlying1 basis 

 → ROCE of 14.7% refl ects an underlying1 

increase of 2.7 percentage points driven 
by profi t growth in North America
 → Strong performance in key sectors, 
notably oil & gas (representing 13% 
of Rental Solutions revenue), 
Petrochemicals & Refi ning and Utilities

 → Successful execution of the 

Commonwealth Games in Australia, 
with revenue of £7 million

North American underlying1 revenue 
rose 25% on the prior year. Our sector 
focus continued to drive growth, and 
we saw good performance in most of 
our key sectors, in particular oil and gas, 
petrochemical & refi ning, building 
services & construction and utilities.
In our Australia Pacifi c business, 
underlying1 revenue increased 16% 
excluding the Commonwealth Games, 

supported by good growth in the mining 
sector and a 100MW contract delivering 
emergency power to Melbourne over the 
summer months. 
Our Continental European business grew 
underlying1 revenue 24%, with good 
growth in most countries, in particular 
the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as 
benefi ting from the Ryder Cup in France 
in September. Key sectors included 
petrochemical & refi ning, where we have 
leveraged our experience and expertise 
in North America to expand our market 
footprint, and in the utilities sector, where 
we have supported renewable energy 
build out as well as responding to the 
power shortages in Belgium.
The Northern European business also 
delivered good growth with underlying1 
revenue increasing 8%, driven by our 
Next Generation Gas contracts in Ireland 
and an increase in activity in the oil & 
gas sector.
Operating profi t rose signifi cantly, driven 
by higher rates and our measures to 
improve operational effi ciency. This is 
refl ected in the 1.2 percentage point 
underlying1 increase in operating margin 
to 12.9%.

24 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Power Solutions

The 7% increase in Power Solutions Industrial 
underlying1 revenue and the strong operating margin 
reinforces our market approach. We focus on sector 
specialisation and the delivery of more complex, higher 
value solutions to drive revenue and improve our 
margin. At the same time we are implementing cost 
disciplines to further improve our profi tability.

Power Solutions Utility underlying1 revenue was down 
14%, primarily due to known off-hires. Our approach in 
this market is to leverage our ability to deliver fl exible, 
innovative solutions while reducing our cost base and 
improving utilisation.

Stephen Beynon
Managing Director, Power Solutions

Power Solutions 
Industrial

 → 27% of Group revenue excluding 

pass-through fuel

 → Operates in Latin America, Asia 
& Middle East, Eurasia and Africa

 → Average length of contract ~1 year

 → Utilisation 71%

 → Key sectors: oil & gas, mining, building 

services & construction

Power Solutions 
Utility

 → 21% of Group revenue excluding 

pass-through fuel

 → Operates in Latin America, Asia 
& Middle East, Eurasia and Africa

 → Average length of contract ~3 years

 → Utilisation 66%

 → Utility sector only

Revenue £m

Industrial

Utility excl. pass-through fuel

Pass-through fuel

Operating profi  t £m

Industrial

Utility excl. pass-through fuel

Pass-through fuel

Operating margin %

Industrial

Utility excl. pass-through fuel 

ROCE 

Industrial 

Utility excl. pass-through fuel

2018

424

342

172

2018

71

46

(3)

16.6

13.4

10.7

6.2

2017

429

440

139

2017

73

73

(3)

16.9

16.4

11.3

9.2

Change

(1)%

(22)%

24%

Change

(3)%

(37)%

n/m

Underlying 
change1 

7%

(14)%

47%

Underlying 
change1

10%

(23)%

n/m

(0.3)pp

(3.0)pp

0.4pp

(1.4)pp

(0.6)pp

(3.0)pp

0.1pp 

(1.6)pp

Post 2017 exceptionals

2017

62

56

(3)

14.2

12.6

Change

15%

(17)%

n/m

2.4pp

0.8pp

1  Underlying excludes pass-through fuel, currency and 2017 exceptional items (no exceptional items reported in 2018). A reconciliation between reported and underlying 

performance is detailed on page 28.

Power Solutions Industrial 
 → Underlying1 revenue and profi t 

increased 7% and 10% respectively, 
supported by the Winter Olympics 
in South Korea and good growth in 
Latin America and Asia

 → Underlying1 revenue excluding the 

Winter Olympics rose 4% 

 → Operating margin at 16.6% is up 
slightly on the prior year on an 
underlying1 basis

 → ROCE of 10.7% is broadly fl at

Power Solutions Utility 
 → Underlying1 revenue was down 14% 
and operating profi t down 23% 
 → Overall performance refl ects the 

impact of known off-hires in 
Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Japan 
and lower volumes and pricing 
in Argentina 

 → ROCE down 1.6 percentage points 
to 6.2% on an underlying1 basis, 
refl ecting our reduced profi tability

Our solutions for customers 
comprise our modular equipment 
and our expert people

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

25

 
 
 
GROUP PERFORMANCE REVIEW CONTINUED

Power Solutions continued

Power Solutions Industrial 
Underlying1 revenue increased by 7%. 
In Eurasia revenue grew 7%, with good 
growth in its key sector of oil & gas. 
Revenue in Latin America increased 31%, 
supported by an emergency contract in 
Argentina for a local utility distribution 
company. In the Middle East revenue 
decreased 8% with weakness in most 
areas, notably in Qatar and the UAE, 
largely as a result of the ongoing Qatar 
blockade. Revenue in Africa decreased 
4%, driven by East Africa and off-hire of 
certain mining projects, while revenue 
in Asia excluding the Winter Olympics 
increased 11% with good performances 
from Japan and Singapore. 

Operating margin on an underlying1 
basis was up slightly on the prior year 
at 16.6%, with a good performance in 
Latin America partially offset by the 
impact of the continued Qatar blockade 
in the Middle East on competition and 
pricing in that region, particularly in the 
fi rst half. 

Power Solutions Industrial order intake 
(excluding Eurasia) for the year was 
271 MW (2017: 137 MW). Eurasia order 
intake was in line with the prior year 
at 333 MW (2017: 333 MW). While revenue 
in Eurasia showed good growth in 
2018, we are experiencing increased 
competition in this market and expect to 
see a reduced level of growth in 2019.

Reported revenue and operating profi t 
decreased by 1% and 3% respectively, 
while underlying revenue and operating 
profi t increased 7% and 10% respectively 
with the difference due to exchange 
rate movements. 

Power Solutions Utility 
Underlying1 revenue decreased 14%, due 
primarily to lower rates and volume in 
Argentina and off-hires in Zimbabwe, 
Bangladesh and Japan. Consequently, 
the operating margin on an underlying1 
basis was down 1.4 percentage points to 
13.4%. During the year we initiated a cost 
reduction programme to deliver savings 
of £50 million in 2021, the majority of 
which will be in our Power Solutions 
Utility business. 

Average megawatts on hire was 2,683 
(2017: 3,098), with the reduction 
refl ecting an increased off-hire rate 
of 42% (2017: 34%), driven by known 
off-hires in Japan, Zimbabwe and 
Bangladesh. Order intake in the year 
was 398MW (2017: 662MW), including 
most notably a 50MW HFO contract 
in Burkina Faso and a 70MW diesel 
contract in the Philippines. In addition, 
we have agreed contract extensions 
on a number of key contracts, including 
our 117MW contract in Yemen and our 
100MW contract in Benin. 

Managing the trade receivables in 
our Power Solutions Utility business 
continues to be a major focus, with 
active ongoing engagement with our 
customers a key priority. The primary 
reason for delay in receiving payments 
remains our customers’ liquidity position 
and their limited access to foreign 
currency, with the situation in parts of 
Africa, Venezuela and Yemen being the 
most diffi cult. Resolving these situations 
remains a key part of our strategy to 
improve returns in this business.

Average MW on hire

2,445MW

2017: 2,244MW

Order intake

604MW

2017: 470MW

Utilisation

71%

2017: 69%

Average MW on hire

2,683MW

2017: 3,098MW

Order intake

398MW

2017: 662MW

Utilisation

66%

2017: 73%

26 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

Reliable solutions that 
deliver what our customers 
need

Now and in the future, our 
people help make a difference

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Results which demonstrate Aggreko 
is returning to growth

There is much in these results to demonstrate that Aggreko is 
now arresting the decline of the recent years and returning to 
growth. As we increase our focus on capital and operational 
effi ciency, we remain confi dent that we can meet our 2020 
mid-teens ROCE target.

Heath Drewett
Chief Financial Offi cer

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A summarised Income Statement for 2018 is set out below, together with the comparative results for 2017 (both excluding and 
including the effects of exceptional items).

Income statement

£m

Revenue

Operating profi t

Net interest expense

Profi t before tax

Taxation
Profi t after tax

Diluted EPS (p)

Operating margin

ROCE*

*  Calculation is on page 141.

2018

1,760

 219

(37)

182

(57)
125

49.2

12.5%

10.3%

20172

1,698

224

(34)

190

(56)
134

52.4

13.2%

10.7%

Change

Underlying 
change1

4%

(2)%

(9)%

(4)%

(2)%
(6)%

(6)%

(0.7)pp

(0.4)pp

8%

10%

10%

7%

0.2pp

0.5pp

Post exceptional items

2017

1,698

183

(34)

149

(47)
102

40.0

10.7%

Change

4%

20%

(9)%

23%

(23)%
23%

23%

1.8pp

1  Underlying excludes pass-through fuel, currency and 2017 exceptional items (no exceptional items reported in 2018). A reconciliation between reported and underlying 

performance is detailed on page 28.

Currency translation
The movement in exchange rates in the period had the translational impact of decreasing revenue by £112 million and operating 
profi t by £24 million. This was driven by the strength against Sterling in the majority of the principal currencies impacting the 
Group. Currency translation also gave rise to a £24 million decrease in the value of the Group’s net assets. Set out in the table 
below are the principal exchange rates which affected the Group’s profi t and net assets. 

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Principal exchange rates

(Per £ sterling)

United States Dollar

Euro
UAE Dirhams

Australian Dollar

Brazilian Reals

Argentinian Peso

Russian Rouble

(Source: Bloomberg)

2018

2017

Average

Year end

Average

Year end

1.34

1.13
4.91

1.79

4.87

37.48

83.70

1.27

1.11
4.66

1.80

4.91

48.62

88.02

1.29

1.14
4.74

1.68

4.12

21.36

75.19

1.35

1.13
4.96

1.73

4.48

25.92

78.15

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

27

 
 
 
FINANCIAL REVIEW CONTINUED

Reconciliation of reported to underlying results 
The tables below reconcile the reported and underlying revenue and operating profi t movements:

Rental Solutions

Industrial

Utility

Group

Revenue £m

As reported

Pass-through fuel

Currency impact 

Underlying

Operating profi  t £m

As reported

Pass-through fuel

Currency impact 

Exceptional items

Underlying

2017 Change

690

19%

2017 Change

429

(1)%

2018

424

–

–

2018

822

–

–

822

–

(18)

672

2018

514

(172)

–

2017 Change

2018

2017 Change

579

(139)

(41)

(11)%

1,760

1,698

4%

(172)

–

(139)

(91)

22%

424

7%

342

399

(14)%

1,588

1,468

8%

Rental Solutions

Industrial

Utility

Group

2018

105

–

–

–

105

2017 Change

68

–

(3)

13

78

55%

34%

2018

71

–

–

–

71

2017 Change

2017 Change

15%

(18)%

2018

43

3

–

–

53

3

(13)

17

60

2018

219

3

–

–

2017 Change

183

3

(24)

41

203

20%

10%

10%

46

(23)%

222

–

(32)

397

62

–

(8)

11

65

1  The currency impact is calculated by taking the 2017 results in local currency and retranslating them at 2018 average rates.

2  The currency impact line included in the tables above excludes the currency impact on pass-through fuel in PSU, which in 2018 was £21 million on revenue and £nil 

million on operating profi t.

Interest
The net interest charge of £37 million 
was £3 million higher than last year, 
refl ecting higher average net debt year 
on year, an increase in the effective 
interest rate and the net interest cost 
relating to the Defi ned Benefi t Pension 
Scheme (previously reported within 
administrative expenses). Interest cover 
measured against rolling 12-month 
EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, 
Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation) 
remained strong at 14* times (2017: 
15 times) relative to the fi nancial 
covenant attached to our borrowing 
facilities that EBITDA should be no 
less than 4 times interest.

Capital structure and dividends
The objective of our strategy is to deliver 
long-term value to shareholders while 
maintaining a balance sheet structure 
that safeguards the Group’s fi nancial 
position through economic cycles. 
Given the operational risk profi le of 
the Group we believe gearing of 
around one times net debt to EBITDA 
is appropriate, recognising that from 
time to time it may be higher for 
a period of time as investment 
opportunities present themselves. 

From a capital allocation perspective 
our priority is to invest in organic growth. 
As well as investing organically, there 
are opportunities for growth through 
acquisition, both for scale and capability, 
including into product adjacencies such 
as temperature control and loadbanks. 
Acquisitions are subject to our 
disciplined capital allocation process 
and will have to meet appropriate 
hurdle rates of return. While our fi rst 
priority is investment to generate 
growth, we recognise the importance 
of the dividend in providing value to 
our shareholders. Finally, as and when 
the opportunity arises, we will look at 
returning surplus capital to shareholders. 
The retained earnings of the Company 
as at 31 December 2018 were 
£374 million and the majority of 
these earnings are distributable.

Subject to shareholder approval, the 
proposed fi nal dividend of 17.7 pence will 
result in a full year dividend of 27.1 pence 
(2017: 27.1 pence) per Ordinary Share, 
giving dividend cover (basic EPS 
dividend by full year declared dividend) 
of 1.8* times (2017: 1.9 times, pre-
exceptional items). 

Cash fl ow 
During the year cash generated from 
operations was £423 million (2017: 
£450 million). The decrease in operating 
cash fl ow is mainly driven by cash 
outfl ows relating to mobilisation 
(fulfi lments assets) and demobilisation 
activities, with an outfl ow of £48 million 
in 2018 compared to £22 million in 2017. 
The higher outfl ows in 2018 relate 
primarily to mobilisation costs for new 
contracts in Bangladesh, Brazil and 
St Croix. In 2018 we had a working capital 
outfl ow of £56 million compared to a 
£53 million outfl ow in 2017. The working 
capital movements in the period are 
explained in more detail on page 22. 
Capital expenditure in the year was 
£216 million (2017: £272 million), of 
which £196 million (2017: £246 million) 
was spent on fl eet assets. 

*  Calculation is on pages 141 and 142.

28 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Taxation
Tax strategy
We operate in an increasingly complex 
global environment, doing business 
in 80 countries, many of which have 
uncertain or volatile tax regimes. To 
ensure that our tax affairs are correctly 
and consistently managed, Aggreko’s 
tax strategy is applied to all taxes in all 
countries where we operate.

Our tax strategy is reviewed and 
revalidated annually and is revised as 
appropriate to refl ect any material 
changes in our business or tax 
legislation. Our strategy is to ensure 
that we pay, in a timely manner, 
the appropriate amount of tax 
commensurate with the activities 
performed in each country in which we 
operate. In particular, we recognise the 
importance of the tax we pay to the 
economic development of the countries 
in which we operate. We aim to be 
transparent in terms of the geographic 
spread of where we pay tax, with a 
breakdown provided in fi gures 1-3 
overleaf. In applying the tax strategy, 
we undertake to comply with the 
applicable tax legislation utilising, 
where appropriate, any available 
legislative reliefs. 

Our approach towards dealing with 
tax authorities
We seek to build good working 
relationships with local tax authorities 
based on trust, respect and 
professionalism. We proactively engage, 
either directly or through local advisers, 
with the authorities to ensure that 
our business and tax positions are 
understood and that our tax positions 
are confi rmed in a timely manner.

Tax governance
Our tax governance framework 
is encompassed within a set of 
documented policies and procedures 
covering the application of the strategy 
and operational aspects of tax. 
Ultimate responsibility for tax risk and 
tax operations rests with our Chief 
Financial Offi cer, with day to day 
responsibility delegated to the Director 
of Tax and the tax function. To ensure 
that we fully understand our tax 
obligations and the impact on our 
business of any legislative 

change, advisory and technical support 
is provided by large accounting fi rms 
with which the Group has a long 
association. The use of the Group’s 
external auditor for tax work of any 
kind is not permitted.

Approach to tax risk
The Group’s appetite for risk, including 
tax risk, is reviewed regularly by the 
Group Risk Committee and ratifi ed 
annually by the Board. Given the risk 
profi le of many of the countries in which 
we operate, we seek to structure our 
tax affairs in a way that carries a low 
degree of risk. Only the Director of 
Tax is permitted to consider any tax 
planning opportunities, with permission 
to implement any planning required 
from the Board or Finance Committee 
as appropriate. We will not implement 
any tax planning that is not driven by 
commercial aims or where the sole aim 
is to deliver tax benefi t.

Tax management and provisioning
Given the complex, uncertain and often 
volatile nature of the tax environment in 
which we operate, local compliance and 
governance are key areas of focus. This is 
particularly so for our Power Solutions 
business, where we may only be in a 
country on a temporary basis. While we 
will always seek to manage our tax affairs 
and agree our tax positions in a timely 
manner, it can often take some time to 
settle our tax position and uncertainties 
may therefore exist for a period of time, 
particularly where the tax regime is 
complex or legislation is changing. 
We may therefore need to create tax 
provisions for any potential uncertain 
tax positions. These provisions are based 
on reasonable estimates of the range 
of possible outcomes. Management 
uses its best judgement to determine 
the appropriate level of provision, 
recognising that differences of 
interpretation may arise depending 
on the facts in each case.

As at 31 December 2018 we held tax 
provisions totalling £24 million, all in 
respect of potential direct tax exposures 
(2017: £29 million, £27 million for direct 
and £2 million for indirect taxes). The 
movement in provisions between 2017 
and 2018 is principally due to the release 

of a £5 million provision in respect of 
Yemen and currency movements. 
The provisions are principally held to 
manage the tax impact of various 
potential historic tax exposures, largely 
in connection with our Power Solutions 
Utilities business in Africa and Latin 
America, and potential transfer pricing 
risks faced by the Group with respect to 
how we transact internationally within 
our business. In order to ensure that all 
potential risks are properly understood 
and mitigated, we try to ensure that our 
local tax fi lings are made on a timely 
basis, appropriate advice is taken and 
that we proactively work with local tax 
authorities when issues arise. 

The risk that the application of 
management judgements and 
estimates in our tax forecasting fails 
to represent a true and fair view of our 
tax position is an area that receives 
signifi cant focus from management, 
tax advisers and the Group’s external 
auditor. In order to mitigate this risk, our 
tax position is internally reviewed four 
times per year by the Group tax team 
and any unanticipated variances to the 
forecast are reconciled and explained. 
In addition to the work done by the 
Group’s external auditor to confi rm the 
appropriateness of our tax provisioning, 
tax is a matter that is regularly 
considered and discussed by the 
Audit Committee. The Group’s Internal 
Audit team also periodically reviews 
management’s assessment on the 
effectiveness of our tax controls and will 
also consider any relevant tax risks as 
part of its core assurance programme.

Legislative change
While we continue to monitor global 
legislative change, the pace of change 
in our main operating countries slowed 
in 2018. The tax reform agenda in the 
US has now largely been enacted into 
legislation and any impact of this 
change is refl ected in our 2018 results. 

As the Brexit deadline moves closer, we 
have continued to follow developments 
and have assessed the potential tax 
impacts for our business. We continue 
to believe that Brexit will have not have 
a material tax impact on the Group.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

29

 
 
 
FINANCIAL REVIEW CONTINUED

Cash taxes paid
In 2018, Aggreko’s worldwide operations 
resulted in direct and indirect tax 
payments of £241 million (2017: 
£228 million) to tax authorities in the 
various countries in which we operate. 
This amount represents all corporate 
taxes paid on operations, payroll taxes 
paid and collected, import duties, sales 
taxes and other local taxes.

In comparison to 2017, corporate taxes 
paid decreased by £8 million to 
£61 million. The main reductions were 
in Europe, where we received a refund 
in the UK relating to historic double tax 
relief claims, and in Asia principally in 
Bangladesh where we made a one-off 
tax payment in 2017 to progress an 
ongoing matter to the High Court. 
These reductions were partly offset by 
an increase in tax paid in North America 
due to increased profi t in the region 
compared to prior years. 

VAT and local sales taxes have increased 
by £19 million due to a reduction in 
UK VAT recovery and a slowdown of 
VAT refunds received in Mozambique. 
Customs duty has reduced by £1 million 
due to fewer imports of equipment into 
countries including Angola and Iraq. 
A £4 million net increase in payroll 
and social security taxes was driven 
by increased headcount in the UK, 
US and Germany, largely as a result 
of the Younicos acquisition in 2017. 

Fig.1 Total taxes paid by region £m

Fig.2 Total corporate taxes paid by region £m

Fig.3 Total indirect taxes paid and collected 
by region £m

e

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M i d

a

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o
N

a

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s t
h   A m e

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

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a

A f ri c

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c i fi

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ti n   A m e

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

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A f ri c

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A
s t r

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70

60

50

40

30

20

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a

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h   A m e

2017

2018

2017

2018

2017

2018

Tax charge 
The Group’s effective corporation tax 
rate for the year was 31% (2017: 29%, 
pre-exceptionals) based on a tax charge 
of £57 million (2017: £56 million) on a 
profi t before taxation of £182 million 
(2017: £190 million). While the Group’s 
effective tax rate has risen in 2018 this 
is largely due to the Group benefi ting 
from a one-off tax credit in 2017 
following the revaluation of our deferred 
tax liabilities in respect of the US 
business as a result of US tax reform 
and the geographic mix of profi ts. 

Further information, including a 
reconciliation of the current year tax 
charge, is shown at Note 10 to the 
Accounts. Looking beyond 2018, our 
effective tax rate will continue to be 
driven principally by our geographic 
mix of profi ts, the resolution of open 
issues and changes in tax legislation in 
the Group’s most signifi cant countries 
of operation. 

Reconciliation of the Group’s income 
statement tax charge and cash taxes
The Group’s total cash taxes borne and 
collected were £241 million, refl ecting 
£180 million of non-corporate taxes and 
£61 million of corporate taxes. The latter 
cash tax fi gure differs from the Group’s 
tax charge of £57 million reported in the 
income statement, with the difference 
analysed in the table below.

Cash taxes paid 

Non-corporate taxes
Corporate tax paid

Movements in deferred tax and 
prior year adjustments

Differences relating to timing of 
tax payments:

UK

North America

Angola

Other

Corporate tax charge per the 
income statement

£m

241

(180)
61

(10)  

8

(5)

2

1

57

30 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Net operating assets
The net operating assets of the Group (including goodwill) at 31 December 2018 totalled £2,159 million, £85 million higher than 
31 December 2017, as detailed in the table below.

£m

Goodwill/intangibles/investments

Rental fl eet 

Property & plant 

Working capital (excl. interest creditors)

Fulfi lment asset & demobilisation provision

Cash (incl. overdrafts)
Total net operating assets

A key measure of our performance is 
the return generated from the Group’s 
average net operating assets (ROCE). 
We calculate ROCE by taking the 
operating profi t (pre-exceptional items) 
for the year and expressing it as a 
percentage of the average net operating 
assets at 31 December, 30 June and the 
previous 31 December. In 2018 ROCE 
decreased to 10.3%* compared with 10.7% 
in 2017, primarily driven by a lower return 
in our Power Solutions Utility business.

Property, plant and equipment
Our rental fl eet accounts for 
£1,057 million, which is around 91% of 
the net book value of property, plant 
and equipment used in our business. 
The majority of equipment in the rental 
fl eet is depreciated on a straight-line 
basis to a residual value of zero over 
eight years, with some classes of rental 
fl eet depreciated over 10 and 12 years. 
The annual fl eet depreciation charge of 
£273 million (2017: £275 million) refl ects 
the estimated service lives allocated to 
each class of fl eet asset. Asset lives are 
reviewed at the start of each year and 
changed, if necessary, to refl ect their 
remaining lives in light of technological 
change, prospective economic utilisation 
and the physical condition of the assets. 
No changes were made in 2018. 

Movement 
excluding 
the impact 
of currency

Movement

9%

(4)%

2%

10%

n/a

28%

4%

10%

(6)%

1%

9%

n/a

29%

2%

2017

215

1,104

110

588

(2)

59

2,074

2018

235

1,057

112

646

33

76

2,159

l

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Pensions 
Pension arrangements for our 
employees vary depending on best 
practice and regulation in each country. 
The Group operates a defi ned benefi t 
scheme for UK employees, which was 
closed to new employees joining the 
Group after 1 April 2002. Most of the 
other schemes in operation around the 
world are defi ned contribution schemes. 

Under IAS 19: ‘Employee Benefi ts’, 
Aggreko has recognised a pre-tax 
pension surplus of £1 million at 
31 December 2018 (2017: £25 million 
defi cit) which is determined using 
actuarial assumptions. The improvement 
in pension funding is primarily driven 
by lower life expectancies (refl ecting 
the latest evidence), the impact of a 
higher discount rate, lower expectations 
for future salary increases, and the 
additional contributions paid by the 
Company during the year. These were 
partially offset by the lower than 
expected returns on the scheme’s assets 
and incorporating an allowance in the 
liabilities for the impact of guaranteed 
minimum pension equalisation. 

Acquisitions 
The Group completed two acquisitions 
during the year, details of which are 
contained in Note 28 to the Accounts.

On 15 February 2018 the Group acquired 
the business and assets of A Contact 
Electric Rentals (A Contact) in North 
America. A Contact specialises in the 
rental of medium and high voltage 
electrical distribution equipment across 
North America and furthers Aggreko’s 
leadership position in the speciality 
rental market in the region. The cost 
of the acquisition was £21 million.

On 31 May 2018 the Group acquired 
the business and assets of Generator 
Hire Service in Australia, for a total 
consideration of £3 million. 

Shareholders’ equity 
Shareholders’ equity increased 
by £53 million to £1,367 million, 
represented by the net assets of the 
Group of £2,053 million less net debt 
of £686 million. The movements in 
shareholders’ equity are analysed in 
the table below:

Movements in shareholders’ equity

As at 1 January 2018
Profi t for the period
Dividend1
Retained earnings

Employee share awards

Purchase of Treasury 
shares

Re-measurement of 
retirement benefi ts

Currency translation 

Other
As at 31 December 2018

£m

£m

1,314

125
(69)

56

10

(12)

26

(24)

(3) 

1,367

1  Refl ects the fi nal dividend for 2017 of 17.7 pence 
per share (2016 17.7 pence) that was paid during 
the period. 

*  Calculation is on page 141.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

31

 
 
 
FINANCIAL REVIEW CONTINUED

The sensitivities regarding the main valuation assumptions are shown in the table below.

Assumption

Rate of increase in salaries

Discount rate

Infl ation (0.5% increases on pensions increases, deferred revaluation and 
salary increases)

Longevity

Treasury 
The Group’s operations expose it to a 
variety of fi nancial risks that include 
liquidity, the effects of changes in 
foreign currency exchange rates, interest 
rates, and credit risk. The Group has a 
centralised treasury operation whose 
primary role is to ensure that adequate 
liquidity is available to meet the Group’s 
funding requirements as they arise, 
and that fi nancial risk arising from 
the Group’s underlying operations is 
effectively identifi ed and managed. 

The treasury operations are conducted 
in accordance with policies and 
procedures approved by the Board 
and are reviewed annually. Financial 
instruments are only executed for 
hedging purposes, and transactions that 
are speculative in nature are expressly 
forbidden. Monthly reports are provided 
to senior management and treasury 
operations are subject to periodic 
internal and external review.

Liquidity and funding
The Group maintains suffi cient facilities 
to meet its funding requirements over 
the medium term. At 31 December 2018, 
these facilities totalled £1,191 million in 
the form of committed bank facilities 
arranged on a bilateral basis with 
several international banks and private 
placement lenders. The fi nancial 
covenants attached to these facilities 
are that EBITDA should be no less than 
4 times interest and net debt should 
be no more than 3 times EBITDA; at 
31 December 2018, these stood at 
14* times and 1.3* times respectively. The 
Group does not expect to breach these 
covenants in the year from the date of 
approval of these fi nancial statements. 

The Group expects to be able to arrange 
suffi cient fi nance to meet its future 
funding requirements. It has been 
the Group’s custom and practice to 
refi nance its facilities in advance of their 
maturity dates, providing that there is 
an ongoing need for those facilities.

Net debt amounted to £686 million at 
31 December 2018 (2017: £652 million) 
and, at that date, un-drawn committed 
facilities were £465 million. 

Further detail can be found in the Going 
Concern disclosure within Note 1 to the 
Annual Report and Accounts.

Interest rate risk 
The Group’s policy is to manage its 
exposure to interest rates by ensuring 
an appropriate balance of fi xed and 
fl oating rate debt. At 31 December 
2018, £591 million of the net debt of 
£686 million was at fi xed rates of interest 
resulting in a fi xed to fl oating rate net 
debt ratio of 86:14 (2017: 94:6). The 
proportion of our debt with fi xed interest 
rates was higher than usual at the 2018 
and 2017 year ends due to some fi xed 
rate debt maturities in the fi rst half of 
2018 and 2019. 

Foreign exchange risk 
The Group is subject to currency 
exposure on the translation into Sterling 
of its net investments in overseas 
subsidiaries. In order to reduce the 
currency risk arising, the Group uses 
direct borrowings in the same currency 
as those investments. Group borrowings 
are predominantly drawn down in the 
currencies used by the Group.

The Group manages its currency fl ows to 
minimise foreign exchange risk arising 
on transactions denominated in foreign 
currencies and uses forward contracts 
and forward currency options, where 
appropriate, in order to hedge net 
currency fl ows.

Potential 
change 
Increase/
(decrease)

0.5%

(0.5)%

0.5%

1 year

Defi cit impact 
(Increase)/
decrease 
(£m)

Profi t impact 
(Increase)/
decrease 
(£m)

(1)

(13)

(12)

(3)

–

(1)

(1)

–

Credit risk
Cash deposits and other fi nancial 
instruments give rise to credit risk on 
amounts due from counterparties. 
The Group manages this risk by limiting 
the aggregate amounts and their 
duration depending on external credit 
ratings of the relevant counterparty. In 
the case of fi nancial assets exposed to 
credit risk, the carrying amount in the 
balance sheet, net of any applicable 
provision for loss, represents the 
amount exposed to credit risk.

Insurance 
The Group operates a policy of buying 
cover against the material risks which 
the business faces, where it is possible 
to purchase such cover on reasonable 
terms. Where this is not possible, or 
where the risks would not have a 
material impact on the Group as a 
whole, we self-insure. 

Principal risks and uncertainties
In the day to day operations of the 
Group, we face various risks and 
uncertainties. We seek both to prevent 
these risks from materialising and to 
mitigate their impact if they do arise. 
The Board has developed a risk 
management framework to facilitate 
this. The principal risks that we believe 
could potentially affect the Group are 
summarised below:

 → Global macroeconomic uncertainty

 → Market dynamics

 → Disruptive technology

 → Talent management

 → New technology market introduction

 → Change management

 → Cyber security

 → Escalating sanctions

 → Health and safety

 → Security

 → Failure to conduct business dealings 

with integrity and honesty

 → Failure to collect payments or to 

recover assets

*  Calculation is on pages 141 and 142.

32 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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This year three risks were promoted to 
the Group’s register of principal risks 
and two risks were relegated.

Risks promoted to the Group’s register 
this year:

 → Global macroeconomic 

uncertainty: Geopolitical and global 
macroeconomic uncertainty may 
result in lower than expected 
GDP growth, reducing demand 
for our services.

 → Change management: One of our 

strategic priorities is to update Rental 
Solutions’ systems and processes 
to better meet the needs of our 
customers. We are in a critical period 
of implementation during which the 
likelihood of disruption to operations 
is highest.

 → Escalating sanctions: Sanctions have 
been extended in some countries in 
which we operate. Further extensions 
to sanctions could restrict our ability 
to service existing customers and win 
new work. 

Risks relegated from last year’s Group 
register: 

 → Equipment obsolescence: While we 
have been introducing new fl eet 
and technologies into our business 
we have focused on ensuring the 
continued utilisation of our older 
fl eet. We have successfully identifi ed 
applications which best utilise this 
fl eet and, as a result, the risk that 
this equipment becomes obsolete 
before the end of its useful life has 
now reduced.

 → Funding our strategic plan: The 
risk that an unexpected funding 
requirement for working capital 
affects our ability to fund the strategic 
plan has fallen as a result of initiatives 
to improve the forecasting and 
management of working capital.

UK withdrawal from the European 
Union
At this point we do not know whether 
the UK will leave the EU with a deal, 
without a deal or whether the decision 
to leave will be revoked and we will 
continue to monitor the situation closely. 
However, as a business with over 80% of 
revenues derived from territories outside 
the UK and the European Union, we do 
not expect the UK’s withdrawal from 
the European Union to have a material 
impact on the Group’s underlying 
trading performance. Notwithstanding 
this, a material change in the relative 
strength of Sterling could give rise to 
signifi cant volatility in the Group’s 
reported results. 

For further detail on the principal risks 
and uncertainties of the Group, please 
see page 40 

Shareholder information
Our website can be accessed at 
www.plc.aggreko.com. This contains 
a large amount of information about 
our business. The website also carries 
copies of recent investor presentations, 
as well as London Stock Exchange 
announcements.

Chris Weston 
Chief Executive Offi cer 

Heath Drewett
Chief Financial Offi cer

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

33

 
 
 
STAKEHOLDERS

We actively engage 
with our stakeholders

We engage with all our stakeholders, which we believe is critical to 
our success and sustainability.

Investors

Customers

The Board values the importance of 
building strong investor relations, 
delivered through an active shareholder 
communication programme. We 
actively seek dialogue with the market 
to understand what analysts and 
investors think about us and help 
them understand our business. 
The Board receives regular updates 
through briefi ngs and reports from 
investor relations, the CEO, CFO and 
Company advisers.

Annual Report and Accounts
Each year we assess how we can 
improve understanding of our 
business and bring it to life through 
the annual report.
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Our AGM provides an opportunity 
for engagement with shareholders. 
Webcasts and conference calls
Our full year and half year results 
are webcast live on our website.
Investor website
Our investor relations website 
remains a central resource to view 
our latest announcements and 
associated materials.

Aggreko Listens
Customers are at the heart of all that 
we do. Our ‘Aggreko Listens’ tool feeds 
into one of our management KPIs which 
is constantly reviewed to understand 
customer perceptions. Over the past 
two years, significant customer 
engagement has led us to make 
transformational changes to our 
business. 

The Voice of Customer programme 
has transformed how we measure our 
performance by showing Aggreko 
through the eyes of our customers, to 
deliver greater transparency and clarity 
on what to tackle to drive improvements 
for the benefi t of this key stakeholder. 

Simpler to do business with
For more transactional sales, we are 
developing an e-commerce platform 
to provide a more agile, cost-effective 
channel with a better service 
proposition.

CRM system
An enhanced customer relationship 
management system provides us with 
a better understanding of customer 
requirements, improves internal 
collaboration across the Group, and 
increases the speed of service delivery.

Institutional investors
Ongoing engagement
During the year, the investor 
engagement programme involved 
formal events, site visits, smaller group 
and one-to-one investor meetings. 
The investor relations team and senior 
management conducted 133 meetings 
in 2018, engaging with 82 institutions.
Remuneration consultation 
Following constructive consultation with 
shareholders we were pleased to receive 
strong support for our remuneration 
policy proposals at the 2018 AGM, with 
98.6% of shareholders voting in favour. 
Investor perception study
To help inform our engagement 
with investors, we undertook an 
independent investor perception 
study in early 2018. This helped us 
understand investor views on the 
performance and management of 
the business and the fi ndings were 
reviewed by the Board.

Debt investors
Ongoing engagement
On an annual basis we offer our lenders 
a formal briefing and the opportunity 
to ask questions of senior management.

Private shareholders
Ad hoc engagement
We always respond to private 
shareholder enquiries and provide 
the same level of information as 
institutional shareholders should 
they ask for it.

Customers are at the core of 
all that we do

We regularly communicate 
with the market, and we 
actively seek dialogue to 
understand what analysts 
and investors think about us 
and to help them understand 
our business better. 
Heath Drewett
Chief Financial Offi cer 

34 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Local 
communities

Employees

Suppliers

While we often provide essential 
services for our customers, it is 
important that we take our 
stakeholders with us when we 
operate in their communities. 

Local training and employment 
Wherever we operate in the world, 
we seek to employ and train local 
people; 79% of our global workforce 
are locally employed.

Apprenticeships
We run apprenticeship schemes at 
our larger locations across the Group 
and currently employ 49 apprentices 
in nine countries.

Orange Days of Difference
As part of the ‘Making a Massive 
Difference’ policy which defi nes our 
approach to Corporate Community 
Investment, we launched Orange 
Days of Difference globally, with over 
1,300 individuals taking part.

In 2015, we introduced a Group 
procurement function to improve 
relationships with suppliers and 
generate savings across the Group. 
We work in partnership with our 
key suppliers, particularly relating 
to our fleet, and share operational 
data to improve performance and 
drive innovation. 

Code of Conduct 
We expect our suppliers to share our 
commitment to conducting business 
with integrity, honesty and in a socially 
responsible and sustainable way, 
and to work in partnership with us 
to achieve this goal. 

We expect all our suppliers to sign 
up to our Code of Conduct and ways 
of doing business. We monitor 
compliance and have the ability 
to terminate a relationship in the 
event of a breach.

Development partnerships 
Through sharing field data with our 
key suppliers, we are reducing the 
total cost of ownership of our fleet 
while continuously innovating to 
drive performance improvements.

With our employees at the heart 
of our customer proposition, we 
enthusiastically seek to engage with, 
and listen to our employees about 
what matters to them as we transform 
our business together. 

Be Heard surveys
The quarterly Be Heard Employee 
Engagement Survey achieved a very 
high engagement score of 76% in 2018 
(up 1% on last year) and an overall pride 
in working at Aggreko score of 88%, 
in line with the prior year. 

Annual Plan on a Page
We share an annual Plan on a Page 
to help our teams align behind the key 
actions to deliver our budget, updating 
our progress on a quarterly basis.

Senior Leadership Team
Given the diverse and dispersed nature 
of our teams, we regularly brief a core 
group of senior leaders through calls, 
emails and face to face meetings to help 
manage communications, priorities and 
sentiment across the business.

Acting like owners
We are living and breathing Always 
Orange – our people are demonstrating 
our values and have a good 
understanding of the important part 
our culture plays in helping us to grow. 
83% of our people stated they agree with 
this sentiment in our 2018 employee 
survey (Be Heard), up 3% on 2017.

An Orange Day of Difference 
attended by both Chris 
Weston and Heath Drewett

I am very proud of the way 
in which our people have 
embraced our values. Their 
commitment and dedication 
are making a difference to 
our business.
Ken Hanna
Chairman

As we work in partnership 
with our suppliers, we 
expect them to share our 
commitment to integrity 
and honesty as part of 
conducting business in 
a socially responsible 
and sustainable way.
Chris Weston
Chief Executive Offi cer

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

35

 
 
 
SUSTAINABILITY

To be successful, we must be sustainable

The content on these two pages constitutes Aggreko’s 
Non-Financial Information Statement, covering 
requirements in respect of the environment, people, 
social and community issues, human rights and 
anti-bribery and anti-corruption. The following 
information, found elsewhere in this Strategic Report, 
is incorporated into this statement by cross-reference:

To be a sustainable company 
means we have to manage our 
impact on society by which we 
mean the environment, our people, 
the communities in which we 
operate, as well as our customers. 
We do all this to the highest 
standards of integrity and honesty.

Employee discussion page 18
A description of our business model page 06
Principal risks and uncertainties page 38
Non-fi  nancial key performance 
indicators pages 13, 15, 17 and 19

Chris Weston
Chief Executive Offi cer

The 
environment

Priorities

 → Minimise our 

environmental impact

 → Be accountable and 
transparent with 
regards to our 
environmental footprint 

Our people

 Priorities 
 → Ensure the health and 

safety of our people and 
others at work
 → Promote equal 
opportunities 

 → Provide career and 

personal development 
 → Operate with due regard 

to human rights 

Outcomes

 → Maintain our reputation 

for responsible 
management of 
environmental matters 

 → Gain commercial 
benefi t through 
development of new 
solutions to 
environmental 
problems

Outcomes

 → Attract and retain the 

best people 

 → Keep our people safe 
and reduce downtime

Read more about our 
strategic objective of 
Expert People on page 18

Social and 
community 
issues 

Priorities 

Outcomes

 → Engage with local 

communities and work 
in partnership 
 → Recruit, train and 

develop local people 
 → Participate in activities 
that make a difference 

 → Build business longevity 
 → Gain new talent for 
the organisation 

Ethics, human 
rights, anti-
bribery and 
anti-corruption 

Priorities 

Outcomes 

 → Ensure we operate with 
integrity and honesty 
 → Make sure that we are in 
compliance with laws 
and regulations 

 → Maintain our reputation 

for integrity 

 → Benefi t operationally 
from good working 
practices

36 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

 
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Environment
We take our responsibility for 
reducing our impact on the 
environment, including through 
climate change, seriously. 
We acknowledge that this is 
inextricably linked to remaining 
a successful business.

Affordable and Clean Energy 
(Sustainable Development Goal 7) 
is where we have most impact 
The provision of electricity, heating 
and cooling is essential in the global 
economy; however, this comes with 
challenges, particularly environmental. 
As a consequence of the fuel sources 
that we use in our products, it is 
inevitable that our activities will have 
an impact on the environment. In 2018, 
99% of our greenhouse gas emissions 
came from the operation of our fl eet.

We are also aware of the other 
environmental impacts of our 
operations, such as refrigerant emissions 
and noise pollution. In each case, we 
continuously work to reduce the impact 
that we have on the environment; for 
example, by using custom-built acoustic 
enclosures, high performance isolation 
and attenuation systems to reduce noise.

We expect the drive for affordable and 
clean energy to increase the emphasis 
on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, 
increasing the use of renewables, and 
stopping practices such as fl aring gas. 

In developing countries, the priority 
remains providing power and 
accessing the associated social 
and economic benefi ts. 

We respond with our innovation and 
investment in technology with the 
aim of lowering the cost of energy 
for our customers through improved 
fuel effi ciency, and reducing the 
environmental impact of our products. 

Mitigating our impact 
We use our technical know-how 
and innovation to mitigate our 
environmental impact.

We discuss this in our strategy 
section on page 15.

We manage our greenhouse 
gas emissions
Please see our report on our carbon 
emissions on page 83.

Social and community issues
Aggreko works in a wide variety 
of countries and our social 
contribution is an important 
means of giving back to the 
communities in which we work. 

The benefi  ts of our presence through 
our operations
Our local presence in communities, 
especially in developing markets, brings 
benefi ts including the support of 
industry and commerce; the provision 
of power for communities which need 
it; the creation of local employment; 
and enabling skills development. 

‘Making a Massive Difference’: our 
community investment strategy 
We actively engage in supporting the 
local communities in which we work:

 → We are proactive in recruiting locally 

from the community, with over 
100 nationalities across the Group.

 → Our extensive on-the-job training for 
new recruits gives us highly skilled 
staff, trained on our own equipment. 

 → Relationships in the local communities 
prove valuable when we are running a 
contract for a number of years. 

 → Our charitable donations include 

the education of children through 
our partnership with BookAid and 
through Shelterbox to support 700 
families with emergency shelter in 
the Philippines following Typhoon 
Mangkhut.

 → Orange Days of Difference enabled 

1,300 of our people to volunteer their 
time supporting the communities 
we serve. 

Ethics, human rights, anti-
bribery and anti-corruption
Aggreko conducts its business 
with integrity and honesty, and 
we are proud of our reputation 
for being fair and professional. 

Ethics Policy 
The standards and behaviours we expect 
from our employees, as defi ned by our 
Ethics Policy, allow us to challenge any 
improper behaviours. The policy covers 
due diligence, gifts and hospitality, 
charitable donations, facilitation 
payments, confl icts of interest and 
speaking up. We provide training on 
these areas to all employees, regularly 
monitor compliance, and seek assurance 
that they are effective. 

Anti-bribery and anti-corruption
Our sales consultants are contractually 
required to comply with our Ethics Policy 
and we provide ethics training to ensure 
they remain alert to potential third-party 
risks. We monitor their remuneration 
and all payments. 

This gives us a robust framework for 
appointing and working with third-
party representatives. 

Gifts, entertainment and hospitality, 
above a nominal value, offered by, 
or given to, Aggreko employees are 
recorded centrally and monitored by 
the Head of Compliance. We challenge 
any proposed gifts or hospitality which 
could be perceived as potentially 
inappropriate.

We have an independent, multi-lingual 
compliance Speaking Up hotline, 
operated by an external agency, 
which is available to all employees 
and allows concerns to be reported on 
an anonymous basis. All reports are 
followed up, and we regularly analyse 
the types of reports we receive and, 
where appropriate, our Group Internal 
Audit team investigates. 

Human rights 
We apply high employment standards 
across our business, complying with 
employment, health and safety and 
human rights laws to ensure our 
employees are safe. We expect our 
suppliers to adopt our Supplier Code of 
Conduct, which sets out the minimum 
standards we require, including 
workers’ fundamental rights covering 
standards of pay, working hours and 
freedom of association. Our modern 
slavery statement is available to read at 
www.plc.aggreko.com, and provides 
more detail on the approach we take 
in relation to modern slavery.

Data protection and cyber security
We have introduced our data policy 
to ensure we comply with new data 
protection regulations and provide 
training for its application. 

We discuss cyber risks and mitigations 
on page 42.

Following the December 2018 index 
review FTSE Russell, the global index 
provider, confi rmed that Aggreko 
has been independently assessed 
according to the FTSE4Good criteria, 
and has satisfi ed the requirements 
to become a constituent of the 
FTSE4Good Index Series. Created 
by FTSE Russell, the FTSE4Good 
Index Series is designed to measure 
the performance of companies 
demonstrating strong Environmental, 
Social and Governance (ESG) 
practices. The FTSE4Good indices 
are used by a wide variety of market 
participants to create and assess 
responsible investment funds and 
other products.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

37

 
 
 
RISK

Risk factors that could affect 
business performance

The Group recognises the importance of identifying and actively 
managing the fi nancial and non-fi nancial risks facing the business. 
We want our people to feel empowered to take advantage of 
attractive opportunities, yet we want them to do so within the risk 
appetite set by the Board. It is important that we have in place a 
robust, repeatable risk management framework to facilitate this.

Risk management framework – roles and responsibilities

The Board has implemented a risk management framework that is summarised in the diagram below. 

Ultimate 
responsibility 
Board

Oversight

Audit Committee

(makes recommendations 
to the Board)

Management and monitoring

Group Risk Committee

(makes recommendations 
to the Audit Committee and Board)

Ownership

Business units, Senior Leadership Team
and central functions

(supported by Group Risk)

 → Ultimate responsibility for risk management and 

internal control

 → Approves the risk management framework

 → Approves risk appetite and monitors compliance

 → Approves the Group Register of Principal Risks

 → Approves the viability statement

 → Responsible for reviewing the effectiveness 

of the Group’s systems for internal control and 
risk management

 → Reviews and challenges the risk management 

framework

 → Reviews the effectiveness of the control environment

 → Reviews the effectiveness of and approves the 

approach for the viability statement

 → Responsible for implementing and embedding risk 

management and internal controls

 → Defi nes the risk management process to be followed 

by the business (including risk appetite)

 → Reviews and challenges the Group Register of 
Principal Risks ensuring controls identifi ed are 
operating and tracks closure of items

 → Facilitates the Group’s risk process, collating risk 

registers and consolidating the Group Register of 
Principal Risks

 → Aligns assurance activity

 → Responsible for identifi cation, prioritisation, 

assessment and monitoring of risks which may 
arise in the business

 → Risks and associated controls are owned and operated 

by management

 → Risk registers are maintained and form the basis 

of the Group Register of Principal Risks

38 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Focus during the year
In 2018, we have continued to develop 
our risk management framework. Our 
Group Risk function has worked with 
experts within our business to identify 
the causes and consequences of each 
risk event in Aggreko’s universe as well 
as the effectiveness of our preventions 
and mitigations. We have developed a 
yardstick to let us compare the likelihood 
and impact of different kinds of risk. 
This has allowed us to make the fi rst 
quantitative estimate of the aggregate 
risk that the business faces. 

We have been aligning our assurance 
activities to our risk framework so 
that we can use the results to inform 
estimates of the effectiveness of our 
preventions and mitigations and to 
identify opportunities to improve 
effi ciency. This, together with the 
opinions of our business experts and 
monitoring the external environment, 
has helped us identify emerging risks 
for the last two years, well ahead of the 
introduction of the new requirement 
of the UK corporate governance code 
from 2019.

Changes since 2017
Our Group Register of Principal Risks 
will change from time to time as we 
take action to improve the management 
of risks, improve the processes we use 
to identify risks and as the business 
environment in which we operate 
evolves. This year, we have seen three 
additional risks promoted to the Group 
register and two risks relegated.

Risks promoted to the 
Group’s register this year:
 → Global macroeconomic uncertainty: 

Geopolitical and global 
macroeconomic uncertainty may 
result in lower than expected GDP 
growth, reducing demand for our 
services.

 → Escalating sanctions: Sanctions have 
been extended in some countries in 
which we operate. Further extensions 
to sanctions could restrict our ability 
to service existing customers and win 
new work.

 → Change management: One of 

our strategic priorities is to update 
Rental Solutions systems and 
processes to better meet the needs 
of our customers. We are in a critical 
period of implementation during 
which the likelihood of disruption 
to operations is highest.

Risks relegated from last 
year’s register:
 → Equipment obsolescence: While 

we have been introducing new fl eet 
and technologies into our business, 
we have focused on ensuring the 
continued utilisation of our older 
fl eet. We have successfully identifi ed 
applications which best utilise this 
fl eet and as a result the risk that 
this equipment becomes obsolete 
before the end of its useful life has 
now reduced.

 → Funding our strategic plan: The 
risk that an unexpected funding 
requirement for working capital 
affects our ability to fund the strategic 
plan has fallen as a result of initiatives 
to improve the forecasting and 
management of working capital.

Approach to managing risk
Our approach to risk management 
aims to deliver effective and effi cient 
management of risk, while also making 
a positive contribution to effective 
decision making and performance 
improvement.

The Group compiles a Register of 
Principal Risks from risk registers 
held by our business units and central 
functions. We monitor the level of each 
risk against our appetite for it using 
quantitative and qualitative measures 
and identify any actions required 
to manage the residual risk, after 
considering our existing controls.

Risk appetite
The Group is willing to take and manage 
considered risks within clear boundaries 
set by the Executive Committee and 
approved by the Board. We have defi ned 
our appetite for risks in each of the 
categories below and use this to decide 
what mitigation is required for each risk.

Risk categories
We allocate risks into the fi  ve 
categories below and use them 
to help defi  ne our risk appetite.

Strategic
Risks related to the Group’s ability to 
deliver on strategic priorities.

Operational
Risks arising from people, processes 
and systems impacting upon effi cient 
and effective operations.

Hazard
Risks related to the wellbeing of our 
people and the wider stakeholders 
with whom we interact.

Compliance
Risks related to non-compliance 
with government and regulatory 
requirements in the jurisdictions 
in which we operate.

Financial
Risks which might impact upon 
our ability to meet our fi nancial 
expectations and obligations.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

39

 
 
 
RISK CONTINUED

Principal risks and uncertainties

The Directors have carried out 
a robust assessment of the 
principal risks and uncertainties 
facing Aggreko, including those 
that would threaten our future 
performance, business model, 
solvency and liquidity. The list 
over the following pages is not 
exhaustive; our operations 
are large and geographically 
diverse and the list might 
change if something that seems 
immaterial today becomes 
more important tomorrow.

The order in which our principal 
risks are presented follows our 
risk categorisation model.

Strategic:

Strategic:

Global macroeconomic 
uncertainty

Market dynamics
Power Solutions

Executive responsible 
Chris Weston, Chief Executive Offi cer

Risk
Lower than expected global GDP 
reduces demand

Primary KPI impacted

 → Capital activity

 → Customer activity

 → Earnings per share

 → Operating profi t margin

 → Return on capital employed

 → Revenue growth

Background and impact
Several geopolitical factors have the 
potential to impact upon our ability to 
meet our forecast performance for 2019 
and beyond.

Uncertainty with respect to Brexit; oil 
price volatility; Russian foreign policy 
unpredictability; US trade policy shifts; 
and the potential for a global economic 
slowdown due to potentially lower 
growth in China each have the potential 
to impact upon our forecasts.

Prevention and mitigation

 → Market analysis and monitoring

Executive responsible 
Stephen Beynon, Managing Director 
Power Solutions

Risk
Changes in utility power markets 
reduce returns from our Power Solutions 
Utility business

Primary KPI impacted

 → Capital activity

 → Customer activity

 → Customer loyalty

 → Earnings per share

 → Operating profi t margin

 → Return on capital employed

 → Revenue growth

Background and impact
A change in utility power market 
dynamics could have a material impact 
on revenue and profi t.

The impact of commodity prices on 
the economies of developing countries 
has reduced their capacity to pay for 
temporary power.

Customer buying power has increased 
because of more competition for 
power projects.

 → Market and product diversifi cation

 → Mobile, modular, homogeneous 

equipment allows transfer between 
markets

The power gap may reduce as 
permanent power solutions come 
online. 

Prevention and mitigation

 → Improved sales and marketing 

capability, resourcing and 
performance management

 → Technology improvements make 
our offerings more competitive

 → Internal effi ciency improvements 
will make us more competitive

 → Delivery of our strategic priorities 
to improve the ease with which 
customers can do business with us

Changes during 2018
The factors noted above have escalated 
over the course of the year, resulting 
in increased levels of uncertainty as 
to whether global GDP forecasts will 
be met.

Read more about our perspectives 
on Brexit on page 45

 → Further development of our Power 

Solutions Industrial business

 → Mobile, modular, homogeneous 

equipment allows transfer between 
markets

 → Improved sales capability, resourcing 

and performance management

 → Market analysis

 → Technology improvements make 
our offerings more competitive

 → Internal effi ciency improvements 
will make us more competitive

Changes during 2018
We have had a challenging year in 
our Power Solutions Utility business, 
primarily due to known off-hires in 
Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Japan and 
lower volumes and pricing in Argentina.

A cost reduction programme is in 
progress to increase the effi ciency of our 
operations. We also continue to develop 
our Industrial business, this having seen 
good growth in 2018.

Read more about Power Solutions 
performance on page 25

40 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Strategic:

Strategic:

Strategic:

Disruptive technology

Talent management

Executive responsible 
Dan Ibbetson, Managing Director Global 
Products & Technology

Executive responsible 
Anna Filipopoulos, Group Human 
Resources Director

Market dynamics
Rental Solutions

Executive responsible 
Bruce Pool, President Rental Solutions

Risk
Challenging market dynamics reduce 
volume and profi tability in our Rental 
Solutions business

Primary KPI impacted

 → Capital activity

 → Customer activity

 → Customer loyalty

 → Earnings per share

 → Operating profi t margin

 → Return on capital employed

 → Revenue growth

Background and impact
North America is the largest region 
in Rental Solutions. Oil & gas and 
petrochemical & refi ning have 
traditionally been its largest market 
sectors. Any downturn in these sectors 
could have a material impact on revenue 
and profi t.

Customer buying power has increased 
because of an increase in supply of 
fl eet in the market and increased 
competition.

Our ability to differentiate our services 
from those of our competitors as 
specialist energy and temperature 
control providers is critical to us 
maintaining market share and 
profi tability. 

Prevention and mitigation

Risk
The introduction of new technology into 
the power market reduces our ability to 
remain competitive

Primary KPI impacted

 → Capital activity

 → Customer activity

 → Earnings per share

 → Fleet size and composition

 → Operating profi t margin

 → Return on capital employed

 → Revenue growth

Background and impact
Alternative and more distributed energy 
sources are becoming increasingly 
available and affordable.

New energy business models using 
technology to manage the on and 
off-grid environment are emerging.

These developments could affect our 
competitiveness as power providers.

As we develop our battery technology 
offering, we continue to monitor further 
developments in this evolving area to 
ensure that we take advantage of 
opportunities and manage associated 
risks as appropriate.

Prevention and mitigation

 → Diversifi ed product portfolio

 → Continued diversifi cation into other 

 → Technology roadmap for existing 

and alternative technologies

 → Bolt-on acquisition of new 

technologies and capabilities

 → Market requirements monitoring

Changes during 2018
Following our acquisition of Younicos 
in 2017, we have refi ned our business 
to introduce a new technology and 
microgrid capability. We have also 
utilised our new capabilities to develop 
a new power storage product which 
will be available for rental in 2019. 

Read more about the technology 
developments taking place as part 
of our strategic priorities on page 14

market sectors

 → Mobile, modular, homogeneous 

equipment allows transfer between 
markets

 → Improved sales capability, resourcing 

and performance management

 → Market analysis

 → Delivery of our strategic priorities 
to improve the ease with which 
customers can do business with us

Changes during 2018
Despite ongoing competitive pressures, 
our Rental Solutions business had a 
strong year, primarily driven by our 
North American business. We have seen 
improvements in volumes, rates and 
fl eet utilisation across our business in 
addition to good growth in the majority 
of our key sectors.

Read more about Rental Solutions 
performance on page 24

Risk
Failure to attract, retain and develop 
key personnel

Primary KPI impacted

 → Employee satisfaction

 → Return on capital employed

 → Revenue growth

Background and impact                     
Our people make the difference 
between great performance and 
mediocre performance.

The high quality technical capability 
and exemplary attitude of our people 
is a competitive advantage which we 
wish to retain.

We are keenly aware of the need to 
attract the right people, establish 
them in their roles and manage their 
development.

Failure to do so could result in loss of 
productivity and intellectual capital, 
increased recruitment costs and lower 
staff morale.

Prevention and mitigation

 → Recruitment policy

 → Succession planning

 → Talent management reviews 

and development plans

 → Feedback from staff surveys 

incorporated into strategic priorities

 → Benchmarking of remuneration 

and benefi ts to attract and retain 
the required talent

 → Long-term incentive plans

 → Performance management

Changes during 2018
Attrition rates remained stable 
compared to those in 2017. While several 
senior management positions were 
recruited externally, we continue to seek 
to promote from within where possible. 
We continue to advance our succession 
planning programme to this end.

Read more about People on page 18

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

41

 
 
 
RISK CONTINUED

Strategic:

Strategic:

Operational:

New technology 
market introduction

Executive responsible 
Stephen Beynon, Managing Director 
Power Solutions and Dan Ibbetson, 
Managing Director Global Products & 
Technology

Risk
Ineffective new product development 
and market introduction hinders growth

Primary KPI impacted

 → Capital activity

 → Customer activity

 → Earnings per share

 → Fleet size and composition

 → Operating profi t margin

 → Return on capital employed

 → Revenue growth

Background and impact
New product development and 
introduction is one of our priorities.

New products introduced recently 
include: engines with greater fuel 
effi ciency e.g. Next Generation Gas 
(NGG); alternative fuel technology e.g. 
Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO); and renewable 
technology e.g. diesel/solar hybrid.

We continue to develop an enhanced 
power storage solution based on the 
technology acquired with our Younicos 
acquisition.

Failure to develop and introduce 
new products may lead to product 
obsolescence and reduce revenue 
and profi t. 

Prevention and mitigation

 → Market requirements monitoring

 → New product introduction process 
identifi es and resolves product 
performance issues

 → Standard operating procedures 

facilitate effective commissioning 
and operation

 → Marketing strategies formulated for 

new products

 → Technical training on all new 

products delivered to our technicians 
and engineers

 → Training delivered to our sales teams 

on the products, market opportunities 
and commercial risks associated with 
new technology

 → Regular monitoring of sales pipeline

Changes during 2018
We continue to see increased utilisation 
of our NGG and HFO products, while 
our hybrid solutions are attracting 
considerable interest.

Read more about the technology 
developments taking place as part 
of our strategic priorities on page 14

Change management

Cyber security

Executive responsible 
Bruce Pool, President Rental Solutions

Risk
Failure to successfully transform the 
Rental Solutions business to match the 
needs of our customers

Primary KPI impacted

 → Customer activity

 → Customer loyalty

 → Earnings per share

 → Operating profi t margin

 → Return on capital employed

 → Revenue growth

Background and impact
We continue to develop our systems 
and processes to make ourselves more 
effi cient and easier to do business with. 

If we do not successfully execute these 
in a timely and sustainable manner it 
could result in a material impact on 
future revenue and profi t. 

Prevention and mitigation

 → Senior leadership focus and 

sponsorship

 → Project management disciplines in 

place to provide challenge, assurance 
and risk oversight

 → Adequate resourcing in place to 
deliver planned improvements

 → Business user acceptance testing 

and training

Changes during 2018
We are in a critical period of 
implementation during which the 
likelihood of disruption to operations 
is highest.

Read more about the effi ciency 
developments taking place as part 
of our strategic priorities on page 16

Executive responsible 
Grant Nairn, Group Chief Information 
Offi cer

Risk
A cyber security incident leads to a 
loss of data, a loss of data integrity 
or disruption to operations

Primary KPI impacted

 → Customer loyalty

 → Earnings per share

 → Operating profi t margin

 → Return on capital employed

 → Revenue growth

Background and impact
A cyber security incident may be caused 
by an external attack, internal attack or 
user error.

Such an incident may lead to the loss of 
commercially sensitive data, a loss of 
data integrity within our systems or the 
loss of fi nancial assets through fraud.

A successful cyberattack on our back-
offi ce or operational control systems 
could also result in us not being able 
to deliver service to our customers. 
As a result we could suffer reputational 
damage, revenue loss and fi nancial 
penalties.

Prevention and mitigation

 → A cyber security forum monitors 
risk threats and directs actions 
as appropriate

 → We have a suite of security 

technologies in place, including 
antivirus and malware software, 
fi rewalls, email scanning and internet 
monitoring

 → Third-party expertise engaged to 
assist with incident response and 
security penetration testing

 → IT user awareness policy and training 
designed and rolled out across the 
organisation

 → Future system developments 

incorporate encryption and security 
at the design stage

Changes during 2018
We have continued to implement 
improvements to our defences by 
upskilling our people and improving 
our security technologies. That said, 
there has again been an increase in 
the number of fi rms suffering cyber 
security breaches. 

As a result of the general increase in the 
level of threat, we believe that this risk 
score has increased since last year. We 
are investing further in this area in 2019 
to keep pace with the external threat.

42 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Operational:

Hazard:

Escalating sanctions

Health and safety
continued

Hazard:

Security

Executive responsible 
Stephen Beynon, Managing Director 
Power Solutions

Risk
Escalating sanctions impact upon our 
ability to service existing customers 
and win new work

Primary KPI impacted

 → Earnings per share

 → Operating profi t margin

 → Return on capital employed

 → Revenue growth

Background and impact
We are comfortable that we have 
appropriate procedures in place 
to manage our compliance with 
sanctions regulations. 

There is the potential that any further 
sanctions might impede our ability 
to service current customers or win 
new work. 

Prevention and mitigation

 → Monitoring the legal and regulatory 

environment

 → Mobile, modular, homogeneous 

equipment allows transfer between 
markets if unutilised

 → External support from legal counsel 

as required

Changes during 2018
Sanctions have been extended in some 
countries in which we operate. Further 
extensions to sanctions could restrict our 
ability to service existing customers and 
win new work.

Hazard:

Health and safety

Executive responsible 
Chris Weston, Chief Executive Offi cer

Risk
A health and safety incident occurs 
which results in serious illness, injury 
or death

Primary KPI impacted

 → Employee satisfaction

 → Safety

Background and impact
Our business involves transporting, 
installing and operating equipment 
which is heavy, produces lethal voltages 
or very high pressure air and involves 
the use of millions of litres of fuel. All of 
these could cause serious damage to our 
people and third parties if not handled 
with care. 

Some of our people work in high 
risk locations. Besides the security 
considerations, issues facing these 
employees include: poor road 
infrastructure, a lack of access to 
healthcare services and exposure to 
contagious diseases. We also operate on 
high risk customer sites such as offshore 
oil and wind platforms and mine sites.

 Prevention and mitigation
 → Senior leadership focus and 

engagement with regular HSE 
reporting

 → Regular management safety walks

 → Group HSE policy communicated 
globally in all relevant languages

 → Appropriate training is delivered

 → Staff are empowered to stop work 

when they feel safety may be 
compromised

 → HSE risk assessments are undertaken 
and comprehensive safety procedures 
support our standard practices

 → HSE compliance audits are conducted 
regularly and all staff are encouraged 
to report risks and incidents

 → Our equipment is subject to rigorous 
testing prior to use and is maintained 
to a high standard

 → Where health matters are of concern, 

we implement stringent testing 
procedures and restrict site access

 → Comprehensive site induction 

materials are provided to all visitors 
and staff deployed into a new country

 → Defensive driving training is provided 
in high risk countries, with journey 
management part of our HSE system

Changes during 2018
Our lost time accident frequency rate 
has continued to fall in 2018. 

Safety has continued to be a key area of 
focus in 2018. Alongside the introduction 
of ‘Stop Work Authority’, work has 
continued to deliver relevant training to 
all staff. In addition, we have launched 
Standard Zero, a revised framework for 
HSE governance, planning and risk 
management. This will provide clarity 
on the roles and responsibilities we 
each have to deliver our services safely. 
We aim to embed this within the 
business during 2019.

Read more about Health 
and safety on page 18

Executive responsible 

Chris Weston, Chief Executive Offi cer

Risk
A security incident occurs which affects 
our people, assets, or our operations

Primary KPI impacted

 → Earnings per share

 → Employee satisfaction

 → Operating profi t margin

 → Return on capital employed

 → Revenue growth

 → Safety

Background and impact
A security incident may adversely affect 
the wellbeing of our people, the security 
of our assets, our reputation or our ability 
to generate revenue.

Prevention and mitigation

 → Group security policy communicated 

globally in all relevant languages

 → Group Security team under the 
direction of the Group Head of 
Security provides guidance and 
direction on appropriate security 
requirements

 → Monitoring of security environments 

in countries where we operate

 → Security compliance reviews 

completed periodically by the 
security team

 → Group-wide Travel Management 

System, provides pre-travel guidance 
and allows monitoring of travellers

 → Head of Security provides monthly 

briefi ngs to the Executive Committee

 → In some cases, insurance against 

losses has been procured

Changes during 2018
No material changes during 2018. 
We continue to face specifi c security 
challenges in Afghanistan, Iraq, 
Venezuela and Yemen. Our security 
policy and procedures have been 
embedded during the year and we have 
launched an online incident reporting 
tool. Security audits will be completed 
going forward.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

43

 
 
 
RISK CONTINUED

Compliance:

Failure to conduct business dealings 
with integrity and honesty

Executive responsible 
Peter Kennerley, Group Legal Director 
& Company Secretary

Risk
We are prosecuted as a result of an 
employee or person acting on our 
behalf having made a payment 
which is, or is perceived to be, a bribe

Primary KPI impacted

 → Customer loyalty

 → Employee satisfaction

 → Revenue growth

Background and impact
The scale and global nature of our 
business exposes us to risks of 
unethical behaviour.

This risk is particularly relevant owing to 
the following factors:

 → We operate in several countries with 
perceived high levels of corruption

 → We participate in tenders for high 
value contracts involving public 
procurement

 → Our business model involves the use 

of third-party sales consultants/agents 
in some countries where we do not 
have a permanent presence

We are aware of the potential 
reputational and fi nancial impact of 
such behaviour and we have in place 
a robust compliance programme to 
mitigate our exposure to this risk.

Prevention and mitigation

 → Anti-bribery and corruption 

framework designed in line with 
UK government guidance and 
implemented across the Group

 → Board-level leadership through our 
Ethics & Corporate Responsibility 
Committee which oversees the 
compliance policies and procedures 
and aims to foster a culture of 
integrity and honesty in all of our 
business dealings

 → Ethics Policy in place with which 
employees, agents and sales 
consultants are required to comply

 → Training of employees and third-party 
sales consultants on anti-bribery and 
corruption policies and procedures

 → Due diligence undertaken on sales 

consultants and agents. Once 
appointed we regularly monitor their 
performance, audit payments and 
refresh due diligence at least every 
two years

 → Head of Compliance and Internal 
Audit monitor compliance with 
policy requirements in this area

 → An independent whistle-blowing 
system is in place which allows 
employees to report concerns 
confi dentially and anonymously. All 
reports received are fully investigated

 → All high risk suppliers are now required 
to acknowledge and comply with our 
supplier code of conduct

Changes during 2018
During 2018, we have further improved 
our compliance framework. We 
have implemented more stringent 
requirements of our higher risk suppliers 
and have refi ned our risk assessment 
process. We will continue to identify 
further opportunities for improvement.

Read more about our Ethics Policy 
and anti-bribery and corruption 
framework on page 37

44 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

Financial:

Failure to collect 
payments or to 
recover assets

Executive responsible 
Heath Drewett, Chief Financial Offi cer

Risk
Signifi cant customer payment default 
or impounding of assets

Primary KPI impacted

 → Earnings per share

 → Operating profi t margin

 → Return on capital employed

Background and impact
The Group has some large contracts 
in emerging market countries 
where payment processes can be 
unpredictable, where liquidity has been 
adversely affected by a fall in commodity 
prices or our customers have competing 
demands on limited budgets.

There is a risk that we do not obtain 
payment for a large project (or 
combination of projects) and/or that a 
material value of assets are confi scated.

We take a rigorous approach to credit 
risk management and to date have not 
suffered a signifi cant loss.

A customer’s non-payment would result 
in an increased bad debt provision or 
write-off of the debt. Should our assets 
be seized, we would also lose future 
revenue and profi t associated with that 
equipment while having to write off its 
residual value.

Prevention and mitigation
 → Regular monitoring of the risk profi le 
and debtor position for large contracts

 → Mitigation techniques will vary from 
customer to customer, but include 
obtaining advance payments, letters 
of credit, and in some cases insurance 
against losses

 → Active customer relationship 

management, including escalation 
to senior management

 → The scale of our business and diversity 
of our customer portfolio make it less 
likely that any unprovided bad debt or 
equipment seizure would be material 
to the Group’s balance sheet

Changes during 2018
While we have not suffered a signifi cant 
loss in 2018, we continue to closely 
monitor overdue debt in Power Solutions 
Utility. We continue to believe that the 
primary reason for delay in payments is 
liquidity and access to foreign currency, 
rather than customer disputes.

Read more about Power Solutions 
performance on page 25

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 → We currently benefi t from reduced 
withholding taxes on dividends 
between EU companies under the 
EU Parent/Subsidiary directive. The 
Directive would not apply after the 
UK’s exit from the EU and we would 
fall back to the provisions of the UK’s 
double tax treaties with EU member 
states, although it is anticipated that 
these treaties will all need to be 
renegotiated. 

The Group earns approximately 6% of 
its revenue from the UK and 10% from 
EU markets. Demand for our services 
in these markets is, in part, GDP-
dependent. A signifi cant change in the 
GDP growth in these markets is likely to 
have a knock-on effect on our level of 
activity there.

About 60 of our employees are likely to 
be affected by Brexit. We will encourage 
eligible employees to take advantage of 
the UK’s EU Settlement Scheme and the 
anticipated reciprocal arrangements for 
UK nationals working in the EU. We will 
provide support to these employees 
as required.

We will continue to monitor the situation 
closely and refi ne our contingency plans 
as the situation develops.

Assessment of prospects 
and viability
The prospects for our Rental Solutions 
business are linked to growth in local 
economies and commodity cycles.

Our Power Solutions Industrial business 
is driven by growth in developing 
markets, which can be commodity 
dependent, while Power Solutions Utility 
is driven by shortfalls in permanent 
capacity caused by economic growth, 
ageing power infrastructure, hydro-
shortages and social pressures.

The Executive Committee and the 
Board regularly discuss factors that 
might affect Aggreko’s prospects. 
The 13 principal risks, which the Board 
concluded could affect business 
performance, are set out on the 
previous pages.

With the above as background, the 
Board approached the viability 
assessment as follows:

 → It carried out the viability assessment 

over a three-year period to 2021. 
Although the Board considers 
prospects of the Group over a 
longer period, three years was 
deemed appropriate for the 
viability assessment because:

 – The Group’s funding requirement 
can be forecast with suffi cient 
accuracy over this period

 – The Board expects to be able to 

arrange suffi cient fi nance to meet 
its funding requirement over a 
three-year period

 – Power Solutions Utility’s historical 
off-hire rate of 30% suggests an 
average contract life of three years. 
Rental Solutions and Power 
Solutions Industrial have shorter 
average hire periods than Power 
Solutions Utility

 → It stress-tested the Group’s strategic 
plan to 2021 by modelling scenarios 
linked to each principal risk

 → It stress-tested the Group’s strategic 
plan to 2021 by modelling scenarios 
of combinations of principal risks, 
for example:

 – We considered a scenario in which 
all risks occurred according to their 
expected frequencies during the 
viability period

 – We considered a combination of all 
risks crystallising at the same time

The results of this stress-testing showed 
that the Group has suffi cient scale, 
diversity and balance sheet strength 
to withstand the impact of these 
scenarios by making adjustments to 
its operating plans within the normal 
course of business.

Based on the results of this analysis, the 
Directors have a reasonable expectation 
that the Group will be able to continue 
in operation and meet its liabilities as 
they fall due over the three-year period 
of their detailed assessment.

Brexit
The depreciation of Sterling after the UK 
voted to leave the EU in June 2016 was 
the most signifi cant impact of the vote 
on the Group. In that year it increased 
the Sterling value of our revenue, debt 
and borrowing facilities, the majority of 
which are denominated in US Dollars. 

At this point, we do not know whether 
the UK will leave the EU with 
a deal, without a deal or whether the 
decision to leave will be revoked. We 
have completed an impact analysis to try 
to identify the aspects of our business 
that might be affected most by the 
UK’s withdrawal from the EU. We do 
not expect the impact on the Group’s 
business activities to be severe because 
the large majority of them take place 
outside the UK and the EU. However, 
we have taken some actions and 
developed contingency plans to reduce 
the potential impact on the Group of the 
UK leaving the EU without a deal at the 
end of March 2019. 

Delays in our supply chain and in the 
export of fi nished products, changes to 
customs duties on the movement of 
equipment, changes to tax legislation 
and the associated system changes have 
the potential to affect our business the 
most, on top of the impact of changes 
in the value of Sterling and GDP growth 
in our UK and EU markets. 

 → We expect that any delays in the 

supply of products or services that 
we need for our business in the UK 
or delays to freight out of the UK will 
be manageable through production 
scheduling or by using alternative 
material suppliers. We do not expect 
delays to disrupt our ability to supply 
our customers after withdrawal.

 → We expect that there will be an impact 
on the import of materials for use in 
our Manufacturing & Technology 
centre in Dumbarton and on the 
export of fi nished products from 
Dumbarton. The overall impact is 
likely to be negative but will not 
materially affect our ability to serve 
our customers. There is a possibility 
that new agreements between the 
UK and non-EU countries could bring 
some benefi t in due course.

 → The impact on customs duties will 
depend on the arrangements for 
withdrawal and any new trade 
agreements that the UK enters into, 
but the increase in our customs 
duties would not be material on 
its own should we revert to World 
Trade Organisation terms.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

45

 
 
 
INTRODUCTION TO GOVERNANCE

Compliance with the UK 
Corporate Governance Code

The governance framework put in 
place by the Board to support the 
delivery of our strategic priorities 
continues to deliver results.
Ken Hanna
Chairman

The Board remains committed to the 
principles of good corporate governance 
contained in the UK Corporate Governance 
Code (April 2016) (the “Code”), which 
is published by the Financial Reporting 
Council and available on its website 
at www.frc.org.uk. 

The Company continues to follow the good 
practice which the Code recommends and 
the Board considers that the Company has 
applied the principles and complied with 
the provisions set out therein throughout 
2018, as detailed in this Statement and the 
associated Reports. The Board believes that 
the Annual Report and Accounts 2018 are, 
when taken as a whole, fair, balanced and 
understandable, providing shareholders 
with the requisite information to assess the 
Company’s performance, business model 
and strategy.

46 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

Corporate governance 
developments 
The Financial Reporting Council 
published a revised UK Corporate 
Governance Code in July 2018 (“the 
2018 Code”). The 2018 Code calls for 
companies to establish a corporate 
culture that is aligned with the company 
purpose and business strategy, 
promotes integrity and values diversity. 
In particular, the new 2018 Code:

 → Requires greater board engagement 
with the workforce to understand 
their views.

 → Emphasises that remuneration 
committees should take into 
account workforce remuneration 
and related policies when setting 
director remuneration.

 → Strengthens the role of the 
nomination committee on 
succession planning and 
establishing a diverse board. 

The 2018 Code sets out a number of 
Principles, and “comply or explain” 
Provisions and is supported by the 
Guidance on Board Effectiveness. The 
2018 Code will apply to Aggreko for the 
fi nancial year beginning 1 January 2019.

Much of what Aggreko does already 
refl ects the best practice embodied 
in the 2018 Code. However, we have 
carefully reviewed the 2018 Code and 
supporting guidance and agreed a 
number of measures to refl ect the 2018 
Code. These new measures include:

 → The Ethics Committee will have 

formal responsibility for engagement 
with the workforce, supported by 
management, with a core team led 
by the Group HR Director and 
members of the HR Team. To refl ect 
its broader remit, we have renamed 
the committee the “Ethics & Corporate 
Responsibility Committee”. Nicola 
Brewer will Chair the new Committee. 

 → The Ethics & Corporate Responsibility 

Committee will also assume 
responsibility for our Speaking Up 
whistle-blowing process, including 
oversight of its effectiveness, from 
the Audit Committee. 

 → We will ensure that the Remuneration 

Committee has clearer visibility of 
workforce remuneration and related 
policies when setting policies for 
Executive Director remuneration, 
and to enable it to advise the Board 
whether Company policies and 
practices support culture and strategy.

 → We will ensure that the Nomination 

Committee has further visibility of the 
succession pipeline one level below 
the Executive Committee and will 
delegate formal monitoring of our 
diversity policy to the Committee. 

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 → We have reviewed and amended the 
Terms of Reference of each of the 
Committees to refl ect their new roles. 

In this way, we believe that we will be 
in a position to meet the “comply or 
explain” Provisions of the 2018 Code 
from 1 January 2019, and will report on 
how they have operated in our 2019 
Annual Report and Accounts. 

A corresponding development in 
reporting regulation is contained 
in The Companies (Miscellaneous 
Reporting) Regulations 2018. They will 
require Aggreko to include statements 
in our Annual Report relating to 
Directors’ statutory duties and, 
specifi cally, engagement with 
employees and other stakeholders. 
These new reporting requirements will 
apply to our 2019 Annual Report, and 
so do not strictly apply to this Annual 
Report. However, Aggreko already 
engages extensively with stakeholders, 
as we have described our approach 
in previous Annual Reports, and we 
have included a summary of our 
engagement with employees and 
other stakeholders during 2018 on 
page 34 of this Annual Report. 

Diversity
The Board believes that diversity, both 
in the boardroom and throughout the 
organisation, is key to our success. I am 
pleased to report that 33% of our Board 
roles continue to be held by women. 
The Board adopted a formalised 
approach to board diversity by adopting 
a board diversity policy in December 
2017, which you can read more about on 
page 55 . We do, however, acknowledge 
that there is more to do to ensure the 
development of diversity across the 
organisation. Diversity and inclusion, 
and the gender pay gap in particular, are 
now areas of focus as we acknowledge 
the need, and desire, to address the 
imbalance. We support management in 
its efforts to address this by establishing 
a team which will look at diversity on 
a Group-wide basis, determine what 
changes need to be made and work with 
the business to implement them over 
the next few years. Our full gender pay 
gap disclosure, including the actions we 
are taking, is published on our website in 
line with the UK government guidelines.
See www.plc.aggreko.com

Talent, development and 
succession
The results of the 2017 Board evaluation 
showed that the Board had acted upon 
the results of the previous year’s 
evaluation in reviewing the succession 
plans for the Executive Committee and 
its direct reports and further recruiting 
a number of potential high calibre 
managers. In 2018, we continued to have 
oversight of this to ensure the business 
has an ongoing talent management 

programme to support the continued 
success of the business. We continued 
to work closely with the Nomination 
Committee to make a number of 
changes to our Board in early 2018. 
Our previous CFO, Carole Cran, left the 
business in December 2017 after 14 years 
with Aggreko. Carole was succeeded 
by Heath Drewett in January 2018. 
Heath brings a wealth of experience as 
a fi nance professional and has settled 
into the CFO role well with a rigorous 
approach to delivering further fi nancial 
improvements in the business. His full 
biography is set out on page 48.

Russell King retired from the Board at 
our 2018 AGM. Russell dedicated nine 
years to Aggreko and during this time 
he served as Chair of our Remuneration 
Committee and Senior Independent 
Director. Barbara Jeremiah succeeded 
Russell as Remuneration Committee 
Chair and Uwe Krueger was appointed 
as Senior Independent Director. Further 
detail on both of these appointments 
can be found on page 55.

Board oversight and 
monitoring
The Audit Committee has played 
a key role in ensuring that there was 
appropriate challenge and governance 
around the accounting treatment of 
the decisions taken during the year 
and ensuring robust risk management, 
controls and assurance were in place.

Annual General Meeting
Our Annual General Meeting will be held 
at 11.00am on Thursday 25 April 2019 at 
200 SVS, 200 St Vincent Street, Glasgow, 
G2 5RQ. The Notice of Annual General 
Meeting, together, with the explanatory 
notes of the resolutions to be proposed, 
is set out on pages 141 to 146 of this 
document. 

Looking ahead to 2019
The Board will be focusing on ensuring 
compliance with the 2018 Code and 
remains committed to ensuring the 
highest standards of corporate 
governance across the Group in all 
aspects of the delivery of our strategic 
priorities. Our people are at the core of 
this business. I am confi dent they will 
continue to implement our values in 
order to achieve our goals and that, by 
focusing on our Always Orange culture 
and core values, we will deliver on those 
priorities. Finally, I would like to thank 
our employees for their dedication and 
support during 2018.

Ken Hanna
Chairman

Leadership
The Board challenges strategy, 
performance, responsibility and 
accountability to ensure that 
every decision we make is of the 
highest quality.

Read more about our 
Leadership on page 48

Accountability
All of our decisions are discussed 
within the context of the risks 
involved. Effective risk management 
is central to achieving our strategic 
objectives.

Read more about our 
Accountability on page 54

Effectiveness
The Board continuously evaluates 
the balance of skills, experience, 
knowledge and independence of 
the Directors. It ensures that all new 
Directors receive a tailored induction 
programme and the Board scrutinises 
its performance through an annual 
effectiveness review.

Read more about our 
Effectiveness on page 51

Relations with shareholders
Maintaining strong relationships 
with our shareholders, both private 
and institutional, is crucial to 
achieving our aims. We hold events 
throughout the year to maintain 
an open dialogue with our investors.

Read more about our Shareholders 
and Stakeholder Relations on page 34

Remuneration
Having a formal and transparent 
procedure for developing policy on 
remuneration for Executive Directors 
is crucial. Our remuneration policy 
aims to attract, retain and motivate 
by linking reward to performance.

Read more about our 
Remuneration on page 62

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

47

 
 
 
LEADERSHIP

Our Board

Ken Hanna
Chairman
Appointed: Non-executive Director in 
October 2010 and Chairman in April 2012.

Experience: Ken brings international 
fi nancial and leadership expertise to Aggreko. 
He possesses knowledge of many different 
business sectors and is an experienced 
senior executive and leader, promoting 
robust debate and a culture of openness 
in the boardroom.

Ken is also currently Chairman of Arena 
Events Group Plc, an AIM-listed company, and 
Chairman of Shooting Star CHASE Charity. 
Until 2009, Ken spent fi ve years as Chief 
Financial Offi cer of Cadbury Plc. He has also 
held positions as Chairman of Inchcape Plc, 
Operating Partner for Compass Partners, 
Group Chief Executive at Dalgety Plc, Group 
Finance Director of United Distillers Plc and 
Group Finance Director of Avis Europe Plc. 
He is also a fellow of the Institute of 
Chartered Accountants.

Chris Weston
Chief Executive Offi cer

Appointed: January 2015.

Heath Drewett
Chief Financial Offi cer

Appointed: January 2018.

Experience: Chris has experience at a senior 
level in the energy industry, proven leadership 
skills in a large international business and 
has consistently succeeded in driving 
performance and growth in his career.

Prior to his appointment as CEO in January 
2015, Chris was Managing Director, 
International Downstream at Centrica plc, 
where he was the Executive Director 
responsible for the Group’s largest division. 
In this role, Chris was operationally responsible 
for both British Gas in the UK and Direct 
Energy in the USA. He joined Centrica in 
2001 after a successful career in the telecoms 
industry, working for both Cable & Wireless 
and One.Tel. Before that, Chris served in 
the Royal Artillery. He has a BSc in Applied 
Science, as well as an MBA and PhD from 
Imperial College London. Chris was also 
appointed as a Non-executive Director of 
the Royal Navy in January 2017.

Experience: Heath is an experienced CFO 
and proven leader with experience in the 
engineering, leisure, transportation and 
industrial sectors. He has 30 years of 
experience within various fi nance, corporate 
fi nance, business performance, fi nancial and 
strategic planning roles. He has extensive 
international experience in both M&A and 
corporate development activities.

Prior to his appointment at Aggreko, Heath 
was Group Finance Director for eight years 
at WS Atkins plc where, following the 
acquisition of WS Atkins by SNC Lavalin, he 
was appointed President, with responsibility 
for its global engineering, design, project 
and programme management business. 
Before that, Heath worked at British 
Airways plc within corporate strategy, 
business planning and fi nance. Heath is 
a chartered accountant, having trained at 
PwC, with an MA in Mathematics from 
Cambridge University.

Dame Nicola Brewer
Non-executive Director

Barbara Jeremiah
Non-executive Director

Uwe Krueger
Senior Independent Director

Appointed: Non-executive Director in 
February 2016 and Chair of the Ethics & 
Corporate Responsibility Committee in 
January 2019.

Experience: Nicola Brewer brings extensive 
geo-political and diplomatic experience to 
Aggreko, having worked in many of the 
developing regions in which we operate.

Nicola is currently Vice Provost at University 
College London, responsible for international 
strategy. She is also a Non-executive Director 
of Scottish Power and a trustee of Prince 
Harry’s southern African charity, Sentebale. 
In her previous diplomatic career, she worked 
in Mexico, India and France, was a member 
of the Foreign and Commonwealth Offi ce 
Board from 2004 to 2007, and was High 
Commissioner to South Africa, Lesotho and 
Swaziland from 2009 to 2013. As a member of 
the board of the Department for International 
Development, she supervised all UK bilateral 
aid programmes in Africa, Asia, Eastern 
Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.

Appointed: Non-executive Director in 
March 2017 and Chair of the Remuneration 
Committee in April 2018.

Appointed: Non-executive Director in 
February 2015 and Senior Independent 
Director in April 2018.

Experience: Barbara brings extensive 
international non-executive experience, 
largely in the USA and Australia, together 
with an executive career in the mining, 
exploration and energy industries.

An experienced Non-executive Director, 
Barbara currently sits on the boards of the 
Weir Group, Russel Metals and Allegheny 
Technologies having recently retired as 
Chairwoman of Boart Longyear, a US-based 
company in the minerals drilling sector. Until 
her retirement in 2009, Barbara spent over 
30 years in a number of roles in Alcoa Inc. 
(now demerged into Alcoa and Arconic Inc.), 
the world leader in the production of 
aluminium and related products. Her roles 
in Alcoa included Assistant General Counsel, 
VP Corporate Development and Executive VP 
in charge of strategy and M&A. Barbara is an 
American citizen with a BA in political science 
and is a qualifi ed lawyer.

Experience: Uwe brings expertise of the 
engineering, services and renewable energy 
sectors. He is a physicist with a PhD and an 
honorary professorship from the University 
of Frankfurt and an honorary PhD from 
Heriot-Watt University. Most of his career 
has been spent leading engineering and 
consulting organisations.

Uwe is currently Senior Managing Director, 
Head of Industrials/Business Services/Energy 
& Resources and Joint Head of Portfolio 
Management Group for Temasek. He also sits 
on the boards of SUSI Partners AG and Ontex 
S.A. and lectures at the University of Frankfurt 
on renewable energy. Before joining Temasek, 
Uwe was Chief Executive Offi cer of WS Atkins 
plc and his past roles include Chief Executive 
Offi cer of Oerlikon, Senior Advisor at Texas 
Pacifi c Group, President of Cleantech 
Switzerland, and various senior leadership 
positions at Hochtief AG.

48 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Diana Layfi  eld
Non-executive Director

Appointed: May 2012.

Experience: Diana brings extensive 
international experience and detailed 
understanding of how to operate successfully 
across emerging markets, particularly in 
Asia and Africa. She also brings experience 
in technology, fi nance, sales and strategy.

Diana is Vice President, Next Billion Users 
at Google Inc, developing products and 
services for users in emerging markets, and 
in Fintech. Before joining Google, she was 
Chief Executive, Africa Region for Standard 
Chartered Plc and held a number of senior 
leadership roles over 11 years at Standard 
Chartered. Prior to Standard Chartered, 
Diana was Chief Executive Offi cer of Finexia 
Ltd, a technology fi rm, and a consultant with 
McKinsey & Co, an international strategy 
consulting fi rm. Diana has a BA from the 
University of Oxford and a Master’s degree 
in International Economics and Public 
Administration from Harvard University.

Ian Marchant 
Non-executive Director 

Appointed: Non-executive Director in 
November 2013 and Chair of the Audit 
Committee in April 2016.

Experience: Ian brings knowledge of the 
domestic and international energy markets, 
along with a substantial understanding of 
associated strategic, fi nancial and regulatory 
issues. Until his retirement in June 2013, 
Ian spent 21 years at SSE Plc, most recently 
as Chief Executive, and prior to that as 
Finance Director.

Ian is an experienced Non-executive Director, 
currently serving as Chairman of John Wood 
Group Plc and Chairman of Thames Water 
Utilities. He is also a Member of the Prince’s 
Council of the Duchy of Cornwall, Honorary 
President of RZSS, Chairman of the advisory 
board of the Centre of Energy Policy at 
Strathclyde University and former Chairman 
of Scotland’s 2020 Climate Group.

Key to committee 
membership

 Audit

 Remuneration

 Nomination

 Ethics & Corporate Responsibility

 Committee Chair

Peter Kennerley
Company Secretary

Appointed: October 2008. 

Experience: Peter is our Group 
Legal Director & Company Secretary.

Further details appear on page 50.

Other Directors who 
served during 2018
Russell King
Non-executive Director and 
Senior Independent Director 

(Until April 2018)

Miles Roberts
Non-executive Director

Appointed: March 2017. 

Experience: Miles brings extensive 
international business experience both as 
a Chief Executive and Finance Director.

Miles is currently Chief Executive Offi cer 
of DS Smith Plc, a FTSE 100 international 
packaging group with operations in nearly 
40 countries. Prior to joining DS Smith Plc 
in 2010, Miles was Group Chief Executive of 
McBride plc having previously been Group 
Finance Director. Prior to this, Miles worked 
for Costain Group plc and Vivendi UK. He also 
has non-executive experience, having served 
on the boards of Poundland Group plc as 
Senior Independent Director and Care UK plc 
as a Non-executive Director. Miles has a 
degree in Engineering and is also a chartered 
accountant.

Diversity metrics

Board attendance in 2018

Executive/Independent 
Non-executive composition 
of Board 

Executive

Non-executive*

No.

2

6

*   As required by Code provision B.1.2, this 

calculation excludes the Chairman when 
looking at the Independent Non-executive 
composition of the Board.

Gender of Board

Male

Female

No.

6

3

%

25

75

%

67

33

Name of Director

Ken Hanna

Chris Weston

Heath Drewett

Nicola Brewer

Barbara 
Jeremiah
Russell King1
Uwe Krueger

Diana Layfi eld

Ian Marchant

Miles Roberts

Board 
meetings

A

6

6

6

6

6
2
6

6

6

6

B

6

6

6

6

6
2
6

6

6

6

% attended

100

100

100

100

100
100
100

100

100

100

Tenure of Non-executive Directors 
%

No.

A   Maximum number of meetings Director could 

have attended.

B   Actual number of meetings Director attended.

1  

 Russell King retired from the Board in 
April 2018.

0-3 years

3-6 years

6-9 years

4

1

2

Sector experience of the Board

Customer

Finance

Energy
Geo-politics/diplomacy

Operational

Technology

57

14

29

%

89

56

44
11

78

22

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

49

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LEADERSHIP CONTINUED

Our Executive Committee

The Executive Committee meets every month and operates under the direction 
and authority of the Chief Executive Offi cer; it is responsible for supporting him 
in all aspects of his role. Each of the principal risks and uncertainties outlined 
in the Strategic Report has been individually assigned to a member of the 
Executive Committee.

At least twice a year, the Executive Committee members meet as the Group 
Risk Committee to review the Group’s risks; this helps to embed our risk 
management processes within our management teams.

5

1

8

4

7

3

6

2

1. Chris Weston
Chief Executive Offi cer

Appointed: January 2015. 

Tenure with Aggreko: 4 years.
Full biography appears 
on page 48

2. Heath Drewett
Chief Financial Offi cer

Appointed: January 2018. 

Tenure with Aggreko: 1 year. 

Full biography appears 
on page 48

3. Stephen Beynon
Managing Director, Power Solutions

Appointed: May 2017. 

Tenure with Aggreko: 1 year.

Stephen has responsibility for the leadership 
of the Power Solutions business and 
overseeing the delivery of our strategic 
priorities within Power Solutions.

4. Bruce Pool
President, Rental Solutions

7. Grant Nairn
Group Chief Information Offi cer

Appointed: December 2015. 

Appointed: May 2017. 

Tenure with Aggreko: 20 years.

Tenure with Aggreko: 5 years.

Bruce has responsibility for the leadership 
of the Rental Solutions business, overseeing 
the delivery of our strategic priorities within 
Rental Solutions.

5. Dan Ibbetson 
Managing Director, Global Products 
& Technology

Appointed: October 2016. 

Tenure with Aggreko: 11 years.

Grant has responsibility for developing and 
implementing Aggreko’s digital platform with 
the goal of improving customer service and 
effi ciency. He is also responsible for building 
our advanced analytics capability and for 
cyber security.

8. Peter Kennerley
Group Legal Director & 
Company Secretary

Appointed: October 2008. 

Dan has responsibility for the leadership of 
our Global Products & Technology division. 
This includes ensuring we have the right 
portfolio of products to deliver solutions to our 
customers, engineering and manufacturing 
excellence, future technology and having 
responsibility for our global events business.

Tenure with Aggreko: 10 years.

Peter has overall responsibility for the 
management of legal and ethical 
risk and for supporting the Board in 
setting and maintaining standards 
of corporate governance.

6. Anna Filipopoulos
Group Human Resources Director

Appointed: April 2016. 

Tenure with Aggreko: 3 years.

Anna has responsibility for human resources 
and internal communications, focusing 
on talent and leadership development, 
employee engagement and culture.

50 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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LEADERSHIP AND EFFECTIVENESS

How we divide up our 
responsibilities
Chairman 
Responsible for leading the Board, its 
effectiveness and governance. Setting 
the agenda to take full account of the 
issues and concerns of the Directors 
and ensuring the links between 
shareholders, Board and management 
are strong.

Chief Executive Offi  cer 
Responsible for the day-to-day 
leadership, management and 
HSE activities of the Group, for 
recommending Group strategy 
to the Board and ensuring that the 
strategy and decisions of the Board 
are implemented via the Executive 
Committee.

Chief Financial Offi  cer 
Responsible for the day-to-day 
management of the fi nancial risks 
of the Group and providing general 
support to the Chief Executive Offi cer, 
including the operational performance 
of the business and chairing the Group 
Risk Committee.

Senior Independent Director 
Provides a sounding board for the 
Chairman, acts as an intermediary for 
the other Directors when necessary and 
is available to meet with shareholders.

Independent Non-executive Directors 
Constructively challenge the Executive 
Directors and monitor the delivery of  
Group strategy within the risk and 
control environment set by the Board.

Company Secretary 
Supports the Chairman and Chief 
Executive Offi cer and is available to 
all Directors for advice and support. 
Informs the Board and Committees 
on governance matters and is 
responsible for the development 
of corporate governance policies.

Independence of Directors
The Board reviews the independence 
of its Non-executive Directors as part 
of its annual Board effectiveness review. 
The Chairman is committed to ensuring 
the Board comprises a majority of 
independent Non-executive Directors 
who objectively challenge management, 
balanced against the need for continuity 
on the Board. The Board considers that 
all of the Non-executive Directors bring 
strong independent oversight and 
continue to demonstrate independence.
Terms of Reference
To retain control of key decisions, 
the Board has a schedule of matters 
reserved for the Board with other 
matters, responsibilities and authorities 
delegated to its Committees.
Read our schedule of matters reserved 
for the Board: www.plc.aggreko.com

Board and Committee structure

Board

Nomination 
Committee

Audit
Committee

Committee 
report page 
page 54

Committee 
report page 
page 56

Ethics & 
Corporate 
Responsibility
Committee

Committee 
report page 
page 60

Remuneration
Committee

Committee 
report page 
page 62

CEO

Disclosure 
Committee

Finance 
Committee

Allotment 
Committee

Executive 
Committee

Group Risk 
Committee

Key to Committees:

Board

Non-Board

Role of the Board and 
Committees
The Board is responsible for the 
long-term success of the Group. 
It sets our strategy and oversees its 
implementation, ensuring decisions 
made refl ect our risk appetite. It provides 
leadership and direction and has 
responsibility for corporate governance 
and the overall fi nancial performance 
of the Group. The Board is supported 
in this role by its principal Committees, 
outlined below and depicted in the 
table above.

Board Committees
Nomination Committee
Monitors and reviews the composition 
and balance of the Board and its 
Committees to ensure Aggreko has 
the right structure, skills and experience 
in place for the effective management 
of the Group.

Committee report page 54

Audit Committee
Ensures the integrity of Aggreko’s 
fi nancial statements, the relationship 
with the external auditor, internal auditor 
and provides oversight of our systems for 
internal control and risk management.

Committee report page 56

Remuneration Committee
Determines the remuneration for the 
Chairman, Executive Directors and the 
Executive Committee members and 
oversees Aggreko’s overall remuneration 
policy, strategy and implementation.

Committee report page 62

Ethics & Corporate Responsibility 
Committee
Monitors compliance with, and oversees 
the effectiveness of our ethical policies 
and procedures to ensure that Aggreko 
conducts its business with integrity and 
honesty and in accordance with the law. 
Responsible for workforce engagement 
from January 2019.

Committee report page 60

Disclosure Committee
Oversees compliance with Market 
Abuse Regulation and supports the 
Board in approving the fi nal form 
of any announcement or statement 
relating to the performance of the 
Group, or any other potentially price 
sensitive information.
Finance Committee
Responsible for approving fi nancial 
facilities, bonds and guarantees.
Allotment Committee
Responsible for the allotment of shares.

Non-Board Committees
Executive Committee
Operates under the direction and 
authority of the CEO and is responsible 
for supporting the CEO in all aspects 
of his role.
Group Risk Committee
Responsible for the implementation 
of our risk framework, and processes 
for risk reporting. Reports into the 
Executive Committee.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

51

 
 
 
LEADERSHIP AND EFFECTIVENESS CONTINUED

Board meetings in 2018

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

In 2018, the Board held six scheduled 
meetings. At each scheduled meeting 
the Board received reports from:

 → The CEO on strategic, operational and 

business developments, people and health 
and safety. This report is a particularly 
important tool, focusing on the key issues 
affecting the business, so that the Board 
really understands the current status.

 → The CFO on the performance of the 

business, capital structure, fl eet, budget, 
treasury and investor relations.

 → The Chair of each of the Board 

Committees on matters discussed 
at their respective meetings.

Key priorities in 2018 were:
 → Track progress against the actions agreed 

on following the strategy review discussions 
in Q4 2017 and ensure good governance 
around this.

 → Ensure a thorough induction programme to 
Aggreko for Heath Drewett, so that he is able 
to perform effectively in his new role as CFO.

 → Continue to closely monitor the integration 

of Younicos into Aggreko. 

 → Plan a Board visit to Germany to learn 

more about the recently acquired business 
and engage with local employees.

 → Carry out an externally facilitated 

Board evaluation.

 → Monitor the work of the team established 
to look at diversity on a Group-wide basis.

 → Continue to monitor developments 
in corporate governance reform, 
amending our processes and procedures 
where necessary.

In addition to the regular items, the key areas of focus were:

Topic

Strategy

Activity/Discussion

Actions arising/Progress

Monitor progress 
against our strategic 
priorities of technology 
investment, customer 
focus, capital effi ciency 
and expert people

 → Approved the refi nancing of the Group’s committed bank facilities maturing 

in 2018 and 2019.

 → Received an update presentation on Manufacturing & Technology, including 
a refocus on growth areas, such as temperature control, renewables, hybrids, 
energy storage and software, and progress in driving effi ciency in HFO, gas, 
large diesel, and emissions compliance. 

 → Reviewed and agreed the Group’s Five-Year Plan. 

 → Instigated a strategic review of growth potential for Aggreko, focusing on two 
issues: whether the existing business and strategy deliver enough sustained, 
profi table growth to meet our aspirations; and what new growth opportunities 
are available to Aggreko. 

 → Reviewed proposals for a potential supply chain fi nance framework. 

 → Received a half year update on working capital and agreed improvement 

measures. 

 → Approved the Group budget for 2019.

Monitor opportunities 
for acquisitions

 → Reviewed the management of Aggreko’s Power Solutions project sales pipeline. 
 → Reviewed proposals for investment in Origami Energy Limited, a business 

developing a software platform that optimises the revenue earning capability 
of grid connected assets.

Read more about our Business Priorities page 10

Governance, 
risk 
management 
and internal 
control

Regulatory environment 
and internal governance 
processes

 → Reviewed our best practice against the 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code 

and agreed actions for 2019.

Board evaluation

 → Assessed the outcome of the 2018 externally facilitated Board evaluation 

Half year and annual 
review of Group risk 
profi le

and approved the action plan for 2019.

 → Received regular reports from the Group Risk Committee.

 → Reviewed the Group Risk Register, risk appetite and effectiveness of the risk 

management process to ensure we have a robust risk management framework 
which delivers an effective and effi cient approach to risk management and 
positively contributes to effective decision making.

 → Approved the Group Risk Register.

 → Approved updates to the risk management methodology.

Read more about our Risks page 38

52 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Topic

Activity/Discussion

Actions arising/Progress

People, culture 
and values

Succession planning

 → Discussed succession and talent development for CEO and CEO-1.
 → Received an update on the Executive Committee work on succession planning 

for roles at CEO-2 and CEO-3.

 → Reviewed talent movements for the Senior Leadership Team.
 → Approved Board diversity policy and established a working group to look at 
diversity and inclusion across the Group and identify actions to close gaps.
 → Monitored the launch of the refreshed culture, including regular updates 

on employee engagement scores.

 → Approved the all employee sharesave offer.
 → In addition to regular HSE updates in the CEO’s report, received biannual 

updates on HSE and approved HSE priorities for 2018.

 → Board visit to Germany in 2018 to learn more about the recently acquired 
business and promote interaction between the Board and employees.

 → Chairman attendance at Senior Leadership Team event in April.
 → Completed induction programme for Heath Drewett.

 → Received regular investor relations reports on all shareholder contact.

Employee engagement 
and culture

Safety

Ongoing training, 
development 
and stakeholder 
engagement for 
Board members
Strong engagement 
with stakeholders 
and investors

Shareholders

Read more about our Stakeholder and Shareholder Engagement Programme page 34

This year’s Board evaluation 
excercise
In line with the UK Corporate 
Governance Code, we undertake a 
formal and rigorous annual evaluation 
of our own performance and that of our 
Committees and individual Directors. 
We operate a three-year cycle of 
Chairman’s review, Company Secretary’s 
review and externally facilitated review. 
Aggreko’s last externally facilitated 
evaluation took place in 2015, and for 
2018 we appointed Lisa Thomas at 
Independent Board Evaluation to 
facilitate our evaluation. 

Process
In outline, the process for the 2018 
evaluation was as follows: 

 → The Chairman and the Company 

Secretary fi rst gave Lisa 
comprehensive briefi ngs and 
support materials. 

 → Lisa attended the July Board and 
Audit Committee meetings as 
an observer. 

 → Lisa interviewed each Board member, 

together with members of senior 
management and our audit partner 
from KPMG.

 → Lisa completed a report, which she 

discussed in draft with the Chairman, 
and which she then presented to the 
Board for discussion at its meeting 
in December.

 → Separately, the Senior Independent 
Director received a summary of 
feedback on the Chairman; the 
Chairman received feedback on 
individual Board members and 
reports on each Committee were 
discussed with the Chairman and 
each Committee Chair.

 → The Chairman then prepared a list 

 → Agree approach to strategy 

of recommendations and actions for 
discussion by the Board at its meeting 
in February 2019. 

Outcome, recommendations and 
proposed actions 
Overall, the report refl ected feedback 
that the Board is functioning well. The 
boardroom is collegiate, with high 
levels of candour, thanks to a good 
mix of experience, seniority, skills and 
personality types, which contribute to 
engaged discussions. Board members 
report that contributions are incisive 
and constructive and that management 
is transparent. The Board has moved 
through its agenda effi ciently and, on 
the whole, the view is that it has been 
appropriately active and engaged on 
the right topics over the last year. 

Board members’ sense of their 
accountability to shareholders and 
the Board’s relationship and interface 
with them, relationships with other 
stakeholders, governance and 
compliance, Board focus, risk 
management, Board composition 
and decision making came out very 
well in Board feedback. Equally did 
induction of new Board members, 
Board meetings and Board resources. 
The areas where there was some 
desire for improvement included: 
Non-executive Director involvement in 
strategy; succession planning; parts of 
the selection process for new Board 
members; and Non-executive Directors 
spending more time visiting locations 
and improving their knowledge of 
the Group.

Against this background, a number 
of recommendations were made 
and the Board has resolved to 
prioritise the following actions for 
the forthcoming year: 

discussions for 2019.

 → Continue to review the competitor 
and supplier landscape in strategy 
discussions.

 → Expand scope of Nomination 
Committee to cover executive 
succession, talent management and 
diversity pipeline as envisaged by the 
2018 UK Corporate Governance Code. 

 → Review Board composition to 

enhance the international profi le 
of the Board.

 → Increase the amount of contact 

between Board members and the 
senior team, one level below the 
Executive Committee.

 → Ensure succession discussions take 

place twice a year at the main Board, 
in tandem with the expanded scope 
of the Nomination Committee: 
annual review in December followed 
by mid-year update.

 → Increase visibility of Non-executive 

Directors in the organisation.

Key Board priorities for 2019
 → Track progress against the actions 

agreed upon following the strategy/
review discussions in Q2 2018 and 
ensure good governance.

 → Continue to monitor corporate 

governance reform, amending our 
processes and procedure particularly 
in line with the 2018 UK Corporate 
Governance Code.

 → Plan a Board visit to Dubai to learn more 
about the Asia & Middle East business 
and engage with local employees and 
other stakeholders (this was rescheduled 
from 2018 due to the Board visit to 
Berlin, Germany following the acquistion 
of Younicos).

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

53

 
 
 
ACCOUNTABILITY

Nomination Committee report

The Nomination Committee’s role is to monitor 
and review the composition and balance of the 
Board and its Committees to ensure Aggreko 
has the right structure, skills and diversity for 
the effective management of the Group.
Ken Hanna 
Nomination Committee Chair

Members in 2018

Ken Hanna

Position

Committee Chair

Nicola Brewer

Non-executive Director

Barbara Jeremiah

Russell King1

Uwe Krueger2

Diana Layfi  eld

Ian Marchant

Miles Roberts

Non-executive Director
Former Senior Independent 
Director
Senior Independent Director

Non-executive Director

Non-executive Director

Non-executive Director

Meetings attended/No. of 
meetings eligible to attend

2/2

2/2

2/2

1/1
2/2

2/2

2/2

2/2

1  Russell King retired from the Board after the AGM in April 2018.

2  Uwe Kreuger was appointed Senior Independent Director following the AGM in April 2018.

Areas of focus for 2019
 → Continued focus on succession 

planning.

 → Monitor the work of the team 
established to look at diversity
across the Group.

Areas of activity in 2018
 → Oversaw the induction of Heath 

Drewett as CFO.

 → Reviewed succession plans.

 → Monitored the work of the team 

established to look at diversity across 
the Group.

 → Approved the terms of reappointment 

of three Directors.

 → Recommended the appointment 

of two new Committee chairs.

Nomination Committee terms of reference: www.plc.aggreko.com

54 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

Introduction by Ken Hanna, 
Nomination Committee Chair
Monitoring and reviewing the 
composition and balance of the Board 
and its Committees is key to the role of 
the Committee. By doing so we ensure 
that Aggreko has the right structure, 
skills and diversity for the effective 
management of the Group.

The Nomination Committee is currently 
made up of all of the Non-executive 
Directors, each of whom is independent, 
in addition to myself as Chair. I have 
been Chair of the Committee since my 
appointment as Chairman of Aggreko 
in April 2012, although I would not chair 
the Committee when it is dealing with 
succession to the chairmanship of 
Aggreko. In 2018, we had two formal 
meetings to which we also invited 
the CEO.

Role of the Nomination 
Committee

 → Review the structure, size and 
composition (including skills, 
knowledge, experience, diversity 
and balance of Executive and Non-
executive Directors) of the Board 
and its Committees and make 
recommendations to the Board.

 → Identify and nominate, for the 

approval of the Board, candidates 
to fi ll Board vacancies.

 → Keep under review the time 

commitment expected from the 
Chairman and the Non-executive 
Directors.

Main activities of the 
Nomination Committee 
during the year
Appointment of a new Chief 
Financial Offi  cer
We reported last year that Heath 
Drewett had joined Aggreko as CFO 
in January 2018 and as such he stood 
for election at the 2018 AGM. Heath has 
successfully completed his fi rst year 
at Aggreko. In this time he has made 
a great effort to get familiar with the 
businesses around the Group and make 
his presence known to our employees, 
shareholders and the wider stakeholders. 

Heath is an experienced CFO and 
proven leader with experience in the 
engineering, leisure, transportation 
and industrial sectors. He has 30 years 
of experience within various fi nance, 
corporate fi nance, business 
performance, fi nancial and strategic 
planning roles. Heath also has extensive 
international experience in both M&A 
and corporate development activities. 
Heath’s biography is set out in full on 
page 48.

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Senior Independent Director (SID)
The Committee recommended that 
Uwe Krueger be appointed as SID 
following the retirement of the previous 
SID, Russell King, on 26 April 2018. 
Uwe joined the Board in February 2015 
and his experience with other listed 
companies and knowledge of Aggreko 
means that Uwe is well qualifi ed for the 
role. In making the appointment, the 
Committee carefully considered the 
question of the continued independence 
of Uwe Krueger. It is clear to the 
Committee that he continues to be 
independent in character, but the 
Committee gave particular thought 
as to whether his previous working 
relationship with the CFO, Heath 
Drewett, could affect his independence 
of judgement. Among other matters, we 
noted that Uwe Krueger had served on 
the Board of Aggreko for some three 
years before the appointment of Heath 
Drewett; that he was considered 
independent on appointment; and 
that as part of our Board succession 
plan we had identifi ed Uwe Krueger 
as the potential successor as SID before 
the recruitment of Heath Drewett. 
Moreover, he was not directly involved 
in the selection process for the CFO. 
In conclusion, we decided that the 
appointment of a former colleague 
as CFO would not compromise the 
independence that Uwe Krueger had 
clearly demonstrated during his time 
on the Board or lead us to change our 
view that Uwe Krueger was the right 
choice for SID.

Other Committee changes
We recommended Barbara Jeremiah 
to succeed Russell as Remuneration 
Committee Chair. Barbara is an 
experienced Non-executive Director 
and has served on the Remuneration 
Committee since her appointment 
in March 2017. In 2017, Barbara took 
an active role in the shareholder 
consultation process on the remuneration 
policy and was considered well equipped 
for this role.

We also recommended the appointment 
of Nicola Brewer to Chair the Ethics & 
Corporate Responsibility Committee 
from 1 January 2019.

Reappointment of Directors
Since the Committee’s last report, the 
Company has extended terms of 
appointment as follows:

 → Ken Hanna, as Chairman, for a further 
three years, expiring on the conclusion 
of the 2021 Annual General Meeting.

 → Nicola Brewer as Non-executive 

Director, for a second term of three 
years, to 25 February 2022. 

 → Diana Layfi eld, as Non-executive 

Director, for a further year, expiring 
on 1 May 2019. Since Diana had already 
served for six years, under the UK 
Corporate Governance Code, any 
proposal to extend a term beyond six 
years should be subject to particularly 
rigorous review, and should take into 
account the need for progressive 
refreshing of the Board. However, the 
Committee was unanimously of the 
view that Diana’s tenure had not 
compromised her independence in 
any way, and that it was important 
to retain her market and fi nancial 
experience and knowledge of Aggreko, 
particularly in light of the retirement 
of Russell King in April 2018. 

Succession planning
The Committee met with the CEO and 
Group HR Director to review succession 
plans. The focus of these discussions 
was to review our succession plans for 
the CEO and Executive Committee. 
The Committee also monitors a 
schedule on the length of tenure of the 
Chairman and Non-executive Directors 
and the mix and skills of the Directors. 
The Committee is satisfi ed that 
adequate succession planning is in 
place for the Board and will keep 
succession planning under review.

Board composition and diversity
Aggreko acknowledges the importance 
of diversity and inclusion to the effective 
functioning of the Board. In 2017, we had 
reviewed our approach to diversity to 
adopt a formal policy, extracted below. 
The policy was reviewed in 2018 to assess 
and confi rm its effectiveness in 
promoting a diverse business.

We also acknowledge that diversity 
extends beyond the boardroom and 
the Board supports management in 
its efforts to build a diverse organisation. 
In 2018, we monitored the work of the 
team established to look at diversity 
on a Group-wide basis, determining 
what changes need to be made and 
working with the business to implement 
them over the next few years.

As noted on page 47, we have reviewed 
the roles of the Board Committees 
in light of the 2018 UK Corporate 
Governance Code. This will include 
ensuring that the Nomination 
Committee has further visibility of the 
succession pipeline below Executive 
Committee level and delegating formal 
monitoring of Aggreko’s diversity policy 
to the Committee. 

Board Diversity Policy
A diverse Board makes prudent 
business sense and makes for 
better corporate governance. 
Diversity promotes the inclusion 
of different perspectives and ideas 
and ensures that Aggreko has the 
opportunity to benefi  t from all 
available talent.

Aggreko seeks to maintain a Board 
comprising dynamic, expert and 
innovative individuals, who together 
demonstrate our values and lead our 
behaviours through a diverse mix 
of expertise, experience, skills and 
backgrounds. We aim to ensure that 
the skills and backgrounds collectively 
represented on the Board refl ect 
the diverse nature of the business 
environment in which Aggreko 
operates. In particular, we look for 
a range of technical, fi nancial and 
market expertise. We aim to balance 
long corporate memory with new 
insights from other fi elds. For the 
purposes of Board composition, 
diversity is taken to refer, but is not 
limited to, protected characteristics 
covered by UK legislation; other 
factors such as business experience 
and geography will also be relevant. 
We monitor our net diversity but 
do not set formal targets or quotas: 
our focus is on fi nding talented 
individuals from as wide a range 
of backgrounds as possible.

Aggreko is committed to a merit 
based system for Board composition 
within a diverse and inclusive culture, 
which solicits multiple perspectives 
and views. When assessing Board 
composition or identifying suitable 
candidates for appointment or 
re-election to the Board, Aggreko will 
consider candidates on merit against 
objective criteria, having due regard 
for the benefi ts of diversity and the 
needs of the Board. Any search fi rm 
engaged to assist the Board or a 
Committee of the Board in identifying 
candidates for appointment to the 
Board will be specifi cally directed to 
include a diverse range of candidates 
that refl ects this policy.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

55

 
 
 
ACCOUNTABILITY CONTINUED

Audit Committee report

Introduction by Ian Marchant, 
Audit Committee Chair
Ensuring the integrity of the Group’s 
fi nancial statements and determining 
whether the judgements taken by 
management are appropriate are 
key to the workings of the Committee. 
This report provides an overview of 
the signifi cant issues we considered. 
This report also shares some insight 
into the work we have undertaken this 
year to assess the independence and 
effectiveness of the external auditor and 
oversee the Group’s systems for internal 
control and risk management.

The Committee is currently made up 
of three Independent Non-executive 
Directors, including myself as Chair. 
I have been a member of the Committee 
since November 2013 and was appointed 
as Chair of the Committee in April 2016. 
I am a chartered accountant and, prior 
to my appointment as Chief Executive 
of SSE (2002 to 2015), I served as Finance 
Director of SSE for four years and of 
Southern Electric for two and a half 
years. As a Committee, we bring an 
appropriate balance of fi nancial and 
accounting experience, together with 
a deep understanding of Aggreko’s 
business and market sector. All the 
members of the Committee have 
recent and relevant fi nancial experience.

In 2018, we held three scheduled 
meetings. The meetings are aligned 
to the Group’s fi nancial reporting 
timetable, to allow suffi cient time for 
full discussion of key topics and enable 
early identifi cation and resolution 
of risks and issues. We invited the 
Chairman of the Board, the CEO and the 
CFO to attend our meetings in 2018, 
together with the Group Financial 
Controller, Director of Internal Audit and 
the KPMG audit partner.

Role of the Audit Committee
 → Monitor the integrity of the fi nancial 
statements, including reviewing 
signifi cant fi nancial reporting issues 
and judgements alongside the 
fi ndings of the external auditor.

 → Review the effectiveness of the Group’s 
systems for internal control, fi nancial 
reporting and risk management.

 → Advise the Board on the effectiveness 

of the fair, balanced and understandable 
review of the Annual Report.

 → Oversee the relationship with the 
external auditor, external audit 
process, nature and scope of the 
external audit, including its 
appointment, effectiveness, 
independence and fees.

 → Oversee the nature and scope of 

internal audit, ensuring coordination 
with the activities of the external 
auditor.

The role of the Audit Committee is to ensure the 
integrity of the Group’s fi nancial reporting and 
provide oversight of our systems for internal control 
and risk management.
Ian Marchant 
Audit Committee Chair

Members in 2018

Ian Marchant

Russell King1

Position

Committee Chair
Former Senior Independent 
Director

Diana Layfi  eld

Miles Roberts

Non-executive Director

Non-executive Director

1  Russell King retired from the Board after the AGM in April 2018. 

Meetings attended/No. of 
meetings eligible to attend

3/3

1/1

3/3

3/3

Areas of focus for 2019
 →  Ensure proper application of new 
accounting standards impacting 
the Group in 2019: IFRS 16.

 → Receive regular updates on the 
status of the internal control 
environment.

 → Monitor the closure of outstanding 

internal audit fi ndings.

 → Monitor the position in relation 

to fl eet obsolescence.

 → Continue monitoring of contract 

provisions and tax provisions

Areas of activity in 2018

 → Ensured proper application of new 
accounting standards impacting 
the Group in 2018 and 2019: IFRS 9, 
15 and 16.

 → Monitored the review of the Speaking 

Up whistle-blowing process and 
improvements to associated 
procedures which were planned 
for 2018.

 → Close monitoring of contract 
provisions and tax provisions 
throughout the year, receiving 
detailed updates in 2018 at the 
July and December meetings.

 → Received regular updates on 

the status of the internal control 
environment.

 → Received an update on the 

implementation progress against 
the refreshed 2018 cyber security 
strategy.

 → Monitored the closure of outstanding 

internal audit fi ndings.

Audit Committee terms of reference: www.plc.aggreko.com

56 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

The primary areas of judgement considered by the Committee in relation to the 
2018 Annual Report were: 
Area of 
judgement

How did the Audit Committee address the judgement?

Conclusion and outcome

Contract 
provisions 
– Power 
Solutions 
Utility

Reporting issue
 → One of the most signifi cant 
risks facing the Group is 
that of non-payment by 
customers under some 
of the larger contracts in 
our Power Solutions Utility 
business. The Group 
policy is to consider 
each signifi cant debtor 
individually, within its 
relevant context, taking 
into account a number 
of factors. These factors 
include, but are not 
limited to, the political 
and economic conditions 
in the relevant country, 
the duration and quality 
of our relationship with 
the customer, the age of 
the outstanding debt 
and the customer’s 
payment profi le with 
us, together with any 
relevant communication 
exchanges with the 
customer (and other 
relevant stakeholders) 
throughout the year. 

Direct and 
Indirect tax 
positions-
Bangladesh

 → There is an ongoing 

dispute in relation to a tax 
assessment in Bangladesh. 
The matter is in court and 
is expected to take many 
years to resolve. We have 
strong legal opinion which 
supports our case; however, 
we recognise that this is a 
judgemental issue due 
to the complexities and 
uncertainties of local 
tax legislation. 

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The Committee addressed contract provisions by considering 
accounting judgements papers, presented by the Chief Financial 
Offi cer, at its July 2018, December 2018 and February 2019 meetings. 
These papers detailed the latest position of debtors outstanding (at 
the half year and year end respectively), including any cash received 
against amounts invoiced during the year and post the reporting 
period end, and gave an assessment of the likelihood of future 
receipts. The Committee challenged management and discussed 
in detail the main changes during the period and assessed the 
adequacy of all the provisions. The discussion focused on key 
customers in Africa, Yemen and Venezuela, where we continued 
to see delays in payments during the year. 
In assessing the adequacy of the Group’s overall provision, we 
considered whether it was both suffi cient to cover the risks identifi ed 
and also whether it was in excess of the risks identifi ed. Historically, 
the Group has experienced a low level of bad debt write-offs. However, 
we do operate in countries within our Power Solutions Utility business 
where customer payments are more unpredictable and volatile, and 
where political and economic conditions mean that there is a risk of 
default. Therefore, the Group’s bad debt history may not be indicative 
of potential future outcomes. 
In forming its view on the appropriateness of the Group’s provision 
against its receivables balances, the Audit Committee discussed the 
15 most signifi cant debtors in the Power Solutions Utility (PSU)
business, which accounted for 82% (2017: 78%) of the total PSU 
overdue debtor value at 31 December 2018 (before taking into account 
provisions or payment security/guarantees). At 31 December 2018, 81% 
(2017: 83%) of the PSU impairment provision related to these top 15 
debtors. Among these debtors, the Group had a net exposure above 
$40 million to one customer, a net exposure between $30-$40 million 
to two customers, a net exposure between $20-$30 million to four 
customers and a net exposure of less than $20 million to each of the 
others. In addition to these PSU debtors, the Committee discussed 
the Group’s overall exposure to Venezuela, which includes some 
outstanding balances within the Power Solutions Industrial business. 
Given the current political uncertainty in Venezuela and the ongoing 
civil war in Yemen, the Committee considered in specifi c detail the 
Group’s net exposure (including the private placement notes with 
PDVSA in Venezuela) of $16 million and $10 million, respectively, in 
each of these countries. These net exposure positions refl ect a 
combination of bad debt provisions and payment security/guarantees 
representing 78% and 59% of the gross receivable value in each of 
Venezuela and Yemen, together with a 75% fair value adjustment 
against the private placement notes with PDVSA. While we believe 
that we remain relatively well positioned to recover these net 
exposure amounts when the current situation in each of the countries 
stabilises, we also recognise that there is a range of potential 
outcomes for each, both above and below the net exposure. (Net 
exposure is defi ned as the gross debtor value plus accrued revenue, 
less any payment security/guarantees and bad debt provision.) KPMG 
also reported on these contract provisions at both the July 2018 and 
February 2019 meetings in the context of its half year review and year 
end audit. In addition, the Committee is aware that the Executive 
Committee receives a report on contract exposures each month and 
has assessed the Group’s processes for calculating and regularly 
monitoring contract risk provisions.

The Committee addressed this matter by considering update papers 
tabled by the Chief Financial Offi cer, which included reference to 
updated legal opinions, at meetings in December 2018 and February 
2019. These legal opinions confi rm there have been no developments 
on either our case or other similar cases. 
As there have been no further developments, in line with expectations, 
the Audit Committee remains comfortable with the approach but 
have specifi cally requested further regular updates. 
KPMG reported on this issue at the August 2018 meeting in the 
context of the half year review and at the February 2019 meeting in the 
context of the year-end audit. 

We concluded that the 
judgements and estimates 
with respect to the Group’s 
contract provisions were 
reasonable and appropriate.
Overall, the Group’s 
contract provision at 
31 December 2018 was 
$83 million (2017: 
$82 million). Although 
the overall provision was 
in line with the prior year, 
refl ecting the differing 
circumstances by customer, 
the bad debt provision 
against specifi c customers 
in Africa, Yemen and 
Venezuela increased by 
$6 million, while progress 
elsewhere during the year 
led to a reduction in the 
provision against other 
customers of $5 million.
More information on our 
risk profi le and mitigation 
for failure to collect 
payment or to recover 
assets can be found on 
page 44.

We concluded that the 
judgement and approach 
were reasonable and 
appropriate at this time.

In addition to the primary areas of judgement outlined in the table above, the Committee also paid close attention to the following items 
during its assessment of Aggreko’s fi nancial reporting:
 → We considered whether there was a risk of obsolescence in our fl eet due to changes in market conditions and advances in technology 

and concluded that there were no issues.

 → We reviewed the impact of new accounting standards which applied to the Group from 1 January 2018. IFRS 15 applies to revenue from 
contracts with customers and IFRS 9 applies to fi nancial instruments, addressing their classifi cation, measurement and recognition. 
Further detail is provided in Note 1 to the fi nancial statements.

 → We also reviewed an initial impact assessment of IFRS 16, a new accounting standard that will apply to the Group from 1 January 2019. 

IFRS 16 applies to leases and further detail is provided on page 100.

 → We considered the appropriateness of carrying a deferred tax asset in respect of tax losses in Brazil and our ability to use these in the 

foreseeable future, taking into account current forecasts and secured long term contracts.

 → We also considered the overall level of provisions for uncertain tax matters, particularly in respect of historic exposure in our Power 

Solutions business.

Following completion of the above steps, we agreed to recommend the approval of the 2018 Annual and Interim Reports to the Board.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

57

 
 
 
ACCOUNTABILITY CONTINUED

Audit Committee report 
continued

Main activities of the Audit 
Committee during the year
Financial reporting
During the course of the year, the 
Committee met with the external 
auditor and management as part of the 
2018 Annual and Interim Report approval 
process. We reviewed the draft fi nancial 
statements and considered a number 
of supporting papers, including: 
information presented by management 
on signifi cant accounting judgements 
to ensure all issues raised had been 
properly dealt with; key points of 
disclosure and presentation to ensure 
adequacy, clarity and completeness; 
external audit reports; documentation 
prepared to support the viability 
statement and going concern 
statements given on pages 45 and 101 
and information presented by 
management on the process 
underpinning the fair, balanced and 
understandable assessment and 
confi rmation on page 85.

During the year, the Group received 
an enquiry letter from the FRC, relating 
to the 2017 Annual Report. Details of 
the enquiry raised by the FRC and 
the Group’s proposed response were 
discussed with the Committee prior 
to issuing the response. The response 
included the commitment to make 
some limited modifi cations and 
enhancements to our Annual Report 
disclosures relating to the cash fl ow 
statement, signifi cant judgements, 
pensions, related parties and working 
capital explanations. The FRC 
subsequently closed its enquiry with 
no further action. We have reviewed 
the adoption of these modifi cations 
and enhancements in the 2018 Annual 
Report. The FRC noted that its review 
provides no assurance that the Report 
and Accounts are correct in all material 
respects, and that the FRC’s role is not 
to verify the information provided, but 
to consider compliance with reporting 
requirements. The FRC’s review is based 
on a review of the Annual Accounts 
and does not benefi t from detailed 
knowledge of the business.

Fair, balanced and 
understandable reporting 
Aggreko recognises its responsibility 
to present a fair, balanced and 
understandable assessment in 
all of our reporting obligations. 
This responsibility covers the Annual 
Report and extends to the Interim 
Report and other regulatory 
announcements. At the request 
of the Board, the Committee has 
considered whether, in its opinion, 
the 2018 Annual Report is fair, balanced 
and understandable, and whether 
it provides the information necessary 
for shareholders to assess the Group’s 
position, performance, business model 
and strategy.

For the 2018 Annual Report, this 
process included:

 → Review in December 2018, of a 

summary paper on key messages 
and changes from 2017.

 → Feedback provided by Committee 
members on a number of drafts 
during January and February 2019.

 → Full draft provided to the Committee 
and Board seven days prior to the 
February 2019 meetings to enable 
time for review and comment and 
to provide a fi nal opinion.

 → Comprehensive management and 
statutory accounts processes, with 
written confi rmations provided by the 
business unit senior management 
teams on the ‘health’ of the fi nancial 
control environment.

 → Confi rmations provided by the 

business unit senior management 
teams that the Performance Review 
text is a fair refl ection of their business 
and performance in 2018.

 → A verifi cation process, involving our 

internal audit team, dealing with the 
factual content of the Annual Report.

 → A key accounting judgements paper 
covering contract and tax provisions 
for 2018.

Following its review, the Committee 
was of the opinion that the 2018 Annual 
Report is representative of the year 
and presents a fair, balanced and 
understandable overview, providing 
the necessary information for 
shareholders to assess the Group’s 
position, performance, business 
model and strategy.

External auditor
The Committee is responsible for 
making recommendations to the Board 
in relation to the appointment of the 
external auditor. We also approve the 
audit plan, terms of engagement and 
fees, and assess their effectiveness.

Audit plan
KPMG presented its audit plan at the 
July 2018 meeting and an update at 
the December 2018 meeting, setting 
out the scope and objectives of the 
audit, together with an overview of the 
planned approach, an assessment of 
the Group’s risks and controls, proposed 
areas of audit focus and coverage. In 
setting the audit plan, KPMG works with 
internal audit and management at a 
Group and business unit level to identify 
risk areas for the audit to determine 
where audit effort should be focused.

KPMG carried out its work using an 
overall materiality of £9 million, as stated 
in its report on page 87, and confi rmed 
to the Committee that there were no 
material unadjusted misstatements. 
We also agreed with the external 
auditor that it would inform us of any 
unadjusted misstatements above 
£0.45 million, as well as misstatements 
below this amount that warranted 
reporting for qualitative reasons. 

Tenure
KPMG was appointed by shareholders 
as the Group’s Statutory Auditor in 2016 
following a formal tender process. The 
external audit contract will be put out to 
tender at least every 10 years. The 
Committee recommends the 
appointment of KPMG for 2019. We 
believe the independence and 
objectivity of the external auditor and 
the effectiveness of the audit process are 
safeguarded and strong. The Company 
has complied with the Statutory Audit 
Services Order for the fi nancial year 
under review.

Effectiveness
The Committee met with KPMG 
on a number of occasions without 
management present and the 
Committee Chair also maintained 
regular contact with the audit partner 
throughout the year. This enabled the 
Committee to closely monitor its work, 
ensure independence was maintained 
and a successful external audit of the 
2018 Annual Report was carried out.

We also used an internal questionnaire 
sent to Committee members, the 
Business Unit Finance Directors and 
Group Functional Heads in December 
2018; respondents were asked to rate 
KPMG’s effectiveness in a number of 
areas, including quality of processes, 
audit team, audit scope and 
communications. Results were collated 
and presented at the February 2019 
meeting of the Committee for 
discussion. Management concluded 
that both KPMG and its audit processes 
are considered to be effective, and 
that a good working relationship is 
complemented by a suffi ciently rigorous 
and challenging audit approach. The 
Committee concurred with this view.

Non-audit services
To safeguard the objectivity and 
independence of the external auditor 
from becoming compromised, the 
Committee has a formal policy 
governing the engagement of the 
external auditor to provide non-audit 
services. Non-audit services are normally 
limited to assignments that are closely 
related to the annual audit or where the 
work is of such a nature that a detailed 
understanding of the Group is necessary. 

58 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Internal audit continues to play a key 
role in assisting the Committee and, 
as last year, we asked internal audit to 
provide assurance over management’s 
assessment of the effectiveness of 
the operation of controls within the 
Group’s Register of Principal Risks. 
This assessment was based upon the 
results of audits undertaken during the 
year, by refl ecting on the outstanding 
audit issues and in cooperation with 
the business unit controls teams. No 
variances which would impact our risk 
scores were identifi ed in 2018.

The Committee also maintains a 
programme of in-depth review into 
specifi c fi nancial, operational and 
regulatory areas of the business. 
These reviews are critical to the role 
of the Committee, as they allow us 
to meet key members of the 
management team and provide 
independent challenge to their 
activities. Areas reviewed in 2018 
included: 

 → Reviewing our cyber security 
arrangements with the Chief 
Information Offi cer to understand 
global trends, the evolving threat 
landscape, and the progress on 
delivering the cyber security 
programme, including employee 
awareness training.

 → Receiving a detailed presentation 

on the management of fi nancial risk 
across the Group, focusing on the 
performance of the fi nancial control 
environment during 2018, progress 
made to further improve identifi ed 
weaknesses during the year and a 
revised assurance strategy for 2019.

 → Receiving an overview of the volume 
and geographical split of assurance 
activities undertaken across the Group 
to measure the effectiveness of 
fi nancial, operational and compliance 
controls. This included a summary of 
high priority fi ndings identifi ed from 
these reviews alongside actions taken 
to address these.

The Group has in place an internal 
control environment to protect the 
business from material risks identifi ed. 
Management is responsible for 
establishing and maintaining adequate 
internal controls over fi nancial reporting 
and the Committee has responsibility 
for ensuring the effectiveness of those 
controls. In 2018, the Committee 
continued to receive assurance that 
fi nancial controls were in place for 
items on the Group Risk Register. 

The Committee has completed its 
review of the effectiveness of the Group’s 
system of internal control, including 
risk management, during the year and 
up to the date of this Annual Report in 
accordance with the requirements of 
the Guidance on Risk Management, 
Internal Control and related Financial 
and Business Reporting published by 
the FRC. It confi rms that no signifi cant 
failings or weaknesses were identifi ed 
in the review for the 2018 fi nancial year 
and allowed us to provide positive 
assurance to the Board to assist it in 
making the statements required by 
the UK Corporate Governance Code. 
Where areas for improvement were 
identifi ed, processes are in place to 
ensure that the necessary action is 
taken and that progress is monitored. 
After some low level incidents we 
encouraged management to strengthen 
controls around local procurement and 
this work is well underway.

Internal audit
Monitoring and review of the scope, 
extent and effectiveness of the activity of 
internal audit is an agenda item at each 
Committee meeting. We approve the 
annual audit plan prior to the start of 
each fi nancial year and receive a detailed 
report from the Group Internal Audit 
Director on audit activities, audit results 
and remedial actions at each meeting. 
The audit plan is risk-based and includes 
themed reviews based on an assessment 
of the strategic risks faced by the Group 
along with cyclical coverage of key 
business processes and locations. We 
also specifi cally followed up on a 
selection of areas where audit actions 
were outstanding to ensure the overall 
control environment was still adequate.

Speaking Up
We encourage all employees to speak 
up if they have any concerns. We have 
an external independent hotline which 
can be used by all employees to report 
any concerns anonymously and 
confi dentially. All reports received are 
investigated thoroughly. In December 
2018, we received a briefi ng on the 
types of reports received during the year 
and the outcome of the investigations 
conducted. We reviewed trends 
identifi ed from these reports and 
specifi c actions arising from 
investigations conducted in response 
to the reports received.

Any proposal to use the external auditor 
for non-audit work requires prior 
approval of the CFO and, depending 
on the nature of the service and fee 
involved, authorisation may also be 
required from the Committee Chair 
or the Committee. We reviewed our 
non-audit services policy and agreed 
that it was relevant, having last been 
updated in 2017.

Non-audit fees are monitored by the 
Committee and this year we were 
satisfi ed that all non-audit work 
undertaken was in line with our policy 
and did not detract from the objectivity 
and independence of the external 
auditor. The majority of the non-audit 
work carried out by KPMG during the 
year related to the June 2018 Interim 
Review. In 2018, we spent £1,361,000 on 
audit fees (2017: £1,189,000) and £46,000 
on non-audit fees (2017: £59,000), this 
accounted for 3% (2017: 5%) of the overall 
audit fee for the year. Further details 
of the fees paid to the external auditor 
are set out in Note 6 to the Accounts.

The non-audit services policy is available 
on our website: www.plc.aggreko.com

Risk management 
and internal control
The objective of our risk framework is 
to provide the Board, Audit Committee 
and Executive Committee with a useful 
management tool to capture, assess and 
proactively manage the risks we face. 
Our risk management process also 
ensures that we take account of our 
business model and strategy to ensure 
alignment with our risk appetite, 
framework and controls. In turn, this 
enables us to fully comply with the 
UK Corporate Governance Code 
requirement for a viability statement. 
The process is designed to manage 
rather than eliminate risk, and can 
only provide reasonable and not 
absolute assurance against material 
misstatement or loss.

The Board assumes ultimate 
responsibility for the effective 
management of risk across the Group, 
determining our risk appetite as well 
as ensuring that each business unit 
implements appropriate internal 
controls. The Board has delegated 
responsibility for oversight of risk 
management to the Committee. 
The Committee provides oversight 
by reviewing the effectiveness of the 
Group’s systems for risk management, 
internal control and fi nancial reporting. 
In 2018, we worked closely with the 
Group Risk Committee, receiving regular 
reports which enabled us to review 
and challenge the risk management 
framework, review the effectiveness of 
the control environment and approve 
the methodology for the viability 
statement.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

59

 
 
 
ACCOUNTABILITY CONTINUED

Ethics & Corporate Responsibility 
Committee report

Introduction by Ken Hanna, 
Ethics & Corporate 
Responsibility Committee Chair
Aggreko aims to conduct its business 
with integrity, honesty and transparency. 
We expect all Aggreko employees, 
consultants and those acting on behalf 
of Aggreko to adopt these standards. 
We are proud that we have a reputation 
for conducting business fairly and 
professionally and we are committed 
to maintaining these values in all of 
our business dealings.

We recognise that our business is exposed 
to potential risks of unethical conduct 
because of the nature and value of many 
of our contracts and because standards of 
integrity are not consistent across all of 
the countries in which we operate. 
However, we believe we have a robust 
compliance programme in place which 
allows us to manage these risks effectively.

The effectiveness of the compliance 
programme is monitored by the Ethics 
& Corporate Responsibility Committee.

Until December 2018, the Ethics & 
Corporate Responsibility Committee was 
made up of three Independent Non-
executive Directors, with myself as Chair. 
Nicola Brewer was appointed as the Chair 
of the Committee from 1 January 2019. 

I have been a member of the Committee 
since its fi rst meeting in February 2011 
and became Chair of the Committee in 
April 2012. I continue to have an interest 
in the work of this Committee and look 
forward to working with Nicola in 
achieving the Committee’s objectives. 
You will receive a report from Nicola on 
progress of the Committee in the 2019 
Annual Report.

In 2018, we held three meetings. We 
invited the Head of Compliance, the 
Group Legal Director and the CEO to 
attend all meetings.

Role of the Ethics & Corporate 
Responsibility Committee
 → Advise the Board on the development 

of strategy and policy on ethical 
matters.

 → Advise the Board on steps to be taken 
to establish a culture of integrity and 
honesty in all of the Group’s business 
dealings.

 → Oversee the Group’s policies and 
procedures for the identifi cation, 
assessment, management and 
reporting of ethical risk.

 → Oversee the Group’s policies and 
procedures to prevent persons 
associated with the Group from 
engaging in unethical behaviour.

 → Monitor and review the operation of the 
Group’s ethics policies and procedures.

 → Monitor and review all payments made 

to third-party sales consultants.

The role of the Ethics & Corporate Responsibility 
Committee is to ensure that Aggreko conducts 
business with integrity and transparency and 
in accordance with the law. In future it will also 
oversee workforce engagement.
Ken Hanna 
Ethics & Corporate Responsibility Committee Chair

Members in 2018

Ken Hanna1

Position

Committee Chair

Diana Layfi  eld
Non-executive Director
Dame Nicola Brewer2 Non-executive Director
Barbara Jeremiah
Non-executive Director

Meetings attended/No. of 
meetings eligible to attend

3/3

3/3
3/3

3/3

1  Ken Hanna was Chair of the Ethics & Corporate Responsibility Committee until 31 December 2018. 

This Committee Report is therefore presented by Ken. Ken continues to be a member of the Committee.

2  Dame Nicola Brewer was appointed as the Chair of the Ethics & Corporate Responsibility Committee 

from 1 January 2019.

Areas of activity in 2018
 → Reviewed the outcome of the 

regional compliance risk 
assessments.

Areas of focus for 2019
 → Implement the plan for workforce 
engagement in line with the 2018 
UK Corporate Governance Code.

 → Oversaw the review, amendment and 
communication of the Third-Party 
Sales Representative Policy.

 → Conduct a review of the policies 
which fall under the remit of the 
Committee.

 → Oversaw the completion of internal 

 → Receive feedback on the 

investigations.

implementation of the policies.

 → Monitored the actions taken 
to address sanctions risks.

 → Monitor the completion of refresher 
ethics training across the business.

 → Oversaw the implementation of 

measures designed to address risks 
associated with the new corporate 
criminal offence of the Failure to 
Prevent the Facilitation of Tax Evasion.

Ethics & Corporate Responsibility Committee terms 
of reference: www.plc.aggreko.com

60 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Main activities of the Ethics 
& Corporate Responsibility 
Committee during the year
Third-party monitoring
We recognise that it is not just our 
employees who could be exposed to 
ethics risks but also our third-party sales 
consultants, agents and joint venture 
(JV) partners. The conduct of our 
third-party sales consultants remains a 
signifi cant risk to Aggreko. The number 
of third-party sales consultants, agents 
and JV partners used by the business 
has reduced over the past few years but 
there are circumstances in which sales 
consultants continue to be required to 
support some areas of the business. 
We have risk management measures 
in place which require all third-party 
sales consultants, agents and JV 
partners engaged by Aggreko to 
conduct business in compliance with 
the standards set out in our Ethics Policy 
and allow us to monitor compliance 
with these requirements. We also 
have controls in place in relation to 
the remuneration of third-party sales 
consultants and we monitor all 
payments to them. 

In 2018, we received a briefi ng from the 
Power Solutions MD on the outcome of 
his review of all arrangements with, and 

payments made to, third-party sales 
consultants. This included an overview 
of the additional measures introduced 
to further monitor and control the use 
of third-party sales representatives. We 
also reviewed and approved a revised 
policy governing the use of third-party 
sales representatives. We are pleased 
to observe the continued focus of the 
business in monitoring all activities 
in this area.

Sanctions
The introduction and extension of 
sanctions in some of the countries in 
which we operate potentially attracts 
increased risk for the business. We 
received briefi ngs at each meeting this 
year on development in relation to 
sanctions, the potential impact to the 
business and the actions being taken 
to manage potential risks. This included 
a review of the sanctions developments 
in relation to Russia, Venezuela and Iran.

Effectiveness of the compliance 
programme
We are committed to ensuring that 
our compliance programme remains 
robust and is in line with best practice. 
We continually monitor the effectiveness 
of the policies and procedures and 
recommend areas where further 
improvements could be made. In 2017 

we instructed an independent review 
of our compliance programme in order 
to benchmark the framework against 
regulatory guidance and leading 
industry practice, and to identify any 
gaps or potential areas for improvement. 
This review confi rmed that our 
compliance programme is well 
established across the business and 
there is a clear tone, set from the top, 
on our high ethical standards. The review 
identifi ed some areas for improvement 
to further enhance the compliance 
programme including targeted risk 
assessments on specifi c anti-bribery 
and corruption risks. These assessments 
were completed in 2018 and we reviewed 
the outcome of these assessments. 
In 2018, we also instructed an 
independent review of the policy and 
procedures in place to manage the risks 
associated with the use of third-party 
sales representatives. This review 
confi rmed that the process is well 
designed to effectively identify and 
manage potential risks.

Read more about how we manage 
our anti-bribery and corruption risk 
on page 44

An overview of our compliance programme:

Our compliance programme is 
coordinated by our Head of Compliance 
and Compliance Manager with support 
from the business units and the central 
functions. Our compliance programme 
has a number of elements designed to 
ensure that we effectively manage 
compliance risks:

Ethics Policy
Every employee receives a copy of the 
Ethics Policy when they join Aggreko. 
This policy sets out the standards 
and behaviours we expect from our 
employees and is an effective tool to 
allow us to challenge any improper 
behaviours identifi ed. It is supported 
by a number of supplementary policies, 
procedures and guidelines to cover 
due diligence, gifts and hospitality, 
charitable donations, facilitation 
payments, confl icts of interest and 
speaking up. We provide training to 
all employees on these policies and 
we regularly monitor compliance with 
these policies to obtain assurance that 
the policies continue to work effectively.

Training
Every employee receives training, 
which is regularly refreshed, via our 
multi-lingual online ethics compliance 
training programme. This online 
training is supplemented by additional 
ethics workshops with senior 
management, which gives us comfort 
that our employees remain alert to risks.

Third-party risks
All of our sales consultants and agents 
are comprehensively reviewed before 
they are engaged and this exercise 
is refreshed at least every two years. 
Our sales consultants are contractually 
required to comply with our Ethics 

Policy and we require our sales 
consultants to confi rm compliance 
with the policy annually. We also 
provide ethics training to our sales 
consultants to ensure they remain alert 
to potential risks. We have controls in 
place in relation to the remuneration 
of consultants and we monitor all 
payments to sales consultants to ensure 
that the remuneration structure does 
not incentivise unethical behaviour. 
This gives us a robust framework to 
enable us to clearly understand who 
our third-party sales representatives are 
and the activities they have undertaken 
on our behalf. This policy also enables 
us to avoid engaging with third parties 
who do not meet our ethical standards.

We have a Supplier Code of Conduct 
which sets out the standards we expect 
from all other suppliers to Aggreko 
and we require suppliers to confi rm 
adherence to these standards. Any 
suppliers who do not agree to the 
standards or an equivalent standard 
will not be engaged by Aggreko.

Gifts, entertainment and hospitality
We have a clear approval process for 
gifts, entertainment and hospitality 
offered by, or given to, Aggreko 
employees. All gifts, entertainment and 
hospitality above a nominal value are 
recorded centrally and monitored by 
the Head of Compliance. This policy 
enables us to challenge any proposed 
gifts or hospitality which could be 
perceived as potentially inappropriate.

Sponsorship and charitable 
donations
We have a clear approval process for 
sponsorships and charitable donations 
made by Aggreko. All sponsorships 

and charitable donations require 
senior management approval and are 
recorded centrally and monitored by 
the Head of Compliance. This policy 
enables us to challenge any donations 
or sponsorships which could be 
perceived as potentially inappropriate.

Speaking Up
We encourage all employees to speak 
up if they have any concerns. We have 
an independent compliance hotline 
operated by an external agency. This 
multi-lingual hotline is available to all 
employees and allows any employee 
who has any concerns to report them 
on an anonymous basis. All reports are 
followed up, and we regularly analyse 
the types of report we receive. Where 
appropriate, our Group Internal Audit 
team is asked to investigate the issue 
and report on the outcome.

Modern slavery
We apply high employment standards 
across our business, complying with 
relevant employment, health and safety 
and human rights laws to ensure our 
employees are safe. We also expect our 
suppliers to adopt a similar approach 
in relation to the protection of their 
workers. Our Supplier Code of Conduct 
sets out the minimum standards 
we require from them. It specifi cally 
requires our suppliers to comply with 
workers’ fundamental rights including 
standards of pay, working hours and 
freedom of association. Our modern 
slavery statement, available to read 
at www.plc.aggreko.com, provides 
more detail on the approach we take 
in relation to modern slavery.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

61

 
 
 
REMUNERATION

Annual remuneration statement

Introduction by Barbara 
Jeremiah, Remuneration 
Committee Chair
Dear Shareholders
On behalf of the Board and the 
Remuneration Committee, I am pleased 
to present to you our Remuneration 
Report for 2018. Last year we introduced 
a new remuneration policy. This followed 
extensive consultation with our largest 
shareholders and representative bodies. 
We appreciate the time they spent 
on this matter and we were pleased 
to receive strong support for this 
policy at the 2018 AGM, with 98.6% 
of shareholders voting in favour. 
No changes are proposed to that policy 
at this year’s AGM. This report includes 
both my annual statement and our 
annual report on remuneration. For ease 
of reference, we include a summary of 
the key elements of our Remuneration 
Policy with the full policy available in 
last year’s report. The annual report on 
remuneration and this annual statement 
will be subject to an advisory vote at our 
AGM on 25 April 2019.

Annual remuneration statement page 62

Annual report on remuneration page 67  

The principal role of the Remuneration Committee 
is to determine the remuneration for Executive 
Directors and Executive Committee members. 
We also oversee Aggreko’s overall remuneration 
policy and practice for the wider workforce.
Barbara Jeremiah 
Remuneration Committee Chair 

Meetings attended/No. of 
meetings eligible to attend 

2018 remuneration policy summary 
page 77

Our remuneration policy
The aim of our remuneration policy 
is to ensure that executive incentives 
are aligned with Group strategy and 
performance with, for example, a focus 
on the effi cient use of capital in investing 
in our current fl eet and the effective 
investment in and deployment of 
new/renewable technologies. This 
includes our recent investment in Next 
Generation Gas generators and energy 
storage capabilities, with a greater 
emphasis on Return on Capital 
Employed (ROCE) being a key measure 
of long-term success. Our policy also 
ensures alignment with the shareholders 
of the Company with deferral of a 
portion of bonuses into shares.

Members in 2018

Position

Barbara Jeremiah1

Committee Chair

Ken Hanna

Uwe Krueger2
Ian Marchant3
Russell King4

Company Chairman
Senior Independent Director
Non-executive Director
Former Remuneration Committee 
Chair

4/4

4/4
4/4
3/4

3/3

1   Barbara Jeremiah was appointed as Remuneration Committee Chair following the AGM in 2018. 

2  Uwe Krueger was appointed Senior Independent Director following the AGM in 2018.

3   Ian Marchant was unable to attend a meeting owing to a pre-existing arrangement.

4   Russell King retired from the Board after the AGM in 2018.

Areas of activity in 2018
 → Determined outcomes for the 2017 
Annual Bonus for fi nancial and 
personal/strategic objectives.

 → Set targets for the 2018 Long-term 
Incentive Plan and Annual Bonus 
Plan, both fi nancial and personal/
strategic objectives. 

 → Finalised the framework for 

new incentives. 

 → Implemented new incentive 
arrangements following their 
approval by shareholders at the 
2018 Annual General Meeting.

Areas of focus for 2019
 → Determine outcomes for the 2018 
Annual Bonus for fi nancial and 
personal/strategic objectives.

 → Set targets for the 2019 Annual 
Bonus Plan, both fi nancial and 
personal/strategic objectives.

 → Review the fi nancial performance 

measures for the Long-term Incentive 
Plan to ensure they continue to be 
aligned with the Group’s strategy 
for growth.

 → Approve awards under the 2019 

Long-term Incentive Plan.

 → Approved awards under the 2018 

 → Ensure compliance with the revised 

Long-term Incentive Plan.

 → Received advice and training 

on the revised FRC UK Corporate 
Governance Code.

FRC UK Corporate Governance 
Code in respect of remuneration.

Remuneration Committee terms of reference: www.plc.aggreko.com

62 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Our reward package for Executive 
Directors is structured such that:

 → The fi xed element of pay – salary, 

pension and benefi ts – is set at an 
appropriate level by reference to the 
talent markets in which we operate;

Twenty-fi ve percent of the bonus is 
deferred in Aggreko shares for three 
years.

Full details of the performance outcomes 
for the annual bonus are set out on 
pages 68 and 69

 → The majority of executive 

remuneration is linked to Aggreko’s 
performance, with a heavier weighting 
on long-term performance than on 
short-term performance; and

Long-term Incentive Plan (LTIP) awards 
granted in May 2016 did not meet the 
performance targets, so these awards 
will lapse in full.

Further details are set out on page 70

All of these outcomes refl ected the 
operation of our incentive programme 
formulas without the exercise of any 
discretion by the Committee and was 
felt to refl ect an appropriate recognition 
for the year’s performance.

Implementation of the policy 
for 2019 
The annual bonus for 2019 for the 
Executive Directors will operate broadly 
on the same basis as in 2018, with 
fi nancial performance – measured 
against D-EPS – accounting for 80% 
of total opportunity and the remaining 
20% measured against personal/strategic 
objectives. Capital effi ciency is a key 
priority for Aggreko in 2019 and beyond. 
Therefore, for 2019, the two Executive 
Directors will share a single personal/
strategic objective relating to capital 
effi ciency. Further details can be found 
on page 65.

Awards under the LTIP will be made 
at the same level as the previous year 
– 250% of salary. The awards will again 
be subject 50% to EPS of 5-12%pa 
(aggregate measurement basis) and 
50% to ROCE of 15-22% (fi nal year 
measurement basis). Further details 
can be found on page 65.

Salary review – the Committee has 
agreed with the Chief Executive Offi cer, 
Chris Weston that his salary will remain 
unchanged for 2019 (also unchanged 
since his appointment in 2015). Similarly, 
no increase is proposed for the Chief 
Financial Offi cer, Heath Drewett (who 
joined Aggreko as Chief Financial Offi cer 
in January 2018). The salaries of both 
these Executives will be reviewed again 
in December 2019, to take effect from 
January 2020. 

 → The remuneration packages reward 
a balanced portfolio of measures 
which are designed to refl ect our 
goal of delivering sustainable profi t 
growth over the long term. We plan 
to achieve this by focusing on our 
four business priorities of customer 
focus, technology investment, capital 
effi ciency and expert people. 

Full details are set out on page 64

Summary of 2018 
performance outcomes
The Committee set stretching targets 
and underlying profi t (after adjustment 
for currency movements and pass-
through fuel) was up 10%. Against 
this backdrop the Executive Directors 
achieved an on-target pay-out for the 
fi nancial performance. Chris Weston, 
Chief Executive Offi cer earned a total 
annual bonus for 2018 of 86.8% of salary 
(70% related to fi nancial objectives and 
16.8% to personal/strategic objectives) 
and Heath Drewett, Chief Financial 
Offi cer earned a total annual bonus 
for 2018 of 88.5% of salary (70% related 
to fi nancial objectives and 18.5% to 
personal/strategic objectives), both 
out of a maximum 175% of salary. 
Within these total bonus amounts, both 
Chris and Heath have met the stretching 
fi nancial performance measures set 
by the Board with a payment of 50% of 
the maximum available for the fi nancial 
element as set out on page 68. 

Chris met the personal/strategic 
objectives at a broadly on-target level. 
In particular, Aggreko is making progress 
on a range of fronts including getting 
back to growth in Power Solutions and 
continuing strong performance in North 
America alongside continued delivery 
of his people objective. 

Heath has quickly made a strong 
impact in the business. He also met 
the personal/strategic objectives set by 
the Board at a broadly on-target level. 
Highlights include further increasing 
the Group’s discipline and focus on 
working capital and recasting Aggreko’s 
investment case with the market. 

Corporate Governance 
Code changes
 → The Committee has reviewed the 
provisions of the new FRC UK 
Corporate Governance Code and 
is committed to operating within 
the terms and spirit of the Code.

 → In line with the Code we ensure 

that the Committee has clear line 
of sight and oversight of workforce 
remuneration and related policies 
when setting policies of Executive 
Director remuneration and to enable it 
to advise the Board whether Company 
policies and practices support culture 
and strategy. The Group HR Director 
and Group Director of Reward support 
the Committee in this.

 → As referred to in the Corporate 
Governance Code, the Board is 
considering what steps relating to 
employee engagement (in addition 
to the current work of the Ethics & 
Corporate Responsibility Committee 
– see page 60) are appropriate and 
the Committee will build on this to 
ensure that it properly considers views 
from employees. 

Committee changes
Russell King stepped down from the 
Board at the 2018 AGM, following nine 
years of tenure. I took over as Chair of 
the Remuneration Committee following 
the 2018 AGM and have served on the 
Committee since March 2017. I would 
like to thank Russell for his leadership of 
the Committee and for his considerable 
investment of time on the development 
of the current Remuneration Policy.

In conclusion
I welcome any shareholder feedback and 
hope you will continue to be supportive 
of the implementation of our policy.

Yours sincerely

Barbara Jeremiah
Remuneration Committee Chair

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

63

 
 
 
REMUNERATION CONTINUED

Annual remuneration statement 
continued

Our remuneration at a glance

Summary of 2018 remuneration 
Our aim
The aim of Aggreko’s remuneration policy is to reward executives for delivering long-term value to our shareholders.

The following table summarises how the policy was applied in 2018 and the components making up the reported single fi gure 
on page 67.

Element of 
remuneration

Salary

How it works

To pay at an appropriate level in the talent 
market(s) relevant to each individual 
Cap of £900,000

Benefi  ts

To provide market normal benefi ts 
Not expected to exceed 20% of salary

Pension

Annual 
bonus

Defi ned contribution and/or cash in lieu 
Between 20% and 30% of salary             
(with no more than 20% for new hires)

Reward for delivery of annual targets
Cap of 175% for Executive Directors
75% paid in cash, 25% deferred into shares 
for three years

Long-term 
incentives

2018 LTIP grant subject to pre-vest 
performance conditions over three years 
50% subject to D-EPS 
50% subject to ROCE
Legacy awards continue on their terms

Sharesave

All-employee scheme with monthly 
savings over two to fi ve years and options 
granted at a discount

Buy-out 
awards4

Replacement of unvested non-
performance shares through a one-off 
award to compensate for the value of 
variable awards which were forfeited when 
Heath Drewett resigned from his previous 
employer

Buy-out 
payments

Compensation for repayment of a 
retention award to be repaid to Heath 
Drewett’s former employer 

Compensation for lost 2017 annual bonus

Total

How it was 
implemented in 2018

Total single fi gure 
(% change from 2017 for CEO)

CEO 

CFO

No increase in 2018

£750,000 (0%)

£458,8201

Market-competitive 
insured benefi ts and 
company car allowance

30% of salary cash 
supplement for the CEO 
and 20% for the CFO

D-EPS 80% weighting 
Personal objectives 20% 
weighting

2016 LTIP award: subject 
to continued service, 
due to vest in May 20193 
D-EPS 0% vesting 
ROCE 0% vesting

Savings capped at £500 
per month over three 
years and options 
granted at 20% discount

Subject to continued 
service, due to vest in 
August 2020

Subject to clawback in 
full on resignation in the 
fi rst 12 months of 
employment 
Paid in January 2018 

Determined and paid in 
May 2018

£26,324 (6.4%)2

£18,784

£225,000 (0%)

£92,000

50% of 
maximum 
(see page 69)
£651,000 (-9.8%)

0% of maximum 
(see page 70)
£0 (0%)

51% of 
maximum 
(see page 69)
£407,100

n/a

£5,612

£5,612

n/a

£234,736

n/a

£429,681

£320,000

£1,966,733

£1,657,936 
(-28.5%)

1  Pro-rata portion of Heath’s £460,000 salary earned from 3 January 2018. 
2  Any change in reported value refl ects the cost of provisions rather than a change in the level of benefi ts. 
3  The 2016 LTIP award which is due to vest in May 2019 is subject to performance conditions over three years, ending on 31 December 2018, with 75% of the award 

subject to D-EPS and 25% of the award subject to ROCE. These awards were granted under our previous remuneration policy.

4  In addition, Heath Drewett was granted an award of 89,311 shares subject to the same conditions as the normal 2018 LTIP award and due to vest in April 2021.

64 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

 
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Executive Directors’ remuneration scenarios

Chris Weston
Chief Executive Offi cer

Heath Drewett
Chief Financial Offi cer

2018 Actual

£1,006,936

£651,000

Total: £1,657,936

2019 On target

£1,001,324

£656,250

£468,750

Total: £2,126,324

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

2018 Actual*

£575,216

£407,100

2019 On target

£570,784

£402,500 £287,500

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

Total: £982,316

Total: £1,260,784

Key: 

 Fixed pay 

 Bonus 

 LTIP

* Heath Drewett’s buy-out awards are excluded as they are not part of his regular remuneration.

Implementation of remuneration policy in 2019
The Committee intends to implement the remuneration policy in 2019 as follows:

Base salaries 
Chris Weston’s base salary was reviewed by the Committee in December 2018; his salary will remain unchanged for 2019 
(also unchanged since his appointment in 2015). Similarly, no increase is proposed for Heath Drewett. The Committee 
intends to next review the salaries of both these Executive Directors in December 2019, to take effect from January 2020. 

Pensions and benefi ts
Pensions and benefi ts will continue in line with policy.

Annual bonus
The Committee set annual bonus targets for the Executive Directors as follows:

Executive Director

Chris Weston 

Heath Drewett

D-EPS growth

Personal objectives

Total max bonus 
% salary

Max bonus 
% salary

On-budget bonus 
% salary

175

175

140

140

70

70

Max bonus 
% salary

35

35

Given the strategic focus on capital effi ciency, a single common personal objective has been set for both Executive Directors 
based on this.

Consistent with the new Corporate Governance Code, the Committee has amended the plan rules to ensure that it has 
appropriate discretion to reduce any formulaic result if it concludes that it is not appropriate in all the circumstances. 

We have not disclosed full details of the single personal/strategic objective for the Executive Directors or the fi nancial targets 
in this report, as we consider them to be commercially sensitive. It is, however, our intention to disclose retrospectively these 
fi nancial targets in next year’s annual report on remuneration. 

Long-term Incentive Plan
The Committee approved the grant of 2019 LTIP awards to Executive Directors with a face value of 250% of salary with 
the same performance targets as the 2018 awards - 50% EPS of 5-12% per annum (aggregate measurement basis) and 50% 
ROCE of 15-22% (fi nal year measurement).

Awards are expected to be granted in April 2019. 

As with the annual bonus, consistent with the new Corporate Governance Code, the Committee has amended the plan 
rules to ensure that it has appropriate discretion to reduce any formulaic result if it concludes that it is not appropriate 
in all the circumstances. 

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

65

 
 
 
REMUNERATION CONTINUED

Annual remuneration statement 
continued

Our Remuneration Committee
Determining the remuneration for the Executive Directors and Executive Committee members is a key focus of the Committee. 
The Committee oversees Aggreko’s overall remuneration policy, strategy and implementation to ensure that the policy is aligned 
with the key objectives of growing earnings and delivering a strong return on capital employed.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are considered when assessing the personal element of the Executive 
Directors’ performance and the Committee is satisfi ed that the design of the incentive plans does not pose undue ESG risks.

The Remuneration Committee is currently made up of four Independent Non-executive Directors, including Barbara Jeremiah 
as Chair of the Committee. Peter Kennerley is Secretary to the Committee. We also invite the Chief Executive Offi cer, Group HR 
Director and Group Director of Reward to attend our meetings. The Chairman and the Executives are not present when their 
personal remuneration is discussed.

In 2018, we held four meetings of the Committee. Ian Marchant was unable to attend one meeting owing to a pre-existing 
arrangement but was able to share his views with the Committee Chair. We also took a number of decisions based on papers 
circulated outside the context of a formal meeting. 

Our role is as follows:
 → Determine and agree with the Board the policy for remuneration for the Chairman, Executive Directors and Executive 

Committee.

 → Within the terms of the remuneration policy, determine the total individual remuneration package for the Chairman, each 
Executive Director and each member of the Executive Committee (including the Secretary), including base salary, pension, 
benefi ts, annual bonus and long-term incentives.

 → Determine, having taken appropriate advice, the level of any payment made to the Chairman (who is not present at such 
discussions), Executive Directors or members of the Executive Committee by way of compensation for, or otherwise in 
connection with, loss of offi ce or employment.

 → Approve the design of, and determine targets for, performance-related pay schemes operated by the Company and approve 

the total annual payments made under such schemes.

 → Review the design of all share incentive plans for approval by the Board and shareholders. For any plan, determine each 

year the overall amount of awards, along with the individual awards to Executive Directors and members of the Executive 
Committee. In the case of any retention or new joiner awards to employees below the Executive Committee, retrospectively 
approve awards.

 → Review the pay and other main terms of employment of employees more generally.

 → Determine the policy for and scope of pension arrangements for each Executive Director and members of the Executive 

Committee.

 → Oversee any major changes in employee benefi ts structures throughout the Group.

 → Agree the policy for authorising claims for expenses from the Directors.

In the following section of our report, we explain how we have implemented Aggreko’s remuneration policy during 2018. 
The policy in place for the year was the one which was approved by shareholders at Aggreko’s 2018 Annual General Meeting, 
a summary of which is set out on pages 77 to 79.

The full policy is available on the Company’s website: www.plc.aggreko.com

66 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Annual report on remuneration

Single total fi  gure of remuneration – Executive Directors (audited)
The table below sets out a single fi gure for the total remuneration received by each Executive Director for the years ended 
31 December 2018 and 31 December 2017.

Executive Director

Chris Weston

Chris Weston
Heath Drewett1

Year

2018 

2017
2018

Base salary 
£

Benefi ts 
£

Annual 
bonus 
£

750,000

26,324

651,000

750,000
458,820

24,747
18,784

721,500
407,100

LTIP 
£

Sharesave 
£

Pension 
£

Other 
£

Total 
£

–

–
–

5,612

225,000

–

1,657,936

–
5,612

225,000 598,865
92,000 984,4172

2,320,112
1,966,733

1  Heath Drewett’s remuneration for 2018 is from date of appointment, 3 January 2018. 

2  As set out on page 80 of our Annual Report 2017, Heath Drewett received an amount of £320,000 to partially compensate him for his annual bonus from his previous 
employer he forfeited as a result of his resignation. Heath Drewett also received an amount of £429,681 to compensate him for the repayment of a retention award 
– all of the after-tax amount was repaid to his former employer. The amount was subject to clawback in full on resignation in the fi rst 12 months of employment. 
Also, Heath Drewett was granted an award of shares on 3 May 2018 to compensate him for the forfeiture of unvested non-performance shares from his previous 
employer subject to his continued employment only and due to vest in August 2020. The face value is based on the average share price over the last quarter of 2018 
of 788.5 pence. 

The fi gures have been calculated as follows:

 → Base salary: amount earned for the year. See Base salary below.

 → Benefi ts: the taxable value of benefi ts received in the year. See Benefi ts below.

 → Annual bonus: the total bonus earned on performance during the year. See Annual bonus scheme on pages 68 and 69.

 → No LTIPs vested in relation to the 2018 fi nal performance.

 → Sharesave: the value is based on the market price of an Aggreko share on the date of grant, less the option price, multiplied 

by the number of options.

 → Pension: the amount of any Company pension contributions and cash in lieu. Chris Weston and Heath Drewett both received 

payment entirely in cash.

Total aggregate emoluments for Executive and Non-executive Directors were £4.34 million in 2018.

Additional disclosures in respect of the single total fi  gure of remuneration table 

Base salary
The base salaries for Executive Directors as at 1 January 2019 and 1 January 2018 were as follows:

Executive Director

Chris Weston
Heath Drewett2

Position

Chief Executive Offi cer
Chief Financial Offi cer

1 January 2019 
£

750,000
460,000

Increase1 

%

0
0

1 January 2018 
£

750,000
460,000

1   The average increase across the Group for 2018 was 4.9%. There have been no salary increases for Executive Directors for four years and none are proposed for 2019.

2   Heath Drewett joined the Board on 3 January 2018.

Benefi  ts
Chris Weston and Heath Drewett received healthcare benefi ts, life assurance cover, income protection, accident insurance and 
a car allowance. 

The following table shows those benefi ts that the Committee considers signifi cant:

Executive Director

Chris Weston

Heath Drewett

1   Comprises healthcare benefi ts, life assurance cover, income protection and accident insurance.

Car/fuel 
£

12,000

11,969

Other1 

£

14,324

6,815

Total 
£

26,324

18,784

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

67

 
 
 
REMUNERATION CONTINUED

Annual report on remuneration 
continued

Annual bonus scheme

Base 
salary

Maximum 
incentive 
(% of salary)

Financial 
performance 
metrics 
(80%)

Personal 
objectives 
(20%)

Annual bonus 
outcome

Cash 
(75%)

Deferred 
shares 
(25%)

The maximum bonus opportunity for 2018 for both Executive Directors was 175% of salary.

Bonus payments are payable as to 75% in cash, and as to 25% deferred into shares for three years. The Committee has discretion 
to reduce the number of shares that can vest in the event of gross misconduct, material misstatement of the accounts or any 
other circumstances or events which arise which the Committee considers to be suffi ciently exceptional to justify the operation 
of malus/clawback.

The targets under the 2018 annual bonus scheme were based as to 80% on fi nancial performance measures set against 
the annual budget at the start of the year and as to 20% against personal/strategic objectives. 

Financial performance measures
The fi nancial objectives for the Chief Executive Offi cer (Chris Weston) and Chief Financial Offi cer (Heath Drewett) were measured 
against D-EPS.

For the fi nancial measure, they start to earn a bonus at threshold performance, calculated as a percentage below budget, 
increasing to half of the maximum that could be earned under that element at budget on a straight-line basis. The bonus 
would then increase on a straight-line basis to the maximum, calculated as a percentage above budget.

The table below shows the performance against budget of the fi nancial performance measure used for calculating the annual 
bonus for 2018:

Measure

Threshold

Budget

Maximum

Outcome

D-EPS growth

51.7p

95

54.4p

59.8p

110

54.4p1

% budget

% budget

% budget

100

% maximum 
of element

50

1   As provided for under the plan, the reported D-EPS has been adjusted to a constant currency basis.

68 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

Personal/strategic performance measures
Chris Weston was set three personal objectives and Heath Drewett was set four personal objectives, all of which included agreed 
outcomes for set strategic objectives specifi c to their roles. Against each of these personal objectives they could achieve the 
maximum bonus entitlements detailed in the table below (35% of salary in total).

The Committee reviewed performance against these measures considering both quantitative and qualitative information and 
the table below shows the Committee’s assessment of each personal/strategic objective achieved as a percentage of salary. 
A number of the specifi c internal objectives are commercially sensitive and likely to remain so but the table shows the nature 
of each measure and the basis for the assessment.

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Chris Weston
Subject

Energy market 
transformation

Power Solutions/ 
sector focus

Talent and 
succession

Total

Heath Drewett
Subject

Objective

Performance assessed

Establishment of 
revenue streams 
from hybrids (fossil 
fuel/renewables) 
and distributed 
generation.

Establish growth 
trajectory for Power 
Solutions and a path 
to signifi cantly 
increased ROCE.

Continue to 
strengthen the 
general talent 
pipeline; oversee 
induction and 
successfully establish 
the new CFO in 
Aggreko. 

We have identifi ed a wide range of opportunities for 
the introduction of renewable and storage assets into 
our business model, driven in particular by the macro 
market trends of decarbonisation and decentralisation 
in the energy market. The more extended commercial 
development and contract lead times for these 
technologies mean that any signifi cant potential 
is likely to be realised over the mid to long-term, 
rather than in the immediate future.

Discipline around the management of the pipeline 
and capability of the sales force have been enhanced 
with emphasis on the profi table deployment of our 
existing fl eet.

Signifi cant high calibre talent has been hired across 
the Group (exceeding the target set), including 
a number of people who are candidates for 
succession for more senior level positions over time.
Heath’s induction and establishment in Aggreko has 
been very successful. He is well regarded internally, 
by shareholders and by the market and he is adding 
signifi cant value to the business, particularly in the 
areas of cost and working capital discipline.

Objective

Performance assessed

Working capital Work with the 

business to deliver a 
reduction in working 
capital which supports 
ROCE improvement. 

Recast investment 
case with the market.

Work with the 
business to establish 
the required footprint 
for Manufacturing 
& Technology.
Complete a full review 
of the business 
priorities programme.

Investor 
relations

Manufacturing 
& Technology

Business 
priorities 
programme
Total

Further increased attention and focus on working 
capital management across the Group. Process 
improvements put in place to reduce working capital, 
with a particular focus on trade receivables and 
inventory.

Engagement with investors, enhanced transparency 
of performance reporting and changes to the style and 
focus of external reporting have been well received.

Clear analysis developed in support of decisions taken 
over the future use of existing manufacturing footprint, 
including make/buy options and operational property 
rationalisation.

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Bonus allocation 
(maximum 
% of salary)

Actual bonus 
allocation (% of 
salary achieved)

10.50

2.10

14.00

5.25

10.50

9.45

35.00

16.80

Bonus allocation 
(maximum 
% of salary)

Actual bonus 
allocation (% of 
salary achieved)

14.00

7.00

7.00

7.00

7.00

3.50

Assessment underway and progressing.

7.00

1.00

35.00

18.50

The table below sets out the total bonus entitlement for 2018: 

Executive Director

Chris Weston

Heath Drewett

Total max bonus 
% salary

Max bonus
% salary

Outcome 
% salary

Max bonus 
% salary

Outcome
% salary

175

175

140

140

70

70

35

35

16.8

18.5

% salary

86.8

88.5

£

651,000

407,100

D-EPS growth

Personal objectives

Total payable1

1   The total bonus includes the 25% deferred shares element.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

69

 
 
 
REMUNERATION CONTINUED

Annual report on remuneration continued

Long-term Incentive Plan (LTIP)

No. of 
awards 
granted

D-EPS 
performance
(75%)

ROCE 
performance 
(25%)

Share 
price on 
vesting

LTIP 
outcome

The performance criteria for the LTIP awards granted in 2016 were as follows:

 → 75% of the award is based on three-year cumulative D-EPS as compared to three-year compound growth in real (RPI-adjusted) 

D-EPS. No performance shares will be awarded against this element if performance is below an equivalent of RPI+3% per 
annum growth. Awards will then start to vest above that level and will increase straight-line to a maximum at an equivalent 
of RPI+15% per annum growth; and

 → 25% of the award is based on average ROCE over the performance period in a range of 20% to 25%. No performance shares 
will be awarded against this element if performance is less than 20% and awards will increase on a straight-line basis to the 
maximum at 25% ROCE.

The performance period for the 2016 LTIP awards ended on 31 December 2018. Over the period:

 → Aggreko’s aggregate D-EPS was 165.1 pence. Since the threshold of growth of RPI+3% was not achieved, no shares will vest 

under this performance measure; and

 → Aggreko’s actual average ROCE for the period was 11.3%. Since this was less than the threshold of 20%, no shares will vest under 

this performance measure.

As a result, all 2016 LTIP awards lapsed in full.

Share awards granted in 2018 (audited)

Base 
salary

Maximum 
incentive 
(% of salary)

Share 
price at 
grant

No. of 
awards 
granted

This simply determines the size of the grant. Whether the award ultimately delivers value will depend on the extent to which the performance targets are met over the 
following three years (and to which a further two year holding period is met).

In May 2018, Chris Weston and Heath Drewett were granted awards of shares under the 2015 Long-term Incentive Plan 
(the ‘LTIP’), with a value equivalent to 250% of salary. The three-year performance period over which D-EPS will be measured 
began on 1 January 2018 and will end on 31 December 2020. ROCE will be measured on a fi nal year basis – in 2020. None of 
the awards granted under the LTIP are eligible to vest until 3 May 2021.

The performance criteria for the LTIP awards granted in 2018 are as follows:

 → 50% of the award is based on three-year cumulative EPS. No performance shares will be awarded against this element if 
performance is below an equivalent of 5% per annum growth. If performance is equivalent to 5% per annum growth, 25% 
of the award will vest. Vesting will increase straight-line to a maximum at an equivalent of 12% per annum growth; and

 → 50% of the award is based on fi nal year ROCE (2020) in a range of 15% to 22%. No performance shares will be awarded against 
this element if performance is less than 15%. If performance is equivalent to 15% ROCE, 25% of the award will vest and awards 
will increase on a straight-line basis to the maximum at 22% ROCE.

Shares which vest will be subject to a further holding period of two years in accordance with the rules of the LTIP.

In addition, 25% of the 2017 bonus payment for Chris Weston was deferred into shares under the Deferred Share Bonus Plan 
(DSBP). These shares will be released three years from date of grant.

Also, as explained on page 80 of our Annual Report 2017, the Committee made awards to Heath Drewett on 3 May 2018 under 
restricted stock agreements to compensate him for the forfeiture of variable awards from his previous employment. The two 
awards were determined as follows: an award of 89,311 shares with a face value of £701,986 subject to the same conditions as 
the 2018 LTIP detailed above and due to vest on 1 April 2021; and an award of 29,770 shares with a face value of £233,995, subject 
to his continuing employment on vesting or otherwise if he leaves as a good leaver, and due to vest on 10 August 2020.

70 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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The table below shows details of interests awarded to Executive Directors during 2018:

Executive Director

Chris Weston
Heath Drewett

LTIP

Face value1
£

% vesting on 
minimum 
performance

Shares

256,497 1,874,993
157,318 1,149,995

25
25

Sharesave

Face value2
£

% vesting on 
minimum 
performance

5,612
5,612

100
100

Shares

2,727
2,727

Other

Face value
£

180,3694
935,9816

% vesting on 
minimum 
performance

100
25/1007

Shares

24,5403
119,0815

1   Face value of LTIP is the maximum number of shares that would vest if all performance targets are met multiplied by the average market price of Aggreko shares 

over the fi ve business days prior to the date of grant of 3 May 2018, which was used to determine the number of shares awarded, being 731 pence.

2   Face value of Sharesave is the market price of Aggreko shares on 5 October 2018, being the date of grant, of 865.8 pence, less the option price of 660 pence multiplied 

by the number of options granted.

3   Shares awarded to Chris Weston comprise an award under the DSBP. 

4  Face value of DSBP is the number of shares awarded on 23 March 2018 multiplied by the average market price of Aggreko shares over the fi ve business days prior 

to the date of grant which was used to determine the number of shares awarded, being 735 pence.

5  Shares awarded to Heath Drewett comprise 89,311 performance shares and 29,770 non-performance shares as detailed above.

6  Face value of Heath Drewett’s awards is as detailed above.

7  For the 89,311 performance shares, 25% of the award will vest on minimum performance and for the 29,770 shares there are no performance conditions. 

Executive Directors’ shareholdings (audited) 
As at 31 December 2018, the shareholdings of the Executive Directors were as follows:

Director

Chris Weston
Heath Drewett

(A) 
Shares 
owned 
outright1

81,095
–

(B) 
Shares 
held subject 
to deferral

30,109
29,7705

Shares held 
subject to 
performance 
conditions2

Options 
held not subject 
to performance 
conditions3

Shareholding 
guidelines 
% salary

Shares counting 
towards 
guidelines 
(A + B)

Current 
shareholding 
% salary4

726,517
246,6296

4,895
2,727

250
250

111,204
29,770

109
47

1  This includes shares held by connected persons.

2  Shares held subject to performance comprise LTIP awards over shares.

3  Options held under the Sharesave Plan.

4  Percentage is calculated using a share price of 732.6 pence as at 31 December 2018. Under the Company’s share ownership guidelines, Executive Directors have 

a period of fi ve years to achieve the shareholding guideline of not less than 250% of base salary.

5  Heath Drewett’s holding of shares held subject to deferral comprises the 29,770 non-performance shares awarded on 3 May 2018 as set out on page 70.

6  Heath Drewett’s holding of shares held subject to performance conditions comprises the 89,311 performance shares awarded on 3 May 2018 and the 2018 

LTIP award, both as set out on page 70.

Departing executives, including Carole Cran, only receive deferred share awards at the normal time of maturity so are required 
to maintain some level of ownership post-cessation.

There have been no changes in the Executive Directors’ interests in Ordinary Shares between 31 December 2018 and 
6 March 2019.

Chris Weston and Heath Drewett, as employees of the Company, have an interest in the holdings of the Aggreko Employee 
Benefi t Trust (EBT) as potential benefi ciaries. The EBT is a trust established to distribute shares to employees of the Company 
and its subsidiaries in satisfaction of awards granted under the Aggreko Long-term Incentive Plans and Sharesave Schemes. 
At 31 December 2018, the trustees of the EBT held a total of 1,949,676 Aggreko plc Ordinary Shares and the holding at the date 
of this report is 1,934,592. The dividend has been waived on these shares. All Aggreko share plans are settled through the use 
of market purchase shares so the Company has not utilised any of its available dilution limits.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

71

 
 
 
REMUNERATION CONTINUED

Annual report on remuneration continued

Share awards and share options
The table below shows details of share awards or options over Ordinary Shares in the Company pursuant to the Company’s 
share-based incentive plans for Executive Directors who were in offi ce for any part of the 2018 fi nancial year. Details of awards 
and options granted to Executive Directors in 2018 under these plans are also included on page 71.

Options/
awards 
granted 
during 
year

Dividend 
equivalent 
shares3

Options/
awards 
exercised/
vesting 
during 
year

Options/
awards 
lapsing 
during 
year

As at 
1 January 
2018

At 
31 December 
2018

Market 
price at 
date 
awards 
granted 
(pence)4

Exercise 
price - 
options 
(pence)

Market 
price at 
date 
awards 
vested 
(pence)

Chris Weston
LTIP1

2015

2016

2017

2018
DSBP2

2015

2017

2018
Sharesave

2015

2018

Heath Drewett
LTIP1

2018
RSP

2018

2018
Sharesave

2018

139,232

209,302

260,718

–

–

–

– 256,497

7,736

5,569

–

–

–

24,540

2,168

–

–

2,727

–

–

–

–

157,318

29,770

89,311

2,727

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

866

8,602

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

139,232

–

209,302

260,718

256,497

–

5,569

24,540

1,616

1,075

863

731

1,562

909

735

7255

Normal 
vesting date/
exercise period

May 2018

May 2019

June 2020

May 2021

April 2018

March 2020

March 2021

2,168

2,727

1,027

865.8

830

660

January – June 2019

January – June 2022

157,318

731

29,770

89,311

724.6

724.6

May 2021

August 2020

April 2021

2,727

865.8

660

January – June 2022

1   All LTIPs have performance periods of three fi nancial years commencing with the fi nancial year in which the award is granted.

2   Awards under the DSBP are not subject to any performance conditions other than continued employment on the vesting date.

3   Under the LTIP, DSBP and RSP on vesting participants are entitled to the equivalent of any dividends on the shares between grant and vesting, payable in shares. 

4    Market price at date awards granted is the average market price of an Aggreko share over the fi ve business days prior to the date of grant for the LTIP and DSBP awards 

(which was used to determine the number of shares awarded). Market price for Sharesave is the market price on the date of grant. For the RSP awards market price is the 
share price on date of grant, being 3 May 2018.

5   25% of Chris Weston’s bonus forfeited from his previous employer was deferred into shares (7,736 shares) as set out on page 97 of our 2014 Report and Accounts. 
The shares were released on 3 April 2018. Chris Weston was entitled to a further 866 shares equivalent to the dividends on the shares between grant and vesting. 
The aggregate value of the shares on the date of vesting was £62,364.50.

Arrangements with past Directors (audited)
Exit payments
There were no exit payments during the year.

Carole Cran resigned as a Director and ceased to be an employee on 31 December 2017. She received an award of 4,082 shares in 
March 2015 representing the deferral of 25% of her 2014 bonus which vested on its normal vesting date in March 2018 (when the 
shares were worth £32,772).

72 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

Non-executive Directors (including the Chairman)
The Board determines the remuneration policy and level of fees for the Non-executive Directors, within the limits set out 
in the Articles of Association. The Remuneration Committee recommends the remuneration policy and level of fees for the 
Chairman of the Board (although the Chairman of the Board does not take part in the discussions concerning his remuneration). 
Remuneration comprises an annual fee for acting as a Chairman or Non-executive Director of the Company. Additional fees are 
paid to Non-executive Directors in respect of service as Chair of the Audit and Remuneration Committees and as Senior 
Independent Director. The Chairman and Non-executive Directors are not eligible for bonuses, retirement benefi ts or to 
participate in any share scheme operated by the Company. The Chairman’s fee has not increased since April 2015 and the fees 
for the Non-executive Directors have not increased since July 2015. Uwe Krueger has opted to forego any fees as a Non-executive 
Director for 2019, as he did in 2018. The Company will make donations to Shelterbox (an international disaster relief charity) and 
African Parks (an organisation that supports rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks across Africa) 
equivalent, in total, to the fees foregone.

The fees for the Chairman and Non-executive Directors as at 1 January 2019 and 1 January 2018 were as follows:

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Chairman fee

Non-executive Director base fee

Committee Chair additional fee

Senior Independent Director additional fee

1 January 2019 
£

Increase 
%

1 January 2018 
£

342,000

61,000

20,000

20,000

0

0

0

0

Single total fi  gure of remuneration – Non-executive Directors (audited)

Non-executive Director

Ken Hanna

Ken Hanna
Nicola Brewer

Nicola Brewer
Barbara Jeremiah
Barbara Jeremiah1
Russell King (former)2
Russell King (former)
Uwe Krueger3

Uwe Krueger
Diana Layfi  eld

Diana Layfi eld
Ian Marchant

Ian Marchant
Miles Roberts
Miles Roberts1
2018 Total

2017 Total

Year

2018

2017
2018

2017
2018

2017
2018

2017
2018

2017
2018

2017
2018

2017
2018

2017

Fees £

Benefi ts £

342,000

342,000
61,000

61,000
74,564

50,208
32,631

101,000
–

61,000
61,000

61,000
81,000

81,000
61,000

50,208
713,195

807,416

851

801
–

–
2,317

2,771
–

–
–

3,378
–

–
–

1,216
–

–
3,168

8,166

1   Barbara Jeremiah and Miles Roberts’ remuneration for 2017 is from date of appointment, 7 March 2017.

2   Russell King’s remuneration for 2018 is to date of retirement as a Director, 26 April 2018.

3  Uwe Krueger opted to forego any fees for 2018.

The fi gures have been calculated as follows:

 → Fees: amount earned for the year. 

 → Benefi ts: the taxable value of benefi ts received in the year. 

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61,000

20,000

20,000

Total £

342,851

342,801
61,000

61,000
76,881

52,979
32,631

101,000
–

64,378
61,000

61,000
81,000

82,216
61,000

50,208
716,363

815,582

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

73

 
 
 
REMUNERATION CONTINUED

Annual report on remuneration 
continued

Non-executive Directors’ shareholdings (audited)
As at 31 December 2018, the shareholdings of the Non-executive Directors were as follows:

Director

Ken Hanna

Nicola Brewer

Barbara Jeremiah

Russell King2
Uwe Krueger

Diana Layfi eld

Ian Marchant
Miles Roberts

 Shares 
owned 
outright1

19,303

1,450

1,000

3,688

3,101

2,855

3,331
–

1   This includes shares held by connected persons.

2  Russell King’s holding is at date of retirement as a Director, 26 April 2018.

There have been no changes in the Non-executive Directors’ interests in Ordinary Shares between 31 December 2018 and 
6 March 2019.

Comparison of Company performance
The graph below shows the value, at 31 December 2018, of £100 invested in Aggreko’s shares on 31 December 2008 compared 
with the current value of the same amount invested in the FTSE 350 Index. The FTSE 350 Index is chosen because Aggreko has 
been a constituent member of this group over the entire period.

Company performance

£469

£342

£409

£407

£363

£212

£130

£100

£100

£148

£144

£161

£225

£231

£231

£194

£196

£197

£260

£208

£236

£197

500

400

300

200

100

0

Dec 2008

Dec 2009

Dec 2010

Dec 2011

Dec 2012

Dec 2013

Dec 2014

Dec 2015

Dec 2016

Dec 2017

Dec 2018

Aggreko

FTSE350 Index

Source: Thomson Reuters

For comparative purposes, the remuneration of the Director undertaking the role of Chief Executive Offi cer for the same fi nancial 
years is set out below:

Year

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014
2015

2016
2017
2018

CEO

Rupert Soames

Rupert Soames

Rupert Soames

Rupert Soames

Rupert Soames

Angus Cockburn
Chris Weston

Chris Weston
Chris Weston
Chris Weston

Single fi gure 
of total remuneration
£1

Annual bonus payout 
against maximum
%

Long-term incentive 
vesting rates against 
maximum opportunity
%

2,555,850

5,839,209

8,501,865

2,685,840

1,779,144
1,290,9062
1,485,5163
1,909,1553
2,320,1123
1,657,936

63.2

100

82.4

6.4

49.6
42.4
0
15
55

50

100

100

100

100

72.5
5.8
0
0
0

0

1  The data for this table was taken from the Remuneration Reports for the relevant years and adjusted to take account of the actual share price on date of vesting for the LTIP.

2   Angus Cockburn was Interim Chief Executive from 25 April to 30 September 2014, and his emoluments have been calculated on the assumption that he held the role for the 

full year at the rates of remuneration in place on 30 September 2014.

3   The 2015 fi gure for Chris Weston includes an amount of £483,392 to compensate him for his annual bonus from his previous employer he forfeited as a result of his 
resignation. The 2016 fi gure includes an amount of £706,620 and the 2017 fi gure includes an amount of £598,865 to compensate him for the forfeiture of long-term 
incentives from his previous employer.

74 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Percentage change in remuneration of CEO
The table below shows the change in remuneration of the Chief Executive Offi cer in comparison to the average change in 
remuneration of employees within the Group central functions over that period.

Salary/fees

Benefi ts

Bonus

Percentage 
change for 
CEO

Percentage 
change for 
Group central 
functions

0

6.4

-9.8

4.3

2.1

3.4

The comparator group relates to the employees within the Group central functions in the UK, rather than all Group employees. 
As in the previous year, we have chosen this group because the Committee believes that it provides a suffi ciently large 
comparator group to give a reasonable understanding of underlying increases, while reducing the distortion that would 
arise from including all of the many countries in which the Group operates, with their different economic conditions. 

Relative importance of spend on pay
The chart below shows Aggreko’s profi t after tax (pre-exceptional items), dividend, and total employee pay for the fi nancial 
years ended 31 December 2017 and 31 December 2018, and the percentage change.

Profit after tax £m
2018
-6.7%

Dividend £m
2018
+/-0%

Total employee pay £m
2018
+5.2%

2018

2017*

£125m

£134m

2018

2017

0

28

56

84

112

140

0

20

40

£69m

£69m

60

2018

2017

£422m

£401m

80

100

0

100

200

300

400

500

* 2017 number has been restated due to the implementation of IFRS 15. Refer to Note 1 of the Accounts on page 96.

Dividends are the interim and fi nal dividends paid in respect of the fi nancial year ended 31 December 2017 and the interim 
dividend paid and the fi nal dividend recommended in respect of the fi nancial year ended 31 December 2018. The total employee 
pay increase is mainly due to the higher bonus payments, due to bonus targets being achieved in some parts of the business.

Consideration by the Directors of matters relating to Directors’ remuneration
The Committee was advised by FIT Remuneration Consultants LLP as the principal external adviser to the Committee for 2018. 
The fees paid to FIT in respect of work that materially assisted the Committee in 2018 are shown in the table below:

Adviser

Appointed by

Services provided to 
the Committee

Fees paid by the Company 
for the services

FIT Remuneration 
Consultants LLP

A sub-committee of the 
Committee comprising 
the current Chair, 
Barbara Jeremiah, and 
the previous Chair, 
Russell King

Advice for and 
attendance at all 
meetings of the 
Committee including 
fi nalisation of the 2018 
policy and training on 
the new Corporate 
Governance Code

£45,196

Other services

N/A

Except as detailed above, FIT provided no other services to the Group. It is a member of the Remuneration Consultants Group 
and signatory to its code of conduct and charges on its normal terms. Taking these factors into account, the Committee is 
satisfi ed as to the impartiality and objectivity of FIT’s advice.

Statement of shareholder voting
The following table shows the results of the binding vote on the Remuneration Policy and advisory vote on the 2017 
Remuneration Report at the 2018 AGM.

For

Against
Total votes cast (excluding withheld votes)
Votes withheld1
Total votes cast (including withheld votes)

Remuneration Policy

Remuneration Report

Total number 
of votes

187,861,052

2,606,948
190,468,000

20,902
190,488,902

% of 
votes cast

Total number 
of votes

% of 
votes cast

98.63

176,277,278

1.37
100

–
–

12,441,192
188,718,470

1,770,432
190,488,902

93.41

6.59
100

–
–

1   A withheld vote is not a vote in law and is not counted in the calculation of the proportion of votes cast for and against a resolution.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

75

 
 
 
REMUNERATION CONTINUED

Annual report on remuneration 
continued

Directors’ service contracts
Each of the Directors will be proposed for election or re-election at the Company’s Annual General Meeting to be held 
on 25 April 2019.

The Executive Directors are employed under contracts of employment with Aggreko plc. The Remuneration Committee sets 
notice periods for the Executive Directors at 12 months or less. The principal terms of the Executive Directors’ service contracts 
(which have no fi xed term) are as follows:

Executive Director

Heath Drewett

Chris Weston

Position

Effective date of contract

Chief Financial Offi cer

Chief Executive Offi cer

3 January 2018

2 January 2015

Notice period

From Director

From Company

12 months

12 months

12 months

12 months

Non-executive Directors are appointed for a term of three years, subject to three months’ notice from either party.

The dates of the Chairman’s and Non-executive Directors’ appointments are as follows:

Non-executive Director

Position

Effective date of letter of appointment

Unexpired term as at 31 December 2018

Nicola Brewer

Ken Hanna
Barbara Jeremiah

Uwe Krueger
Diana Layfi eld

Ian Marchant
Miles Roberts

Non-executive Director

Chairman
Non-executive Director

Non-executive Director
Non-executive Director

Non-executive Director
Non-executive Director

25 February 2016
29 April 20181
7 March 2017
1 February 20181
1 May 20152
1 November 20161
7 March 2017

1  Replaces earlier letter of appointment.

2  Extended for a further term of one year with effect from 1 May 2018.

2 months
2 years 4 months

1 year 2 months
2 years 1 month
4 months
10 months

1 year 2 months

External appointments
It is the Board’s policy to allow the Executive Directors to accept non-executive directorships of other quoted companies. 
Any such directorships must be formally approved by the Chairman of the Board. Directors are generally permitted to retain 
any earnings from these appointments. During the year, Chris Weston did not hold any external directorships of other quoted 
companies. He served as a Non-executive Director of the Royal Navy during the year. Fees for 2018 in relation to this appointment 
were £15,000. Heath Drewett did not hold any external directorships.

76 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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2018 remuneration policy summary

A summary of Aggreko’s remuneration policy approved by shareholders at the 2018 
AGM is set out below. For the full remuneration policy, please refer to the 2017 Directors’ 
Remuneration Report available on the Company’s website www.plc.aggreko.com.

Pension
Purpose and link to strategy
To provide relevant statutory benefi ts 
and be competitive in the market in 
which the individual is employed.

Operation
All Executive Directors are entitled to a 
defi ned-contribution pension. They can 
opt to take a cash payment in lieu of all 
or part of their pension.

Opportunity
Contributions of between 20% and 30% 
of salary per annum except where 
limited by local practice.

For new hires, the pension contribution 
will be up to 20% of salary per annum.

Performance measures
None.

Executive Directors: 

Fixed pay

Base salary
Purpose and link to strategy
To attract, reward and retain talent 
by ensuring base salaries are at an 
appropriate level in the talent market(s) 
relevant to each individual.

Operation
Base salaries are generally reviewed 
annually. In determining the appropriate 
level of adjustment, we take into 
account: Company performance; 
the individual’s responsibilities and 
contribution to the business; salary 
levels for comparable roles at relevant 
comparators; and salary increases 
more broadly across the Group.

External benchmarking data is used 
with caution, but will refl ect the size 
and complexity of the role in question. 
Internal relativities are equally important 
when determining the correct level 
at which to set base salaries.

Opportunity
Any base salary increases are applied 
in line with the outcome of the annual 
review and generally expected to be 
in line with those of the wider workforce, 
although the Committee may award 
a higher increase in exceptional 
circumstances (such as to refl ect 
development in role).

Any salary will not exceed £900,000.

Performance measures
None, although continued good 
performance is a factor considered 
when reviewing salaries.

Benefi  ts
Purpose and link to strategy
Designed to be competitive in the 
market in which the individual is 
employed. Expatriate and relocation 
packages designed to ensure a 
geographically mobile management 
population related to business needs.

Operation
Includes healthcare benefi ts, life 
assurance cover, a company car (or an 
allowance in lieu). Where appropriate, 
we would provide an expatriate package, 
including bearing the cost of any local 
taxes payable on any expatriate benefi ts, 
relocation costs, living allowances and 
school fees.

Any reasonable business related 
expenses (including tax thereon) 
can be reimbursed if determined 
to be a taxable benefi t.

Executive Directors are eligible for other 
benefi ts which are introduced for the 
wider workforce on broadly similar 
terms.

Opportunity
Benefi ts vary by role and local practice, 
and are reviewed periodically relative 
to market.

Benefi ts (excluding travel and related 
taxes and tax equalisation payments 
where appropriate) payable to Executive 
Directors will not exceed 20% of salary 
(and did not exceed 10% of salary during 
the most recent fi nancial year). In line 
with market practice, it is not anticipated 
that in normal circumstances the cost 
of benefi ts provided will exceed this level 
of 10% over the next three years.

The Committee retains the discretion 
to approve a higher cost in exceptional 
circumstances (e.g. relocation and/or tax 
equalisation) or in circumstances where 
factors outside the Company’s control 
have changed materially (e.g. increases 
in insurance premiums, provider costs 
or taxes).

Performance measures
None.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

77

 
 
 
REMUNERATION CONTINUED

2018 remuneration policy summary 
continued

Variable pay

Annual bonus scheme
Purpose and link to strategy
To focus Executive Directors on 
achieving demanding annual targets 
relating to Group performance.

Operation
Performance measures and targets 
are set at the start of the year and are 
weighted to refl ect the balance of 
Group and, where appropriate, 
business unit responsibilities for 
each Executive Director.

At the end of the year, the Committee 
determines the extent to which these 
have been achieved. The Committee has 
the ability to exercise discretion to adjust 
for factors outside management control.

Bonus payments are typically delivered 
as 75% in cash and 25% deferred into 
shares and released after three years. 
Dividends will accrue on the deferred 
share element.

Malus and/or clawback provisions apply 
as described in the 2017 Directors’ 
Remuneration Report.

Opportunity
The maximum annual bonus 
opportunity for Executive Directors 
is 175% of salary. The fi nancial element 
of the bonuses start to be earned for 
threshold performance (for which no 
bonus is paid).

Performance measures
Performance is assessed annually 
with up to 30% (currently 20%) of the 
maximum bonus potential based on 
personal/strategic objectives aligned to 
the Group’s KPIs and the balance based 
on appropriate Group and/or business 
unit fi nancial performance. The current 
measure for fi nancial performance 
is D-EPS, but may vary each year 
depending on business context 
and strategy.

Further details of the performance 
measures proposed for the 2019 
annual bonus are set out in the Annual 
Remuneration Statement on page 65

Long-term Incentive Plan
Purpose and link to strategy
To align the interests of management 
with those of shareholders in growing 
the value of the business over the 
long-term.

Vesting of awards is subject to 
performance conditions based on the 
long-term fi nancial performance of the 
Group; the value of the awards is based 
on both the proportion vesting and the 
movement in the share price over the 
vesting period.

Operation
The LTIP comprises a single Performance 
Share Plan (PSP).

Awards are normally granted annually. 
Award levels and performance 
conditions are reviewed from time to 
time to ensure they remain appropriate 
and aligned with shareholder interests.

Awards normally vest after three years, 
subject to performance and continued 
offi ce or employment. Awards which 
vest will be subject to a further holding 
period of two years. The holding period 
will end early on a takeover, scheme 
of arrangement or winding-up of 
the Company, upon the death 
of an individual or in exceptional 
circumstances on such other date 
determined by the Committee. On 
vesting, participants will be entitled 
to the equivalent of any dividends on the 
shares between grant and vesting or the 
earlier of the date of exercise of an option 
and the expiry of any holding period.

Malus and/or clawback provisions apply 
to awards as described in the 2017 
Directors’ Remuneration Report.

Opportunity
The PSP provides for a nil-cost 
conditional award of shares worth up 
to an aggregate limit of 250% of salary 
per annum for Executive Directors.

Performance measures
The performance measures for the PSP 
will be based on Group performance 
with at least 75% linked to Group 
fi nancial performance.

The Committee has the discretion to 
reduce vesting levels if, exceptionally, 
they consider the strict application 
of the performance conditions would 
produce a result inconsistent with our 
remuneration principles, where the 
formulaic outcome does not genuinely 
refl ect the underlying performance of 
the Group, or where necessary to avoid 
unintended consequences.

The Committee also has the ability 
to include additional or alternative 
performance measures, weightings and/
or targets in future years to take account 
of the Group’s key strategic and 
operational aims and targets, and 
business outlook at that time.

Further details of the 2019 performance 
measures proposed are set out on page 65

Share ownership guidelines
The Committee has a policy of 
encouraging Executive Directors to 
acquire and retain a material number 
of shares in the Company, with the 
objective of further aligning their 
long-term interests with those of 
other shareholders. The minimum 
requirement for Executive Directors 
is 250% of salary.

78 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Non-executive Directors and Chairman

Incentives and benefi  ts 
for Non-executive Directors 
and Chairman
Non-executive Directors and the 
Chairman do not participate in 
incentive arrangements or receive 
other remuneration in addition to 
their fees. However, where appropriate, 
the Company may provide additional 
benefi ts in kind (for example, 
reimbursement of travel costs and taxes 
thereon), and the Chairman may receive 
healthcare and/or other market standard 
benefi ts. Overall, benefi ts are not 
expected to exceed 20% of the annual 
fee in any year.

Non-executive Directors’ 
and Chairman’s fee
Purpose and link to strategy
To attract and retain Non-executive 
Directors and a Chairman with an 
appropriate degree of skills, experience, 
independence and knowledge of the 
Group and its business.

Operation
Fee levels for Non-executive Directors 
are generally reviewed by the Board 
annually. Remuneration comprises an 
annual fee for acting as a Non-executive 
Director and serving as a member of any 
Committees. Additional fees are paid 
in respect of service as Chairman of a 
Committee or as Senior Independent 
Director.

The Chairman’s remuneration comprises 
an annual fee for acting as Chairman, 
which includes serving as Chairman 
or as a member of any Committees. 
The Remuneration Committee sets 
the Chairman’s remuneration, subject 
to review when appropriate.

When reviewing fees, reference is made 
to fees payable in companies of a similar 
size and complexity, information 
provided by a number of remuneration 
surveys, the extent of the duties 
performed and the expected time 
commitment of the role. 

Any reasonable business related 
expenses (including tax thereon) can 
be reimbursed if determined to be a 
taxable benefi t.

Opportunity
Any fee increases are applied in line 
with the outcome of the annual review. 
Currently the maximum aggregate 
annual fee for all Non-executive 
Directors, including the Chairman, 
provided in the Company’s Articles of 
Association is £900,000.

Performance metrics
None.

This Report was approved by the Board on 6 March 2019.

Barbara Jeremiah
Remuneration Committee Chair

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

79

 
 
 
STATUTORY DISCLOSURES

Directors’ Report and 
Strategic Report
The Directors’ Report and Strategic 
Report for the year ended 31 December 
2018 comprise pages 46 to 85 and pages 
1 to 45 of this report, together with the 
sections incorporated by reference. We 
have included some of the matters 
normally included in the Directors’ 
Report which we consider to be of 
strategic importance in the Strategic 
Report on pages 1 to 45. Specifi cally 
these are:

 → Future business developments 

on page 10; and

 → Risk information on the use of 

fi nancial instruments on page 124.

Disclosures in relation to Listing Rule 
LR 9.8.4R, where applicable, are included 
on pages 70 to 71 in relation to Long-
Term Incentive Plans and on page 82 
in relation to the dividend waiver 
arrangements in place for our Employee 
Benefi t Trust.

Both the Directors’ Report and Strategic 
Report have been presented in 
accordance with applicable company 
law, and the liabilities of the Directors 
in connection with those reports are 
subject to the limitations and restrictions 
provided. Other information to be 
disclosed in the Directors’ Report is given 
in this section.

Management report
The Strategic Report and the 
Directors’ Report together include 
the ‘management report’ for the 
purposes of Disclosure and Transparency 
Rule (DTR) 4.1.8R.

2019 Annual General Meeting
The Company’s Annual General Meeting 
will be held at 11.00am on 25 April 2019 at 
200 SVS, 200 St Vincent Street, Glasgow 
G2 5RQ. The Notice of Meeting is set out 
on pages 141 to 146 of this document and 
is also avilable on the shareholder 
information pages of our website at 
www.plc.aggreko.com.

Dividends
The interim dividend of 9.38 pence per 
Ordinary Share was paid on 2 October 
2018. The Directors recommend a fi nal 
dividend of 17.74 pence per Ordinary 
Share in respect of the year, making 
a total for the year of 27.12 pence per 
Ordinary Share (2017: 27.12 pence), 
payable on 24 May 2019 to shareholders 
on the register at the close of business 
on 23 April 2019.

Dividend payments and DRIP
The Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) 
allows shareholders to purchase 
additional shares in Aggreko with their 
dividend payments. Further information 
and a mandate can be obtained from 
our Registrar, Link Asset Services, whose 
details are set out on page 149 and the 
shareholder information pages of our 
website at www.plc.aggreko.com.

Share capital
On 31 December 2018, the Company 
had in issue 256,128,201 Ordinary Shares 
of 4329/395 pence each, 188,251,587 
Deferred Shares of 984/775 pence each, 
18,352,057,648 Deferred Shares of 1/775 
pence each, 182,700,915 Deferred Shares 
of 618/25 pence each and 573,643,383,325 
Deferred Shares of 1/306125 pence each 
comprising 29.43%, 40.77%, 0.56%, 
29.20% and 0.04% respectively of the 
Company’s issued share capital. Details 
of the changes in issued share capital 
during the year are shown in Note 23 to 
the Accounts on page 119.

Material share interests
As at 31 December 2018, the Company 
had received notifi cations of the 
following major shareholdings, 
representing 3% or more of the voting 
rights attached to the issued Ordinary 
Share capital of the Company:

Rights and obligations 
attached to shares
Subject to applicable statutes (in this 
section referred to as the Companies 
Acts) and to any rights conferred on the 
holders of any other shares, any share 
may be issued with or have attached 
to it such rights and restrictions as the 
Company may by ordinary resolution 
decide or, if no such resolution has been 
passed or so far as the resolution does 
not make specifi c provision, as the Board 
may decide.

Voting
Subject to any special terms as to voting 
upon which any shares may be issued 
or may for the time being be held and 
to any other provisions of the Articles 
of Association of the Company (‘the 
Articles’), on a show of hands every 
member who is present in person or 
by proxy or represented by a corporate 
representative at a general meeting 
of the Company has one vote.

On a poll, every member who is present 
in person or by proxy or represented by 
a corporate representative has one vote 
for every share of which he or she is the 
holder. In the case of joint holders of a 
share the vote of the senior who tenders 
a vote, whether in person or by proxy, 
is accepted to the exclusion of the votes 
of the other joint holders and, for this 
purpose, seniority is determined by the 
order in which the names stand in the 
register in respect of the joint holding.

Shareholder

The Capital Group Companies LLP

AKO Capital LLP

Standard Life Aberdeen plc
Baillie Gifford

Mackenzie Financial Corporation
Prudential Plc

Deutsche Bank AG

Number 
of shares

% of total 
voting rights

13,446,515

12,781,545

12,587,779
12,584,169

11,216,580

9,351,326

8,535,344

5.24

4.99

4.91
4.91

4.37

3.65

3.33

Between 31 December 2018 and 5 March 2019, the Company received the 
following notifi cations of major shareholdings:

Shareholder

Date

Number 
of shares

% of total 
voting rights

Lion Investment Partners LLP

06/02/2019

13,307,481

5.20

The Directors are not aware of any other material interests amounting to 3% or 
more in the share capital of the Company.

80 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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The holders of the Deferred Shares are 
not entitled to receive notice of any 
general meeting of the Company or 
to attend, speak or vote at any such 
meeting.

Restrictions on voting

No member is, unless the Board 
otherwise decides, entitled in respect 
of any share held by them to vote (either 
personally or by proxy or by a corporate 
representative) at any general meeting 
of the Company or at any separate 
general meeting of the holders of any 
class of shares in the Company if any 
calls or other sums presently payable 
by them in respect of that share remain 
unpaid or if they are a person with a 
0.25% interest (as defi ned in the Articles) 
and they have been served with a 
restriction notice (as defi ned in the 
Articles) after failure to provide the 
Company with information concerning 
interests in those shares required to be 
provided under the Companies Acts.

The Company is not aware of any 
agreement between holders of 
securities that may result in restrictions 
on voting rights.

Dividends and other 
distributions
Subject to the provisions of the 
Companies Acts, the Company may by 
ordinary resolution from time to time 
declare dividends in accordance with 
the respective rights of the members, 
but no dividend can exceed the amount 
recommended by the Board.

Subject to the provisions of the 
Companies Acts, the Board may pay 
such interim dividends as appear to the 
Board to be justifi ed by the fi nancial 
position of the Company and may 
also pay any dividend payable at a fi xed 
rate at intervals settled by the Board 
whenever the fi nancial position of the 
Company, in the opinion of the Board, 
justifi es its payment. If the Board acts in 
good faith, it shall not incur any liability 
to the holders of any shares for any loss 
they may suffer in consequence of the 
payment of an interim or fi xed dividend 
on any other class of shares ranking 
pari passu with or after those shares. 
The Deferred Shares confer no right to 
participate in the profi ts of the Company.

On a return of capital on a winding-
up (excluding any intra-Group 
reorganisation on a solvent basis), 
holders of Deferred Shares are entitled 
to be paid the nominal capital paid up 
or credited as paid up on such Deferred 
Shares after paying to the holders of the 
Ordinary Shares the nominal capital 
paid up or credited as paid up on 
the Ordinary Shares held by them 
respectively, together with the sum of 
£100,000,000 on each Ordinary Share.

The Board may deduct from any 
dividend or other monies payable to 
a member by the Company on or in 
respect of any shares all sums of money 
(if any) presently payable by him to 
the Company on account of calls or 
otherwise in respect of shares of the 
Company. The Board may also withhold 
payment of all or any part of any 
dividends or other monies payable in 
respect of the Company’s shares from a 
person with a 0.25% interest (as defi ned 
in the Articles) if such a person has been 
served with a restriction notice (as 
defi ned in the Articles) after failure to 
provide the Company with information 
concerning interests in those shares 
required to be provided under the 
Companies Acts.

Variation of rights
Subject to the provisions of the 
Companies Acts, rights attached to any 
class of shares may be varied either with 
the consent in writing of the holders of 
not less than three quarters in nominal 
value of the issued shares of that class 
(excluding any shares of that class held 
as Treasury shares) or with the sanction 
of a special resolution passed at a 
separate general meeting of the holders 
of those shares. The necessary quorum 
applying to any such separate general 
meeting is two persons holding or 
representing by proxy not less than one 
third in nominal value of the issued 
shares of the class (excluding any shares 
of that class held as Treasury shares), 
but at any adjourned meeting one 
holder present in person or by proxy 
(whatever the number of shares held 
by him) will constitute a quorum; every 
holder of shares of the class present in 
person or by proxy (excluding any shares 
of that class held as Treasury shares) is 
entitled on a poll to one vote for every 
share of the class held by him (subject to 
any rights or restrictions attached to any 
class of shares) and any holder of shares 
of the class present in person or by proxy 
may demand a poll.

Restrictions on transfer of 
securities in the Company
There are no restrictions on the transfer 
of securities in the Company, except that:

 → Certain restrictions may from time 
to time be imposed by laws and 
regulations (for example, insider 
trading laws), in particular we operate 
a share dealing code which requires 
Directors of the Company and certain 
employees to obtain the approval of 
the Company before dealing in the 
Company’s Ordinary Shares and

 → The Deferred Shares are not 

transferable except in accordance 
with the paragraph headed ‘Powers 
in relation to the Company issuing or 
buying back its own shares’ below 
or with the written consent of the 
Directors.

The Company is not aware of any 
agreements between holders of 
securities that may result in restrictions 
on the transfer of securities.

Articles of Association
Our Articles are available on our website 
at www.plc.aggreko.com. Unless 
expressly specifi ed to the contrary in the 
Articles, the Articles may be amended 
by a special resolution of the Company’s 
shareholders.

Appointment and replacement 
of Directors
The rules for the appointment and 
replacement of Directors are contained 
in the Company’s Articles. They include: 
the number of Directors must not be 
less than two or more than 15; the Board 
may appoint any person to be a Director; 
any Director so appointed by the Board 
shall hold offi ce only until the next 
general meeting and shall then be 
eligible for election; each Director must 
retire from offi ce at the third Annual 
General Meeting after the Annual 
General Meeting at which he/she was 
last elected. However, in line with the 
2016 UK Corporate Governance Code, all 
Directors will stand for annual election 
at the 2019 AGM.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

81

 
 
 
STATUTORY DISCLOSURES CONTINUED

A Director may be removed by special 
resolution of the Company. In addition, 
the offi ce of a Director must be vacated 
if: (i) they resign their offi ce by notice 
in writing delivered to the offi ce or 
tendered at a meeting of the Board; 
or (ii) by notice in writing they offer to 
resign and the Board resolves to accept 
such offer; or (iii) their resignation is 
requested by all of the other Directors 
and all of the other Directors are not less 
than three in number; or (iv) a registered 
medical practitioner who is treating that 
Director gives a written opinion to the 
Company stating that that Director has 
become physically or mentally incapable 
of acting as a Director and may remain 
so for more than three months; or (v) 
by reason of a Director’s mental health, 
a court makes an order which wholly 
or partly prevents that Director from 
personally exercising any powers 
or rights which that Director would 
otherwise have; or (vi) they are absent 
without the permission of the Board 
from meetings of the Board (whether 
or not an alternate Director appointed 
by him attends) for six consecutive 
months and the Board resolves that 
his offi ce is vacated; or (vii) they become 
bankrupt or compound with their 
creditors generally; or (viii) they are 
prohibited by law from being a Director; 
or (ix) they cease to be a Director by 
virtue of the Companies Acts or are 
removed from offi ce pursuant to 
the Articles.

Directors’ confl icts of interest
The Company has procedures in place 
for monitoring and managing confl icts 
of interest. Should a Director become 
aware that they, or their connected 
parties, have an interest in an existing 
or proposed transaction with Aggreko, 
they should notify the Board in writing 
or at the next Board meeting. Directors 
have a continuing duty to update any 
changes to these confl icts.

Powers of the Directors
Subject to the provisions of the 
Companies Acts, the Articles and to any 
directions given by the Company in 
general meeting by special resolution, 
the business of the Company is 
managed by the Board, which may 
exercise all the powers of the Company 
whether relating to the management 
of the business of the Company or not. 

In particular, the Board may exercise all 
the powers of the Company to borrow 
money and to mortgage or charge all 
or any part of the undertaking, property 
and assets (present and future) and 
uncalled capital of the Company and 
to issue debentures and other securities, 
whether outright or as collateral security 
for any debt, liability or obligation of the 
Company or any third party.

Powers in relation to the 
Company issuing or buying 
back its own shares
The Directors were granted authority 
at the last Annual General Meeting 
held in 2018 to allot relevant securities 
up to a nominal amount of £4,126,149. 
That authority will apply until the earlier 
of 30 June 2019 or at the conclusion of 
the Annual General Meeting for 2019. 
At this year’s Annual General Meeting, 
shareholders will be asked to grant an 
authority to allot relevant securities up 
to a nominal amount of £4,126,149, such 
authority to apply until the end of next 
year’s Annual General Meeting (or, if 
earlier, until the close of business on 
30 June 2020).

Special resolutions will also be proposed 
to renew the Directors’ power to make 
non-pre-emptive issues for cash up to 
a nominal amount of £1,237,844.

The Company was also authorised 
at the Annual General Meeting held 
in 2018 to make market purchases of 
up to 25,612,820 Ordinary Shares. This 
authorisation will expire on the earlier 
of the conclusion of the Annual General 
Meeting of the Company for 2019 or 
30 June 2019.

A special resolution will also be proposed 
at this year’s Annual General Meeting 
to renew the Directors’ authority to 
repurchase the Company’s Ordinary 
Shares in the market. The authority will 
be limited to a maximum of 25,612,820 
Ordinary Shares and sets the minimum 
and maximum prices which may 
be paid.

The Company may at any time, without 
obtaining the sanction of the holders of 
the Deferred Shares:

(a)  Appoint any person to execute on 
behalf of any holder of Deferred 
Shares a transfer of all or any of 
the Deferred Shares (and/or an 
agreement to transfer the same) 
to the Company or to such person 
as the Directors may determine, 
in any case for not more than one 
penny for all the Deferred Shares 
then being purchased from him/her; 
and

(b)  Cancel all or any of the Deferred 
Shares so purchased by the 
Company in accordance with 
the Companies Acts.

Securities carrying 
special rights
No person holds securities in the 
Company carrying special rights with 
regard to control of the Company.

Rights under the employee 
share scheme
Estera Trust (Jersey) Limited, as Trustee 
of the Aggreko Employees’ Benefi t Trust, 
holds 0.76% of the issued share capital 
of the Company as at 5 March 2019 on 
trust for the benefi t of the employees 
and former employees of the Group and 
their dependants. The voting rights in 
relation to these shares are exercised by 
the Trustee and there are no restrictions 
on the exercise of the voting of, or the 
acceptance of any offer relating to, the 
shares. The Trustee is obliged to waive 
all dividends on the shares unless 
requested to do otherwise by the 
Company in writing.

Going concern and viability 
statements
The going concern statement is included 
on page 101 of the fi nancial statements.

The viability statement is included 
on page 45 of the Strategic Report.

Change of control
The Company has in place a number 
of agreements with advisers, fi nancial 
institutions and customers which 
contain certain termination rights which 
would have an effect on a change of 
control. The Directors believe these 
agreements to be commercially sensitive 
and that their disclosure would be 
seriously prejudicial to the Company; 
accordingly, they do not intend to 
disclose specifi c details of these. 
In addition, all of the Company’s share 
schemes contain provisions which, in 
the event of a change of control, would 
result in outstanding options and awards 
becoming exercisable, subject to the 
rules of the relevant schemes.

There are no agreements between the 
Company and its Directors or employees 
providing for compensation for loss 
of offi ce or employment that occurs 
because of a takeover bid.

Disclosure of information 
to the Company’s auditor
In accordance with Section 418 of the 
Companies Act 2006, the Directors who 
held offi ce at the date of approval of this 
Directors’ Report confi rm that, so far as 
they are each aware, there is no relevant 
audit information (as defi ned by Section 
418(3) of the Companies Act 2006) of 
which the Company’s auditor is unaware; 
and each Director has taken all the steps 
that they ought to have taken as a 
Director to make themselves aware of 
any relevant audit information and to 
establish that the Company’s auditor 
is aware of that information.

82 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Indemnity of offi  cers
Under Article 154 of the Articles, the 
Company may indemnify any Director or 
other offi cer against any liability, subject 
to the provisions of the Companies Acts. 
The Articles grant an indemnity to the 
Directors against any liability for the 
costs of legal proceedings where 
judgement is given in their favour.

Under the authority conferred by 
Article 154, the Company has granted 
indemnities to Directors and offi cers 
of the Company and its subsidiaries. 
The indemnities do not apply to any 
claim which arises out of fraud, default, 
negligence or breach of fi duciary duty 
or trust by the indemnifi ed person.

In addition, the Company may purchase 
and maintain for any Director or other 
offi cer, insurance against any liability. 
The Company maintains appropriate 
insurance cover against legal action 
brought against its Directors and 
offi cers and the Directors and offi cers 
of its subsidiaries.

Equal opportunities
Aggreko is committed to promoting 
equal opportunities for all, irrespective 
of disability, ethnic origin, gender or any 
other considerations that do not affect 
a person’s ability to perform their job. 
Our policies for recruitment, training, 
career development and promotion of 
employees are based on the suitability 
of the individual and give those who are 
disabled equal treatment with the able 
bodied where appropriate. Employees 
disabled after joining the Group are 
given suitable training for alternative 
employment with Aggreko or elsewhere.

Human rights
As we continue to grow our business in 
developing countries, we recognise that 
human rights are a concern in many 
regions in which we operate. We have 
a responsibility to all of our stakeholders 
to ensure that all of our interactions with 
them meet or exceed the standards of 
compliance set out in our ethics policies, 
approach to equal opportunities, health 
and safety policies, environmental 
policies and grievance mechanisms, 
all of which are explained in detail 
throughout this report. In addition, 
we manage risks in relation to talent 
management and health and safety 
within our risk management framework. 
While all these matters are linked, to a 
greater or lesser extent, to human rights, 
we prefer to address them as part of our 
operations, rather than as a separate 
issue. We continue to evaluate all 
potential risks and do not think that 
human rights present material issues 
for our business.

Pensions
The assets of the UK defi ned-benefi t 
pension fund are controlled by the 
Directors of Aggreko Pension Scheme 
Trustee Limited; they are held separately 
from the assets of the Company and 
invested by independent fund 
managers. These segregated funds 
cannot be invested directly in the 
Company. Four trustees have been 
appointed by the Company and, in 
addition, two member-nominated 
trustees have been appointed. This fund 
was closed to new employees joining 
the Group after 1 April 2002; new UK 
employees are now offered membership 
of a Group Personal Pension Plan.

Greenhouse gas emissions
In line with the Company’s Act 2006, 
we are reporting on our greenhouse 
gas (GHG) emissions. We have used the 
method outlined in the GHG Protocol 
Corporate Accounting and Reporting 
Standard (revised edition), using the 
location-based Scope 2 calculation 
method, together with the latest 
emission factors from recognised public 
sources including the UK Department 
for Business, Energy and Industrial 
Strategy (BEIS), the US Energy 
Information Administration (EIA), the 
US Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) and the Intergovernmental 
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Scope 1 emissions are from those 
activities owned and operated by 
Aggreko, and include fuel combusted 
in the Aggreko generator fl eet (by far the 
greatest proportion of emissions); fuel 
combusted in Aggreko premises boilers; 
fuel combusted in Aggreko owned 
vehicles; refrigerant gas lost from 
Aggreko A/C units or vehicles; and 
emissions of SF6. Scope 1 emissions 
are considered to be those over which 
the Company has the most control.

Scope 2 emissions are from electricity 
consumed in Aggreko owned premises. 
Although the consumption of the 
electricity occurs at Aggreko premises, 
the electricity itself is generated by a 
third party (i.e. the power station) and 
actual emissions from the production 
of the electricity occur without 
Aggreko’s control, hence why this 
is a separate scope.

Scope 3 emissions are everything else, 
and consist primarily of the upstream 
emissions from fuel combusted in the 
Aggreko fl eet (upstream emissions are 
from all activities associated with the 
fuel before it is actually combusted, so 
its extraction, refi ning, transportation 
etc.); other Scope 3 emissions include 
transport of the fl eet by third-party 
vehicles; business travel (air and rail 
travel etc); and waste and water 
supply/treatment.

The tables below present the principal 
fi ndings from GHG analysis of the 
previous two years:

Total GHG emissions 
by GHG protocol scope
tCO2e/year
Scope 1

Scope 2

Scope 3

Total

2018

2017

6,259,024 14,716,676
21,414

17,017

6,999,628

2,954,104

13,275,669

17,692,195

Total GHG emissions 
by fl eet/non-fl eet
tCO2e/year
Fleet

2018

2017

13,149,392

17,556,543

Non-fl eet

Total

126,277

135,652

13,275,669

17,692,195

In 2018, we emitted 13,275,669 tonnes of 
CO2e, a decrease of 25% over 2017. In line 
with previous years, the results show that 
99% of GHG emissions arise from the 
operation of our fl eet when it is out on 
rent. There are three main factors driving 
our annual GHG emissions: the fuel type 
our customers use; the pattern of their 
usage; and the fuel effi ciency of the fl eet.

As can be seen above, there is a 
signifi cant decrease in fl eet emissions. 
This is due to the use of more accurate 
effi ciency assumptions in the conversion 
of running hours to fuel consumption 
(litres) for diesel generators within Rental 
Solutions (RS) and Power Solutions 
Industrial (PSI). In 2018, as part of our 
ongoing digital strategy we launched 
a project to more accurately calculate 
the emissions from our thermal assets. 
Using the data from our 15,000 assets 
which are connected to our central 
analytics platform and our advanced 
analytics capability we were able to 
construct a model which provided a 
more accurate load factor for 17 of our 
node sizes. Previously we have used 
an assumed average load factor for 
each node size but our model was 
able to provide actual values based on 
automated data from our assets. These 
accurate load factors were used to create 
new effi ciency assumption conversions 
for the 17 tested nodes, and also for the 
remainder of nodes within RS and PSI 
using a ‘nearest neighbour’ approach. 
The outcome of this improvement in 
accuracy is a decrease in fl eet emissions 
of 46% for RS and 36% for PSI, as 
compared to the 2017 assessment.

Another signifi cant change for the 2018 
results is a shift in emissions from Scope 
1 to Scope 3. Historically, Aggreko has 
reported the direct emissions from 
generator (fl eet) fuel consumption under 
Scope 1 for the entire fl eet. However, 
recent review of Aggreko’s operating 
practices has prompted the need to 
re-assign a portion of fl eet emissions 
as Scope 3, with effect from the 2018 
reporting period. Aggreko takes an 

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

83

 
 
 
STATUTORY DISCLOSURES CONTINUED

operational control approach to its 
Greenhouse Gas Assessment, as 
described in the GHG Protocol Corporate 
Accounting and Reporting Standard 
(revised edition). Under the operational 
control approach, assets (such as the 
generator fl eet) are considered to fall 
within Scope 1 if the reporting company 
“has the full authority to introduce and 
implement its operating policies at 
the operation”. This is true for Power 
Solutions Utility, where Aggreko sells 
power to specifi ed clients, with Aggreko 
personnel maintaining presence on the 
project site to control the day-to-day 
running of the equipment to meet the 
power demand. Within Rental Solutions 
(and Power Solutions Industrial) Aggreko 
rents out fl eet equipment to customers 
for short to medium-term hire. Under 
this contract the equipment is delivered 
to site by Aggreko at which point the 
customer takes over operational control 
for the duration of the lease. As outlined 
in the GHG Protocol, the direct emissions 
from the fl eet rented in this way would 
be considered Scope 1 for the lessee 
and Scope 3 for the lessor (Aggreko). 
The result is that fl eet emissions within 
Power Solutions Utility remain as Scope 1, 
and fl eet emissions within Power 
Solutions Industrial and Rental Solutions 
are now categorised as Scope 3.

In line with best practice, our GHG 
accounting systems include an estimate 
of the upstream GHG emissions 
associated with fuel supply chains; 
in 2018, this contributed 16% of fl eet 
combustion emissions, accounting 
for 30% of Scope 3 emissions.

In terms of the non-fl eet activities, 
emissions from activities associated with 
premises use (energy, waste, water and 
refrigerant gases), business travel and 
company vehicles have all decreased 
compared to 2017. The most signifi cant 
reduction is observed within premises 
emissions (-38%) due to greatly reduced 
loss of refrigerant gases. Conversely, 
emissions from third-party logistics have 
increased by 68%, largely due to higher 
volume of road and sea freight reported 
by Jebel Ali Operations.

The intensity ratio expresses the GHG 
impact per unit of physical activity or 
economic output, with a declining 
intensity ratio refl ecting a positive 
performance improvement. In 2013, 
we chose to report Revenue Intensity 
as a suitable metric to measure year 
on year performance.

As can be seen from the fi rst chart, 
relative emissions (expressed in tCO2e/
k£) have decreased signifi cantly (27%) 
from 2017 due to the aforementioned 
absolute reduction in fl eet emissions.

Revenue intensity ration tCO2e/
thousand £ GBP

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

Important events since 
31 December 2018
There have been no important events 
affecting the Company or any subsidiary 
since 31 December 2018.

Political donations
No political donations were made during 
the fi nancial year (2017: nil).

7.57

10.42*
11.89

11.76

11.84

*  Note the 2017 value has changed from 10.22 due 

to accounting changes.

While normalising emissions by Revenue 
can be informative we feel that running 
hours (the number of hours our fl eet is 
operational for) is a more suitable 
intensity metric to measure year-on-year 
performance. The chart below shows 
relative emissions using the running 
hours intensity metric for reporting years 
2014 to 2018.

Running hour intensity ration tCO2e/
running hour

Approval of the Strategic 
Report and Directors’ Report
The Strategic Report set out on pages 
1 to 45 and Directors’ Report set out on 
pages 46 to 85 were approved by the 
Board on 6 March 2019 and have been 
signed by the Company Secretary on 
behalf of the Board.

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

0.25

0.34
0.34

0.34

0.33

Peter Kennerley
Group Legal Director and 
Company Secretary

6 March 2019

In 2015, we undertook an Energy 
Saving Opportunities Scheme (ESOS) 
assessment in line with the UK 
Environment Agency requirements and 
can confi rm that we are compliant with 
the regulations. Our next assessment is 
scheduled for 2019. 

In addition, Aggreko’s Northern Europe 
business achieved CEMARS (Carbon 
and Energy Management Reduction) 
Certifi cation in 2017. CEMARS allows 
large organisations or high emissions 
industries to measure their greenhouse 
gas emissions, put in place plans to 
reduce them and have both of these 
steps independently certifi ed. It is the 
fi rst global greenhouse gas certifi cation 
scheme to be accredited to the 
internationally recognised ISO 14065 
standard. Aggreko was the fi rst rental 
company to meet this standard.

Branches
Subsidiaries of the Company have 
established branches in a number of 
different countries in which they operate.

Auditor
Resolutions re-appointing KPMG 
as the Company’s and Group’s 
auditor and authorising the Audit 
Committee to determine its 
remuneration will be proposed at 
the Annual General Meeting.

84 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Statement of Directors’ 
responsibilities

The Directors are responsible for 
preparing the Annual Report and the 
Group and parent Company fi  nancial 
statements in accordance with 
applicable law and regulations.

 → Assess the Group and parent 

Company’s ability to continue as 
a going concern, disclosing, as 
applicable, matters related to 
going concern and 

Responsibility statement of the 
Directors in respect of the annual 
fi  nancial report
We confi rm that to the best of our 
knowledge:

Company law requires the Directors to 
prepare Group and parent Company 
fi nancial statements for each fi nancial 
year. Under that law they are required to 
prepare the Group fi nancial statements 
in accordance with International 
Financial Reporting Standards as 
adopted by the European Union (IFRSs 
as adopted by the EU) and applicable 
law and have elected to prepare the 
parent Company fi nancial statements 
in accordance with UK accounting 
standards, including FRS 101 Reduced 
Disclosure Framework. 

Under company law the Directors must 
not approve the fi nancial statements 
unless they are satisfi ed that they give a 
true and fair view of the state of affairs 
of the Group and parent Company and 
of their profi t or loss for that period. 
In preparing each of the Group and 
parent Company fi nancial statements, 
the Directors are required to: 

 → Select suitable accounting policies 
and then apply them consistently

 → Make judgements and estimates 

that are reasonable, relevant, reliable 
and prudent

 → For the Group fi nancial statements, 

state whether they have been 
prepared in accordance with IFRSs 
as adopted by the EU 

 → For the parent Company fi nancial 

statements, state whether applicable 
UK accounting standards have been 
followed, subject to any material 
departures disclosed and explained 
in the parent company fi nancial 
statements

 → Use the going concern basis of 

 → The fi nancial statements, prepared 

in accordance with the applicable set 
of accounting standards, give a true 
and fair view of the assets, liabilities, 
fi nancial position and profi t or loss of 
the Company and the undertakings 
included in the consolidation taken 
as a whole and 

 → The Strategic Report includes a fair 
review of the development and 
performance of the business and 
the position of the issuer and the 
undertakings included in the 
consolidation taken as a whole, 
together with a description of the 
principal risks and uncertainties 
that they face. 

We consider the Annual Report and 
Accounts, taken as a whole, is fair, 
balanced and understandable and 
provides the information necessary 
for shareholders to assess the Group’s 
position and performance, business 
model and strategy.

By order of the Board, 6 March 2019.

Ken Hanna 
Chairman 

Chris Weston
Chief Executive Offi cer

accounting unless they either intend 
to liquidate the Group or the parent 
Company or to cease operations, or 
have no realistic alternative but to 
do so. 

The Directors are responsible for keeping 
adequate accounting records that are 
suffi cient to show and explain the parent 
Company’s transactions and disclose 
with reasonable accuracy at any time 
the fi nancial position of the parent 
Company and enable them to ensure 
that its fi nancial statements comply 
with the Companies Act 2006. They 
are responsible for such internal 
control as they determine is necessary 
to enable the preparation of fi nancial 
statements that are free from material 
misstatement, whether due to fraud or 
error, and have general responsibility for 
taking such steps as are reasonably open 
to them to safeguard the assets of the 
Group and to prevent and detect fraud 
and other irregularities. 

Under applicable law and regulations, 
the Directors are also responsible for 
preparing a Strategic Report, Directors’ 
Report, Directors’ Remuneration 
Report and Corporate Governance 
Statement that comply with that law 
and those regulations. 

The Directors are responsible for the 
maintenance and integrity of the 
corporate and fi nancial information 
included on the Company’s website. 
Legislation in the UK governing the 
preparation and dissemination of 
fi nancial statements may differ from 
legislation in other jurisdictions. 

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

85

 
 
 
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF AGGREKO PLC

1 Our opinion is unmodifi  ed 
We have audited the fi nancial statements of Aggreko Plc (“the Company”) for the year ended 31 December 2018 which comprise 
the Group income statement, Group statement of comprehensive income, Group balance sheet, Group cash fl ow statement, 
Group statement of changes in equity, and the related notes, including the accounting policies in Note 1 and the Company 
balance sheet, Company statement of comprehensive income, Company statement of changes in equity, and the related notes, 
including the accounting policies in Note 31. 

In our opinion: 

 → the fi nancial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the Group’s and of the parent Company’s affairs as at 

31 December 2018 and of the Group’s profi t for the year then ended; 

 → the Group fi nancial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards 

as adopted by the European Union; 

 → the parent Company fi nancial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with UK accounting standards, 

including FRS 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework; and 

 → the fi nancial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and, as regards 

the Group fi nancial statements, Article 4 of the IAS Regulation.

Basis for opinion 
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (“ISAs (UK)”) and applicable law. Our 
responsibilities are described below. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is a suffi cient and appropriate basis 
for our opinion. Our audit opinion is consistent with our report to the audit committee. 

We were fi rst appointed as auditor by the shareholders on 27 April 2016. The period of total uninterrupted engagement is for the 
three fi nancial years ended 31 December 2018. We have fulfi lled our ethical responsibilities under, and we remain independent 
of the Group in accordance with, UK ethical requirements including the FRC Ethical Standard as applied to listed public interest 
entities. No non-audit services prohibited by that standard were provided. 

2 Key audit matters: our assessment of risks of material misstatement 
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most signifi cance in the audit of the fi nancial 
statements and include the most signifi cant assessed risks of material misstatement (whether or not due to fraud) identifi ed 
by us, including those which had the greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy; the allocation of resources in the audit; 
and directing the efforts of the engagement team. We summarise below the key audit matters, in decreasing order of audit 
signifi cance, in arriving at our audit opinion above, together with our key audit procedures to address those matters and, as 
required for public interest entities, our results from those procedures. These matters were addressed, and our results are based 
on procedures undertaken, in the context of, and solely for the purpose of, our audit of the fi nancial statements as a whole, and 
in forming our opinion thereon, and consequently are incidental to that opinion, and we do not provide a separate opinion on 
these matters.

The risk

Recoverability of 
Power Solutions 
Utility overdue 
receivables and 
accrued income 
in respect of 
certain countries 
including Yemen, 
Venezuela, Brazil, 
Zimbabwe, Chad, 
Mozambique, 
Angola, Mali 
and Benin

Refer to page 57 
(Audit Committee 
report), page 102 
(accounting policy) 
and page 114 
(fi nancial 
disclosures)

Risk vs 2017: (cid:181)

Subjective judgement – certain customers of the 
Power Solutions Utility business operate in territories 
with volatile regimes and adverse macroeconomic 
conditions where the risk of customer default (the 
customer often being the government) is high. 
In these territories, cash receipts are volatile and 
unpredictable due to factors such as regime 
change and economic stress, resulting in signifi cant 
judgement being applied in the Group’s assessment 
of the recoverability of receivables (both trade 
receivables and accrued income) from customers 
in these territories.

We note this risk is in relation to ‘certain’ PSU debtors 
such as Yemen, Venezuela, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Chad, 
Mozambique Angola, Mali and Benin those being the 
receivables that we consider give rise to our key audit 
matter. We consider the risk to have increased during 
the year given the £16 million increase in past due 
total PSU debtors highlighted in note 17. 

The effect of these matters is that, as part of our risk 
assessment, we determined that the recoverability 
of certain Power Solutions Utility overdue receivables 
and accrued income in respect of certain countries 
outlined above has a high degree of estimation 
uncertainty, with a potential range of reasonable 
outcomes greater than our materiality for the 
fi nancial statements as a whole, and possibly many 
times that amount. 

Our response

Our procedures included:

 → Our sector experience: using our sector experience, 

assessing and challenging the Directors’ 
judgement as to the likely recoverable amount of 
the receivables, which includes seeking evidence 
of the status of receivables from the latest 
communications with the relevant customer 
(including deposits and guarantees) where 
available, considering the Group’s previous 
experience of recovery, considering any non-
corroborating evidence and our knowledge of 
in-country exposures;

 → Tests of details: Assessing post year end debt 
collection by vouching receipts to supporting 
documentation and considering evidence of 
planned payments; and

 → Assessing transparency: Assessing the adequacy 
of the Group’s disclosures about the degree of 
estimation involved.

Our results

 → We found the carrying value of the trade 

receivables and accrued income noted opposite 
to be acceptable (2017: acceptable).

86 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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The risk

Consolidated and 
parent company 
taxation provisions 
in relation to the 
ongoing dispute 
in relation to a tax 
assessment in 
Bangladesh 

Refer to page 57 
(Audit Committee 
report), page 103 
(accounting policy) 
and page 110 
(fi nancial 
disclosures)

Risk vs 2017: (cid:179)(cid:180)

Subjective judgement – provision for tax 
contingencies require the Directors to make 
judgements and estimates in relation to tax risks in 
particular in relation to the ongoing dispute in 
relation to a tax assessment in Bangladesh. This is 
highly judgemental due to the complexities and 
uncertainties of local and international tax legislation.

The matter is in court proceedings and may take 
many years to resolve. The risk to the fi nancial 
statements is that the eventual resolution of the 
matter with the tax authorities is at an amount 
materially different to the provision held.

The effect of this matter is that, as part of our risk 
assessment, we determined that the provision in 
relation the ongoing dispute in relation to the 
Bangladesh tax assessment has a high degree of 
estimation uncertainty, with a potential range of 
outcomes greater than our materiality for the 
fi nancial statements as a whole, and possibly many 
times that amount.

Our response

Our procedures included:

 → Our tax expertise: assessing, together with our 
own international and local tax specialists, the 
Group’s tax position in relation to the ongoing tax 
assessment in Bangladesh, inspecting relevant 
correspondence with the tax authority and legal 
opinions and analysing and challenging the 
judgement about the likely conclusion used 
to determine the tax provision based on our 
knowledge and experience of the application 
of the international and local legislation by the 
relevant authority and courts; and

 → Assessing transparency: assessing the adequacy 
of the Group’s disclosures in respect of tax and 
uncertain tax positions.

Our results

 → We found the level of tax provisioning in the Group 
and Company to be acceptable (2017: acceptable).

3 Our application of materiality and an overview of the scope of our audit 
Materiality for the group fi nancial statements as a whole was set at £9.0 million (2017: £9.8 million), determined with reference 
to a benchmark of group profi t before tax, of which it represents 4.9% (2017: 5%). Materiality for the parent company fi nancial 
statements as a whole was set at £6.5 million (2017: £7 million) based on component materiality. This is lower than we would 
otherwise have determined with reference to a benchmark of company net assets, and represents 1.5% (2017: 1.4%) of this 
benchmark.

We agreed to report to the Audit Committee any corrected or uncorrected misstatements identifi ed exceeding £450,000, in 
addition to any other identifi ed misstatements that warranted reporting on qualitative grounds. This level was selected and 
agreed with the Audit Committee as, given the nature and scale of operations, adjustments under this level were not deemed 
to be of specifi c interest to them.

The Group audit team instructed component auditors in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Dubai and Russia as to the signifi cant areas 
to be covered, including the relevant risks detailed above and the information to be reported back. The group team completed 
audit work on components in Dubai, the UK and US including the parent company. The Group audit team approved the 
component materialities, which ranged from £10,000 to £6.5 million, having regard to the mix of size and risk profi le of the Group 
across the components. The components not included were not individually fi nancially signifi cant enough to require an audit for 
group reporting purposes, and did not present specifi c individual risks that needed to be addressed.

The Group audit team visited the component location in Dubai to participate in the planning meeting and assess the audit 
risk and strategy. Telephone calls were also held with the component auditors in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Dubai and Russia. 
On these calls, the audit risks and strategy were discussed, the fi ndings from the audit reported to the Group audit team were 
discussed in more detail, and any further work required by the Group audit team was then performed by the component auditor 
as relevant. 

The components within the scope of our work accounted for the percentages illustrated below:

Scoped out of our audit

Full audit

Revenue

23% (2017: 23%)

77% (2017: 77%)

Profi t before tax

23% (2017: 5%)

77% (2017: 95%)

Net Assets

25% (2017: 7%)

75% (2017: 93%)

The remaining 23% of total group revenue, 23% of group profi t before tax and 25% of total group assets is represented by a 
number of reporting components, none of which individually represented more than 7% of any of total group revenue, group 
profi t before tax or total group assets. For these components we performed analysis at an aggregated group level to re-examine 
our assessment that there were no signifi cant risks of material misstatement within these.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

87

 
 
 
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF AGGREKO PLC CONTINUED

4 We have nothing to report 
on going concern
The Directors have prepared the 
fi nancial statements on the going 
concern basis as they do not intend to 
liquidate the Company or the Group or 
to cease their operations, and as they 
have concluded that the Company’s and 
the Group’s fi nancial position means 
that this is realistic. They have also 
concluded that there are no material 
uncertainties that could have cast 
signifi cant doubt over their ability to 
continue as a going concern for at least 
a year from the date of approval of 
the fi nancial statements (“the going 
concern period”). 

Our responsibility is to conclude on 
the appropriateness of the Directors’ 
conclusions and, had there been a 
material uncertainty related to going 
concern, to make reference to that in 
this audit report. However, as we cannot 
predict all future events or conditions 
and as subsequent events may result in 
outcomes that are inconsistent with 
judgements that were reasonable at the 
time they were made, the absence of 
reference to a material uncertainty in 
this auditor's report is not a guarantee 
that the Group and the Company will 
continue in operation. 

In our evaluation of the Directors’ 
conclusions, we considered the inherent 
risks to the Group’s and Company’s 
business model and analysed how 
those risks might affect the Group’s 
and Company’s fi nancial resources or 
ability to continue operations over the 
going concern period. The risks that we 
considered most likely to adversely affect 
the Group’s and Company’s available 
fi nancial resources over this period were:

 → Global macroeconomic uncertainty 
resulting in reduced demand; and

 → Market dynamics in the Power 

Solutions Utility business impacting 
on returns.

As these were risks that could potentially 
cast signifi cant doubt on the Company's 
ability to continue as a going concern, 
we considered sensitivities over the level 
of available fi nancial resources indicated 
by the Company’s fi nancial forecasts 
taking account of reasonably possible 
(but not unrealistic) adverse effects that 
could arise from these risks individually 
and collectively and evaluated the 
achievability of the actions the Directors 
consider they would take to improve 
the position should the risks materialise. 
We also considered less predictable but 
realistic second order impacts, such as 
the impact of Brexit on customs delays 
impacting on the Group’s ability to meet 
demand in certain areas.

Based on this work, we are required to 
report to you if:

 → we have anything material to add or 
draw attention to in relation to the 
Directors’ statement in Note 1 to the 
Financial statements on the use of the 
going concern basis of accounting 
with no material uncertainties that 
may cast signifi cant doubt over the 
Group and Company’s use of that 
basis for a period of at least twelve 
months from the date of approval 
of the fi nancial statements; or

 → the related statement under the 

Listing Rules set out on page 32 is 
materially inconsistent with our 
audit knowledge.

We have nothing to report in these 
respects, and we did not identify going 
concern as a key audit matter.

5 We have nothing to report 
on the other information in 
the Annual Report
The Directors are responsible for the 
other information presented in the 
Annual Report together with the 
fi nancial statements. Our opinion on 
the fi nancial statements does not cover 
the other information and, accordingly, 
we do not express an audit opinion or, 
except as explicitly stated below, any 
form of assurance conclusion thereon. 

Our responsibility is to read the other 
information and, in doing so, consider 
whether, based on our fi nancial 
statements audit work, the information 
therein is materially misstated or 
inconsistent with the fi nancial 
statements or our audit knowledge. 
Based solely on that work we have not 
identifi ed material misstatements in the 
other information. 

Strategic Report and Directors’ Report 
Based solely on our work on the other 
information: 

 → we have not identifi ed material 

misstatements in the Strategic Report 
and the Directors’ Report; 

 → in our opinion the information given 
in those reports for the fi nancial year 
is consistent with the fi nancial 
statements; and 

 → in our opinion those reports have 

been prepared in accordance with 
the Companies Act 2006. 

Directors’ Remuneration Report 
In our opinion the part of the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report to be audited has 
been properly prepared in accordance 
with the Companies Act 2006. 

Disclosures of principal risks and 
longer-term viability 
Based on the knowledge we acquired 
during our fi nancial statements audit, 
we have nothing material to add or draw 
attention to in relation to: 

 → the Directors’ confi rmation within 

page 45 that they have carried out a 
robust assessment of the principal 
risks facing the Group, including 
those that would threaten its business 
model, future performance, solvency 
and liquidity; 

 → the principal risks and uncertainties 
disclosures describing these risks 
and explaining how they are being 
managed and mitigated; and 

 → the Directors’ explanation in the 

assessment of prospects and viability 
statement of how they have assessed 
the prospects of the Group, over what 
period they have done so and why 
they considered that period to be 
appropriate, and their statement as 
to whether they have a reasonable 
expectation that the Group will be 
able to continue in operation and 
meet its liabilities as they fall due 
over the period of their assessment, 
including any related disclosures 
drawing attention to any necessary 
qualifi cations or assumptions. 

Under the Listing Rules we are required 
to review the assessment of prospects 
and viability statement. We have nothing 
to report in this respect. 

Our work is limited to assessing these 
matters in the context of only the 
knowledge acquired during our fi nancial 
statements audit. As we cannot predict 
all future events or conditions and as 
subsequent events may result in 
outcomes that are inconsistent with 
judgments that were reasonable at the 
time they were made, the absence of 
anything to report on these statements 
is not a guarantee as to the Group’s and 
Company’s longer-term viability.

Corporate governance disclosures 
We are required to report to you if: 

 → we have identifi ed material 

inconsistencies between the 
knowledge we acquired during our 
fi nancial statements audit and the 
directors’ statement that they consider 
that the annual report and fi nancial 
statements taken as a whole is fair, 
balanced and understandable and 
provides the information necessary 
for shareholders to assess the Group’s 
position and performance, business 
model and strategy; or 

 → the section of the Annual Report 
describing the work of the Audit 
Committee does not appropriately 
address matters communicated by 
us to the Audit Committee.

88 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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Owing to the inherent limitations of 
an audit, there is an unavoidable risk 
that we may not have detected some 
material misstatements in the fi nancial 
statements, even though we have 
properly planned and performed our 
audit in accordance with auditing 
standards. For example, the further 
removed non-compliance with laws and 
regulations (irregularities) is from the 
events and transactions refl ected in the 
fi nancial statements, the less likely the 
inherently limited procedures required 
by auditing standards would identify it. 
In addition, as with any audit, there 
remained a higher risk of non-detection 
of irregularities, as these may involve 
collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, 
misrepresentations, or the override of 
internal controls. We are not responsible 
for preventing non-compliance and 
cannot be expected to detect non-
compliance with all laws and regulations.

8 The purpose of our audit 
work and to whom we owe 
our responsibilities 
This report is made solely to the 
Company’s members, as a body, in 
accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of 
the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work 
has been undertaken so that we might 
state to the Company’s members those 
matters we are required to state to them 
in an auditor’s 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 and the Company’s 
members, as a body, for our audit work, 
for this report, or for the opinions we 
have formed. 

John Luke (Senior Statutory Auditor) 
for and on behalf of KPMG LLP, 
Statutory Auditor 

Chartered Accountants 
319 St Vincent Street
Glasgow G2 5AS

6 March 2019

We are required to report to you if 
the Corporate Governance Statement 
does not properly disclose a departure 
from the eleven provisions of the UK 
Corporate Governance Code specifi ed 
by the Listing Rules for our review. 

We have nothing to report in these 
respects.

6 We have nothing to report 
on the other matters on which 
we are required to report by 
exception 
Under the Companies Act 2006, we are 
required to report to you if, in our 
opinion: 

 → adequate accounting records have not 
been kept by the parent Company, or 
returns adequate for our audit have 
not been received from branches not 
visited by us; or 

 → the parent Company fi nancial 
statements and the part of the 
Directors’ Remuneration Report to be 
audited are not in agreement with the 
accounting records and returns; or 

 → certain disclosures of Directors’ 

remuneration specifi ed by law are 
not made; or 

 → we have not received all the 

information and explanations we 
require for our audit. 

We have nothing to report in these 
respects. 

7 Respective responsibilities 
Directors’ responsibilities 
As explained more fully in their 
statement set out on page 85, the 
Directors are responsible for: the 
preparation of the fi nancial statements 
including being satisfi ed that they 
give a true and fair view; such internal 
control as they determine is necessary 
to enable the preparation of fi nancial 
statements that are free from material 
misstatement, whether due to fraud or 
error; assessing the Group and parent 
Company’s ability to continue as a 
going concern, disclosing, as applicable, 
matters related to going concern; 
and using the going concern basis of 
accounting unless they either intend 
to liquidate the Group or the parent 
Company or to cease operations, or have 
no realistic alternative but to do so. 

Auditor’s responsibilities 
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable 
assurance about whether the fi nancial 
statements as a whole are free from 
material misstatement, whether due to 
fraud or other irregularities (see below), 
or error, and to issue our opinion in an 
auditor’s report. Reasonable assurance is 

a high level of assurance, but does not 
guarantee that an audit conducted in 
accordance with ISAs (UK) will always 
detect a material misstatement when 
it exists. Misstatements can arise from 
fraud, other irregularities or error and 
are considered material if, individually 
or in aggregate, they could reasonably 
be expected to infl uence the economic 
decisions of users taken on the basis of 
the fi nancial statements. 

A fuller description of our responsibilities 
is provided on the FRC’s website at 
www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. 

Irregularities – ability to detect
We identifi ed areas of laws and 
regulations that could reasonably be 
expected to have a material effect on the 
fi nancial statements from our general 
commercial and sector experience and 
through discussion with the directors 
and other management (as required by 
auditing standards), and discussed with 
the Directors and other management 
the policies and procedures regarding 
compliance with laws and regulations. 
We communicated identifi ed laws and 
regulations throughout our team and 
remained alert to any indications of 
non-compliance throughout the audit. 
This included communication from the 
Group to component audit teams of 
relevant laws and regulations identifi ed 
at group level.

The potential effect of these laws and 
regulations on the fi nancial statements 
varies considerably.

Firstly, the Group is subject to laws 
and regulations that directly affect the 
fi nancial statements including fi nancial 
reporting legislation (including related 
companies legislation), distributable 
profi ts legislation and taxation 
legislation and we assessed the extent 
of compliance with these laws and 
regulations as part of our procedures on 
the related fi nancial statement items. 

Secondly, the Group is subject to many 
other laws and regulations where the 
consequences of non-compliance could 
have a material effect on amounts or 
disclosures in the fi nancial statements, 
for instance through the imposition of 
fi nes or litigation. We identifi ed anti-
bribery as the area most likely to have 
such an effect, recognising the nature 
of the Group’s activities and the 
Governmental nature of many of the 
Group's customers. Auditing standards 
limit the required audit procedures to 
identify non-compliance with these 
laws and regulations to enquiry of 
the Directors and other management 
and inspection of regulatory and legal 
correspondence, if any. These limited 
procedures did not identify actual or 
suspected non-compliance.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

89

 
 
 
GROUP INCOME STATEMENT
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

For the year ended 31 December 2018

Revenue

Cost of sales

Gross profi  t

Distribution costs

Administrative expenses

Impairment loss on trade receivables

Other income
Operating profi  t

Net fi nance costs

– Finance cost

– Finance income
Profi  t before taxation

Taxation
Profi  t for the year

All profi t for the year is attributable to the owners of the Company.

Basic earnings per share (pence)

Diluted earnings per share (pence)

Total before 
exceptional 
items 
2017 
Restated
(Note 1)
£ million

Exceptional 
items 
(Note 7) 
2017 
£ million

1,698

(778)

920

(456)

(219)

(25)

4

224

(36)

2

190

(56)

134

–

(5)

(5)

(12)

(23)

–

(1)

(41)

–

–

(41)

9

(32)

Notes

4

17

2

4
9

5

10

12

12

2018 
£ million

1,760

(824)

936

(476)

(241)

(7)

7

219

(41)

4

182

(57)

125

49.22

49.18

2017
Restated
(Note 1) 
£ million

1,698

(783)

915

(468)

(242)

(25)

3

183

(36)

2

149

(47)

102

40.04

40.01

GROUP STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

For the year ended 31 December 2018

Profi  t for the year

Other comprehensive income/(loss)

Items that will not be reclassifi ed to profi t or loss

Remeasurement of retirement benefi ts
Taxation on remeasurement of retirement benefi ts

Items that may be reclassifi ed subsequently to profi t or loss

Cash fl ow hedges

Taxation on cash fl ow hedges

PDVSA private placement notes: net change in fair value

Net exchange losses offset in reserves

Other comprehensive loss for the year (net of tax)
Total comprehensive income for the year

90 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018
90

2018 
£ million

125

2017 
Restated
(Note 1)
£ million

102

26
(5)

2

–

–

(24)

(1)

124

5
(1)

3

(1)

(4)

(98)

(96)

6

GROUP BALANCE SHEET (COMPANY NUMBER: SC177553)

As at 31 December 2018

Non-current assets
Goodwill
Other intangible assets
Investment
Property, plant and equipment
Deferred tax asset
Fulfi lment asset
Retirement benefi t surplus

Current assets
Inventories
Trade and other receivables
Fulfi lment asset
Cash and cash equivalents
Derivative fi nancial instruments
Current tax assets

Total assets

Current liabilities
Borrowings
Derivative fi nancial instruments
Trade and other payables
Current tax liabilities
Demobilisation provision
Provisions

Non-current liabilities
Borrowings
Derivative fi nancial instruments
Deferred tax liabilities
Retirement benefi t obligation
Demobilisation provision

Total liabilities
Net assets

Shareholders’ equity
Share capital
Share premium
Treasury shares
Capital redemption reserve
Hedging reserve (net of deferred tax)
Foreign exchange reserve
Retained earnings
Total Shareholders’ equity

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2018 
£ million

2017 
Restated
(Note 1)
£ million

184
42
9
1,169
36
29
1
1,470

229
781
15
85
1
23
1,134
2,604

(144)
(1)
(371)
(47)
(6)
(2)
(571)

(627)
–
(34)
–
(5)
(666)
(1,237)
1,367

42
20
(17)
13
1
(51)
1,359
1,367

184
31
–
1,214
42
3
–
1,474

232
770
5
71
–
23
1,101
2,575

(139)
(1)
(410)
(60)
(9)
(8)
(627)

(584)
(2)
(22)
(25)
(1)
(634)
(1,261)
1,314

42
20
(7)
13
(1)
(27)
1,274
1,314

Notes

13
29.A2
28
14
22
15
29.A5

16
17
15
3
29.A4

18
29.A4
19

21
20

18
29.A4
22
29.A5
21

23

24

The fi nancial statements on pages 90 to 134 were approved by the Board of Directors on 6 March 2019 and signed on its 
behalf by:

K Hanna  
Chairman 

H Drewett
Chief Financial Offi cer

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

91

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GROUP CASH FLOW STATEMENT

For the year ended 31 December 2018

Operating activities
Profi t for the year
Adjustments for:
Exceptional items
Tax
Depreciation
Amortisation of intangibles
Fulfi lment assets
Demobilisation provisions
Finance income
Finance cost
Profi t on sale of property, plant and equipment (PPE)(i)
Share-based payments
Negative goodwill on acquisition
Changes in working capital (excluding the effects of exchange differences on consolidation):

Decrease/(increase) in inventories
Increase in trade and other receivables
(Decrease)/increase in trade and other payables

Cash fl ows relating to fulfi lment assets
Cash fl ows relating to demobilisation provisions
Cash fl ows relating to prior year exceptional items
Cash generated from operations
Tax paid
Interest received
Interest paid
Net cash generated from operating activities

Cash fl ows from investing activities
Acquisitions (net of cash acquired)
Acquisitions: repayment of loans and fi nancing
Purchases of PPE
Purchase of other intangible assets
Purchase of investments
Proceeds from sale of PPE
Net cash used in investing activities

Cash fl ows from fi  nancing activities
Increase in long-term loans
Repayment of long-term loans
Increase in short-term loans
Repayment of short-term loans
Dividends paid to Shareholders
Purchase of treasury shares
Net cash (used in)/from fi nancing activities

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year
Exchange loss on cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year

Notes

2018 
£ million

2017 
Restated
(Note 1)
£ million

125

–
57
293
5
9
4
(4)
41
(7)
10
–

14
(10)
(60)
(44)
(4)
(6)
423
(61)
4
(36)
330

(24)
–
(216)
(10)
(9)
15
(244)

726
(624)
5
(94)
(69)
(12)
(68)

18
59
(1)
76

102

41
47
296
4
20
9
(2)
36
(4)
8
(2)

(1)
(163)
111
(12)
(10)
(30)
450
(69)
2
(36)
347

(55)
(18)
(272)
(5)
–
14
(336)

905
(826)
21
(6)
(69)
–
25

36
25
(2)
59

7

15
21

2

15
21

28

2

3

Cash fl ows for the purchase and sale of rental fl eet assets are presented as arising from investing activities because the 
acquisition of new fl eet assets represents a key investment decision for the Group, the assets are expected to be owned and 
operated by the Group to the end of their useful economic lives, the disposal process (when the assets are largely depreciated) is 
not a major part of the Group’s business model and the assets in the rental fl eet are not specifi cally held for subsequent resale. 

(i)  Loss on disposal of £1 million was included in exceptional items in 2017.

92 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

RECONCILIATION OF NET CASH FLOW TO MOVEMENT IN NET DEBT

For the year ended 31 December 2018

Net debt

(652)

29

(24)

(39)

As at 31 December 2018

Analysis of changes in net debt
Cash and cash equivalents

Current borrowings:

Bank borrowings

Private placement notes

Non-current borrowings:

Bank borrowings

Private placement notes

Analysis of changes in liabilities from 
fi  nancing activities

Current borrowings

Non-current borrowings

Financing derivatives
Total financing liabilities

As at 31 December 2017

Analysis of changes in net debt
Cash and cash equivalents

Current borrowings:

Bank borrowings
Private placement notes

Non-current borrowings:

Bank borrowings

Private placement notes

Net debt

(649)

15

Analysis of changes in liabilities from 
fi  nancing activities

Current borrowings

Non-current borrowings

Financing derivatives
Total financing liabilities

(41)

(633)

(5)

(679)

(15)

(6)

3

(18)

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G
o
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e

i

F
n
a
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c
i
a

l

s
t
a
t
e
m
e
n
t
s

S
h
a
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h
o
d
e
r

l

i

n
f
o
r
m
a
t
i
o
n

At 
1 January 
2018
£ million

Cash fl ow
excluding 
acquisitions
£ million

Cash fl ow– 
acquisitions
£ million

Exchange
£ million

Reclassifi cations
£ million

At 
31 December 
2018
£ million

59

18

(72)

(55)

(127)

(103)

(481)

(584)

34

55

89

(78)

–

(78)

–

–

–

–

(24)

–

(24)

(1)

(2)

(2)

(4)

(4)

(30)

(34)

(127)

(584)

(2)

(713)

89

(78)

2

13

–

(24)

–

(24)

(4)

(34)

–

(38)

–

76

(75)

(18)

(93)

75

18

93

–

(93)

93

–

–

(115)

(20)

(135)

(134)

(493)

(627)

(686)

(135)

(627)

–

(762)

At 
1 January 
2017
£ million

Cash fl ow 
excluding 
acquisitions
£ million

Cash fl ow– 
acquisitions
£ million

Exchange
£ million

Reclassifi cations
£ million

At 
31 December 
2017
£ million

25

36

(41)
–

(41)

(329)

(304)

(633)

(15)
–

(15)

265

(271)

(6)

–

–
–

–

(73)

–

(73)

(73)

–

(73)

–

(73)

(2)

–

59

4
3

7

14

36

50

55

7

50

–

57

(20)
(58)

(78)

20

58

78

–

(78)

78

–

–

(72)
(55)

(127)

(103)

(481)

(584)

(652)

(127)

(584)

(2)

(713)

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

93

 
 
 
GROUP STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

For the year ended 31 December 2018

As at 31 December 2018

Balance at 1 January 2018 
as previously reported

Impact of change in accounting 
policy (Note 1)

Restated balance at 
1 January 2018

Profi t for the year

Other comprehensive 
(loss)/income:

Fair value gains on interest rate 
swaps (net of tax)
Currency translation 
differences(i)
Remeasurement of retirement 
benefi ts (net of tax)
Total comprehensive 
income for the year ended 
31 December 2018

Transactions with owners:

Purchase of Treasury shares

Employee share awards

Issue of Ordinary Shares to 
employees under share 
option schemes
Dividends paid during 2018

Balance at 31 December 2018

Attributable to equity holders of the Company

Ordinary 
share 
capital 
£ million

Share 
premium 
account 
£ million

Treasury 
shares 
£ million

Capital 
redemption 
reserve 
£ million

Notes

Foreign 
exchange 
reserve 
(translation) 
£ million

Hedging 
reserve 
£ million

Retained 
earnings 
£ million

Total 
equity 
£ million

42

–

42

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–

20

–

20

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–
42

–
20

(7)

–

(7)

–

–

–

–

–

(12)

–

2
–

(10)
(17)

13

–

13

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–
13

(1)

–

(1)

–

2

–

–

2

–

–

–
–

–
1

(27)

1,277

1,317

–

(27)

–

–

(24)

–

(3)

(3)

1,274

125

1,314

125

–

–

21

2

(24)

21

(24)

146

124

–

–

–
–

–
(51)

–

10

(12)

10

(2)
(69)

(61)
1,359

–
(69)

(71)
1,367

11

(i)  Included in currency translation differences of the Group are exchange losses of £46 million arising on borrowings denominated in foreign currencies designated as 

hedges of net investments overseas, and exchange gains of £22 million relating to the translation of overseas results and net assets. The currency translation difference is 
explained in the Financial Review on page 27.

94 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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m
e
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t
s

S
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i

n
f
o
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a
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i
o
n

As at 31 December 2017

Balance at 1 January 2017 
as previously reported

Impact of change in accounting 
policy (Note 1)

Restated balance at 
1 January 2017

Profi t for the year

Other comprehensive 
(loss)/income:

Fair value gains on interest rate 
swaps (net of tax)
PDVSA private placement 
notes: net change in fair value

Currency translation 
differences(i)
Remeasurement of retirement 
benefi ts (net of tax)
Total comprehensive 
income for the year ended 
31 December 2017

Transactions with owners:

Employee share awards

Issue of Ordinary Shares to 
employees under share 
option schemes
Dividends paid during 2017

Attributable to equity holders of the Company

Ordinary 
share 
capital 
£ million

Share 
premium 
account 
£ million

Treasury 
shares 
£ million

Capital 
redemption 
reserve 
£ million

Notes

Foreign 
exchange 
reserve 
(translation) 
£ million

Hedging 
reserve 
£ million

Retained 
earnings 
£ million

Total 
equity 
£ million

42

–

42

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

20

–

20

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

(14)

–

(14)

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

7
–

7

13

–

13

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

(3)

–

(3)

–

2

–

–

–

2

–

–
–

–

11

1,239

1,368

1

1

1,240

102

1,369

102

71

–

71

–

–

–

(98)

–

–

(4)

–

4

(98)

102

–

–
–

–

8

(7)
(69)

(68)

2

(4)

(98)

4

6

8

–
(69)

(61)

Balance at 31 December 2017

42

20

(7)

13

(1)

(27)

1,274

1,314

(i)  Included in currency translation differences of the Group are exchange gains of £55 million arising on borrowings denominated in foreign currencies designated as 

hedges of net investments overseas, and exchange losses of £153 million relating to the translation of overseas results and net assets. 

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

95

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS

For the year ended 31 December 2018

1 Accounting policies
The Company is a public limited 
company which is listed on the London 
Stock Exchange and is incorporated and 
domiciled in the UK. The address of the 
registered offi ce is 120 Bothwell Street, 
Glasgow G2 7JS, UK. The principal 
accounting policies applied in the 
preparation of these consolidated 
fi nancial statements are set out below. 
These policies have been consistently 
applied to all years presented, unless 
otherwise stated.

Basis of preparation
The Group fi nancial statements have 
been prepared in accordance with 
International Financial Reporting 
Standards as adopted by the European 
Union (EU IFRS), IFRIC interpretations 
and the Companies Act 2006 applicable 
to companies reporting under EU IFRS. 
The fi nancial statements have been 
prepared under the historical cost 
convention, as modifi ed by the 
revaluation of certain fi nancial assets 
and fi nancial liabilities (including 
derivative instruments) at fair value.

The preparation of fi nancial statements 
in conformity with EU IFRS requires the 
use of estimates and assumptions that 
affect the reported amounts of assets 
and liabilities at the date of the fi nancial 
statements and the reported amounts 
of the revenues and expenses during 
the reporting period.

Although these estimates are based 
on management’s best knowledge of 
the amount, event or actions, actual 
results ultimately may differ from 
those estimates.

Adjusted measures
The Directors assess the performance 
of the Group and its reportable 
segments based on ‘adjusted measures’. 
These measures are used for internal 
performance management and are 
believed to be most appropriate for 
explaining underlying performance 
to users of the accounts including 
shareholders of the Company and other 
stakeholders. The adjusted measures 
in relation to profi t exclude 2017 
exceptional items. These exceptional 
items are explained on page 109. In 
comparing performance year on year 
we also exclude the impact of currency 
and pass-through fuel. The Group 
reports separately fuel revenue from 
contracts in our Power Solutions Utility 
business in Brazil and Sri Lanka where 
we manage fuel on a pass-through basis 
on behalf of our customers. The reason 
for the separate reporting is that fuel 
revenue on these contracts is entirely 
dependent on fuel prices and volumes 
of fuel consumed, and these can be 
volatile and may distort the view of the 
performance of the underlying business. 

Going concern
Given the proven ability of the business 
to fund organic growth from operating 
cash fl ows, and the nature of our 
business model, we believe it is sensible 
to run the business with a modest 
amount of debt. We say ‘modest’ 
because we are strongly of the view 
that it is unwise to run a business which 
has high levels of operational gearing 
with high levels of debt. Given the 
above considerations, we believe that 
a Net Debt to EBITDA ratio of around 
one times is appropriate for the Group 
over the longer term. 

The Group maintains suffi cient facilities 
to meet its normal funding requirements 
over the medium term. At 31 December 
2018, these facilities totalled £1,191 million 
in the form of committed bank facilities 
arranged on a bilateral basis with 
a number of international banks and 
private placement notes. The fi nancial 
covenants attached to these facilities 
are that EBITDA should be no less than 
four times interest and net debt should 
be no more than three times EBITDA; 
at 31 December 2018, these stood at 
14* times and 1.3* times respectively. The 
Group does not expect to breach these 
covenants in the year from the date of 
approval of this report and the Group 
expects to continue to be able to arrange 
suffi cient fi nance to meet its future 
funding requirements. It has been 
the Group’s custom and practice to 
refi nance its facilities in advance of their 
maturity dates, providing that there 
is an ongoing need for those facilities. 
Net debt amounted to £686 million 
at 31 December 2018 and, at that date, 
undrawn committed facilities were 
£465 million. 

The Group balance sheet shows 
consolidated net assets of £1,367 million 
(2017: £1,314 million) of which 
£1,057 million ( 2017: £1,104 million) 
relates to fl eet assets. The defi ned 
benefi t pension surplus is £1 million 
(2017: defi cit of £25 million).

More detail can be found within the 
Risks section on pages 38 to 45 and in 
the assessment of prospects and viability 
section on page 45.

Based on the above the Directors are 
confi dent that it is appropriate for the 
going concern basis to be adopted 
in preparing the year end fi nancial 
statements. 

Changes in accounting policy 
and disclosures
(a) New and amended standards 
adopted by the Group 
The Group adopted IFRS 15 ‘Revenue 
from Contracts with Customers’ and 
IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’ from 
1 January 2018 therefore this is the 
fi rst set of the Group’s annual fi nancial 

statements where IFRS 15 and 
IFRS 9 have been applied. Changes 
to signifi cant accounting policies 
are described below.

IFRS 15
IFRS 15 deals with revenue recognition 
and establishes principles for reporting 
useful information to users of fi nancial 
statements about the nature, amount, 
timing and uncertainty of revenue and 
cash fl ows arising from an entity’s 
contracts with customers. Revenue 
is recognised in accordance with the 
fi ve-step model included in IFRS 15 
which specifi es that revenue should 
be recognised when (or as) an entity 
transfers control of goods or services 
to a customer at an amount to which 
the entity expects to be entitled. 

The Group has applied IFRS 15 
retrospectively using the practical 
expedient not to restate for contract 
extensions before 1 January 2017. 
Comparative numbers for the year 
ended 31 December 2017 have been 
restated. The main changes from 
adopting IFRS 15 are detailed below.

Mobilisation and demobilisation
Mobilisation costs are classifi ed as 
fulfi lment costs where they are 
separately identifi able and specifi c to a 
project and where the mobilisation does 
not itself form a separate performance 
obligation. In these circumstances, 
mobilisation costs are capitalised as they 
relate to future performance obligations, 
i.e. the provision of power is the future 
performance obligation, which begins 
when the power starts to be generated. 
During the phase of mobilisation this 
service has not yet started and as such 
represents a future performance 
obligation. The costs incurred during 
mobilisation are directly related to the 
contract and enable Aggreko to earn 
revenue from the provision of power. 
They are expected to be recovered 
because the contract is profi table 
although they will be reviewed carefully 
for any indication of impairment.

With respect to demobilisation costs 
the Group has a legal obligation to incur 
demobilisation costs once the assets are 
installed on site, as this is required by the 
contract. This creates a legal obligation 
from a past event. The majority of these 
costs can be measured reliably and 
therefore they meet the defi nition of a 
provision. These costs are capitalised as a 
fulfi lment cost asset as they are incurred 
in relation to a performance obligation 
(delivering power) and are expected to 
be recovered and generate or enhance 
resources because they facilitate 
Aggreko’s delivery of the contract.

* Calculation is on pages 141 and  142.

96 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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1 Accounting policies 
continued
The fulfi lment costs (mobilisation and 
demobilisation costs) are amortised to 
the income statement over the period 
of the initial contract. The amortisation 
starts when we start to earn revenue and 
stops when the initial contract period 
ends. If there is a signed extension, the 
unamortised amount left in the balance 
sheet when the extension is signed is 
then amortised over the remaining 
period of the initial contract and the 
extension period. 

In contracts where mobilisation and 
demobilisation income timing is 
specifi cally stipulated in the contract 
in order to match the timing of 
associated costs, then this income is 
now recognised during the period 
of provision of power. 

The fi nancial impact of these items for 
the year ended 31 December 2017 is 
detailed below (Note references refer 
to tables below):

 → Note 1: Revenue for the year ended 

31 December 2017 is £2 million 
higher refl ecting revenue now being 
recognised during the provision 
of power. Deferred revenue in the 
balance sheet also increases by 
£2 million.

 → Note 2: Cost of sales for the year 

ended 31 December 2017 is £7 million 
higher refl ecting mobilisation and 
demobilisation costs amortised to the 
income statement over the period of 
the contract.

Rehire arrangements 
(Principal vs. Agent)
 → Aggreko will sometimes hire 

equipment from a third party to use 
on a contract. Before IFRS 15 the 
revenue and cost associated with 
this was accounted for separately as 
Aggreko was the principal. Under 
IFRS 15 Aggreko is acting as an agent 
rather than principal in this instance 
mainly because Aggreko does not 
control the provision of the service 
due to factors such as the fact that 
the third party is still responsible for 
repairs to the equipment. Under 
IFRS 15 the cost of the rehire is netted 
against revenue.

 → Note 3: The impact of this for the year 

 → Note 5: A fulfi lment asset of £8 million 
was recognised as at 31 December 
2017, with £5 million less than one year 
and £3 million greater than one year.

ended 31 December 2017 was to 
reduce revenue and cost of sales by 
£34 million. There is no impact on 
operating profi t.

 → Note 6: A demobilisation provision 
of £10 million was recognised as at 
31 December 2017, with £9 million less 
than one year and £1 million greater 
than one year.

 → Note 11: IFRS 9 requires any 

impairment loss on trade receivables 
to be shown separately on the face of 
the income statement.

Impact on fi  nancial statements
Group income statement

Revenue

Cost of sales
Gross profi  t

Distribution costs

Administrative expenses
Impairment loss on trade receivables

Other income
Operating profi  t

Net fi nance costs 
Profi  t before taxation

Taxation
Profi  t for the period

Year ended 31 December 2017

Adjustment
Notes

As previously 
reported
£ million

Adjustments
£ million

As restated
£ million

1,3

2,3

11

4

1,730

(810)

920

(493)

(242)
–

3

188

(34)

154

(48)

106

(32)

27

(5)

25

–
(25)

–

(5)

–

(5)

1

(4)

1,698

(783)

915

(468)

(242)
(25)

3

183

(34)

149

(47)

102

Basic earnings per share (pence)

41.54

(1.50)

40.04

Diluted earnings per share (pence)

41.51

(1.50)

40.01

Notes

Notes: 1, 2, 3, 11 – Refer to narrative above

Note: 4 – Tax impact of adjustments 1, 2 & 3

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

97

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

1 Accounting policies continued
Group balance sheet

Non-current assets

Other non-current assets

Fufi lment asset

Current assets

Other current assets

Fufi lment asset

Total assets

Current liabilities

Other current liabilities

Demobilisation provision

Non-current liabilities

Other non-current liabilities

Demobilisation provision

Total liabilities

Net assets

Shareholders’ equity

Other

Retained earnings
Total shareholders’ equity

Group cash fl ow statement

Profi t for the year

Adjustments for:

Tax

Fulfi lment assets

Demobilisation provisions
Cash fl ows relating to fulfi lment assets

Cash fl ows relating to demobilisation provisions

Increase in trade and other payables

Other items

Cash generated from operations

Notes 5 & 6 – Refer to narrative on page 97
Notes 7 & 8 – Refer to income statement above
Note 9 – Refer to Note 15 to the Accounts (Fulfi lment assets)
Note 10 – Refer to Note 21 to the Accounts (Demobilisation provision)

98 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

31 December 2017

Adjustment 
notes

As previously
reported
£ million

Adjustments
£ million

As restated
£ million

5

5

1,4

6

6

1,471

-

1,471

1,096

-

1,096

2,567

(617)

-

(617)

(633)

-
(633)

(1,250)

1,317

40

1,277

1,317

-

3

3

-

5

5

8

(1)

(9)

(10)

-

(1)
(1)

(11)

(3)

-

(3)

(3)

1,471

3

1,474

1,096

5

1,101

2,575

(618)

(9)

(627)

(633)

(1)
(634)

(1,261)

1,314

40

1,274

1,314

Year ended 31 December 2017

Adjustment 
notes

As previously
reported
£ million

Adjustments
£ million

As restated
£ million

7

8

9

10
9

10

106

48

-

-
-

-

113

183

450

(4)

(1)

20

9
(12)

(10)

(2)

-

-

102

47

20

9
(12)

(10)

111

183

450

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1 Accounting policies 
continued
Revenue recognition
Revenue is measured based on the 
consideration specifi ed in a contract 
with a customer and excludes amounts 
collected on behalf of third parties. 
The Group recognises revenue when 
it transfers control over a service to 
a customer as detailed below. 

As explained on page 3 Aggreko 
has three operating segments as 
detailed below:

 → Rental Solutions: This business 
provides power, heating and 
cooling in developed markets. 
These customers requirements 
tend to revolve around smaller, 
short-term projects and key events.

 → Power Solutions Industrial: This 

business comprises medium-term 
projects for industrial customers, as 
well as shorter-term rental contracts

 → Power Solutions Utility: This business 

provides longer-term projects 
providing power to national utility 
customers.

A detailed description of these operating 
units can be found on page 7 of the 
Annual Report. 

The Group has two performance 
obligations. In Rental solutions and 
shorter-term rental contracts within 
Power Solutions Industrial the Group 
provides rental contracts for the supply 
of temporary power, temperature 
control, oil-free compressed air and 
related services. In Power Solutions 
Utility and medium-term projects 
for industrial customers the Group 
supplies temporary power, temperature 
control, oil-free compressed air and 
related services. 

In both these performance obligations 
revenue is recognised over time and 
can comprise a fi xed rental charge and 
a variable charge related to the usage 
of assets or other services (including 
pass-through fuel). The Group earns 
a fi xed charge on certain contracts 
by providing agreed levels of power 
generation capacity to the customer 
and this is recognised when availability 
criteria in the contract are met. 

Variable charges are earned as the 
Group provides power or rental and 
associated services in accordance with 
contractual arrangements and are 
recognised as the power is produced 
or the service is provided. Revenue is 
accrued or deferred at the balance sheet 
date depending on the period covered 
by the most recent invoice issued and 
the contractual terms. 

There are some contracts performed by 
the Group to develop software or control 
systems and construct energy storage 
systems. Where the outcome of a 
contract can be measured reliably, 
contract revenue is recognised over the 
period of the contract by reference to 
the value of work done at the balance 
sheet date with reference to third-party 
certifi cation where available. Where the 
outcome of a contract cannot be reliably 
estimated, contract costs are recognised 
as an expense when incurred and 
revenue is only recognised to the extent 
of the contract costs incurred that it is 
probable will be recoverable. In both 
cases, any expected contract loss is 
recognised immediately.

A receivable is recognised by the 
Group when the service is provided 
to the customer. Payment terms vary 
across the Group and the majority of 
receivables across the Group are paid 
within or close to the payment terms. 
However, some of the contracts the 
Group undertakes in developing 
countries in our Power Solutions Utility 
business are very large and are in 
jurisdictions where payment practices 
can be unpredictable. These are 
explained in more detail on page 102.

Variable consideration 
The Group is liable to penalties on 
certain contracts if we fail to fulfi l 
the relevant performance obligation. 
If our assessment of these penalties 
means that it is highly probable that 
a signifi cant reversal of the revenue 
recognised will occur they are netted 
against revenue.

Disaggregation of revenue
In Note 4 to the Accounts revenue 
from contracts with customers 
is disaggregated by business unit, 
geography and sector.

Contract balances
The following table provides information 
about receivables, accrued income, 
fulfi lment assets (contract assets) and 
demobilisation provisions (contract 
liabilities) from contracts with 
customers.

Notes

2018
£ million

2017
£ million

Receivables

Accrued income

Fulfi lment assets

Demobilisation 
provisions

17

17

15

21

502

169

44

11

490

139

8

10

The accounting policy for fulfi lment 
assets and demobilisation provisions 
are detailed above. 

During the year £44 million of 
fulfi lment assets were capitalised 
mainly relating to mobilisation costs 
for new contracts in Bangladesh, Brazil 
and St Croix. 

Key judgements
Identifi cation of performance 
obligations
Judgement is required in determining 
the number of performance obligations 
in relation to each revenue stream 
given a number of services (including 
mobilisation and demobilisation) that 
can be provided as part of the contract. 
In the majority of cases Aggreko will 
only have two performance obligations. 
In Rental Solutions and shorter-term 
rental contracts within Power Solutions 
Industrial the Group provides rental 
contracts for the supply of temporary 
power, temperature control, oil-free 
compressed air and related services. 
In Power Solutions Utility and medium-
term projects for industrial customers 
the Group supplies temporary power, 
temperature control, oil-free 
compressed air and related services. 
We believe these are performance 
obligations as any services to mobilise 
or demobilise assets are not considered 
distinct from the provision of power. 
The Group’s services are considered to 
be a service or series of services that are 
substantially the same and have the 
same pattern of transfer to the customer.

Rehire arrangements 
(Principal vs Agent)
These arrangements are described on 
page 97. Judgement is required in 
determining if there is a Principal/Agent 
relationship in the relevant contracts.

IFRS 9
IFRS 9 addresses the classifi cation, 
measurement and recognition of 
fi nancial assets and liabilities. The 
Group has adopted IFRS 9 using the 
cumulative effect method and therefore 
comparatives have not been restated.

The main changes from implementing 
IFRS 9 are detailed below:

Impairment of fi nancial assets
IFRS 9 replaces the ‘incurred loss’ model 
in IAS39 with an ‘expected credit loss’ 
(ECL) model. Under IFRS 9 credit losses 
tend to be recognised earlier than under 
IAS 39. Receivables (including accrued 
revenue) are required to be considered 
immediately for impairment to refl ect 
the possibility of future default or 
non-collectability. 

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

1 Accounting policies continued
The Group assesses the ECL as explained below:

Power Solutions Industrial and Rental Solutions
The Group has taken advantage of the practical expedient in IFRS 9 to use a provision matrix to simplify the calculation where 
accounts receivable are split into various risk categories (e.g. based on Credit Rating Agencies) and then a percentage is applied 
to each category to obtain the impairment allowances. An example of the provision matrix is detailed below:

Ageing
Risk

Low risk

Medium risk

High risk

Specifi c

Notes

Current

0-30 
days

31-60 
days

61-90 days

> 90 days 

1

1

1

2

Notes
1. Classifi cation based on assessment of customer credit risk 2. Specifi c provision for customers

Each operating unit within the Power 
Solution Industrial and Rental Solutions 
businesses has used this provision 
matrix to calculate the provision and 
each matrix is specifi c to the economic 
and operating conditions of each 
operating unit. In applying this matrix 
the operating units will also consider the 
following: signifi cant fi nancial diffi culties 
of the debtor, probability that the debtor 
will enter bankruptcy or fi nancial 
reorganisation and default, or large and 
old outstanding balances, particularly 
in countries where the legal system 
is not easily used to enforce recovery. 
When a trade receivable is uncollectable 
it is written off against the provision 
for impairment of trade receivables. 
More detail is contained on page 102.

Power Solutions Utility (PSU)
Within our PSU business when 
considering the risk profi le of the 
debtors and the relevant impairment 
provision the Group considers each 
debtor and customer individually, within 
the relevant environment to which it 
relates, taking into account a number 
of factors. These factors include the 
political and economic conditions in the 
relevant country, duration and quality of 
relationship with the customer, age of 
debt, cash fl ows from the customer and 
any relevant communication throughout 
the year. We then apply the matrix 
approach detailed above to any debtors 
that do not have a specifi c provision. 

Based on this there is no material impact 
to the Group. 

Classifi cation and measurement of 
fi nancial assets and fi nancial liabilities
There are no material changes relating 
to derivatives, however we will defer 
implementation until the macro 
hedging requirements are fi nalised.

In September 2016 the Group signed 
£14 million of private placement notes 
with one customer in Venezuela (PDVSA) 
to progress clearing the overdue debt. 
This resulted in a fi nancial instrument 
which replaced the net trade receivable 
balance. The fi nancial instrument was 
booked at fair value which refl ected our 
estimation of the recoverability of these 
notes. This fair value at 31 December 

2018 was £4 million (2017: £4 million). 
This fi nancial instrument was included in 
other receivables. Previously the change 
in fair value of these notes was refl ected 
in the statement of changes in equity, 
however under IFRS 9 the changes in 
the fair value are now refl ected in the 
income statement. There has been no 
change to the fair value of these notes in 
year ended 31 December 2018.

(b) New standards, amendments and 
interpretations issued but not 
effective for the fi  nancial year 
beginning 1 January 2018 and not 
early adopted
IFRS 16 ‘Leases’
IFRS 16 applies to annual periods 
beginning on or after 1 January 2019 and 
requires lessees to recognise all leases on 
balance sheet with limited exemptions 
for short-term leases and low value 
leases (<$10,000). This will result in the 
recognition of a right-to-use asset and 
corresponding liability on the balance 
sheet, with the associated depreciation 
and interest expense being recorded in 
the income statement over the lease 
period. The Group has completed its 
impact assessment of this standard and 
the expected impact of applying IFRS 16 
in its fi rst full year of application is 
detailed below.

 → The total annual income statement 

charge is expected to increase by circa 
£2 million. 

 → EBITDA is expected to increase by 
around £30 to £40 million as the 
expense is now depreciation and 
interest.

 → The total income statement charge 

over the life of the leases is unchanged 
– the difference under IFRS 16 is a 
‘front-loading’ of the recognition of the 
charge.

 → Recognition of a right-of-use asset and 
lease liability in the range of £100-£110 
million with no impact on net assets.

In addition, the combined impact of 
IFRS 16 on operating profi t and net 
operating assets is expected to reduce 
the Group’s return on capital employed 
by circa 0.3pp.

The Group plans to apply IFRS 16 initially 
on 1 January 2019, using a modifi ed 
retrospective approach. Therefore, the 
cumulative effect of adopting IFRS 16 will 
be recognised as an adjustment to the 
opening balance of retained earnings 
at 1 January 2019, with no restatement 
of comparatives.

IFRIC 23 ‘Uncertainty over income tax 
treatments”
IFRIC 23 comes in to effect from 1 
January 2019. Management has assessed 
the impact of this change and this is 
expected to be immaterial. 

Basis of consolidation
The Group fi nancial statements 
consolidate the fi nancial statements of 
Aggreko plc and all of its subsidiaries 
for the year ended 31 December 2018. 
Subsidiaries are those entities over 
which the Group has control. The Group 
controls an entity when the Group is 
exposed to, or has rights to, variable 
returns through its power over the entity. 
Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from 
the date on which control is transferred 
to the Group. They are deconsolidated 
from the date that control ceases.

The Group uses the acquisition method 
of accounting for business combinations. 
The consideration transferred for the 
acquisition of a subsidiary is the fair 
value of the assets transferred, the 
liabilities incurred and the equity 
interests issued by the Group. The 
consideration transferred includes the 
fair value of any asset or liability resulting 
from a contingent consideration 
arrangement. Acquisition related costs 
are expensed as incurred. Identifi able 
assets and liabilities and contingent 
liabilities assumed in a business 
combination are measured initially at 
their fair values at the acquisition date.

Inter-company transactions, balances 
and unrealised gains on transactions 
between Group companies are 
eliminated. Unrealised losses are also 
eliminated. Accounting policies of 
subsidiaries have been changed where 
necessary to ensure consistency with 
the policies adopted by the Group.

100 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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1 Accounting policies 
continued 
Segmental reporting
Operating segments are reported in 
a manner consistent with the internal 
reporting provided to the chief operating 
decision maker. The chief operating 
decision maker has been identifi ed 
as the Board of Directors.

Aggreko has two business units: 
Rental Solutions and Power Solutions. 
Within Power Solutions we serve 
both Utility and Industrial customers. 
Aggreko therefore has three segments 
comprising: Rental Solutions, Power 
Solutions – Industrial and Power 
Solutions – Utility. A description of these 
business units is contained on page 7. 
This is refl ected by the Group’s divisional 
management and organisational 
structure and the Group’s internal 
fi nancial reporting systems.

The Global Solutions results and assets, 
as well as central administrative costs, 
are allocated between segments based 
on revenue.

Exceptional items
Exceptional items are items which 
individually or if of a similar type, in 
aggregate, need to be disclosed by 
virtue of their size or incidence if the 
fi nancial statements are to be properly 
understood. To monitor our fi nancial 
performance we use a profi t measure 
that excludes exceptional items.

We exclude these items because, if 
included, these items could distort 
understanding of our performance for 
the year and comparability between 
periods. The income statement has been 
presented in a columnar format, which 
separately highlights exceptional items. 
This is intended to enable users of the 
fi nancial statements to determine more 
readily the impact of exceptional items 
on the results of the Group.

Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment is carried 
at cost less accumulated depreciation 
and impairment losses. Cost includes 
purchase price, and directly attributable 
costs of bringing the asset into the 
location and condition where it is 
capable for use. Borrowing costs are 
not capitalised since the assets are 
assembled over a short period of time.

Freehold properties are depreciated 
on a straight-line basis over 25 years. 
Short leasehold properties are 
depreciated on a straight-line basis 
over the terms of each lease.

Other property, plant and equipment 
are depreciated on a straight-line basis 
at annual rates estimated to write off the 
cost of each asset over its useful life from 
the date it is available for use. Assets in 
the course of construction are not 
depreciated. The periods of depreciation 

are reviewed on an annual basis and the 
principal periods used are as follows:

Rental fl eet 

8 to 12 years

Vehicles, plant 
and equipment  4 to 15 years

Intangibles
Intangible assets acquired as part of a 
business combination are capitalised, 
separately from goodwill, at fair value 
at the date of acquisition if the asset 
is separable or arises from contractual 
or legal rights and its fair value can be 
measured reliably. Amortisation is 
calculated on a straight-line method 
to allocate the fair value at acquisition 
of each asset over their estimated useful 
lives as follows: customer relationships: 
5-10 years, non-compete agreements: 
over the life of the non-compete 
agreements, technology intangible 
assets acquired: four years.

The useful life of intangible assets 
is reviewed on an annual basis.

Goodwill
On the acquisition of a business, fair 
values are attributed to the net assets 
acquired. Goodwill arises where the fair 
value of the consideration given for a 
business exceeds the fair value of such 
assets. Goodwill arising on acquisitions is 
capitalised and is subject to impairment 
reviews, both annually and when there 
are indicators that the carrying value 
may not be recoverable.

For the purpose of the impairment 
testing, goodwill is allocated to each 
of the Group’s cash-generating units 
expected to benefi t from the synergies 
of the combination.

Cash-generating units to which goodwill 
has been allocated are tested for 
impairment annually, or more frequently 
when there is an indication that the unit 
may be impaired. If the recoverable 
amount of the cash-generating unit 
is less than the carrying amount of 
the unit, then the impairment loss is 
allocated fi rst to reduce the carrying 
amount of any goodwill allocated to the 
unit and then to the other assets of the 
unit pro-rata on the basis of the carrying 
amount of each asset in the unit.

An impairment loss recognised 
for goodwill is not reversed in a 
subsequent period. Any impairment 
of goodwill is recognised immediately 
in the income statement.

Research and development costs
All research expenditure is charged to 
the income statement in the period in 
which it is incurred.

Development expenditure is charged 
to the income statement in the period 
in which it is incurred unless it relates 
to the development of a new product 
or technology and it is incurred after 
the technical feasibility and commercial 

viability of the product has been proven, 
the development cost can be measured 
reliably, future economic benefi ts are 
probable and the Group intends, and 
has suffi cient resources, to complete 
the development and to use or sell 
the assets. Any such capitalised 
development expenditure is amortised 
on a straight-line basis so that it is 
charged to the income statement over 
the expected useful life of the resulting 
product or technology, which is currently 
deemed to be between three to six years.

Impairment of property, plant and 
equipment and other intangible 
assets (excluding goodwill) 
Property, plant and equipment and 
other intangible assets are amortised/
depreciated and reviewed for 
impairment whenever events or 
changes in circumstances indicate 
that the carrying amount may not be 
recoverable. An impairment loss is 
recognised for the amount by which 
the asset’s carrying amount exceeds 
its recoverable amount. The recoverable 
amount is the higher of an asset’s fair 
value less costs to sell and value in 
use. Value in use is calculated using 
estimated cash fl ows. These are 
discounted using an appropriate 
long-term pre-tax interest rate. 
For the purposes of assessing 
impairment, assets are grouped at 
the lowest levels for which there are 
separately identifi able cash fl ows 
(cash-generating units).

Foreign currencies
Items included in the fi nancial 
statements for each of the Group’s 
entities are measured using the currency 
of the primary economic environment 
in which the entity operates (functional 
currency). The Group’s consolidated 
fi nancial statements are presented 
in Sterling, which is the Group’s 
presentational currency.

At individual company level, transactions 
denominated in foreign currencies are 
translated at the rate of exchange on 
the day the transaction occurs. Assets 
and liabilities denominated in foreign 
currency are translated at the exchange 
rate ruling at the balance sheet date. 
Non-monetary assets are translated 
at the historical rate. In order to hedge 
its exposure to certain foreign exchange 
risks, the Group enters into forward 
contracts and foreign currency options.

On consolidation, assets and liabilities 
of subsidiary undertakings are translated 
into Sterling at closing rates of exchange. 
Income and cash fl ow statements are 
translated at average rates of exchange 
for the period. Gains and losses from the 
settlement of transactions and gains and 
losses on the translation of monetary 
assets and liabilities denominated in 
other currencies are included in the 
income statement.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

101

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

1 Accounting policies 
continued
Taxation
Deferred tax
Deferred tax is provided in full, using 
the liability method, on temporary 
differences arising between the tax base 
of assets and liabilities and their carrying 
amounts in the fi nancial statements. 
In principle, deferred tax liabilities are 
recognised for all taxable temporary 
differences and deferred tax assets are 
recognised to the extent that it is 
probable that taxable profi ts will be 
available against which deductible 
temporary differences can be utilised. 
Such assets and liabilities are not 
recognised if the temporary difference 
arises from goodwill, negative goodwill 
or from the acquisition of an asset, 
which does not affect either taxable 
or accounting income. Deferred tax is 
determined using tax rates (and laws) 
that have been enacted or substantively 
enacted by the balance sheet date and 
are expected to apply when the related 
deferred tax asset is realised or the 
deferred tax liability is settled. Deferred 
tax is charged or credited in the income 
statement, except when it relates to 
items credited or charged directly to 
equity, in which case the deferred tax 
is also dealt with in equity.

Deferred tax is provided on temporary 
differences arising on investments in 
subsidiaries, except where the timing of 
the reversal of the temporary difference 
is controlled by the Group and it is 
probable that the temporary difference 
will not reverse in the foreseeable future.

Provision for income taxes, mainly 
withholding taxes, which could arise 
on the remittance of retained earnings, 
principally relating to subsidiaries, is only 
made where there is a current intention 
to remit such earnings.

Current tax
The charge for current tax is based 
on the results for the year, as adjusted 
for items which are non-assessable 
or disallowed. It is calculated using 
taxation rates that have been enacted 
or substantially enacted by the balance 
sheet date.

Inventories
Inventories are valued at the lower of 
cost and net realisable value, using the 
weighted average cost basis. Cost of raw 
materials, consumables and work in 
progress includes the cost of direct 
materials and, where applicable, direct 
labour and those overheads that have 
been incurred in bringing the inventories 
to their present location and condition.

Inventory is written down on a case 
by case basis if the anticipated net 
realisable value declines below the 
carrying amount of the inventory or to 
take account of inventory losses. Net 
realisable value is the estimated selling 

price less cost to completion and selling 
expenses. When the reasons for a 
write-down of the inventory have ceased 
to exist, the write-down is reversed.

Employee benefi  ts
Wages, salaries, social security 
contributions, paid annual leave and 
sick leave, bonuses and non-monetary 
benefi ts are accrued in the year in which 
the associated services are rendered by 
the employees of the Group. Where the 
Group provides long-term employee 
benefi ts, the cost is accrued to match 
the rendering of the services by the 
employees concerned.

The Group operates a defi ned benefi t 
pension scheme and a number of 
defi ned contribution pension schemes. 
The cost for the year for the defi ned 
benefi t scheme is determined using 
the Projected unit method with actuarial 
updates to the valuation being carried 
out at each balance sheet date.

Remeasurements are recognised in 
full, directly in retained earnings, in 
the period in which they occur and 
are shown in the statement of 
comprehensive income. The current 
service cost of the pension charge 
and administrative expenses are 
included in arriving at operating profi t. 
Interest income on scheme assets and 
interest on pension scheme liabilities 
are included in net fi nance costs.

The retirement benefi t obligation 
recognised in the balance sheet is 
the present value of the defi ned 
benefi t obligation at the balance sheet 
date less the fair value of the scheme 
assets. The present value of the defi ned 
benefi t obligation is determined by 
discounting the estimated future cash 
fl ows using interest rates of high-quality 
corporate bonds.

Contributions to defi ned contribution 
pension schemes are charged to the 
income statement in the period in which 
they become payable.

Trade receivables
Trade receivables are recognised initially 
at fair value (which is the same as cost). 
The trade receivables impairment policy 
is discussed above in the Impact of 
IFRS 9 section.

Trade payables
Trade payables are recognised initially 
at fair value and subsequently measured 
at amortised cost using the effective 
interest method.

Provisions
Provisions are recognised where a legal 
or constructive obligation has been 
incurred which will probably lead to 
an outfl ow of resources that can be 
reasonably estimated. Provisions are 
recorded for the estimated ultimate 
liability that is expected to arise, taking 
into account the time value of money 
where material.

As at 31 December 2018, provisions 
totalled £2 million (2017: £8 million) 
and they relate to the Group Business 
Priorities programme implementation. 
The provisions are generally in respect 
of depot closure costs.

These provisions are detailed in Note 20.

A contingent liability is disclosed where 
the existence of the obligation will only 
be confi rmed by future events, or where 
the amount of the obligation cannot be 
measured with reasonable reliability. 
Contingent assets are not recognised, 
but are disclosed where an infl ow of 
economic benefi ts is probable.

Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise 
cash on hand, deposits with a maturity 
of three months or less and short-term 
overdrafts.

Borrowings
Borrowings are recognised initially at fair 
value, net of transaction costs incurred. 
Borrowings are subsequently stated at 
amortised cost. Any difference between 
the proceeds, net of transaction costs, 
and the redemption value is recognised 
in the income statement over the period 
of the borrowings using the effective 
interest rate.

Key assumptions, estimations 
and signifi  cant judgements 
The Group uses estimates and makes 
judgements in the preparation of 
its Accounts. The most sensitive 
areas affecting the Accounts are 
discussed below.

Trade receivables
The trade receivables accounting policy 
is noted above and the impact of IFRS 9 
is on page 99.

The approach to exercising judgement 
in this area is to consider each signifi cant 
debtor and customer individually, within 
the relevant environment to which it 
relates, taking into account a number 
of factors. These factors include the 
political and economic conditions in the 
relevant country, duration and quality 
of relationship with the customer, age 
of debt, cash fl ows from the customer 
and any relevant communication 
throughout the year. A review of the 
provision for bad and doubtful debts 
is performed at each month end and 
specifi cally at the end of each reporting 
period. It is an assessment of the 
potential amount of trade receivables 
which will not be paid by the customer 
after the balance sheet date. This is 
calculated by reference to the factors 
above as well as the information 
disclosed in Note 17, notably the 
ageing of past due but not impaired.

The management of trade receivables is 
the responsibility of the operating units, 
although they report monthly to the 
Group on debtor days, debtor ageing 
and signifi cant outstanding debts.

102 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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1 Accounting policies 
continued
Trade receivables continued
At an operating unit level a credit 
rating is normally established for each 
customer based on ratings from external 
agencies. Where no ratings are available, 
cash in advance payment terms are 
often established for new customers. 
Credit limits are reviewed on a regular 
basis. The majority of the contracts the 
Group enters into are small relative to 
the size of the Group and, if a customer 
fails to pay a debt, this is dealt with in 
the normal course of business. However, 
some of the contracts the Group 
undertakes in developing countries in 
our Power Solutions Utility business are 
very large, and are in jurisdictions where 
payment practices can be unpredictable. 
During the year we continued to see 
delays in payments from a handful of 
customers in our Power Solutions Utility 
business in Africa, Yemen and Venezuela. 
The bad debt provision for this business 
unit at 31 December 2018 was $83 million 
(2017: $82 million). Although the overall 
provision was broadly in line with the 
prior year, refl ecting the differing 
circumstances by customer, the bad 
debt provision against specifi c 
customers in Africa, Yemen and 
Venezuela increased by $6 million, 
while progress elsewhere during the 
year led to a reduction in provision 
against other customers of $5 million. 

The Group monitors the risk profi le and 
debtor position of all such contracts 
regularly, and deploys a variety of 
techniques to mitigate the risks of 
delayed or non-payment; these include 
securing advance payments and 
guarantees. On the largest contracts, 
all such arrangements are approved 
at Group level.

In forming its view on the 
appropriateness of the Group’s provision 
against its receivables balances, the 
Audit Committee discussed the 15 most 
signifi cant debtors in the PSU business, 
which accounted for 82% (2017: 78%) 
of the total PSU overdue debtor value 
at 31 December 2018 (before taking into 
account provisions or payment security/
guarantees). At 31 December 2018, 81% 
(2017: 83%) of the PSU impairment 
provision related to these top 15 debtors. 
Among these debtors, the Group had a 
net exposure above $40 million to one 
customer, a net exposure between 
$30-$40 million to two customers, a net 
exposure between $20-$30 million to 
four customers and a net exposure of 
less than $20 million to each of the 
others. In addition to these PSU debtors, 
the Committee discussed the Group’s 
overall exposure to Venezuela, which 
includes some outstanding balances 
within the PSI business. Given the 
current political uncertainty in Venezuela 
and the ongoing civil war in Yemen, the 
Committee considered in specifi c detail 

the Group’s net exposure (including the 
private placement notes with PDVSA in 
Venezuela) of $16 million and $10 million, 
respectively, in each of these countries. 
These net exposure positions refl ect 
a combination of bad debt provisions 
and payment security/guarantees 
representing 78% and 59% of the gross 
receivable value in each of Venezuela 
and Yemen, together with a 75% fair 
value adjustment against the private 
placement notes with PDVSA. While 
we believe that we remain relatively well 
positioned to recover these net exposure 
amounts when the current situation 
in each of the countries stabilises, we 
also recognise that there is a range 
of potential outcomes for each, both 
above and below the net exposure. 
(Net exposure is defi ned as the gross 
debtor value plus accrued revenue, 
less any payment security/guarantees 
and bad debt provision). 

Contracts are reviewed on a case by 
case basis to determine the customer 
and country risk. As a result of the 
rigorous approach to risk management, 
historically the Group has had a low level 
of bad debt write-offs. The Group does 
operate in countries, especially in our 
PSU business, where payments are 
unpredictable, where political and 
economic conditions mean that there 
is a risk of default and that risk can 
increase quickly, and has increased 
this year as set out above, therefore the 
Group’s history in this area may not be 
indicative of the likely future outcome. 
When a trade receivable is uncollectable, 
it is written off against the provision 
for impairment of trade receivables. 
At 31 December 2018, the provision for 
impairment of trade receivables in the 
balance sheet was £85 million (2017: 
£80 million).

Taxation
Aggreko’s tax charge is based on the 
profi t for the year and the applicable 
tax rates in force at the balance sheet 
date. As well as corporation tax, Aggreko 
is subject to indirect taxes such as 
sales and employment taxes across 
the tax jurisdictions in which the Group 
operates. The varying nature and 
complexity of the tax laws requires the 
Group to review its tax positions and 
make appropriate judgements at the 
balance sheet date.

Due to the uncertain nature of the tax 
environment in many of the countries in 
which we operate, it can take some time 
to settle our tax position. We therefore 
create appropriate tax provisions for 
signifi cant potential or contentious 
tax positions and these are measured 
using the most likely outcome method. 
Provisions are considered on an 
individual basis.

We continue to have an open tax issue in 
Bangladesh. This was appealed in 2017 
and is now waiting to be heard by the 

courts. We do not anticipate that this 
matter will progress to conclusion over 
the course of the coming fi nancial 
year and believe that it may be many 
years before the matter is resolved. 
Our position is supported by a strong 
legal opinion and so we are of the 
opinion that we will be successful in 
the courts. We therefore believe that 
there is no likelihood of further fi nancial 
exposure on this in the coming year.

For other uncertain direct tax 
positions, excluding Bangladesh, as at 
31 December 2018, we had tax provisions 
totalling £24 million (2017: £31 million) 
The movement in provisions between 
2017 and 2018 is principally due to the 
release of a provision in respect of an 
historic matter (2006-2014) in Yemen, 
which has not moved for many years 
and which we do not currently believe 
will crystallise. The remaining provisions 
are principally held to manage the tax 
impact of various other potential historic 
tax exposures, largely in connection with 
our Power Solutions Utilities business in 
Africa and Latin America, and potential 
transfer pricing risks faced by the Group 
with respect to how we transact 
internationally within the business. 

Due to the uncertainty associated with 
such tax positions, it is possible that at 
a future date, on conclusion of these 
open tax positions, the fi nal outcome 
may vary signifi cantly. While a range 
of outcomes is reasonably possible, 
based on management’s historic 
experiences of these issues, we believe 
a likely range of outcomes is additional 
liabilities of up to £12 million and 
a reduction in liabilities of around 
£10 million. The range of sensitivities 
depends upon quantifi cation of the 
liability, risk of technical error and 
difference in approach taken by tax 
authorities in different jurisdictions. 
In addition, the recognition of deferred 
tax assets is dependent upon an 
estimation of future taxable profi ts 
available against which deductible 
temporary differences can be utilised. 

Other areas of judgement 
and consideration
IFRIC 4 ‘Determining whether an 
arrangement constitutes a lease’ 
The Directors have considered the 
requirements of IFRIC 4 ‘Determining 
whether an arrangement constitutes 
a lease’.

IFRIC 4 requires that any arrangement 
that is dependent on the use of a 
specifi c asset or assets; and that conveys 
a right to use the asset is accounted for 
as a lease. The Directors, have concluded 
that none of the Group’s contracts are 
dependent on the use of a specifi c asset 
or assets as the Group can swap in and 
out the rental fl eet required to provide 
the services to our customers.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

103

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

1 Accounting policies 
continued
Hyperinfl ationary environments
The Group operates in Venezuela 
which is considered a hyperinfl ationary 
environment. The Group does not 
consider that the provisions of IAS 29 
‘Financial Reporting in Hyperinfl ationary 
Economies’ apply to the Group’s 
operations in Venezuela as the 
functional currency of the Venezuelan 
operation is US Dollars. The Group 
operates in Argentina which is 
considered a hyperinfl ationary 
environment however the impact 
is not material. 

Financial risk management
Financial risk factors
The Group’s operations expose it to a 
variety of fi nancial risks that include 
liquidity, the effects of changes in foreign 
currency exchange rates, interest 
rates and credit risk. The Group has a 
centralised treasury operation whose 
primary role is to ensure that adequate 
liquidity is available to meet the Group’s 
funding requirements as they arise, 
and that fi nancial risk arising from 
the Group’s underlying operations is 
effectively identifi ed and managed.

The treasury operations are conducted in 
accordance with policies and procedures 
approved by the Board and are reviewed 
annually. Financial instruments are 
only executed for hedging purposes 
and transactions that are speculative 
in nature are expressly forbidden. 
Monthly reports are provided to senior 
management and treasury operations 
are subject to periodic internal and 
external review.

Liquidity, funding and capital 
management
The intention of Aggreko’s strategy 
is to deliver long-term value to its 
shareholders while maintaining a 
balance sheet structure that safeguards 
the Group’s fi nancial position through 
economic cycles. Total capital is equity 
as shown in the Group balance sheet.

Given the proven ability of the business 
to fund organic growth from operating 
cash fl ows, and the nature of our 
business model, we believe it is sensible 
to run the business with a modest 
amount of debt. We say ‘modest’ 
because we are strongly of the view that 
it is unwise to run a business which has 
high levels of operational gearing with 
high levels of fi nancial gearing. Given the 
above considerations, we believe that 
a Net Debt to EBITDA ratio of around 
one times is appropriate for the Group 
over the longer term. This is well within 
our covenants to lenders which stand 
at three times Net Debt to EBITDA.

At 31 December of 2018, Net Debt to 
EBITDA was 1.3* times (2017: 1.2 times).

The Group maintains suffi cient 
facilities to meet its normal funding 
requirements over the medium term. 
At 31 December 2018, these facilities 
totalled £1,191 million in the form of 
committed bank facilities arranged 
on a bilateral basis with a number 
of international banks and private 
placement notes.

The fi nancial covenants attached to 
these facilities are that EBITDA should 
be no less than four times interest and 
net debt should be no more than three 
times EBITDA; at 31 December 2018, 
these stood at 14* times and 1.3* times 
respectively. The Group does not expect 
to breach these covenants in the year 
from the date of approval of these 
fi nancial statements.

The Group expects to be able to arrange 
suffi cient fi nance to meet its future 
funding requirements. It has been 
the Group’s custom and practice to 
refi nance its facilities in advance of their 
maturity dates, providing that there 
is an ongoing need for those facilities. 
Net debt amounted to £686 million 
at 31 December 2018 and, at that date, 
undrawn committed facilities were 
£465 million. The maturity profi le 
of the borrowings is detailed in Note 18 
in the Annual Report and Accounts.

Interest rate risk
The Group’s policy is to manage the 
exposure to interest rates by ensuring 
an appropriate balance of fi xed and 
fl oating rates.

At 31 December 2018, £591 million of 
the net debt of £686 million was at fi xed 
rates of interest resulting in a fi xed to 
fl oating rate net debt ratio of 86:14 
(2017: 94:6). The proportion of our debt 
with fi xed interest rates was higher than 
usual at the 2018 and 2017 year ends due 
to some fi xed rate debt maturities in the 
fi rst half of 2018 and 2019.

The Group monitors its interest rate 
exposure on a regular basis by applying 
forecast interest rates to the Group’s 
forecast net debt profi le after taking 
into account its existing hedges.

The Group also calculates the impact 
on profi t and loss of a defi ned interest 
rate shift for all currencies. Based on the 
simulations performed, the impact on 
profi t or loss of a +/– 100 basis-point 
shift, after taking into account existing 
hedges, would be £1 million (2017: 
£1 million). The sensitivity analysis 
is performed on a monthly basis 
and is reported to the Board.

Foreign exchange risk
The Group is subject to currency 
exposure on the translation of its net 
investments in overseas subsidiaries 
into Sterling. In order to reduce the 
currency risk arising, the Group uses 
direct borrowings in the same currency 
as those investments.

* Calculation is on pages 141 and 142.

104 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

Group borrowings are predominantly 
drawn down in the currencies affecting 
the Group. The Group manages its 
currency fl ows to minimise foreign 
exchange risk arising on transactions 
denominated in foreign currencies 
and uses forward contracts where 
appropriate in order to hedge net 
currency fl ows.

The impact of currency decreased our 
revenues by £112 million (2017: increased 
by £84 million) and operating profi t by 
£24 million (2017: increased by £9 million) 
for the year ended 31 December 2018. 

The Group monitors the impact of 
exchange closely and regularly carries 
out sensitivity analysis. For every 5% 
movement in the US Dollar to GBP 
exchange rate there is an approximate 
impact of £4 million (2017: £4 million) in 
operating profi t in terms of translation.

Currency translation also gave rise to 
a £24 million decrease in reserves as 
a result of year on year movements 
in the exchange rates (2017: decrease 
of £98 million). For every 5% movement 
in the US Dollar, there is an approximate 
impact in equity of £30 million (2017: 
£31 million) arising from the currency 
translation of external borrowings which 
are being used as a net investment 
hedge. However, this will be offset by a 
corresponding movement in the equity 
of the net investment being hedged.

The principal exchange rates which 
impact the Group’s profi t and net assets 
are set out in the Financial Review on 
page 27.

Credit risk
Cash deposits and other fi nancial 
instruments give rise to credit risk 
on amounts due from counterparties. 
The Group manages this risk by limiting 
the aggregate amounts and their 
duration depending on external credit 
ratings of the relevant counterparty. 
In the case of fi nancial assets exposed 
to credit risk, the carrying amount in 
the balance sheet, net of any applicable 
provisions for loss, represents the 
amount exposed to credit risk.

Management of trade receivables
Refer to page 102.

Insurance
The Group operates a policy of buying 
cover against the material risks which 
the business faces, where it is possible 
to purchase such cover on reasonable 
terms. Where this is not possible, 
or where the risks would not have 
a material impact on the Group 
as a whole, we self-insure.

2 Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment
In the cash fl ow statement, proceeds from sale of PPE comprise:

Net book amount

Profi t on sale of PPE
Proceeds from sale of PPE

Profi t on sale of PPE is shown within other income in the income statement.

3 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash at bank and in hand

Bank overdrafts (Note 18)
Cash and cash equivalents

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

8

7

15

11

3

14

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

85

(9)

76

71

(12)

59

4 Segmental reporting
(A) As a result of the Group’s increased sector focus we have refi ned our segmental reporting and reassigned all non-utility 
customer contracts from within our Power Solutions Utility business into Power Solutions Industrial. Accordingly the comparative 
fi gures have been restated. The impact was to reduce the previously stated Power Solutions Utility balances and results and to 
increase the Power Solutions Industrial balances and results by the amounts shown below.

Revenue 

Operating profi t 

Depreciation and amortisation 

Capital expenditure 

Net operating assets 

Average number of employees

2017
£ million

93

17

17

8

122

454

Note 30 contains a reconciliation between previously reported segmental information and restated segmental information for 
the year ended 31 December 2017.

(B) Revenue by segment

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Power Solutions 

Industrial

Utility

Rental Solutions
Group

External revenue

2018 
£ million

2017
Restated
(Notes 1, 4(a)) 
£ million

424

514

938
822

1,760

429

579

1,008

690

1,698

(i)  Inter-segment transfers or transactions are entered into under the normal commercial terms and conditions that would also be available to unrelated third parties. All 

inter-segment revenue was less than £1 million.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

105

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

4 Segmental reporting continued
(B) Revenue by segment continued
Disaggregation of revenue
In the tables below revenue is disaggregated by geography and by sector.

Revenue by geography

North America

UK

Continental Europe

Eurasia

Middle East

Africa

Asia
Australia Pacifi c

Latin America

Revenue by sector

Utilities

Oil & gas

Petrochemical & refi ning
Building services & construction

Events

Manufacturing

Quarrying & mining

Other

(C) Profi  t by segment

Power Solutions

Industrial 

Utility

Rental Solutions
Operating profi  t pre-exceptional items

Exceptional items (Note 7)
Operating profi  t post-exceptional items

Finance costs – net
Profi  t before taxation

Taxation
Profi  t for the year

2018
£ million

2017
Restated
(Note 1)
£ million

460

106

179

77

148

200

166
100

324

369

93

136

85

168

246

168
89

344

1,760

1,698

31 December 2018

31 December 2017

PSI 
£ million

PSU
£ million

RS
£ million

Group
£ million

PSI 
£ million

PSU
£ million

RS
£ million

Group
£ million

27

163

9
48

53

32

53

39

514

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

424

514

99

110

147
151

80

56

43

136

822

640

273

156
199

133

88

96

175

24

166

8
62

37

42

55

35

579

-

-
-

-

-

-

-

1,760

429

579

79

63

114
148

66

57

35

128

690

682

229

122
210

103

99

90

163

1,698

Operating profi t

2018 
£ million

2017 
Restated
(Notes 1, 4(a))
£ million

71

43
114

105
219

–

219

(37)

182

(57)

125

73

70

143

81
224

(41)

183

(34)

149

(47)

102

106 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

4 Segmental reporting continued
(D) Depreciation and amortisation by segment

Power Solutions

Industrial

Utility

Rental Solutions
Group

(E) Capital expenditure on property, plant and equipment and intangible assets by segment

Power Solutions 

Industrial

Utility

Rental Solutions
Group

2018 
£ million

2017 
Restated
(Note 4(a))
£ million

90

104

194

104

298

89

115

204

96

300

2018 
£ million

2017
Restated
(Note 4(a)) 
£ million

55

76

131

109

240

63

175

238

75

313

Capital expenditure comprises additions of property, plant and equipment (PPE) of £216 million (2017: £272 million), additions 
of intangible assets of £10 million (2017: £5 million), acquisitions of PPE of £13 million (2017: £28 million), and acquisitions of 
intangible assets of £1 million (2017: £8 million).

(F) Assets/(liabilities) by segment

Assets

Liabilities

2018 
£ million

2017 
Restated
(Notes 1, 4(a))
£ million

2018 
£ million

2017 
Restated
(Notes 1, 4(a)) 
£ million

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Power Solutions 

Industrial

Utility

Rental Solutions
Group

Tax and fi nance assets/(liabilities)
Derivative fi nancial instruments

Borrowings

Retirement benefi t surplus/(obligation)
Total assets/(liabilities) per balance sheet

(G) Average number of employees by segment

Power Solutions

Industrial
Utility

Rental Solutions
Group

714

996

1,710

833

2,543

59
1

–

1
2,604

802

943

1,745

765

2,510

65
–

–

–

2,575

(94)

(214)

(308)

(76)

(384)

(90)
(1)

(762)

–
(1,237)

2018 
Number

1,954
1,314

3,268

2,759

6,027

(112)

(224)

(336)

(100)

(436)

(86)
(3)

(711)

(25)

(1,261)

2017 
Restated
(Notes 4(a)) 
Number

1,834
1,629

3,463

2,515

5,978

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

107

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

4 Segmental reporting continued
(H) Geographical information

North America

UK

Continental Europe

Eurasia

Middle East

Africa
Asia

Australia Pacifi c

Latin America

Non-current assets exclude deferred tax.

(I) Reconciliation of net operating assets to net assets

Net operating assets 

Retirement benefi t surplus/(obligation)

Net tax and fi nance payable

Borrowings and derivative fi nancial instruments
Net assets

5 Profi  t before taxation
The following items have been included in arriving at profi t before taxation:

Staff costs (Note 8)

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

Amortisation of intangibles (included in administrative expenses)
Net gain on disposal of property, plant and equipment

Research costs
Net foreign exchange (gains)/losses (i)
Operating lease rentals payable

(i)  The translational impact of currency on the Group’s revenue and profi t is discussed in the Group Performance Review on page 27.

Non-current assets

2018 
£ million

2017
Restated
(Note 4(a)) 
£ million

288

161

137

59

251

153
151

70

164

253

110

119

70

343

159
150

67

161

1,434

1,432

2018 
£ million

2,159

1

(31)
2,129

(762)

1,367

2017
Restated
(Note 1) 
£ million

2,074

(25)

(21)
2,028

(714)

1,314

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

422

293

5
(7)

1
(1)

38

401

296

4
(3)

2
2

39

108 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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6 Auditor’s remuneration

Audit services

Fees payable to the Company’s auditor for the audit of the Company’s annual accounts and

consolidated fi nancial statements

Fees payable to the Company’s auditor and its associates for other services:

– the audit of the Company’s subsidiaries

– other assurance related services

– tax compliance

2018 
£000

2017 
£000

332

1,029

43

3

248

941

50

9

In addition to the above services, the Group’s auditor acted as auditor to the Group’s defi ned benefi t pension scheme. 
The appointment of the auditor to this pension scheme and the fees paid in respect of the audit and for any other services are 
agreed by the Trustee of the scheme, who acts independently from the management of the Group. The aggregate fees paid to 
the Group’s auditor for audit and non-audit services to the pension scheme during the year were £8k (2017: £8k).

7 Exceptional items
The defi nition of exceptional items is contained within Note 1 of the 2018 Annual Report and Accounts. There were no exceptional 
items in 2018. An exceptional charge of £41 million before tax was recorded in the year to 31 December 2017 in respect of the 
Group’s Business Priorities programme. The costs comprised £22 million of employee related costs, £8 million of professional 
fees and £11 million of property related costs. The employee costs related to severance costs as well as the costs of employees 
who were working full time on the Business Priorities programme implementation. This exceptional charge was split into Rental 
Solutions £13 million, Power Solutions – Industrial £11 million and Power Solutions – Utility £17 million.

8 Employees and Directors
Staff costs for the Group during the year:

Wages and salaries (including severance costs)

Social security costs

Share-based payments

Pension costs – defi ned contribution plans

Pension costs – defi ned benefi t plans (Note 29.A5)

2018 
£ million

363

2017 
£ million

345

33

10

14

2

422

32

8

13

3

401

Key management personnel compensation
Full details of Directors’ remuneration are set out in the Remuneration Report on pages 62 to 79. The key management 
comprises the Executive Committee as set out on page 50 as well as Non-executive Directors. 

Key management compensation comprised the following:

Short-term employee benefi ts

Share-based payments

2018
£ million

10

2

12

2017
Restated
£ million

7

1

8

In the prior year key management comprised Executive and Non-executive Directors. In 2018 this defi nition was changed to 
the Executive Committee members as well as Non-executive Directors. Prior year numbers have been changed to refl ect this. 
The impact of the restatement is to increase short-term employee benefi ts for 2017 by £4 million and share-based payments 
by £1 million.

9 Net fi  nance charge

Finance cost on bank loans and overdrafts

Finance cost on employee benefi t scheme liabilities (Note 29.A5)

Finance income on bank balances and deposits
Finance income on employee benefi t scheme assets (Note 29.A5)

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

(37)

(4)

(41)

1
3

4

(36)

–

(36)

2
–

2

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

109

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

10 Taxation

Analysis of charge in year

Current tax expense:

– UK corporation tax 

– Overseas taxation

Adjustments in respect of prior years:

– UK
– Overseas

Deferred taxation (Note 22):

– Temporary differences arising in current year

– Movements in respect of prior years

Total before 
exceptional 
items 2017
Restated 
(Note 1) 
£ million

Exceptional 
items 
(Note 7) 
2017 
£ million

2017
Restated 
(Note 1) 
£ million

2018
£ million

6

62

68

(2)
(17)

49

5
3

57

11

77

88

(2)
(3)

83

(27)

–

56

(2)

(7)

(9)

–
–

(9)

–

–

(9)

9

70

79

(2)
(3)

74

(27)

–

47

(i)  Prior year exceptional items are explained in Note 7 and comprised costs of £41 million relating to our Business Priorities 

programme. Of these costs, £41 million were tax deductible and resulted in an exceptional tax credit of £9 million.

The tax charge relating to components of other comprehensive income is as follows:

Deferred tax on hedging reserve movements

Deferred tax on retirement benefi ts

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

–

(5)

(5)

(1)

(1)

(2)

Variances between the current tax charge and the standard 19% (2017: 19%) UK corporate tax rate when applied to profi t on 
ordinary activities for the year are as follows:

Profi t before taxation

Tax calculated at 19% standard UK corporate tax rate

Differences between UK and overseas tax rates

Expenses not tax effected

Income not subject to tax

Impact of deferred tax rate changes in relation to US tax reform

Impact of deferred tax rate changes – non US

Tax on current year profi t
Prior year adjustments – current tax*

Prior year adjustments – deferred tax
Total tax on profi  t

Total before 
exceptional 
items 2017
Restated 
(Note 1) 
£ million

190

2018
£ million

182

35

32

6

(1)
–

1

73
(19)

3

57

37

30

8

(3)

(10)

(1)

61
(5)

–

56

Exceptional 
items 
(Note 7) 
2017 
£ million

(41)

(8)

(1)

–

–

–

–

(9)
–

–

(9)

2017
Restated 
(Note 1) 
£ million

149

29

29

8

(3)

(10)

(1)

52
(5)

–

47

Effective tax rate

31%

29%

23%

31%

* The main components of the prior year credit are the release of a provision in respect of a historic matter in Yemen and other Power Solutions movements.

110 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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11 Dividends

Final paid

Interim paid

2018 
£ million

2018 
per share (p)

2017 
£ million

2017 
per share (p)

45

24

69

17.74

9.38

27.12

45

24

69

17.74

9.38

27.12

In addition, the Directors are proposing a fi nal dividend in respect of the fi nancial year ended 31 December 2018 of 17.74 pence 
per share which will utilise an estimated £45 million of Shareholders’ funds. It will be paid on 24 May 2019 to shareholders who 
are on the register of members on 23 April 2019.

12 Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share have been calculated by dividing the earnings attributable to ordinary Shareholders by the weighted 
average number of shares in issue during the year, excluding shares held by the Employee Share Ownership Trusts which are 
treated as cancelled.

Profi t for the year (£ million)

Weighted average number of Ordinary Shares in issue (million)

Basic earnings per share (pence)

2018

125.4
254.8

49.22

2017
Restated
(Note 1)

102.0

254.7

40.04

For diluted earnings per share, the weighted average number of Ordinary Shares in issue is adjusted to assume conversion 
of all potentially dilutive Ordinary Shares. These represent share options granted to employees where the exercise price is less 
than the average market price of the Company’s Ordinary Shares during the year. The number of shares calculated as above 
is compared with the number of shares that would have been issued assuming the exercise of the share options.

Profi t for the year (£ million)

Weighted average number of Ordinary Shares in issue (million)

Adjustment for share options

Diluted weighted average number of Ordinary Shares in issue (million)

Diluted earnings per share (pence)

2018

125.4

254.8

0.2

255.0

49.18

2017
Restated
(Note 1)

102.0

254.7

0.2

254.9

40.01

Aggreko plc assesses the performance of the Group by adjusting earnings per share, calculated in accordance with IAS 33, 
to exclude items it considers to be non-recurring and believes that the exclusion of such items provides a better comparison 
of business performance. The calculation of earnings per Ordinary Share on a basis which excludes exceptional items is based 
on the following adjusted earnings.

Profi t for the year
Exclude exceptional items

Profi t for the year pre-exceptional items

An adjusted earnings per share fi gure is presented below.

Basic earnings per share pre-exceptional items (pence)

Diluted earnings per share pre-exceptional items (pence)

2018 
£ million

125.4
–

125.4

2017
Restated
(Note 1) 
£ million

102.0
31.7

133.7

49.22

49.18

52.48

52.44

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

111

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

13 Goodwill

Cost

At 1 January

Acquisitions (Note 28) 

Exchange adjustments
At 31 December

Accumulated impairment losses

Net book value

Goodwill impairment tests
Goodwill has been allocated to cash-generating units (CGUs) as follows:

Power Solutions 

Industrial

Utility

Rental Solutions
Group

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

184

3

(3)

184

–

184

159

35

(10)

184

–

184

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

59

22

81

103
184

54

34

88

96
184

Goodwill is tested for impairment annually or whenever there is an indication that the asset may be impaired. Goodwill 
is monitored by management at an operating segment level. The recoverable amounts of the CGUs are determined from 
value in use calculations which use cash fl ow projections based on the fi ve-year strategic plan approved by the Board. The key 
assumptions for value in use calculations are those relating to expected changes in revenue (utilisation and rates) and the cost 
base, discount rates and long-term growth rates, are as follows:

Power Solutions Industrial

Power Solutions Utility

Rental Solutions

2018

2017

EBITDA
£ million

Post-tax 
discount 
rate

Pre-tax 
discount 
rate

Long-term 
growth 
rate

161

147

209

8.4%

8.4%

8.4%

12.2%

12.2%

12.2%

3%

3%

3%

EBITDA
£ million

127

225

177

Post-tax 
discount 
rate

Pre-tax 
discount 
rate

Long-term 
growth 
rate

8.1%

8.1%

8.1%

11.4%

11.4%

11.4%

3%

3%

3%

Values in use were determined using current year cash fl ows, a prudent view of the medium-term business strategy and exclude 
any growth capital expenditure. A terminal cash fl ow was calculated using a long-term growth rate of 3%. On the basis that the 
business carried out by all CGUs is closely related and assets can be redeployed around the Group as required, a consistent Group 
discount rate has been used for all CGUs.

As at 31 December 2018, based on internal valuations, management concluded that the values in use of the CGUs exceeded their 
net asset value with the highest headroom value being £1.4 billion and the lowest £236 million. Given these headroom numbers 
the Directors consider that there is no reasonably possible change in the key assumptions made in their impairment assessment 
that would give rise to an impairment.

112 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

14 Property, plant and equipment
Year ended 31 December 2018

Cost

At 1 January 2018

Exchange adjustments

Additions

Acquisitions (Note 28)

Disposals
At 31 December 2018

Accumulated depreciation

At 1 January 2018

Exchange adjustments

Charge for the year

Disposals
At 31 December 2018
Net book values:

At 31 December 2018

At 31 December 2017

Year ended 31 December 2017

Cost

At 1 January 2017
Exchange adjustments

Additions

Acquisitions

Disposals
At 31 December 2017

Accumulated depreciation

At 1 January 2017
Exchange adjustments

Charge for the year

Disposals
At 31 December 2017

Net book values:

At 31 December 2017

At 31 December 2016

i

S
t
r
a
t
e
g
c
r
e
p
o
r
t

G
o
v
e
r
n
a
n
c
e

i

F
n
a
n
c
i
a

l

s
t
a
t
e
m
e
n
t
s

S
h
a
r
e
h
o
d
e
r

l

i

n
f
o
r
m
a
t
i
o
n

Freehold 
properties 
£ million

Short leasehold 
properties 
£ million

Rental fl eet 
£ million

Vehicles, 
plant and 
equipment 
£ million

Total 
£ million

86

4

2

–

–
92

35

2

3

–
40

52

51

20

1

2

–

–
23

15

–

1

–
16

7

5

3,400

102

196

13

(99)
3,612

2,296

77

273

(91)
2,555

1,057

1,104

152

2

16

–

(2)
168

98

3

16

(2)
115

53

54

Freehold 
properties 
£ million

Short leasehold 
properties 
£ million

Rental fl eet 
£ million

Vehicles, 
plant and 
equipment 
£ million

91
(3)

1

–

(3)

86

36
(2)

3

(2)

35

51

55

22
(1)

1

–

(2)

20

16
–

1

(2)

15

5

6

3,475
(256)

246

23

(88)

3,400

2,272
(172)

275

(79)

2,296

1,104

1,203

136
(7)

24

5

(6)

152

91
(5)

17

(5)

98

54

45

3,658

109

216

13

(101)
3,895

2,444

82

293

(93)
2,726

1,169

1,214

Total 
£ million

3,724
(267)

272

28

(99)

3,658

2,415
(179)

296

(88)

2,444

1,214

1,309

Assets in course of construction are included within Rental fl eet.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

113

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

15 Fulfi  lment asset

Balance at 1 January

Capitalised in period

Provision created for future demobilisation costs

Amortised to the income statement

Exchange
Balance at 31 December

Analaysis of fulfi  lment assets

Current

Non-current
Total

16 Inventories

Raw materials and consumables

Work in progress

2018
£ million

2017
£ million

8

44

3

(12)

1

44

15

29

44

16

12

2

(22)

-

8

5

3

8

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

226

3

229

221

11

232

The cost of inventories recognised as an expense within cost of sales amounted to £85 million (2017: £112 million). The write down 
of inventories to net realisable value amounted to £5 million (2017: £6 million).

17 Trade and other receivables

Trade receivables

Less: provision for impairment of receivables

Trade receivables – net

Prepayments

Accrued income

Other receivables (Note (i))
Total receivables

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

587

(85)

502

45

169

65
781

570

(80)

490

57

139

84
770

(i)  In September 2016, the Group signed £14 million of private placement notes with one customer in Venezuela (PDVSA) to 

progress clearing the overdue debt. This resulted in a fi nancial instrument which replaced the net trade receivable balance. 
The fi nancial instrument is booked at fair value which refl ects our estimation of the recoverability of these notes. This fair 
value is estimated to be £4 million (2017: £4 million). This fi nancial instrument is included in other receivables. Other material 
amounts included in other receivables include indirect taxes receivable (such as sales taxes) of £21 million (2017: £24 million) 
and deposits of £15 million (2017: £11 million).

(ii)  The value of trade and other receivables quoted in the table above also represents the fair value of these items. 

The carrying amounts of the Group’s trade and other receivables are denominated in the following currencies:

Sterling

Euro

US Dollar

Other currencies

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

24

125

373

259

781

33

110

348

279

770

114 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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17 Trade and other receivables continued
Movements on the Group’s provision for impairment of trade receivables are as follows:

At 1 January

Net provision for receivables impairment

Utilised

Receivables written off during the year as uncollectable

Exchange
At 31 December

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

80

7

(2)

(2)

2

85

67

25

(3)

(3)

(6)

80

Credit quality of trade receivables
The table below analyses the total trade receivables balance per operating segment into fully performing, past due and impaired.

31 December 2018

Power Solutions

Industrial

Utility

Rental Solutions
Group

31 December 2017

Power Solutions

Industrial

Utility

Rental Solutions
Group

Fully performing 
£ million

Past due 
£ million

Impaired 
£ million

Total 
£ million

56

53

109

71
180

56

202

258

64
322

11

64

75

10
85

123

319

442

145
587

Fully performing
Restated
£ million

Past due 
Restated
£ million

Impaired 
Restated
£ million

Total 
Restated
£ million

55

62

117

67

184

47

188

235

71

306

8

62

70

10

80

110

312

422

148

570

2017 numbers have been restated to take account of the transfer of non-utility balances from Power Solutions Utility to Power 
Solutions Industrial.

Ageing of past due but not impaired trade receivables

Less than 30 days

Between 30 and 60 days
Between 60 and 90 days

Greater than 90 days

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

72

50
38

162

322

90

36
24

156

306

The Group assesses credit quality as explained below:

Power Solutions – Industrial
This is a transaction intensive business and the majority of the contracts in this business are small relative to the size of the 
Group. There is no concentration of credit risk in this business and there is a large number of customers who are unrelated 
and internationally dispersed.

The management of trade receivables is the responsibility of the operating units, although they report monthly to Group on 
debtor days, debtor ageing and signifi cant outstanding debts. At an operating unit level a credit rating is normally established 
for each customer based on ratings from external agencies. Where no ratings are available, cash in advance payment terms 
are often established for new customers. Credit limits are reviewed on a regular basis. The effectiveness of this credit process 
has meant that the Group has historically had a low level of bad debt in this business. Receivables written off during the year 
as uncollectable as a percentage of total gross debtors was 2% (2017: nil%).

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

115

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

17 Trade and other receivables continued
Power Solutions – Utility
This business concentrates on medium to very large contracts. Customers are mainly state owned utilities in emerging markets.

In many instances these contracts are in jurisdictions where payment practices can be unpredictable. The Group monitors the 
risk profi le and debtor position of all such contracts regularly, and deploys a variety of techniques to mitigate the risks of delayed 
or non-payment; including securing advance payments, bonds and guarantees. On the largest contracts, all such arrangements 
are approved at a Group level. Contracts are reviewed on a case by case basis to determine the customer and country risk.

To date the Group has also had a low level of bad debt in the Power Solutions Utility business.

The total trade receivables balance as at 31 December 2018 for our Power Solutions Utility business was £319 million (2017: 
£312 million). Within this balance, receivable balances totalling £32 million (2017: £41 million) had some form of payment cover 
attached to them. This payment cover guards against the risk of customer default rather than the risk associated with customer 
disputes. The risk associated with the remaining £287 million (2017: £271 million) is deemed to be either acceptable or payment 
cover is not obtainable in a cost-effective manner.

Rental Solutions
This business is similar to the Power Solutions Industrial business above and the management of trade receivables is similar. 
Again the Group has historically had a low level of bad debt in the Rental Solutions business. Receivables written off during the 
year as uncollectable as a percentage of total gross debtors was 1% (2017: 2%).

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

134

493

627

9
115

20

144

771

(85)

686

103

481

584

12
72

55

139

723

(71)

652

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

144
104

157

11

355

771

139
79

26

146

333

723

18 Borrowings

Non-current

Bank borrowings

Private placement notes

Current

Bank overdrafts
Bank borrowings

Private placement notes

Total borrowings

Cash at bank and in hand
Net borrowings

Overdrafts and borrowings are unsecured.

(i) Maturity of fi  nancial liabilities
The maturity profi le of the borrowings was as follows:

Within 1 year, or on demand
Between 1 and 2 years

Between 2 and 3 years

Between 3 and 4 years

Greater than 5 years

116 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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18 Borrowings continued
(ii) Borrowing facilities
The Group has the following undrawn committed fl oating rate borrowing facilities available at 31 December 2018 in respect 
of which all conditions precedent had been met at that date:

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

Expiring within 1 year

Expiring between 1 and 2 years

Expiring between 2 and 3 years

Expiring between 3 and 4 years

Expiring between 4 and 5 years

19 Trade and other payables

Trade payables

Other taxation and social security payable

Other payables

Accruals

Deferred income

–

276

100

89

–

465

2018 
£ million

134

15

99

115

8

371

The value of trade and other payables quoted in the table above also represents the fair value of these items.

20 Provisions

At 1 January 2018
Utilised

Exchange adjustments
At 31 December 2018

Analysis of total provisions

Current

Non-current
Total

77

64

383

50

50

624

2017
Restated
(Note 1) 
£ million

160

16

78

127

29

410

Business 
Priorities 
Programme 
£ million

8
(6)

–
2

2

–
2

The provisions for the implementation of the Business Priorities programme are generally in respect of depot closure costs. 
The provision is expected to be fully utilised by the end of 2019.

21 Demobilisation provision

Balance at 1 January

New provisions

Utilised

Exchange
Balance at 31 December

Analysis of demobilisation provision

Current

Non-current
Total

2018
£ million

2017
£ million

10

4

(4)

1

11

6

5

11

11

9

(10)

–

10

9

1

10

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

117

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

22 Deferred tax
31 December 2018

Fixed asset temporary differences

Retirement benefi t obligations

Overseas tax on unremitted earnings

Tax losses

Other temporary differences

31 December 2017

Fixed asset temporary differences

Retirement benefi t obligations

Overseas tax on unremitted earnings

Tax losses

Derivative fi nancial instruments

Other temporary differences

At 
1 January 
2018 
£ million

(40)

4

–

32

24

20

Debit to 
income 
statement 
2018 
£ million

Debit to other 
comprehensive 
income 
2018 
£ million

Exchange 
differences 
2018 
£ million

–

–

(1)

(2)

(5)

(8)

–

(5)

–

–

–

(5)

(4)

1

–

–

(2)

(5)

At 
1 January 
2017 
£ million

Credit/(debit) 
to income 
statement 
2017 
£ million

Debit to other 
comprehensive 
income 
2017 
£ million

Deferred tax 
in relation to 
acquisition 
2017 
£ million

Exchange 
differences 
2017 
£ million

(71)

5

(1)

40

1

22

(4)

32

–

1

(8)

–

2

27

–

(1)

–

–

(1)

–

(2)

(2)

–

–

–

–

–

(2)

1

–

–

–

–

–

1

At 
31 December 
2018 
£ million

(44)

–

(1)

30

17

2

At 
31 December 
2017 
£ million

(40)

4

–

32

–

24

20

A deferred tax liability of £1 million (2017: £nil) has been recognised in respect of unremitted earnings.

No other deferred tax liability has been recognised in respect of unremitted earnings of subsidiaries. It is likely that the majority 
of the overseas earnings will qualify for the UK dividend exemption and the Group can control the distribution of dividends by 
its subsidiaries. In some countries, local tax is payable on the remittance of a dividend. Were dividends to be remitted from these 
countries, the additional tax payable would be £15 million.

The movements in deferred tax assets and liabilities (prior to offsetting of balances within the same jurisdiction as permitted by 
IAS 12) during the period are shown below. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are only offset where there is a legally enforceable 
right of offset and there is an intention to settle the balances net.

Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that the realisation of the related deferred tax benefi t through future taxable 
profi ts is probable based on current forecasts. The Group did not recognise deferred tax assets of £31 million (2017: £23 million) 
of which £27 million (2017: £21 million) relates to carried forward tax losses and £4 million (2017: £2 million) relates to fi xed asset 
timing differences as our forecasts indicate that these assets will not reverse in the near future. 

Deferred tax assets of £23 million (2017: £32 million) have been recognised in respect of entities which have suffered a loss in 
either the current or preceding period. Deferred tax assets have been recognised on the basis it is probable there will be future 
taxable profi ts against which they can be utilised based on current forecasts and secured long term contracts. The majority of 
these assets can be carried forward indefi nitely.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities

Fixed asset temporary differences

Retirement benefi t obligations

Overseas tax on unremitted earnings

Tax losses

Other temporary differences

Total

Offset of deferred tax positions
Net deferred tax

31 December 2018

Assets 
£ million

Liabilities 
£ million

15

–

–

30

23

68

(32)
36

(59)

–

(1)

–

(6)

(66)

32
(34)

Net 
£ million

(44)

–

(1)

30

17

2

–
2

Assets 
£ million

12

4

–

32

24

72

(30)
42

31 December 2017

Liabilities 
£ million

(52)

Net 
£ million

(40)

–

–

–

–

(52)

30
(22)

4

–

32

24

20

–
20

The net deferred tax asset due after more than one year is £2 million (2017: asset of £20 million).

118 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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23 Share capital

2018 
Number 
of shares

2018 
£000

2017 
Number 
of shares

2017 
£000

(i) Ordinary Shares of 4329⁄395 pence (2017: 4329⁄395 pence)

At 1 January and 31 December

256,128,201

12,378

256,128,201

12,378

(ii) Deferred Ordinary Shares of 618⁄25 pence (2017: 618⁄25 pence)

At 1 January and 31 December

182,700,915

12,278

182,700,915

12,278

(iii) Deferred Ordinary Shares of 1⁄775 pence (2017: 1⁄775 pence)

At 1 January and 31 December

18,352,057,648

237

18,352,057,648

237

(iv) Deferred Ordinary Shares of 984⁄775 pence (2017: 984⁄775 pence)

At 1 January and 31 December

188,251,587

17,147

188,251,587

17,147

(v) Deferred Ordinary Shares of 1⁄306125 pence (2017: 1⁄306125 pence)

At 1 January and 31 December
Total

573,643,383,325

19
42,059

573,643,383,325

19
42,059

The rights and obligations attached to shares is described on pages 80 to 81.

24 Treasury shares

Treasury shares

2018 
£ million

(17)

2017 
£ million

(7)

Interests in own shares represents the cost of 1,949,676 of the Company’s Ordinary Shares (nominal value 4329/395 pence). 
Movement during the year was as follows:

1 January

Purchase of shares

Long-term Incentive Plan maturity
Deferred shares and restricted stock
31 December

2018 
Number 
of shares

527,373

1,601,295

–
(178,992)

1,949,676

2017 
Number 
of shares

1,048,816

–

(1,698)
(519,745)

527,373

These shares represent 0.8% of issued share capital as at 31 December 2018 (2017: 0.2%).

These shares were acquired by a Trust in the open market using funds provided by Aggreko plc to meet obligations under the 
Long-term Incentive Plan and Aggreko Sharesave Plans. The costs of funding and administering the scheme are charged to the 
income statement of the Company in the period to which they relate. The market value of the shares at 31 December 2018 was 
£14 million (2017: £4 million).

25 Capital commitments

Contracted but not provided for (property, plant and equipment)

26 Operating lease commitments – minimum lease payments

Commitments under non-cancellable operating leases expiring: 

Within one year

Later than one year and less than fi ve years
After fi ve years
Total

2018 
£ million

19

2017 
£ million

32

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

29

67
21

117

20

53
25

98

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

119

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

27 Investments in subsidiaries
The subsidiary undertakings of Aggreko plc at 31 December 2018, and the main countries in which they operate, are shown 
below. All companies are wholly owned and, unless otherwise stated, incorporated in the UK or in the principal country of 
operation and are involved in the supply of modular, mobile power, heating, cooling and related services.

All shareholdings are of Ordinary Shares or other equity capital.

Company

Aggreko Algeria SPA*

Aggreko Angola Lda

Aggreko Argentina S.R.L.

Aggreko Aruba VBA 

Country of 
incorporation

Algeria

Angola

Registered address

Extension La Zone Des Activities, N 01, Adrar, Algeria

Rua 21 Jan, Qunintalao Escola de Enfermagem, Bairro Morro Bento III, District 
of Samba, Luanda, Angola

Argentina

465, 2D, Av. L.N. Alem, Buenos Aires, 1001, Argentina 

Aruba

Weststraat 13, Aruba

Aggreko Generators Rental Pty Limited

Australia

101, Woodlands Drive, Braeside, VIC, 3195, Australia

Aggreko Bangladesh Power Solutions Limited

Bangladesh

Concord Baksh Tower, Level-6, Plot-11A, Road-48, Block-CWN(A), Kamal 
Ataturk Avenue, Gulshan-2, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Aggreko Belgium NV

Belgium

7, Smallandlaan, Antwerpen, 2660, Belgium

Aggreko Energia Locacao de Geradores Ltda

Brazil

3500, Av. das Américas, – Ed Toronto 2000 – 6° Andar – Barra da Tijuca, Rio de 
Janeiro, 22640-102, Brazil

Aggreko Cameroon S.R.L.

Aggreko Canada Inc

Cameroon

Centre des Affaires Flatters, Rue Flatters, BP 4999, Bonanjo, Doula, Cameroon

Canada

199, Bay Street, Suite 2800, Commerce Court West, Toronto, ON, M5L1A9, 
Canada

Younicos Energy Services Ltd

Canada

95 Foundry Street, Suite 300, Moncton NB, E1C 5H7, Canada 

Aggreko Financial Holdings Limited +

Aggreko Chile Limitada

Aggreko (Shanghai) Energy Equipment Rental 
Company Limited

Aggreko Colombia SAS

Cayman 
Islands

Chile

89, Nexus Way, Camana Bay, PO Box 31106, Grand Cayman, KY1-1205, Cayman 
Islands

Galvarino 9450, Parque Industrial Buenaventura, Quilicura, Region 
Metropolitana, Santiago, Chile

China

Building 16, No 99 HuaJia Road, SongJiang District, Shanghai, 201611, China

Colombia

Parque Industrial Gran Sabana Vereda Tibitoc Lote M Unidad 67-A, Tocancipa, 
Colombia

Aggreko Power Solutions Colombia SA ESP

Colombia

Parque Industrial Gran Sabana, Carretera Snrto Zipaquira Lote 67, Tocancipa 
– Cundinamarca, Colombia

Aggreko Costa Rica S.A.

Aggreko Cote d’Ivoire S.A.R.L.

Aggreko Curacao B.V.

Costa Rica

Centro Corporativo Forum I, Torre G, Piso 1, Santa Ana, San José, Costa Rica 

Cote d’Ivoire

Vridi Canal – Base Centrale thermique à gaz, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire 

Curacao

Hoogstraat 30, PO Box 3961, Curacao

Aggreko (Middle East) Limited**

Cyprus

3 Themistokli Dervi, Julia House, P.C. 1066, Nicosia, Cyprus

Aggreko DRC S.P.R.L.

Aggreko Dominican Republic SRL

Democratic 
Republic of the 
Congo

Dominican 
Republic

50, Avenue Goma-Commune de la Gombe, Kinshasa

Paseo de los Locutores No. 53, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 

Aggreko Energy Ecuador CIA

Ecuador

E 2324, Rumipamba y Av. Amazonas, Quito, NA, Ecuador

Aggreko Finland Oy

Aggreko France SARL

Aggreko Gabon S.A.R.L.

Finland

Hatanpaan Valtatie 13, Tampere, Finland

France

Gabon

5, Rue Boole, Saint-Michel sur Orge, 91240, France

Residence Du Golf, Libreville, BP: 4568, Gabon

Aggreko Deutschland GmbH

Germany

Barbarastraße 62, 46282 Dorsten, Germany

Younicos GmbH

Aggreko Hong Kong Limited

Germany

Am Studio 16, 12489 Berlin, Germany

Hong Kong

Lots 1845 and 1846 in DD125 Ho Tsuen, Yuen Long, N.T. Hong Kong, SAR, 
00852, Hong Kong

Aggreko Energy Rental India Private Limited +++

India

Aggreko Energy Services Indonesia PT

Indonesia

“The Chambers”, Offi ce No 501, Plot No 4/12/13, Viman Nagar, Pune, 411014, 
India

Talavera Tower Lantai 5 Talavera Offi ce Park, Jl. Letjend TB Simatupang Kav 
22 – 26, Cilandak Barat Cilandak, Jakarta Selatan, DKI Jakarta 12430

PT Kertabumi Teknindo

Indonesia

Talavera Tower Lantai 5 Talavera Offi ce Park, Jl. Letjend TB Simatupang Kav 
22 – 26, Cilandak Barat Cilandak, Jakarta Selatan, DKI Jakarta 12430

120 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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27 Investments in subsidiaries continued

Company

Aggreko Ireland Ltd

Aggreko Italia S.R.L.

Aggreko Japan Limited

Aggreko Events Services Japan Ltd

Aggreko Kenya Energy Rentals Limited

Aggreko Malaysia SDN BHD

Aggreko Mali S.A.R.L.

Aggreko Africa Limited

Aggreko Energy Mexico SA de CV

Aggreko Services Mexico SA de CV

Aggreko SA de CV ++++

Country of 
incorporation

Registered address

Ireland

Riverside One, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2, D02 X576, Ireland

Italy

29, Via A. Einstein, Assago (MI), 20090, Italy

Japan

Japan

Kenya

Malaysia

4F, Ace Kudan Building, 2-2-1 Kudan-Minami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan 

4F, Ace Kunda Building, 2-2-1 Kudan-Minami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Plot 12100, Tulip House, Mombasa Road, P.O. Box 10729, 00100, Nairobi, Kenya 

Level 8 Symphony House Berhad Pusat Dagangan Dana 1 Jalan PJU 1A/46, 
Petaling Jaya, 47301, Malaysia

Mali

Bamako-Lafi abougou ACI 2000, Immeuble Samassa, 1 Etage, porte 02 

Mauritius

co/o Abax Corporate Services Ltd, 6th Floor, Tower A, 1 CyberCity, Mauritius

Mexico

Mexico

Mexico

8, Carretera Coacalco Tultepec, Estado de Mexico, 55717, Mexico 

8, Carretera Coacalco Tultepec, Estado de Mexico, 55717, Mexico 

Mar Cantabrico No. 20, Co. Popotla C.P. 11400, Mexico, D.F., Mexico

Aggreko Mocambique Limitada

Mozambique

7 Andar, Av. 24 de Julho, No 7, Bairro Polana Cimento, Distrito Urbano 1, 
Maputo, Mozambique

Aggreko Myanmar Co Limited

Myanmar

No. 112 (First Floor), 49th Street, Pazundaung Township, Yangon, Myanmar 

Aggreko Namibia Energy Rentals (Pty) Ltd

Namibia

344 Independence Avenue, Windhoek, Namibia

Aggreko (NZ) Limited

Aggreko Projects Limited

Aggreko Gas Power Generation Limited ++++

New Zealand

Level 8, 188 Quay Street, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand 

Nigeria

Nigeria

27 Festival Road, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria 

27 Festival Road, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria 

Aggreko Norway AS

Norway

44, Dragonveien, Bygg 31, Oslo, Norway

Aggreko Energy Rentals Panama SA

Panama

Patton, Moreno & Asvat offi ces in Capital Plaza Building, 8th fl oor, Roberto 
Motta y Costa del Este Avenue, Panama, PA, 507, Panama

Aggreko Generator Rentals (PNG) Limited

Papua New 
Guinea

c/- Ashurst PNG, Level 4, Mogoru Moto Building, Champion Parade, Port 
Moresby, National Capital District, Papua New Guinea

Aggreko Peru S.A.C.

Peru

Avenida Elmer Faucett 4800, Callao, Peru

Aggreko Energy Rental Solutions Inc

Philippines

Unit 1101, Picadily Star Building, 4th Avenue, 27th Street Bonifacio Global City, 
Taguig City, 1634, Philippines

Aggreko Polska Spolka Zorganiczana

Poland

Fort Ordona 6 street, Czosnow, 05-152, Poland

Graciolica Lda

Portugal

Estrada Velha Do Quitadouro, Ilha da Graciosa, 9880 315 Santa Cruz da 
Graciosa, Portugal

Aggreko South East Europe S.R.L.

Romania

Soseaua de Centura 7A, Tunari, Ilfov, 077180, Romania

Aggreko Eurasia LLC

Aggreko Rwanda Limited

Aggreko Senegal S.A.R.L.

Russia

Rwanda

Senegal

Building 1, House 8, 2nd km Stariy Tobolsky Trakt, Tyumen, 625000, Russian 
Federation

1st Floor, Omega House, Boulevard de los, Nyarugenge, Rwanda

Route De Ngor 29912, Dakar, Senegal

Aggreko (Singapore) PTE Limited

Singapore

8B Buroh Street, Singapore, 627532

Milman International PTE LTD

Singapore

8B Buroh Street, Singapore, 627532

Aggreko Energy Rental South Africa (Proprietary) 
Limited

South Africa

2 Eglin Road, Sunninghill, 2157, South Africa

Aggreko South Korea Limited

South Korea

Unit 3203 S-Trenue, 37 Gukjegeumyung-ro 2-gil, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 
Republic of Korea

Aggreko Iberia SA

Spain

35-37, Avinguda Torre Mateu, Pol.Industrial Can Salvatella, Barbera del Valles, 
08210, Spain

Aggreko Sweden AB

Sweden

Box 16285, Stockholm, 103 25, Sweden

Aggreko Energy Rentals Tanzania Limited

Tanzania

Ubungo Plaza Unit 209, 2nd Floor, PO Box 158, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania 

Aggreko (Thailand) Limited

Aggreko Americas Holdings B.V. +

Thailand

Central World, 29th Floor, Rama I Road, Pathumwan Sub-district, Pathumwan 
District, Bangkok, Thailand

The 
Netherlands

Amstelveenseweg 760, 1081 JK Amsterdam, Netherlands 

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

121

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

27 Investments in subsidiaries continued

Company

Aggreko Euro Holdings B.V. +

Aggreko Rest of the World Holdings B.V. +

Aggreko (Investments) B.V. ++

Aggreko Nederland B.V.

Aggreko International Power Projects B.V.

Aggreko Trinidad Limited

Aggreko Enerji ve Isi Kontrol Ticaret Anonim 
Sirketi

Aggreko Middle East Limited FZE

Aggreko Events Services Limited

Aggreko Finance Limited +

Aggreko Holdings Limited +

Aggreko International Projects Holdings 
Limited +

Aggreko International Projects Limited***

Aggreko Pension Scheme Trustee Limited

Aggreko Russia Finance Limited ++

Aggreko UK Finance Limited ++

Aggreko UK Limited

Aggreko US Limited

Aggreko Generators Limited ++++

Aggreko Luxembourg Holdings

Dunwilco (680) Limited ++++

Golden Triangle Generators Limited

Aggreko Ukraine LLC

Aggreko Uruguay S.A.

Aggreko Holdings Inc +

Aggreko USA LLC +

Aggreko LLC

Younicos Inc

Country of 
incorporation

The 
Netherlands

The 
Netherlands

The 
Netherlands

The 
Netherlands

The 
Netherlands

Republic of 
Trinidad & 
Tobago

Registered address

Amstelveenseweg 760, 1081 JK Amsterdam, Netherlands 

Amstelveenseweg 760, 1081 JK Amsterdam, Netherlands 

3, Fuutweg, Haven 461b, Klundert, 4791PB, Netherlands 

3, Fuutweg, Haven 461b, Klundert, 4791PB, Netherlands

Between Roundabouts 7 and 8, Opposite Red Sea Housing, PO Box 17576, 
Jebel Ali, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

5/7 Sweet Briar Road, St. Clair, Trinidad and Tobago

Turkey

EGS Business Park B2 Blok Kat:6 D:227 Yeşilköy, Bakırköy, Istanbul, Turkey

UAE

E-LOB Offi ce No E2-112F-40, PO Box 52462, Hamriyah Free Zone, Sharjah, 
United Arab Emirates

UK

UK

UK 

UK 

UK 

UK 

UK

UK

UK

UK

UK

UK

UK

UK

120 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JS, Scotland, United Kingdom

120 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JS, Scotland, United Kingdom

120 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JS, Scotland, United Kingdom

120 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JS, Scotland, United Kingdom

120 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JS, Scotland, United Kingdom

120 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JS, Scotland, United Kingdom

120 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JS, Scotland, United Kingdom

120 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JS, Scotland, United Kingdom

Overburn Avenue, Dumbarton, G82 2RL, Scotland, United Kingdom

120 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JS, Scotland, United Kingdom

120 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JS, Scotland, United Kingdom

120 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JS, Scotland, United Kingdom

120 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JS, Scotland, United Kingdom

Aggreko House Orbital 2, Voyager Drive, Cannock, Staffordshire, WS11 8XP, 
England, United Kingdom

Ukraine

77, 709, Sichovyh Strilstiv St, Kyiv, Ukraine, 04053

Uruguay

675, Of 20, Peatonal Sarandi, Montevideo, Uruguay

USA

USA

USA

Wilmington Trust SP Services Inc, 1105 N. Market Street, Suite 1300, 
Wilmington DE, 19801, United States

The Corporation Trust Company, Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange 
Street, Wilmington, DE, 19801, United States

The Corporation Trust Company, Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange 
Street, Wilmington, DE, 19801, United States

USA

3100 Alvin Devane Blvd, Building A, Suite 200, Austin, TX, 78741, United States 

Aggreko de Venezuela C.A.

Venezuela

Av. Venezuela Edif. Lamaletto, piso 5, ofi cina Unica, El Rosal, Caracas

*  

**  

*** 

+ 

Joint venture: Aggreko ownership is 49%, remainder is held by RedMed.

Registered in Cyprus.

Administered from Dubai and registered in the UK.

Intermediate holding companies.

++ 

Finance company.

+++  The fi nancial year end of Aggreko Energy Rental India Private Limited is 31 March due to local taxation requirements.

++++  Dormant company.

122 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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28 Acquisitions and investments
A Contact Electric Rentals (A Contact)
On 15 February 2018 the Group completed the acquisition of the business and assets of A Contact.

The acquisition furthers Aggreko’s leadership position in the speciality rental market and long-term growth strategy to excel 
through specialised rental solutions. A Contact specialises in the rental of medium and high voltage electrical distribution 
equipment in North America.

The revenue and operating profi t included in the consolidated income statement from 15 February 2018 to 31 December 2018 
contributed by A Contact was £10 million and £4 million respectively. Had A Contact been consolidated from 1 January 2018, the 
consolidated income statement for the year ended 31 December 2018 would show revenue and operating profi t of £1,760 million 
and £219 million respectively.

The acquisition method of accounting has been adopted and the goodwill arising on the purchase has been capitalised. 
Acquisition related costs of £0.3 million have been expensed in the period and are included within administrative expenses 
in the income statement.

Goodwill represents the value of synergies arising from the integration of the acquired business. Synergies include combining 
A contact’s specialised equipment with Aggreko’s to offer extended benefi ts to our customers.

Included within this maximum consideration is £3 million which was deposited into an escrow account as contingent 
consideration and security against any issues with the assets acquired. The escrow period is eighteen months from date of 
acquisition, with 50% to be released twelve months after the acquisition date and the remaining balance eighteen months 
after the acquisition date. No claims have been identifi ed to date and the Directors have assessed the fair value of the 
consideration as £3 million.

Generator Hire Service (GHS)
On 31 May 2018 the Group completed the acquisition of the business and assets of GHS in Australia.

GHS specialises in general rental equipment and it strengthens Aggreko’s leadership position in the events sector.

The revenue and operating profi t included in the consolidated income statement from 31 May 2018 to 31 December 2018 
contributed by GHS was £0.9 million and £0.2 million respectively. Had GHS been consolidated from 1 January 2018, the 
consolidated income statement for the year ended 31 December 2018 would show revenue and operating profi t of £1,760 million 
and £219 million respectively.

The acquisition method of accounting has been adopted and the goodwill arising on the purchase has been capitalised. 
Acquisition related costs of £0.2 million have been expensed in the period and are included within administrative expenses in 
the income statement.

Goodwill represents the value of synergies arising from the integration of the acquired business. Synergies include direct cost 
savings and a reduction in overheads, as well as the ability to leverage Aggreko systems and access to assets.

The details of the transactions and the fair value of assets acquired in the two acquisitions are shown in the table below:

Property, plant and equipment

Intangible assets

Inventory

Trade and other receivables

Net assets acquired

Goodwill
Consideration per cash fl ow

A Contact
£ million

GHS
£ million

Total
£ million

11

1

6

1

19

2
21

2

–

–

–

2

1
3

13

1

6

1

21

3
24

Investment in Origami Energy Limited (Origami)
On 21 March 2018 the Group acquired a 14% share in Origami for a consideration of £9 million. Origami was founded in 2013 
and has developed intelligent software that optimises the revenue earning capability of grid connected assets. This investment 
extends Aggreko’s capability in evolving energy markets and supports our distributed energy strategy.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

123

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

29 Notes to the Group 
Accounts – appendices
29.A1 Accounting policies
Derivative fi nancial instruments
The activities of the Group expose it 
directly to the fi nancial risks of changes 
in forward foreign currency exchange 
rates and interest rates. The Group uses 
forward foreign exchange contracts, and 
interest rate swap contracts to hedge 
these exposures. The Group does not 
use derivative fi nancial instruments 
for speculative purposes.

Derivatives are initially recorded and 
subsequently measured at fair value, 
which is calculated using standard 
industry valuation techniques in 
conjunction with observable market 
data. The fair value of interest rate swaps 
is calculated as the present value of 
estimated future cash fl ows using 
market interest rates and the fair value 
of forward foreign exchange contracts 
is determined using forward foreign 
exchange market rates at the reporting 
date. The treatment of changes in fair 
value of derivatives depends on the 
derivative classifi cation. The Group 
designates derivatives as hedges of 
highly probable forecasted transactions 
or commitments (‘cash fl ow hedge’).

In order to qualify for hedge accounting, 
the Group is required to document in 
advance the relationship between the 
item being hedged and the hedging 
instrument. The Group is also required 
to document and demonstrate an 
assessment of the relationship between 
the hedged item and the hedging 
instrument, which shows that the 
hedge will be highly effective on an 
ongoing basis. This effectiveness 
testing is re-performed at each period 
end to ensure that the hedge remains 
highly effective.

Share-based payments
IFRS 2 ‘Share-based Payment’ has 
been applied to all grants of equity 
instruments. The Group issues equity-
settled share-based payments to certain 
employees under the terms of the 
Group’s various employee-share and 
option schemes. Equity-settled share-
based payments are measured at fair 
value at the date of the grant. The fair 
value determined at the grant date of 
equity-settled share-based payments 
is expensed on a straight-line basis over 
the vesting period, based on an estimate 
of the shares that will ultimately vest. 
Fair value is measured using the 
Black-Scholes option-pricing model.

Own shares held under trust for the 
Group’s employee share schemes are 
classed as Treasury shares and deducted 
in arriving at Shareholders’ equity. 
No gain or loss is recognised on disposal 
of Treasury shares. Purchases of own 
shares are disclosed as changes in 
Shareholders’ equity.

Leases
Leases where substantially all of the 
risks and rewards of ownership are not 
transferred to the Group are classifi ed 
as operating leases. Rentals under 
operating leases are charged against 
operating profi t on a straight-line 
basis over the term of the lease.

Dividend distribution
Dividend distribution to the Company’s 
Shareholders is recognised as a liability 
in the Group’s fi nancial statements 
in the period in which the dividends 
are approved by the Company’s 
Shareholders. Interim dividends 
are recognised when paid.

Cash fl ow hedges
Changes in the fair value of derivative 
fi nancial instruments that are 
designated, and effective, as hedges of 
future cash fl ows are recognised directly 
in equity and any ineffective portion is 
recognised immediately in the income 
statement. If the cash fl ow hedge is 
of a fi rm commitment or forecasted 
transaction that subsequently results in 
the recognition of an asset or a liability 
then, at the time the asset or liability 
is recognised, the associated gains 
or losses on the derivative that had 
previously been recognised in equity 
are included in the initial measurement 
of the asset or liability. For hedges of 
transactions that do not result in the 
recognition of an asset or a liability, 
amounts deferred in equity are 
recognised in the income statement 
in the same period in which the hedged 
item affects net profi t and loss.

Changes in the fair value of derivative 
fi nancial instruments that do not qualify 
for hedge accounting are recognised 
in the income statement as they arise.

Hedge accounting is discontinued 
when the hedging instrument no longer 
qualifi es for hedge accounting. At that 
time any cumulative gain or loss on 
the hedging instrument recognised 
in equity is retained in equity until 
the forecasted transaction occurs. 
If a hedged transaction is no longer 
expected to occur, the net cumulative 
gain or loss recognised in equity is 
transferred to the income statement.

Overseas net investment hedges
Certain foreign currency borrowings 
are designated as hedges of the Group’s 
overseas net investments, which are 
denominated in the functional currency 
of the reporting operation.

Exchange differences arising from the 
retranslation of the net investment in 
foreign entities and of borrowings are 
taken to equity on consolidation to 
the extent the hedges are deemed 
effective. All other exchange gains 
and losses are dealt with through the 
income statement.

124 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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29 Notes to the Group Accounts – appendices continued
29.A2 Other intangible assets
Year ended 31 December 2018

Cost

At 1 January 2018

Acquisitions (Note 28)

Additions

Exchange adjustments
At 31 December 2018

Accumulated amortisation

At 1 January 2018

Charge for the year

Exchange adjustments
At 31 December 2018

Net book values

At 31 December 2018

At 31 December 2017

Customer 
relationships 
and non-
compete 
agreements 
£ million

Development 
expenditure 
£ million

Technology 
£ million

Total 
£ million

56

1

–

1
58

38

4

–
42

16

18

10

–

10

4
24

–

–

–
–

24

10

3

–

–

–
3

–

1

–
1

2

3

69

1

10

5
85

38

5

–
43

42

31

Amortisation charges in the year mainly comprised amortisation of assets arising from business combinations and have been 
recorded in administrative expenses.

Year ended 31 December 2017

Cost

At 1 January 2017

Acquisitions

Additions

Exchange adjustments
At 31 December 2017

Accumulated amortisation

At 1 January 2017

Charge for the year

Exchange adjustments
At 31 December 2017

Net book values
At 31 December 2017

At 31 December 2016

Customer 
relationships 
and non-
compete 
agreements 
£ million

Development 
expenditure 
£ million

Technology 
£ million

Total 
£ million

56

5

–

(5)
56

37

4

(3)

38

18

19

5

–

5

–
10

–

–

–

–

10

5

–

3

–

–
3

–

–

–

–

3

–

61

8

5

(5)
69

37

4

(3)

38

31

24

Amortisation charges in the year mainly comprised amortisation of assets arising from business combinations and have been 
recorded in administrative expenses.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

125

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

29 Notes to the Group Accounts – appendices continued
29.A3 Borrowings
(i) Interest rate risk profi le of fi nancial liabilities
The interest rate profi le of the Group’s fi nancial liabilities at 31 December 2018, after taking account of the interest rate swaps 
used to manage the interest profi le, was:

Currency:

US Dollar

Euro

Canadian Dollar

Mexican Pesos

Indonesian Rupiah
Other currencies
As at 31 December 2018

Currency:

US Dollar

Mexican Pesos

Russian Roubles

Brazil Reals
Indonesian Rupiah

Indian Rupees

Other currencies

As at 31 December 2017

Floating rate
£ million

Fixed rate
£ million

Total
£ million

13

61

23

18

23
42
180

591

–

–

–

–
–
591

604

61

23

18

23
42
771

Floating rate
£ million

Fixed rate
£ million

Total
£ million

7

17

10

10
17

10

42

113

610

–

–

–
–

–

–

610

617

17

10

10
17

10

42

723

Fixed rate debt

Weighted 
average 
interest rate
%

Weighted 
average 
period for 
which rate 
is fi  xed
Years

4.0

5.4

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–
–

Fixed rate debt

Weighted 
average 
interest rate
%

Weighted 
average 
period for 
which rate 
is fi xed
Years

4.0

5.9

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

The fl oating rate fi nancial liabilities principally comprise debt which carries interest based on different benchmark rates 
depending on the currency of the balance and are normally fi xed in advance for periods between one and three months.

The weighted average interest rate on fi xed debt is derived from the fi xed leg of each interest rate swap and coupons applying 
to fi xed rate private placement notes.

The effect of the Group’s interest rate swaps is to classify £79 million (2017: £74 million) of borrowings in the above table as 
fi xed rate. The notional principal amount of the outstanding interest rate swap contracts at 31 December 2018 was £79 million 
(2017: £74 million).

(ii) Interest rate risk profi le of fi nancial assets

Currency:

US Dollar
Russian Roubles

Other currencies
As at 31 December 2018

126 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

Cash at bank 
and in hand 
£ million

22
9

54
85

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29 Notes to the Group Accounts – appendices continued
29.A3 Borrowings continued

Currency:

US Dollar

Other currencies

As at 31 December 2017

Cash at bank 
and in hand
£ million

26

45

71

All of the above cash and short-term deposits are fl oating rate and earn interest based on relevant LIBID (London Interbank Bid 
Rate) equivalents or market rates for the currency concerned.

29.A4 Financial instruments
As stated in our accounting policies Note 29.A1 on page 124 the activities of the Group expose it directly to the fi nancial risks of 
changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. The Group uses forward foreign exchange contracts and interest 
rate swap contracts to hedge these exposures. The movement in the hedging reserve is shown in the Statement of Changes in 
Equity.

(i) Fair values of fi nancial assets and fi nancial liabilities
The following table provides a comparison by category of the carrying amounts and the fair values of the Group’s fi nancial assets 
and fi nancial liabilities at 31 December 2018. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a 
liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Market values have been used to 
determine fair values.

Primary fi nancial instruments held or issued to fi nance the 
Group’s operations:
Current borrowings and overdrafts

Non-current borrowings

Cash at bank and in hand

Derivative fi nancial instruments held:

Interest rate swaps

Net forward foreign currency contracts

Trade receivables

PDVSA private placement notes
Trade payables

2018

2017

Book value 
£ million

Fair value 
£ million

Book value 
£ million

Fair value 
£ million

(144)

(627)

85

–

–

502

4
(134)

(144)

(627)

85

–

–

502

4
(134)

(139)

(584)

71

(2)

(1)

490

4
(160)

(139)

(584)

71

(2)

(1)

490

4
(160)

(ii) Summary of methods and assumptions
Interest rate swaps and foreign currency derivatives
Fair value is based on market price of these instruments at the balance sheet date. In accordance with IFRS 13, interest rate swaps 
are considered to be Level 2 with fair value being calculated as the present value of estimated future cash fl ows using market 
interest rates. Forward foreign currency contracts are considered to be Level 1 as the valuation is based on quoted market prices 
at the end of the reporting period. Private placement notes are Level 2.

Current borrowings and overdrafts/short-term deposits
The fair value of short-term deposits and current borrowings and overdrafts approximates to the carrying amount because of the 
short maturity of these instruments.

Non-current borrowings
In the case of non-current borrowings, the fair value approximates to the carrying value reported in the balance sheet.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

127

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

29 Notes to the Group Accounts – appendices continued
29.A4 Financial instruments continued
(iii) Derivative fi nancial instruments
Hedge of net investment in foreign entity

The Group has designated as a hedge of the net investment in its overseas subsidiaries foreign currency denominated 
borrowings as detailed in the table below. The fair value of these borrowings were as follows:

US Dollar

Euro

2018 
£ million

604

61

2017 
£ million

610

–

A foreign exchange loss of £46 million (2017: gain of £55 million) on translation of the borrowings into Sterling has been 
recognised in exchange reserves.

(iv) The exposure of the Group to interest rate changes when borrowings reprice is as follows:
As at 31 December 2018

Total borrowings

Effect of interest rate swaps and other fi xed rate debt

As at 31 December 2017

Total borrowings
Effect of interest rate swaps and other fi xed rate debt

<1 year 
£ million

1-5 years 
£ million

>5 years 
£ million

Total 
£ million

144

(99)

45

272

(137)

135

355

(355)

–

771

(591)

180

<1 year 
£ million

1-5 years 
£ million

>5 years 
£ million

Total 
£ million

139
(55)

84

251
(222)

29

333
(333)

–

723
(610)

113

As at 31 December 2018 and 31 December 2017, all of the Group’s fl oating debt was exposed to repricing within three months of 
the balance sheet date. The Group’s interest rate swap portfolio is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure it is consistent with the 
Group policy as described on page 104.

The effective interest rates at the balance sheet date were as follows:

Bank overdrafts

Bank borrowings

Private placement

2018

9.4%

3.8%

3.9%

2017

12.1%

4.9%

3.9%

Maturity of fi nancial liabilities
The table below analyses the Group’s fi nancial liabilities and net-settled derivative fi nancial liabilities into the relevant maturity 
groupings based on the remaining period at the balance sheet date to the contractual maturity date. The amounts disclosed in 
the table are the contractual undiscounted cash fl ows.

As at 31 December 2018

Borrowings
Trade and other payables

As at 31 December 2017

Borrowings

Derivative fi nancial instruments

Trade and other payables

No trade payable balances have a contractual maturity greater than 90 days.

<1 year 
£ million

1-2 years 
£ million

2-5 years 
£ million

>5 years 
£ million

145
134

279

104
–

104

179
–

179

<1 year 
£ million

1-2 years 
£ million

2-5 years 
£ million

140

1

162

303

80

2

–

82

192

–

–

192

454
–

454

>5 years 
£ million

444

–

–

444

128 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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29 Notes to the Group Accounts – appendices continued
29.A4 Financial instruments continued
Derivative fi nancial instruments settled on a gross basis
The table below analyses the Group’s derivative fi nancial instruments which will be settled on a gross basis into relevant maturity 
groupings based on the remaining period at the balance sheet date to the contractual maturity date. The amounts disclosed in 
the table are the contractual undiscounted cash fl ows.

As at 31 December 2018

Forward foreign exchange contracts – cash fl ow hedges

Outfl ow

Infl ow

As at 31 December 2017

Forward foreign exchange contracts – cash fl ow hedges

Outfl ow
Infl ow

<1 year
£ million

(114)

114

–

<1 year
£ million

(141)
140

(1)

All of the Group’s forward foreign currency exchange contracts are due to be settled within one year of the balance sheet date.

29.A5 Pensions
Overseas
Pension arrangements for overseas employees vary and schemes refl ect best practice and regulation in each particular country. 
The charge against profi t is the amount of contributions payable to the defi ned contribution pension schemes in respect of the 
accounting period. The pension cost attributable to overseas employees for 2018 was £12 million (2017: £11 million).

United Kingdom
The Group operates pension schemes for UK employees. The Aggreko plc Pension Scheme (‘the Scheme’) is a funded, 
contributory, defi ned benefi t scheme. Assets are held separately from those of the Group under the control of the Directors of 
Aggreko Pension Scheme Trustee Limited. The Scheme is subject to valuations at intervals of not more than three years by an 
independent actuary.

The Trustee of the Scheme has control over the operation, funding and investment strategy of the Scheme but works closely 
with the Company to agree funding and investment strategy.

A valuation of the Scheme was carried out as at 31 December 2014 using the Attained Age method to determine the level of 
contributions to be made by the Group. The actuaries adopted a valuation basis linked to market conditions at the valuation date. 
Assets were taken at market value. The major actuarial assumptions used were:

Return on investments 

Growth in average pay levels 

Increase in pensions 

3.6%

4.8%

3.2%

At the valuation date, the market value of the Scheme’s assets (excluding AVCs) was £92 million which was suffi cient to cover 92% 
of the benefi ts that had accrued to members, after making allowances for future increases in earnings.

As part of the valuation at 31 December 2014, the Company and the Trustee agreed upon a Schedule of Contributions and a 
Recovery Plan. Company contributions for benefi ts building up in the future increased from 35.9% to 41.0% on 1 February 2016. To 
address the Scheme defi cit the Company has already made additional contributions of £1.25 million in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 
and plans to make further additional contributions of £1.25 million each year until 2022. Employee contributions are 6% of 
pensionable earnings.

The Group has the right to a refund of any pension surplus at the end of the Scheme and as such has not recognised an 
additional liability in accordance with IFRIC 14.

The Scheme closed to all new employees joining the Group after 1 April 2002. New employees are given the option to join a 
defi ned contribution scheme. Contributions of £2 million were paid to this defi ned contribution scheme during the year 
(2017: £2 million). There are no outstanding or prepaid balances at 31 December 2018.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

129

 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

29 Notes to the Group Accounts – appendices continued
29.A5 Pensions continued
An update of the Scheme was carried out by a qualifi ed independent actuary using the latest available information for the 
purposes of this statement. The major assumptions used in this update by the actuary were:

Rate of increase in salaries

Rate of increase in pensions in payment

Rate of increase in deferred pensions

Discount rate

Infl ation assumption

Longevity at age 65 for current pensioners (years)

Men
Women

Longevity at age 65 for future pensioners (years)

Men

Women

The assets in the Scheme were:

Equities

– UK equities

– Overseas equities

– Diversifi ed growth
– Absolute return

Index-linked bonds

Bonds

Cash
Total

31 Dec 2018

31 Dec 2017

3.7%

3.2%

3.4%

3.0%

3.4%

22.4
24.5

24.0

26.6

4.9%

3.1%

3.4%

2.6%

3.4%

24.3
26.9

26.9

29.7

Value at 
31 Dec 2018 
£ million

Value at 
31 Dec 2017 
£ million

9

12

8
1

43

19

5

97

10

13

8
8

49

19

2

109

The amounts included in the balance sheet arising from the Group’s obligations in respect of the Scheme are as follows:

Fair value of assets

Present value of funded obligations
Asset/(liability) recognised in the balance sheet

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

97

(96)
1

109

(134)
(25)

130 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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29 Notes to the Group Accounts – appendices continued
29.A5 Pensions continued
Movement in defi ned benefi t liability during the year:

Balance at 1 January
Included in the income statement

Service cost

Interest cost 

Interest income

Included in the statement of 
comprehensive income

Remeasurements

–  Effects of changes in demographic 

assumptions

–  Effect of changes in fi nancial 

assumptions

– Effect of experience adjustments

–  Return on plan assets 

(excluding interest income)

Other

Employer contributions 

Benefi ts paid

Defi ned benefi t obligation

Fair value of Scheme assets

Net defi ned benefi t surplus/(liability)

2018 
£ million

(134)

2017 
£ million

(135)

2018 
£ million

109

2017 
£ million

105

2018 
£ million

(25)

2017 
£ million

(30)

(2)

(4)

–
(6)

15

13

5

–

33

–

11

11

(2)

(4)

– 
(6)

–

2

–

–

2

–

5

5

–

–

3
3

–

–

–

(7)

(7)

3

(11)

(8)

97

–

–

3
3

–

–

–

3

3

3

(5)

(2)

109

(2)

(4)

3
(3)

15

13

5

(7)

26

3

–

3

1

(2)

(4)

3
(3)

–

2

–

3

5

3

–

3

(25)

Balance at 31 December

(96)

(134)

The service cost includes £0.3 million in relation to the guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) requirements.

The Projected Unit method has been used for the valuation of the liabilities. Under this method each participant’s benefi ts 
under the Scheme are attributed to years of service, taking into consideration future salary increases and the Scheme’s benefi t 
allocation formula. Thus, the estimated total pension to which each participant is expected to become entitled at retirement 
is broken down into units, each associated with a year of past or future credited service. The benefi t obligation is the total 
present value (assessed using appropriate assumptions) of the individual’s attributed benefi ts for valuation purposes at the 
measurement date. The discount rate was derived from the AA corporate bond yield curve and based on Scheme specifi c 
cash fl ow data from the last actuarial valuation to arrive at an appropriate single-equivalent rate.

The fair value of the assets is based on the underlying ‘bid value’ statements issued by the various investment managers. 
The manager statements refl ect the relevant pricing basis of the units held in the underlying pooled funds.

An alternative method of valuation is the estimated cost of buying out benefi ts at 31 December 2018 with a suitable insurer. 
This amount represents the amount that would be required to settle the Scheme liabilities at 31 December 2018 rather than 
the Company continuing to fund the ongoing liabilities of the Scheme. The Company estimates the amount required to 
settle the Scheme’s liabilities at 31 December 2018 is around £132 million which gives a Scheme shortfall on a buyout basis 
of approximately £35 million.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

131

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

29 Notes to the Group Accounts – appendices continued
29.A5 Pensions continued
Cumulative actuarial gains and losses recognised in equity

At 1 January

Actuarial gains recognised in the year
At 31 December

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

58

(26)

32

63

(5)

58

The actual return on Scheme assets was a loss of £7 million (2017: gain of £3 million).

Risks to which the Scheme exposes the Group
There is a risk of asset volatility leading to a defi cit in the Scheme. Working with the Company, the Trustee has agreed investment 
derisking triggers which, when certain criteria are met, will decrease corporate bond holding and increase the holding of index 
linked bonds. Over time, this will result in an investment portfolio which better matches the liabilities of the Scheme thereby 
reducing the risk of asset volatility. However there remains a signifi cant level of investment mismatch in the Scheme. This is 
deliberate and is aimed at maximising the Scheme’s long term investment return while retaining control of the funding risks.

Through the Scheme, the Group is exposed to a number of other risks:

 → Changes in bond yields – a decrease in corporate bond yields will increase Scheme liabilities.

 → Infl ation risk – pension obligations are linked to infl ation and higher infl ation will lead to higher liabilities.

 → Life expectancy – an increase in life expectancy will result in an increase in the Scheme liabilities.

The measurement of the defi ned benefi t obligation is particularly sensitive to changes in key assumptions as described below:

 → The discount rate has been selected following actuarial advice and taking into account the duration of the liabilities. A decrease 

in the discount rate of 0.5% per annum would result in a £13 million increase in the present value of the defi ned benefi t 
obligation. The weighted average duration of the defi ned benefi t obligation liabilities is around 25 years.

 → The infl ation assumption adopted is consistent with the discount rate used. It is used to set the assumptions for pension 
increases, salary increases and deferred revaluations. An increase in the infl ation rate of 0.5% per annum would result in a 
£12 million increase in the present value of the defi ned benefi t obligation.

 → The longevity assumptions adopted are based on those recommended by the Scheme actuary advising the Trustee of the 

Scheme and refl ect the most recent mortality information available at the time of the Trustee actuarial valuation. The increase 
in the present value of the defi ned benefi t obligation due to members living one year longer would be £3 million.

There is a risk that changes in the above assumptions could increase the defi cit in the Scheme. Other assumptions used to value 
the defi ned benefi t obligation are also uncertain, although their effect is less material.

Defi  ned benefi  t obligation by participant status

Actives 
Deferreds 

Pensioners

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

31
34

31

96

59
47

28

134

The duration of the liabilities is approximately 25 years.

Expected cash fl ows in future years
Expected employer contributions for the year ending 31 December 2019 are £3 million. Expected total benefi t payments: 
approximately £2 million per year for the next 10 years.

132 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

30 Segmental disclosures: Reconciliation of previously reported to restated results
Year ended 31 December 2017
Revenue

Power Solutions

Industrial

Utility

Rental Solutions
Group

Operating profi t 

Power Solutions

Industrial

Utility

Rental Solutions
Group

Depreciation and amortisation 

Power Solutions

Industrial

Utility

Rental Solutions
Group

Capital expenditure on property, plant & equipment and intangible assets

Power Solutions

Industrial

Utility

Rental Solutions
Group

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As reported
£ million

PSU/PSI 
£ million

Mob/demob
£ million

Rehire
£ million

Restated
£ million

IFRS 15 Impact

340

670

1,010

720

1,730

93

(93)

–

–

–

–

2

2

–

2

(4)

–

(4)

(30)

(34)

429

579

1,008

690

1,698

As reported
£ million

PSU/PSI 
£ million

Mob/demob
£ million

Restated
£ million

IFRS 15 Impact

55

93

148

81

229

17

(17)

–

–

–

1

(6)

(5)

–

(5)

73

70

143

81

224

As reported
£ million

PSU/PSI 
£ million

Restated
£ million

72

132

204

96

300

17

(17)

–

–

–

89

115

204

96

300

As reported
£ million

PSU/PSI
£ million

Restated
£ million

55

183

238

75

313

8

(8)

–

–

–

63

175

238

75

313

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

133

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

30 Segmental disclosures: Reconciliation of previously reported to restated results continued
Assets

Power Solutions

Industrial

Utility

Rental Solutions
Group

Liabilities

Power Solutions

Industrial

Utility

Rental Solutions
Group

As reported
£ million

PSU/PSI 
£ million

Mob/demob
£ million

Restated
£ million

IFRS 15 Impact

628

1,109

1,737

765

2,502

170

(170)

–

–

–

4

4

8

–

8

802

943

1,745

765

2,510

As reported
£ million

PSU/PSI 
£ million

Mob/demob
£ million

Restated
£ million

IFRS 15 Impact

(61)

(263)

(324)

(100)

(424)

(48)

48

–

–

–

(3)

(9)

(12)

–

(12)

(112)

(224)

(336)

(100)

(436)

Note: As well as a change in operating assets there is also a £1 million decrease in corporation tax payable.

Average number of employees

Power Solutions

Industrial

Utility

Rental Solutions
Group

As reported

PSU/PSI

Restated

1,380

2,083

3,463

2,515

5,978

454

(454)

–

–

–

1,834

1,629

3,463

2,515

5,978

134 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

COMPANY BALANCE SHEET (COMPANY NUMBER: SC177553)

As at 31 December 2018

Fixed assets

Property, plant and equipment

Investments

Retirement benefi t surplus

Current assets

Other receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

Deferred tax asset

Current tax asset

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Borrowings

Other payables

Derivative fi nancial instruments

Provisions
Net current assets

Total assets less current liabilities

Creditors: amounts falling due after one year

Borrowings

Derivative fi nancial instruments

Retirement benefi t obligation
Net assets

Shareholders’ equity

Share capital

Share premium

Treasury shares

Capital redemption reserve 

Hedging reserve

Retained earnings
Total Shareholders’ equity

Notes

35

36

29 A.5

37

38

39

38

29.A5

23

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i

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f
o
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a
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i
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2018
£ million

2017 
£ million

29

752

1

782

706

7

–

13

726

(101)

(347)

(1)

–

277

1,059

(627)

–

–

432

42

20

(17)

13

–

374

432

25

730

–

755

790

6

5

17

818

(82)

(384)

(1)

(1)

350

1,105

(584)

(2)

(25)

494

42

20 

(7)

13

(2)

428

494

The fi nancial statements on pages 135 to 140 were approved by the Board of Directors on 6 March 2019 and signed on its 
behalf by:

K Hanna  
Chairman 

H Drewett
Chief Financial Offi cer

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

135

 
 
 
 
 
COMPANY STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

For the year ended 31 December 2018

(Loss)/profi  t for the year

Other comprehensive income/(loss)

Items that will not be reclassifi ed to profi t or loss

– Remeasurement of retirement benefi ts

– Taxation on remeasurement of retirement benefi ts

Items that may be reclassifi ed subsequently to profi t or loss

– Cash fl ow hedges
– Taxation on cash fl ow hedges
Other comprehensive income for the year (net of tax)

Total comprehensive income for the year

2018 
£ million

(14)

2017 
£ million

64

26

(5)

2
–

23

9

5

(1)

2
(1)

5

69

136 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

COMPANY STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

For the year ended 31 December 2018

As at 31 December 2018

Balance at 1 January 2018

Loss for the year

Other comprehensive income

Fair value gains on interest rate swaps (net of tax)

Remeasurement of retirement benefi ts (net of tax)
Total comprehensive income for the year ended 
31 December 2018

Transactions with owners:

Purchase of Treasury shares

Employee share awards

Issue of Ordinary Shares to employees under 
share option schemes

Dividends paid during 2018

Balance at 31 December 2018

As at 31 December 2017

Attributable to equity holders of the Company

Ordinary 
Share 
capital
£ million

Share 
premium 
account
£ million

Treasury 
shares 
£ million

Capital 
redemption 
reserve
£ million

Hedging 
reserve
£ million

Retained 
earnings
£ million

Total 
equity
£ million

42

20

(7)

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
42

–
20

–

–

–

–

(12)

–

2

–

(10)
(17)

13

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
13

(2)

–

2

–

2

–

–

–

–

–
–

428

(14)

494

(14)

–

21

7

–

10

(2)

(69)

(61)
374

2

21

9

(12)

10

–

(69)

(71)
432

Attributable to equity holders of the Company

Ordinary 
Share 
capital
£ million

Share 
premium 
account
£ million

Treasury 
shares 
£ million

Capital 
redemption 
reserve
£ million

Hedging 
reserve
£ million

Retained 
earnings
£ million

Total 
equity
£ million

Balance at 1 January 2017

Profi t for the year

Other comprehensive income/(loss):

Fair value gains on interest rate swaps (net of tax)

Remeasurement of retirement benefi ts (net of tax)
Total comprehensive income for the year ended 
31 December 2017

Transactions with owners:

Employee share awards

Issue of Ordinary Shares to employees under 
share option schemes

Dividends paid during 2017

42

20

(14)

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

7

–

7

13

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

(3)

–

1

–

1

–

–

–

–

Balance at 31 December 2017

42

20

(7)

13

(2)

428

64

486

64

–

4

68

8

(7)

(69)

(68)

428

1

4

69

8

–

(69)

(61)

494

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Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

137

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE COMPANY ACCOUNTS

For the year ended 31 December 2018

31 Company accounting 
policies
31.1 Basis of preparation
These fi nancial statements have been 
prepared in accordance with Financial 
Reporting Standard 101, ‘Reduced 
Disclosure Framework’ (FRS 101). 
The fi nancial statements have been 
prepared under the historical cost 
convention, as modifi ed by the 
revaluation of certain fi nancial assets 
and liabilities (including derivative 
instruments) at fair values in accordance 
with the Companies Act 2006.

The preparation of fi nancial statements 
in conformity with FRS 101 requires 
the use of certain critical accounting 
estimates. It also requires management 
to exercise its judgement in the 
process of applying the Company’s 
accounting policies.

The following exemptions from the 
requirements of IFRS have been applied 
in the preparation of these fi nancial 
statements, in accordance with FRS 101:

 → Paragraphs 45(b) and 46 to 52 of 

IFRS 2, ‘Share-based payment’ (details 
of the number and weighted-average 
exercise prices of share options, and 
how the fair value of goods or services 
received was determined).

 → IFRS 7, ‘Financial Instruments: 

Disclosures’.

 → Paragraphs 91 to 99 of IFRS 13, ‘Fair 
value measurement’ (disclosure of 
valuation techniques and inputs used 
for fair value measurement of assets 
and liabilities).

 → Paragraph 38 of lAS 1, ‘Presentation 

of fi nancial statements’ comparative 
information requirements in respect 
of:

 – Paragraph 79(a)(iv) of lAS 1;

 – Paragraph 73(e) of lAS 16 ‘Property, 

plant and equipment’;

 – Paragraph 188(e) of lAS 38 

‘Intangible assets’ (reconciliations 
between the carrying amount at the 
beginning and end of the period).

 → The following paragraphs of lAS 1, 

‘Presentation of fi nancial statements’:

 – 10(d) (statement of cash fl ows);

 – 10(f)(a) (statement of fi nancial 
position as at the beginning 
of the preceding period);

 – 16 (statement of compliance with 

all IFRS);

 – 38A (requirement for minimum of 
two primary statements, including 
cash fl ow statements);

 – 38B-D (additional comparative 

information);

 – 40A-D (requirements for a third 
statement of fi nancial position);

 – 111 (cash fl ow statement 

information); and

 – 134-136 (capital management 

disclosures).

 → lAS 7, ‘Statement of cash fl ows’.

 → Paragraph 30 and 31 of lAS 8, 

‘Accounting policies, changes in 
accounting estimates and errors’ 
(requirements for the disclosure of 
information when an entity has not 
applied a new IFRS that has been 
issued but is not yet effective).

 → Paragraph 17 of lAS 24, ‘Related party 

disclosures’ (key management 
compensation).

 → The requirements in lAS 24, ‘Related 
party disclosures’ to disclose related 
party transactions entered into 
between two or more members 
of a group.

31.1.1 Going concern
Given the going concern disclosures in 
the Group Accounts on page 96, the 
Directors consider it appropriate to 
adopt the going concern basis of 
accounting in preparing these fi nancial 
statements.

31.1.2 Changes in accounting policy 
and disclosures 
New and amended standards adopted 
by the Company 
There are no new standards that are 
effective for the fi rst time this year that 
have a material impact on the Company.

IFRIC 23 ‘Uncertainty over income tax 
treatments”
IFRIC 23 comes in to effect from 
1 January 2019. Management has 
assessed the impact of this change 
and this is expected to be immaterial. 

Investments
Investments in subsidiary undertakings 
are stated in the balance sheet of the 
Company at cost, or nominal value 
of the shares issued as consideration 
where applicable, less provision for 
any impairment in value. Share-based 
payments recharged to subsidiary 
undertakings are treated as capital 
contributions and are added to 
investments.

Share-based payments
The accounting policy is identical to that 
applied by the consolidated Group as set 
out on page 124 with the exception that 
shares issued by the Company to 
employees of its subsidiaries for which 
no consideration is received are treated 
as an increase in the Company’s 
investment in those subsidiaries.

Dividend distribution
Dividend distribution to the Company’s 
Shareholders is recognised as a liability 
in the Company’s fi nancial statements 
in the period in which the dividends 
are approved by the Company’s 
Shareholders.

The following accounting policies are 
identical to that applied by the Group
Property, plant and equipment – refer 
to page 101

Impairment of property, plant and 
equipment – refer to page 101

Foreign currencies – refer to page 101

Derivative fi nancial instruments – 
refer to page 124

Borrowings – refer to page 102

Taxation – refer to page 103

Leases – refer to page 124

Employee benefi ts – refer to page 102

32 Critical accounting 
estimates and assumptions
Taxation
This is explained in Note 1 to the Group 
Accounts on page 103.

33 Dividends
Refer to Note 11 of the Group Accounts.

138 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

34 Auditor’s remuneration

Fees payable to the Company’s auditor for the audit of the Company’s annual accounts

Fees payable to the Company’s auditor and its associates for other services:

– other assurance related services

35 Property, plant and equipment

2018 
£000

332

32

Cost

At 1 January 2018 

Additions
At 31 December 2018

Accumulated depreciation

At 1 January 2018 

Charge for the year
At 31 December 2018

Net book values:

At 31 December 2018

At 31 December 2017

The property, plant and equipment of the Company comprise vehicles, plant and equipment.

36 Investments

Cost of investments in subsidiary undertakings:

At 1 January 2018

Additions
Net impact of share-based payments
At 31 December 2018

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2017 
£000

248

46

Total 
£ million

36
10
46

11
6

17

29

25 

£ million 

730
24
(2)

752

Details of the Company’s subsidiary undertakings are set out in Note 27 to the Group Accounts. The Directors believe that the 
carrying value of the investments is supported by their underlying net assets.

The additional investment was in Aggreko Holdings Limited to allow it to invest in Aggreko. Rest of the World Holdings B.V. which 
then invested in Aggreko Energia Locacas de Geradores Ltd. 

37 Other receivables

Amounts due from subsidiary undertakings

Other receivables

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

699

7

706

783

7

790

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

139

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE COMPANY ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

38 Borrowings

Non-current

Bank borrowings 

Private placement notes

Current

Bank overdrafts
Bank borrowings

Private placement notes

Total borrowings

The bank overdrafts and borrowings are all unsecured.

(i) Maturity of fi  nancial liabilities
The maturity profi le of the borrowings was as follows:

Within 1 year, or on demand

Between 1 and 2 years

Between 2 and 3 years
Between 3 and 4 years

Greater than 5 years

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

134

493

627

2
79

20

101

728

103

481

584

1
26

55

82

666

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

101

104

157
11

355

728

82

79

26
146

333

666

(ii) Borrowing facilities
The Company has the following undrawn committed fl oating rate borrowing facilities available at 31 December 2018 in respect 
of which all conditions precedent had been met at that date:

Expiring within 1 year

Expiring between 1 and 2 years

Expiring between 2 and 3 years
Expiring between 3 and 4 years

Expiring between 4 and 5 years

39 Other payables

Amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings

Accruals and other income

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

–

276

100
89

–

465

77

64

383
50

50

624

2018 
£ million

2017 
£ million

324

23

347

367

17

384

40 Profi  t and loss account
As permitted by Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006, the Company has not presented its own income statement and related 
notes. The loss for the fi nancial year of the Company was £14 million (2017: profi t of £64 million).

140 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

DEFINITION AND CALCULATION OF NON GAAP MEASURES

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Adjusted return on average capital employed (ROCE)
Defi  nition:
Calculated by dividing operating profi t pre-exceptional items for a period by the average net operating assets at 1 January, 
30 June and 31 December.

Calculation:

Operating profi  t pre-exceptional items

Average net operating assets

1 January

30 June

31 December

Accounts reference

Income statement

Note 4 of 2018 and 2017 Accounts

Refer to Note (a) below

Note 4 of 2018 and 2017 Accounts

Average (i.e. total of 1 Jan, 30 June and 31 Dec divided by 3)

2018 
£ million

219

2,074

2,123

2,159

2,119

2017
Restated 
(Note 1)
£ million

224

2,124

2,071

2,074

2,090

ROCE (operating profi  t pre-exceptional items divided by net average operating assets)

10.3%

10.7%

Note (a):

Per June 2018 Interim Accounts

Note 4 (F)

Assets
Liabilities

Net operating assets

2,491
(368)

2,123

2,479
(408)

2,071

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA)
Calculation:

Operating profi t pre-exceptional items 
(Earnings Before Interest and Taxation)

Depreciation

Amortisation

EBITDA

Accounts reference

Income statement

Note 5

Note 5

Adjusted interest cover: EBITDA divided by net fi  nance costs
Calculation:

EBITDA (£ million)
Net fi nance cost (£ million)
Interest cover (times)

Accounts reference
Per above
Income statement

2018 
£ million

219

293

5

517

2018
517
37
14

2017
Restated 
(Note 1) 
£ million

224

296

4

524

2017
Restated 
(Note 1)
524
34
15

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

141

 
 
 
DEFINITION AND CALCULATION OF NON GAAP MEASURES CONTINUED

Adjusted net debt to EBITDA
Calculation:

Net debt (£ million)

EBITDA (£ million)
Net debt/EBITDA (times)

Accounts reference

Cash fl ow statement

Per above

Adjusted dividend cover
Defi  nition:
Basic earnings per share (EPS) pre-exceptional items divided by full year declared dividend.

Calculation: 

Basic EPS pre-exceptional items (pence)

Full year declared dividend

Interim dividend (pence)
Final dividend (pence)

Dividend cover (times)

Accounts reference

Note 12

Note 11
Note 11

2018

686

517

1.3

2018

49.22

9.38
17.74

27.12

1.8

2017
Restated 
(Note 1)

652

524

1.2

2017
Restated 
(Note 1)

52.48

9.38
17.74

27.12

1.9

142 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT AND REQUIRES YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. 
If you are in any doubt as to any matter referred to in this report or as to the action you should take, you should 
seek your own personal fi  nancial advice from: (a) a stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other 
independent professional adviser authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 if you are resident 
in the United Kingdom; or (b) another appropriately authorised independent fi  nancial adviser if you are not resident 
in the United Kingdom.

If you have sold or otherwise transferred all of your shares in Aggreko plc please pass this report, together with 
the accompanying documents (except the accompanying personalised form of proxy), as soon as possible to the 
purchaser or transferee, or to the stockbroker, bank or other person who arranged the sale or transfer so they 
can pass these documents to the person who now holds the shares.

Notice is hereby given that the Annual 
General Meeting of Aggreko plc (the 
“Company”) will be held at 200 SVS, 
200 St Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5RQ 
on Thursday 25 April 2019 at 11.00am 
to consider and, if thought fi t, pass the 
resolutions set out below. Resolutions 
16 to 19 (inclusive) will be proposed as 
special resolutions. All other resolutions 
will be proposed as ordinary resolutions.

Ordinary resolutions
Resolution 1
To receive the reports of the Directors 
and Auditors and to adopt the 
Company’s accounts for the year 
ended 31 December 2018.

Resolution 2
To approve the annual statement by the 
Remuneration Committee Chair as set 
out on pages 62 to 66 and the annual 
report on remuneration (excluding the 
Directors’ Remuneration Policy) as set 
out on pages 67 to 76 of the Annual 
Report and Accounts for the year ended 
31 December 2018.

Resolution 3
To declare a fi nal dividend on 
the Company’s Ordinary Shares 
of 17.74 pence per share.

Resolution 4
To re-elect Ken Hanna as a Director 
of the Company.

Resolution 5
To re-elect Chris Weston as a Director 
of the Company.

Resolution 6
To re-elect Heath Drewett as a Director 
of the Company.

Resolution 7
To re-elect Dame Nicola Brewer 
as a Director of the Company.

Resolution 8
To re-elect Barbara Jeremiah 
as a Director of the Company.

Resolution 9
To re-elect Uwe Krueger as a Director 
of the Company.

Resolution 10
To re-elect Diana Layfi eld as a Director 
of the Company.

Resolution 11
To re-elect Ian Marchant as a Director 
of the Company.

Resolution 12
To re-elect Miles Roberts as a Director 
of the Company.

Resolution 13
To re-appoint KPMG LLP as auditor of 
the Company to hold offi ce from the 
conclusion of the meeting until the 
conclusion of the next general meeting 
at which accounts are laid before the 
Company.

Resolution 14
To authorise the Audit Committee of the 
Board to determine the remuneration of 
the Company’s auditor.

Resolution 15
That the Board of Directors of the 
Company (the “Board”) be and is hereby 
generally and unconditionally authorised 
pursuant to and in accordance with 
section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 
(the “Act”) to exercise all the powers of 
the Company to allot shares in the 
capital of the Company and to grant 
rights to subscribe for or to convert any 
security into shares in the Company 
up to an aggregate nominal amount 
of £4,126,149, such authority to expire 
on the earlier of 30 June 2020 or at the 
conclusion of the next Annual General 
Meeting of the Company after the 
passing of this resolution, save that the 
Company may before such expiry make 
an offer or enter into an agreement 
which would or might require equity 
securities to be allotted after such 
expiry and the Board may allot equity 
securities in pursuance of such an 
offer or agreement as if the authority 
conferred hereby had not expired.

Special resolutions
Resolution 16
That if resolution 15 is passed, the Board 
of Directors of the Company (the 
“Board”) be and is hereby generally 
empowered, pursuant to Sections 570 
and 573 of the Companies Act 2006 
(the “Act”), to allot equity securities 
(within the meaning of Section 560 of 
the Act) (including the grant of rights to 
subscribe for, or to convert any securities 

into, Ordinary Shares in the capital of the 
Company (“Ordinary Shares”)) wholly for 
cash pursuant to any authority for the 
time being in force under Section 551 
of the Act or by way of a sale of treasury 
shares (within the meaning of Section 
560(3) of the Act), as if Section 561(1) 
of the Act did not apply to any such 
allotment or sale, provided that this 
power shall be limited to the allotment 
of equity securities and the sale of 
Treasury shares for cash:

(a)  in connection with or pursuant 

to a rights issue, open offer or other 
pre-emptive offer in favour of holders 
of Ordinary Shares (“Ordinary 
Shareholders”) on the register of 
members on a date fi xed by the 
Board where the equity securities 
respectively attributable to the 
interests of all such Ordinary 
Shareholders are proportionate (as 
nearly as may be practicable) to the 
respective numbers of Ordinary 
Shares held by them on that date 
(subject to such exclusions or other 
arrangements as the Board may 
deem necessary or expedient to 
deal with Treasury shares, fractional 
entitlements or legal or practical 
problems arising under the laws 
of any overseas territory or the 
requirements of any regulatory 
body or stock exchange or by virtue 
of shares being represented by 
depositary receipts or any other 
matter whatsoever); and

(b)  otherwise than pursuant to 
sub-paragraph (a) above, up 
to an aggregate nominal amount 
of £618,922

provided that this power shall (unless 
previously renewed or revoked) expire 
on the earlier of 30 June 2020 or at the 
conclusion of the next Annual General 
Meeting of the Company after the 
passing of this resolution, save that the 
Company may before such expiry make 
an offer or enter into an agreement 
which would or might require equity 
securities to be allotted after such 
expiry and the Board may allot equity 
securities in pursuance of such an offer 
or agreement as if the power conferred 
hereby had not expired.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

143

 
 
 
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING CONTINUED

Resolution 17
That if resolution 15 is passed, in addition 
to any authority granted pursuant to 
resolution 16 proposed at the Annual 
General Meeting, the Directors be and 
are hereby generally empowered 
pursuant to Sections 570 and 573 of the 
Companies Act 2006 (the “Act”) to allot 
equity securities (within the meaning 
of Section 560(1) of the Act) (including 
the grant of rights to subscribe for, or 
to convert any securities into, Ordinary 
Shares in the capital of the Company 
(“Ordinary Shares”) for cash pursuant to 
any authority for the time being in force 
under Section 551 of the Act and/or by 
way of a sale of Treasury shares (within 
the meaning of Section 560(3) of the 
Act), as if Section 561(1) of the Act did 
not apply to any such allotment or 
sale, provided that this power shall:

(a)  be limited to the allotment of equity 
securities and the sale of Treasury 
shares for cash up to an aggregate 
nominal amount of £618,922; and

(b)  be used only for the purposes of 

fi nancing (or refi nancing, if the 
authority is to be used within six 
months after the original transaction) 
a transaction which the Directors 
of the Company determine to be 
an acquisition or other capital 
investment of a kind contemplated 
by the Statement of Principles on 
Disapplying Pre-Emption Rights 
most recently published by the 
Pre-Emption Group prior to the 
date of this notice

and shall expire on the earlier of 
30 June 2020 or at the conclusion 
of the next Annual General Meeting of 
the Company after the passing of this 
resolution, save that the Company may 
before such expiry make an offer or 
enter into an agreement which would 
or might require equity securities to be 
allotted after such expiry and the Board 
may allot equity securities in pursuance 
of such an offer or agreement as if the 
power conferred hereby had not expired.

Resolution 18
That the Company be and is hereby 
generally and unconditionally authorised 
for the purposes of Section 701 of the 
Companies Act 2006 (the “Act”) to make 
one or more market purchases (within 
the meaning of Section 693(4) of the Act) 
of ordinary shares in the capital of the 
Company (“Ordinary Shares”) on such 
terms and in such manner as the 
Directors of the Company may 
determine, provided that:

(a)  the maximum aggregate number 

of Ordinary Shares hereby authorised 
to be purchased is 25,612,820;

(b)  the maximum price which may be 
paid for any Ordinary Share is an 
amount equal to the higher of (i) 
105% of the average of the middle 
market quotations for an Ordinary 
Share as derived from the London 
Stock Exchange Daily Offi cial List for 
the fi ve business days immediately 
preceding the day on which the 
share is contracted to be purchased; 
and (ii) the higher of the price of 
the last independent trade and the 
highest current independent bid 
on the trading venue where the 
purchase is carried out, and the 
minimum price which may be paid 
for any Ordinary Share is its nominal 
value (in each case exclusive of 
associated expenses),

provided that the authority hereby 
conferred shall expire on the earlier of 
30 June 2020 or at the conclusion of 
the next Annual General Meeting of 
the Company after the passing of this 
resolution, save that a contract of 
purchase may be made before such 
expiry which will or may be completed 
wholly or partly thereafter, and a 
purchase of Ordinary Shares may be 
made in pursuance of any such contract.

Resolution 19
That a general meeting of the Company 
(other than an Annual General 
Meeting) may be called on not less 
than 14 clear days’ notice, provided 
that this authority shall expire at the 
conclusion of the next Annual General 
Meeting of the Company.

By order of the Board

Peter Kennerley
Company Secretary
6 March 2019

Registered offi ce:
Aggreko plc
8th Floor
120 Bothwell Street
Glasgow G2 7JS 
Scotland
United Kingdom

Registered in Scotland 
number: SC177553

144 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

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NOTES TO THE NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

1 Attending the Annual 
General Meeting in person
If you wish to attend the Annual General 
Meeting in person, you should arrive 
at the venue for the Annual General 
Meeting in good time to allow your 
attendance to be registered. It is 
advisable to have some form of 
identifi cation with you as you may 
be asked to provide evidence of your 
identity to the Company’s Registrar 
prior to being admitted to the Annual 
General Meeting.

2 Appointment of proxies
Members are entitled to appoint one 
or more proxies to exercise all or any 
of their rights to attend, speak and vote 
at the Annual General Meeting. A proxy 
need not be a member of the Company 
but must attend the Annual General 
Meeting to represent a member. To 
be validly appointed a proxy must be 
appointed using the procedures set 
out in these Notes and in the notes 
to the accompanying form of proxy.

If members wish their proxy to speak on 
their behalf at the meeting, members 
will need to appoint their own choice 
of proxy (not the Chairman of the 
Annual General Meeting) and give 
their instructions directly to them.

Members can only appoint more than 
one proxy where each proxy is appointed 
to exercise rights attached to different 
shares. Members cannot appoint more 
than one proxy to exercise the rights 
attached to the same share(s). If a 
member wishes to appoint more than 
one proxy, they should contact the 
Company’s Registrar, Link Asset Services, 
on Tel: 0371 664 0300. Calls are charged 
at the standard geographic rate and 
will vary by provider. Calls outside the 
UK are charged at the applicable 
international rate. Lines are open 
between 9.00am and 5.30pm, Monday 
to Friday excluding public holidays in 
England and Wales.

A member may instruct their proxy 
to abstain from voting on any of the 
resolutions to be considered at the 
meeting by marking the “Withheld” 
option when appointing their proxy. 
It should be noted that an abstention 
is not a vote in law and will not be 
counted in the calculation of the 
proportion of votes “For” or “Against” 
the relevant resolution.

The appointment of a proxy will not 
prevent a member from attending 
the Annual General Meeting and 
voting in person if he or she wishes.

A person who is not a member of the 
Company but who has been nominated 
by a member to enjoy information 
rights does not have a right to appoint 
any proxies under the procedures set 
out in these Notes and should read 
Note 9 below.

3 Appointment of a proxy 
online
As an alternative to appointing a proxy 
using the form of proxy or CREST, 
members can appoint a proxy online 
at http://shares.aggreko.com. In order 
to appoint a proxy using this website, 
members will need their personal 
identifi cation Investor Code. If for any 
reason a member does not have this 
information, they should contact the 
Registrar on Tel: 0371 664 0300. Calls are 
charged at the standard geographic rate 
and will vary by provider. Calls outside 
the UK are charged at the applicable 
international rate. Lines are open 
between 9.00am and 5.30pm, Monday 
to Friday excluding public holidays in 
England and Wales.

Members may appoint a proxy using 
the website no later than 48 hours 
(excluding non-working days) before 
the time of the Annual General Meeting 
or any adjournment of that meeting.

4 Appointment of a proxy 
using a form of proxy
A form of proxy for use in connection 
with the Annual General Meeting is 
enclosed. To be valid, any form of proxy 
or other instrument appointing a proxy, 
together with any power of attorney or 
other authority under which it is signed 
or a certifi ed copy thereof, must be 
received by post or (during normal 
business hours only) by hand to 
Link Asset Services, The Registry, 
34 Beckenham Road, Beckenham, 
Kent BR3 4TU by no later than 48 hours 
(excluding non-working days) before the 
time of the Annual General Meeting or 
any adjournment of that meeting.

If you do not have a form of proxy 
and believe that you should have one, 
or you require additional forms of 
proxy, please contact the Registrar on 
Tel: 0371 664 0300. Calls are charged 
at the standard geographic rate and 
will vary by provider. Calls outside the 
UK are charged at the applicable 
international rate. Lines are open 
between 9.00am and 5.30pm, 
Monday to Friday excluding public 
holidays in England and Wales.

5 Appointment of a proxy 
through CREST
CREST members who wish to appoint 
a proxy or proxies through the CREST 
electronic proxy appointment service 
may do so by using the procedures 
described in the CREST Manual and 
by logging on to the following website: 
www.euroclear.com/CREST. CREST 
personal members or other CREST 
sponsored members, and those CREST 
members who have appointed (a) voting 
service provider(s), should refer to their 
CREST sponsor or voting service 
provider(s) who will be able to take the 
appropriate action on their behalf.

In order for a proxy appointment or 
instruction made using the CREST 
service to be valid, the appropriate 
CREST message (a “CREST Proxy 
Instruction”) must be properly 
authenticated in accordance with 
Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited’s 
specifi cations, and must contain 
the information required for such 
instruction, as described in the CREST 
Manual (available via www.euroclear.
com/CREST). The message, regardless of 
whether it constitutes the appointment 
of a proxy or is an amendment to the 
instruction given to a previously 
appointed proxy, must, in order to be 
valid, be transmitted so as to be received 
by the Registrar (CREST ID RA10) no later 
than 48 hours (excluding non-working 
days) before the time of the Annual 
General Meeting or any adjournment of 
that meeting. For this purpose, the time 
of receipt will be taken to be the time 
(as determined by the timestamp 
applied to the message by the CREST 
Application Host) from which the 
Registrar is able to retrieve the message 
by enquiry to CREST in the manner 
prescribed by CREST. After this time 
any change of instructions to proxies 
appointed through CREST should be 
communicated to the appointee 
through other means.

CREST members and, where applicable, 
their CREST sponsors or voting service 
provider(s) should note that Euroclear 
UK & Ireland Limited does not make 
available special procedures in CREST for 
any particular message. Normal system 
timings and limitations will, therefore, 
apply in relation to the input of CREST 
Proxy Instructions. It is the responsibility 
of the CREST member concerned to 
take (or, if the CREST member is a 
CREST personal member, or sponsored 
member, or has appointed (a) voting 
service provider(s), to procure that his/
her CREST sponsor or voting service 
provider(s) take(s)) such action as shall 

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

145

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING CONTINUED

be necessary to ensure that a message 
is transmitted by means of the CREST 
system by any particular time. In this 
connection, CREST members and, where 
applicable, their CREST sponsors or 
voting system providers are referred, in 
particular, to those sections of the CREST 
Manual concerning practical limitations 
of the CREST system and timings.

The Company may treat as invalid 
a CREST Proxy Instruction in the 
circumstances set out in Regulation 
35(5)(a) of the Uncertifi cated Securities 
Regulations 2001.

6 Appointment of a proxy 
by joint holders
In the case of joint holders, where more 
than one of the joint holders purports 
to appoint one or more proxies, only the 
purported appointment submitted by 
the most senior holder will be accepted. 
Seniority is determined by the order in 
which the names of the joint holders 
appear in the Company’s register of 
members in respect of the joint holding 
(the fi rst named being the most senior).

7 Corporate representatives
Any corporation which is a member 
can appoint one or more corporate 
representatives. Members can only 
appoint more than one corporate 
representative where each corporate 
representative is appointed to exercise 
rights attached to different shares. 
Members cannot appoint more than 
one corporate representative to exercise 
the rights attached to the same share(s).

8 Entitlement to attend 
and vote
To be entitled to attend and vote at the 
Annual General Meeting (and for the 
purpose of determining the votes they 
may cast), members must be registered 
in the Company’s register of members 
at close of business on Tuesday 23 April 
2019 (or, if the Annual General Meeting 
is adjourned, at close of business on the 
day, two days prior to the adjourned 
meeting). Changes to the register of 
members after the relevant deadline 
will be disregarded in determining the 
rights of any person to attend and vote 
at the Annual General Meeting.

9 Nominated persons
Any person to whom this notice is sent 
who is a person nominated under 
Section 146 of the Companies Act 2006 
(the “Act”) to enjoy information rights 
(a “Nominated Person”) may, under 
an agreement between him/her and 
the member by whom he/she was 
nominated, have a right to be appointed 
(or to have someone else appointed) as 
a proxy for the Annual General Meeting. 
If a Nominated Person has no such proxy 
appointment right or does not wish 
to exercise it, he/she may, under any 
such agreement, have a right to give 
instructions to the member as to the 
exercise of voting rights.

10 Website giving information 
regarding the Annual General 
Meeting
Information regarding the Annual 
General Meeting, including information 
required by Section 311A of the Act, 
and a copy of this notice of Annual 
General Meeting is available at 
www.plc.aggreko.com.

11 Audit concerns
Members should note that it is possible 
that, pursuant to requests made by 
members of the Company under 
Section 527 of the Act, the Company 
may be required to publish on a 
website a statement setting out any 
matter relating to: (a) the audit of the 
Company’s accounts (including the 
auditor’s report and the conduct of the 
audit) that are to be laid before the 
Annual General Meeting; or (b) any 
circumstance connected with an auditor 
of the Company ceasing to hold offi ce 
since the previous meeting at which 
annual accounts and reports were laid 
in accordance with Section 437 of the 
Act. The Company may not require the 
members requesting any such website 
publication to pay its expenses in 
complying with Sections 527 or 528 of 
the Act. Where the Company is required 
to place a statement on a website under 
Section 527 of the Act, it must forward 
the statement to the Company’s auditor 
not later than the time when it makes 
the statement available on the website. 
The business which may be dealt with 
at the Annual General Meeting includes 
any statement that the Company has 
been required under Section 527 of 
the Act to publish on a website.

12 Members resolution

Under Section 338 and Section 338A 
of the Companies Act 2006, members 
meeting the threshold requirements in 
those sections have the right to require 
the Company (a) to give to members of 
the Company entitled to receive notice 
of meeting, notice of any resolution 
which may properly be moved and is 
intended to be moved at the meeting 
and/or (b) to include in the business to 
be dealt with at the meeting any matter 
(other than a proposed resolution) 
which may be properly included in the 
business. A resolution may properly 
be moved or a matter may properly 
be included in the business unless (a) 
(in the case of a resolution only) it would, 
if passed, be ineffective (whether by 
reason of inconsistency with any 
enactment or the Company’s 
constitution or otherwise), (b) it is 
defamatory of any person, or (c) it is 
frivolous or vexatious. Such a request 
may be in hard copy form or in 
electronic form, must identify the 
resolution of which notice is to be given 
or the matter to be included in the 
business, must be authorised by the 
person or person making it, must be 
received by the Company not later 
than 14 March 2019, being the date six 
weeks before the meeting, and (in the 
case of a matter to be included in the 
business only) must be accompanied 
by a statement setting out the grounds 
for the request.

13 Voting rights

As at 5 March 2019 (being the latest 
practicable date prior to the publication 
of this notice), the Company’s issued 
share capital consisted of 256,128,201 
Ordinary Shares of 4329⁄395 pence each, 
carrying one vote each; 188,251,587 
Deferred Shares of 984⁄775 pence each, 
18,352,057,648 Deferred Shares of 1⁄775 
pence each, 182,700,915 Deferred Shares 
of 618⁄25 pence each and 573,643,383,325 
Deferred Shares of 1⁄306125 pence each. 
The deferred share classes do not carry 
voting rights in any circumstances. In 
addition, the Company did not hold any 
shares in treasury. Therefore, the total 
voting rights in the Company as at 
5 March 2019 were 256,128,201 votes.

146 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

i

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14 Notifi  cation 
of shareholdings
Any person holding 3% or more of 
the total voting rights of the Company 
who appoints a person other than 
the Chairman of the Annual General 
Meeting as his/her proxy will need to 
ensure that both he/she, and his/her 
proxy, comply with their respective 
disclosure obligations under the UK 
Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

15 Further questions 
and communication
Under Section 319A of the Act, the 
Company must cause to be answered 
any question relating to the business 
being dealt with at the Annual General 
Meeting put by a member attending 
the meeting unless answering the 
question would interfere unduly with 
the preparation for the meeting or 
involve the disclosure of confi dential 
information, or the answer has already 
been given on a website in the form 
of an answer to a question, or it is 
undesirable in the interests of the 
Company or the good order of the 
meeting that the question be answered.

Members who have any queries about 
the Annual General Meeting should 
contact the Company Secretary by 
writing to Aggreko plc, 120 Bothwell 
Street, Glasgow G2 7JS.

Members may not use any electronic 
address provided in this notice or in 
any related documents (including 
the accompanying form of proxy) 
to communicate with the Company 
for any purpose other than those 
expressly stated.

16 Documents available 
for inspection
The following documents will be 
available for inspection at the registered 
offi ce of the Company during normal 
business hours on any weekday 
(Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays 
excepted) from the date of this notice 
until the conclusion of the Annual 
General Meeting and on the date of 
the Annual General Meeting at 200 SVS, 
200 St Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5RQ:

(a)  copies of the service contracts of the 
Company’s Executive Directors; and

(b)  copies of the letters of appointment 
of the Company’s Non-executive 
Directors.

EXPLANATORY NOTES
The following provide an explanation 
of the resolutions to be considered 
at the Annual General Meeting.

Resolutions 1 to 15 will be proposed as 
ordinary resolutions. This means that 
for each of those resolutions to be 
passed, more than half of the votes 
cast must be in favour of the resolution. 
Resolutions 16 to 19 will be proposed as 
special resolutions. This means that for 
each of those resolutions to be passed, 
at least three-quarters of the votes cast 
must be in favour of the resolution.

Annual Report and Accounts 
(Resolution 1)
This resolution deals with the receipt 
and adoption of the accounts for the 
fi nancial year ended 31 December 
2018 and the associated reports of 
the Directors and Auditors.

Annual Statement and Annual 
Report on Remuneration 
(Resolution 2)
Resolution 2 seeks approval of the 
annual statement by the Remuneration 
Committee Chair set out on pages 62 
to 66 and the annual report on 
Remuneration set out on pages 67 
to 76 of this document.

We are required by law to seek 
shareholders’ approval for the Annual 
Statement and Annual Report on 
Remuneration on an annual basis. 
The current Directors’ Remuneration 
Policy was approved by shareholders at 
the 2018 Annual General Meeting, and 
the Annual Report on remuneration 
sets out the Company’s policy applied 
to Directors’ remuneration in 2018. 
The full Directors’ Remuneration Policy 
is available on www.plc.aggreko.com.

This vote is advisory in respect of the 
overall remuneration package and the 
Directors’ entitlements to remuneration 
are not conditional upon this resolution 
being passed.

Final dividend (Resolution 3)
Shareholders are being asked to 
approve a fi nal dividend of 17.74 pence 
per Ordinary Share for the year ended 
31 December 2018. If shareholders 
approve the recommended fi nal 
dividend, it will be paid on 24 May 2019 
to all Ordinary Shareholders who are on 
the register of members on 23 April 2019.

Re-election of Directors 
(Resolutions 4 to 12)
Resolutions 4 to 12 refer to the Directors 
standing for re-election in line with the 
UK Corporate Governance Code, which 
states that all directors of FTSE 350 
companies should be subject to annual 
election by shareholders.

Biographical details for each of the 
Directors seeking re-election are set out 
on pages 48 to 49 of this document and 
are also available to view online 
at www.plc.aggreko.com. The Board 
also confi rms that, following a formal 
performance evaluation, each of the 
Directors standing for re-election 
continues to perform effectively, 
demonstrates commitment to their 
role, and has the capacity to discharge 
their responsibilities fully, given their 
existing time commitments to other 
organisations. Therefore, the Board 
unanimously recommends the re-
election of the Directors proposed.

External auditor 
(Resolutions 13 and 14)
These resolutions deal with the re-
appointment of KPMG LLP as auditors 
of the Company and the authorisation 
of the Audit Committee to determine 
their remuneration.

Authority to allot shares 
(Resolution 15)
In line with last year, this resolution 
will authorise the Directors to allot 
Ordinary Shares up to an aggregate 
nominal value of £4,126,149 (representing 
85,376,067 Ordinary Shares of 4329⁄395 
pence each). This amount represents 
approximately one third of the issued 
Ordinary Share capital of the Company 
as at 5 March 2019, being the latest 
practicable date prior to the publication 
of this circular. As at 5 March 2019, the 
Company held no Treasury shares 
and there were no warrants over 
Ordinary Shares.

The authority sought under this 
resolution will expire on the earlier of 
30 June 2020 (the latest date by which 
the Company must hold an Annual 
General Meeting in 2020) or the 
conclusion of the Annual General 
Meeting of the Company to be held 
in 2020.

The Directors have no present intention 
to issue new shares other than in relation 
to the issue of shares under the 
Company’s executive and employee 
share schemes in circumstances where 
they do not consider it appropriate to 
satisfy awards vesting using market 
purchase.

Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

147

 
 
 
NOTES TO THE NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING CONTINUED

Notice of general meetings 
(Resolution 19)
Under the Companies Act 2006, all 
general meetings of the Company must 
be held on 21 clear days’ notice unless 
shareholders agree to a shorter notice 
period on an annual basis and certain 
other conditions are met. The Company 
is currently able to call general meetings 
(other than Annual General Meetings) 
on 14 clear days’ notice. The Board is 
proposing this resolution as a special 
resolution at the Annual General 
Meeting so that the Company can 
continue to be able to convene general 
meetings on 14 clear days’ notice.

The Board intends that this shorter 
notice period would not be used as 
a matter of routine, but would only be 
used where the fl exibility was justifi ed 
by the business of the meeting and 
it would be to the advantage of 
shareholders as a whole.

If this resolution is passed, the authority 
to convene general meetings on 14 clear 
days’ notice will remain effective until 
the Company’s next Annual General 
Meeting, when it is intended that a 
similar resolution will be proposed. 
The notice period for Annual General 
Meetings will remain 21 clear days.

Recommendation
The Board considers that all the 
resolutions to be considered at the 
Annual General Meeting are in the 
best interests of the Company and 
its shareholders as a whole. Your Board 
will be voting in favour of them and 
unanimously recommends that you 
do so as well.

Disapplication of Statutory 
Pre-Emption Rights 
(Resolutions 16 and 17)

Resolution 16 will be proposed as a 
special resolution and will authorise 
the Directors to disapply the statutory 
pre-emption rights of shareholders on 
allotment of equity securities for cash 
up to an aggregate nominal value 
of £618,922 (representing 12,806,410 
Ordinary Shares of 4329⁄395 pence each), 
being approximately 5% of the issued 
Ordinary Share capital of the Company 
as at 5 March 2019, being the latest 
practicable date prior to the publication 
of this circular. This resolution also 
disapplies statutory pre-emption rights 
to the extent necessary to facilitate 
rights issues.

Resolution 17 will also be proposed as 
a special resolution and will authorise 
the Directors to allot a further 5% of 
the issued Ordinary Share capital of the 
Company otherwise than in connection 
with a pre-emptive offer to existing 
shareholders for the purpose of 
fi nancing a transaction (or refi nancing 
within six months of the transaction) 
which the Directors determine to be an 
acquisition or other capital investment 
contemplated by the Pre-Emption 
Group’s revised Statement of Principles, 
published on 12 March 2015 (the “PEG 
Principles”), being the Statement of 
Principles on Disapplying Pre-Emption 
Rights most recently published by the 
Pre-Emption Group prior to the date of 
this notice.

This additional disapplication authority 
is in line with the PEG Principles, and 
provides the Company with greater 
fl exibility by allowing the Company to 
allot shares with a nominal value of 
£618,922 (representing 5% of the issued 
Ordinary Share capital of the Company 
as at 5 March 2019) for cash pursuant 
to this authority where that allotment 
is in connection with an acquisition 
or specifi ed capital investment (as 
described in the PEG Principles) which 
is announced at the same time as the 
allotment, or which has taken place in 
the preceding six-month period and is 
disclosed in the announcement of that 
allotment.

The Board does not intend to allot shares 
for cash on a non-pre-emptive basis 
above 7.5% of the total issued Ordinary 
Share capital of the Company over 
a rolling three-year period without 
consulting shareholders fi rst. This 
complies with the PEG Principles.

The authority under these resolutions 
will expire at the conclusion of the 
Annual General Meeting to be held in 
2020 or on 30 June 2020, whichever is 
the earlier. The Directors intend to seek 
renewal of this power at subsequent 
Annual General Meetings.

Purchase of Own Shares 
(Resolution 18)
The Directors recommend that 
shareholders renew the authority of the 
Company to purchase its own Ordinary 
Shares. Accordingly, this resolution will 
be proposed as a special resolution 
seeking authority to make such 
purchases in the market. The Directors 
will only use this authority when they 
consider it to be in the best interests 
of shareholders generally and an 
improvement in earnings per share 
would result. Any Ordinary Shares 
purchased under this authority will 
either be cancelled (and the number 
of Ordinary Shares in issue reduced) 
or be held in treasury.

This resolution specifi es the maximum 
number of Ordinary Shares which 
may be purchased (representing 
approximately 10% of the Company’s 
issued Ordinary Share capital as at 
5 March 2019, being the latest 
practicable date prior to the 
publication of this circular) and the 
minimum and maximum prices at 
which they may be bought.

The Directors intend to seek renewal 
of this power at subsequent Annual 
General Meetings.

As at 5 March 2019, there were options 
over Ordinary Shares 5,918,821 in the 
capital of the Company which 
represented 2.3% of the Company’s 
issued Ordinary Share capital at that 
date. If the authority to purchase the 
Company’s Ordinary Shares were 
exercised in full, these options would 
represent 2.6% of the Company’s issued 
Ordinary Share capital.

148 Aggreko plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018

SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

Financial calendar
18 April 2019
Ex-dividend date – Final dividend

23 April 2019
Record date to be eligible for the 
fi nal dividend

25 April 2019
Annual General Meeting

24 May 2019
Final dividend payment for the year 
to 31 December 2018

30 July 2019
Half year results announcement 
for the year to 31 December 2019

6 September 2019
Ex-dividend date – Interim dividend

7 September 2019
Record date to be eligible for the 
interim dividend

4 October 2019
Interim dividend payment for the year 
to 31 December 2019

Our website
Provides access to share price and 
dividend information as well as sections 
on managing your shareholding online, 
corporate governance and other investor 
relations information. 

To access the website, please visit 
www.plc.aggreko.com

Managing your shares online
Shareholders can manage their holding 
online by registering to use our share 
portal at https://shares.aggreko.com. 
This service is provided by our Registrar, 
Link Asset Services, giving quick and 
easy access to your shareholding, 
allowing you to manage all aspects 
of your shareholding online, with 
a useful FAQ section.

Payment of dividends
We encourage shareholders to have 
dividends paid directly into their bank 
accounts as this has a number of 
advantages, including ensuring effi cient 
payment to receive cleared funds on the 
payment date.

If shareholders would like to receive their 
dividends directly to their bank account, 
they should contact our Registrar, Link 
Asset Services. UK shareholders may 
also register using the share portal.

Overseas shareholders may be able to 
have the dividend converted to local 
currency before payment to their bank 
account using the international payment 
service. Please contact our Registrar, 
Link Asset Services, for details.

Dividend reinvestment plan 
(DRIP)
This allows eligible shareholders to 
purchase additional shares in Aggreko 
with their dividend payment. Further 
information and a mandate can be 
obtained from our Registrar, Link Asset 
Services, or by using the share portal.

Duplicate documents
Some shareholders fi nd that they receive 
duplicate documentation and split 
dividend payments due to having more 
than one account on the share register. 
If you think you fall into this group and 
would like to combine your accounts, 
please contact our Registrar, Link 
Asset Services.

Changes of address
To avoid missing important 
correspondence relating to your 
shareholding, it is important that you 
inform our Registrar, Link Asset Services, 
of your new address as soon as possible.

Electronic communications
We encourage shareholders to consider 
receiving their communications 
electronically. Choosing to receive your 
communications electronically means 
you receive information quickly and 
securely and allows us to communicate 
in a more environmentally friendly and 
cost-effective way. You can register for 
this service online using our share portal.

Sharegift
If you have a very small shareholding 
that is uneconomical to sell, you may 
want to consider donating it to Sharegift 
(Registered Charity no. 10526886), a 
charity that specialises in the donation 
of small, unwanted shareholdings to 
good causes. You can fi nd out more 
by visiting www.sharegift.org or by 
calling +44 (0) 207 930 3737.

Shareholder queries
Our share register is maintained 
by our Registrar, Link Asset Services. 
Shareholders with queries relating to 
their shareholding should contact Link 
Asset Services directly. For more general 
queries, shareholders can look at our 
website at www.plc.aggreko.com

Unsolicited mail and 
shareholder fraud 
Shareholders are advised to be wary 
of unsolicited mail or telephone calls 
offering free advice, to buy shares at 
a discount or offering free company 
reports. To fi nd more detailed 
information on how shareholders can 
be protected from investment scams 
visit www.fca.org.uk/consumers/scams/ 
investment-scams/share-fraud-and-
boiler-room-scams

Our Registrar
Link Asset Services
The Registry, 
34 Beckenham Road 
Beckenham
Kent
BR3 4TU
United Kingdom

Share portal: https://shares.aggreko.com
www.linkassetservices.com
Website: 
enquiries@linkgroup.co.uk
Email: 
0371 664 0300*
Telephone: 

*  Calls are charged at the standard geographic 

rate and will vary by provider. 
Calls outside the UK are charged at the 
applicable international rate.
Lines are open 9.00am – 5.30pm, 
Monday to Friday excluding public holidays 
in England and Wales.

Registered offi  ce 
8th Floor
120 Bothwell Street 
Glasgow
G2 7JS
Scotland
United Kingdom 

Telephone: 
Email: 
Registered in Scotland No. 

+44 (0) 141 225 5900
investors@aggreko.biz
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