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AVEVA

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FY2019 Annual Report · AVEVA
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AVEVA Group plc  
Annual Report and Accounts 2019

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9

We are leading   
the digitalisation  
of industr y

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Driving the digitalisation of the industrial world

Number of 
customer sites 
using AVEVA 
software 
globally

Water Treatment

8,000

Water and wastewater sites 
globally

Education

We provide Software and 
grants to universities around the 
world. 

See page 41

Oil & Gas

1,000,000

Miles of pipeline and  
300 refineries

Oil & Gas

19 of the top 40

petroleum companies 

See our ADNOC case study
on pages 2-3 

Driving the digitalisation of the industrial world

Marine

9 out of the 10 

largest shipyards

Power

1,000

Power stations and power 
generating units

Chemicals

22 of the top 40  

chemical companies

See our Covestro case study
on pages 4-5 

Metals & Mining
Black Rock Mine

10 of the top 15 mines

See our Black Rock case study
on pages 6-7 

AVEVA creates industrial 
software that inspires people 
to shape the future

We believe industry advancement should enhance the human 
experience. Here’s how we live our mission:

COLLABORATE
The challenges our customers face inspire us to develop 
groundbreaking solutions. We harness the power of our 
ecosystem by working together to bring bold ideas to life.

CREATE
We build leading solutions across the asset and operations 
lifecycles that turn opportunity into business value, evolving 
the industries that power our world.

PIONEER
We discover new ways to empower people and industries, 
enabling the success of our customers and the prosperity 
of communities.

Download our “AVEVA 
Industrial Experience” app 
for iOS and hold your 
device over the AVEVA 
logo on the back cover 
to launch.

To find out more, please visit 
our website: www.aveva.com

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY MEGA TRENDS

01

CONNECTED DEVICES

7BN connected “things”

Internet of things

Tablets

Smartphones

PCs

The digital world

Unprecedented growth in digital technology

26BN 

connected “things”

Since the turn of the century, there has been an explosion in 
innovation, leading to increases in computing power, connectivity, 
network capacity and speed, cheaply and at scale.

Everyone and everything is now interconnected and the vast 
amounts of data collected are able to be captured, tracked and 
be put to use with previously unimagined possibilities. 

2014

2016

2018

2020

Global technology mega trends
More on pages 12-13 

PROGRESS THROUGH THE 
DIGITALISATION CURVE

w
o
L

y
t
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l

x
e
p
m
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C

h
g
H

i

Telecom

Retail

Automotive

Utilities

Marine

Materials

Industrials

Food & Beverage

Buildings

Energy

Digital revolution

Industries are being transformed

Finance & Insurance

IT

Many industries have begun their digital transformation journey. 
The most successful companies in retail, the music industry and 
consumer technology have leveraged the power of digitalisation.

We believe that for the complex industries that AVEVA serves, 
the time for industrial digital transformation is now.

AVEVA’s target industries

Digitalisation of industry
More on pages 14-15 

Asset
Performance

Engineer
Procure
Construct

Monitor
and Control

Industrial 
Digitalisation

Operate
and Optimise

Plan and
Schedule

We’ll take you there

We’re ready. Are you?

AVEVA has the full end-to-end portfolio to help customers cut 
costs, improve efficiency and boost productivity through digital 
transformation.

Read our case studies to learn how we have helped others, 
and how we can take you on your journey. 

Building what’s next together
More on pages 16-17 

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements02

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

Customer case study

Industry

ADNOC

OIL & GAS

H o w   o u r

Asset
Performance

Engineer
Procure
Construct

Monitor
and Control

Operate
and Optimise

Plan and
Schedule

Digital Transformation 
at Abu Dhabi National 
Oil Company

ADNOC is one of the world’s leading 
energy producers, operating across 
the entire hydrocarbon value chain.

03

te c h n o l o g y. . .

BUSINESS CHALLENGE

CUSTOMER BENEFIT

ADNOC is transforming into 
an Industry 4.0 organisation to 
maximise returns from every barrel 
of oil. To begin this journey, data 
was centralised and integrated 
from 14 operating companies 
onto a single platform.

SOLUTIONS PROVIDED

• Monitoring & Control to provide 

a real-time overview of operations

• Asset Performance Management 

to reduce maintenance costs 
and downtime

• Planning & Scheduling to optimise 

production planning

Using AVEVA software, ADNOC 
has developed a platform through 
which all departments and operating 
units communicate with each other 
in real time. Managers visualise 
a full company view as well as 
specific individual operations 
to analyse and determine the 
impact of actions and events on 
specific areas of its business.

FUTURE PLANS

ADNOC is creating a predictive 
maintenance platform using 
AVEVA’s Asset Performance 
Management solution.

“ The AVE VA 
team tr ul y 
believed in 
ADNOC ’s 
vision.”

Tasnim Al Mzaini
Panorama Project Manager, ADNOC

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements04

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

Customer case study

Industry

COVESTRO

CHEMICALS

Digitalising operations in  
Covestro’s chemical manufacturing

Covestro is a world-leading manufacturer of  
high-tech polymer materials, supplying the 
automotive, construction, cosmetics, electronics, 
fashion & sportswear and healthcare industries.

...is benefiting

Asset
Performance

Engineer
Procure
Construct

Monitor
and Control

Operate
and Optimise

Plan and
Schedule

BUSINESS CHALLENGE

CUSTOMER BENEFIT

Covestro is digitalising operations  
to enable a holistic view 
of the asset life cycle.

SOLUTIONS PROVIDED

• Engineering, use process simulation 

to enhance understanding of 
operations, predict performance 
and optimise processes with a high 
degree of accuracy.

• Operate & Optimise, rolling out 

Manufacturing Execution Solutions 
(MES) to further digitalise their 
production.

The organisation is already operating 
on a highly automated and productive 
level. In addition to that, it now has 
a single, easy-to-use simulation 
platform combining tools to improve 
asset efficiency. This will lead to 
further improvements in energy 
use, waste reduction and plant 
throughput, with even less unplanned 
downtime and increased safety.

FUTURE PLANS

Covestro is evaluating Asset 
Performance Management to 
improve asset availability.

05

“AVE VA Predictive A s set A nal y tic s   
was the sof t ware that convinced   
me that machine lear ning was   
real and that it wor ked.”

Jane Arnold
Executive Vice President, Covestro

companies...

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements06

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

Customer case study

Industry

BLACK ROCK MINE OPERATIONS

MINING

Single Centralised Control  
at Black Rock Mine Operations

Black Rock Mine Operations produces 3.7 million 
tonnes of manganese ore per year in the Northern 
Cape Province, South Africa.

Manganese is an essential element for steel 
production, fertilisers and battery technology.

...a r o u n d

Asset
Performance

Engineer
Procure
Construct

Monitor
and Control

Operate
and Optimise

Plan and
Schedule

BUSINESS CHALLENGE

CUSTOMER BENEFIT

Black Rock was looking to 
achieve a holistic view of the 
production value chain via a single 
platform to drive efficiency and 
productivity improvements.

SOLUTIONS PROVIDED

• Monitoring & Control to provide an 
operational interface and integrated 
real-time overview of operations.

AVEVA’s solution facilitated a 
significant increase in uptime, 
safety improvements and almost 
double-digit growth in productivity.

FUTURE PLANS

Black Rock’s goal is to become 
the most efficient underground 
mine in the world.

07

t h e   w o r l d

“ The centr al control room environment 
enables us to concentr ate our key 
decision maker s in one area to suppor t 
each other in ter ms of plant ef ficienc y 
and oper ational ef ficienc y.”

Pierre Becker
Senior General Manager, Black Rock Mine Operations

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements08

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

WHAT’S INSIDE OUR REPORT

Building 
what ’s nex t 
together

Pages 16-17

Asset
Performance

Engineer
Procure
Construct

Monitor
and Control

Operate
and Optimise

Plan and
Schedule

CONTENTS

Strategic Report
10  Chairman’s Statement
11  Business model
12  Global technology mega trends
14  Digitalisation of industry
16  Building what’s next together
18  Chief Executive’s review
22  Strategy
24  Key Performance Indicators
26  Principal risks
32  Finance review
38  Corporate social responsibility report

Governance Report
Pages 44-83

Financial Statements
Pages 84-140

Glossary
Page 141

CHAIRMAN’S 
STATEMENT

BUSINESS  
MODEL

Another successful 
year for AVEVA

How we generate 
value for our 
stakeholders

Page 10

Page 11

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S 
REVIEW

STRATEGY  

Delivering 
digitalisation 
of industry

Driving  
sustainable  
growth

Pages 18-21

Pages 22-23

KEY PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
How we measure 
our progress

FINANCE  
REVIEW 

Good progress 
against all key 
targets

Pages 24-25

Pages 32-37

09

HOW WE PERFORMED

The statutory results1 show 12 
months of trading for the heritage 
Schneider Electric industrial 
software business (SES) in the 
comparative period to March 
2018, together with one month of 
the heritage AVEVA business. 

To provide a more meaningful 
measure of year-on-year 
performance of the combined 
trading performance, non-
statutory results are also shown 
for the combined Group on a 
pro forma basis2.

£766.6M

Revenue (statutory1)
Up 57.6% (2018: £486.3m)

£775.2M

Revenue (pro forma2)
Up 11.9% (2018: £692.5m)

£46.7M

Profit before tax (statutory)
Up 35.4% (2018: £34.5m)

£184.5M

Adjusted3 EBIT (pro forma)
Up 19.8% (2018: £154.0m)

20.90P

Diluted EPS (statutory)
Down 47.4% (2018: 39.72p)

90.90P

Adjusted3 diluted EPS
Up 27.0% (2018: 71.59p)

54.3%

Recurring revenue4
Up 270 bps (2018: 51.6%)

£127.8M

Net cash
Up 32.8% (2018: £95.8m)

AVEVA delivered a strong 
performance in its first full year 
as a combined company and 
integration has progressed well 
across all functions of the business. 

Digitalisation is accelerating in 
the industries we serve, driving 
ongoing growth in demand for 
industrial software. AVEVA is well 
placed to capture this demand by 
working with its customers to turn 
opportunities into business value, 
delivering solutions across the 
asset and operations lifecycle. 

We remain confident in the outlook 
and in meeting our medium-term 
targets of delivering revenue 
growth at least in-line with the 
industrial software market, 
increasing recurring revenue as 
a percentage of overall revenue 
to 60% and improving AVEVA’s 
Adjusted EBIT margin to 30%.

Craig Hayman
CEO

1  Statutory results are stated under acquisition accounting principles and therefore the results for the 12 months to 31 March 2018 include 12 months of heritage SES and one 

month of heritage AVEVA.

2  Pro forma results include results for both heritage SES and heritage AVEVA for the 12 months to 31 March 2018 and exclude a negative adjustment to revenue of £8.6m for the 

12 months to 31 March 2019 reflecting an acquisition accounting adjustment to deferred revenue on the opening balance sheet.

3  Adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are calculated before amortisation of intangible assets (excluding other software), 

share-based payments, gain/loss on fair value of forward foreign exchange contracts and exceptional items. Adjusted EPS also includes the tax effects of these adjustments. 
When expressed on a pro forma basis they are also calculated before the acquisition accounting adjustment to deferred revenue.

4  Recurring revenue is defined as rental and subscriptions software licence revenue plus support and maintenance revenue.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements10

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT

Another successful 
year for AVEVA

AVEVA made excellent progress in 
the financial year ended March 2019, 
delivering good growth within the 
year while strengthening the Group’s 
future prospects.

Overview

Board developments

Summary and outlook

We have a strong and diversified 
Board and were pleased to welcome 
Paula Dowdy as an independent Non-
Executive Director on 1 February 2019.

Paula is the Senior Vice President & 
General Manager EMEA for Illumina Inc., 
the global leader in DNA sequencing and 
array-based technologies. Prior to her 
appointment to Illumina in 2016, Paula 
worked for Cisco in a variety of senior 
sales, services and strategy roles, most 
recently as Senior Vice President for 
Cloud, Software and Managed Services.

The Board would like to express its 
sincere thanks to all our 4,500 employees 
across the globe for their hard work and 
dedication, recognising the significant 
efforts from our people to make this a 
success. We would also like to thank 
our customers, shareholders and other 
stakeholders for their continued support.

The new enlarged AVEVA has an 
exciting future. Digitalisation is bringing 
huge benefits to the industrial world 
and AVEVA is well positioned to 
play a key role with its customers in 
leading this digitalisation journey.

Paula’s international and technology 
experience further strengthens the Board 
and we look forward to her contribution to 
the Group’s strategy and development.

Philip Aiken AM
Chairman
19 May 2019

The combination of the heritage AVEVA 
and the Schneider Electric Industrial 
Software business just before the start 
of the year created a new global leader 
in industrial software, optimally placed 
to advance the digitalisation of the 
industrial world with an unmatched 
set of solutions (see page 22).

Craig Hayman, our CEO, and James Kidd, 
our Deputy CEO and CFO, have been 
focused on leading the integration of 
the enlarged AVEVA Group so that it is 
structured to meet its long-term potential. 
I am pleased to report that the integration 
process is progressing very well (see page 
19). I am also pleased that this has been 
achieved while driving a strong financial 
performance across the Group during the 
year (see page 32) with strong growth 
in revenue and profit. On a pro forma 
basis, adjusted earnings per share grew 
27.0% and this has allowed us to increase 
the final dividend for the year 7.4% to 
29.0 pence, taking the total dividend 
for the year to 43.0 pence per share.

“ We remain excited about the huge benefits 
that digitalisation will bring to the industrial 
world and about the key role that AVEVA will 
play in leading this digitalisation journey.”

Philip Aiken
Chairman

11

BUSINESS MODEL

How we generate value 
for our stakeholders

How we operate

Why our customers choose us

Value creation

We invest over

£100m

into R&D every year

In the last year we have filed
21 PATENTS
and have issued
OVER 90
product releases.

AVEVA employs a highly 
skilled global workforce of 

4,500 people

This includes over
70 PhDs

We generate revenue 
through licensing 
software

Customers pay for software 
licences, support and 
maintenance fees and other 
professional services.

Our shared values are 
key to our business 
performance

Limitless possibilities, 
Integrity always, 
Flexibility together and 
Excellence every day

AVEVA LIFE
See page 39 

AVEVA has 

16,000 

customers including many of the  
world’s largest and best known companies.

Our software makes it easier to create complex 
industrial assets, enabling greatly improved 
designs and lower build costs. It also enables 
companies to operate complex industrial assets 
more efficiently by increasing output, reducing 
maintenance costs and increasing safety.

Improve  
their 
designs

Increase 
safety

As a result  
they can:

Lower 
their build 
costs

Operate  
more  
efficiently

by increasing 
output, reducing 
maintenance costs

Customer case studies
See pages 2-7 

AVEVA recognises that it 
has a responsibility to 
act as a positive force, 
enabling all of its 
stakeholders to thrive.

We aim to generate long-
term value for our investors 
by delivering profitable 
growth as a function of 
providing valuable solutions 
to our customers. 

Financial review
See pages 32-37 

Strategy
See pages 22-23 

We are committed to 
engaging with, advancing 
and retaining our employees, 
across
80 nationalities  
in 44 countries

CSR
See pages 38-43 

We invest in our 
communities.  
AVEVA has pledged to 
donate the equivalent of 
1% of net profits 
to local charities throughout 
its operational footprint.

CSR
See pages 38-43 

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements12

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

Global technology

IIOT  
BIG DATA

Definition

Enabling tech

These have been enabled by 
technological advancements, 
including improved telecoms 
networks, cloud computing and 
scale, such that the cost of making 
a device “smart” is <$10.

The Industrial 
Internet of Things (IIoT)
is a vast network of devices 
connected to the internet, 
allowing for communications 
between these devices.

Big Data refers to the 
huge amounts of information 
collected by these extensive 
networks of connected devices.

VISUALISATION

Data Visualisation
involves the creation of and 
visual representation of data, 
and is used to communicate 
complex information clearly 
and effectively.

Advancements in 3D visualisation, 
augmented reality, virtual reality 
and accessibility of this technology, 
driven by cloud computing and the 
ubiquity of mobile connectivity, 
allow for consumption of data 
whenever and wherever required.

ARTIFICIAL  
INTELLIGENCE

Artificial  
Intelligence (AI)
is the simulation of human 
intelligence processes by 
machines, particularly computer 
systems. These processes 
include learning, reasoning and 
self-correction, without which 
big data couldn’t be analysed.

Once exclusively the domain of big 
tech companies, AI is becoming 
increasingly affordable, with 
inexpensive cloud computing 
able to provide the necessary 
processing power.

13

mega trends

Macro level

Industry level

AVEVA level

Why this is important

CONNECTED DEVICES

7BN connected “things”

Internet of things

Tablets

Smartphones

PCs

26BN 

connected “things”

2014

2016

2018

2020

More information is available today 
than ever before, giving the potential 
for unprecedented insight.

Huge volumes of complex data are 
not easy to interpret unless they are 
presented clearly and accessibly.

Effective data visualisation enables 
greater understanding and therefore 
better decision-making.

Artificial Intelligence can interpret 
and learn from vast volumes of data, 
using those learnings to achieve 
specific goals and tasks through 
flexible adaptation.

“Data is the fuel that powers  
the IoT and an organisation’s 
ability to derive meaning  
from it will define their  
long-term success.”

Gartner

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements14

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

Digitalisation

Why is this relevant to industry?

There are

50,000

separate identifiable devices in an 
average plant, many with sensors 
that are continuously providing 
status information.

It is estimated that by 2020,  
there will be

50BN

assets connected and sending data 
via the internet, but today less than 
3% of data is tagged or used in a 
meaningful way.

(Source: IDC)

Vast quantities of plant data are of 
limited use without the tools to 
collect, interrogate and consume it. 

The easiest way to understand the 
workings of a plant is to visualise it 
as a Digital Twin: an interactive, 
working, digital representation of 
the physical asset.

A Digital Twin is an effective way 
of visualising and replicating a 
physical asset. Together with the 
intelligent interpretation of the big 
data captured, a Digital Twin can 
be used to identify areas requiring 
attention and allow for real-time 
simulation of repairs and 
maintenance, enabling safe practice 
and training ahead of site visits. 

IIOT  
BIG DATA

VISUALISATION

ARTIFICIAL  
INTELLIGENCE

AI analyses big data collected from 
the IIoT to automate routine work 
and provide insight into patterns of 
behaviour. This enables better and 
faster decision-making by human 
operators, allowing for unparalleled 
control of and understanding of 
operational data.

This facilitates efficient predictive 
maintenance, reducing costs, 
minimising downtime and 
enhancing safety.

15

of industry

Macro level

Industry level

AVEVA level

Process and manufacturing industries have taken longer 
to digitalise than consumer industries due to their high 
complexity, but the transformational power of industry 
digitalisation is not to be underestimated, with Amazon, 
Microsoft and Spotify examples of companies achieving 
success through embracing digitalisation.

PROGRESS THROUGH THE 
DIGITALISATION CURVE

Finance & Insurance

IT

Telecom

Retail

w
o
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y
t
i

l

x
e
p
m
o
C

h
g
H

i

Automotive

Utilities

Marine

Materials

Industrials

Food & Beverage

Buildings

Energy

Digital technology has changed all 
our lives, from shopping, to the supply 
chain, to advertising. It has changed 
industries, first with financial 
systems, now with how we shop and 
communicate. Momentum has built 
through innovations like cloud, big 
data and mobility. Thanks to these 
innovations, unimagined possibilities 
are now available to all of us, cheaply 
and at scale.

But in industry, it has been a different 
story. Industry was among the first to 
use transactional technology, but 

then it stalled. The twin concerns of 
cost and risk, combined with the 
phenomenal complexity of industrial 
operations, delayed industrial digital 
transformation at scale. However, as 
innovation has gained momentum 
and consumers have embraced 
digital tools, the power of digital 
technology to cut costs, improve 
efficiency and boost productivity in 
the industrial arena has become 
clear. And now we are seeing the 
dawn of a new industrial revolution: 
Industry 4.0.

AVEVA’s target industries

For companies in the vanguard, this 
opens up opportunities as the power 
of new technology becomes clear, but 
also presents the challenge of finding 
the right solution among the myriad 
possibilities. To be successful, you 
need to identify the right partner to 
work with, and to empower your 
workforce to lead digital change.

Craig Hayman
CEO AVEVA

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements16

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

Building what’s next

IIOT  
BIG DATA

VISUALISATION

How AVEVA’s customers are leveraging technology mega trends

Wonderware, an AVEVA product 
with nearly 

NIS AD, an Oil & Gas company, 
realised a reduction of 

40%

market share in monitoring and 
control, connects to millions of IIoT 
devices, allowing the capture of 
billions of data points with 
expanded built-in support for 
third party sensors.

20%

in staff labour costs since  
adopting System Platform. 
Its implementation also led to  
an increase in overall production.

We have integrated engineering 
data with real-time operational 
data to provide an end-to-end 
Digital Twin, covering plant design 
through to process design and 
operations. AVEVA Engage enables 
easy and immediate visualisation  
of this complex data in an 
operational setting.

Yamal, an EPC, has saved 

6 months 

of on-site work by using AVEVA 
Engage to allow for collaborative, 
detailed reviews by engineers 
before they visit their site deep in 
the Russian arctic, reducing wasted 
visits and lowering risk.

ARTIFICIAL  
INTELLIGENCE

AVEVA Asset Predictive Analytics 
uses data captured from IIoT 
devices and analyses it to predict 
machine behaviour, and in so doing, 
reduces maintenance costs and 
unplanned downtime.

Duke Energy used the power of 
advanced pattern recognition 
within Predictive Analytics to 
monitor, learn and feed back  
on vibration levels within an 
operational power turbine, escaping 
catastrophic failure. Duke estimated 
the avoided costs at

$34.5M

See our website for more success stories
https://sw.aveva.com/success-stories

17

together

Macro level

Industry level

AVEVA level

AVEVA is optimally placed to drive the 
digitalisation of industry together with 
our customers, and we continually 
invest in new technologies. 

Our portfolio allows an 
end-to-end solution, 
from designing and 
building to operating 
customer assets.

Asset
Performance

Predict operating health 
and take actions to ensure 
reliability and safety

Improve time, cost 
and efficiency of 
capital projects

Engineer
Procure
Construct

Monitor
and Control

Streamline operations via 
seamless and scalable 
enterprise-wide visibility

Industrial 
Digitalisation

Optimise decision making 
through digitising and 
automating operating 
processes

Operate
and Optimise

Plan and
Schedule

Maximise profitability by 
digitising procurement, planning 
and scheduling processes

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements18

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW

Empowering  
our customers

“Digitalisation is accelerating in 
the industries we serve, driving 
ongoing growth in demand for 
industrial software.”

Craig Hayman
Chief Executive Officer

AVEVA delivered a strong performance 
in its first full year as a combined 
company, both in terms of trading in 
the period and making progress 
towards medium-term targets.

Summary

On a statutory basis revenue was up 
57.6% to £766.6 million (FY18: £486.3 
million). Profit before tax (PBT) was 
£46.7 million (FY18: £34.5 million). This 
revenue growth primarily reflected the 
combination of heritage AVEVA with the 
heritage SES business (the Combination), 
together with the organic growth of 
both businesses. The relatively small 
increase in statutory PBT was primarily 
due to the amortisation of intangible 
assets related to the Combination.

On a pro forma basis, the enlarged Group 
achieved revenue growth of 11.9% to 
£775.2 million (FY 2018: £692.5 million) 
and growth in adjusted EBIT of 19.8% 
to £184.5 million (FY 2018: £154.0 
million). On a constant currency basis, 
revenue increased 12.4%. Constant 
currency is calculated by restating the 
period’s reported results to reflect the 
previous year’s average exchange rates. 

Delivering digitalisation

Detailed constant currency analysis 
has not been provided because there 
is no material difference between 
actual and constant currency results.

This growth was driven by 
increasing demand for industrial 
software and good sales execution, 
including an increase in multi-year 
commitments from key customers.

AVEVA made significant progress with 
integrating the heritage AVEVA and SES 
product portfolios, launching a combined 
product offering at the Group’s global 
customer event, the AVEVA World Summit, 
in October 2018. Since then, several key 
customers have expanded the range 
of software that they buy from AVEVA 
across the asset and operational lifecycle.

19

Integration

Integration of the heritage AVEVA 
and SES businesses has progressed 
well. Management structures were 
integrated across all functions, 
AVEVA exited the majority of the 
Transitional Service Agreements 
(TSAs) with Schneider Electric and 
made progress towards moving to 
common group-wide IT systems. 
This included moving to a single 
Customer Relationship 
Management (CRM) system and 
putting in place preparations to 
move onto a common group wide 
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) 
system in 2020.

The integration of the sales team 
has been particularly successful, 
leading to improved sales 
momentum and cross selling.

There has been a strong focus on 
cultural integration. AVEVA LIFE 
values of Limitless possibilities, 
Integrity always, Flexibility together 
and Excellence everyday have been 
introduced across the business and 
have become core to employee 
behaviour and therefore 
business performance.

How we will achieve long-term growth
More on pages 22-23 

The Group has emerged from the year 
with a strong, integrated product 
portfolio with which to drive its 
customers’ digitalisation journeys.

Trading and markets

The industries that AVEVA serves are 
making increasing use of technology 
to reduce both capital and operating 
costs. This is being driven by ongoing 
technological mega trends that are 
enabling the digitalisation of the 
industrial world, notably the industrial 
internet of things, data visualisation 
and artificial intelligence, together 
with competitive pressures to reduce 
costs and increase output.

This is driving growth in demand for 
industrial software and there are some 
signs that the rate of market growth is 
accelerating. AVEVA is optimally placed to 
help its customers digitalise, due to its end-
to-end product portfolio, which runs from 
simulation through design and construction 
to operations, as well as having established 
market-leading positions serving process, 
marine, batch and hybrid industries.

End markets

The industries that AVEVA serves are 
at the early stages of a digitalisation 
growth curve, when compared to other 
industries. We believe that the current 
addressable market for AVEVA’s 

15% to the downstream end market 
and 10% to mid-stream.

Although AVEVA has historically seen 
some variation in growth due to end 
market conditions within specific cyclical 
industries, notably Oil & Gas and Marine, 
the ongoing structural growth drivers 
in each of our end markets are strong.

In Oil & Gas overall end market conditions 
were moderately positive, with an 
increase in both capital and operating 
expenditure across the upstream, mid-
stream and downstream segments. 
AVEVA benefited from a slight increase in 
capital expenditure related to upstream 
Oil & Gas projects, growth in mid-stream 
as pipeline capacity expanded and 
ongoing digitalisation in downstream, 
particularly by national oil companies.

In Marine, end market conditions 
remained subdued, although strong 
sales execution drove wins in growth 
areas, such as the construction of 
cruise ships, and product upgrades.

Forthcoming 2020 International Maritime 
Organisation emissions regulations are 
expected to drive retrofit investments in 
operating vessels and design changes 
in new vessels. Linked to this, the 
refining industry is expected to make 
investments in existing capacity to 

of industry

products of approximately £15 billion 
is likely to grow significantly (Sources: 
ARC, Gartner, company reports).

Over 40% of AVEVA’s revenue comes 
from the Oil & Gas end market and the 
Group has become more diversified since 
the Combination with Marine, Chemicals 
& Petrochemicals, Packaged Goods 
(such as Food & Beverage and Pharma), 
Power and Metals & Mining accounting 
for 5% to 10% of revenue each. Other 
markets include Water & Wastewater, 
Infrastructure and Discrete Manufacturing.

Within Oil & Gas, the Group has 
become more diversified than before 
the Combination, with approximately 
15% of the total revenue relating to 
upstream capital related projects, 

meet new fuel mix requirements and 
make technology investments to ensure 
agility in supply chain processes to 
rapidly respond to new demand patterns 
as the regulations are implemented. 
As a result, both these markets are 
expected to generate additional 
opportunities for AVEVA’s portfolio.

The Group’s other end markets such 
as Power and Food & Beverages 
are largely non-cyclical and are 
primarily driven by structural growth 
as industries make increasing use 
of technology to drive efficiency.

In Power, existing generation facilities are 
maximising the life of their capital assets 
and investing in technologies to ensure 
safe and reliable operation, with high 

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements20

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW CONTINUED

availability. AVEVA’s capability in predictive 
asset analytics and reliability centric 
maintenance coupled with engineering 
information management, addresses 
a core requirement in these industries. 
With the shift to renewables, generation 
assets are moving from large consolidated 
units to networks of distributed assets. 
These will require scalable systems for 
monitoring and control and coordination 
of operations. AVEVA’s portfolio in real 
time control and information management 
is highly suited to the evolving needs 
of the power generation sector. 

Geographical performance

AVEVA delivered growth across all 
its geographies.

We saw both improving execution 
from the direct and indirect sales 
channels, the latter of which represented 
approximately one-third of total revenue. 
Channel sales growth was solid double 
digit overall and broadly spread, with 
around two-thirds of our distributors 
growing revenues by more than 10%.

The Group achieved major order 
wins with customers including 
Covestro, ADNOC, China Petroleum, 
KBR, MV Werften and Sinopec.

EMEA revenue increased 19.6% to £317.8 
million (FY18: £265.8 million) on a pro 
forma basis. AVEVA delivered growth 
across a broad range of geographies 
and end-user markets. Key order wins 
in the first half of the year came from 
the Marine industry where AVEVA’s 
capabilities and our customers’ technical 
excellence in Norway and Germany helped 
to fulfil market demand for complex 
speciality and cruise vessels. In the second 
half, AVEVA saw strong demand in 
downstream Oil & Gas, with competitive 
wins across Spain, Italy and Turkey.

AVEVA also performed well in Food & 
Beverage, Power and Mining, where 
AVEVA delivered a digitalised mine 
for a leading operator in South Africa. 
Other areas of demand included discrete 
manufacturing, with wins in Automotive.

Americas revenue increased 9.9% to 
£273.9 million (FY18: £249.3 million) 
on a pro forma basis. AVEVA achieved 
strong growth in Latin America where 
there has been an improvement in end 
market conditions. In North America, 
AVEVA achieved large order wins in the 
EPC and Oil & Gas sectors, and saw good 
growth through its channel distribution 
partners as end users modernise and 
upgrade Monitoring & Control software.

Asia Pacific revenue increased 3.4% 
to £183.5 million (FY18: £177.4 million) 
on a pro forma basis, with good growth 
in China, particularly in the Oil & Gas 
end market. We continued to see major 
customers in the Oil & Gas market moving 
forward on their digital transformation 
journey with AVEVA across the region. 
Conditions in the Marine market continued 
to be subdued and this impacted 
growth in the Group’s core Marine 
end markets of Japan and Korea.

Business unit performance

Engineering, which consists of design 
and simulation software, is the 
largest of AVEVA’s business areas, 
representing around 43% of total 
revenue. It performed well during the year, 
delivering high-teens revenue growth.

The Group achieved solid revenue growth 
in the core product areas from both 
the heritage AVEVA and heritage SES 
businesses, Engineering & Design and 
Process Simulation respectively, with 
substantial revenue synergies coming 
through cross-selling to large customers.

Sales of engineering software for 
industrial plants were strong, whereas 
marine-related revenue was broadly 
flat, reflecting end market conditions. 
Material revenue synergies are expected in 
Marine in the medium-term as Monitoring 
& Control and Asset Performance 
Management solutions are introduced to 
complement AVEVA’s existing market-
leading engineering design offer.

The analysis of revenue by region on a pro forma basis was as follows:

Monitoring & Control, which comprises 
Human to Machine to Interface and 
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition 
(HMI SCADA) products, is the second 
largest of AVEVA’s business areas, 
representing around 32% of total revenue. 
During the year, AVEVA introduced 
new product releases for InTouch HMI, 
Citect SCADA and System Platform. 
A combination of customers upgrading 
software and favourable end market 
conditions across Discrete, Hybrid, Process 
and Infrastructure, drove mid-single 
digit revenue growth, with a particularly 
good performance from channel sales.

As part of AVEVA’s strategy to grow 
recurring revenues, AVEVA Flex, a token-
based rental & subscription selling model 
was introduced for Monitoring & Control 
during the second half of the year.

The Group has also launched 
AVEVA Flex to its channel partners, 
making it easy for them to bring a 
compelling subscription offering to 
their customers for the first time.

Asset Performance Management (APM) 
represents around 14% of the Group’s 
total revenue. AVEVA’s APM offering 
is strongly differentiated. It addresses 
the broadest dimensions of APM using 
design and engineering information, 
real-time and historical operational data, 
and maintenance execution workflows, 
together with model-based machine 
learning for predictive asset analytics.

This differentiation and a growing 
overall market for APM solutions, 
resulted in revenue growth for AVEVA 
of 20%, making APM the fastest 
growing portfolio for the Group.

The Group has partnered with MaxGrip, 
a company that has been optimising asset 
performance with Reliability Centred 
Maintenance (RCM) solutions for the last 
few years. AVEVA acquired MaxGrip’s 
software assets shortly after the financial 
year end, to augment AVEVA’s APM 
offering by providing a templated approach 
to asset strategy optimisation and RCM 
software for risk-based maintenance. 

£m

Rentals and subscriptions
Support and maintenance

Total recurring revenue

Initial fees and perpetuals
Training and services

Total

Change

Asia Pacific

EMEA

Americas

Total Reported change

49.8
48.6

98.4

57.3
27.8

183.5

3.4%

107.8
74.6

182.4

86.6
48.8

317.8

19.6%

61.8
78.6

140.4

67.7
65.8

273.9

9.9%

219.4
201.8

421.2

211.6
142.4

775.2

11.9%

40.2%
0.3%

17.8%

6.1%
5.2%

11.9%

21

Additionally, MaxGrip’s rich library of 
asset fault codes and remediations 
will enhance the power of AVEVA’s 
predictive asset analytics capabilities and 
accelerate the deployment of artificial 
intelligence for prescriptive maintenance.

Planning & Operations represents around 
11% of the Group’s total revenue. The 
business unit achieved high single digit 
revenue growth during the year, despite 
a planned reduction in sales of services.

All areas of the Planning & Operations 
business grew (Operations Execution, 
Operations Optimisation and Trading, 
Planning & Scheduling) driven by 
the ongoing trend towards digital 
transformation in AVEVA’s customer 
base. Operations Execution and Trading, 
Planning & Scheduling both achieved 
mid-teens growth, with strong order wins 
from the Energy, Mining and Packaged 
Goods sectors. In particular, the Unified 
Supply Chain Management Planning 
& Scheduling software is achieving 
strong growth due to its ability to help 
major oil companies achieve significant 
savings for every barrel of oil produced.

Progress against our medium-term 
targets

In September 2018 AVEVA outlined new 
medium-term targets. These targets and 
progress against them is summarised below.

Medium-term revenue growth

The Group aims to grow medium-term 
revenue on a constant currency basis 
at least in line with the blended growth 
rate of the industrial software market.

This revenue growth target reflects AVEVA 
expecting to grow its underlying software 
business in excess of market growth rates, 
driven by a combination of the strength 
of the Group’s market positions, sales 
execution, revenue synergies and additional 
value levers, including pricing and more 
sophisticated management of discounting.

As previously indicated, this above-
market growth is expected to be partly 
offset in terms of reported revenue 
by the impact of a phased transition 
towards greater rental and subscription 
revenue, together with potentially lower 
growth rates in services revenue.

Progress report: AVEVA delivered revenue 
growth of 12.4% on a constant currency 
basis. This growth was driven by strong 
sales execution, which was enabled by the 
early integration of the sales force. The 
growth rate benefited from cross selling 
of our combined product portfolio to our 
enlarged customer base and certain multi-
year contracts which have been partly 
recognised upfront in terms of revenue.

During the year, substantial investments 
were made in sales and marketing to 
drive growth. These included investments 
in leadership, sales training events, 
additional sales people, customer 
events and an expanded marketing 
team. New hires included a new 
Chief Marketing Officer to help drive 
efficiency and effectiveness in marketing 
performance, and a Head of Global 
Partners to drive channel partner sales.

Recurring Revenue

AVEVA aims to grow the proportion 
of recurring revenue to total revenue 
to over 60% in the medium term. 
Recurring revenue is defined as rental 
and subscriptions software licence 
revenue plus support and maintenance 
revenue. This will be driven by growing 
software as part of the revenue mix 
and by increasing the mix of rental and 
subscriptions revenue as a proportion of 
new software revenue in a financial year.

The transition to greater levels of recurring 
revenue is expected to increase long-term 
free cash flow generation. Rentals and 
subscriptions offer customers benefits 
including greater flexibility, lower up-front 
costs and simplicity in pricing. These 
benefits are reflected in higher customer 
lifetime value of a rental and subscriptions 
model versus a perpetual licence model.

Measures were also taken to increase 
yield by introducing consistent group-wide 
governance around allowable discounting 
and the application of price increases.

Progress report: AVEVA made good 
progress during the year and grew 
recurring revenue as a proportion of 
overall revenue to 54.3% (FY18: 51.6%).

For FY20, sales incentives structures have 
been modified to encourage recurring 
revenue growth with a focus on driving 
rental and subscription revenue versus 
initial and perpetual licences. Incentives 
also favour software versus services.

The Group has seen strong demand for 
Cloud-based solutions. The Group won 37 
new Cloud customers, taking the total to 
57 (FY18: 20). Annualised Cloud revenues 
also increased nearly threefold. We are 
seeing strong demand for enterprise scale 
Cloud purchases with customer wins 
from major oil companies in particular.

Outlook

Demand for AVEVA’s products is strong, 
driven by the ongoing digitalisation of 
the industrial world and stable conditions 
in key end markets. Therefore, the 
outlook remains positive and AVEVA 
is on-track to meet its medium-term 
targets of delivering revenue growth at 
least in line with the industrial software 
market, increasing recurring revenue as a 
percentage of overall revenue to 60% and 
improving adjusted EBIT margin to 30%.

Craig Hayman
Chief Executive Officer
29 May 2019

AVEVA benefited from its relationship with 
Schneider Electric. In addition to being 
a shareholder, Schneider acts as a sales 
channel for AVEVA and is a customer, 
buying software for its own industrial 
automation needs. Sales to Schneider 
and through Schneider as a distribution 
partner grew 9.9% to £80.1 million (FY18: 
£72.9 million) in total. This growth was 
driven principally by sales made through 
Schneider to third party end customers, 
reflecting the company’s differentiated 
global distribution capabilities.

Medium-term adjusted EBIT margin

The Group aims to increase adjusted EBIT 
margins to 30%. This margin improvement 
is expected to be driven by a combination 
of revenue growth, previously announced 
cost savings, cost control and a focus 
on high margin revenue growth through 
pricing and revenue mix optimisation.

Adjusted EBIT is calculated as profit 
from operations before amortisation 
of intangible assets (excluding other 
software), share-based payments, gain/
loss on fair value of forward foreign 
exchange contracts and exceptional items.

Progress report: AVEVA’s adjusted EBIT 
margin on pro forma revenue increased to 
23.8% (FY18: 22.2%). This improvement 
was driven by the strong revenue growth. 
The overall increase in costs was beyond 
our objective of inflationary growth, albeit 
with much of the overrun being due to 
success-based costs associated with 
outperformance versus budgeted revenue.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements22

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

STRATEGY

Driving sustainable growth  
in long-term free cash flow

AVEVA creates industrial software that inspires 
people to shape the future. We create leading 
solutions across the asset and operations lifecycles 
that turn opportunity into business value.

By generating business value for our customers, we 
seek to grow AVEVA’s long-term free cash flow to 
re-invest in technologies that will sustain long-term 
growth and deliver value for our shareholders.

Our strategy

Progress during the year

CREATING INDUSTRIAL 
SOFTWARE THAT 
INSPIRES PEOPLE TO 
SHAPE THE FUTURE

AVEVA made transformational progress 
during the year in creating leading solutions 
across the asset and operations lifecycles. The 
combination of heritage AVEVA and heritage 
SES in March 2018 created a company with an 
unmatched set of industrial software assets, 
covering the whole asset lifecycle from 
Engineering to Monitoring & Control and 
through to Asset Performance Management 
and Planning & Operations.

We made swift progress in integrating these 
assets to turn the opportunity to increase 
efficiency and reduce costs for our customers 
into tangible business value. We launched 
integrated product offerings at our main 
customer event, the AVEVA World Summit, in 
October and have sold integrated solutions to 
key customers, providing new capabilities and 
unlocking new possibilities.

GROWING AVEVA’S 
LONG-TERM FREE 
CASH FLOW

At our Capital Markets Day in September, 
we outlined three key medium-term targets 
designed to drive AVEVA’s longer-term cash 
flows. These are to grow constant currency 
revenue at least in line with the industrial 
software market; to increase recurring revenue 
as a percentage of total revenue; and to grow 
adjusted EBIT margin to 30%.

Our revenue growth target is based on a view 
that we have a responsibility to ensure that 
AVEVA performs at least as well as its peers. 
We estimate that overall industry growth is 
currently in the mid-single digit range.

Our recurring revenue target is to increase 
recurring revenue to 60%. We intend to 
achieve this by growing software revenue 
faster than services revenue and growing 
Rental & Subscription revenue versus Initial & 
Perpetual Licence revenue. Although both 
these initiatives have a negative impact on 
shorter-term revenue growth, they will improve 
longer-term margins and cash generation. This 
is because software revenue has higher gross 
margins than services revenue and Rental & 
Subscription revenue has a higher value over a 
medium to long-term time period than the front 
-loaded benefit of Perpetual software licences, 
again driving margins.

RE-INVESTING IN 
TECHNOLOGIES 
THAT WILL SUSTAIN 
LONG-TERM GROWTH

We made significant investments in R&D during 
the year (see page 11) working to discover new 
ways to empower people and industries. In 
addition to our product integration programmes, 
we developed AVEVA’s capabilities around the 
technological mega trends that are enabling the 
digitalisation of the industrial world, notably the 
IIoT, Data Visualisation and Artificial Intelligence 
(see pages 12-17).

For example, in regard to the IIoT we expanded 
built-in support for third party sensors and edge 
gateways, while developing high performance 
and secure ingesting of data into the Cloud.

In Data Visualisation, we developed high 
resolution streaming of 3D visualisation for 
Engineering and made numerous deployments 
around mobility, including developing the ability 
to view high resolution 3D plans on mobile 
devices.

In Artificial Intelligence, we developed AVEVA’s 
predictive maintenance capabilities via 
integration of machine learning with our first 
principles thermodynamics for enhanced 
anomaly detection and introduced new 
prognostic capability to forecast asset 
performance.

23

KPIs

Risks

Link to remuneration

Objectives for year ahead

Creating business value for our 
customers enables AVEVA to 
deliver revenue growth. We 
include Total Revenue Growth 
as a KPI.

AVEVA has recognised 
Integration and Synergies as a 
principal risk and is mostly 
cautious in its management 
approach. Other relevant 
areas of risk such as IT 
systems and product portfolio 
balance are also carefully 
managed.

Revenue growth in turn drives 
profitability. Both of these measures 
represent key elements of management 
bonus schemes.

We will continue to integrate our 
portfolio so we can further help our 
customers on their digitalisation 
journeys.

In addition to Total Revenue 
Growth, our other KPIs to 
measure our progress against 
our medium-term goals include 
Recurring Revenue as a 
Proportion of Total Revenue 
and Adjusted EBIT Margin.

In order to grow long-term free 
cash flow, AVEVA has a more 
tolerant appetite towards risks 
associated with subscription 
licensing, but will continue to 
offer traditional licensing 
methods as one of many areas 
of mitigation.

Increase both recurring revenue and 
margin towards our medium-term 
targets.

Over time, revenue and margin growth 
drive growth in adjusted Earnings per 
Share (EPS). EPS growth forms a key 
part of longer-term management 
remuneration. 

We also believe that increasing recurring 
revenue drives Total Shareholder Return 
(TSR), despite the short-term impact 
that it can have on total revenue. This is 
because it increases the net present 
value of a business, by increasing longer-
term cash flows. TSR growth forms a 
key part of longer-term management 
remuneration. 

AVEVA’s technology is 
increasingly being delivered to 
customers via the Cloud. This 
enables benefits such as rapid 
deployments and enhanced 
mobility. We track the numbers 
of new Cloud customers as 
a KPI.

AVEVA has recognised the 
risks associated with investing 
in order to capitalise on the 
opportunities of industrial 
digital transformation, 
including Cloud initiatives, and 
is focused on managing them 
in order to achieve the 
expected returns.

We believe that reinvesting in 
technologies that will sustain long-term 
growth will, over time, drive EPS growth 
and in relation to that, TSR growth. Both 
of these measures form key parts of 
longer-term management remuneration.

We will invest over £100 million in 
R&D to remain at the forefront of 
cutting-edge technologies such as AI.

For more information
See page 24 

For more information
See page 26 

For more information
See page 60 

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements24

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

We track and report both financial 
and non-financial KPIs to measure 
progress against our strategy (see 
page 22 for strategy overview). 
These KPIs help to highlight 
AVEVA’s short-term performance, 
progress towards longer-term 

goals and progress against 
Corporate and Social 
Responsibility (CSR) objectives, 
which we see as being important 
in the context of the long-term 
sustainability of AVEVA’s business 
(see page 38 for CSR review).

FINANCIAL

AVEVA has three key medium-term 
targets that are designed to drive 
longer-term cash flows. These are to 
grow constant currency revenue at 
least in line with the industrial software 
market, to increase recurring revenue as a 
percentage of total revenue, and to grow 
our adjusted EBIT margin to 30%. They 
are discussed in more detail on page 21.

In addition to progress against these 
targets, we track growth of adjusted 
diluted EPS, which we see as being the 
most accurate measure of total earnings 
growth for shareholders, and conversion 
of adjusted diluted EPS into cash, to track 
AVEVA’s sustainable cash generation.

1  On a reported basis
2  On an IFRS 15 basis

Total revenue growth
on a pro forma basis

+11.9%

(2018: +8.6%)1

Recurring revenue as a proportion 
of total revenue

54.3%

(2018: 51.6%)2

19

18

11.9

8.6

19

18

54.3

51.6

AVEVA’s revenue growth performance was 
positive in the context of our medium-term 
targets during the year. This was due to 
strong sales execution, an ongoing trend 
towards digitalisation of industry and stable 
conditions in AVEVA’s end markets on a 
sector basis. In constant currency terms 
revenue increased 12.4%.

Recurring revenue increased 270 bps versus 
the prior year. This improvement was driven 
by growth in rental and subscription 
revenues as AVEVA moves away from 
selling perpetual licences.

How we measure

NON-FINANCIAL

New Cloud customers 

We use collaborative innovation 
to empower people and industries, 
enabling the planet to thrive. Our 
non-financial KPIs are designed to 
capture AVEVA’s innovation and 
empowerment of our people.

37

(2018: 15)

19

18

AVEVA “Action for Good” 
charity days taken

44

(2018: nil)

37

15

19

18

44

0

Cloud represents a key area of innovation. 
During the year we won 37 new Cloud 
customers.

AVEVA Action for Good is a group-wide 
initiative designed to harness the limitless 
possibilities of our people within our 
communities and involvement in social 
wellbeing activities. We have pledged the 
equivalent of 1% of our net profits each year 
through paid time off and charitable 
donations. Read more on page 43.

25

Adjusted EBIT margin 

Growth in adjusted diluted EPS 

Cash conversion 

23.8%

(2018: 22.2%)2

27.0%

(2018: 5.9%)

91.7%

(2018: n/a)

19

18

23.8

22.2

19

18

19

27.0

5.9

91.7

Adjusted EBIT margin increased 160 bps 
versus the prior year. This improvement was 
driven by revenue growth, combined with 
cost control, leading to operational leverage.

Adjusted diluted EPS grew 27.0% to 90.90 
pence. This growth was driven by the 
increase in adjusted EBIT and a reduction in 
AVEVA’s tax rate.

This is a measure of how much of adjusted 
EBIT is converted to operating cash flow 
before tax. We target conversion of 100%, 
but the result was impacted by exceptional 
items paid relating to restructuring and the 
integration of the heritage AVEVA and SES 
businesses, as well as an acquisition 
accounting adjustment. This metric was not 
available last year.

our progress

Proportion of female 
hires in the year

33%

(2018: n/a)

19

33

AVEVA is committed to supporting and 
encouraging women in all areas of the 
business, from new graduates in STEM 
(Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) 
careers, to senior management roles. The 
current workforce split is 25% women, and we 
have a goal to increase this every year. This is 
a new KPI and 2018 data is unavailable.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements26

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

MANAGEMENT OF PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

Risk Management Approach
As described in the 2018 annual 
report, given the merger of the 
heritage AVEVA business with 
the heritage SES business on 
1 March 2018, management 
intended to review and refresh 
enterprise risk management 
processes throughout the 
remainder of 2018 and early 2019 
to ensure that effective processes 
would be in place for managing 
risk within the new organisation, 
that the new Executive Leadership 
Team is fully engaged in risk 
management and that the Board’s 
risk management expectations 
are fully met.

Good progress has been made in 
these areas since April 2018 including 
the recruitment of a Head of Internal 
Audit and Risk, introduction of a 
refreshed risk mandate and associated 
governance structure, four risk sessions 
being conducted with the Strategic 
Leadership Team (SLT), introduction of 
risk management and risk workshops 
into the Global Services and Human 
Resources functions in their capacity as 
pilot functions for the refreshed functional 
risk management mandate and a board 
risk management session. Further risk 
sessions with the SLT and board are 
planned throughout the remainder 
of 2019 and into 2020 and a staged 
roll-out of refreshed risk management 
processes into remaining business units 
and business functions will continue.

Whilst the Board has overall responsibility 
for risk management within AVEVA, 
the SLT have been assigned executive 
responsibility. Chaired by the Chief 
Executive Officer, the SLT includes all 
Executive Team members along with other 
key leaders from across AVEVA such as 

business unit, function and regional heads. 
The main risk responsibilities of the SLT are 
to monitor the management and mitigation 
activities of principal and key group risks 
and to ensure the effectiveness of business 
unit and functional risk management. It is 
anticipated that formal risk sessions will 
be included on the SLT agenda between 
four and six times per year with additional 
sessions conducted as deemed necessary.

Each business unit and functional 
leadership team is responsible for ensuring 
that their key business unit and functional 
risks are captured and are being effectively 
mitigated within business as usual 
processes. Risk management will be given 
a necessary level of priority at business 
unit and functional levels to meet SLT and 
board risk management requirements.

The Audit Committee continues to 
focus on ensuring that refreshed 
risk management processes are 
being successfully embedded.

The below diagram represents the AVEVA 
refreshed risk governance structure.

The Board
Overall responsibility for the management and mitigation of 
corporate level risks, including principal risks, setting risk 
appetite, and monitoring the success of internal risk 
management processes.

Facilitators
Group Risk Function

Business Unit &  
Functional Risk  
Champions

Formal Risk Agenda within  
Strategic Leadership Team (SLT)
Chaired by the CEO and comprising SLT members  
(includes Executive team), the SLT are responsible for 
monitoring and mitigating principal and key group risks 
and ensuring the effectiveness of business unit and 
functional risk management.

Audit Committee
Responsible for reviewing  
the effectiveness of risk 
management processes

Business Units and Functions
Each business unit and functional leadership team is 
responsible for ensuring that their key risks are captured 
and are being effectively mitigated within business as usual 
processes. Risk Management is a standing agenda item for 
leadership team meetings. Risk will be given a necessary 
level of priority in order to meet SLT requirements.

 Direct & Monitor

 Report

27

PRINCIPAL RISKS

Whilst refreshing and building on existing 
risk management processes in the 
heritage AVEVA and Schneider Electric 
Software businesses, management has 
considered the risks faced by the new 
merged AVEVA throughout 2018 and 
early 2019. A number of corporate level 
risks have been identified and are being 
monitored, 12 of which are considered 
by the board to be the principal risks to 
AVEVA over the next 12-18 month period.

Management used the following four risk 
category headings when identifying 
these risks.

1. Strategic Internal – Risks identified  
as threats to the strategic goals of 
AVEVA and which influence internal 
decision-making.

2. External – Risks which could materialise 
externally and impact AVEVA such as 
competitors, the regulatory environment, 
key customer markets and cyber security.

3. Operational – Risks that could 
materially disrupt the day-to-day 
operations of AVEVA.

4. Disruptive – Risks that threaten 
AVEVA’s value offering such as 
alternative business models or  
viable new technologies.

Principal risks presented below have 
been graded for likelihood and impact on 
a gross basis (i.e. without accounting 
for existing mitigation) and are not 
presented in any priority order.

Discussions on both Risk Appetite & 
Emerging Risks for the new merged 
AVEVA business have commenced at both 
SLT and board level in early 2019 and 
further dedicated sessions on these topics 
will be included on the 2019 risk agenda.

Whilst risks associated with Brexit 
have been discussed and are captured 
within risk management processes, 
Brexit itself is not considered to be a 
principal risk for AVEVA at this time. 
As a technology business, many major 
threats to businesses associated with 
Brexit such as labour mobility, supply 
chain friction, and customs tariffs do not 
apply. However, other threats such as 
macroeconomic, legal, tax changes and 
regulation do and therefore Brexit risk is 
being monitored and managed internally.

Strategies
1   Creating industrial software that inspires 

people to shape the future

2   Growing AVEVA’s long-term free cash flow

3   Re-investing in technologies that will sustain 

long-term growth

  Risk included in Viability Statement working

STRATEGIC INTERNAL RISKS

Risk level

  Low

  Medium

  High

Risk change from 2018

  No change

  Risk decreased

  Risk increased

  New

Risk

Description

Mitigation

Strategy  
and viability

Talent Acquisition  
& Retention

Likelihood: 

Impact: 

Change in risk level: 

Ownership: Chief Human 
Resources Officer

Categorisation: Industry General

AVEVA is heavily reliant on the people it 
employs around the world and if we are 
unable to attract or retain the niche skills 
and experience we need to drive the 
business forward, creating innovation and 
growth, this could materially impact the 
success of our business.

The technology sector is competitive when 
seeking talent and the AVEVA brand must 
remain attractive within each country it 
operates, particularly to niche skills such as 
developers, technical sales, services, 
consultants and leadership.

During the last 12 months, AVEVA has invested 
in its in-house talent acquisition expertise to 
boost this capability. Other mitigating activities 
include partnerships with universities, an 
employee referral programme and 
communicating our culture.

AVEVA endeavours to ensure that employees 
are motivated in their work and there are 
regular appraisals, with staff encouraged to 
develop their skills. Annually there is a 
Group-wide salary review that rewards strong 
performance and ensures salaries remain 
competitive. Commission and bonus schemes 
help to ensure the success of AVEVA and 
individual achievement is appropriately 
rewarded.

Move to Subscription Model

Likelihood: 

Impact: 

Change in risk level: 

Ownership: Vice President, 
Monitoring & Control

Categorisation: Industry General

AVEVA’s strategic move further towards a 
subscription-based licence model is 
designed to offer customers improved 
flexibility when addressing their software 
needs. It could however fail to create the 
improved recurring revenue and cashflow 
generation expected for AVEVA if 
customers do not utilise the subscription 
offering.

This is a new principal risk for AVEVA 
reflecting the importance of the strategic 
objective of a move towards a subscription 
licensing model.

Whilst AVEVA is ambitious to gain the benefits 
of more widely adopting subscription-based 
licensing and to provide the benefits of this 
model to its customers, the expansion is initially 
being introduced within the Monitoring & 
Control business unit of AVEVA. This will allow 
AVEVA to both manage the risk and understand 
the model better.

AVEVA will continue to offer traditional 
licensing models throughout as further 
mitigation.

A transition strategy is in place and continues 
to be closely monitored.

1

3

1

2

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements28

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

PRINCIPAL RISKS CONTINUED

STRATEGIC INTERNAL RISKS CONTINUED

Risk

Cloud Initiatives

Likelihood: 

Impact: 

Change in risk level: 

Ownership: Vice President, 
Portfolio Management

Categorisation: Industry General

Digital Transformation 
Agenda

Likelihood: 

Impact: 

Change in risk level: 

Ownership: Vice President, 
Portfolio Management

Categorisation: Industry General

Integration & Synergies

Likelihood: 

Impact: 

Change in risk level: 

Ownership: Deputy CEO and CFO

Categorisation: Company 
Specific

Description

Mitigation

Strategy  
and viability

AVEVA is committed to providing 
market-leading, value-adding, reliable and 
secure cloud services to its customers and 
is therefore investing in this initiative. This 
investment requires careful management 
otherwise AVEVA risks not realising 
anticipated returns in addition to 
reputational damage.

This is a new principal risk for AVEVA 
reflecting the ever-increasing demand for 
cloud-based services from customers and 
the criticality for AVEVA to meet these 
demands.

AVEVA has a dedicated Cloud Development 
Operations team in place to ensure that Cloud 
offerings fully meet customer expectations. 
This team works closely with the Portfolio 
Management team so that Cloud offerings are 
aligned with the right portfolio of products. In 
addition, there is a dedicated commercial 
function working with customers and listening 
closely to their feedback.

AVEVA’s strategy to capitalise on the 
opportunities of digital transformation in 
the industrial market could ultimately fail or 
not provide the expected levels of return, 
leading to increased costs, reputational 
damage or lost market positions.

Alongside careful management of the right 
Digital Transformation strategy, AVEVA further 
mitigates this risk by having in place a 
dedicated Sales and Consulting team, targeted 
marketing campaigns, continued portfolio 
rationalisation and use case prioritisation.

This is a new principal risk for AVEVA 
reflecting the digitisation of industry trend 
and the importance of AVEVA in being 
strategically aligned with it.

Integration and realisation of synergies 
remains as a principal risk for AVEVA. 
Throughout the next 12 months, failure to 
continue to effectively integrate the 
heritage AVEVA and SES businesses could 
lead to poor operational efficiency and 
anticipated synergy targets not being 
realised.

There are many areas that AVEVA must 
continually and carefully manage so that a 
successful integration takes place, including 
management of costs, integration of 
systems, controls, processes and 
management reporting.

AVEVA has appointed a senior executive as an 
Integration Lead and external integration 
consultants have been engaged throughout the 
merger process.

There are many ongoing workstreams in 
progress which are managing day to day 
integration activities including HR, Finance, IT, 
Real Estate and Communications. These are 
being supported by an established governance 
structure that includes close monitoring of the 
progress being made.

3

1

2

3

1

2

29

EXTERNAL RISKS

Risk

Competitors

Likelihood: 

Impact: 

Change in risk level: 

Ownership: Interim Head of 
Business Strategy

Categorisation: Industry General

Dependency on Cyclical 
Markets

Likelihood: 

Impact: 

Change in risk level: 

Ownership: Deputy CEO & CFO

Categorisation: Company 
Specific

AVEVA Products Implicated 
in Industrial Accidents or 
Customer Cyber Attack

Likelihood: 

Impact: 

Change in risk level: 

Ownership: Head of R&D

Categorisation: Industry General

Description

Mitigation

Strategy  
and viability

AVEVA operates in highly competitive 
markets. Other technology companies could 
acquire, merge or move into AVEVA’s 
market space to compete with AVEVA’s 
offering creating a material threat, or 
existing competitors could respond quicker 
to market demands and trends resulting in 
reduced market share and missed growth 
opportunities for AVEVA.

This is an increased principal risk for AVEVA 
reflecting the increased competitive focus 
on market trends such as digitalisation of 
industry.

AVEVA’s revenue is predominantly derived 
from customers operating in markets which 
are mainly cyclical in nature such as Oil & 
Gas and Marine. As and when those 
markets reach downturn stages, our 
customers have less funding available for 
capital projects, including the purchase of 
AVEVA’s software products. Significant end 
market downturns could materially impact 
AVEVA’s revenues and profits.

Our software products are complex and 
new products or enhancements may 
contain undetected errors, failures, 
performance problems or defects which 
may impact our strong reputation with our 
customers or create financial implications.

This is a new principal risk for AVEVA 
reflecting the increased portfolio of 
products in the AVEVA range, their 
functionality and increasing threats in the 
external cyber environment.

AVEVA carefully monitors customer 
requirements, trends and other suppliers 
operating within our chosen markets. We 
invest in innovation and strive to offer superior 
products to meet these market trends.

Further areas of specific mitigation include 
leveraging our relationship with Schneider 
Electric, attractive proposals for additional 
complimentary products for existing customers 
and flexibility to meet changing market 
demands and competitive forces.

Given the 2018 merger, AVEVA now has an 
increased portfolio of products available to 
customers operating in non-cyclical markets 
such as Food & Beverages and Utilities. Further 
strategic initiatives will also be undertaken to 
strengthen our offerings in those markets.

Our extensive global presence also provides 
some mitigation from over-reliance on key 
geographic markets.

AVEVA’s strategic move towards a 
subscription-based licensing model also further 
mitigates this risk as it can offer customers 
greater flexibility over their expenditure.

AVEVA products are extensively tested prior to 
commercial launch. In addition, AVEVA has a 
robust Security Development Lifecycle as a key 
component of our overall software 
development process and has created formal 
and collaborative relationships with third-party 
security researchers and security organisations 
to proactively ensure our software is as safe 
and secure as is reasonable.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements30

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

PRINCIPAL RISKS CONTINUED

EXTERNAL RISKS CONTINUED

Description

Mitigation

Strategy  
and viability

Threats within the global cyber 
environment continue to grow. AVEVA 
depends on its IT systems and should we be 
specifically targeted by a cyber attack or be 
impacted by a general global cyber 
incident, this could potentially lead to 
suspension of some operations, regulatory 
breaches and fines, reputational damage, 
loss of customer and employee information 
and loss of customer confidence.

AVEVA has a low tolerance to this risk and 
utilises multiple layers of cyber security threat 
defences including access control, encryption, 
firewalls, etc. Additionally, regular external 
penetration testing is conducted across critical 
corporate and online services.

AVEVA is required to comply with both 
international and local laws, regulations 
and tax legislation in each of the 
jurisdictions in which it operates. Significant 
changes in these laws and regulations or 
failure to comply with them could lead to 
liabilities or reputational damage.

Local management are supported by local 
professional advisers and further oversight is 
maintained from the corporate legal and 
finance functions.

In addition, AVEVA uses compliance policies 
and guidance materials, communications and 
training platforms for its employees and 
external partners.

Risk

Cyber Attack

Likelihood: 

Impact: 

Change in risk level: 

Ownership: Deputy CEO & CFO

Categorisation: Industry General

Regulatory Compliance

Likelihood: 

Impact: 

Change in risk level: 

Ownership: Deputy CFO & 
Company Secretary

Categorisation: Industry General

OPERATIONAL RISKS

Risk

Description

Mitigation

Strategy  
and viability

Internal IT Systems

Likelihood: 

Impact: 

Change in risk level: 

Ownership: Deputy CEO & CFO

Categorisation: Company 
Specific

DISRUPTIVE RISKS

AVEVA depends on its many IT systems for 
day-to-day operations and to meet its 
customers’ expectations. If they fail to 
operate effectively and efficiently then this 
could result in reputational damage, 
negative employee engagement or poor 
customer experiences.

This is a new principal risk for AVEVA 
reflecting the range of IT systems now in 
the AVEVA IT estate given the 2018 merger 
and the ongoing projects to consolidate and 
improve them whilst maintaining business 
as usual processes.

AVEVA has appointed an experienced Chief 
Information Officer and additional people 
resources to lead and drive the various IT 
initiatives, including a new ERP implementation 
project designed to provide and support 
industry best practice processes. This includes 
respective governance frameworks and 
support from expert external advisors and 
integration specialists.

Risk

Description

Mitigation

Strategy  
and viability

Disruptive Technologies

Likelihood: 

Impact: 

Change in risk level: 

Ownership: Head of R&D

Categorisation: Industry General

New and unforeseen technology, software 
or business models which threaten AVEVA’s 
value offering could be developed and 
become significantly commercially viable 
resulting in material impacts to AVEVA’s 
profits and prospects.

This is a new principal risk for AVEVA 
reflecting the increased potential threats 
from disruptive forces which seek to 
capitalise on digitisation of industry trends.

AVEVA largely mitigates this threat through its 
own leading innovation initiatives and by 
remaining at the forefront of technological 
advances. This a core strategic strength of 
AVEVA. In addition, AVEVA continually scans 
the disruptive technology environment to 
ensure it is well informed and placed to 
respond to any material threats.

31

Going concern statement 

The Group has significant financial 
resources, is profitable, has high levels 
of recurring revenue and has a strong 
position in the markets it serves. At 
31 March 2019, the Group had cash and 
treasury deposit balances of £127.8 
million (FY18: £105.8 million) and no 
short-term debt (FY18: £10.0 million). 

Therefore, after making enquiries and 
considering the cash flow forecasts for the 
Group, the Directors have a reasonable 
expectation that the Group has adequate 
resources to continue in operational 
existence for the foreseeable future. For 
this reason they continue to adopt the 
going concern basis of accounting in 
preparing the financial statements.

The results of this stress testing showed 
that despite combining a cumulative 
drop in gross revenue with incrementally 
increasing operating costs, the Group 
is still projected to generate profits in 
each year. The Group has cash reserves 
of £127.8 million and access to a large 
revolving credit facility and consequently 
the Directors did not consider this 
combination of scenarios to present a 
threat to the liquidity of the Group.

The Directors have identified a number of 
factors which support their assessment:
•  the Group operates in a number of 
diverse industries, in locations all 
around the world

•  the Group has strong governance and a 

robust control framework

•  there is considerable headroom 

available to us in our cash balances and 
revolving credit facility

Based on this assessment, the Directors 
have considered the Group’s current 
position and principal risks, and 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 to 31 March 2022.

In making this statement, the Directors 
have also made the following assumptions:
•  cyclical markets will stay relatively flat 

for the next three years

•  there will be increased diversification 
and strength of product offering into 
non-cyclical markets

•  there will be strong leverage for 
increased opportunities via the 
Schneider Electric relationship
•  AVEVA has a strong reputation, an 
established customer base and an 
established portfolio of products

•  the integration activities relating to the 
combination will not materially distract 
the combined Sales force

•  We would be able to recover relatively 
well from any IT system or cyber 
incidents and would have the necessary 
skills and experience available to assist

Viability statement

The Group assesses its prospects 
primarily through its three-year strategic 
planning cycle and annual budgeting 
process. This process is led by the 
Executive Directors, with responsibility 
for business functions and the regions 
delegated to the appropriate senior 
management. The Board reviews the 
business plans and annual budget 
each year to determine whether the 
plans continue to be appropriate in 
the light of market conditions and 
recent technological changes.

In line with the Group’s strategic planning 
cycle, the Directors have assessed the 
Group’s prospects and viability over a 
three-year period, significantly longer 
than the outlook of the Going Concern 
statement of 12 months. The Directors 
determine three years to be an appropriate 
time horizon, aligned to both the period 
covered by the Group’s business planning 
cycle, as well as the length over which the 
Long-Term Incentive Plan performance is 
measured. Whilst the Directors have no 
reason to believe that the Group would not 
be viable over a longer period, a shorter 
timeframe provides greater certainty and 
reliability over the forecasts and stress-
testing used to assess the Group’s viability.

The Directors considered the principal 
risks in severe and plausible scenarios 
and assessed the potential impact 
of two differing scenarios:

Scenario 1:  
Principal risks materialising:
(1) Dependency on cyclical markets 

(reduction to revenue);

(2) Integration and synergies (reduction to 
revenue and increase to costs); and,

(3) Transformational programmes 

(including ERP system implementation 
and Subscription Model) (reduction to 
revenue and increase to costs)

Scenario 2:  
Principal risks materialising:
(1) Dependency on cyclical markets 

(reduction to revenue);

(2) AVEVA products implicated in 

industrial accidents or customer cyber 
attack (reduction to revenue and 
increase to costs); and,

(3) Cyber attack (reduction to revenue and 

increase to costs)

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements32

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

FINANCE REVIEW

Good progress against 
all key targets

The statutory results for the year ended 
31 March 2019 are stated under 
acquisition accounting principles and 
therefore the comparative period 
(i.e. for the year to 31 March 2018) only 
includes the results of the heritage 
AVEVA business for one month.

Overview

To enhance understanding of these results 
and improve transparency, non-statutory 
summary results are also shown for the 
combined AVEVA Group on a pro forma 
basis in this commentary. These include 
both heritage SES and heritage AVEVA for 
the year to 31 March 2018 and exclude an 
adjustment to revenue of £8.6 million for 
the year to 31 March 2019, which reflects 
an acquisition accounting adjustment 
to deferred revenue on the opening 
balance sheet. We anticipate that this 
will be the last year of results where a 
pro forma presentation will be required.

These results have been prepared under 
the new revenue recognition standard, 
IFRS 15. The impact of IFRS 15 was 
to reduce revenue by £12.1 million on 
a pro forma basis in the prior year, 

versus revenue recognised using the 
previous accounting standard, IAS 18 
and to reduce selling and administrative 
expenses by £0.5 million. On a statutory 
basis, the impact on revenue of adoption 
of IFRS 15 was £12.8 million and to 
reduce selling and administrative 
expenses by £0.5 million (see note 2).

Statutory results for the year ended 
31 March 2019

Revenue for the period was £766.6 million 
which was up 57.6% (FY18: £486.3 
million). This change was primarily due 
to the organic growth of the Group in 
the year together with the fact that the 
comparative period only included one 
month of the heritage AVEVA business.

The Group reported statutory EBIT of £46.7 
million (FY18: £34.5 million). The increase 

in revenue did not materially drop through 
to profit due to the full year amortisation 
charge for intangibles together with 
the acquisition and integration costs 
related to the Combination.

Pro forma results
Revenue was £775.2 million, which was 
up 11.9% compared to the previous year 
(FY18: £692.5 million). EBIT grew 19.8% 
to £184.5 million (FY18: £154.0 million), 
primarily due to the revenue growth, higher 
gross margin and operational leverage.

While the integration of the enlarged 
Group has progressed to a point 
where it is becoming difficult to split 
out the performance of the heritage 
AVEVA and SES businesses, revenue 
growth from the heritage AVEVA 
products was approximately 14% 
and growth from the heritage SES 
products was approximately 11%.

“ We delivered a strong performance in our 
first full year as a combined company and 
integration has progressed well across all 
functions of our business.”

James Kidd
Deputy CEO & CFO

33

Change
%

11.9%
7.7%

The following table shows the composition of the pro forma results and the reconciliation of these to the statutory reported results.

Revenue
Cost of sales

Gross profit
Operating expenses

Research & Development costs
Selling and distribution costs
Administrative expenses
Net impairment loss from financial assets

Total operating expenses

Profit from operations

Finance revenue
Finance expense

Profit before tax

Tax

Profit after tax

Adjusted 
FY19
£m

766.6
(191.3)

575.3

(114.5)
(196.7)
(81.9)
(6.3)

(399.4)

8.6
–

8.6

–
–
–
–

–

Statutory  

FY19
£m

Normalised 
items1
£m

Exceptional 
items
£m

766.6
(193.2)

573.4

(178.0)
(235.6)
(106.3)
(6.3)

(526.2)

47.2

0.2
(0.7)

–
–

–

61.8
26.3
11.7
–

99.8

99.8

–
–

–
1.9

1.9

1.7
12.6
12.7
–

27.0

28.9

–
–

Revenue 
haircut
£m

Pro forma 
FY19
£m

Pro forma 
FY18
£m

775.2
(191.3)

692.5
(177.6)

583.9

514.9

13.4%

(114.5)
(196.7)
(81.9)
(6.3)

(99.0)
(179.1)
(80.3)
(2.5)

15.7%
9.8%
2.0%
–

(399.4)

(360.9)

10.7%

175.9

8.6

184.5

154.0

19.8%

0.2
(0.7)

–
–

0.2
(0.7)

1.0
(3.8)

–
–

46.7

99.8

28.9

175.4

8.6

184.0

151.2

21.7%

(12.9)

(18.1)

(4.4)

(35.4)

(1.7)

(37.1)

(35.5)

4.5%

33.8

81.7

24.5

140.0

6.9

146.9

115.7

27.0%

Adjusted EPS (pence)

20.90

90.90

71.59

27.0%

1  Normalised items include amortisation of intangible assets (excluding other software), share-based payments and gain/loss on fair value of forward foreign exchange 

contracts.

Revenue by type on a pro forma basis is set out below:

£m

Rentals and subscriptions
Support and maintenance

Total recurring revenue

Initial fees and perpetuals
Training and services

Pro forma total

Deferred revenue haircut

Statutory revenue

% of total

28.3%
26.0%

54.3%

27.3%
18.4%

100.0%

2018
£m

156.5
201.1

357.6

199.5
135.4

692.5

% of total

Change

22.6%
29.0%

51.6%

28.8%
19.6%

40.2%
0.3%

17.8%

6.1%
5.2%

100.0%

11.9%

2019
£m

219.4
201.8

421.2

211.6
142.4

775.2

(8.6)

766.6

During the year the Group increased the 
proportion of rental contracts sold on a 
multi-year versus one year basis and we 
expect this trend to continue. Longer-
term contracts provide more reliable 
cash flows and when sold using token 
licensing, help to encourage customers to 
buy more of the AVEVA product portfolio. 
They are also favoured by customers 
as they provide certainty of terms and 
conditions over a longer period.

Foreign exchange translation moderately 
impacted growth in the period primarily 
due to Sterling having strengthened 
versus the US Dollar resulting in a small 
difference. On a constant currency 
basis revenue growth was 12.4%.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements34

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

FINANCE REVIEW CONTINUED

11.9%

Growth in revenue

270 BPS

Growth in recurring revenue, 
as a proportion of overall 
revenue

160 BPS

Growth in adjusted  
EBIT margin

Revenue overview
Rental and subscription

Rental and subscriptions revenue 
grew 40.2% to £219.4 million (FY18: 
£156.5 million). This growth was driven 
by a focus on increasing recurring 
revenue and included the benefit of 
partly up-front revenue recognition 
on certain multi-year contracts.

AVEVA will focus on growing these 
recurring revenues again in FY20, 
supported by new salesforce incentives 
to promote sales of these contracts over 
initial and perpetual licences and services. 
Although rental and subscription contracts 
can reduce revenue recognition in the 
short-term, they lead to higher longer-
term product yields and cash generation.

Support and maintenance
Support and maintenance revenue 
was broadly flat at £201.8 million 
(FY18: £201.1 million). Although AVEVA 
grew initial and perpetual licences in 
the prior year which have associated 
support and maintenance revenues, this 
growth was offset by certain customers 
switching from support and maintenance 
to new rental contracts as the Group 
seeks to grow subscription revenues.

Initial fees and perpetuals

Initial fees and perpetual revenue grew 
6.1% to £211.6 million (FY18: £199.5 
million). This growth was driven by 
increased sales in the Monitoring & 
Control area of the business led by the 
indirect channel, which benefited from 
new product releases and good market 
demand, and which did not have a rental 
and subscription offer for customers in 
place until the latter part of the year.

Training and services

Training and services revenue grew 5.2% to 
£142.4 million (FY18: £135.4 million). This 
growth was primarily due to increasing 
demand for initial implementation work 
associated with the sale of APM and 
Planning & Operations products.

AVEVA will continue to focus on high 
gross margin sales of software revenue in 
FY20, supported by sales incentivisation 
together with a planned reduction 
in certain lower-margin services.

Profit before tax and cost 
management

The revenue growth drove a 19.8% 
increase in adjusted EBIT to £184.5 
million (FY18: £154.0 million).

Total normalised costs were £590.7 
million (FY18: £538.5 million), an increase 
of 9.7% over the previous year. This 
growth was above AVEVA’s target of 
inflationary cost increases. The majority 
of the increase related to growth in 
cost of sales, sales commissions and 
financial performance related bonuses 
due to the strong performance.

In addition to this, decisions were 
made to accelerate investment in sales, 
marketing and product integration 
during the year in the context of positive 
market conditions. These incremental 
investments included the hiring of 
new people and greater expenditure 
on customer marketing, for example 
regional and global customer events.

On an underlying basis, AVEVA has been 
implementing a cost synergies programme 
through rationalisation of duplicated 
functions, the implementation of common 
systems, shared services for back office 
functions, real estate consolidation, 
and enhanced R&D effectiveness.

The Group is targeting annualised cost 
synergies of approximately 5% of total 
FY18 costs, representing some £25 million, 
which will be fully implemented by the end 
of the 2020 financial year. More than half 
of these were implemented by the end of 
the 2019 financial year, with most of these 
flowing through to the results in the year.

35

An analysis of total expenses is summarised below:

£m

Statutory
Amortisation
Share based payments
Loss on FX contracts
Exceptional items

Normalised costs

2018
Change

Cost of sales

193.2

–
–
(1.9)

191.3

177.6
7.7%

Research & 
Development

Selling and 
distribution

Administrative 
expenses

Net impairment loss 
from financial 
assets

178.0
(61.8)
–
–
(1.7)

114.5

99.0
15.7%

235.6
(26.3)
–
–
(12.6)

196.7

179.1
9.8%

106.3
–
(11.2)
(0.5)
(12.7)

81.9

80.3
2.0%

6.3
–
–
–
–

6.3

2.5
–

Total

719.4
(88.1)
(11.2)
(0.5)
(28.9)

590.7

538.5
9.7%

Cost of sales increased 7.7% to £191.3 
million (FY18: £177.6 million) and the gross 
margin improved to 75.3% (FY18: 74.4%). 
The cost of sales increase primarily related 
to revenue growth with higher associated 
channel partner and third-party royalty 
costs, together with some investments 
into the Customer Support function.

In addition to this, substantial investments 
were made during the year in Sales 
both in terms of new recruits and 
training. Investments were also made 
in strengthening the marketing team 
and in customer events to showcase 
AVEVA’s enlarged product portfolio. 

Research & Development costs were 
£114.5 million (FY18: £99.0 million) 
representing an increase of 15.7%. 
However, in FY19 no R&D investment 
was capitalised (FY18: £9.9 million). 
The remaining increase was due to 
investment in product integration 
and new product launches, being 
partly offset by cost synergies.

Selling and distribution expenses were 
£196.7 million (FY18: £179.1 million), 
a 9.8% increase versus the prior year. 
The majority of this increase related to 
higher sales commissions following better 
than budgeted sales performance. 

Administrative expenses were £81.9 
million (FY18: £80.3 million), an increase 
of 2.0%. This reflected underlying 
cost reductions being offset by higher 
bonus accruals in relation to the strong 
performance, national insurance costs 
related to share options and new 
senior hires. In addition, there were 
increased costs from establishing 
capabilities and skills in the support 
functions such as IT, HR, Finance and 
Legal where certain services did not 
transfer over from Schneider Electric 
and were not covered by the TSA 
e.g. legal team, treasury, IT support.

Net impairment loss from financial 
assets represents the impairment of 
accounts receivable during the year 
of £6.3 million (FY18: £2.5 million).

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements36

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

FINANCE REVIEW CONTINUED

Normalised and exceptional items
The following exceptional and other normalised items have been excluded in presenting 
the pro forma results:

£m

Acquisition and integration activities
Restructuring costs
Movement in provision for sales taxes
Impairment of R&D

Total exceptional items

Amortisation (excl. other software)
Share based payments
Loss/(gain) on FX contracts

Total normalised items

Pro forma year ended 31 March

2019

23.0
5.9
–
–

28.9

88.1
11.2
0.5

99.8

2018

29.5
2.9
(3.0)
15.0

44.4

50.5
4.0
(0.6)

53.9

Acquisition and integration activities 
principally related to consultancy costs 
paid to advisors for integration support, a 
provision for an onerous lease, investment 
in new systems, deal related executive 
retention costs, legal and accounting 
fees and additional temporary resources 
required as a result of the combination. 

Restructuring costs related to severance 
payments for employees in a number of 
global office locations as part of the cost 
synergy programme, the cost benefits of 
which are now starting to flow though. 
This included the closing of 10 offices in 
duplicate locations and the costs of exiting 
certain lower margin services business.

The increase in amortisation related to the 
amortisation of the fair valued heritage 
AVEVA intangible assets under acquisition 
accounting following the Combination.

Acquisition and integration and 
restructuring costs paid in the period 
were £18.9 million.

Taxation
The statutory tax charge was £12.9 
million (FY18: credit of £6.0 million). The 
effective rate of tax of 27.6% differs 
from the US (FY18: UK) corporation tax 
rate of 24% because of higher rates of 
overseas tax and overseas losses in 
certain locations for which no deferred 
tax asset has been recognised. The 
tax rate has benefited from R&D tax 
incentives in the UK and the US.

The pro forma adjusted tax rate was 
20.2% (FY18: 23.5%) and is expected 
to remain at around this level in FY20.

Earnings per share (EPS)

Statutory diluted EPS was 20.90 pence 
(FY18: 39.72 pence). The reduction 
was due to a greater number of shares 
being in issue on average as a result 
of the Combination. On a pro forma 
adjusted diluted basis EPS grew 27.0% 
to 90.90 pence (FY18: 71.59 pence).

37

27.0%

Growth in adjusted 
diluted EPS

43.0P

Total dividend

Cash flows
Cash generated from operating activities 
before tax was £169.1 million compared 
to £91.2 million in the previous year 
on a statutory basis. Conversion of 
adjusted EBIT to operating cash flow 
before tax was 91.7%, reflecting 
improved credit control, although the 
rate was lower than historic levels due 
to the acquisition and integration and 
restructuring costs during the period, of 
which £18.9 million were paid in cash.

During the second half £19.4 million was 
paid to Schneider Electric in relation to 
the final completion accounts adjustment 
in relation to the Combination.

At 31 March 2019 net cash and treasury 
deposits were £127.8 million (FY18: £95.8 
million).

Events since the balance sheet date

After the period end, AVEVA acquired 
the software assets of MaxGrip for €25 
million (approximately £21.8 million) and 
disposed of a small distribution business 
in Italy for approximately £1.3 million.

James Kidd
Deputy CEO & CFO
29 May 2019

Dividends
The Board proposes a final dividend 
of 29.0 pence per share at a cost 
of £46.8 million (FY18: 27.0 pence 
per share at a cost of £43.5 million). 
The final dividend will be payable 
on 2 August 2019 to shareholders 
on the register on 5 July 2019.

The total dividend for the year was 
43.0 pence (FY18: 27.0 pence as 
no interim dividend was paid).

AVEVA intends to maintain its existing 
progressive dividend policy, taking account 
of the earnings profile of the Group.

Balance sheet

The Group balance sheet presented as 
at 31 March 2019 reflects the goodwill 
and intangible assets that arose from 
the Combination resulting in non-current 
assets of £1,923.0 million (31 March 
2018: £1,992.9 million). Net measurement 
period adjustments of £15.3 million 
were made to goodwill during the first 
year of the Combination including 
reassessment of the values of certain 
intangible assets and adjustment to 
the consideration for the payment to 
Schneider Electric of £19.4 million under 
the completion accounts mechanism.

Trade receivables at 31 March 2019 were 
£174.9 million (31 March 2018: £146.9 
million) reflecting the strong sales towards 
the year end. Contract assets increased 
to £100.5 million from £67.6 million at 
31 March 2018, largely due to the impact 
of the multi-year contracts closed in 
the financial year. Contract liabilities 
representing deferred revenue were £174.6 
million (31 March 2018: £141.7 million).

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements38

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT

Powering industries by 
empowering people.

At AVEVA, we believe the skills, 
expertise and passion of our employees 
are critical to success, and we want 
everyone to feel inspired to achieve 
great things for our customers.

Employee engagement has always been a 
priority. This section covers how we have 
evolved our Corporate Communications 
and HR and Engagement processes, 
as well as our culture to reflect the 
changing needs of the organisation.

AVEVA employs over 4,500 people across 
44 countries and more than 150 locations.

Our employees
Listening and engaging 

Following the Combination with SES, we 
have been successfully operating as a 
unified organisation for more than a year. 
We ensured all employees were welcomed 
and integrated into AVEVA without delay 
and, following an extensive integration 
programme, worked hard to bring together 
the two organisations with minimal 
disruption to customers and shareholders.

Building a sustainable

“Strong communication is vital for any organisation, but 
that is especially true for AVEVA where our colleagues are 
experiencing large amounts of change following the 
merger. Through our regular communication activities, we 
keep our people up-to-date on everything they need to 
know, while attempting to make sure they aren’t overloaded 
by non-essential information. By taking opportunities to 
engage with colleagues globally across different channels, 
we create a sense of community and shared belonging, 
which helps to reinforce our business strategy and 
AVEVA LIFE values.”

Mark Cooper
Chief Human Resources Officer

The integration programme resulted in an 
intense period of change for our employees 
and we have made good progress 
adapting the way we communicate to 
reflect the needs of our newly integrated 
organisation. Through effective two-way 
communication, we have aimed to support 
our employees through this change, 
focusing on communicating how these 
changes impacted them. We achieved 
this through a carefully considered 
integration communications strategy 
and plan, designed to deliver important 
updates via a variety of channels including 
face-to-face Meet and Greet sessions 
across the globe, email, intranet and all 
employee calls with our leadership team.

39

Developing and 
embedding AVEVA’s 
new culture

AVEVA has collaborated with employees 
from across the globe to develop a 
shared culture and set of values. We 
launched our new AVEVA LIFE values in 
September 2018 and these have been 
adopted throughout the organisation.

Our values are: Limitless possibilities, 
Integrity always, Flexibility together and 
Excellence every day.

These values were born out of a global 
campaign that included 50 culture cafés 
hosted in offices around the world. These 
cafés were attended by 454 employees 
and provided an opportunity to come 
together to share thoughts and 
experiences on working for AVEVA, as 
well as to discuss the kind of organisation 
AVEVA is, and what it should aspire 
to become.

Our AVEVA LIFE values underpin 
everything we do at AVEVA and 
perfectly demonstrate the kind of 
organisation we want to be. Our values 
help us to match new talent to our culture 
and set goals aligned to our AVEVA LIFE 
ethos. Whether we are looking for the 
next big customer win, or working 
collaboratively on a project, AVEVA LIFE 
provides a guide for how we show up 
every day. 

“It is our people and our shared 
values that realise our plans and 
strategies around the world. 
They are what drives us to be 
the best. I believe we do our 
finest work together and AVEVA 
colleagues from across the 
globe crafted our values, which 
perfectly demonstrate 
everything we stand for.”

Craig Hayman
CEO

“ ‘Integrity always’ fits amazingly 
well with who we are and what 
we do, as individuals and as a 
software company. We do the 
right thing because we hold 
integrity as a value, and 
ultimately this leads to process 
and data integrity – which is 
what we do.”

Paulo Andrade
Technical Sales Manager

We are committed to engaging with our 
people and communicating essential 
information on the future growth of 
our business to all our stakeholders. 
We have launched multiple new 
communications channels designed to 
inform, engage and inspire employees, 
and regularly see engagement rates of 
more than 60% for many of our regular 
communications, including global Meet 
and Greets, team newsletters, weekly 
customer success announcements and 
a monthly podcast from our CEO.

Our intranet continues to provide a 
dynamic social hub and information 
centre for employee communications. 
We have seen excellent engagement 
with this platform, particularly with our 
people stories, which allow employees 
to share their news on Corporate 
Social Responsibility activities, 
local events and celebrations.

future

We recognised the importance of face-to-
face engagement with our new CEO and 
Executive Leadership Team. We delivered 
a global executive Meet and Greet 
campaign in support of the integration 
programme, which reached almost 3,400 
employees across 28 locations. The 
campaign concluded with a live event 
broadcast to every employee across the 
organisation, with many offices arranging 
local screening events. To engage 
audiences, we made the event interactive 
and encouraged employees to submit 
questions in advance as well as during 
the event itself. 34 events took place, 
with over 2,000 people watching either 
live or via playback in the first 24 hours.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements40

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT CONTINUED

Diversity & Inclusion

Group gender diversity

Board (9) 
  Male 
  Female 

Executive Leadership 
Team (8) 
Male 
Female 

25%

28%

13%

22%

78%

87%

72%

75%

Strategic Leadership 
Team (18) 
  Male 
  Female 

AVEVA (4,560) 

Male 
Female 

“It is really exciting to see 
so many great initiatives 
happening around the 
business aimed at making 
AVEVA an attractive place 
to work for everyone. Our 
partnerships with WISE and 
Girls in Tech are vitally 
important in helping us 
achieve our gender 
diversity goals.”

Clare Bye
Head of Global Talent & HR Services

We have continued to grow our Global 
Ambassador Network and have welcomed 
new members from SES. The network has 
proved invaluable in organising corporate 
events and providing local feedback on 
corporate messaging and campaigns.

Communications feedback remains a 
priority, and we regularly ask employees to 
share their views on messages received and 
initiatives launched across the business. 
We invite employees to comment on most 
of our organisational announcements, 
and solicit feedback on any new initiatives 
promoted on our intranet. This feedback 
is highly valued and feeds into plans 
for future communications activities. In 
addition, we regularly survey employees 
following corporate events so that we 
can apply lessons learned in the future.

Following our first live Meet and Greet 
event we asked employees what they 
enjoyed about the session, what could 
have gone better and if they would like to 
see more of this type of event in the future. 
Feedback showed a real enthusiasm and 
taking this into account, our Executive 
Leadership Team has now committed 
to regular live Meet and Greet events.

We’re pleased to have been announced 
as a finalist for the 2019 Gartner 
Awards for our entry in the Excellence 
in Change Communication category. 
This entry focused on the contribution 
the Corporate Communications team 
made on the integration project for the 

Combination, and the positive impact 
this had on employee engagement.

Our policies – supporting our people

As a global organisation, we recognise 
our responsibility to respect and to 
contribute positively to human rights, and 
we are committed to acting ethically and 
with integrity in all business matters.

Our Group policies are reviewed on an 
annual basis and cover anti-bribery 
and corruption, anti-slavery and human 
trafficking, social matters, employee 
benefits and other policies required by 
statute. Our policies are available on our 
intranet and accessible for all employees.

We run annual mandatory global 
corporate ethics training. All employees 
are required to complete training modules 
on all corporate ethics policies, with the 
aim of ensuring organisational-wide 
understanding of AVEVA’s stance on 
ethics, as well as the role individuals must 
play as employees of the organisation.

In the last 12 months, we have updated 
and improved our employee policies 
in a range of areas including, but not 
limited to, whistleblowing (rebranded 
AVEVA ‘Speak Up’), dignity at work, 
travel and homeworking. All changes 
have been made with the aim of 
improving employee wellbeing, both 
within and beyond the workplace.

Bangalore colleagues assemble during International Women’s Day

 
 
 
 
41

Non-financial information statement

“Through various initiatives 
like Women in R&D, AVEVA 
has proved that it’s a 
workplace that can inspire.”

Reporting requirements

Environmental Matters

Poulomi Ghosh
Software Engineer

Employees

Policies and guidelines that 
govern our approach

What this means for us and 
our communities

Global Environment and 
Sustainability Statement

Developed as part of our 
commitment to reduce our 
emissions

AVEVA LIFE values
Dignity at Work Policy
AVEVA Speak Up Policy

We value our employees 
and encourage them to be 
the best they can be 

Supporting Diversity & Inclusion  
in our industry

As a technology company, we need to 
understand and address the challenges 
within the broader sector in attracting 
and retaining women, and are committed 
to doing all we can to encourage and 
support more women into the industry.

We continue to be an active member of 
WISE, a UK campaign for gender balance 
in science, technology, and engineering. 
Providing support to the WISE initiative 
is a key part of our strategy for increasing 
the number of women in technical roles 
within the company, and this year we 
continued to show our support by acting 
as a sponsor for the WISE annual awards.

Internally, our goal is to achieve greater 
Diversity & Inclusion. We want to close 
the gap in our gender pay inequality and 
recognise that one of the most effective 
ways to do so is to hire and progress more 
women into senior and technical positions.

We have a framework in place to ensure 
we attract and retain the best possible 
talent, with a key focus on how we support 
and encourage women in the STEM 
arena. This includes an AVEVA Women 
in Research and Development network 
that offers mentoring and support.

One of our new partners this year 
is ‘Girls in Tech’, a global non-profit 
organisation that shares our values 
and beliefs about supporting women 
in the technology industry. It works 
to put an end to gender inequality in 
high-tech industries and start-ups by 
educating and empowering women 
who are passionate about technology.

On 8 March, AVEVA was proud to host 
numerous events across our regions in 
celebration of International Women’s Day. 
As well as organising Executive panel 
events in our Cambridge, Hyderabad 
and Lake Forest offices for over 1,000 
employees, offices were encouraged 
to take part and celebrate in any way 
they chose. Many events took place 
across the globe, from health talks 
in Bangalore through to celebrating 
colleague successes in Mexico.

Social and Community 
Matters

AVEVA Action for Good
Pledge 1%

Human Rights

Anti-Slavery and Human 
Trafficking Policy

Anti-Bribery and  
Anti-Corruption

Anti-Bribery and 
Corruption
Corporate Gifts and 
Hospitality
Group Export Policy
Related Party Transactions 

Our employees do a lot for 
charities, and with 
employer matched funding, 
contributions go further

We review annually as we 
strive to be ethical in all our 
practices 

All employees must 
complete and pass an 
annual test on corporate 
ethics 

AVEVA’s 
Academic 
Programme 
Universidade 
Federal de 
Campina 
Grande

“Learning about this software 
during the chemical 
engineering graduate course 
has certainly made the 
difference in my career. 
Especially in the area of digital 
transformation. The solutions 
from AVEVA have been 
essential in my training.”

Willy Araujo
Chemical Engineering Masters Student, 
UFCG

Chemical engineering students studying 
at The Federal University of Campina 
Grande (UFCG) are able to access 
engineering and simulation tools via the 
cloud through the AVEVA Academic 
Program, offered to universities to 
expose students to real-world process 
simulation solutions using modern 
process engineering tools.

Having ready access to AVEVA’s 
solutions creates a point of 
differentiation for students, and their 
familiarity with digital transformation 
better equips them for work in a process 
engineering field.

For example, during a joint project, 
chemical engineering students designed, 
implemented and executed a process 
engineering package using AVEVA’s 
PRO/II, DYNSIM, and SimCentral.

“ With AVEVA, our students have 
direct access to industrial 
scenarios, earning more 
specific knowledge, being truly 
prepared to face the challenges 
of professional life.”

Dr. Heleno Bispo
Professor of Chemical Engineering, 
UFCG

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements42

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT CONTINUED

AVEVA in the 
community

Giving our employees a platform to 
share their experiences and thoughts 
on Diversity & Inclusion is important to 
AVEVA. We invited employees to upload a 
video diary on the subject to a dedicated 
area of our intranet. In total, 52 videos 
were submitted and engagement levels 
with these videos was high. The success 
of this campaign has inspired us to use 
the platform for future employee insights.

we have a constant pipeline of highly 
skilled people joining our organisation.

As a large, global organisation, being 
able to attract and retain diverse talent 
is core to our success. We have launched 
regional strategies to recruit and develop 
talent, while taking account of Diversity & 
Inclusion, with associated initiatives and 
metrics to ensure progress in these areas.

Sharing knowledge and experience

This year our Learning and Development 
teams have worked across the whole 
organisation to support everyone in 
understanding our new AVEVA business 
proposition and value to our clients.

We regularly hold departmental, global 
and functional conferences and events 
designed to bring colleagues together 
to collaborate, share ideas and lessons 
learned, as well as plan for the year 
ahead. A few examples of this include 
marketing summits, HR conferences and 
IGNITE, our annual sales conference.

IGNITE brings together all our Sales, 
Marketing and Channel teams to 
network, share successes and, most 
importantly, discuss how we can 
continue to drive our business forward 
and deliver for our customers. In April 
2018, it provided an opportune chance 
to discuss our combined Sales strategy 
for our first year of our joint operations.

Additionally, a lot of work has been carried 
out to harmonise processes and to train 
employees on these, as well as new 
systems. We developed a global induction 
on our intranet to provide all new joiners 
with a hub of core corporate information.

Ongoing technical and soft skills 
training continue to be provided, 
using both internal and external 
providers to support employees. 

Advancing our talent

We recognise that the success of our 
business relies on the acquisition and 
retention of talented people. We are 
proud to have a team of dedicated 
talent acquisition specialists around the 
world who work tirelessly to seek and 
engage with top talent to ensure that 

Early Careers is one of the core strategies 
for the Talent Acquisition function, focusing 
on future-proofing our organisation for 
long-term productivity and covering the 
risks of an ageing workforce, fast-paced 
change in technology and an increasingly 
global market. Early Careers spans 
graduates, interns and apprentices, 
and during the financial year, this 
initiative increased our headcount by 
75 across various functions globally.

Academic initiatives

We continue to build relationships 
with academic institutions around 
the world through a variety of 
campaigns and initiatives aimed at 
supporting students looking to start 
a career in the technology industry. 

On 1 January 2019, we launched 
our first North America Academic 
Competition. 56 participants from 
20 universities used SimCentral, our 
industrial simulation platform, to solve a 
problem in collaboration with Dr. Richard 
Turton, renowned author and industry 
expert in the field of chemical process 
simulation. The winner and runner-up 
both received a grant to further explore 
simulation of chemical processes requiring 
membrane separation models, such as 
oxygen separation from air, alternative 
natural gas utilisation, and carbon 
capture from coal-fired power plants.

We have ongoing relationships with 
vocational training centres, universities 
and further education establishments 
to donate software and training for 
use on engineering and Computer-
Aided Design (CAD) degree courses.

As part of our research programme 
we are working with the University of 
Cambridge to help sponsor its Future 

“After having completed our 
volunteer service at Cradles 
to Crayons and learning that 
our effort made a direct 
impact on 85 children that 
day inspires me to continue 
making efforts to donate 
and volunteer. I appreciate 
AVEVA providing us with this 
opportunity to give back to 
the community.”

Eric Johnson
Digital Customer Experience  
Engagement Agent

43

Infrastructure and Built Environment 
(FIBE) Centre for Doctoral Training 
where we are co-sponsoring three PhD 
students, guiding their research and 
mentoring them through their studies.

We are also working with the University 
of Milan to assess the behavioural and 
academic impact of our Augmented 
and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) software 
on students’ ability to problem 
solve when dealing with complex 
chemical engineering processes.

Supporting our local communities 
through charitable giving and 
volunteering

In October 2018, we launched AVEVA 
Action for Good, a Group-wide Corporate 
Social Responsibility initiative designed 
to encourage employees to take part in 
social wellbeing activities which support 
local communities and society more 
broadly. As part of this, we have joined 
the “Pledge 1%” movement, committing 
the equivalent of 1% of our net profits, 
through a combination of paid time off and 
financial contributions, to support social 
wellbeing and charitable causes, both at 
a global level and in the local communities 
where we operate. From working with 
children’s charities to life-changing 

technology projects, we want everyone 
to take action for the good of our world.

Inspired by the United Nations Sustainable 
Development Goals and guiding principles 
on business and human rights, this 
programme makes it possible for every 
employee at AVEVA to make a real 
difference across three areas of our 
Social Wellbeing framework: Community, 
Environment, and Workplace. To enable 
our employees to take part, we offer an 
additional day of paid leave per year to 
support causes that matter to them.

Our employee community has for many 
years shown a passion for supporting 
social wellbeing and community initiatives, 
through the organising of fund-raising 
events, charitable activities and directly 
supporting local communities. For 
example, in December, employees from our 
Chicago office provided support to Cradles 
to Crayons, an organisation that provides 
clothing to impoverished households.

In January, Hyderabad colleagues 
distributed blankets to the city’s homeless. 
More than 1,500 homeless people live 
on the streets of Hyderabad, a situation 
made more challenging due to the 
wintry temperatures at this time of year. 

Determined to provide support in the 
community they work, volunteers took to 
the streets overnight to give out AVEVA-
funded blankets to those in need. 

These are just two examples, but 
employees from all over the world have all 
taken advantage of paid time off to support 
worthwhile causes local to their community.

We also aim to support employees 
who take on personal challenges to 
support causes that matter to them.

Our commitment to CSR is recognised 
externally, and was reflected in our 
inclusion for the third consecutive year 
in the FTSE4Good Index. The index 
identifies listed companies that make 
a positive contribution to society and 
demonstrate strong Environmental, 
Social and Governance practices.

As part of our Pledge 1% commitment, 
AVEVA has financially contributed £90k 
to global causes as well as supported 
paid time off to a value of £9k. Since 
we launched our commitment, we have 
contributed 0.6% of our net profits. We will 
add the £70k shortfall to next year’s total.

Environmental responsibility
Greenhouse gas/carbon emissions

Tonnes of CO2e
Emissions from:

For the purposes of this report, the 
emissions have been calculated according 
to the ‘Environmental Reporting 
Guidelines: Including mandatory 
greenhouse gas emissions reporting 
guidance’ issued by the Department for 
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
(DEFRA), and by applying DEFRA’s 
conversion factors.

The data presented is presented on a 
reported basis (i.e. with 12 months of the 
enlarged AVEVA Group for FY19, but 12 
months of heritage SES and 1 month of the 
heritage AVEVA business in FY18).

For our carbon intensity ratio we have 
measured our carbon usage as it relates to 
our business performance, citing tonnes of 
CO2e/£ million of revenue. In FY19 this 
intensity ratio reduced to 12.06 tonnes 
CO2e/£ million (FY18: 13.65).

Scope 1 – Combustion of fuel and operation of facilities
Scope 2 – Electricity, heat, steam and cooling purchased  

for own use

Scope 3 – Transmission and distribution losses

Intensity measurement (Scopes 1 and 2)
– Tonnes CO2e/£m revenue

2019

1,229

8,019
1,140

10,388

2018

938

5,876
1,323

8,137

12.06

13.65

AVEVA is committed to minimising its 
carbon emissions, increasing the use of 
recycling opportunities and reducing the 
use of valuable natural resources. We are 
continually improving the way in which we 
capture and record our emissions data. 
Our vision is to:
•  Seek to continually improve the 

environmental and sustainability 
performance of our real estate;

•  Develop collaborative relationships with 
suppliers, vendors and other interested 
parties at a local, regional and global 
level to facilitate knowledge exchange;

•  Devise an internal environmental 
standard to enable ongoing 
performance measurement;

•  Reduce the consumption of energy and 
reliance on fossil fuels, adopting, where 
possible, renewable energy sources;

•  Minimise and actively manage waste 
aiming to send zero waste to landfill;

•  Purchase sustainable goods and 
services where practicable;
•  Reduce water consumption;
•  Encourage colleagues to commute to 

work by sustainable modes of 
transport;

•  Implement procedures for sustainable 
construction, refurbishment and 
maintenance of buildings;

•  Foster a collaborative culture to 

maximise the expertise and abilities of 
colleagues;

•  Provide appropriate sustainability 

training for colleagues and encourage 
them to apply sustainability practices 
at work, home and in the wider 
community; and

•  Comply with relevant regulations and 
in-country legislative requirements.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements 
 
44

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

GOVERNANCE REPORT

Strength in our

45

leadership team

CONTENTS

Governance Report
46  Board of Directors’ biographies
48  Chairman’s introduction to Governance
51  Board and Committee attendance
54  Nomination Committee report
56  Audit Committee report
60  Remuneration Committee report
80  Other statutory information

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements46

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Philip Aiken

Chairman

Craig Hayman

Christopher Humphrey

Jennifer Allerton

Peter Herweck

Chief Executive Officer

Senior Independent  
Non-Executive Director

Independent  
Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Tenure: 7 years 1 month  
(appointed 1 May 2012)

Tenure: 1 year 3 months  
(appointed 19 Feb 2018)

Tenure: 2 years 11 months 
(appointed 1 Jul 2016)

Tenure: 5 years 11 months 
(appointed 9 Jul 2013)

Tenure: 1 year 3 months 
(appointed 1 Mar 2018)

Paula Dowdy

Independent  

Non-Executive Director

Tenure: 4 months 

(appointed 1 Feb 2019)

James Kidd

Emmanuel Babeau

Ron Mobed

Deputy CEO and CFO

Non-Executive Director and  

Independent  

Vice Chairman

Non-Executive Director

Tenure: 8 years 5 months  

(appointed 1 Jan 2011)

Tenure: 1 year 3 months 

(appointed 1 Mar 2018)

Tenure: 2 years 3 months  

(appointed 1 Mar 2017)

Nationality: Australian

Nationality: British  
and American

Nationality: British

Nationality: British  
and Swiss

Nationality: German

Nationality: American and British

Nationality: British

Nationality: French

Nationality: British

Craig joined AVEVA as 
CEO in February 2018, 
bringing more than 30 years 
of technology industry 
leadership and executive 
management experience. 
Previously he was Chief 
Operating Officer at 
software company PTC Inc, 
where he had responsibility 
for sales, marketing and 
development. He also 
served as President of 
the PTC Solutions Group. 
Prior to joining PTC, Craig 
was President of eBay’s 
enterprise business and 
served more than 15 years in 
senior leadership positions at 
IBM. At IBM he created and 
grew IBM’s SaaS business 
and initiated and led 18 high 
performing acquisitions. 
Craig returned to the UK 
from the US to the CEO role 
at AVEVA. He holds a BSc. 
(Hons) in Computer Science 
and Electronics from the 
University of London. 

Other current appointments: 
None. 

Chris is a qualified 
accountant and has over 25 
years’ experience managing 
engineering and technology 
companies. From 2008 until 
2015 he was Group Chief 
Executive Officer of Anite 
plc, after having joined 
Anite in 2003 as Group 
Finance Director. Prior to 
this he was Group Finance 
Director at Critchley Group 
plc and held senior positions 
in finance at Conoco and 
Eurotherm International plc. 
Chris has a BA (Hons) in 
Economics, is a Chartered 
Management Accountant, 
a Fellow of CIMA and has 
an MBA from Cranfield 
School of Management.

Other current appointments: 
Senior Independent Director 
and Chairman of the Audit 
Committee of Vitec Group 
plc, Non-Executive Chairman 
of Eckoh plc and a Non-
Executive Director of SDL plc.

Jennifer has more than 
40 years’ experience in 
technology working in 
multinational companies 
in the UK, the US, Brazil, 
Asia and Switzerland. 
Notably, she was a member 
of the Pharma Executive 
Committee and Chief 
Information Officer of 
F. Hoffmann-La Roche, 
with responsibility for IT 
strategy and operations for 
the Pharma division and 
all Group IT operations. 
Prior to that, she served 
as Technology Director 
at Barclaycard with 
responsibility for Fraud 
Operations and IT and held 
senior positions in IT at 
Unilever and BOC. She has 
degrees in Mathematics, 
Geosciences and Physics and 
speaks several languages. 
She holds dual nationality 
being a citizen of both the 
UK and Switzerland.

Other current appointments: 
Non-Executive Director of 
Iron Mountain Inc. and 
Sandvik AB.

Peter Herweck has been 
a member of Schneider 
Electric’s Executive 
Committee since 2016 and 
leads Schneider Electric’s 
global Industrial Automation 
Business. He has extensive 
experience in Automation, 
Digitisation and Industrial 
Software. Peter started his 
career at Mitsubishi in Japan, 
later joining Siemens where 
he held several executive 
positions in Factory and 
Process Automation along 
with leading Corporate 
Strategy as Chief Strategy 
Officer. He has a global 
and extensive executive 
and senior management 
background in Germany, 
China, the US and Japan.

Peter holds an MBA from 
Wake Forest University 
School of Business and 
Engineering degrees 
from Metz University 
and Saarland University. 
He is also a Harvard 
Business School Advanced 
Management Alumni.

Other current appointments: 
None.

Paula is the Senior Vice President 

James is a Chartered Accountant 

Emmanuel has been Deputy 

Ron has a broad range of global 

and joined AVEVA in 2004. Prior to 

Chief Executive Officer in charge 

experience in electronic information 

& General Manager EMEA for 

Illumina Inc., the global leader 

in DNA sequencing and array-

based technologies. Prior to her 

appointment to Illumina in 2016, 

Paula worked for Cisco in a variety 

when he was appointed CFO. James 

Finance and as a Member of 

of senior sales, services and strategy 

was Chief Executive from January 

the Management Board.

roles, notably as Senior Vice 

2017 to February 2018, leading the 

President for Cloud, Software and 

merger with the Schneider Electric 

Emmanuel began his career at 

his appointment to the Board, James 

of Finance & Legal Affairs at 

held several senior finance roles 

within the Group and was Head 

of Finance from 2006 until 2011, 

Schneider Electric since 2013. 

He joined Schneider Electric in 

2009 as Executive Vice President 

Officer of the Elsevier business 

businesses across a number 

of sectors and regions. Most 

recently, he was Chief Executive 

of RELX Plc and has also held 

Executive positions with Cengage 

Learning, IHS and Schlumberger.

Managed Services. Paula also led 

Software Business before being 

Arthur Andersen in 1990. In 1993, 

He is a Fellow of the Institute 

the integration of the analytics and 

appointed Deputy CEO and Chief 

he joined Pernod Ricard where he 

of Directors and of the Energy 

automation software acquisitions 

Financial Officer of the enlarged 

held several senior finance and 

Institute. He holds a Bachelor’s 

into the larger Cisco sales force 

and was a board observer for 

one of Cisco’s investments.

Group. Prior to joining AVEVA James 

executive positions, becoming Vice 

degree in Engineering from Trinity 

worked for both Arthur Andersen 

President of Development in 2001. 

College, University of Cambridge 

and Deloitte, serving technology 

He was appointed CFO in 2003 and 

and a Master’s degree in Petroleum 

clients in both transactional 

Group Deputy Managing Director 

Engineering from Imperial College, 

She holds an MBA from Pepperdine 

and audit engagements.

of Finance in 2006, supervising 

University of London. Ron was 

University and a Bachelor of 

Arts degree from the University 

Other current appointments: 

of California, Berkeley.

None.

Finance, Information Systems 

and Industry Administrations.

previously a Non-Executive Director 

of Argus Media from 2009 until 2011.

Other current appointments: 

None.

Emmanuel graduated from École 

Other current appointments: 

Supérieure de Commerce de Paris 

None.

(ESCP) in 1989 and holds a degree in 

finance and accounting (DESCF).

Other current appointments: 

Non-Executive Director of Sodexo 

S.A. and of Sanofi.

Phil has 48 years of 
experience in industry and 
commerce. From 1997 to 
2006 he was President of 
BHP Petroleum and then 
Group President of Energy 
of BHP Billiton. He has been 
Managing Director of BOC/
CIG, Chief Executive of BTR 
Nylex, Senior Advisor of 
Macquarie Bank (Europe), 
Chairman of Robert Walters 
plc, Senior Independent 
Director of Kazakhmys plc 
and Essar Energy plc and 
Director of Essar Oil Limited. 
Other previous roles include: 
Director of National Grid plc 
from 2008 to 2015, Director 
of Miclyn Express Offshore, 
Chairman of the 2004 
World Energy Congress and 
serving on the Boards of 
the Governor of Guangdong 
International Council, World 
Energy Council and Monash 
Mt Eliza Business School.

Other current appointments: 
Chairman of Balfour Beatty 
plc, Non-Executive Director 
of Newcrest Mining Limited, 
Chairman of Australian Day 
Foundation, Director of 
Gammon China Limited and 
Gammon Construction 
Holdings Limited.

From left: 
Craig Hayman,  
Philip Aiken, 
Christopher Humphrey,  
Jennifer Allerton,  
Peter Herweck,  
Paula Dowdy,  
James Kidd,  
Emmanuel Babeau  
and Ron Mobed

Committees: 

  Audit Committee 
  Nomination Committee 
  Remuneration Committee 
  Chair

 
 
 
 
 
47

Philip Aiken

Chairman

Craig Hayman

Christopher Humphrey

Jennifer Allerton

Peter Herweck

Chief Executive Officer

Senior Independent  

Independent  

Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Tenure: 7 years 1 month  

(appointed 1 May 2012)

Tenure: 1 year 3 months  

(appointed 19 Feb 2018)

Tenure: 2 years 11 months 

Tenure: 5 years 11 months 

Tenure: 1 year 3 months 

(appointed 1 Jul 2016)

(appointed 9 Jul 2013)

(appointed 1 Mar 2018)

Paula Dowdy

Independent  
Non-Executive Director

Tenure: 4 months 
(appointed 1 Feb 2019)

James Kidd

Deputy CEO and CFO

Emmanuel Babeau

Ron Mobed

Non-Executive Director and  
Vice Chairman

Independent  
Non-Executive Director

Tenure: 8 years 5 months  
(appointed 1 Jan 2011)

Tenure: 1 year 3 months 
(appointed 1 Mar 2018)

Tenure: 2 years 3 months  
(appointed 1 Mar 2017)

Nationality: Australian

Nationality: British  

Nationality: British

Nationality: British  

Nationality: German

Nationality: American and British

Nationality: British

Nationality: French

Nationality: British

and American

and Swiss

Phil has 48 years of 

experience in industry and 

commerce. From 1997 to 

2006 he was President of 

BHP Petroleum and then 

Group President of Energy 

Craig joined AVEVA as 

CEO in February 2018, 

Chris is a qualified 

Jennifer has more than 

accountant and has over 25 

40 years’ experience in 

bringing more than 30 years 

years’ experience managing 

technology working in 

of technology industry 

leadership and executive 

management experience. 

engineering and technology 

multinational companies 

companies. From 2008 until 

in the UK, the US, Brazil, 

of BHP Billiton. He has been 

Previously he was Chief 

Managing Director of BOC/

Operating Officer at 

CIG, Chief Executive of BTR 

software company PTC Inc, 

Anite in 2003 as Group 

Nylex, Senior Advisor of 

where he had responsibility 

Finance Director. Prior to 

Macquarie Bank (Europe), 

for sales, marketing and 

Chairman of Robert Walters 

development. He also 

this he was Group Finance 

Director at Critchley Group 

2015 he was Group Chief 

Executive Officer of Anite 

plc, after having joined 

Asia and Switzerland. 

of the Pharma Executive 

Committee and Chief 

Information Officer of 

F. Hoffmann-La Roche, 

with responsibility for IT 

plc, Senior Independent 

Director of Kazakhmys plc 

and Essar Energy plc and 

served as President of 

the PTC Solutions Group. 

Prior to joining PTC, Craig 

Director of Essar Oil Limited. 

was President of eBay’s 

Other previous roles include: 

enterprise business and 

in finance at Conoco and 

the Pharma division and 

Eurotherm International plc. 

all Group IT operations. 

Chris has a BA (Hons) in 

Economics, is a Chartered 

Prior to that, she served 

as Technology Director 

Director of National Grid plc 

served more than 15 years in 

Management Accountant, 

at Barclaycard with 

from 2008 to 2015, Director 

senior leadership positions at 

a Fellow of CIMA and has 

responsibility for Fraud 

of Miclyn Express Offshore, 

IBM. At IBM he created and 

Chairman of the 2004 

grew IBM’s SaaS business 

an MBA from Cranfield 

School of Management.

World Energy Congress and 

and initiated and led 18 high 

Operations and IT and held 

senior positions in IT at 

Unilever and BOC. She has 

serving on the Boards of 

performing acquisitions. 

Other current appointments: 

degrees in Mathematics, 

Peter Herweck has been 

a member of Schneider 

Electric’s Executive 

Committee since 2016 and 

leads Schneider Electric’s 

global Industrial Automation 

experience in Automation, 

Digitisation and Industrial 

Software. Peter started his 

career at Mitsubishi in Japan, 

later joining Siemens where 

positions in Factory and 

Process Automation along 

with leading Corporate 

Strategy as Chief Strategy 

Officer. He has a global 

and extensive executive 

and senior management 

background in Germany, 

China, the US and Japan.

plc and held senior positions 

strategy and operations for 

he held several executive 

Notably, she was a member 

Business. He has extensive 

the Governor of Guangdong 

Craig returned to the UK 

Senior Independent Director 

Geosciences and Physics and 

Peter holds an MBA from 

International Council, World 

from the US to the CEO role 

and Chairman of the Audit 

Energy Council and Monash 

at AVEVA. He holds a BSc. 

Committee of Vitec Group 

speaks several languages. 

She holds dual nationality 

Mt Eliza Business School.

(Hons) in Computer Science 

plc, Non-Executive Chairman 

being a citizen of both the 

and Electronics from the 

of Eckoh plc and a Non-

UK and Switzerland.

Other current appointments: 

University of London. 

Executive Director of SDL plc.

Wake Forest University 

School of Business and 

Engineering degrees 

from Metz University 

and Saarland University. 

Chairman of Balfour Beatty 

plc, Non-Executive Director 

Other current appointments: 

of Newcrest Mining Limited, 

None. 

Chairman of Australian Day 

Foundation, Director of 

Gammon China Limited and 

Gammon Construction 

Holdings Limited.

Other current appointments: 

He is also a Harvard 

Non-Executive Director of 

Business School Advanced 

Iron Mountain Inc. and 

Management Alumni.

Sandvik AB.

Other current appointments: 

None.

Paula is the Senior Vice President 
& General Manager EMEA for 
Illumina Inc., the global leader 
in DNA sequencing and array-
based technologies. Prior to her 
appointment to Illumina in 2016, 
Paula worked for Cisco in a variety 
of senior sales, services and strategy 
roles, notably as Senior Vice 
President for Cloud, Software and 
Managed Services. Paula also led 
the integration of the analytics and 
automation software acquisitions 
into the larger Cisco sales force 
and was a board observer for 
one of Cisco’s investments.

She holds an MBA from Pepperdine 
University and a Bachelor of 
Arts degree from the University 
of California, Berkeley.

Other current appointments: 
None.

James is a Chartered Accountant 
and joined AVEVA in 2004. Prior to 
his appointment to the Board, James 
held several senior finance roles 
within the Group and was Head 
of Finance from 2006 until 2011, 
when he was appointed CFO. James 
was Chief Executive from January 
2017 to February 2018, leading the 
merger with the Schneider Electric 
Software Business before being 
appointed Deputy CEO and Chief 
Financial Officer of the enlarged 
Group. Prior to joining AVEVA James 
worked for both Arthur Andersen 
and Deloitte, serving technology 
clients in both transactional 
and audit engagements.

Other current appointments: 
None.

Ron has a broad range of global 
experience in electronic information 
businesses across a number 
of sectors and regions. Most 
recently, he was Chief Executive 
Officer of the Elsevier business 
of RELX Plc and has also held 
Executive positions with Cengage 
Learning, IHS and Schlumberger.

He is a Fellow of the Institute 
of Directors and of the Energy 
Institute. He holds a Bachelor’s 
degree in Engineering from Trinity 
College, University of Cambridge 
and a Master’s degree in Petroleum 
Engineering from Imperial College, 
University of London. Ron was 
previously a Non-Executive Director 
of Argus Media from 2009 until 2011.

Other current appointments: 
None.

Emmanuel has been Deputy 
Chief Executive Officer in charge 
of Finance & Legal Affairs at 
Schneider Electric since 2013. 
He joined Schneider Electric in 
2009 as Executive Vice President 
Finance and as a Member of 
the Management Board.

Emmanuel began his career at 
Arthur Andersen in 1990. In 1993, 
he joined Pernod Ricard where he 
held several senior finance and 
executive positions, becoming Vice 
President of Development in 2001. 
He was appointed CFO in 2003 and 
Group Deputy Managing Director 
of Finance in 2006, supervising 
Finance, Information Systems 
and Industry Administrations.

Emmanuel graduated from École 
Supérieure de Commerce de Paris 
(ESCP) in 1989 and holds a degree in 
finance and accounting (DESCF).

Other current appointments: 
Non-Executive Director of Sodexo 
S.A. and of Sanofi.

Independence split

Chairman

Executive Directors

Non-Executive
Directors

Independent
Non-Executive Directors

Gender split

Female

Male

22%

Sector experience of the Board
Power 
Construction 
Engineering 
Oil & Gas 
Software 
Technology 
Construction 

22%
22%
44%
22%
56%
56%
33%

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements 
 
 
 
 
48

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The Board’s aim is to create robust 
foundations for sustainable future 
success, delivering value for our 
employees and shareholders

Phil Aiken
Chairman
29 May 2019

“During the year the Board 
has continued to enhance 
and challenge the 
development and 
implementation of the 
integration strategy and 
our governance 
framework”

Dear shareholders,

I am pleased to have the opportunity 
to address AVEVA’s shareholders as 
the Group comes to the end of a year 
of transformation following the 
combination of AVEVA and the 
Schneider Electric industrial software 
business.

During the year, the Board has continued 
to focus on providing effective leadership 
and oversight of the Company as it 
seeks to achieve its strategic priorities 
and create value for our shareholders 
during an ongoing period of regulatory 
and political uncertainty. In this regard, 
it was a year of future-proofing 
AVEVA’s governance framework 
and ensuring that it is accountable, 
robust and sustainable long-term.

Amongst the more significant future-
proofing initiatives we undertook in the 
past year, I want to highlight the following:

Board composition

The selection and appointment of an 
additional independent Non-Executive 
Director was a key focus for this year. 
Following a rigorous selection process, the 
Board was delighted with the appointment 
of Paula Dowdy on 1 February 2019. 
The Nomination Committee led the 
process covering the search, selection 
and nomination of the candidate and 
further detail on the process can be found 
on pages 54-55. With Paula joining the 
Board her international experience further 
strengthens the Board which has a rich 
depth of technological, industrial and 
financial expertise across our six Non-
Executive Directors. With this appointment, 
we are now in compliance with the 2016 
UK Corporate Governance Code (the 
“Code”), and have at least half the Board 
represented by independent Non-Executive 
Directors (excluding the Chairman).

Maintaining compliance with 
the Code

The Board believes that good corporate 
governance underpins good business 
performance and long-term value 
creation. It continually strives to maintain 
a governance framework that is easy 
to understand and agile, and which 
facilitates it leading AVEVA into the 
future whilst continuing to reflect the 
greater requirements for accountability, 
diversity and transparency that are 
expected of a modern global business.

As reported in 2018, in compliance with 
the provisions of the Listing Rules of the 
Financial Conduct Authority, specifically 
where a listed company has a controlling 
shareholder, we have in place a Relationship 
Agreement with Schneider Electric SE, 
our majority shareholder. This is a legally 
binding agreement to ensure that Schneider 
Electric complies with the independence 
provisions of the Listing Rules and to 
allow AVEVA to carry on its business 
independently of Schneider Electric.

The Board has focused on addressing any 
matters of non-compliance with the Code 
which were reported in last year’s Annual 
Report. For the full year under review, 
and as a direct result of the terms of our 
Relationship Agreement with our majority 
shareholder, items of non-compliance are:
•  Although Ron Mobed was appointed to 
the Nomination Committee in March 
2019 as an additional independent 
member, the Committee’s membership 
did not consist of a majority of 
independent Non-Executive Directors 
if the independence of the Chairman 
is excluded.

•  Similarly, although Paula Dowdy was 

appointed to the Remuneration 
Committee in March 2019 as an 
additional independent member, the 
Committee’s membership did not 
consist of solely independent Non-
Executive Directors.

49

With the above appointments, the Board 
has sought to ensure that Committee 
membership is as independent as 
possible notwithstanding the restrictions 
of the Relationship Agreement.

With the support of the Company 
Secretary, the Board regularly monitors 
changes in the corporate governance 
landscape and continually reviews best 
practice. During the year under review, 
the Group applied the 2016 Code but in 
anticipation of adopting the 2018 Code 
and being compliant with other legislative 
changes, the Board and its Committees 
undertook a comprehensive review of its 
corporate governance framework and 
Terms of Reference. Further work will be 
undertaken to ensure that the Board and 
its Committees comply with the 2018 Code 
and other legislative changes and are able 
to effectively report on these in 2020.

Embedding culture

Integration and transformation

As the Company works through the 
integration of the two heritage businesses, 
extensive work has been undertaken to 
bring colleagues together, streamline 
processes and policies and create a fully 
joined up Group in line with our broader 
strategy. Consequently, during 2018, 
there was considerable focus on culture, 
enhanced behaviour and ethics training 
and on introducing updated policies 
and accessible reporting facilities.

The Board was proud to see the launch 
of the AVEVA LIFE values which 
embody the way AVEVA approaches 
its customers, partners, colleagues and 
stakeholders every day. These values are 
recognised across the Group and have 
become a vital part of AVEVA’s culture. 
Culture remains a matter of regular 
Board discussion. We fully support 
management’s ongoing commitment to 
maintaining a working environment based 
on integrity, respect and openness, which 
enables all colleagues to fully participate 
in AVEVA LIFE and is an important 
contributor to our ongoing success. For 
more information on how we live our 
AVEVA LIFE values, please see page 39.

Unsurprisingly, one of the most important 
matters demanding the Board’s attention 
over the past year was the continued 
integration of the combined Group’s 
activities, monitoring the achievement 
of synergies, creating new and valuable 
opportunities for our customers and 
ensuring long-term value creation for 
our shareholders and stakeholders. 
A significant amount of the Board’s 
activities continues to be aimed at 
setting the strategic direction for 
integration and transformation activities 
and monitoring their implementation. I 
would like to thank my colleagues, the 
Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and 
all employees for their continued efforts 
and support with transforming AVEVA 
to be the global leader delivering digital 
transformation to the industrial sector.

The Board looks forward to continuing 
to oversee, govern and support 
AVEVA as it builds on the growth and 
transformation achieved this year. 
Our Corporate Governance Report 
demonstrates that AVEVA is ready to 
face any challenges that lie ahead.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements50

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE REPORT

Group Structure Chart

Board
Provides Strategic 
leadership to  
the Group

Nomination 
Committee
Reviews Board 
composition  
and succession  
planning

Read more on
pages 54-55 

Audit  
Committee
Monitors and oversees 
risk management  
and control

Read more on
pages 56-59 

Remuneration  
Committee
Reviews Board and  
senior management 
remuneration

Read more on
pages 60-79 

Executive  
Leadership Team
Management Committee 
chaired by CEO, setting 
Group strategy and 
reviewing the operational 
performance of  
the Group

EFFECTIVE, EXPERIENCED AND 
DIVERSE LEADERSHIP
Composition of the Board

The Board currently comprises the 
Chairman, two Executive Directors 
and six Non-Executive Directors, four 
of whom the Board considers to be 
independent, being Chris Humphrey, 
Jennifer Allerton, Ron Mobed and Paula 
Dowdy. Chris Humphrey additionally has 
the role of Senior Independent Director.

Non-Executive Directors are appointed 
for a term of three years. The terms 
and conditions of appointment of 
Non-Executive Directors are available 
for inspection at the Company’s 
registered office during normal 
business hours and will be available 
for inspection on the day of the 
forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

In accordance with the UK Corporate 
Governance Code requiring all Directors 
who held office at 31 March 2019 to 
stand for re-election, resolutions will 
be submitted to the Annual General 
Meeting for the re-election of all 
current Directors and the election 
of Paula Dowdy as a Director.

Biographies of each of the Directors, 
including their membership of Committees, 
are set out on pages 46 to 47.

Board meetings

It is expected that Directors and 
Committee members attend all scheduled 
meetings. The attendance of individual 
Directors at the regular meetings of the 
Board and its Committees in the year is 
set out in the table on page 51, with the 
number of meetings each was eligible to 
attend shown in brackets. In addition to 
formal scheduled meetings, the Board and 
Committees meet as necessary to consider 
matters of a time-sensitive nature.

When possible, meetings of the Board 
are held at the Group’s operating sites in 
order to afford the Board, particularly the 
Non-Executive Directors, the opportunity 
to meet with local senior management 
and engage with the wider workforce 
to gain first-hand knowledge of our 
business, opportunities and challenges.

During the year, the Board held one of its 
meetings in Lake Forest, California, where 
a significant number of AVEVA colleagues 
are based, and spent additional days 
in Lake Forest speaking to employees 
during a Town Hall meeting and engaging 
with local senior management. 

51

Board  

meetings

Audit  
Committee 

Remuneration 
Committee

Nomination 
Committee

7(7)
7(7)
7(7)
7(7)
7(7)
7(7)
7(7)
7(7)
1(1)

4(4)
4(4)
4(4)

6(6)

6(6)
5(6)

0(0)

3(3)

3(3)
0(0)

3(3)

Philip Aiken 
Craig Hayman 
James Kidd
Jennifer Allerton
Chris Humphrey
Ron Mobed1
Emmanuel Babeau 
Peter Herweck 
Paula Dowdy2

1  Ron Mobed joined the Nomination Committee on 15 March 2019.
2  Paula Dowdy joined the Board on 1 February 2019 and the Remuneration Committee on 15 March 2019.

•  Considered the potential impact of 
Brexit and other macro-economic 
uncertainties on the Group.

Matters reserved for the Board

The Board, with the support of its 
Committees, has overall responsibility 
to provide guidance and effective 
leadership by setting the strategic 
direction of the Group and overseeing 
management’s implementation of 
strategy. The Board continues to keep 
under review the schedule of matters 
reserved for decision by the Board. Main 
matters relate to strategy, major capital 
expenditure, major acquisitions and 
disposals, capital structure and financial 
results, internal controls, governance 
and risk management, Committee 
membership, and terms of reference. The 
full schedule is available on our website.

Committees

In order that it can operate efficiently 
and give the right level of attention and 
consideration to relevant matters, the 
Board delegates authority and specific 
responsibilities to its Board Committees: 
Nomination, Audit and Remuneration. 
The Committees provide a detailed 
review and focus on different areas of 
the Board’s work. Committee agendas 
and schedules of items to be discussed 
at future meetings are prepared in 
accordance with the terms of reference 
of each Committee and take account of 
other topical and ad hoc matters. Further 
detail on the work of each Committee is set 
out within each of the Committee reports, 
which immediately follow this report.

Independence of Non-Executive 
Directors and segregation of duties

The Code recommends that at least half 
of the Board, excluding the Chairman, 
should comprise independent Non-
Executive Directors. The independence 
of each Director is assessed annually 
and the Board has confirmed that all the 
independent Non-Executives standing 
for election, or re-election, at the 2019 
AGM continue to be independent.

There is a clear division of responsibility 
between the roles of the Chairman, 
who is responsible for the running of 
the Board, and the Chief Executive 
Officer, who is responsible for day-to-
day running of the Group’s business. 
These responsibilities are set out in 
writing and agreed by the Board.

The Senior Independent Director (SID) 
provides a sounding board for the Chair 
and acts as an intermediary for the Non-
Executive Directors, if required. The SID is 
responsible for leading the Non-Executive 
Directors in appraising the performance of 
the Chair. The Company Secretary ensures 
Board procedures are complied with 
and the Board has the information, time 
and resources to function effectively and 
efficiently. The role also involves advising 
the Board on governance, new Director 
induction programmes and briefings on 
governance, legal and regulatory matters.

Cognisant of the requirements of the 
incoming 2018 version of the Code around 
workforce engagement, the Board is 
reviewing its annual calendar to ensure 
sufficient time is spent on strengthening 
the relationship between the Board and 
front-line employees. The Board will 
schedule at least one Board meeting 
per year in a non-UK office location.

Operation of the Board

The Board’s activities are structured 
throughout the year to develop and 
support the delivery of the Group’s 
strategy. The Chairman and Company 
Secretary continually review the 
annual corporate calendar to 
ensure that it remains effective.

The Board’s agenda for its formal 
meetings comprises a combination of 
regular business matters and a forward-
looking agenda of other specific matters 
for consideration. At each meeting 
sufficient time is devoted to key business 
matters but the agenda remains flexible 
to accommodate the addition of any 
specific items for discussion as required. 
Standing items and regular reports cover 
the Group’s financial performance and 
position, risk management, operational 
reports from business areas, investor 
relations and shareholder feedback, as 
well as legal and governance matters.

During the year, in addition to its 
regular business items the Board has:
•  Monitored and steered the integration 

of heritage AVEVA and SES;
•  With the Nomination Committee, 
considered the appointment of the 
additional independent Non-Executive 
Director and other succession planning 
matters;

•  Begun to address the impact of the 
2018 Code and other governance 
regulation and legislative changes 
especially around workforce 
engagement and diversity;

•  Kept under review potential new 
business opportunities; and,

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements52

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE REPORT CONTINUED

EFFECTIVENESS
Board and Committee Performance 
evaluation

The effectiveness of the Board, 
individual Directors and the Board’s main 
Committees are reviewed annually, with 
an externally facilitated review every three 
years as required by the Code. The most 
recent externally facilitated evaluation was 
conducted in 2018 and the next external 
evaluation is expected to be conducted in 
2020, a year earlier than planned to help 
evaluate the functioning of the new post-
merger Board when it has ‘bedded in’. This 
year the annual evaluation of the Board’s 
and all Committees’ effectiveness has 
been conducted internally by the Chairman 
supported by the Company Secretary.

Each Director completed a confidential 
questionnaire designed by the Chairman 
and Company Secretary and which 
included questions on Board structure, 
operation of meetings, risk and internal 
control and relationship with shareholders. 
Following analyses of the completed 
questionnaires, the Chairman held one-to-
one meetings with each individual Director.

The Chairman discussed the final report 
on the performance evaluation with 
the Board at its March 2019 meeting.

The discussions also considered the 
progress made by the Board and Directors 
in implementing the recommendations 
of the previous evaluations. The 
Board recognised that the ELT and 
the Company Secretary had acted 
upon many of the recommendations 
identified in the 2018 review.

Key conclusions from the evaluation
It was noted that this was the first 
year of the enlarged Board following 
the merger and that the evaluation 
provided a good opportunity to 
review the Board’s operations during 
the year and address any issues.

The conclusions of the review have 
been positive and have confirmed that 
the Board and its Committees operate 
effectively and that each Director 
contributes to the overall effectiveness 
and success of the Group. It was observed 
that the Board exercised strong oversight 
and provided good support, input and 
challenge as the Executive Directors 
have tackled a very busy agenda leading 
the business integration projects.

Other findings included:
•  Succession planning should continue to 
focus on diversity of skills, market 
knowledge and ethnicity;

•  The content of Board packs and reports 
could be improved with less detailed 
focus on historic performance;
•  Committees operate effectively;
•  Discussions should increase focus on 
strategically significant areas and 
strategy planning; and,

•  Discussions and reports could provide 
more detail on customers and the 
competitive landscape.

The Company Secretary and Chairman 
will continue to review the conclusions 
drawn from the evaluation and 
implement actions as appropriate.

Board development

On joining the Board all Directors 
receive a formal induction to the Group, 
designed to enable them to understand 
AVEVA’s core purpose and values, the 
key business segments, products and the 
markets it operates in so that they can 
be effective Board members from the 
outset. This includes meetings with ELT 
members, the Chairman, the Company 
Secretary and other AVEVA colleagues.

Board members are conscious of the 
need to keep themselves duly briefed 
and informed about current issues in the 
environment in which AVEVA operates. 
Specific and tailored updates were 
provided to the Board by members of 
the ELT. The Board also received reports 
from the Group General Counsel and 
Company Secretary on current legal, 
risk and governance issues, supported 
with presentations by external experts 
on Directors’ duties, the 2018 UK code 
and Market Abuse Regulation. Ongoing 
development needs are considered when 
setting the Board’s corporate calendar, 
including deep-dives, topic briefings, 
external training and site visits.

Internal control and risk management

AVEVA’s risk management framework 
is designed to provide the Board with 
oversight of, and insight into, the most 
significant risks the Group faces. The Board 
has approved a set of policies, procedures 
and frameworks for effective internal 
control. Through its governance channels 
and reporting process, the Board ensures 
maintenance of a sound system of internal 
control and risk management including:
•  Approving the Company/Group’s risk 

appetite statements;

•  Receiving reports on, and reviewing the 
effectiveness of, the Group’s risk and 
control processes to support its 
strategy and objectives;

•  Approving procedures for the detection 

of fraud;

•  Approving training and awareness 
programmes for the prevention of 
bribery;

•  Undertaking an annual assessment of 
these processes and policies; and
•  Approving an appropriate statement 
for inclusion in the Annual Report.

The Board’s monitoring and review include 
all material controls including financial, 
non-financial, operational and compliance 
controls. Key elements of the system of 
internal control include:
•  Procedures for the delegation of 

authorities for significant matters, to 
ensure approval is sought at the 
appropriate level;

•  Each member of the ELT has 

responsibility for specific aspects of the 
Group’s operations;

•  Regular reports to the Board from the 
ELT on key developments, financial 
performance and operational matters;
•  Regular meetings between the ELT and 

Senior Leadership Team, which 
supports maintenance of the internal 
control and risk management 
processes, to review operational and 
financial controls;

•  An annual budget process which is 

reviewed and approved by the Board;

•  Regular meetings between the 

Executive team and senior regional 
teams to discuss actual performance;
•  Key financial and operational measures 
and results are reported to the Board 
on a monthly basis;

•  Targeted internal audit reviews which 
focus on confirming the operation of 
controls in key process areas; and,

53

•  Maintenance of insurance cover to 

insure all major risk areas of the Group 
based on the scale of the risk and 
availability of the cover in the external 
market.

This overall approach enables the Board 
to form a robust assessment of the 
principal risks and uncertainties that 
might impact the company’s business 
model, future performance, solvency and 
liquidity. AVEVA’s principal risks map to 
the Group’s strategic growth ambitions.

Principal risks are those risks considered 
material to the development, performance, 
position or future prospects of AVEVA. 
The principal risks and uncertainties 
the Group faces are set out on pages 
26 to 30. The Board is supported in its 
duties by the Audit Committee which is 
responsible for ensuring the robustness 
of risk management processes. This also 
includes consideration of any substantial 
changes to principal risks, such as new or 
emerging risks, material changes to control 
frameworks in place, changes in risk scores 
and any significant risk incidents arising.

AVEVA’s culture plays an important part 
in risk management. The Board and ELT 
encourage a culture of transparency, 
integrity and doing the right thing, in which 
identifying risk is encouraged, and actions 
are taken to ensure necessary controls or 
resources are in place to manage risk and 
ensure business objectives are delivered 
efficiently. During the next year, the Board 
will continue to support the ongoing 
improvements in risk management 
including a more holistic oversight of 
our principal risks and the identification 
and monitoring of key risk indicators.

Further detail on the work of the 
Audit Committee and AVEVA’s 
internal control and risk management 
can be found on page 58.

Indemnities to Directors

In accordance with the Company’s 
Articles of Association, Directors are 
granted an indemnity from the Company 
to the extent permitted by law in respect 
of liabilities incurred as a result of the 
performance of their duties in their 
capacity as Directors to the Company. 
The indemnity would not provide any 
coverage to the extent the Director 
is proven to have acted fraudulently 
or dishonestly. The Company has 
maintained Directors’ and Officers’ liability 
insurance cover throughout the year.

Conflicts of interest

In accordance with the Companies 
Act 2006 the Directors are required 
to report actual or potential 
conflicts of interest to the Board for 
consideration and, if appropriate, 
authorisation, if such conflicts exist.

ENGAGEMENT
Dialogue with institutional 
shareholders

We maintained an active dialogue with 
our shareholders throughout the year 
through a comprehensive programme of 
investor relations activities. Meetings and 
communications focused on providing 
updates on progress against strategy, 
clarifying understanding of the business 
and an opportunity to listen to feedback.

We gave transparent information 
on the progress of the business by 
webcasting our full year and first half 
results presentations. In addition to this, 
in September 2018, the Board held a 
Capital Markets Day attended by the 
Chairman and the SID, ensuring that the 
information provided at that event to 
major shareholders and analysts was 
also made available to all shareholders 
via the Company’s website. 

Overall the Chairman, CEO, CFO and Head 
of Investor Relations conducted over 400 
meetings and calls with investors during 
the course of the year, meeting investors 
in cities including London, Edinburgh, 
New York, San Francisco, Chicago, 
Frankfurt, Paris, Copenhagen and Milan.

In addition to direct meetings with 
investors, the Board receives regular 
investor relations updates from the 
CFO. These include details of market 
expectations around AVEVA’s financial 
prospects, share register developments 
and feedback from shareholders. Investor 
views and any concerns are considered 
by the Board and, in particular, whether 
any action or response is appropriate.

We respond to daily queries from 
shareholders and analysts through our 
Investor Relations team. Our registrar, 
Link Asset Services, is available daily to 
answer shareholder queries in relation 
to technical aspects of their holdings. 
All our financial results presentations 
are available on our website.

Constructive use of the Annual 
General Meeting

The Annual Report and Accounts is the 
main tool for providing a comprehensive 
review of the business, details of our 
governance framework in action and 
annual results. The Board encourages 
shareholders to attend the Annual General 
Meeting and is always willing to answer 
questions, either in the meeting itself or, 
more informally, afterwards. All Directors 
attend the AGM and are available to 
answer questions during and after the 
meeting. The Company releases the results 
of voting including proxy votes on each 
resolution the next business day through 
a regulatory news service and results 
can also be viewed on the Company’s 
website. Details of the 2019 AGM are set 
out in the separate Notice of Meeting.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements54

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

NOMINATION COMMITTEE REPORT

As we transform our business it is 
of vital importance that our Board 
and Executive Leadership Team 
have the right balance of diversity, 
skills, experience and knowledge

The Committee’s primary 
responsibilities are as follows:
•  To ensure and lead a formal, rigorous 

and transparent procedure for 
appointing new Directors to the Board 
and its Committees;

•  To ensure that the Board and its 

Committees have the right balance of 
skills, market and sector knowledge, 
experience and diversity to discharge 
their duties effectively;

•  To continuously review succession 

plans for Directors and assist the Board 
with review of succession plans for 
senior executives;

•  To review sufficiency of Non-Executive 

Director time commitments; and

•  To recommend Directors for re-election 

by Shareholders.

Membership and meetings

With Ron Mobed joining the Committee 
earlier this year, the Committee now 
has four members consisting of the 
Chairman, two independent Non-
Executive Directors and one Schneider 
Electric Non-Executive Director (as per 
the terms of the Relationship Agreement). 
The Committee holds a minimum of two 
meetings per annum, and met three 
times during the year under review. The 
Company Secretary is secretary to the 
Committee and attends all meetings. 

The meeting agendas include 
recurring standing items as well 
as additional matters arising that 
require the Committee’s attention.

Key activities during the year
Board and committee composition

The Committee spent a significant amount 
of time developing and implementing its 
plan to find a new independent Non-
Executive Director. Prior to the 2018 
AGM the Committee started a review of 
the Board and Committee composition 
taking into consideration various factors 
including independence, diversity and 
the balance of knowledge, experience 
and skills. The review identified that 

Philip Aiken 
Chairman of the Nomination 
Committee
29 May 2019

Independence split

Chair 1

Non-independent 1

Independent 2

Membership and attendance

Chair

Philip Aiken 

Committee members

Ron Mobed 
Chris Humphrey 
Peter Herweck 

Attending by invitation

3/3

0/0
3/3
3/3

CEO
Deputy CEO and CFO
Deputy CFO and Company Secretary
Other members of the Board

it would be valuable to appoint an 
additional female independent Non-
Executive Director to the Board.

The Committee reviewed search agencies 
to assess the firm that best demonstrated 
its understanding of the business and the 
critical factors in identifying appropriate 
candidates for the Non-Executive role. 
Following this process, the Committee 
recommended and the Board appointed 
Spencer Stuart, an independent executive 
search and leadership consulting firm 
with no connection to AVEVA, to source 
suitable candidates for consideration. The 
Committee recommended Paula Dowdy 
for appointment to the Board and she 
joined with effect from 1 February 2019.

The appointment gave the Committee the 
opportunity to review the membership 
of the Board committees and on 
15 March 2019 Paula was appointed 
to the Remuneration Committee, 
and Ron Mobed was appointed to 
the Nomination Committee.

The Board recognises that its Executive 
Directors may be invited to become 
Non-Executive Directors of other 
companies and exposure to such non-
executive duties can broaden experience 
and knowledge, which would be of 
benefit to the Company. Any external 
appointments are subject to prior Board 
approval and retention of fees for such 
appointments are considered on a case-
by-case basis when approval is sought.

As part of its duties, the Committee 
ensures that all newly appointed 
Non-Executive Directors receive a 
formal letter of appointment setting 
out clearly what is expected of Non-
Executive Directors in terms of time 
commitment, Committee service and 
involvement outside Board meetings.

Succession planning

Since the merger of AVEVA and SES, 
the Committee’s priority has been 
appointment of the CEO, Schneider Electric 
Non-Executive Directors and an additional 
independent Non-Executive Director. 
The Committee had taken a considered 
decision to be mindful of succession 
planning in the course of their work but 
to give the subject focused attention 
once the new Board and Committee 
structure and ELT were securely in place.

The Committee will now continue 
to review Board and Committee 
composition to ensure that there is 
effective succession planning at Board 
level. It will keep under review the 
length of service of Board members, 
together with a Board skills matrix.

The Committee’s succession planning 
not only takes into consideration 
the Company’s long-term needs 
and natural evolution of the Board, 
but also short-term needs such as 
unforeseen departures and contingency 
for unexpected Board changes.

In cooperation with the Board, the 
Committee will also be formulating 
succession plans for the ELT taking 
into account the challenges and 
opportunities facing the Company, 
and the skills and expertise needed 
on the Board in the future.

Diversity

The Board and the Nomination Committee 
recognise the importance of diversity 
and inclusion both in the boardroom 
and throughout the organisation and 
understand that a diverse Board will offer 
wider perspectives which lead to better 
decision-making, enabling it to meet 
its responsibilities. As part of this, the 
Board’s diversity policy considers a broad 
range of characteristics when considering 
diversity including age, disability, 
social and educational background, 
as well as gender and ethnicity.

During the year, the Committee considered 
the external reviews on diversity, 
namely the Hampton-Alexander and 
Lord Davies Reviews. When recruiting, 
we will continue to seek to address any 
diversity gaps on our Board. We currently 
have two female Board members out 
of nine which represents 22% female 
representation. Any future Board 
appointments, however, will continue to 
be based on objective criteria to ensure 
that the best individuals are appointed for 
the role. The chart on page 47 illustrates 
the gender diversity of the Board.

The Board with the support of the 
Nomination Committee endeavours 
to foster a diverse workforce that 
matches our customers and delivers 
our business goals and strategy. It is 
committed to supporting workforce 
initiatives that promote a culture of 
inclusion and diversity. Improvements 
were seen at the Executive Committee 
level with female representation also 
rising with the appointment of Lisa 
Johnston as Chief Marketing Officer.
Our CEO, Craig Hayman, has personally 
committed to the United Nation’s 
Women’s Empowerment Principles, 
a set of real-life business practices 
to promote gender equality. For more 
information on diversity initiatives across 
AVEVA, please see pages 40 to 42.

Annual review

As part of the annual Board and 
Committee evaluation, discussed in 
the Corporate Governance Report on 
page 52, the Committee assessed its 
own performance and effectiveness. 
The Committee members concluded 
that it operates effectively and that the 
Committee would be strengthened by the 
addition of Ron Mobed as a member.

In addition to its annual performance 
evaluation the Nomination Committee 
carried out a review of its Terms of 
Reference during the period. The 
Committee is mindful that the incoming 
2018 version of the Code for reporting 
in 2020 expands its remit in relation to 
succession planning, and the requirement 
of securing a diverse succession pipeline. 
The Committee has updated its Terms 
of Reference accordingly and will 
address these issues in the coming year. 
These can be found in the Investors 
section of the Company’s website.

The Committee is responsible for 
reviewing and implementing any feedback 
from the annual Board performance 
evaluation relating to Board composition. 
This includes reviewing the time Non-
Executive Directors are required to give to 
their roles at AVEVA. The Committee has 
consequently considered the time required 
from each Non-Executive Director, their 
effectiveness and the experience brought 
to the Board. We were satisfied that each 
Director continues to contribute the time, 
as well as the focus, care and quality 
of attention, to fulfilling their duties to 
the Company and its Shareholders.

Based upon the evaluation of the Board, 
its Committees and the continued 
effective performance of individual 
Directors, the Committee recommended 
to the Board that all Directors stand 
for re-election at the Company’s 
AGM and that Paula Dowdy stands 
for election in accordance with the 
Company’s Articles of Association.

2019/20 priorities

The Committee will continue to 
assess what enhancements should 
be made to Board and Committee 
composition, succession planning at 
Board and Executive level and will 
continue to support the ELT’s work in 
developing a diverse workforce.

An initial priority will be to develop 
the Committee’s processes in order 
to be compliant with the expanded 
responsibilities for Nomination 
Committees under the 2018 Code.

55

Recruitment 
of Paula 
Dowdy

Before commencing the search for an 
independent Non-Executive Director, 
the Committee met to consider the 
desired skills, personal attributes 
and experience required for the 
role in the light of the future needs 
and challenges of the business. In 
addition, we discussed the recruitment 
process and identified the criteria 
for selecting a search agency.

A list of potentially suitable candidates 
was presented for the Committee’s 
consideration from which the first-
round candidates were identified for 
interview. The Committee members 
were unanimous in their selection of 
the shortlist based on the relevance 
of each individual’s skills, experience 
and attributes to the criteria already 
identified. Each of these shortlisted 
candidates were then invited to 
spend time in the business with the 
Chairman, other Nomination Committee 
members and CEO to gain insight 
into the business and to enable the 
candidate to assess what would be 
required of them over time in the role 
as an independent Non-Executive 
Director. This was followed by a group 
meeting with all other Directors.

The Chairman then met with each of 
the shortlisted candidates to discuss 
their initial feedback and thoughts on 
the role and the business. The Board 
took references, and soundings from the 
Company’s advisers, before concluding 
that the broad operational and 
technology-related experience of Paula 
Dowdy across multiple jurisdictions, 
made her the ideal candidate.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements56

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT

We are committed to ensuring the 
integrity of the Group’s financial 
reporting, audit process, key risk 
management and internal control

The Audit Committee is appointed 
by the Board. The members are 
Christopher Humphrey (Chair), 
Jennifer Allerton and Ron Mobed. All 
the Committee members are regarded 
by the Board as independent Non-
Executive Directors. Committee 
meetings are also regularly 
attended by other Board members 
and relevant senior management 
at the invitation of the Chair, to 
provide company insight, advice 
and reports to help the Committee 
consider the Company’s approach 
to its primary responsibilities. In 
addition, the external audit partner 
is invited to attend all meetings.

The Committee’s primary 
responsibilities are as follows:
•  to monitor the financial integrity of the 
Group and its financial statements;
•  to review the Group risk management 
processes and internal controls; and

•  to monitor the robustness of the 

internal and external audit processes.

Committee membership and skills

I was appointed Chairman of the Committee 
in November 2016. The Board believes I 
have the necessary recent and relevant 
financial experience as required by the UK 
Corporate Governance Code (the “Code”), as 
I am a Chartered Management Accountant 
and a Fellow of CIMA, and have previously 
held the role of Chief Executive Officer 
and previously Group Finance Director of 
Anite plc, a UK-listed company, and prior to 
that senior positions in finance at Conoco, 
Eurotherm International plc and Critchley 
Group plc. I have maintained an up-to-date 
understanding of financial and corporate 
governance best practice by attending 
many training sessions and updates 
presented by the major accounting firms.

The Board also considers that the 
other members of the Committee 
have a broad range of appropriate 
skills and strong experiences covering 
financial, commercial and operational 
matters. Brief biographical details 
for all the members of the Committee 
are included on pages 46 and 47.

The Committee provides effective 
governance over external financial 
reporting, risk management and internal 
controls and reports its findings and 
recommendations to the Board. In my 
capacity as Chairman of the Audit 
Committee, I am pleased to report on the 
operations of the Committee during the 
past year, with emphasis on the specific 
matters we have considered, including 
compliance with the Code and associated 
Guidance on Audit Committees. I confirm 
that we have fully complied with the 
requirements of the Code as issued in 
April 2016 and that we are advanced 
in our preparations for the 2018 code 
which applies to accounting periods 
beginning on or after 1 January 2019.

The Committee usually meets four times 
a year.

Christopher Humphrey
Audit Committee Chairman
29 May 2019

Independence split

4/4

4/4
4/4

Independent 3

Non-independent 0

Membership and attendance

Chair

Christopher Humphrey 

Committee members

Jennifer Allerton 
Ron Mobed 

Attending by invitation

Chairman
CEO
Deputy CEO and CFO
Deputy CFO and  

Company Secretary
Group General Counsel
Head of Internal Audit & Risk
Other senior members of the  

Group Finance team
External audit partner

57

The following specific business was dealt with at each meeting during 2018/19:

June 2018

• Review of Committee objectives for 2018/19
• Year-end reporting; including:
–  Review of draft accounts
–  Accounting judgments, tax review, going concern 

& viability statement

–  External auditor’s reports

• Risk & Internal Controls; including:

–  Minimum internal controls programme
–  Internal audit actions status
–  Approach to risk management refresh, including 

principal risks

• Private meeting between Committee and external 

auditors

• Private meeting between Committee and executive 

management

September 2018 • Review of Committee objectives for 2018/19

• Update on Finance Integration
• Treasury update
• External auditor update
• Risk & Internal Controls; including:

–  Review of proposed 2018/19 Internal Audit Plan
–  Internal audit update
–  Risk management update
–  IT Security update
–  Whistleblowing process review and recommendations

November 2018

March 2019

• Review of Committee objectives for 2018/19
• Interim reporting; including:

–  Accounting update report from management
–  Tax update
–  Interim report from external auditors
–  Review of draft interim report
–  External auditor planning

• Risk & Internal Controls; including:

–  Risk management update
–  Internal audit update

• Update on Finance Integration
• Whistleblowing update

• Review of Committee objectives for 2018/19 and 

proposed objectives for 2019/20

• Review of Audit Committee Terms of Reference
• Year-end planning
• Risk & Internal Controls; including:

–  Internal audit update
–  Risk management update
–  Review of proposed 2019/20 Internal Audit Plan

• Treasury update
• Tax update
• Review of external auditor fees

Audit Committee terms of reference

The role of the Committee is set out in its 
terms of reference which are available on 
the company’s website at www.aveva.
com. The Committee monitors the integrity 
of the financial statements of the Group 
and the Committee members (as part 
of the full Board) review all proposed 
regulatory announcements to be made 
by the Group, with consideration given 
to any significant financial reporting 
judgements included or required.

The Committee considers the 
effectiveness of financial reporting 
and internal controls, compliance 
with legal requirements, accounting 
standards and the Listing, Disclosure 
and Transparency Rules of the Financial 
Conduct Authority. We also review any 
proposed change in accounting policies 
and any recommendations from the 
Group’s auditor regarding improvements 
to internal controls and the adequacy 
of resources within the Group’s finance 
function. The Committee also assesses 
the process that has been established 
to ensure that the Annual Report is 
fair, balanced and understandable, 
reporting to the Board on their findings.

Committee activities in 2018/19

I chaired four scheduled meetings of the 
Committee in 2018/19, working closely 
with management to ensure that the 
Committee is provided with the 
comprehensive information and support 
that it requires.

Agendas include annual reporting 
requirements, risk assurance processes 
and other ad-hoc matters which may arise 
and require robust review and challenge.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements58

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT CONTINUED

Audit Committee objectives for 2018/19

The Audit Committee agreed several objectives at the start of the financial year.

Objectives

Activity in the year

Progress

Integration

Refresh 
Enterprise Risk 
Management for 
the enlarged 
Group

Development of 
in-house internal 
audit function

The Combination of the AVEVA and SES created a 
much larger Group and one with a different 
financial risk profile. The Committee sought to 
understand the integration process and specifically 
understand how this would change financial 
processes and financial reporting as well as any 
new financial risks faced by the Group – for 
example, project delivery.

Given the merger of the heritage AVEVA business 
with the heritage Schneider Electric Software 
business, there was a need to review enterprise risk 
management processes throughout 2018/19 to 
ensure that they are effective in managing risk 
within the enlarged organisation, that the new 
Executive Leadership Team (ELT) is fully engaged 
with risk and that the Board’s risk management 
expectations are fully met.

To understand and assess the risk of the enlarged 
Group, individual members of the Committee were 
briefed on the new elements of the enlarged 
business and have visited new key locations.

Further detail on the progress of this objective is 
included on pages 26 to 27. Overall, good progress 
has been made with the Committee overseeing the 
introduction of a new AVEVA risk governance 
structure that involves the Board, the Executive 
Leadership Team, the Strategic Leadership Team, 
business units and business functions.

2018/19 saw the introduction of an in-house 
internal audit function for the enlarged Group. The 
Committee has been focused on directing and 
supporting this function and ensuring that it 
provides an adequate level of coverage and 
assurance to meet the Committee’s needs. The 
2018/19 Internal Audit Plan was successfully 
achieved and included balanced geographical 
coverage of the Group’s operations.

The internal audit function has also led a Minimum 
Controls Project. This has involved building on 
existing defined minimum controls frameworks, 
establishing minimum required control objectives 
for the enlarged Group, executing a roll-out 
programme and designing a continual compliance 
assurance and consulting process to ensure an 
effective internal control base across the Group.

R&D reporting

The Committee had requested improvements in the 
reporting of progress and risk on key Product 
Development projects. Reporting should include 
metrics, profitability and roadmap progress. 
Reporting covering the enlarged Group was to be 
established and presented to the Committee.

The Committee has received updates from the R&D 
function throughout the year and in addition a 
detailed review was conducted on-site in Lake 
Forest during March 2019. This update covered 
latest technology development and development 
techniques and strategies.

59

The audit fees paid to EY for the 
statutory audit were £0.9 million. 
The Committee continues to keep 
under review the cost effectiveness 
and quality of the audit service.

The Committee meets quarterly with 
the auditor without any members 
of the Executive Leadership Team 
being present. I also meet with the 
external auditor from time to time 
away from the Company’s offices.

Audit planning and main audit issues

At the November 2018 meeting of the 
Committee, the auditor presented its audit 
plan for 2018/19. This included a summary 
of the proposed audit scopes for the 
year for each of the Group’s subsidiaries 
and a summary of what the auditor 
considered to be the most significant 
financial reporting risks facing the Group 
together with the auditor’s proposed audit 
approach to these significant risk areas. 

FRC reviews

The Company was not subject to any FRC 
reviews during 2018/19. Should this occur 
in future, we will advise shareholders 
in the subsequent Annual Report.

Committee objectives for 2019/20

In March 2019, the Committee 
considered the objectives for the 
year ahead and it was agreed the 
following would be prioritised:
•  Continued focus on integration 

progress;

•  Continued development of the internal 
audit and risk management functions;
•  Focus on control around fixed priced 

contracts;

•  Overview of IT strategy and processes 

(including new ERP system); and
•  Annual updates on Tax and Treasury 

Strategies.

Risk and internal controls

Internal audit

The principal risks the Group faces are 
set out on pages 26 to 30. At least on an 
annual basis, the Committee considers 
the Group risk register and related 
management controls. Throughout the 
process, the Board or the Committee:
•  considers whether areas should be 

looked at more closely through specific 
control reviews;

•  identifies areas where enhancement of 

internal controls is required; and
•  agrees action plans to deliver the 
necessary or recommended 
enhancements.

The Committee has developed a 
framework to gain assurance over 
the system of internal financial and 
operational controls. This comprises:
•  The annual Internal Audit Plan. The 
Committee receives regular updates 
from the internal audit function on the 
outcomes of agreed reviews.

•  The use of qualified third parties to 

undertake specialist reviews in more 
technical areas. During 2018/19, 
Deloitte performed cyber security 
penetration testing over our business.

•  An annual assessment by the 

Committee of the whole system of 
internal financial and operational 
controls.

There is a formal whistle-blowing 
policy which has been communicated 
to employees. During 2018/19 this 
policy was reviewed and processes 
strengthened given the increased 
scale of the Group. This policy provides 
information on the process to follow if 
any employee feels it is appropriate to 
make a disclosure. The Committee is 
satisfied that the process is effective and 
reviews key issues which are reported.

Key estimates and judgments

The Committee discusses with 
management and the auditor the 
approach that has been taken in assessing 
all key estimates. These include revenue 
recognition, provisions for impairment of 
receivables, the valuation of retirement 
benefit obligations and the uncertainty 
of tax treatments in certain jurisdictions. 
Annually, the Committee considers the 
going concern principle upon which the 
financial statements are prepared and the 
Group’s viability statement disclosures.

The Company established an in-house 
internal audit function during 2018/19. 
This has included the agreement and 
successful execution of an annual internal 
audit plan, providing the Committee with 
an independent view on the strength 
of internal controls. Where some audit 
reviews require specialist resource 
or capacity then independent third 
parties may be used. As a Committee, 
we believe this resourcing model 
provides the most effective approach.

External audit

Ernst & Young (EY) have been our auditor 
since the financial year ended in March 
2003 and cannot therefore remain 
our auditor beyond 2023. During the 
year, we complied with the Statutory 
Audit Services for Large Companies 
Market Investigation (Mandatory Use of 
Competitive Tender Processes and Audit 
Committee Responsibilities) Order 2014.

Audit partners are rotated every five years 
and a formal statement of independence 
is received from the auditor each year. 
The Board and the Committee are 
satisfied that the independence and 
objectivity of the auditor has been 
maintained. The current audit partner, 
Marcus Butler, will complete his fourth 
year with the Group this year.

The Committee also advises the Board 
on the auditor’s remuneration and 
discusses the nature, scope and results 
of the audit with the external auditor.

In compliance with legislation on non-
audit services provided by the external 
auditor, fees for non-audit work paid to 
EY in the year were approximately £3k 
and the Committee considered that the 
independence and objectivity of the EY 
audit would not be impaired by this work.

The effectiveness of the external audit 
process is dependent on appropriate 
audit risk identification and a robust 
assessment of key estimates and 
judgements at the start of the audit cycle. 
We challenge the auditor regarding their 
test of management’s assumptions each 
audit cycle and also request feedback 
from management on its assessment 
of auditor effectiveness. Overall, both 
management and the Committee are 
satisfied at the quality and effectiveness 
of the external audit process.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements60

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

REMUNERATION COMMITTEE REPORT

The Remuneration Committee has been 
working hard this year to ensure that our 
remuneration framework is aligned to 
the strategic direction of the business 
and reflects the global workforce and 
markets in which we operate.

CONTENTS

Annual Statement
61  Letter from the Remuneration 

Committee Chair

Remuneration at a Glance
62  A two-page summary of the amounts 

paid in the last two years

Directors’ Remuneration Policy (Part A)
64  Remuneration Policy
70  Remuneration outcomes in different 

performance scenarios

Implementation Report (Part B)
72  Membership and attendance
73  Shareholding voting and engagement
74	 Single	figure	of	total	remuneration
75  Performance and retention awards
76  Directors’ share interests
77	 CEO	single	figure	history
78  Relative importance of spend on pay
78  Remuneration of Non-Executive 

Directors

Jennifer Allerton
Remuneration Committee Chair
29 May 2019

“I am pleased to introduce 
the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report of 
the first complete year 
following the 
Combination, which has 
resulted in tremendous 
growth for AVEVA”

Board changes during the year
I am very pleased to welcome the 
appointment of Paula Dowdy to the 
Remuneration Committee. Paula 
brings a wealth of experience of the IT 
marketplace in the US and the UK. As 
we increased the Non-Executive Director 
fee cap to encompass the enlarged 
Board last year, no further changes are 
required to allow for her appointment.

Other Committee activities during the 
year

Aside from our normal annual duties 
surrounding bonus target setting, 
agreeing the outcome of our Long 
Term Incentive Plan and who should 
participate in the Group share option 
plan, the Committee undertook a number 
of additional activities including:
•  Reviewing the performance conditions 

for the outstanding Long-Term 
Incentive Plans for heritage AVEVA 
staff as some measures were no longer 
meaningful to the enlarged business;

•  Reviewing and approving the new 

Executive Leadership Team 
remuneration, including shareholding 
guidelines; and

•  Agreeing the Key Performance 

Indicators for the Performance and 
Retention Award for James Kidd.

The 2018 revisions to the UK Corporate 
Governance Code (the Code) become 
effective for the 2020 Annual Report 
and Accounts. The Committee has 
spent time reviewing the changes and 
their impact on the current policies, 
procedures and levels of employee 
engagement that the Committee has in 
place. In general, the Company is well 
aligned with the Code and will be further 
reviewing guidance as it develops.

61

The Committee has also reviewed the 
progress of the Human Resources 
integration workstream as countries 
exit Transitional Services Agreements 
(TSAs) with Schneider Electric. We are 
taking the opportunity to better align 
employment terms and conditions and 
to review our positioning against the 
market. We will continue to review 
this over the next few months as we 
complete the exit of the last TSAs.

I am also pleased that the Board continues 
its dialogue with employees. As well as 
34 ‘Meet and Greet’ events undertaken 
by the Executive Leadership Team 
during the year, the Board held a Town 
Hall with employees in Lake Forest, 
California in March 2019. It also met a 
number of employees in smaller group 
sessions. Phil Aiken and Chris Humphrey 
also undertook individual visits to Lake 
Forest earlier in the year. We believe 
this direct face-to-face discussion with 
employees	fits	the	culture	of	AVEVA	best.

Remuneration for 2019/20

Salary increases are in line with the UK 
workforce average. There are no proposed 
changes to the structure or quantum of 
bonuses or LTIPs for the forthcoming year.

In conclusion

I	hope	you	find	the	contents	of	this	
report clear and support the approaches 
and amendments proposed.

The Implementation Report contains 
full details of how the Policy was 
implemented in 2018/19 together with 
an outline of our intentions for 2019/20.

Finally, immediately prior to the Policy, 
overleaf,	you	will	find	a	double	page	
spread, clearly describing remuneration 
arrangements in 2018/19 and 2019/20. 

Jennifer Allerton
Remuneration Committee Chair

Annual Statement

Dear Fellow Shareholder,

I am pleased to present my second 
Directors’ Remuneration Report in the 
year following the merger with SES.

As a summary, this Report contains 
the following sections:
•  This Annual Statement
•  The ‘at a glance’ section
•  The Policy (Part A)
•  The Implementation Report (Part B)

Introduction

This has been a busy year for the 
Remuneration Committee as we look to 
align the current Remuneration Policy 
with the enlarged Group’s objectives 
and greater geographic dispersion of the 
organisation. The Committee believes 
the existing policy approved at last 
year’s Annual General Meeting is still 
appropriate and operating as intended. 
As it received support of over 96% of our 
shareholders, we are not seeking to make 
any changes this year. We acknowledge 
the 28% vote against the Performance 
& Retention Award resolutions for James 
Kidd and David Ward. These awards were 
agreed by shareholders as part of the deal 
with Schneider Electric and have been 
successful in retaining both these critical 
employees through the integration period.

AVEVA has had a very strong 
performance this year with demand for 
industrial software continuing to grow as 
companies invest further in digitalisation. 
We have made good progress with the 
strategic initiatives shared in September 
2018 at our Capital Markets Day. 
Accordingly, the pay outcomes this year 
reflect	this	strong	performance,	with	
Executive bonuses paying out close 
to the stretch targets. The Committee 
considers it appropriate that the relative 
payout of Executive Directors’ bonus 
schemes is in line with those of the wider 
workforce and pay out at the same rate.

As per last year’s Remuneration 
Report, Part A of this report lays out 
the Remuneration Policy. Part B lays 
out the Implementation Report and 
contains details of how the Policy 
was implemented in 2018/19 and an 
outline of our intentions for 2019/20.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements62

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

REMUNERATION AT A GLANCE

Key elements of the Directors’ Remuneration 
Policy and payments made in accordance 
with the policy are summarised below.

y
a
p
d
e
x
F

i

s
u
n
o
b

l

a
u
n
n
A

s
e
v
i
t
n
e
c
n

i

m
r
e
t
-
g
n
o
L

Key elements

Base salary

Pensions

Benefits

Applies to

Craig Hayman

James Kidd

Both EDs

Both EDs

Applies to

Performance period

Both EDs

Maximum opportunity

Both EDs

Opportunity applied

Both EDs

2018/19

£700k

£500k

2019/20

£718k

£513k

10% of salary

Car	allowance,	fuel	allowance	and	£600	of	flexible	benefits

Paid in June 2018

2017/18

125% of salary

125% of salary

Paid in June 2019

2018/19

125% of salary

125% of salary

KPIs

Payable

Both EDs

Discretionary Remuneration Committee assessment against  
individual strategic performance objectives

Craig Hayman

£48k (48% of maximum)

£857k (98% of maximum)

James Kidd

Applies to

£563k (100% of maximum)

£613k (98% of maximum)

2018 award

2019 award

Performance period

Both EDs

1 April 2018 – 31 March 2021

1 April 2019 – 31 March 2022

Maximum opportunity

Craig Hayman

James Kidd

Opportunity applied

Craig Hayman

Time horizon

Criteria

James Kidd

Both EDs

Both EDs

250% of salary

250% of salary

250% of salary

175% of salary

250% of salary

250% of salary

250% of salary

175% of salary

3-year performance period, followed by a 2-year holding period.

EPS growth 50%

Relative TSR performance 25%

Strategic objectives 25%

i

guidelines

p Share ownership 
h
s
r
e
n
w
O

Applies to

Craig Hayman

Current requirement

200% of salary

Position at 31 March 2019

200% of salary

James Kidd

200% of salary

200% of salary

  CEO pay compared 
s
to UK employee pay
o
i
t
a
r

O
E
C

25th percentile

50th percentile

75th percentile

2017/18

2018/19

Using the single figure table

Using the 
single figure table

Excluding effect of 
buy-out awards

13:1
18:1
24:1

87:1
118:1
163:1

19:1
26:1
36:1

1	 The	CEO	pay	ratio	for	FY19	has	been	calculated	by	comparing	the	single	figure	of	remuneration	of	the	CEO	to	the	25th,	50th	and	75th	percentile	UK	employees.	Remuneration	

includes	salary,	benefits,	pension,	bonuses	and	share	awards.	All	amounts	are	on	a	full	time	equivalent	basis.	The	pay	ratio	for	FY18	has	been	restated	following	the	publication	
of additional guidance. The CEO pay ratio increased in FY19 due to the partial vesting of one-off buy-out awards for the CEO.

 
 
 
 
63

Annual Incentive Scheme

Craig Hayman
% of salary

James Kidd
% of salary

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

125%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

125%

150%

175%

Maximum

Outcome

Maximum

Outcome

£0k

£100k £200k £300k £400k £500k £600k £700k £800k £900k

£0k

£100k £200k £300k £400k £500k £600k £700k £800k £900k

 Total revenue   

 Adjusted profit   

 Personal objectives

 Total revenue   

 Adjusted profit   

 Personal objectives

Long-term Incentive Scheme

Craig Hayman – buy-out award vesting
% of salary

James Kidd – LTIP vesting
% of salary

0%

100%

200%

300%

400% 500% 600% 700%

800%

0%

50%

100%

150%

200%

250%

300%

Maximum

Outcome

Maximum

Outcome

£0k

£100k

£200k

£300k

£400k

£500k

£600k

£0k

£300k

£600k

£900k

£1,200k

£1,500k

 Retention   

 Performance   

 EPS   

Maximum total remuneration opportunity compared to actual remuneration received for the year ending March 2019

Craig Hayman

Opportunity

Minimum

On-target

Maximum

Actual

James Kidd

Opportunity

Minimum

On-target

Maximum

Actual

 Fixed   

 Bonus   

 LTIP

£0.0m

£0.5m

£1.0m

£1.5m

£2.0m

£2.5m

£3.0m

£3.5m

£4.0m

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements64

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

REMUNERATION COMMITTEE REPORT CONTINUED

Part A: The Directors’ Remuneration Policy 

This report sets out the information required by Part 4 of Schedule 8 to the Large and Medium-Sized Companies and Groups (Accounts 
and	Reports)	Regulations	2008	(as	amended)	(the	“Regulations”).	The	report	also	satisfies	the	relevant	requirements	of	the	Listing	Rules	
of the Financial Conduct Authority, and describes how the Board has applied the principles and complied with the provisions relating to 
Directors’ remuneration in the UK Corporate Governance Code.

The table below summarises the Committee’s policy on the remuneration of Executive Directors as approved by shareholders at the 
Annual General Meeting on 11 July 2018, and which became binding immediately thereafter. It is currently intended that the policy will 
remain valid until the 2021 Annual General Meeting.

The Remuneration Committee aims to ensure that: the Executive Directors are provided with appropriate incentives to align them with 
the achievement of the Company’s long-term strategy and the future creation of shareholder value; enhanced performance is 
encouraged; and, the Executive Directors are, in a fair and responsible manner, rewarded for their individual contributions to the success 
of the Group. Excessive risk-taking is neither encouraged nor rewarded.

It	also	aims	for	a	combination	of	fixed	and	variable	payments,	benefits	and	share-based	awards	that	will	achieve	a	balance	in	incentives	
to deliver short and long-term goals. The Company’s policy is that a substantial proportion of remuneration of Executive Directors should 
be performance-related and should be delivered in shares to create alignment with shareholders’ interests. Remuneration for Executive 
Directors is set in the context of the economic environment in which the Group operates, the outcome of the wider pay review for all 
Group	employees	as	well	as	the	financial	performance	of	the	Group.	When	determining	remuneration	arrangements,	the	Committee	
takes into consideration relevant external considerations as well as the remuneration for employees of the Group generally.

Remuneration commitments made which were consistent with the approved Remuneration Policy in force at that time shall be honoured, 
even	if	they	would	not	otherwise	be	consistent	with	the	policy	prevailing	when	the	commitment	is	fulfilled.

Purpose and link to strategy

Operation

Maximum opportunity

Performance measures

Base salary
• Helps recruit and retain 

employees.

• Reflects	experience	

and role.

None

• Base salary is normally 
reviewed annually with 
changes effective from 1 April, 
although salaries may be 
reviewed more frequently or at 
different times of the year if the 
Committee determines this is 
appropriate.

• The Committee determines 

base salary taking into account 
factors including, but not 
limited to:
–  The individual’s role, 

experience and performance 
in	achieving	financial	and	
non-financial	goals	within	
his areas of responsibility.
–  Salaries at other companies 

of a similar size and 
complexity as well as global 
technology peers.

–  Remuneration of different 

groups of employees within 
the Company.

–  Total organisational salary 

budgets.

• The Committee takes a phased 

approach to new salaries 
where appropriate.

• Paid in cash.

• In determining salary increases 

the Committee generally 
considers the factors outlined 
in the ‘operation’ column.

• Salary increases will normally 
be in line with the range of 
increases in the broader 
workforce salary, although 
higher increases can be made 
in certain circumstances, for 
example:
–  an increase in the individual’s 

scope of responsibilities;
–  in the case of Executive 

Directors who are positioned 
on a lower initial salary while 
they gain experience in the 
role; or

–  where the Committee 

considers that salary is 
behind appropriate market 
positioning for a company of 
AVEVA’s size and complexity.

• However, no salary increase 

will be paid to an incumbent to 
the extent that this increases 
the salary beyond £900,000.

65

Purpose and link to strategy

Operation

Maximum opportunity

Performance measures

Pensions
• Provides a competitive 
retirement	benefit	in	a	
way that is cost 
effective to the 
Company.

Benefits
• Help recruit and retain 

employees.

• Provide a competitive 

range of valued 
benefits.

• Assist toward early 
return to work in the 
event of illness or 
injury.

• 10% of base salary (pension 
contribution and/or cash 
alternative).

None

None

• The	cost	of	benefit	provision	
will depend on the cost to the 
Company of providing 
individual items and the 
individual’s circumstances.

• However, the addition of 
further	benefits	to	those	
already provided (excluding 
relocation/recruitment-related 
benefits	and	participation	in	
any all-employee share plan) 
will not result in the aggregate 
benefit	provision	for	any	
Executive Director increasing to 
over £50,000.

• The CEO and CFO are 

members of the AVEVA Group 
Personal Pension Plan (a 
defined	contribution	scheme).

• The intention is that new 

appointments to the Board 
would also participate in the 
AVEVA Group Personal 
Pension Plan or receive an 
equivalent cash payment. 
However, if appropriate the 
Committee may determine that 
alternative arrangements for 
the provision of retirement 
benefit	may	apply.	When	
determining pension 
arrangements for new 
appointments the Board will 
give regard to the cost of the 
arrangements, market practice 
and the pension arrangements 
received elsewhere in the 
Group.

• The	benefit	policy	is	to	provide	
an	appropriate	level	of	benefit	
taking into account market 
practice at other companies of 
similar size and complexity and 
the	level	of	benefits	provided	
for other employees in the 
Group.

• In	line	with	benefits	provided	
for other senior employees in 
the Group, Executive Directors 
currently receive a mobility 
allowance or company car, a 
fuel allowance and an annual 
allowance toward a range of 
benefits.

• In the event that an Executive 

Director was required to 
re-locate to undertake their 
role, the Committee may 
provide	additional	benefits	to	
reflect	the	relevant	
circumstances (on a one-off or 
ongoing basis).

• Benefits	are	reviewed	by	the	
Committee in the context of 
market practice from time to 
time and the Committee may 
introduce or remove particular 
benefits	if	it	is	considered	
appropriate to do so.

• If the Company were to operate 
an all-employee share plan in 
the future, Executive Directors 
would be entitled to participate 
in the plan on the same terms 
as other employees.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements66

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

REMUNERATION COMMITTEE REPORT CONTINUED

Purpose and link to strategy

Operation

Maximum opportunity

Performance measures

Annual Incentive 
Scheme
• Incentivises and 
rewards the 
achievement of annual 
financial	and	strategic	
business targets and 
delivery of personal 
objectives.

• Deferred element 

encourages long-term 
shareholding, helps 
retention and 
discourages excessive 
risk-taking.

The AVEVA Group  
Long-Term Incentive 
Plan (the LTIP)
• Establishes a 

motivational and 
performance-
orientated structure to 
incentivise Directors to 
focus on the creation 
of shareholder	value	
aligned with the longer 
term strategy for the 
Group.

• The Committee determines an 
individual’s maximum incentive 
opportunity taking into account 
the responsibilities of the role 
and market practice at 
comparable companies.

• Performance targets are set by 
the Committee on an annual 
basis and ordinarily disclosed 
retrospectively.

• The Committee determines the 
level of bonus paid taking into 
account performance against 
targets, the underlying 
performance of the business 
and Executive Directors’ 
performance during the year.
• 40% of any bonus earned is 
deferred into shares under 
the Deferred	Share	Scheme1, 
to which	malus/clawback	
provisions apply2.

• Awards vest based on 

performance over a period of 
three years and are subject to 
a subsequent	two-year	holding	
period.

• Awards under the LTIP may 
be granted	in	the	form	of	
conditional awards or nominal 
cost options or phantom 
options which will be settled 
in cash.

• Dividends can accrue on 
shares during the vesting 
period.

• The Committee determines 
targets each year to ensure 
that targets are stretching and 
represent value creation for 
shareholders while remaining 
motivational for management.
• The Committee shall determine 
the extent to which the awards 
will vest based on performance 
against targets and taking into 
consideration the wider 
performance of the Group.
• Malus/clawback provisions 

apply2.

• The maximum bonus 

opportunity is 125% of 
base salary.

• Awards over shares worth no 
more than 250% of salary may 
be made each year.

• The performance measures 
applied	may	be	financial	or	
non-financial	and	corporate,	
divisional or individual and in such 
proportions as the Committee 
considers appropriate.

• Where a sliding scale of targets is 
used, attaining the threshold level 
of performance for any measure 
will not typically produce a 
pay-out of more than 20% of the 
maximum portion of overall 
annual bonus attributable to that 
measure, with a sliding scale to 
full payout for maximum 
performance. However, the 
annual bonus plan remains a 
discretionary arrangement and 
the Committee retains a standard 
power to apply its judgement to 
adjust the outcome of the annual 
bonus plan for any performance 
measure should it consider that 
to be appropriate (e.g. if the 
provisional bonus outturn does 
not in the Committee’s view 
reflect	overall	shareholder	
expectations).

• The Committee may set such 
performance conditions on 
awards as it considers 
appropriate,	whether	financial	or	
non-financial	and	whether	
corporate, divisional or individual.
• Performance periods may be over 
such periods as the Committee 
selects at grant, which will not 
normally be less than, but may be 
longer than, three years.

• Where a sliding scale of targets is 
used, attaining the threshold level 
of performance for any measure 
will not typically produce a 
vesting of more than 25% of the 
maximum portion of overall 
award attributable to that 
measure, with a sliding scale 
to full	payout	for	maximum	
performance.

• The Committee may in its 

judgement adjust the vesting 
outturn should it consider that 
to be	appropriate	(e.g.	if	the	
provisional vesting outturn does 
not in the Committee’s view 
reflect	overall	shareholder	
experience).

Policy table footnotes
1  Deferred awards will normally deliver the shares to participants in three equal tranches, one in each of the three years following the year in which an award is granted. 

The Committee	has	discretion	to	determine	an	alternative	vesting	profile.	Dividends	can	accrue	on	deferred	shares	during	the	deferral	period.

2  Awards granted under the Deferred Share Scheme and, from 2012 onwards, under the LTIP, are subject to malus and clawback provisions. Those provisions may apply at the 

discretion of the Committee if accounts are corrected or published that indicate the relevant performance was materially worse than in the accounts used to assess vesting. 
Other elements of remuneration are not subject to malus or clawback.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
67

Stating maximum amounts for the Remuneration Policy

The DRR Regulations and related investor guidance encourages companies to disclose a cap within which each element of the Directors’ 
Remuneration Policy will operate. Where maximum amounts for elements of remuneration have been set within the Directors’ 
Remuneration Policy, these will operate simply as caps and are not indicative of any aspiration.

Travel and hospitality

While	the	Committee	does	not	consider	it	to	form	part	of	benefits	in	the	normal	usage	of	that	term,	it	has	been	advised	that	corporate	
hospitality, whether paid for by the Company or another, and business travel for Directors and in exceptional circumstances their families 
may technically come within the applicable rules and so the Committee expressly reserves the right for the Committee to authorise such 
activities within its agreed policies.

Committee discretion

The	Committee	reserves	the	right	to	make	any	remuneration	payments	and	payments	for	loss	of	office	(including	the	exercise	of	any	
discretions available to it in connection with such payments) notwithstanding that they are not in line with the Policy set out above 
where the terms of the payment were agreed (i) before the Policy came into effect or (ii) at a time when the relevant individual was not a 
Director of the Company and, in the opinion of the Committee, the payment was not in consideration for the individual becoming a 
Director of the Company. For these purposes ‘payments’ include the Committee satisfying awards of variable remuneration and an 
award over shares is ‘agreed’ at the time the award is granted.

The Committee may operate the LTIP, the annual bonus and the Deferred Share Scheme in accordance with their terms. This includes:
•  The selection of participants;
•  The timing of grant of an award/bonus opportunity;
•  The size of an award/bonus opportunity subject to the maximum limits set out in the policy table;
•  The determination of performance against targets and resultant vesting/bonus pay-outs;
•  Discretion required when dealing with a change of control or restructuring of the group;
•  Determination of the treatment of leavers based on the rules of the plan and the appropriate treatment chosen;
•  Adjustments required in certain circumstances (e.g. rights issues, corporate restructuring events and special dividends); and
•  The annual review of performance measures, weightings and targets from year to year.

In addition, while performance measures and targets used in the annual bonus plan and LTIP will generally remain unaltered, if events 
occur which, in the Committee’s opinion, would make a different or amended target a fairer measure of performance, the Committee can 
make such amendments to the targets as it considers appropriate.

Any use of these discretions would, where relevant, be explained in the Directors’ Remuneration Report and may, where appropriate and 
practicable, be the subject of consultation with the Company’s major shareholders. In addition, for the avoidance of doubt, in approving 
this policy report, authority is given to the Company to honour any commitments entered into with current or former Directors prior to the 
adoption of this policy. The Committee may also make minor amendments to the policy set out above (for regulatory, exchange control, 
tax or administrative purposes or to take account of a change in legislation) without obtaining shareholder approval for that amendment.

Remuneration arrangements throughout the Group

Throughout the Group, remuneration is determined based on the same principles: that remuneration arrangements should be 
appropriate for the role without paying more than is necessary and that pay should be structured to incentivise individuals to deliver the 
objectives of their role. AVEVA employs over 4,500 employees in over 150 locations with roles ranging from administrators to technical 
specialists and sales staff. The structure and level of reward therefore differs from role to role depending on skills, experience, level of 
seniority and market practice for the role. AVEVA’s sales employees participate in commission plans that are designed to encourage the 
growth objectives of the Group. More senior employees have annual bonus plans, with the Executive Leadership Team receiving a 
portion of bonus in shares which is deferred for up to three years. Senior employees within the Company participate in the LTIP and a 
Restricted Share Plan.

Selection of performance measures

The Committee’s guiding principle is that remuneration arrangements that operate throughout the Group should support the delivery of 
our long-term business strategy and therefore the creation of shareholder value. Our key long-term strategic priority is to deliver strong 
but	sustainable	revenue	and	profit	growth	to	support	the	delivery	of	this	strategic	priority.	The	metrics	used	in	our	annual	bonus	
arrangements and LTIP are chosen with this in mind, with the payment of bonuses and the vesting of long-term incentives subject to 
stretching targets established by the Committee at the beginning of each performance period. These targets are set taking account of 
internal forecasts of performance over the performance period, the markets in which the Group operates, our long-term growth 
ambitions and the expectations of the investment community on the Group’s future potential performance.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements68

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

REMUNERATION COMMITTEE REPORT CONTINUED

Remuneration Policy for new hires

When determining the remuneration package for a newly appointed Executive Director, the Committee would seek to apply the following 
principles:
•  The	package	should	be	market	competitive	to	facilitate	the	recruitment	of	an	individual	of	sufficient	calibre	to	lead	the	business.	At	the	

same time, the Committee would intend to pay no more than it believes is necessary to secure the required talent.

•  The structure of the on-going remuneration package would normally include the components set out in the policy table for Executive 

Directors.

•  Where an individual forfeits outstanding variable pay opportunities or contractual rights as a result of their appointment, the 

Committee may offer compensatory payments or awards, in such form as the Committee considers appropriate taking into account 
relevant factors, which may include the form of awards, expected value and vesting timeframe of forfeited opportunities. When 
determining such ‘buy-outs’ the guiding principle would be that awards would generally be on a ‘like for like’ basis to those forfeited 
unless not considered appropriate.

•  To facilitate awards outlined above, in the event of recruitment, the Committee may grant awards to a new Executive Director in 
accordance with Listing Rule 9.4.2. This provision permits the granting of awards to facilitate, in unusual circumstances, the 
recruitment of an Executive Director, without seeking prior shareholder approval.

•  The maximum level of variable remuneration which may be awarded (excluding any “buy-out” awards) is in accordance with limits on 

the Company’s incentive plans as set out in the policy table.

•  Where an Executive Director is required to relocate to take-up their role the Committee may provide reasonable assistance with 
relocation	(either	via	one-off	or	on-going	payments	or	benefits)	taking	into	account	the	individual’s	circumstances	and	prevailing	
market practice.

•  In the event that an internal candidate is promoted to the Board, legacy terms and conditions would normally be honoured, including 

pension entitlements and any outstanding incentive awards.

Executive Director service contracts and policy on payment for loss of office

When determining leaving arrangements for an Executive Director the Committee takes into account any contractual agreements 
including the provisions of any incentive arrangements, typical market practice and the performance and conduct of the individual.

The service contracts for current and non-current Executive Directors include the following terms:

Name

Date of Contract

Date of Appointment

Continuous Service Date

Current Executive Directors

Craig Hayman

James Kidd

19 February 2018

17 February 2017

19 February 2018

19 February 2018

1 January 2017

5 January 2004

The service agreements are available to shareholders to view on request from the Company Secretary.

69

Notice Period

The CEO’s service contract can be terminated by the Company or the Executive Director on nine months’ notice. 
The CFO’s service contract can be terminated by the Company or the Executive Director on nine months’ notice. 
The service agreements provide for a period of garden leave. The Committee will determine the appropriate 
notice period for any new Director taking into account the circumstances of the individual and market practice. 
Any notice period will normally be no longer than 12 months. The Committee reserves the right to provide a 
longer	initial	notice	period	of	up	to	24	months	reducing	to	12	months	over	the	first	12	months	of	employment	if	it	
considers this to be appropriate.

Payment in lieu 
of notice

In the event of termination of contract without notice, the Executive Director shall be entitled to a payment in 
respect of salary for the period of notice. Such payment will normally be made in instalments and subject to 
mitigation but the Committee shall have discretion to make a single payment if this is considered appropriate.

Annual Bonus

The Executive Director may, at the discretion of the Committee, remain eligible to receive an annual bonus for the 
financial	year	in	which	they	ceased	employment.	Such	Annual	Bonus	award	will	be	determined	by	the	
Committee taking into account the circumstances for leaving, time in employment and performance.

Deferred Share 
Scheme

Death: In the event of a participant’s death unvested awards shall vest. Where awards are in the form of options 
they may be exercised for a period of up to 12 months from death.

Good leavers: At the discretion of the Committee, leaving by reason of injury, disability, redundancy, the 
Company for which the participant works leaving the Group or any other reasons determined by the Committee. 
Awards shall continue in full and vest on the originally anticipated vesting dates. Alternatively, the Committee 
may determine that awards should vest when the participant ceases employment. Awards in the form of options 
may be exercised in accordance with the rules of the scheme.

Leavers in other circumstances: Awards will normally lapse.

Long Term 
Incentive Plan

Good leavers: At the discretion of the Committee, leaving as a result of death, injury, disability, redundancy, 
retirement, the Company for which the participant works leaving the Group or any other reason. Unvested awards 
shall continue in existence for the remainder of the performance period. At the end of the performance period, the 
awards may be permitted to vest to the extent determined in accordance with the applicable performance 
conditions	and,	unless	the	Committee	determines	otherwise,	then	reduced	to	reflect	the	period	that	elapsed	from	
the start of the performance period to the date of cessation as a proportion of the performance period.

Other payments

Leavers in other circumstances: Awards will normally lapse. Vested but unexercised options held by 
participants who leave employment other than due to gross misconduct may be exercised for a period following 
cessation of employment.

An Executive Director who joined the Company before January 2008 and who is made redundant, may receive, 
in addition to a payment in lieu of notice, any statutory redundancy payment and any other payment to which he 
is entitled, a payment under the Company’s enhanced redundancy policy. This policy applies to all employees 
who joined the Company before January 2008. Under the policy, an eligible person will receive a payment 
calculated by reference to their length of service and weekly pay (by reference to gross annual salary) as follows:
– 7 weeks’ pay for service of up to 6 years; plus
– 1.5 weeks’ pay for each completed year of service over 7 years up to 20 years; plus
– 2 weeks’ pay for each completed year of service over 20 years.

Under the Company’s enhanced redundancy policy, eligible participants, including Executive Directors, may also 
receive a payment in lieu of a 90 day redundancy consultation period. In the event of termination of an Executive 
Director’s employment, a payment may be made in lieu of any accrued but untaken holiday. The Remuneration 
Committee would be responsible for considering the circumstances of the early termination of an Executive 
Director’s contract and determining whether in exceptional circumstances there should be compensation 
payments in excess of the Company’s contractual obligations.

The Company has the power to enter into settlement agreements with Directors and to pay compensation to settle potential legal claims. 
In addition, and consistent with market practice, in the event of the termination of an Executive Director, the Company may make a 
contribution towards that individual’s legal fees and fees for outplacement services as part of a negotiated settlement. Any such fees will 
be disclosed as part of the detail of termination arrangements. For the avoidance of doubt, the policy does not include an explicit cap on 
the cost of termination payments.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements70

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

REMUNERATION COMMITTEE REPORT CONTINUED

Change of control

In the event of a change of control or a voluntary winding-up of the Company and ultimately at the discretion of the Remuneration 
Committee:
1.  Unvested awards under the Deferred Share Scheme will vest in full at the time of change of control.
2.  Unvested awards granted under the 2014 LTIP rules will vest having regard to the extent to which performance conditions have been 
met and unless the Committee determines otherwise, the proportion of the performance period that has elapsed at the date of the 
change of control or winding-up.

Employee context

When setting Executive Directors’ pay, the Committee considers the remuneration arrangement of other senior managers and 
employees in the Group more generally to ensure that Executive remuneration arrangements are appropriate in this context. AVEVA 
undertakes an annual salary review in April each year and uses this opportunity to reward strong performance and ensure salaries are in 
line with market rates. It manages this in a competitive environment particularly in the fast-growing economic areas. When determining 
salary increases for Executive Directors the Committee considers the outcome of the wider pay review for the Group. The Committee 
does not consult directly with employees regarding Executive Directors’ remuneration. However, at regular intervals the Company 
conducts a survey of the views of employees in respect of their experience of working at AVEVA including their own reward.

Dialogue with shareholders

The views of our shareholders on remuneration matters are important to the Committee and prior to making any material changes to 
remuneration arrangements the Committee consults with major shareholders and their representative bodies to obtain their views. The 
Company remains committed to engaging with shareholders in relation to remuneration issues.

External appointments

The Company’s policy is that accepting Non-Executive appointments with other companies enhances the experience of Executive 
Directors and therefore they are entitled to accept appointments outside of the Company provided that Board approval is sought prior to 
accepting the appointment. Whether or not the Director concerned is permitted to retain their fees is considered on a case-by-case basis.

Remuneration outcomes in different performance scenarios

The remuneration package at AVEVA is structured so that the package rewards performance over both the short and long term to 
ensure that reward is aligned with shareholder value creation.

The charts below show hypothetical values of the remuneration package for Executive Directors under three assumed performance 
scenarios:

Maximum performance

On-target performance

Minimum performance

Annual bonus scheme (full pay-out)
Long-term incentive plan (LTIP) (maximum vesting)
Total

Annual bonus scheme (50% pay-out)
Long-term incentive plan (25% vesting)
Total

Annual bonus scheme (nil pay-out)
Long-term incentive plan (nil vesting)
Total

Awards as a % of salary

CEO Deputy CEO and CFO

125%
250%
375%

62.5%
62.5%
125.0%

0%
0%
0%

125%
175%
300%

62.5%
43.8%
106.3%

0%
0%
0%

No	share	price	growth	has	been	assumed.	Potential	benefits	under	all	employee	share	schemes	and	dividend	equivalents	have	not	been	
included.

Craig Hayman

James Kidd

23%

26%

51%

28%

30%

42%

Maximum performance

48%

26%

26%

On-target performance

100%

Minimum performance

Maximum performance

51%

29% 20%

On-target performance

100%

Minimum performance

£0.0m

£1.0m

£2.0m

£3.0m

£4.0m

£0.0m

£1.0m

£2.0m

£3.0m

£4.0m

 Fixed pay   

 Annual bonus   

 LTIP

 Fixed pay   

 Annual bonus   

 LTIP

71

Remuneration Policy for Non-Executive Directors

Approach to setting fees

Basis of fees

Other items

• Fees for the Chairman and the Non-
Executive Directors are determined 
taking account of the individual’s 
responsibilities, the expected time 
commitment for the role and prevalent 
market rates.

• The Board is responsible for setting fees 
for the Non-Executive Directors with the 
Remuneration Committee being 
responsible for setting fees for the 
Chairman.

• Fees are reviewed at appropriate 

intervals, usually on an annual basis.

• Basic fees are subject to the aggregate 

limit in the Company’s Articles of 
Association. Any changes in this limit 
would be subject to shareholder 
approval.

• Non-Executive Directors are paid a basic 
fee for membership of the Board with 
additional fees being paid to Non-
Executive Directors who hold the position 
of Committee Chairman to take into 
account the additional responsibilities 
and workload. Additional fees may also 
be paid for other Board responsibilities or 
roles if this is considered appropriate.
• The Chairman receives an all-inclusive 

fee for the role.

• Fees are paid in cash.

• Non-Executive Directors do not receive 

incentive pay or share awards.

• Non-Executive Directors do not currently 

receive	any	benefits	nor	pension	
arrangements.	Benefits	may	be	provided	
in the future if, in the view of the Board 
(or, in the case of the Chairman, the 
Committee), this was considered 
appropriate.

• Travel and other reasonable expenses 
(including fees incurred in obtaining 
professional advice in the furtherance of 
their duties) are reimbursed to Non-
Executive Directors (including any 
associated tax liability).

The Non-Executive Directors have appointment letters, the terms of which recognise that their appointments are subject to the 
Company’s Articles of Association and their services are at the direction of the shareholders.

The letters of appointment for Non-Executive Directors include the following terms:

Name

Philip Aiken

Jennifer Allerton

Christopher Humphrey

Ron Mobed

Emmanuel Babeau

Peter Herweck

Paula Dowdy

Expiry/review date  
of current contract

Notice period  

months

Date of appointment

1 May 2012

9 July 2013

8 July 2016

1 March 2017

1 March 2018

1 March 2018

Date of contract

1 May 2018

1 July 2016

27 June 2016

30 April 2021

30 June 2019

7 July 2019

1 March 2017

29 February 2020

1 March 2018

28 February 2021

1 March 2018

28 February 2021

1 February 2019

1 February 2019

31 January 2022

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

All Non-Executive Directors submit themselves for election at the Annual General Meeting following their appointment and subsequent 
intervals of no more than three years.

There	are	no	predetermined	special	provisions	for	Non-Executive	Directors	with	regard	to	compensation	in	the	event	of	loss	of	office.	
Non-Executive Directors are not entitled to any payments in lieu of notice.

The letters of appointment are available for shareholders to view from the Company Secretary upon request.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements72

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

REMUNERATION COMMITTEE REPORT CONTINUED

Part B: The Implementation Report

The Remuneration Committee 

The Remuneration Committee is appointed by the Board. The current members are 
Jennifer Allerton (Chair), Ron Mobed, Emmanuel Babeau and Paula Dowdy. Paula was 
appointed to the Remuneration Committee on 15 March 2019. All the Committee 
members except for Emmanuel are regarded by the Board as independent Non-Executive 
Directors. Jennifer has been a member of the Remuneration Committee since 2013 and 
became Chair in July 2017. Committee meetings are also regularly attended by the CEO, 
CFO	and	Chief	Human	Resources	Officer	(CHRO)	at	the	invitation	of	the	Chair,	to	provide	
company insight and advice to help the Committee consider appropriate remuneration. 
No Committee member or invited attendee is present during the discussion of their own 
remuneration.

The role of the Committee is set out in its terms of reference which are available on the 
company’s website at www.aveva.com. The Committee’s primary responsibility is to 
determine the remuneration package of both the Company’s Executive Directors and its 
senior management team within broad policies agreed with the Board. The Committee 
also has begun oversight of our employee engagement activities and overall Human 
Resources strategy which affects all AVEVA employees.

The Principles of our Remuneration Policy

A	significant	part	of	the	total	reward	is	related	to	share	price	performance	and	is	paid	in	
shares that must be retained until the minimum shareholding requirements have been 
met. This ensures that our Executive Directors’ interests are aligned with those of other 
shareholders.

A considerable part of the total reward is determined by the Company’s success over both 
the short and the long term. Failure to achieve threshold levels of performance results in 
no payout for these elements.

Advice and auditors

6/6

6/6
0/0
6/6

FIT Remuneration Consultants are the appointed advisors to the Committee. They provide 
independent advice on comparator information and general remuneration. Fees are 
charged on a time spent basis and the fees paid during the year to FIT in relation to the 
advice provided to the Committee were £39,685 (2018 – £107,312). FIT provide no other 
services to the Company and the Committee are content that their advice is objective and 
independent.

The auditors have reported on certain sections of Part B and stated whether, in their 
opinion, those parts have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 
2006. Those sections of Part B which have been subject to audit are clearly indicated.

Jennifer Allerton
Remuneration Committee Chair
29 May 2019

Independence split

Independent 3

Non-independent 1

Membership and attendance

Chair

Jennifer Allerton 

Committee members

Ron Mobed 
Paula Dowdy1 
Emmanuel Babeau 

Attending by invitation

CEO
CFO
CHRO

1  Appointed 15 March 2019

73

Shareholder voting and engagement

The table below shows the results of the most recent votes on the Policy (July 2018) and Implementation Report (July 2018).

Directors Remuneration Policy – AGM 2018

Directors Remuneration Report – AGM 2018

140,852,022

138,488,418

96.31

93.26

5,402,475

3.69

2,247,992

10,013,771

6.74

300

Votes for

Percentage

Votes against

Percentage

Votes withheld

Implementation of policy for the year ended March 2019 and for the forthcoming year ended March 2020
Base salary

Craig Hayman joined AVEVA as CEO on 19 February 2018 with a salary of £700,000 and his salary remained unchanged for 2018/19. 
James Kidd’s salary was £500,000 for 2018/19. Salaries for Craig and James were increased in line with the UK workforce average on 
1 April for 2019/20.

Base salary with effect from

Craig Hayman

Increase

James Kidd

Increase

1 April 2018

1 April 2019

Benefits

£700,000

£500,000

£718,200

2.6% £513,000

2.6%

In 2018/19, Executive Directors were provided with a car and fuel allowance totalling £19,200, and a £600 annual allowance towards a 
range	of	flexible	benefits.	There	is	no	proposed	change	to	either	the	benefits	structure	or	quantum	for	2019/20.

Pension

Craig	Hayman	and	James	Kidd	are	members	of	the	AVEVA	Group	Personal	Pension	Plan	(a	defined	contribution	scheme).	Both	Directors	
receive a cash in lieu allowance equivalent to 10% of salary, reduced for the effect of employers’ National Insurance contributions. As we 
look	to	integrate	the	terms	and	conditions	of	SES	and	AVEVA,	it	is	the	intention	that	any	changes	to	Executive	pension	benefits	would	be	
aligned to those of all other employees.

Annual Incentive Scheme

For 2018/19, the maximum opportunity for Executive Directors under the annual incentive was 125% of base salary, requiring a stretch 
level of performance for full payout.

The performance targets were based on
(1)	Group	adjusted	profit	before	tax	(PBT)	targets,	with	a	maximum	weighting	of	50%	of	salary,
(2) recurring revenue, with a maximum weighting of 50% of salary, and
(3) key performance objectives, with a maximum of 25% of salary available. The key individual performance objectives are agreed with 
the	Remuneration	Committee	at	the	start	of	each	financial	year,	although	this	element	will	be	capped	at	a	maximum	achievement	of	
12.5% of salary should the Group adjusted PBT target not be met.

The performance targets for 2019/20 are based on
(1) Group adjusted PBT targets, with a weighting of 50% of salary,
(2) Total Group revenue, with a weighting of 50% of salary, and
(3) Key performance objectives, with a weighting of 25% of salary. As before, this element will be capped at a maximum achievement of 

half the available amount should the Group adjusted PBT target not be met.

The Board believes that, given the annual incentive scheme rewards the achievement of the Group’s annual business plan, the targets 
are market sensitive and therefore should not be disclosed in advance, but ordinarily disclosed retrospectively.

40% of any award made under the Annual Incentive Scheme, irrespective of the amount, is payable in deferred shares as per the policy, 
and is subject to a three-year vesting period, but with no further performance conditions. There is no proposed change to the annual 
incentive scheme overall structure or quantum for 2019/20.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements74

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

REMUNERATION COMMITTEE REPORT CONTINUED

Long-Term Incentives

The structure of the LTIs issued in 2018 and intended to be issued in 2019 are as summarised below:

LTIP performance element

Weighting

Minimum performance

Mid performance

Maximum performance

EPS growth

50%

25% vesting for growth of 5% 80% vesting for growth of 10% 100% vesting for growth of 15%

Relative TSR performance 25%

25% vesting at median 
performance (50th percentile)

Linear vesting between min and 
max performance

100% vesting if in the upper 
quartile (25th percentile)

Strategic objectives

25%

25% vesting at threshold

Linear vesting between min and 
max performance

100% vesting at maximum

As outlined in last year’s report, the relative TSR performance condition was reviewed to provide a better alignment with technology 
companies	and	to	better	reflect	the	global	scale	of	the	company.	It	was	agreed	to	update	the	TSR	comparator	Group	to	one	combining	
the FTSE 350 Technology Sector and the S&P Mid Cap 400 Software companies for the 2018 award. This resulted in a group of 23 
companies, 14 of which are based in the UK, and 9 of which in the USA. Of the TSR element, 25% of this element will vest at median, 
with 100% vesting at the upper quartile.

The strategic objectives will be a sliding scale of revenue growth targets, and link directly to the Company’s strategic objectives, which 
can be found on pages 22 to 23. 25% of this element (for each revenue target) will vest at threshold levels of performance, with full 
vesting at maximum achievement.

Due to commercial sensitivity, the Committee does not believe it to be in shareholders’ interests to prospectively disclose details of the 
revenue	growth	targets.	However,	they	will	be	objectively	measurable	over	a	three-year	period,	significant	outperformance	will	be	
required to deliver full vesting, the targets will be disclosed retrospectively following vesting, and vesting will only occur if the Committee 
is	satisfied	that	the	Company’s	underlying	financial	performance	warrants	such	payment.

Single total figure of remuneration for Executive Directors (audited)

The	following	table	sets	out	the	single	figure	of	total	remuneration	for	Executive	Directors	for	the	2018/19	and	2017/18	financial	years.

Craig Hayman 2018/19

Craig Hayman 2017/18 (from 19 Feb 2018)

James Kidd 2018/19

James Kidd 2017/18

David Ward 2018/19

David Ward 2017/18 (until 19 Feb 2018)

Salary 
£’000

Benefits	
£’000

Pension 
£’000

Annual bonus 
£’000

LTIPs 
£’000

One-off awards 
£’000

700

80

500

450

–

266

20

2

20

20

–

18

60

7

43

39

–

27

857

48

613

562

–

332

–

–

1,347

–

–

–

5,7081

–

5502

–

–

–

Total 
£’000

7,345

137

3,073

1,071

–

643

1  These are the value of Craig’s buy-out awards. 176,927 options vested, and have been valued using the year end share price of 3,226p.
2  These are the value of James’ performance and retention awards (see page 75), calculated as £250k for the retention element and £300k for the performance element.

Annual incentive

This	reflects	the	total	annual	incentive	paid	and	payable	in	June	2019	based	on	performance	in	the	year	ended	31	March	2019.	This	
includes both the cash element of the bonus and the portion deferred into shares under the deferred share scheme.

Metric

Thresholds (Min), 
Budget (Mid) and 
Targets (Max)

Actual

Group revenue (pro forma)

Min: £700.0m

£775.2m

% of Max 
achieved

100%

Craig Hayman

James Kidd

Max

50%

Actual

50%

Max

50%

Actual

50%

Mid: £728.0m

Max: £742.0m

Group adjusted PBT

Min: £164.0m

£184.5m

100%

50%

50%

50%

50%

Mid: £172.6m

Max: £179.6m

Strategic objectives

see below see below

90%

25%

22.5%

25%

22.5%

Totals as a percentage of salary

125%

122.5%

125%

122.5%

Bonus receivable

Granted in cash (60%)

Granted in shares (40%)

£857,500

£514,500

£343,000

£612,500

£367,500

£245,000

The	strategic	objectives	were	based	on	furthering	our	financial	KPIs.	Whilst	the	revenue	elements	were	very	strong,	the	Committee	
determined	that	the	increase	in	costs	was	beyond	the	objective	of	inflationary	growth,	and	awarded	performance	at	90%	achievement.

75

Long-term incentives

This includes the LTIP awards granted under the Long-Term Incentive Plan in 2016 that were capable of vesting based on performance 
in the three-year period ended 31 March 2019.

These awards were subject to the delivery of diluted adjusted EPS growth. 0% of awards vest for growth of less than 5% p.a., 100% of 
awards vest for growth of 15% p.a., and straight-line vesting applies between these two points. Average diluted adjusted EPS growth 
for the three-year performance period was 13.7% and therefore 89.9% of the LTIP awards vested for the period relating to 2018/19. 

Other information in relation to 2018/19
Scheme interests awarded in the year (audited)

The following tables set out details of the LTIP 2014 and deferred share awards made to the Executive Directors during 2018/19:

Executive Director

Craig Hayman

James Kidd

Date of grant

Basis of Award

Face Value of Awards1

Performance Period

28 September 2018

250% of base salary

£1,750,000

28 September 2018

175% of base salary

£875,000

1 April 2018 – 
31 March 2021

1  To determine the number of shares over which these awards were made, a share price was used of 2,928p for Craig and James’ September 2018 grant, being the average share 

price for the three days prior to the award.

Deferred Share Awards

Executive Director

Date of grant

Basis of Award

Face Value of Awards2

Performance Period

Craig Hayman

5 July 2018

James Kidd

5 July 2018

Deferred element of 2017/18 
annual incentive

£19,344

£227,247

No performance period. Awards vest in equal 
tranches on the date of announcement in May 
2019, May 2020 and May 2021.

2	 This	is	calculated	as	the	number	of	deferred	shares	issued,	multiplied	by	the	closing	share	price	the	day	before	the	preliminary	announcement	last	year	(13	June 2018)	of	2,532p.

Performance and Retention Awards (PRAs)

A one-off performance and retention award has been put in place for James Kidd as approved by shareholders at the 2018 AGM. The 
gross initial grant value is £1,500,000. The award is divided into two equal parts: (i) the retention award is subject to continued 
employment within AVEVA Group, as well as the satisfaction of a performance underpin; and (ii) the performance award is subject to the 
same conditions as the retention award and in addition, further subject to satisfaction of stretching and challenging business and 
integration-related targets and objectives.

Subject	to	the	extent	to	which	these	performance	targets	and	objectives	are	satisfied,	the	portion	of	the	performance	award	that	shall	
vest will be between 75% and 125% of the initial value. Note that the performance award is also subject to a performance underpin, and 
the Remuneration Committee may in its absolute discretion reduce the amount payable if it determines that, in its opinion, the amounts 
payable	do	not	reflect	the	underlying	performance	of	the	Group	or	the	individual	during	the	relevant	vesting	period.

One	third	of	the	total	award	vested	and	became	payable	from	the	first	anniversary	of	the	date	of	completion	(i.e.	1	March	2019)	and	the	
remaining two thirds shall vest and become payable from the second anniversary (i.e. 1 March 2020), subject to continued employment 
and performance conditions as described above. The one-third of the retention award that became payable in March 2019 was paid in 
full, at a value of £250,000. 

The one-third of the performance award that became payable in March 2019 comprised three elements:
•  revenue synergies, valued at 40% of the award total, 
•  cost synergies, valued at 40% of the award total, and
•  integration-related objectives, valued at 20% of the award total.

The revenue synergy targets as set out by the Board were achieved at a stretch level of performance, and the cost synergy targets were 
ahead of schedule for the two year programme. The Committee therefore awarded a full payout at 125% of these elements. The precise 
details of these targets are currently regarded as commercially sensitive. The progress against, and details of, the integration-related 
metrics are as follows:
•  Delivery of a clear and integrated IT strategy. This is implemented and on track, and relates to ERP and CRM systems.
•  Communication of our strategic plan for the enlarged Group, including Capital Markets Day and ongoing communication of progress.
•  Real estate strategy plan. This has been established, with the implementation on track and cost savings starting to be achieved.

These metrics are on track and the award was made at 100%. The total amount awarded for the performance element was £300,000.

50% of the net cash amounts paid under the awards are required to be reinvested by the individual into acquiring ordinary shares in 
AVEVA Group plc, at market value, from the open market. These shares must be held for at least two years from the date of the share 
purchase,	save	for	circumstances	which	the	Committee	determines	to	be	exceptional,	or	if	the	individual	is	classified	as	a	‘good	leaver’.

The awards shall be subject to clawback, which shall be operable for a period of three years of the date of payment, if it is later 
determined that there has been an overpayment as a result of a misstatement of the accounts, an error or reliance upon incorrect 
information, assumptions or facts, or the individual’s misconduct.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements76

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

REMUNERATION COMMITTEE REPORT CONTINUED

Shareholding guidelines and interests in shares (audited)

Executive Directors are required to build up a shareholding from vested Long-term Incentive awards. Shares are valued for these 
purposes	at	the	financial	year-end	price,	which	was	3,226p	at	31	March	2019.

Share ownership 
guideline as a % of 
base salary

Have  
guidelines 
been met?

200%
200%

No
On-target

Actual share ownership  
(as a % of base salary)

Shares owned outright  
at end of year

2018/19

0%
154%

2017/18

2018/19

2017/18

0%
86%

–
23,809

–
20,367

Craig Hayman
James Kidd

Outstanding scheme interests (audited)

As at  

Craig Hayman
LTIP
Deferred shares
Buy-out awards1

James Kidd
LTIP
Deferred shares

1 April 2018
Number

Normal grants 
during the year

Dividend 
equivalent

Exercised during  

the year

Lapsed/forfeited 
during the year

As at  

31 March 2019

Exercise price 
(p)

16,204
–
296,479

63,636
757
–

108,833
1,867

31,818
8,886

162
7
2,974

887
99

–
–
–

–
–
–

80,002
764
299,453

–
(824)2

(20,397)
–

121,141
10,028

3.556
nil
nil

3.556
nil

Gain on  
exercise of 
share options

n/a
n/a
n/a

n/a
20,4852

1  During the year, 176,927 shares vested. 31,299 shares remain subject to performance
2  Market value at exercise date was 2,486p

Buy-out awards for Craig Hayman

In	order	to	secure	Craig	as	CEO	the	Company	had	to	commit	to	compensate	him	by	way	of	a	“buy-out”	for	the	loss	of	significant	
outstanding equity awards on leaving PTC which had a maximum potential value of over £9 million. The maximum value of the awards 
granted to Craig was £5.5 million, using the share price on his date of appointment, and the structure of the awards was detailed in last 
year’s Remuneration Report.

The awards are subject to an additional requirement that Craig would normally be required to pay back any amounts vesting (net of tax) 
if he resigns within 2.5 years of joining (or be dismissed for gross misconduct or under one of the summary termination provisions in his 
service agreement within 3 years of joining).

Revaluing the awards using the year end share price of 3,226p, the total value of the awards is estimated at £9.6 million, with 
£5.7 million	having	vested	in	the	year.	None	of	the	vested	awards	were	exercised	in	the	year.

Summary of LTIP targets for all LTIPs in issue
Existing AVEVA LTIPs

The following table sets out a summary of the performance targets attached to outstanding long-term incentive awards.

Performance measures are based on diluted adjusted EPS 
compound annual growth over a three-year period. 25% vests for 
diluted adjusted EPS growth of threshold, and 100% vests for 
diluted adjusted EPS growth of the maximum. For LTIs issued in 
2014, 2015 and 2016, linear interpolation applied between these 
points. For LTIs issued in 2017 and beyond, non-linear vesting will 
apply, as outlined in the table opposite.

Adjusted EPS growth targets p.a.

Threshold

Midpoint

Maximum

Date of award

Options granted 
to Executive 
Directors

Period of performance 
measurement

Diluted adjusted 
EPS1 growth 
threshold

Diluted adjusted 
EPS1 growth 
midpoint

Diluted adjusted 
EPS1 growth 
maximum

Diluted adjusted 
EPS growth 
achieved

21 July 2015

61,615

2015/16 – 2017/18

12%

16%

20%

6.0%

13 July 2016

86,712

2016/17 – 2018/19

8 September 2017
6 March 2018

45,994
16,204

2017/18 – 2019/20

28 September 2018

95,454

2018/19 –2020/21

5%

5%

5%

10%

15%

13.7%

10%

15%

10%

15%

1	 The	definition	of	and	figures	used	for	adjusted	diluted	EPS	are	provided	in	note	13	in	the	notes	to	the	consolidated	financial	statements.

Proportion of vesting

2017 LTIP  

and beyond

2016 LTIP  

and previous

25%

80%

25%

62.5%

100%

100%

Achievement

Target not met, 
award did not vest

Target partially met; 
89.9% of award 
vested

Performance period 
not yet completed

Performance period 
not yet completed

77

Dilution

The number of shares which may be allocated on exercise of any options granted under any of the Company’s share option schemes 
(including employee schemes) shall not, when aggregated with the number of shares which have been allocated in the previous ten 
years under these schemes, exceed 5% of the ordinary share capital of the Company in issue immediately prior to that date.

Payments made to past Directors (audited)

Richard Longdon received LTIP awards granted in a previous period. These shall vest as per the scheme rules, as summarised in the 
Remuneration Policy.

David Ward continued to be employed with the Group and was rewarded in line with the terms and conditions of his employment.

No other payments were made during 2018/19.

Payments for loss of office (audited)

No	payments	were	made	for	loss	of	office	during	2018/19.

Total shareholder return v. techMARK All-Share Index 2009–2019

The graph below shows performance, measured by total shareholder return, compared with the performance of the techMARK All-Share 
Index. Total shareholder return is the share price plus dividends reinvested compared against the techMARK All-Share Index, rebased to 
the start of the period. The Directors consider this index to be an appropriate choice as it includes AVEVA Group plc.

Total shareholder return (GBP)

1,100
1,000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0

AVEVA Group, rebased

Techmark, rebased

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

CEO single figure ten year history

The	table	below	shows	the	ten	year	history	of	the	CEO	single	figure	of	total	remuneration:

2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

2014/15

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

Richard Longdon  

(to 31 December 2016)

James Kidd  

(1 January 2017 to 18 February 2018)

Craig Hayman  

(19 February 2018 onwards)

CEO single figure of total remuneration 

818

695

1,003

963

1,163

517

561

395

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

127

949

–

137

7,346

–

–

(£’000)

818

695

1,003

963

1,163

517

561

522

1,086

7,346

Annual incentive pay-out  

(% of maximum)

LTIP pay-out (% of maximum)

100% 100%
100%

68%
0% 100%

94%
33%

50%
94%

8%
0%

8%
0%

18%
0%

91%
0%

98%
n/a1

1  The relevant pay-out for LTIPs vesting this year was 90%, but Craig had no LTIPs that vested in the year.

Change in remuneration of the Director undertaking the role of CEO (audited)

The	table	below	illustrates	the	percentage	change	in	salary,	benefits	and	annual	incentive	for	the	Group	CEO	and	two	selected	sub-sets	
of	employees	(including	only	those	employees	who	were	employed	at	the	start	of	the	FY18	financial	year	through	to	the	end	of	the	FY19	
financial	year).	The	UK	and	US	employee	base	have	been	chosen	because	the	Group	offices	of	heritage	AVEVA	and	SES	are	
headquartered	in	these	countries	respectively,	and	together	employ	just	over	one-quarter	of	its	workforce.	Typical	salary	inflation	in	
some other AVEVA locations is materially higher than the UK and US, which would distort the comparison.

% change (2017/18 to 2018/19)

Base Salary
Benefits
Annual Bonus

1	 This	percentage	change	reflects	the	change	in	incumbent	over	the	period	rather	than	a	salary	increase.

Executive 
Leadership 
Team

UK & USA 
employees

7%
0%
26%

2%
0%
18%

CEO

45%1
0%
10%

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements78

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

REMUNERATION COMMITTEE REPORT CONTINUED

Relative importance of spend on pay

The chart below illustrates the year-on-year change in total remuneration for all employees in the Group compared to total revenue, 
adjusted EBIT and distributions to shareholders. The Committee determined total revenue and adjusted EBIT were appropriate measures 
for this chart as they are the primary measures for the annual incentive scheme.

Relative importance of spend on pay (GBP millions)

2018/19

2017/18

Employee
staff costs

Total
revenue

Adjusted
EBIT

Dividends
paid

 396.3 | +62%

 243.9

 766.6 | +58%

 486.3

 175.9 | +63%

 108.0

 46.8 | +8%

 43.5

Outside appointments

The Board believes that accepting Non-Executive appointments with other companies enhances the experience of Executive Directors 
and therefore they are entitled to accept appointments outside of the Company provided that Board approval is sought prior to accepting 
the appointment. Whether or not the Director concerned is permitted to retain their fees is considered on a case-by-case basis. Neither 
Craig nor James held any outside appointments during the year.

Total pension entitlements

The	Company’s	defined	benefit	scheme	is	not	open	to	new	members,	and	neither	of	the	Executive	Directors	in	the	year	are	or	have	ever	
been	a	member.	Both	the	Executive	Directors	are	members	of	the	AVEVA	Group	Personal	Pension	Plan,	a	defined	contribution	pension	
scheme. Both Directors by virtue of their level of income are subject to a cap on pension contributions of £10,000 per annum. Both 
Directors have elected to receive a cash alternative, as allowed under the policy. During 2018/19, James received cash in lieu of 
contributions of £43,100 (FY18: £38,790), and Craig received cash in lieu of contributions of £60,340 (FY18: £6,885).

Non-Executive Directors
Single	total	figure	of	remuneration	for	Non-Executive	Directors	(audited)

As noted in the Policy Report, the fees for the Chairman and the Non-Executive Directors are determined taking account of the 
individuals’ responsibilities, time devoted to the role and prevalent market rates.

The	table	below	shows	a	single	figure	of	remuneration	for	each	of	our	Non-Executive	Directors.

Philip Aiken (Chairman)
Jennifer Allerton
Christopher Humphrey
Ron Mobed 
Paula Dowdy (appointed 1 February 2019)
Emmanuel Babeau1
Peter Herweck1

1	 Emmanuel	and	Peter	have	waived	their	fees	for	their	first	three-year	term	(1	March	2018	to	28	February	2021).

2018/19  
fees 
£

2017/18  
fees 
£

270,000
71,500
83,000
60,000
10,000
–
–

192,000
58,674
70,174
50,300
–
–
–

79

Implementation of Remuneration Policy for NEDs in 2019/20

NEDs	do	not	participate	in	any	of	the	Company’s	incentive	arrangements	nor	do	they	receive	any	benefits.	Their	fees	are	reviewed	at	
appropriately regular intervals, usually annually, against those for companies of a similar scale and complexity to AVEVA. They have 
increased in line with the UK employee average pay rise of 2.6%, except for the Committee Chairman fee, which has increased 6.5% to 
better	reflect	market	rate.	The	increased	fees	were	introduced	with	effect	from	1	April	2019.	The	Chairman’s	fees	are	set	by	the	
Committee and the Chief Executive; those for the NEDs are set by the Board as a whole. The table below shows the annual fees payable 
for each of the NED roles held in the year.

Role

Chairman
Basic Non-Executive Director fee
Vice Chairman
Committee Chairman fee (Audit and Remuneration)
Senior Independent Director

NEDs’ interests in shares (audited)

The table shows the interests in AVEVA ordinary shares of Non-Executive Directors and their connected persons.

2019/20  
fees 
£

2018/19  
fees 
£

277,000
61,500
40,000
12,250
11,800

270,000
60,000
40,000
11,500
11,500

Philip Aiken (Chairman)
Jennifer Allerton
Christopher Humphrey
Ron Mobed
Paula Dowdy
Emmanuel Babeau
Peter Herweck

Shares owned 
outright at 
31 March 2019

Shares owned 
outright at 
31 March	2018

2,337
10,300
4,000
3,000
–
–
–

2,337
12,000
4,000
3,000
–
–
–

There have been no changes to Directors’ holdings between the year-end date and the publication of this report.

This Remuneration Committee report has been approved by the Board of Directors and is signed on its behalf by:

Jennifer Allerton
Remuneration Committee Chair
29 May 2019

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements80

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

OTHER STATUTORY INFORMATION

Results and dividends

Financial instruments

The Directors’ Report for the year ended 
31 March 2019 comprises pages 1 to 83 
of this report, together with the other 
sections of the Annual Report incorporated 
by reference to page numbers referred to 
below. As permitted by legislation, some 
of the matters required to be included in 
the Directors’ Report have instead been 
included in the Strategic Report, as the 
Board considers them to be of strategic 
importance.	Specifically,	these	are:
•  operations during the year and future 

business developments (throughout the 
Strategic Report);

•  risk management and internal control 

on pages 26 to 30; and

•  post balance sheet events on page 37;

The	Group	made	a	profit	for	the	
year after taxation of £33.8 million 
(FY18: £40.5 million). Revenue was 
£766.6 million (FY18: £486.3 million) 
and comprised software licences, 
software maintenance and services.

The Directors recommend the payment of 
a	final	dividend	of	29.0	pence	per	ordinary	
share (FY18: 27.0 pence). If approved at 
the forthcoming Annual General Meeting, 
the	final	dividend	will	be	paid	on	2	August	
2019 to shareholders on the register 
at close of business on 5 July 2019.

Business review and future 
developments

A review of the Group’s operations 
during the year and its plans for the 
future is given in the Chairman’s 
Statement, the Chief Executive’s 
Review and the Finance Review.

The	financial	Key	Performance	Indicators	
used by AVEVA to measure its own 
performance at the Group level include 
total revenue, recurring revenue, adjusted 
EBIT margin, adjusted diluted earnings per 
share	and	cash	conversion.	The	figures	for	
the year ended 31 March 2019 are set out 
on	pages	24	to	25,	together	with	figures	
for the previous year, and a discussion of 
the principal risks and uncertainties facing 
the Group is included on pages 26 to 30.

Research & Development

The Group continues an active programme 
of Research & Development which 
covers the updating of, and extension 
to, the Group’s range of products.

Intellectual property

The Group owns intellectual property both 
in its software tools and the products 
derived from them. The Directors consider 
such	properties	to	be	of	significant	
value to the business and have a 
comprehensive programme to protect it.

The	Group’s	financial	risk	
management objectives and policies 
are discussed in note 27 to the 
consolidated	financial	statements.

Directors and their interests

Directors’ share and share option holdings 
are disclosed in the Remuneration 
Committee Report on pages 76 and 79.

No Director had a material interest 
in	any	contract	of	significance,	other	
than a service contract or contract for 
services, with the Company or any of its 
subsidiaries at any time during the year.

Conflicts of interest

Throughout the year the Company 
had effective procedures in place 
to	deal	with	conflict	situations	and	
these have been operated effectively. 
During	the	year	no	conflicts	arose	
which would require the Board to 
exercise its authority or discretion.

Share capital

Details of the issued share capital can 
be found in note 31 to the consolidated 
financial	statements.	The	rights	
attaching to the Company’s shares are 
set out in its Articles of Association.

Subject to any restrictions referred to in 
the next section, members may attend 
any general meeting of the Company.

There are no restrictions on the transfer 
of ordinary shares in the Company other 
than: certain restrictions which may from 
time to time be imposed by laws and 
regulations (for example, insider trading 
laws); and pursuant to the Market Abuse 
Regulation and the Company’s own rules 
whereby Directors and certain employees 
of the Company require the approval 
of the Company to deal in the ordinary 
shares and pursuant to the Articles of 
Association where there is default in 
supplying the Company with information 
concerning interests in the Company’s 
shares. There are no special control rights 
in relation to the Company’s shares.

Voting rights

Subject to any restrictions below, on a 
show of hands every member who is 
present in person or by proxy at a general 
meeting has one vote on each resolution 
and, on a poll, every member who is 
present in person or by proxy has one 
vote on each resolution for every share of 
which he/she is the registered member. 
A proxy will have one vote for and one 
vote against a resolution on a show of 
hands	in	certain	circumstances	specified	
in the Articles of Association. The Notice 

of	Annual	General	Meeting	specifies	
deadlines for exercising voting rights.

A resolution put to the vote of a 
general meeting is decided on a show 
of hands, unless before or on the 
declaration of the result of the show 
of hands, a poll is demanded by the 
Chairman of the meeting. The Articles 
of the Company also allow members, 
in certain circumstances, to demand 
that a resolution is decided by a poll.

A member may vote personally or by 
proxy at a general meeting. Any form of 
proxy must be delivered to the Company 
not less than 48 hours before the time 
appointed for holding the meeting or 
adjourned meeting at which the person 
named in the appointment proposes to 
vote (for this purpose, the Directors may 
specify that no account shall be taken of 
any part of a day that is not a working 
day). A corporation which is a member of 
the Company may authorise such persons 
as	it	thinks	fit	to	act	as	its	representatives	
at any general meeting of the Company.

No member shall be entitled to attend 
or vote, either personally or by proxy, 
at a general meeting in respect of any 
share if any call or other sum presently 
payable to the Company in respect 
of such share remains unpaid or in 
certain	other	circumstances	specified	
in the Articles of Association where 
there is default in supplying the 
Company with information concerning 
interests in the Company’s shares.

Dividends, distributions and 
liquidation

Members	can	declare	final	dividends	by	
passing an ordinary resolution but the 
amount of the dividends cannot exceed the 
amount recommended by the Board. The 
Board can pay interim dividends provided 
the	distributable	profits	of	the	Company	
justify such payment. The Board may, if 
authorised by an ordinary resolution of 
the members, offer any member the right 
to elect to receive new shares, which will 
be credited as fully paid, instead of their 
cash dividend. Any dividend which has not 
been claimed for 12 years after it became 
due for payment will be forfeited and will 
then revert to the Company. Members may 
share in surplus assets on a liquidation.

If the Company is wound up, the 
liquidator can, with the sanction of the 
members by special resolution and any 
other sanction required by law, divide 
among the members all or any part of 
the assets of the Company and he/she 
can value any assets and determine 
how the divisions shall be carried out 
as between the members or different 

81

classes of members. The liquidator can 
also transfer the whole or any part of the 
assets to trustees upon any trusts for 
the	benefit	of	the	members.	No	members	
can be compelled to accept any asset 
which would give them any liability.

There are no agreements between 
holders of securities that are known 
to the Company which may result in 
restrictions on the transfer of securities or 
on voting rights, save as described below 
in	relation	to	the	Employee	Benefit	Trust.

Change of control

All of the Company’s share-based plans 
and long-term incentive schemes contain 
provisions relating to change of control. 
Outstanding awards and options normally 
vest and become exercisable or payable 
on or following a change of control 
arising as a result of an offer or the court 
sanctioning a compromise or arrangement 
under the Companies Act 2006, subject 
to the satisfaction of any relevant 
performance conditions at that time.

The £100m multicurrency revolving 
facility with Barclays Bank plc as agent 
dated 5 September 2017 states that 
upon any person or group of persons 
acting in concert gaining control, and 
following a negotiation period if no 
agreement is reached, a lender may 
cancel its commitment and declare all 
outstanding loans immediately due and 
payable. The Relationship Agreement 
referred to below will terminate 
(amongst other events) upon listing of 
the Company’s shares being cancelled.

There	are	no	other	significant	
agreements to which the Company 
is a party that take effect, alter or 
terminate upon a change of control of 
the Company following a takeover bid.

There are no agreements between 
the Company and its Directors or 
employees providing for compensation 
for	loss	of	office	or	employment	that	
occurs because of a takeover bid.

Articles of Association

Any amendments to the Articles of 
Association of the Company may 
be made in accordance with the 
provisions of the Companies Act 
by way of special resolution.

Powers of the Directors

The business of the Company is managed 
by the Directors, who may exercise 
all powers of the Company, subject to 
the Company’s Articles of Association, 
relevant statutory law and to any direction 
that may be given by the Company in 

Substantial shareholdings

Interests in the ordinary share capital of the Company are set out in the table below.

The	Company	had	been	notified,	in	accordance	with	Disclosure	Guidance	and	Transparency	
Rule 5, of the following interests in the ordinary share capital of the Company:

Name of holder

As at 31 March 2019

As at 1 May 2019

Number

Percentage  

held %

Number

Percentage  

held %

Schneider Electric SE
Aberdeen Standard Investments

97,169,655
8,301,431

60.2 97,169,655
8,284,326

5.2

60.2
5.1

In the period from 1 May 2019 to the date of this report, we have received no further 
notifications	of	any	changes	to	holdings	in	accordance	with	the	DTR	5.

•  the section below titled “Majority 
Shareholder and the Relationship 
Agreement” (in respect of a statement 
by the Board in respect of the 
Relationship Agreement with the 
controlling shareholder); and

•  the Remuneration Committee Report in 
relation to Craig Hayman (in respect of 
details of long-term incentive schemes 
as required by the Listing Rules).

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting will be held on 
8 July 2019 at Ashurst LLP, London Fruit and 
Wool Exchange, 1 Duval Square, London, 
E1 6PW. The Notice of the Annual General 
Meeting is being sent to shareholders along 
with this Annual Report, which contains 
details of the resolutions proposed.

Employee Benefit Trust

The	AVEVA	Group	Employee	Benefit	
Trust 2008 was established in 2008 
to facilitate satisfying the transfer of 
shares to employees within the Group 
on exercise of vested options under the 
various share option and deferred bonus 
share plans of the Company. The Trust 
holds a total of 350,270 ordinary shares 
in AVEVA Group plc representing 0.22% 
(FY18: 14,758 shares) representing 
0.01%) of the issued share capital at the 
date of this report. Under the terms of 
the Trust deed governing the Trust, the 
trustees are required (unless the Company 
directs otherwise) to waive all dividends 
and abstain from voting in respect of 
ordinary shares in AVEVA Group plc 
held	by	the	Trust	except	where	beneficial	
ownership of any such ordinary shares 
was	passed	to	a	beneficiary	of	the	Trust.	
In the same way as other employees, the 
Executive Directors of the Company are 
potential	beneficiaries	under	the	Trust.

general meeting by special resolution. 
Subject to the Companies Act, shares 
may be issued by Board resolution. At 
the Company’s last Annual General 
Meeting, powers were granted to the 
Directors (subject to limits set out in the 
resolutions) to issue and to buy back its 
own shares; similar powers are proposed 
to be granted at the forthcoming Annual 
General Meeting. The buy-back authority 
was limited to 10% of the Company’s 
issued share capital. No shares have 
been bought back under this authority.

Appointment of Directors

The Articles of Association limit the 
number of Directors to not less than 
two and not more than ten save where 
members decide otherwise. Members may 
appoint Directors by ordinary resolution 
and may remove any Director (subject 
to the giving of special notice) and, if 
desired, replace such removed Director by 
ordinary resolution. New Directors may be 
appointed by the Board but are subject to 
election	by	members	at	the	first	Annual	
General Meeting after their appointment. 
A	Director	may	be	removed	from	office	
if requested by all other Directors.

The Company’s Articles of Association 
require that at each AGM there shall 
retire	from	office	(and	be	subject	to	
re-election by members) any Director 
who shall have been a Director at each 
of the preceding two Annual General 
Meetings and who was not appointed 
or re-appointed then or subsequently. 
However, in accordance with the UK 
Corporate Governance Code, the Company 
requires	all	Directors	who	held	office	at	
31 March 2019 to stand for re-election.

Listing Rules disclosures

For the purpose of LR9.8.4C R, the 
only applicable information required 
to be disclosed in accordance with 
LR9.8.4 R can be found in:
•  the section below titled “Employee 

Benefit	Trust”	(in	respect	of	shareholder	
waiver of dividends and future 
dividends);

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements82

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

OTHER STATUTORY INFORMATION CONTINUED

Majority Shareholder and the 
Relationship Agreement

The Company entered into a relationship 
agreement with Schneider Electric SE, 
its majority shareholder, on 1 March 
2018 (the “Relationship Agreement”).

The Relationship Agreement will 
remain in force until (i) AVEVA ceases 
to be listed or (ii) the Schneider Electric 
Group ceases to be a shareholder or 
(iii) if earlier, by agreement between 
Schneider Electric and AVEVA (subject 
always to the Listing Rules).

The Relationship Agreement contains 
provisions relating to the ongoing 
relationship between AVEVA and 
Schneider Electric, including:
•  Schneider Electric may appoint up to 

two Non-Executive Directors 
(depending on the level of its 
shareholding);

•  after a period of two years from 

completion of the combination, for so 
long as Schneider Electric has the right 
to appoint at least one Non-Executive 
Director, it will have the right (but not 
the obligation) to appoint such 
Non-Executive Director as the 
Chairman;

•  so long as Schneider Electric is entitled 
to appoint at least one Non-Executive 
Director, each of the Remuneration 
Committee and Nomination Committee 
will comprise a total of three members, 
one of whom will be the (or a) Non-
Executive Director appointed by 
Schneider Electric and the other two 
members will be independent Non-
Executive Directors; and
•  for the period of 5 years from 

completion of the combination and 
provided Schneider Electric holds more 
than 50% of the voting rights in AVEVA, 
AVEVA shall give Schneider Electric 
reasonable	notice	of	certain	specified	
transactions.

The Relationship Agreement also provides 
that, for so long as Schneider Electric 
remains a “controlling shareholder” 
of AVEVA within the meaning of 
LR6.1.2AR; or (ii) the Schneider Electric 
Group holds 25% or more of the voting 
rights or economic interest in AVEVA, 
it agrees to undertake, and procure 
that	its	Associates	(as	defined	in	the	
Listing Rules) undertake, that:

(a) all transactions, agreements and 

arrangements between the Schneider 
Electric Group and any member of the 
enlarged AVEVA Group are conducted 
at arms’ length basis and on normal 
commercial terms;

(b) neither Schneider Electric nor any of its 
Associates will propose or procure the 
proposal of a shareholder resolution 
which is intended or appears to be 
intended to circumvent the proper 
application of the Listing Rules;

After this further 18-month period, 
Schneider Electric will be under no 
restrictions as to further acquisitions of 
shares or making offers. Further details of 
the Relationship Agreement are set out in 
the Prospectus, Part XII, paragraph 3.7.

(c) neither Schneider Electric nor any of its 
Associates will take any action that 
would have the effect of preventing 
AVEVA from complying with its 
obligations under the Listing Rules or 
the terms of the Relationship 
Agreement; and

(d) it will abstain and will cause its 

Associates to abstain from voting on 
any resolution to approve a “related 
party	transaction”	(as	defined	in	the	
Listing Rules) involving Schneider 
Electric or any of its Associates as the 
related party.

There is no restriction on disposals of 
shares in AVEVA by Schneider Electric. 
For two years following completion of the 
combination, without the approval of the 
majority of the independent Non-Executive 
Directors, Schneider Electric will not:

(a) announce or make a general offer under 
the Takeover Code for the remaining 
shares in the Company;

(b) vote in favour of a delisting of the 

Company; or

(c) increase the aggregate shareholding of 
Schneider Electric and its Associates 
above its percentage shareholding 
immediately after completion.

For 18 months after the end of the two-year 
period, the restrictions outlined above 
regarding making an offer for the Company 
or acquiring further shares in the Company 
shall continue to apply save that Schneider 
Electric and its Associates will be permitted, 
without any need for independent 
Non-Executive Director approval:

(a) to announce or make a general offer 
under the Takeover Code for the 
remaining shares in the Company 
(subject to certain requirements as to 
the offer price and to recommendation 
by a majority of the independent 
Non-Executive Directors); and

(b) otherwise to acquire additional shares 

in the Company in the market or 
otherwise, up to an aggregate 
shareholding below 75% of AVEVA’s 
issued share capital.

AVEVA has and, in so far as it is aware, 
Schneider Electric and its Associates 
have complied with the independence 
provisions in the Relationship Agreement 
during the period under review.

Disabled employees

The Group gives full consideration to 
applications for employment from disabled 
persons where the candidate’s particular 
aptitudes and abilities are consistent with 
adequately meeting the requirements 
of the job. Opportunities are available 
to disabled employees for training, 
career development and promotion.

Where existing employees become 
disabled, it is the Group’s policy to 
provide continuing employment wherever 
practicable in the same or an alternative 
position and to provide appropriate 
training to achieve this aim as well as 
reasonable adjustments to the workplace 
and other support mechanisms.

Employee involvement

The Group places considerable value on 
the involvement of its employees and 
has continued to keep them informed of 
matters affecting them as employees 
and on the various factors affecting 
the performance of the Group. This is 
achieved through formal and informal 
meetings, employee newsletters, the 
Group intranet and presentations from 
senior management. There is an employee 
representative committee which meets on 
a regular basis to discuss a wide range of 
matters affecting their current and future 
interests. All employees are entitled to 
receive an annual discretionary award 
related	to	the	overall	profitability	of	the	
Group subject to the performance of 
the individual and the Group. The Group 
conducts employee-wide surveys from time 
to time to gauge the success or otherwise 
of its policies and uses this information 
to improve matters as appropriate.

Directors’ indemnity

The Company has granted an indemnity 
to its Directors against liability in 
respect of proceedings brought by 
third parties, subject to the conditions 
set out in the Companies Act. Such 
qualifying third-party indemnity 
provision remains in force as at the date 
of approving the Directors’ report.

83

In	preparing	the	parent	company	financial	
statements, the Directors are required to:
•  select suitable accounting policies and 

then apply them consistently;
•  make judgments and accounting 

estimates that are reasonable and 
prudent;

•  state whether applicable UK 

Accounting Standards have been 
followed, subject to any material 
departures disclosed and explained in 
the	financial	statements;	and

•  prepare	the	financial	statements	on	the	

going concern basis unless it is 
inappropriate to presume that the 
Company will continue in business.

The Directors are responsible for keeping 
adequate accounting records which are 
sufficient	to	disclose	with	reasonable	
accuracy	at	any	time	the	financial	position	
of the Company and enable them to ensure 
that	the	financial	statements	comply	with	
the Companies Act 2006 and, as regards 
the	Group	financial	statements,	Article	
4 of the IAS Regulation. They are also 
responsible for safeguarding the assets 
of the Company and hence for taking 
reasonable steps for the prevention and 
detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Disclosure of information to auditor

The Directors who were members of 
the Board at the time of approving the 
Directors’ Report are listed on pages 46 to 
47.	Each	of	these	Directors	confirms	that:
•  so far as he/she is aware, there is no 

relevant	audit	information	(as	defined	
by Section 418 of the Companies Act 
2006) of which the Company’s auditor 
is unaware; and

•  he/she has taken all the steps he/she 
ought to have taken as a Director in 
order to make himself/herself aware of 
any such relevant audit information and 
to establish that the Company’s auditor 
is aware of that information.

Fair and balanced reporting

Having taken advice from the Audit 
Committee, the Board considers the 
Annual Report and Accounts, taken 
as a whole, is fair, balanced and 
understandable and that it provides the 
information necessary for shareholders 
to assess the Company’s position and 
performance, business model and strategy.

Responsibility statement pursuant to 
FCA’s Disclosure Guidance and 
Transparency Rule 4 (DTR 4)

Each Director of the Company 
(whose names and functions appear 
on	pages	46	and	47)	confirms	that	
(solely for the purpose of DTR 4) to 
the best of his or her knowledge:
•  the	financial	statements	in	this	

document, prepared in accordance with 
the applicable UK law and applicable 
accounting standards, give a true and 
fair view of the assets, liabilities, 
financial	position	and	profit	of	the	
Company and the undertakings 
included in the consolidation taken as a 
whole; and

•  the Strategic Report and the Directors’ 
Report include a fair review of the 
development and performance of the 
business and the position of the 
Company and the undertakings 
included in the consolidation taken as a 
whole, together with a description of 
the principal risks and uncertainties 
that they face.

This Directors’ Report has been approved 
by the Board of Directors and is signed on 
its behalf by:

David Ward
Deputy CFO & Company Secretary
29 May 2019

Greenhouse gas emissions reporting

The Company is required to state the 
annual quantity of emissions in tonnes of 
carbon dioxide equivalent from activities 
for which the Group is responsible, 
including the combustion of fuel, the 
operation of any facility, and resulting from 
the purchase of electricity, heat, steam or 
cooling. Details of our emissions are set 
out within the Corporate Responsibility 
section of the Strategic Report and form 
part of the Directors’ Report disclosures.

Auditor

A resolution to re-appoint Ernst & 
Young LLP as auditor for the ensuing 
year will be put to the members at 
the Annual General Meeting.

Statement of Directors’ 
responsibilities in relation 
to the financial statements

The Directors are responsible for 
preparing the annual report and the 
financial	statements	in	accordance	
with applicable law and regulations.

The Directors are required to prepare 
consolidated	financial	statements	
for	each	financial	year	in	accordance	
with International Financial Reporting 
Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the 
European Union. The Directors have 
elected to prepare the parent company 
financial	statements	in	accordance	with	
United Kingdom Generally Accepted 
Accounting Practice (United Kingdom 
Accounting Standards and applicable law 
including FRS 101 “Reduced Disclosure 
Framework”). Under company law the 
Directors	must	not	approve	the	financial	
statements	unless	they	are	satisfied	that	
they give a true and fair view of the state 
of affairs of the Company and of the 
undertakings included in the consolidation 
as	a	whole	as	at	the	end	of	the	financial	
year	and	the	profit	or	loss	of	the	
undertakings included in the consolidation 
as a whole, so far as concerns members 
of	the	Company,	for	the	financial	year.	In	
preparing	those	Consolidated	financial	
statements, the Directors are required to:
•  select and apply accounting policies in 

accordance with IAS 8;

•  present information, including 

accounting policies, in a manner that 
provides relevant, reliable, comparable 
and understandable information; and
•  provide additional disclosures when 

compliance	with	the	specific	
requirements	in	IFRSs	is	insufficient	to	
enable users to understand the impact 
of particular transactions, other events 
and	conditions	on	the	entity’s	financial	
position	and	financial	performance.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements84

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Strong financial

85

performance

CONTENTS

Financial Statements
86 
Independent auditor’s report
93  Consolidated income statement
94  Consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income
95  Consolidated balance sheet
96  Consolidated statement of changes in 

126 Company balance sheet
127 Company statement of changes in 

shareholders’ equity

128	Notes	to	the	company	financial	

statements

131 Statement of Group accounting 

shareholders’ equity

policies

97	 Consolidated	cash	flow	statement
98	 Notes	to	the	consolidated	financial	

statements

137 Full list of subsidiary companies
140 Company information and advisers
141  Glossary

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements86

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF 
AVEVA GROUP PLC

Opinion

In our opinion:
•  AVEVA	Group	plc’s	group	financial	statements	and	parent	company	financial	statements	(the	“financial	statements”)	give	a	true	and	
fair	view	of	the	state	of	the	group’s	and	of	the	parent	company’s	affairs	as	at	31	March	2019	and	of	the	group’s	profit	for	the	year	then	
ended;

•  the	group	financial	statements	have	been	properly	prepared	in	accordance	with	IFRSs	as	adopted	by	the	European	Union;	
•  the	parent	company	financial	statements	have	been	properly	prepared	in	accordance	with	United	Kingdom	Generally	Accepted	

Accounting	Practice	including	FRS	101	“Reduced	Disclosure	Framework”;	and

•  the	financial	statements	have	been	prepared	in	accordance	with	the	requirements	of	the	Companies	Act	2006,	and,	as	regards	the	

group	financial	statements,	Article	4	of	the	IAS	Regulation.

We	have	audited	the	financial	statements	of	AVEVA	Group	plc	which	comprise:

Group

Parent company

Consolidated	balance	sheet	as	at	31	March	2019

Balance	sheet	as	at	31	March	2019

Consolidated income statement for the year then ended

Statement of changes in equity for the year then ended

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the year then ended

Consolidated statement of changes in equity for the year then ended

Consolidated	statement	of	cash	flows	for	the	year	then	ended

Related	notes	1	to	33	to	the	financial	statements,	including	a	summary	
of significant	accounting	policies

Related	notes	1	to	9	to	the	financial	statements	including	
a	summary	of	significant	accounting	policies

The	financial	reporting	framework	that	has	been	applied	in	the	preparation	of	the	group	financial	statements	is	applicable	law	and	
International	Financial	Reporting	Standards	(IFRSs)	as	adopted	by	the	European	Union.	The	financial	reporting	framework	that	has	been	
applied	in	the	preparation	of	the	parent	company	financial	statements	is	applicable	law	and	United	Kingdom	Accounting	Standards,	
including	FRS	101	“Reduced	Disclosure	Framework”	(United	Kingdom	Generally	Accepted	Accounting	Practice).

Basis for opinion 

We	conducted	our	audit	in	accordance	with	International	Standards	on	Auditing	(UK)	(ISAs	(UK))	and	applicable	law.	Our	responsibilities	
under	those	standards	are	further	described	in	the	Auditor’s	responsibilities	for	the	audit	of	the	financial	statements	section	of	our	report	
below.	We	are	independent	of	the	group	and	parent	company	in	accordance	with	the	ethical	requirements	that	are	relevant	to	our	audit	
of	the	financial	statements	in	the	UK,	including	the	FRC’s	Ethical	Standard	as	applied	to	listed	public	interest	entities,	and	we	have	
fulfilled	our	other	ethical	responsibilities	in	accordance	with	these	requirements.

We	believe	that	the	audit	evidence	we	have	obtained	is	sufficient	and	appropriate	to	provide	a	basis	for	our	opinion.

Conclusions relating to principal risks, going concern and viability statement

We	have	nothing	to	report	in	respect	of	the	following	information	in	the	annual	report,	in	relation	to	which	the	ISAs	(UK)	require	us	to	
report	to	you	whether	we	have	anything	material	to	add	or	draw	attention	to:
•  the	disclosures	in	the	annual	report	set	out	on	pages	26-31	that	describe	the	principal	risks	and	explain	how	they	are	being	managed	

or mitigated;

•  the	directors’	confirmation	set	out	on	pages	26-31	in	the	annual	report	that	they	have	carried	out	a	robust	assessment	of	the	principal	

risks	facing	the	entity,	including	those	that	would	threaten	its	business	model,	future	performance,	solvency	or	liquidity;

•  the	directors’	statement	set	out	on	pages	26-31	in	the	financial	statements	about	whether	they	considered	it	appropriate	to	adopt	the	

going	concern	basis	of	accounting	in	preparing	them,	and	their	identification	of	any	material	uncertainties	to	the	entity’s	ability	
to continue	to	do	so	over	a	period	of	at	least	twelve	months	from	the	date	of	approval	of	the	financial	statements

•  whether	the	directors’	statement	in	relation	to	going	concern	required	under	the	Listing	Rules	in	accordance	with	Listing	Rule	

9.8.6R(3)	is	materially	inconsistent	with	our	knowledge	obtained	in	the	audit;	or	

•  the	directors’	explanation	set	out	on	pages	26-31	in	the	annual	report	as	to	how	they	have	assessed	the	prospects	of	the	entity,	over	
what period	they	have	done	so	and	why	they	consider	that	period	to	be	appropriate,	and	their	statement	as	to	whether	they	have	
a reasonable	expectation	that	the	entity	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	qualifications	or	assumptions.

87

Overview of our audit approach

Key	audit	matters

•  Risk	of	inappropriate	revenue	recognition	on	software	licence	contracts,	in	particular:

–  Inappropriate	application	of	the	group	revenue	recognition	policy	and	IFRS	15	(Revenue)	for	licence	revenue	
recognition,	could	result	in,	for	example,	revenue	being	recorded	when	performance	obligations	have	not	
been	satisfied,	incorrect	deferral	of	revenue	for	support	and	maintenance	and	other	obligations;	and
–  Inappropriate	licence	revenue	recognition	in	relation	to	cut	off,	as	revenue	may	not	have	been	recognised	

in the	correct	accounting	period,	including	the	risk	of	possible	manipulation	of	project	margins	by	
management	through	estimates	to	complete	on	Percentage	of	Completion	(POC)	projects,	particularly	
where	progress	as	of	year-end	is	greater	than	10%	and	less	than	90%	complete.

Audit scope

•  We	performed	an	audit	of	the	complete	financial	information	of	four	(2018:	seven)	components	and	audit	

procedures	on	specific	balances	for	a	further	ten	(2018:	eight)	components.

•  The	components	where	we	performed	full	or	specific	audit	procedures	accounted	for	86%	of	adjusted	Profit	

before	tax,	70%	of	Revenue	and	84%	of	Total	assets.

Materiality

•  Overall	group	materiality	of	£3.8m	which	represents	5%	of	adjusted	Profit	before	tax.

Key audit matters

Key	audit	matters	are	those	matters	that,	in	our	professional	judgment,	were	of	most	significance	in	our	audit	of	the	financial	statements	
of	the	current	period	and	include	the	most	significant	assessed	risks	of	material	misstatement	(whether	or	not	due	to	fraud)	that	we	
identified.	These	matters	included	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.	These	matters	were	addressed	in	the	context	of	our	audit	of	the	financial	
statements	as	a	whole,	and	in	our	opinion	thereon,	and	we	do	not	provide	a	separate	opinion	on	these	matters.

Key	observations	communicated	 
to the Audit Committee

We conclude that revenue 
recognised	in	the	year,	and	
deferred	as	at	31	March	2019,	
is materially correct on the 
basis of our procedures 
performed both at group and 
by	component	audit	teams.

Risk

Our	response	to	the	risk

Risk	of	inappropriate	revenue	
recognition–	£766.6m	
(2018: £486.3m)

In	particular,	the	risks	are:
•  Inappropriate application 
of the	group	revenue	
recognition policy and IFRS 
15	(Revenue)	for	licence	
revenue	recognition,	could	
result	in,	for	example,	
revenue	being	recorded	when	
performance obligations 
have	not	been	satisfied,	
incorrect deferral of revenue 
for support and maintenance 
and other obligations; and
•  Inappropriate licence revenue 
recognition in relation to cut 
off,	as	revenue	may	not	have	
been recognised in the 
correct	accounting	period,	
including	the	risk	of	possible	
manipulation	of	project	
margins by management 
through estimates to 
complete on Percentage of 
Completion	(POC)	projects,	
particularly	where	progress	
as of year-end is greater than 
10%	and	less	than	90%	
complete.	

We	have	walked	through	the	central	process	over	the	approval	and	
recognition	of	revenue	contracts	across	the	group.

We	have	walked	through	and	assessed	the	design	effectiveness	of key	
management	controls	over	data	input	and	IT.

A	summary	of	our	key	procedures	are:
We	have	performed	licence	revenue	transaction	testing	at	a	local and	
group level to ensure that revenue has been recorded in accordance 
with	the	Group’s	revenue	recognition	policy	and	IFRS	15	and	has	been	
appropriately recorded in the current year income statement or 
deferred	on	the	balance	sheet	as	appropriate.	This	was	achieved	by	
testing a sample of contracts and:
•  agreeing	licence	revenues	to	signed	contracts	or	software	licence	

agreements;

•  agreeing the revenue to subsequent payment as evidence of 

collectability;

•  checking	evidence	to	support	that	software	has	been	delivered	to	

customers prior to revenue recognition;

•  reviewing	contract	terms	for	any	conditions	that	would	impact	the	
timing of revenue recognition and in turn the completeness of 
contract liabilities; 

•  ensuring appropriate allocation of the fair value and recognition of 
revenue	for	other	deliverables	included	within	the	contract;	and
•  assessing	whether	revenue	has	been	recognised	in	line	with	the	

Group’s	revenue	recognition	policy	and	IFRS	15.	

•  We	selected	a	sample	of	revenue	journals	and	assessed	the	

appropriateness	of	the	journal	by	checking	to	supporting	evidence	
and	ensuring	compliance	with	the	Group’s	revenue	recognition	
policy	and	IFRS	15.	The	sample	selected	was	based	on	risk	based	
criteria	including	but	not	limited	to	manual	journal	entries,	those	
close	to	period	end	and	postings	that	appeared	inconsistent	with	
roles	and	responsibilities.	

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements88

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT CONTINUED

Risk

Our	response	to	the	risk

Key	observations	communicated	 
to the Audit Committee

Refer to the Audit Committee 
Report	(pages	56-59);	
Accounting	policies	(pages	
131-136);	and	Note	2	of	the	
Consolidated Financial 
Statements	(pages	98-100)

We	have	performed	an	independent	assessment	as	to	whether	the	
fair value rate of the support and maintenance is still applicable and 
that any non-standard contracts have an appropriate fair value rate 
applied.

To	validate	our	understanding	of	contractual	terms	with	customers	
and to identify any contractual issues or any ongoing contractual 
obligations,	we	made	enquiries	of	management	outside	the	finance	
function,	including	the	sales	team	and	legal	counsel	to	ensure	that	
appropriate obligations and commitments had been recorded in the 
financial	statements.

We have performed a test of detail on a sample of contract liability 
and	contract	asset	revenue	items	to	ensure	it	is	in	accordance	with	the	
revenue	recognition	principles.	

We	have	performed	analytical	review	by	revenue	stream	and	
geography	to	assess	unexpected	trends	and	patterns	that	could	be	
indicative	of	incorrect	revenue	recognition.	

We have performed cut-off testing for a sample of revenue items 
booked	either	side	of	year	end	to	ensure	that	licence	revenue	was	only	
recognised	for	software	in	the	period	where	the	contract	was	signed	
by	both	AVEVA	and	the	customer	prior	to	year-end	and	the	software	
has	been	made	available	prior	to	the	year	end.

For	projects	accounted	for	under	‘Percentage	of	Completion’	(PoC),	we	
evaluated	judgements	made	by	management	regarding	the	expected	
costs	to	complete	and	the	timing	and	recognition	of	variation	orders.	
We	also	tested	the	cut-off	of	project	costs.

Where	detailed	procedures	were	performed	by	overseas	teams,	
the primary	team	exercised	oversight	of	the	testing	and	performed	
additional	testing	of	contracts	over	£5m	or	containing	non-standard	
terms.

For	related	party	transactions	between	AVEVA	and	the	Schneider	
Electric	business,	we	obtained	evidence	that	the	performance	
obligations	had	been	fulfilled	and	that	they	form	part	of	the	related	
party	disclosures.	

We	performed	full	and	specific	scope	audit	procedures	over	this	risk	
area	in	12	locations,	which	covered	70%	of	the	risk	amount.	

In	the	prior	year,	our	auditor’s	report	included	a	key	audit	matter	in	relation	to	acquisition	accounting.	In	the	current	year,	this	has	not	
been	included	as	a	key	audit	matter	as	the	risk	of	material	misstatement	and	in	turn	allocation	of	resources,	was	greatly	reduced	as	only	
minor	measurement	period	adjustments	to	the	acquisition	accounting	were	required.

An overview of the scope of our audit
Tailoring the scope

Our	assessment	of	audit	risk,	our	evaluation	of	materiality	and	our	allocation	of	performance	materiality	determine	our	audit	scope	for	
each	entity	within	the	Group.	Taken	together,	this	enables	us	to	form	an	opinion	on	the	consolidated	financial	statements.	We	take	into	
account	size,	risk	profile,	the	organisation	of	the	group	and	effectiveness	of	group-wide	controls,	changes	in	the	business	environment	
and	other	factors	such	as	recent	Internal	audit	results	when	assessing	the	level	of	work	to	be	performed	at	each	entity.

In	assessing	the	risk	of	material	misstatement	to	the	Group	financial	statements,	and	to	ensure	we	had	adequate	quantitative	coverage	
of	significant	accounts	in	the	financial	statements,	of	the	82	reporting	components	of	the	Group,	we	selected	14	components	covering	
entities	within	the	UK,	US,	Canada,	Germany,	France,	Korea,	China,	India	and	Australia,	which	represent	the	principal	business	units	
within	the	Group.

Of	the	14	components	selected,	we	performed	an	audit	of	the	complete	financial	information	of	4	components	(“full	scope	components”)	
which	were	selected	based	on	their	size	or	risk	characteristics.	For	the	remaining	10	components	(“specific	scope	components”),	we	
performed	audit	procedures	on	specific	accounts	within	that	component	that	we	considered	had	the	potential	for	the	greatest	impact	on	
the	significant	accounts	in	the	financial	statements	either	because	of	the	size	of	these	accounts	or	their	risk	profile.	The	number	of	full	
scope	components	has	reduced	from	7	in	the	prior	to	4	in	the	current	year.	This	is	due	to	3	components	being	significant	by	size	to	the	
opening	net	assets	in	the	acquisition	accounting	in	prior	year,	but	they	are	no	longer	significant	by	size	for	the	enlarged	group.

 
89

The	reporting	components	where	we	performed	audit	procedures	accounted	for	86%	(2018:	98%)	of	the	Group’s	adjusted	Profit	before	
tax,	70%	(2018:	76%)	of	the	Group’s	Revenue	and	84%	(2018:	91%)	of	the	Group’s	Total	assets.	For	the	current	year,	the	full	scope	
components	contributed	71%	(2018:	64%)	of	the	Group’s	adjusted	Profit	before	tax,	48%	(2018:	62%)	of	the	Group’s	Revenue	and	78%	
(2018:	88%)	of	the	Group’s	Total	assets.	The	specific	scope	components	contributed	15%	(2018:	34%)	of	the	Group’s	adjusted	profit	
before	tax,	22%	(2018:	14%)	of	the	Group’s	Revenue	and	6%	(2018:	3%)	of	the	Group’s	Total	assets.	The	audit	scope	of	these	
components	may	not	have	included	testing	of	all	significant	accounts	of	the	component	but	will	have	contributed	to	the	coverage	of	
significant	tested	for	the	Group.	

Of	the	remaining	68	components	that	together	represent	14%	of	the	Group’s	adjusted	Profit	before	tax,	none	are	individually	greater	
than	1%	of	the	Group’s	adjusted	Profit	before	tax.	For	these	components,	we	performed	other	procedures,	including	analytical	review,	
testing	of	consolidation	journals,	intercompany	elimination	and	foreign	currency	translation	recalculation	to	respond	to	any	potential	
risks	of	material	misstatement	to	the	Group	financial	statements.

Changes from the prior year 

For	the	current	year	we	have	designated	the	components	in	Germany	and	Italy	as	review	scope	compared	to	specific	scope	in	the	
comparative	period,	as	they	represent	a	small	proportion	of	the	Group	following	the	reverse	acquisition	in	the	prior	year.	They	have	
therefore	been	included	within	our	review	scope	population,	which	includes	components	that	are	neither	significant	by	size	or	risk.	The	
number	of	full	scope	components	has	reduced	from	7	in	the	prior	to	4	in	the	current	year.	This	is	due	to	3	components	being	significant	by	
size	to	the	opening	net	assets	in	the	acquisition	accounting	in	prior	year,	but	they	are	no	longer	significant	by	size	for	the	enlarged	group.

Involvement with component teams 

In	establishing	our	overall	approach	to	the	Group	audit,	we	determined	the	type	of	work	that	needed	to	be	undertaken	at	each	of	the	
components	by	us,	as	the	primary	audit	engagement	team,	or	by	component	auditors	from	other	EY	global	network	firms	operating	
under	our	instruction.	Of	the	4	full	scope	components,	audit	procedures	were	performed	on	2	of	these	directly	by	the	primary	audit	team.	
For	the	10	specific	scope	components,	where	the	work	was	performed	by	component	auditors,	we	determined	the	appropriate	level	of	
involvement	to	enable	us	to	determine	that	sufficient	audit	evidence	had	been	obtained	as	a	basis	for	our	opinion	on	the	Group	as	a 	
whole.

The	Group	audit	team	continued	to	follow	a	programme	of	planned	visits	that	has	been	designed	to	ensure	that	the	Senior	Statutory	
Auditor	visits	at	least	two	(2018:	two)	of	the	components	each	year.	During	the	current	year’s	audit	cycle,	visits	were	undertaken	by	
the primary	audit	team	to	the	component	teams	in	US,	Canada,	China	and	Germany	(2018:	US,	Germany,	France	and	Italy).	These	visits	
involved	where	appropriate,	discussing	the	audit	approach	with	the	component	team	and	any	issues	arising	from	their	work,	meeting	
with	local	and	regional	management,	attending	the	planning	meeting	and	closing	meetings,	reviewing	key	audit	working	papers	on	risk	
areas.	The	primary	team	interacted	regularly	with	the	component	teams	where	appropriate	during	various	stages	of	the	audit,	reviewed	
key	working	papers	and	were	responsible	for	the	scope	and	direction	of	the	audit	process.	This,	together	with	the	additional	procedures	
performed	at	Group	level,	gave	us	appropriate	evidence	for	our	opinion	on	the	Group	financial	statements.

Our application of materiality

We	apply	the	concept	of	materiality	in	planning	and	performing	the	audit,	in	evaluating	the	effect	of	identified	misstatements	on	the	
audit	and	in	forming	our	audit	opinion.	

Materiality

The	magnitude	of	an	omission	or	misstatement	that,	individually	or	in	the	aggregate,	could	reasonably	be	expected	to	influence	the	
economic	decisions	of	the	users	of	the	financial	statements.	Materiality	provides	a	basis	for	determining	the	nature	and	extent	of	our	
audit	procedures.

We	determined	materiality	for	the	Group	to	be	£3.8	million	(2018:	£3.5	million),	which	is	5%	(2018:	5%)	of	adjusted	Profit	before	tax.	
We believe	that	adjusted	Profit	before	tax	provides	us	with	the	most	relevant	measure	of	the	underlying	financial	performance	of	the	
Group,	as	it	removes	the	impact	of	one-off	transactions.	For	both	years,	we	have	used	Profit	before	tax	adjusted	for	exceptional	items	
as reported	in	note	7,	however	have	not	made	adjustment	for	recurring	items,	such	as	amortisation	of	intangibles,	share	based	payments	
and	gain/loss	on	forward	exchange	contracts.

We	determined	materiality	for	the	Parent	Company	to	be	£26.7	million	(2018:	£27.5	million),	which	is	2%	(2018:	2%)	of	total	assets.	
We believe	that	total	assets	is	the	most	relevant	measure,	given	the	primary	activity	of	the	Parent	Company	is	to	hold	investments	
in subsidiaries.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT CONTINUED

Starting  
basis

•  Profit	before	tax	–	£46.7m

Adjustments

•  Exceptional	items	(note	7)	–	£28.9m

Materiality

•  Totals	£75.6m
•  Materiality	of	£3.8m	(5%	of	materiality	basis)

During	the	course	of	our	audit,	we	reassessed	initial	materiality	and	updated	for	the	final	profit	shown	above.

Performance materiality

The	application	of	materiality	at	the	individual	account	or	balance	level.	It	is	set	at	an	amount	to	reduce	to	an	appropriately	low	level	the	
probability	that	the	aggregate	of	uncorrected	and	undetected	misstatements	exceeds	materiality.

On	the	basis	of	our	risk	assessments,	together	with	our	assessment	of	the	Group’s	overall	control	environment,	our	judgement	was	that	
performance	materiality	was	75%	(2018:	75%)	of	our	planning	materiality,	namely	£2.9m	(2018:	£2.6m).	We	have	set	performance	
materiality	at	this	percentage	to	ensure	that	the	total	uncorrected	and	undetected	audit	differences	in	all	accounts	did	not	exceed	our	
materiality.

Audit	work	at	component	locations	for	the	purpose	of	obtaining	audit	coverage	over	significant	financial	statement	accounts	is	
undertaken	based	on	a	percentage	of	total	performance	materiality.	The	performance	materiality	set	for	each	component	is	based	on	
the relative	scale	and	risk	of	the	component	to	the	Group	as	a	whole	and	our	assessment	of	the	risk	of	misstatement	at	that	component.	
In	the	current	year,	the	range	of	performance	materiality	allocated	to	components	was	£0.5m	to	£1.6m	(2018:	£0.4m	to	£1.4m).	

Reporting threshold

An	amount	below	which	identified	misstatements	are	considered	as	being	clearly	trivial.

We	agreed	with	the	Audit	Committee	that	we	would	report	to	them	all	uncorrected	audit	differences	in	excess	of	£0.2m	(2018:	£0.2m),	
which	is	set	at	5%	of	planning	materiality,	as	well	as	differences	below	that	threshold	that,	in	our	view,	warranted	reporting	on	
qualitative	grounds.

We evaluate any uncorrected misstatements against both the quantitative measures of materiality discussed above and in light of other 
relevant	qualitative	considerations	in	forming	our	opinion.

Other information 

The	other	information	comprises	the	information	included	in	the	annual	report	set	out	on	pages	1-83,	including	the	Strategic	Report	and	
the	Corporate	Governance	Report,	other	than	the	financial	statements	and	our	auditor’s	report	thereon.	The	directors	are	responsible	for	
the	other	information.	

Our	opinion	on	the	financial	statements	does	not	cover	the	other	information	and,	except	to	the	extent	otherwise	explicitly	stated	in	
this report,	we	do	not	express	any	form	of	assurance	conclusion	thereon.	

In	connection	with	our	audit	of	the	financial	statements,	our	responsibility	is	to	read	the	other	information	and,	in	doing	so,	consider	
whether	the	other	information	is	materially	inconsistent	with	the	financial	statements	or	our	knowledge	obtained	in	the	audit	or	
otherwise	appears	to	be	materially	misstated.	If	we	identify	such	material	inconsistencies	or	apparent	material	misstatements,	we	
are required	to	determine	whether	there	is	a	material	misstatement	in	the	financial	statements	or	a	material	misstatement	of	the	other	
information.	If,	based	on	the	work	we	have	performed,	we	conclude	that	there	is	a	material	misstatement	of	the	other	information,	
we are required	to	report	that	fact.

We	have	nothing	to	report	in	this	regard.

In	this	context,	we	also	have	nothing	to	report	in	regard	to	our	responsibility	to	specifically	address	the	following	items	in	the	other	
information	and	to	report	as	uncorrected	material	misstatements	of	the	other	information	where	we	conclude	that	those	items	meet	the	
following	conditions:
•  Fair, balanced and understandable set out on page 83 – the statement given by the directors that they consider the annual report 

and	financial	statements	taken	as	a	whole	is	fair,	balanced	and	understandable	and	provides	the	information	necessary	for	
shareholders	to	assess	the	group’s	performance,	business	model	and	strategy,	is	materially	inconsistent	with	our	knowledge	obtained	
in the audit; or 

91

•  Audit committee reporting set out on pages 56-59	–	the	section	describing	the	work	of	the	audit	committee	does	not	appropriately	

address matters communicated by us to the audit committee; or

•  Directors’ statement of compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code set out on pages 48-53 – the parts of the directors’ 

statement	required	under	the	Listing	Rules	relating	to	the	company’s	compliance	with	the	UK	Corporate	Governance	Code	containing	
provisions	specified	for	review	by	the	auditor	in	accordance	with	Listing	Rule	9.8.10R(2)	do	not	properly	disclose	a	departure	from	a	
relevant	provision	of	the	UK	Corporate	Governance	Code.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In	our	opinion,	the	part	of	the	directors’	remuneration	report	to	be	audited	has	been	properly	prepared	in	accordance	with	the	
Companies Act	2006.
In	our	opinion,	based	on	the	work	undertaken	in	the	course	of	the	audit:
•  the	information	given	in	the	strategic	report	and	the	directors’	report	for	the	financial	year	for	which	the	financial	statements	are	
prepared	is	consistent	with	the	financial	statements	and	those	reports	have	been	prepared	in	accordance	with	applicable	legal	
requirements;

•  the	information	about	internal	control	and	risk	management	systems	in	relation	to	financial	reporting	processes	and	about	share	

capital	structures,	given	in	compliance	with	rules	7.2.5	and	7.2.6	in	the	Disclosure	Rules	and	Transparency	Rules	sourcebook	made	
by the	Financial	Conduct	Authority	(the	FCA	Rules),	is	consistent	with	the	financial	statements	and	has	been	prepared	in	accordance	
with	applicable	legal	requirements;	and

•  information	about	the	company’s	corporate	governance	code	and	practices	and	about	its	administrative,	management	and	

supervisory	bodies	and	their	committees	complies	with	rules	7.2.2,	7.2.3	and	7.2.7	of	the	FCA	Rules.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In	the	light	of	the	knowledge	and	understanding	of	the	group	and	the	parent	company	and	its	environment	obtained	in	the	course	of	the	
audit,	we	have	not	identified	material	misstatements	in:
•  the strategic report or the directors’ report; or
•  the	information	about	internal	control	and	risk	management	systems	in	relation	to	financial	reporting	processes	and	about	share	

capital	structures,	given	in	compliance	with	rules	7.2.5	and	7.2.6	of	the	FCA	Rules

We	have	nothing	to	report	in	respect	of	the	following	matters	in	relation	to	which	the	Companies	Act	2006	requires	us	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	financial	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	specified	by	law	are	not	made;	or
•  we	have	not	received	all	the	information	and	explanations	we	require	for	our	audit
•  a Corporate Governance Statement has not been prepared by the company

Responsibilities of directors

As	explained	more	fully	in	the	directors’	responsibilities	statement	set	out	on	page	83,	the	directors	are	responsible	for	the	preparation	
of the	financial	statements	and	for	being	satisfied	that	they	give	a	true	and	fair	view,	and	for	such	internal	control	as	the	directors	
determine	is	necessary	to	enable	the	preparation	of	financial	statements	that	are	free	from	material	misstatement,	whether	due	to	
fraud or	error.	

In	preparing	the	financial	statements,	the	directors	are	responsible	for	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	the	
directors	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 for the audit of the financial statements 

Our	objectives	are	to	obtain	reasonable	assurance	about	whether	the	financial	statements	as	a	whole	are	free	from	material	
misstatement,	whether	due	to	fraud	or	error,	and	to	issue	an	auditor’s	report	that	includes	our	opinion.	Reasonable	assurance	is	a	
high level	of	assurance,	but	is	not	a	guarantee	that	an	audit	conducted	in	accordance	with	ISAs	(UK)	will	always	detect	a	material	
misstatement	when	it	exists.	Misstatements	can	arise	from	fraud	or	error	and	are	considered	material	if,	individually	or	in	the	aggregate,	
they	could	reasonably	be	expected	to	influence	the	economic	decisions	of	users	taken	on	the	basis	of	these	financial	statements.	

Explanation as to what extent the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

The	objectives	of	our	audit,	in	respect	to	fraud,	are;	to	identify	and	assess	the	risks	of	material	misstatement	of	the	financial	statements	
due	to	fraud;	to	obtain	sufficient	appropriate	audit	evidence	regarding	the	assessed	risks	of	material	misstatement	due	to	fraud,	through	
designing	and	implementing	appropriate	responses;	and	to	respond	appropriately	to	fraud	or	suspected	fraud	identified	during	the	audit.	
However,	the	primary	responsibility	for	the	prevention	and	detection	of	fraud	rests	with	both	those	charged	with	governance	of	the	entity	
and	management.	

Our	approach	was	as	follows:	
•  We	obtained	an	understanding	of	the	legal	and	regulatory	frameworks	that	are	applicable	to	the	group	and	determined	that	the	most	
significant	frameworks	are	those	which	are	directly	relevant	to	the	specific	assertions	in	the	financial	statements	(IFRS,	FRS	101,	the	
Companies	Act	2006	and	UK	Corporate	Governance	Code)	and	the	relevant	tax	compliance	regulations	in	the	jurisdictions	in	which	
the	group	operates.	In	addition,	we	concluded	that	there	are	certain	significant	laws	and	regulations	which	may	have	an	effect	on	the	

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT CONTINUED

determination	of	the	amounts	and	disclosures	in	the	financial	statements	being	the	Listing	Rules	of	the	UK	Listing	Authority,	and	
those	laws	and	regulations	relating	to	occupational	health	and	safety	and	data	protection.

•  We	understood	how	AVEVA	Group	plc	is	complying	with	those	frameworks	by	making	enquiries	of	management	and	legal	counsel,	

oversight	of	those	charged	with	governance	(i.e.	considering	the	potential	for	override	of	controls	or	other	inappropriate	influence	over	
the	financial	reporting	process,	such	as	efforts	by	management	to	manage	earnings	in	order	to	influence	the	perceptions	of	analysts	
as	to	the	entity’s	performance	and	profitability),	the	culture	of	honesty	and	ethical	behaviour	and	whether	a	strong	emphasis	is	
placed	on	fraud	prevention,	which	may	reduce	opportunities	for	fraud	to	take	place,	and	fraud	deterrence,	which	could	persuade	
individuals	not	to	commit	fraud	because	of	the	likelihood	of	detection	and	punishment.

•  We	assessed	the	susceptibility	of	the	group’s	financial	statements	to	material	misstatement,	including	how	fraud	might	occur	by	

meeting	with	management	from	various	parts	of	the	business	to	understand	where	it	considered	there	was	susceptibility	to	fraud.	
We also	considered	performance	targets	and	their	influence	on	efforts	made	by	management	to	manage	earnings	or	influence	the	
perceptions	of	analysts.	We	considered	the	programs	and	controls	that	the	group	has	established	to	address	risks	identified,	or	that	
otherwise	prevent,	deter	and	detect	fraud;	and	how	senior	management	monitors	those	programs	and	controls.	Where	the	risk	was	
considered	to	be	higher,	we	performed	audit	procedures	to	address	each	identified	fraud	risk.	These	procedures	included	testing	
manual	journals	and	review	of	accounting	estimates	and	judgements	and	were	designed	to	provide	reasonable	assurance	that	the	
financial	statements	were	free	from	fraud	or	error.	

•  Based	on	this	understanding	we	designed	our	audit	procedures	to	identify	non-compliance	with	such	laws	and	regulations.	Our	
procedures	involved	management	enquiries,	review	of	legal	correspondences,	journal	entry	testing,	and	full	and	specific	scope	
management.	

A	further	description	of	our	responsibilities	for	the	audit	of	the	financial	statements	is	located	on	the	Financial	Reporting	Council’s	
website	at	https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities.	This	description	forms	part	of	our	auditor’s	report.

Other matters we are required to address

We	were	appointed	by	the	company	on	11	July	2018	to	audit	the	financial	statements	for	the	year	ending	31	March	2019	and	subsequent	
financial	periods.	
The	period	of	total	uninterrupted	engagement	including	previous	renewals	and	reappointments	is	17	years,	covering	the	years	ending	
31	March	2003	to	31	March	2019.
•  The	non-audit	services	prohibited	by	the	FRC’s	Ethical	Standard	were	not	provided	to	the	group	or	the	parent	company	and	we	

remain	independent	of	the	group	and	the	parent	company	in	conducting	the	audit.	

•  The	audit	opinion	is	consistent	with	the	additional	report	to	the	audit	committee

Use of our report

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.	

Marcus Butler (Senior statutory auditor)
for	and	on	behalf	of	Ernst	&	Young	LLP,	Statutory	Auditor
London
29	May	2019

Notes:
1	 The	maintenance	and	integrity	of	the	AVEVA	Group	plc	web	site	is	the	responsibility	of	the	directors;	the	work	carried	out	by	the	auditors	does	not	involve	consideration	of	

these matters	and,	accordingly,	the	auditors	accept	no	responsibility	for	any	changes	that	may	have	occurred	to	the	financial	statements	since	they	were	initially	presented	
on the	web	site.

2	 Legislation	in	the	United	Kingdom	governing	the	preparation	and	dissemination	of	financial	statements	may	differ	from	legislation	in	other	jurisdictions.

CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
for	the	year	ended	31	March	2019

Revenue
Cost of sales

Gross Profit
Operating Expenses
Research	&	Development	costs
Selling	and	administrative	expenses
Net	impairment	loss	on	financial	assets

Total	operating	expenses

Profit from operations
Other	income
Finance revenue
Finance	expense

Profit before tax from continuing operations 
Income	tax	(expense)/credit

Profit for the year attributable to equity holders of the parent

Profit from operations 
Amortisation	of	intangibles	(excluding	other	software)
Share-based payments
Loss	on	fair	value	of	forward	foreign	exchange	contracts
Exceptional	items
Other	income	

Adjusted EBIT 

Earnings per share (pence)
– basic 
– diluted

All	activities	relate	to	continuing	activities.

The	accompanying	notes	are	an	integral	part	of	this	Consolidated	income	statement.

93

Notes

3,4

5

6

3,8
9

11

7

2019
£m

766.6
(193.2)

573.4

(178.0)
(341.9)
(6.3)

2018
£m
(restated)

486.3
(150.8)

335.5

(116.3)
(181.3)
(1.2)

(526.2)

(298.8)

47.2
–
0.2
(0.7)

46.7
(12.9)

33.8

47.2
88.1
11.2
0.5
28.9
–

36.7
1.0
0.5
(3.7)

34.5
6.0

40.5

36.7
45.2
1.4
0.1
23.6
1.0

175.9

108.0

13
13

20.97
20.90

39.92
39.72

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements94

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
for	the	year	ended	31	March	2019

Profit	for	the	year
Items that may be reclassified to profit or loss in subsequent periods:
Exchange	gain/(loss)	arising	on	translation	of	foreign	operations

Total	of	items	that	may	be	reclassified	to	profit	or	loss	in	subsequent	periods

Items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss in subsequent periods:
Remeasurement	loss	on	defined	benefit	plans
Deferred	tax	effect

Total	of	items	that	will	not	be	reclassified	to	profit	or	loss	in	subsequent	periods

Total comprehensive income for the year, net of tax

The	accompanying	notes	are	an	integral	part	of	this	Consolidated	statement	of	comprehensive	income.

Notes

29
11(a)

2019
£m

33.8

8.4

8.4

(0.5)
(0.4)

(0.9)

41.3

2018
£m
(restated)

40.5

(15.5)

(15.5)

(2.4)
1.5

(0.9)

24.1

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
31	March	2019

Non-current assets
Goodwill
Other	intangible	assets
Property,	plant	and	equipment
Deferred	tax	assets
Other	receivables
Retirement	benefit	surplus
Financial assets

Current assets
Inventories
Trade and other receivables
Contract assets 
Treasury deposits
Cash and cash equivalents
Financial assets
Current	tax	assets

Total assets

Equity
Issued share capital
Share premium
Other	reserves
Retained earnings

Total equity

Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Contract liabilities
Loans	and	borrowings
Financial liabilities
Provisions
Current	tax	liabilities

Non-current liabilities
Deferred	tax	liabilities
Other	liabilities
Provisions
Retirement	benefit	obligations	

95

Notes

2019
£m

2018
£m
(restated)

2017
£m
(restated)

15
16
17
28
20
29

20
3
21
21
19

31(a)

31(b)

22
3
23
24
25

28

25
29

1,285.3
599.5
17.1
11.8
2.2
7.1
–

1,283.5
678.8
14.8
9.0
1.2
5.6
–

1,923.0

1,992.9

0.8
237.9
100.5
0.6
127.2
–
10.8

477.8

0.9
230.4
67.6
0.2
105.6
0.5
11.1

416.3

2,400.8

2,409.2

5.7
574.5
1,178.8
165.5

5.7
574.5
1,179.4
195.1

1,924.5

1,954.7

156.8
174.6
–
0.1
1.9
12.8

346.2

111.3
3.1
2.6
13.1

130.1

147.2
141.7
10.0
–
–
12.1

311.0

130.5
2.2
–
10.8

143.5

42.4
199.0
8.7
2.1
–
–
1.6

253.8

1.0
171.4
72.7
–
22.4
–
5.2

272.7

526.5

2.3
27.3
(4.2)
181.1

206.5

129.2
96.0
–
1.9
–
8.6

235.7

75.7
3.4
–
5.2

84.3

Total equity and liabilities

2,400.8

2,409.2

526.5

The	accompanying	notes	are	an	integral	part	of	this	Consolidated	balance	sheet.	

The	financial	statements	were	approved	by	the	Board	of	Directors	and	authorised	for	issue	on	29	May	2019.	They	were	signed	on	its	
behalf by:

Philip Aiken
Chairman

Craig Hayman
Chief	Executive	Officer

Company number
2937296

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements96

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES  
IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
31	March	2019

Other	reserves

Merger	
reserve  

£m

Cumulative 
translation 
adjustments 
£m

Capital 
contribution 
reserve 
£m

Capital 
redemption 
reserve
£m

Reverse 
acquisition 
reserve
£m

Treasury 
shares
£m

Total other 
reserves 
£m

Retained 
earnings 
£m

Total
equity
£m

At 1 April 2017
Impact of change in 
accounting polices

Restated balance as 

at 1 April 2017
Profit	for	the	year
Other	comprehensive	

income

Total comprehensive 

income

Shares issued to 

acquire the 
Schneider Electric 
software	business
Issue and redemption 

of B shares

Recognition of reverse 
acquisition reserve 
on combination
Transaction costs
Share-based 
payments

Investment	in	own	

shares

Transactions	with	
Schneider Electric

Cost of employee 

31

31

31

30

31

benefit	trust	shares	
issued to employees

31

At	31	March	2018
Profit	for	the	year
Other	comprehensive	

income

Total comprehensive 

income

Share-based 
payments

Tax	arising	on	share	

options

Investment	in	own	

shares

Capital contribution
Transactions	with	
Schneider Electric

Cost of employee 

30

31

benefit	trust	shares	
issued to employees

Equity dividends

31
12

Notes

Share
capital
£m

2.3

Share 
premium 
£m

27.3

–

2.3
–

–

–

–

27.3
–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

25.4

–

25.4
–

(15.5)

(15.5)

3.4	

548.9 1,265.6

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

–

(650.0)

–
(1.7)

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

5.7
–

574.5
–

615.6
–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–
–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

9.9
–

8.4

8.4

–

–

–
–

–

–
–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

–
0.1

–

–
–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

101.7

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

481.9
–

–

–

–

–

(29.4)

(0.2)

(4.2)

146.6

172.0

–

–

–

34.5

34.5

(29.4)
–

(0.2)
–

(4.2)
–

181.1
40.5

206.5
40.5

–

–

(15.5)

(0.9)

(16.4)

(15.5)

39.6

24.1

– 1,265.6

– 1,817.9

–

–
–

–

(548.3)

481.9
–

–

–
–

(548.3)

481.9
(1.7)

–

1.2

1.2

(0.3)

(0.3)

–

(0.3)

–

–

(26.8)

(26.8)

0.2

0.2

–

0.2

101.7
–

452.5
–

(0.3) 1,179.4
–

–

195.1 1,954.7
33.8

33.8

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

8.4

(0.9)

7.5

8.4

32.9

41.3

–

–

11.2

11.2

1.3

1.3

(9.3)
–

(9.3)
0.1

–
–

(9.3)
0.1

–

–

(8.8)

(8.8)

0.2
–

0.2
–

(0.2)
(66.0)

–
(66.0)

At 31 March 2019

5.7

574.5

615.6

18.3

0.1

101.7

452.5

(9.4) 1,178.8

165.5 1,924.5

The	accompanying	notes	are	an	integral	part	of	this	Consolidated	statement	of	changes	in	shareholders’	equity.	Details	of	other	reserves	
are	contained	in	note	31.

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
for	the	year	ended	31	March	2019

Cash flows from operating activities
Profit	for	the	year
Income	tax	expense/(credit)
Net	finance	expense	
Other	income
Amortisation of intangible assets
Depreciation	of	property,	plant	and	equipment
Impairment and loss on disposal of intangible assets
Loss/(Profit)	on	disposal	of	property,	plant	and	equipment
Share-based payments
Difference	between	pension	contributions	paid	and	amounts	charged	to	operating	profit
Research	&	Development	expenditure	tax	credit
Capitalisation	of	Research	&	Development	costs
Changes in working capital:
Trade and other receivables
Trade and other payables
Changes	to	fair	value	of	forward	foreign	exchange	contracts

Cash	generated	from	operating	activities	before	tax
Income	taxes	paid

Net cash generated from operating activities

Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase	of	property,	plant	and	equipment
Purchase of intangible assets
Cash received on acquisition of business
Consideration paid on completion of business combination
Proceeds	from	disposal	of	property,	plant	and	equipment
Proceeds from disposal of intangible assets 
Purchase of treasury deposits
Interest received

Net cash flows (used in)/from investing activities

Cash flows from financing activities
Interest paid
Purchase	of	own	shares
Repayment	of/(proceeds	from)	borrowings
Change	in	funding	with	related	parties
Return of value to shareholders
Transaction costs on issue of shares
Dividends	paid	to	shareholders	of	the	parent

Net cash flows used in financing activities

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
Net	foreign	exchange	difference
Opening	cash	and	cash	equivalents

Closing cash and cash equivalents

The	accompanying	notes	are	an	integral	part	of	this	Consolidated	cash	flow	statement.	

97

2018
£m
(restated)

40.5
(6.0)
3.2
0.5
46.4
3.2
14.9
(1.8)
1.2
(1.3)
(0.3)
(9.9)

(28.4)
28.9
0.1

91.2
(28.6)

62.6

(4.9)
(1.2)
132.2
–
3.3
3.1
–
0.5

133.0

(3.5)
–
10.0
(18.1)
(100.0)
(1.7)
–

(113.3)

82.3
0.9
22.4

105.6

Notes

11(a)
8,	9

16
17
6,	16
6
30

17
16

32

8

9

23

12

21

21

2019
£m

33.8
12.9
0.5
–
88.8
5.4
–
0.1
11.2
0.1
(2.0)
–

(51.4)
69.2
0.5

169.1
(32.4)

136.7

(7.4)
(0.2)
–
(19.4)
–
–
(0.4)
0.2

(27.2)

(0.7)
(9.3)
(10.0)
–
–
–
(66.0)

(86.0)

23.5
(1.9)
105.6

127.2

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements98

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1 Corporate information

AVEVA	Group	plc	is	a	public	limited	company	incorporated	and	domiciled	in	the	United	Kingdom.	The	address	of	the	registered	office	is	
given	on	the	inside	back	cover.	AVEVA	Group	plc’s	shares	are	publicly	traded	on	the	Official	List	of	the	London	Stock	Exchange.	The	
parent	Company	financial	statements	of	AVEVA	Group	plc	are	included	on	pages	126	to	130.

2 Key accounting policies

Explained	below	are	the	key	accounting	policies	of	the	Group.	The	full	Statement	of	Group	Accounting	Policies	is	included	on	pages	131	
to	136.

a)	Basis	of	preparation

The	accounting	policies	which	follow	set	out	those	policies	which	apply	in	preparing	the	financial	statements	for	the	year	ended	31	March	
2019.	The	Consolidated	financial	statements	are	presented	in	Pounds	Sterling	(£)	and	all	values	are	rounded	to	the	nearest	£0.1m	(2018:	
£’000)	except	when	otherwise	indicated.	The	change	in	presentation	to	£0.1m	has	been	made	to	reflect	the	increasing	size	of	the	
business.	

The	Consolidated	financial	statements	of	AVEVA	Group	plc	and	all	its	subsidiaries	(the	Group)	have	been	prepared	in	accordance	with	
IFRS,	as	adopted	by	the	European	Union,	as	they	apply	to	the	financial	statements	of	the	Group	for	the	year	ended	31	March	2019.

For	the	year	ended	31	March	2019,	the	consolidated	financial	statements	comprise	the	results	of	both	Schneider	Electric	industrial	
software	business	(hereafter	referred	to	as	‘SES’)	and	the	AVEVA	Group	for	the	full	financial	year.	For	the	year	ended	31	March	2018,	the	
consolidated	financial	statements	comprise	the	results	of	the	SES	for	the	full	year,	and	the	results	of	the	AVEVA	Group	from	1	March	
2018,	the	date	of	the	reverse	acquisition	(hereafter	referred	to	as	the	‘Combination’).	For	the	year	ended	31	March	2018,	in	accordance	
with	IFRS	3,	the	financial	statements	were	prepared	as	a	reverse	acquisition	of	AVEVA	Group	by	SES.	Therefore,	although	the	
consolidated	financial	statements	were	issued	in	the	name	of	AVEVA	Group	plc,	the	legal	acquirer,	the	Group’s	activity	is	in	substance	
the	continuation	of	the	financial	information	of	SES.	

b)	Revenue	

The Group generates its revenue principally through the supply of:
•  Initial and perpetual licence fees
•  Support	and	maintenance	fees,	including	mandatory	annual	fees
•  Rental and subscription licences; and 
•  Training and services

Revenue	is	recognised	upon	transfer	of	control	of	the	promised	software	and/or	services	to	customers.	The	Group	enters	into	contracts	
which	can	include	combinations	of	software	licences,	support	and	maintenance	fees	and	other	professional	services,	each	of	which	is	
capable	of	being	distinct	and	usually	accounted	for	as	separate	performance	obligations.	Where	there	are	multiple	performance	
obligations,	revenue	is	measured	at	the	value	of	the	expected	consideration	received	in	exchange	for	the	services,	allocated	by	the	
relative	stand-alone	selling	prices	of	each	of	the	performance	obligations.

Initial and perpetual licence fees
Customers	are	charged	an	initial	or	perpetual	licence	fee	for	on-premises	software	which	is	usually	limited	by	a	set	number	of	users	or	
seats.	Initial	and	perpetual	licences	provide	the	customer	with	the	right	to	use	the	software	and	are	distinct	from	other	services.	Revenue	
is	recognised	at	a	point	in	time	when	the	contract	is	agreed	and	the	software	is	made	available	to	the	customer.

Annual licence fees and support and maintenance fees
Customers	that	have	purchased	an	initial	licence	pay	obligatory	annual	fees	each	year.	Annual	fees	consist	of	the	continuing	right	to	use,	
and	support	and	maintenance,	which	includes	core	product	upgrades	and	enhancements,	and	remote	support	services.	Users	must	
continue	to	pay	annual	fees	in	order	to	maintain	the	right	to	use	the	software.	Customers	that	have	purchased	a	perpetual	licence	have	
the	option	to	pay	for	support	and	maintenance.	Revenue	is	recognised	over	time	on	a	straight-line	basis	over	the	period	of	the	contract,	
which	is	typically	12	months.

Rental and subscription licences
The	Group	offers	a	number	of	rental	and	subscription	models	for	a	non-cancellable	term	of	between	one	month	and	five	years.	Rentals	
consist	of	two	separate	components,	a	software	licence	and	support	and	maintenance,	which	are	two	distinct	performance	obligations.	
The	software	licence	is	a	right	to	use	licence	which	is	recognised	at	a	point	in	time	when	the	contract	is	agreed	and	the	software	is	made	
available	to	the	customer.	The	support	and	maintenance	element	is	recognised	on	a	straight-line	basis	over	the	rental	period.

Subscriptions	are	agreements	with	customers	to	provide	access	to	software	through	a	hosted	solution.	The	software,	maintenance	and	
support	and	hosting	elements	are	not	distinct	performance	obligations,	and	represent	a	combined	service	provided	to	the	customer.	
Revenue	is	recognised	as	the	service	is	provided	to	the	customer	on	a	straight-line	basis	over	the	subscription	period.

Training and services
Services	consist	primarily	of	consultancy,	implementation	services	and	training.	Revenue	from	these	services	is	recognised	as	the	
services	are	performed	by	reference	to	the	costs	incurred	as	a	proportion	of	the	total	estimated	costs	of	the	service	project.	

99

If	an	arrangement	includes	both	licence	and	service	elements,	an	assessment	is	made	as	to	whether	the	licence	element	is	distinct	in	the	
context	of	the	contract,	based	on	whether	the	services	provided	significantly	modifies	or	customises	the	base	product.	Where	it	is	
concluded	that	a	licence	is	distinct,	the	licence	element	is	recognised	as	a	separate	performance	obligation.	In	all	other	cases,	revenue	
from	both	licence	and	service	elements	is	recognised	when	control	is	deemed	to	have	passed	to	the	customer.

Revenue	from	short-term	one-off	contracts	is	recognised	when	the	service	is	complete.

c)	Adoption	of	IFRS	15	Revenue	from	Contracts

The	Group	has	adopted	IFRS	15	Revenue	from	Contracts	with	Customers	from	1	April	2018,	using	the	full	retrospective	method.	This	has	
resulted	in	changes	in	accounting	policies	and	adjustments	to	the	amounts	recognised	in	the	financial	statements.

i) Rendering of services – transfer of control
Under	IAS	18,	revenue	from	sales	of	initial	licences,	perpetual	licences	and	the	initial	software	delivery	element	of	rental/term	licences	
was	recognised	upon	delivery.	Delivery	occurred	when	the	customer	had	access	to	the	intellectual	property	described	in	the	contract.	In	
some	limited	circumstances,	AVEVA	recognised	revenue	from	a	rental/term	licence	agreement	rateably	over	the	contract	period.	This	
assessment	was	based	on	whether	AVEVA	could	reliably	estimate	the	maintenance	and	support	element	of	the	contract.

Under	IFRS	15,	revenue	is	recognised	when	a	customer	obtains	control	of	the	services.	All	distinct	performance	obligations	relating	to	
licences	for	software	are	considered	to	be	‘right	to	use’	and	are	transferred	to	the	customer	at	a	‘point	in	time’.	Therefore,	under	IFRS	15,	
all	revenue	from	software	licences	which	are	distinct	performance	obligations	are	recognised	at	a	‘point	in	time’	and	not	‘over	time’.	This	
results	in	an	acceleration	of	the	recognition	in	revenue	for	certain	contracts	and	revenue	streams.

The	effect	on	the	income	statement	for	the	year	ended	31	March	2018	has	been	to	reduce	revenue	by	£10.4m,	and	profit	after	tax	by	
£5.2m.	

ii) Providing extended payment terms to customers
Under	IAS	18,	where	AVEVA	provided	a	customer	with	extended	payment	terms,	the	revenue	was	deferred	until	the	consideration	was	
due	in	accordance	with	the	contract.	Under	IFRS	15,	all	the	contractual	payments	are	included	in	the	transaction	price	and	allocated	to	
the	performance	obligations	at	the	start	of	the	contract,	to	the	extent	that	collectability	is	considered	probable.	Where	the	performance	
obligation	has	already	been	satisfied,	this	has	resulted	in	revenue	being	recognised	at	an	earlier	point	under	IFRS	15.

The	effect	on	the	income	statement	for	the	year	ended	31	March	2018	has	been	to	reduce	revenue	and	profit	after	tax	by	£0.1m.	

iii) Stand-alone selling prices
Revenue	from	contracts	with	separately-identifiable	components	(multiple-element	arrangements)	were	previously	recognised	based	on	
the	relative	fair	value	of	the	components.	Under	IFRS	15,	the	total	consideration	of	a	customer	arrangement	is	allocated	based	on	their	
relative	stand-alone	selling	prices.	Stand-alone	selling	prices	are	determined	based	on	list	prices	(with	standard	discounts	where	
appropriate),	the	adjusted	market	assessment	approach	and	the	residual	approach.

The	effect	on	the	income	statement	for	the	year	ended	31	March	2018	has	been	to	reduce	revenue	by	£2.3m,	and	profit	after	tax	by	
£1.8m.	

The full restatements made to the amounts recognised in the primary statements as a result of the adoption of IFRS 15 are summarised 
in	note	33.

d)	Non-GAAP	measures

The	Group	presents	the	non-GAAP	performance	measure	‘adjusted	earnings	before	interest	and	tax	(EBIT)’	on	the	face	of	the	
Consolidated	income	statement.	This	has	been	changed	from	adjusted	profit	before	tax	in	order	to	better	align	with	peers	and	because	
the	Directors	believe	that	the	adjusted	earnings	measure	presented	provides	the	most	reliable	and	consistent	presentation	of	the	
underlying	performance	of	the	Group.	Adjusted	EBIT	is	not	defined	by	IFRS	and	therefore	may	not	be	directly	comparable	with	the	
adjusted	EBIT	measures	of	other	companies.

The	business	is	managed	and	measured	on	a	day	to	day	basis	using	adjusted	results.	To	arrive	at	adjusted	results,	certain	adjustments	
are	made	for	normalised	and	exceptional	items	that	are	individually	important	and	which	could,	if	included,	distort	the	understanding	of	
the	performance	for	the	year	and	the	comparability	between	periods.

Normalised items
These	are	recurring	items	which	management	considers	to	have	a	distorting	effect	on	the	underlying	results	of	the	Group,	and	are	
non-cash	items.

These	items	relate	to	amortisation	of	intangibles	(excluding	other	software),	share-based	payment	charges,	and	fair	value	adjustments	
on	financial	derivatives,	although	other	types	of	recurring	items	may	arise.	Recurring	items	are	adjusted	each	year	irrespective	of	
materiality	to	ensure	consistent	treatment.

Exceptional items
These	are	items	which	are	non-recurring	and	are	identified	by	virtue	of	either	their	size	or	their	nature.	These	items	can	include,	but	are	
not	restricted	to,	the	costs	of	significant	restructuring	exercises,	fees	associated	with	business	combinations	and	costs	incurred	in	
integrating	acquired	companies.	Exceptional	items	are	discussed	further	in	note	7.

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NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED

2 Key accounting policies continued
e)	Significant	accounting	judgements

Allocation of goodwill 
The	unallocated	carrying	value	of	the	goodwill	arising	from	the	reverse	acquisition	of	the	AVEVA	business	by	SES	has	been	allocated	to	
the	appropriate	cash	generating	units.	The	two	businesses	were	largely	integrated	on	a	regional	basis	shortly	after	the	completion	of	the	
merger,	and	judgement	was	applied	in	the	conclusion	that	Asia	Pacific,	EMEA	and	Americas	are	the	smallest	identifiable	groups	of	
assets	that	generate	cash	inflows	that	are	largely	independent	of	the	cash	inflows	from	other	assets	or	groups	of	assets.	The	allocation	
was	performed	by	applying	the	respective	proportions	of	the	cumulative	return	based	on	the	value	in	use	model	of	aggregated	
discounted	cash	flows.	The	results	of	this	allocation	are	set	out	in	note	15.	

f)	Significant	accounting	estimates

Revenue recognition
The	assessments	and	estimates	used	by	the	Group	for	revenue	recognition	could	have	a	significant	impact	on	the	amount	and	timing	of	
revenue	recognised.

Revenue	from	sales	of	software	licences	when	these	are	combined	with	the	delivery	of	significant	implementation	or	customisation	
services	is	recognised	in	line	with	the	delivery	of	the	services	to	the	customer.	This	policy	involves	the	assessment	of	which	customer	
projects	include	significant	customisation	or	implementation	and	also	an	assessment	of	the	stage	of	completion	of	such	projects.	

The	fair	value	estimate	of	the	element	of	a	customer	rental	fee	attributable	to	the	continuing	right	to	use,	and	to	customer	support	and	
maintenance,	is	reviewed	periodically.	On	average,	the	element	attributable	to	customer	support	and	maintenance	as	a	proportion	of	the	
initial	software	delivery	is	17-18%.

Provision for impairment of receivables
The	Group	provides	against	trade	receivables	using	a	lifetime	expected	credit	loss	allowance.	Loss	allowances	are	calculated	using	
historical	account	payment	profiles	and	the	corresponding	historical	credit	losses	experienced	and	adjusted	for	forward	looking	factors	
specific	to	the	debtor	and	the	economic	environment.	In	addition,	provision	for	the	impairment	of	receivables	is	made	on	a	customer-
specific	basis.	The	determination	of	the	appropriate	level	of	provision	involves	an	estimate	of	the	potential	risk	of	default	or	non-payment	
by	the	Group’s	customers	and	management	considers	a	number	of	factors,	including	the	financial	strength	of	the	customers,	the	level	of	
default	that	the	Group	has	suffered	in	the	past,	the	age	of	the	receivable	outstanding	and	the	Group’s	trading	experience	with	that	
customer.	The	provision	for	impairment	of	receivables	at	31	March	2019	was	£7.2m	(2018:	£1.8m).	Details	of	the	provision	for	impairment	
of	receivables,	and	sensitivity	of	the	estimate,	are	contained	in	note	20.

Intangible assets
IFRS	3	requires	the	identification	of	acquired	intangible	assets	as	part	of	a	business	combination.	The	methods	used	to	value	such	
intangible	assets	require	the	use	of	estimates	including	forecast	performance	and	customer	attrition	rates.	Future	results	are	impacted	
by	the	amortisation	periods	adopted	and	changes	to	the	estimated	useful	lives	would	result	in	different	effects	on	the	income	statement.	

Goodwill	is	tested	annually	for	impairment.	Tests	for	impairment	are	based	on	discounted	cash	flows	and	assumptions	(including	
discount	rates,	timing	and	growth	prospects)	which	are	inherently	subjective.	Further	details	about	the	assumptions	used	and	sensitivity	
analysis	performed	are	set	out	in	note	15.

Retirement benefit obligations
The	determination	of	the	Group’s	obligations	and	expense	for	defined	benefit	pensions	is	dependent	on	the	selection,	by	the	Board	of	
Directors,	of	assumptions	used	by	the	pension	scheme	actuary	in	calculating	these	amounts.	The	assumptions	applied,	together	with	
sensitivity	analysis,	are	described	in	note	29	and	include,	amongst	others,	the	discount	rate,	the	inflation	rate,	rates	of	increase	in	salaries	
and	mortality	rates.	While	the	Directors	consider	that	the	assumptions	are	appropriate,	significant	differences	in	the	actual	experience	or	
significant	changes	in	assumptions	may	materially	affect	the	reported	amount	of	the	Group’s	future	pension	obligations,	actuarial	gains	
and	losses	included	in	the	Consolidated	statement	of	comprehensive	income	in	future	years	and	the	future	staff	costs.	The	carrying	
amount	of	retirement	benefit	obligations	at	31	March	2019,	net	of	surplus,	was	£6.0m	(2018:	£5.2m).

Impairment of assets
Goodwill	arising	on	acquisition	is	allocated	to	cash-generating	units	expected	to	benefit	from	the	combination’s	synergies	and	represents	
the	lowest	level	at	which	goodwill	is	monitored	for	internal	management	purposes	and	generates	cash	flows,	which	are	independent	of	
other	cash-generating	units.	The	recoverable	amount	of	the	cash-generating	unit	to	which	goodwill	has	been	allocated	is	tested	for	
impairment	annually	or	when	events	or	changes	in	circumstance	indicate	that	it	might	be	impaired.	The	carrying	values	of	property,	plant	
and	equipment	and	intangible	assets	other	than	goodwill	are	reviewed	for	impairment	when	events	or	changes	in	circumstance	indicate	
the	carrying	value	may	be	impaired.	If	any	such	indication	exists	and	where	the	carrying	values	exceed	the	estimated	recoverable	
amount,	the	assets	or	cash-generating	units	are	written	down	to	their	recoverable	amount.	The	recoverable	amount	is	the	greater	of	net	
selling	price	and	value	in	use.	In	assessing	value	in	use,	the	estimated	future	cash	flows	are	discounted	to	their	present	value	using	a	
post-tax	discount	rate	that	reflects	current	market	assessments	of	the	time	value	of	money	and	the	risks	specific	to	the	asset.	For	an	
asset	that	does	not	generate	largely	independent	cash	inflows,	the	recoverable	amount	is	determined	for	the	cash-generating	unit	to	
which	the	asset	belongs.	Impairment	losses	are	recognised	in	the	income	statement	in	the	selling	and	administrative	expenses	line	item.	
Further	details	about	the	assumptions	used	and	sensitivity	analysis	performed	in	the	impairment	review	are	set	out	in	note	15.

3 Revenue

An	analysis	of	the	Group’s	revenue	is	as	follows:

Support	and	maintenance,	including	annual	fees
Rental and subscriptions
Initial fees and perpetual licences
Training and services

Timing of revenue recognition
Services transferred at a point in time 
Services transferred over time 

Finance revenue

101

2018
£m

133.5
72.7
163.1
117.0

486.3

220.0
266.3

486.3

0.5

486.8

2019
£m

194.4
218.2
211.6
142.4

766.6

357.3
409.3

766.6

0.2

766.8

Training	and	services	consists	of	consultancy,	implementation	services	and	training	fees.

Contract	balances	are	as	below:	

Trade receivables 
Contract assets 
Contract liabilities

31 March  
2019 
£m

174.9
100.5
174.6

31	March	 

2018
£m

146.9
67.6
141.7

1 April  
2017
£m

64.5
72.7
96.0

A	contract	asset	is	recognised	when	the	software	licence	performance	obligation	is	satisfied,	and	therefore	revenue	recognised,	but	the	
full	licence	amount	has	not	been	billed.	This	situation	arises	when	customers	purchase	a	multi-year	rental	or	subscription	which	is	billed	
on	an	annual	basis.	When	invoices	are	raised	the	contract	assets	are	reclassified	to	trade	receivables.	

Contract	liabilities	are	recognised	when	the	customer	is	billed	prior	to	the	satisfaction	of	the	performance	obligation.	This	situation	arises	
when	a	contract	includes	post	contractual	support	as	part	of	a	rental	or	subscription	contract	or	a	support	and	maintenance	contract.	
Post	contractual	support	is	a	service	transferred	to	the	customer	over	time,	with	billing	upfront	or	annually.

Set	out	below	is	the	amount	of	revenue	recognised	from:	

Amounts included in contract liabilities at the beginning of the year 
Performance	obligations	satisfied	in	previous	years	

2019
£m

127.6
–

The	transaction	price	allocated	to	the	remaining	performance	obligations	(unsatisfied	or	partially	unsatisfied)	as	at	31	March	are	as	
follows:

Within one year 
More	than	one	year	

2019
£m

248.0
164.6

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NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED

4 Segment information

The	Executive	Leadership	Team	monitors	and	appraises	the	business	based	on	the	performance	of	three	geographic	regions:	Asia	
Pacific;	Europe,	Middle	East	and	Africa	(EMEA);	and	Americas.	These	three	regions	are	the	basis	of	the	Group’s	primary	operating	
segments	reported	in	the	financial	statements.	Performance	is	evaluated	based	on	regional	contribution	using	the	same	accounting	
policies	as	adopted	for	the	Group’s	financial	statements.	There	is	no	inter-segment	revenue.	Corporate	costs	include	centralised	functions	
such	as	Executive	Management,	IT,	Finance	and	Legal.	Balance	sheet	information	is	not	included	in	the	information	provided	to	the	
Executive	Leadership	Team.

Year ended 31 March 2019

Asia Pacific
£m

EMEA 
£m

Americas
£m

Corporate
£m

Total
£m

Revenue
Support	and	maintenance,	including	annual	fees
Rental and subscriptions
Initial fees and perpetual licences
Training and services

Regional revenue total
Cost of sales
Selling	and	administrative	expenses
Net	impairment	loss	on	financial	assets

Regional contribution
Research	&	Development	costs

Adjusted EBIT

Exceptional	items,	other	normalised	adjustments1 and net interest

Profit before tax

45.0
49.4
57.3
27.8

179.5
(28.8)
(36.6)
(4.0)

110.1

71.7
107.2
86.6
48.8

314.3
(42.6)
(65.9)
(1.6)

204.2

77.7
61.6
67.7
65.8

272.8
(66.2)
(60.9)
(0.7)

145.0

–
–
–
–

–
(53.7)
(115.2)
–

(168.9)

194.4
218.2
211.6
142.4

766.6
(191.3)
(278.6)
(6.3)

290.4
(114.5)

175.9

(129.2)

46.7

1	 Normalised	adjustments	include	amortisation	of	intangible	assets	(excluding	other	software),	share-based	payments	and	movements	on	fair	value	of	forward	exchange	

contracts.

As	the	Combination	of	the	two	businesses	completed	so	close	to	the	end	of	the	financial	year,	it	was	not	possible	to	report	cost	data	
between	the	three	regions	for	the	year	ended	31	March	2018.	Neither	was	it	possible	to	consistently	report	the	combined	business	on	any	
other	segmental	basis.	Therefore,	the	segmental	information	provided	has	had	to	be	limited	to	regional	revenue	only	for	the	comparative	
period.

Revenue
Support	and	maintenance,	including	annual	fees
Rental and subscriptions
Initial fees and perpetual licences
Training and services

Other	segmental	disclosures

Year	ended	31	March	2018

Asia	Pacific
£m

EMEA	
£m

Americas
£m

Total
£m

15.3
18.0
44.1
25.0

34.9
39.1
51.6
35.2

83.3
15.6
67.4
56.8

102.4

160.8

223.1

133.5
72.7
163.1
117.0

486.3

The	Company’s	country	of	domicile	is	the	UK.	Revenue	attributed	to	the	UK	and	all	foreign	countries	amounted	to	£31.5m	and	£735.1m	
(2018:	£11.3m	and	£475.0m)	respectively.	The	USA	accounted	for	26.8%	of	the	Group’s	revenue	(2018:	40.1%).	No	other	individual	
country	accounted	for	more	than	10%	of	the	Group’s	total	revenue	(2018:	none).	Revenue	is	allocated	to	countries	on	the	basis	of	the	
location	of	the	customer.	No	single	external	customer	accounted	for	10%	or	more	of	the	Group’s	total	revenue	(2018:	none).

Non-current	assets	(excluding	deferred	tax	assets)	held	in	the	UK	and	all	foreign	countries	amounted	to	£1,762.4m	and	£148.8m	(2018:	
£1,802.6m	and	£181.3m)	respectively.	There	are	material	non-current	assets	(excluding	deferred	tax	assets)	located	in	the	USA	
amounting	to	£113.7m	(2018:	£158.0m).	There	are	no	material	non-current	assets	located	in	any	other	individual	country	outside	of	the	
UK	and	USA	(2018:	none).

5 Selling and administration expenses

An	analysis	of	selling	and	administration	expenses	is	set	out	below:

Selling	and	distribution	expenses
Administrative	expenses

2019
£m

235.6
106.3

341.9

2018
£m

128.0
53.3

181.3

 
6 Profit from operations

Profit	from	operations	is	stated	after	charging:

Depreciation	of	owned	property,	plant	and	equipment
Amortisation of intangible assets:
–	included	in	Research	&	Development	costs
–	included	in	selling	and	distribution	expenses
–	included	in	administrative	expenses
Staff costs
Operating	lease	rentals	–	minimum	lease	payments
Loss/(profit)	on	disposal	of	property,	plant	and	equipment
Impairment of intangible assets
Loss	on	disposal	of	intangible	assets
Net	foreign	exchange	losses

103

2018 
£m

3.2

25.9
19.4
1.1
243.9
9.7
(1.8)
11.2
3.7
1.0

2019
£m

5.4

61.8
26.3
0.7
396.3
16.7
0.1
–
–
0.5

During	the	year	the	Group	(including	its	subsidiaries)	obtained	the	following	services	from	the	Group’s	auditor	at	costs	as	detailed	below:

Fees	payable	to	the	Company	auditor	for	the	audit	of	parent	Company	and	Consolidated	financial	statements
Fees payable to the Company auditor and its associates for other services:
– the audit of the Company’s subsidiaries pursuant to legislation

2019
£m

0.9

0.6

1.5

2018 
£m

1.5

0.2

1.7

The	figures	above	for	the	year	ended	31	March	2018	represent	the	fees	incurred	in	relation	to	SES,	and	fees	for	the	AVEVA	Group	from	
the	date	of	the	Combination,	1	March	2018.	In	the	11	months	to	28	February	2018,	the	Group	of	which	AVEVA	Group	plc	was	the	parent	
obtained	services	from	the	Group’s	auditor	at	costs	of	£6,000	for	tax,	£30,000	for	other	assurance	services	pursuant	to	legislation,	and	
£1,200,000	for	services	related	to	the	Combination.	

7 Exceptional items

Acquisition and integration activities
Restructuring costs
Impairment	and	loss	on	sale	of	capitalised	R&D

2019
£m

23.0
5.9
–

28.9

2018 
£m

5.7
2.9
15.0

23.6

Acquisition	and	integration	activities	relate	to	fees	paid	to	professional	advisers	primarily	for	legal	and	financial	due	diligence	services	
related	to	the	combination	of	AVEVA	Group	plc	and	SES,	plus	other	consultancy	costs	paid	to	advisors	in	relation	to	the	integration,	and	
provisions	taken	in	relation	to	onerous	leases.	Details	of	provisions	are	contained	in	note	25.

The	restructuring	costs	relate	to	severance	payments	in	a	number	of	global	office	locations.	In	the	financial	year	ended	31	March	2018	
this	also	included	a	divestment	made	by	SES	in	China,	which	resulted	in	an	exceptional	write	off	of	£0.9m.	This	was	offset	by	an	
exceptional	gain	of	£1.9m	made	by	selling	the	property	relating	to	the	same	write	off.

The	impairment	of	capitalised	R&D	recognised	in	the	year	ended	31	March	2018	related	to	a	development	project	that	was	ceased,	prior	
to	completion,	following	a	divestment	of	a	Schneider	Electric	Software	joint	venture	operation	with	Schneider	Electric.	Also	included	are	
the	previously	capitalised	development	costs	related	to	a	project	over	which	a	commercial	review	of	financial	prospects	was	performed,	
and	it	was	concluded	that	the	carrying	value	of	the	development	costs	should	be	fully	impaired.

The	total	cash	outflow	during	the	year	as	a	result	of	exceptional	items	was	£18.9m	(2018:	£25.0m).

Exceptional	items	were	included	in	the	Consolidated	income	statement	as	follows:

Cost of sales
Research	&	Development	costs
Selling	and	distribution	expenses
Administrative	expenses
Other	income

2019
£m

1.9
1.7
12.6
12.7
–

28.9

2018 
£m

0.4
15.5
2.8
5.9
(1.0)

23.6

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AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED

8 Finance revenue

Bank	interest	receivable	and	other	interest	earned
Interest receivable from related parties 

9 Finance expense

Net interest on pension scheme liabilities
Bank	interest	payable	and	similar	charges
Interest payable to related parties

10 Staff costs

Staff	costs	relating	to	employees	(including	Executive	Directors)	are	shown	below:

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs
Share-based payments

The	average	number	of	persons	(including	Executive	Directors)	employed	by	the	Group	was	as	follows:

Project	delivery	and	customer	support
Research,	development	and	product	support
Sales	and	marketing
Administration

Directors’	remuneration

The	Directors	of	AVEVA	Group	plc	received	remuneration	as	follows:	

Directors’	remuneration
Aggregate	gains	on	the	exercise	of	share	options

Number	of	Directors	accruing	benefits	under	defined	contributions

2019
£m

0.2
–

0.2

2019
£m

0.2
0.5
–

0.7

2019
£m

339.5
28.1
17.5
11.2

396.3

2019
Number

1,780
1,329
1,001
481

4,591

2019
£m

10.4
–

10.4

2019
Number

2

2018 
£m

0.2
0.3

0.5

2018
£m

0.1
0.1
3.5

3.7

2018 
£m

209.6
23.5
9.4
1.4

243.9

2018 
Number

1,438
771
497
161

2,867

2018 
£m

1.8
0.1

1.9

2018 
Number

2

11 Income tax expense
a)	Tax	on	profit

The	major	components	of	income	tax	expense	are	as	follows:

Tax charged in Consolidated income statement
Current	tax
UK	corporation	tax
Foreign	tax
Adjustments	in	respect	of	prior	periods

Deferred	tax
Origination	and	reversal	of	temporary	differences	(note	28)
Adjustments	in	respect	of	prior	periods

Total income tax expense/(credit) reported in Consolidated income statement

Tax relating to items charged directly to Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
Deferred	tax	on	actuarial	remeasurements	on	retirement	benefit	obligation

Tax expense/(credit) reported in Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

105

2019
£m

2018 
£m

5.8
29.8
(0.5)

35.1

(22.0)
(0.2)

(22.2)

12.9

2019
£m

0.4

0.4

3.6
35.1
(1.1)

37.6

(43.6)
–

(43.6)

(6.0)

2018 
£m

(1.5)

(1.5)

b)	Reconciliation	of	the	total	tax	charge

The	differences	between	the	total	tax	charge	shown	above	and	the	amount	calculated	by	applying	the	standard	rate	of	US	(2018:	UK)	
corporation	tax	to	the	profit	before	tax	are	as	follows:

Tax	on	Group	profit	before	tax	at	standard	US	(2018:	UK)	corporation	tax	rate	of	24%	(2018:	19%)
Effects of:
–	expenses	not	deductible	for	tax	purposes
–	US	deferred	tax	rate	benefit
–	R&D	incentives
–	irrecoverable	withholding	tax
–	movement	on	unprovided	deferred	tax	balances
–	differing	tax	rates
–	adjustments	in	respect	of	prior	years

Income tax expense/(credit) reported in Consolidated income statement

2019
£m

11.2

1.9
–
(4.1)
0.7
1.4
2.5
(0.7)

12.9

2018 
£m

6.6

1.8
(23.7)
(0.9)
1.3
4.9
5.1
(1.1)

(6.0)

The	Group’s	effective	tax	rate	for	the	year	was:	27.6%	(2018:	-17.4%).	The	Group’s	effective	tax	rate	for	the	year	before	exceptional	items	
was	22.9%	(2018:	-7.9%).	The	Group’s	effective	tax	rate	before	exceptional	and	other	normalised	adjustments	(see	note	7)	was	20.2%	
(2018:	30.5%).

12 Dividends paid and proposed on equity shares

The	following	dividends	were	declared,	paid	and	proposed	in	relation	to	the	legal	entity	AVEVA	Group	plc:

Declared and paid during the year
Interim	2018/19	dividend	paid	of	14.0	pence	(2017/18:	nil)	per	ordinary	share
Final	2017/18	dividend	paid	of	27.0	pence	(2016/17:	27.0	pence)	per	ordinary	share

2019
£m

22.5
43.5

66.0

2018 
£m

–
17.3

17.3

Proposed for approval by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting

Final proposed dividend 2018/19 of 29.0 pence (2017/18: 27.0 pence) per ordinary share

46.8 

43.5

The	proposed	final	dividend	is	subject	to	approval	by	shareholders	at	the	Annual	General	Meeting	on	8	July	2019	and	has	not	been	
included	as	a	liability	in	these	financial	statements.	If	approved	at	the	Annual	General	Meeting,	the	final	dividend	will	be	paid	on	2	August	
2019	to	shareholders	on	the	register	at	the	close	of	business	on	5	July	2019.

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AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED

13 Earnings per share

Earnings per share for the year:
– basic
– diluted
Adjusted	earnings	per	share	for	the	year1:
– basic
– diluted

1	 Adjusted	earnings	per	share	has	been	calculated	inclusive	of	the	acquisition	accounting	adjustment	to	revenue.

2019
Pence

2018 
Pence

20.97
20.90

91.24
90.90

2019
Number

39.92
39.72

71.78
71.42

2018 
Number

Weighted average number of ordinary shares for basic earnings per share
Effect of dilution: employee share options

161.081,559
589,978

101,464,203
514,438

Weighted average number of ordinary shares adjusted for the effect of dilution

161,671,537

101,978,641

The	calculations	of	basic	and	diluted	earnings	per	share	are	based	on	the	net	profit	attributable	to	equity	holders	of	the	parent	for	the	
year	of	£33.8m	(2018:	£40.5m).	Basic	earnings	per	share	amounts	are	calculated	by	dividing	the	net	profit	attributable	to	equity	holders	
of	the	parent	by	the	weighted	average	number	of	AVEVA	Group	plc	ordinary	shares	outstanding	during	the	year.	For	the	purpose	of	the	
calculation,	the	number	of	shares	prior	to	the	Combination	is	considered	to	be	96,034,353.	This	is	the	number	of	AVEVA	Group	plc	
ordinary	shares	as	at	1	March	2018,	adjusted	by	the	exchange	ratio	of	the	Combination.	

Diluted	earnings	per	share	amounts	are	calculated	by	dividing	the	net	profit	attributable	to	equity	holders	of	the	parent	by	the	weighted	
average	number	of	ordinary	shares	outstanding	during	the	year	as	described	above,	plus	the	weighted	average	number	of	ordinary	
shares	that	would	be	issued	on	the	conversion	of	all	the	potentially	dilutive	share	options	into	ordinary	shares	for	the	year	ended	
31	March	2019,	and	the	period	from	1	March	2018	to	31	March	2018.	Details	of	the	terms	and	conditions	of	share	options	are	provided	in	
note	30.

Details	of	the	calculation	of	adjusted	earnings	per	share	are	set	out	below:

Profit	after	tax	for	the	year
Intangible	amortisation	(excluding	software)
Share-based payments
Loss	on	fair	value	of	forward	foreign	exchange	contracts	
Exceptional	items
Effect	of	acquisition	accounting	adjustments	
Tax	effect	on	exceptional	items
Tax	effect	on	other	normalised	adjustments	(excluding	net	finance	expense)
Tax	effect	on	acquisition	accounting	adjustments	

Adjusted	profit	after	tax

2019
£m

33.8
88.1
11.2
0.5
28.9
8.6
(4.4)
(18.1)
(1.6)

147.0

2018 
£m

40.5
45.2
1.4
0.1
23.6
–
(1.4)
(36.6)
–

72.8

The	denominators	used	are	the	same	as	those	detailed	above	for	both	basic	and	diluted	earnings	per	share.	

The	adjustment	made	to	profit	after	tax	in	calculating	adjusted	basic	and	diluted	earnings	per	share	has	been	adjusted	for	the	tax	effects	
of	the	items	adjusted.	The	Directors	believe	that	adjusted	earnings	per	share	is	more	representative	of	the	underlying	performance	of	the	
business.

14 Business combinations 

On	1	March	2018	AVEVA	Group	plc	acquired	SES.	For	accounting	purposes,	this	was	treated	as	a	reverse	acquisition	under	IFRS	3:	
Business	Combinations,	being	the	acquisition	of	AVEVA	Group	plc	by	SES.	The	AVEVA	Group	is	fully	consolidated	in	the	financial	
statements	with	effect	from	1	March	2018,	and	all	financial	results	prior	to	this	date	are	for	SES	only.

At	the	end	of	the	previous	reporting	period,	the	acquisition	accounting	was	provisionally	determined.	This	has	been	finalised	in	the	
current	year,	as	part	of	the	measurement	period	permitted	by	IFRS	3.	

107

The	following	table	shows	the	fair	values	of	the	identifiable	assets	acquired	and	liabilities	assumed	of	AVEVA	Group	at	the	acquisition	
date.

Intangible assets
Property plant and equipment
Other	receivables
Retirement	benefit	surplus
Trade and other receivables
Contract assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Financial liabilities
Financial assets
Trade and other payables
Contract liabilities
Current	tax
Deferred	tax
Retirement	benefit	obligations

Net assets acquired
Goodwill

Total consideration

Carrying value at 
acquisition
£m

Fair value 
adjustment
£m

–
6.7
3.2
4.3
76.7
14.1
132.4
(100.0)
0.5
(43.5)
(40.8)
10.1
(1.3)
(3.6)

551.4
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
9.2
–
(94.0)
–

58.8

466.6

Fair value
£m

551.4
6.7
3.2
4.3
76.7
14.1
132.4
(100.0)
0.5
(43.5)
(31.6)
10.1
(95.3)
(3.6)

525.4
1,244.6

1,770.0

The	total	consideration	of	£1,770.0m	is	split	between	£1,198.2m	of	equity	consideration,	a	£550.0m	cash	payment,	£3.4m	being	the	fair	
value	of	the	pre-acquisition	cost	relating	to	697,240	outstanding	share	options	acquired	on	28	February	2018,	and	£18.4m	subsequent	
completion	accounts	adjustments	determined	during	the	measurement	period.	The	equity	consideration	was	calculated	by	multiplying	
the	64,037,660	AVEVA	Group	plc	shares	deemed	to	be	acquired	by	Schneider	Electric	(in	exchange	for	£550m	and	SES)	by	the	ex-
dividend	share	price	of	the	AVEVA	Group	plc	ordinary	shares	on	28	February	2018,	adjusted	for	the	value	per	share	of	the	Return	of	
Value.	

The	main	factors	leading	to	the	recognition	of	goodwill	are	the	value	of	the	assembled	AVEVA	Group	workforce	and	the	future	synergy	
benefits	expected	to	arise	from	integrating	the	two	combined	businesses.

All	associated	transaction	costs	were	expensed	and	are	included	in	administrative	expenses	and	more	details	of	these	are	included	in	
note	7.	The	attributable	costs	of	the	issuance	of	the	shares	of	£1.7m	were	charged	directly	to	equity	as	a	reduction	in	share	premium	in	
the	year	to	31	March	2018.

The	revenue	and	profit	included	in	the	consolidated	statement	of	income	for	the	period	1	March	2018	to	31	March	2018	contributed	by	
AVEVA	were	£42.7m	and	£15.0m	respectively.	If	the	acquisition	had	occurred	on	1	April	2017,	the	consolidated	statement	of	
comprehensive	income	for	the	year	to	31	March	2018	would	have	presented	revenue	of	£704.6m	and	profit	after	tax	of	£66.0m	(at	an	
effective	tax	rate	of	-2%).

On	17	April	2019,	the	Group	completed	the	acquisition	of	the	software	assets	of	MaxGrip,	a	pioneer	in	optimising	asset	performance	with	
Reliability	Centred	Maintenance	(RCM)	solutions.	The	cash	consideration	paid	was	€25m.	Given	the	proximity	to	year	end,	the	acquisition	
accounting	has	not	yet	been	completed.	

15 Goodwill

At 1 April
Acquisitions
Exchange	adjustment

At 31 March

2019
£m

1,283.5
–
1.8

2018 
£m

42.4
1,244.6
(3.5)

1,285.3

1,283.5

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AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED

15 Goodwill continued
Goodwill	impairment	tests

The	following	table	shows	the	allocation	of	the	carrying	value	of	goodwill	at	the	end	of	the	year	by	cash	generating	unit.

Asia	Pacific
EMEA
Americas
Unallocated	at	31	March

2019
£m

282.9
615.1
387.3
–

2018 
£m

–
7.1
31.3
1,245.1

1,285.3

1,283.5

Unallocated	goodwill	at	31	March	2018	related	to	goodwill	arising	on	the	reverse	acquisition	of	AVEVA	Group	plc	by	SES	as	detailed	in	
note	14.	The	allocation	has	been	performed	for	the	year	ended	31	March	2019,	being	the	first	annual	period	beginning	after	the	
acquisition	date.

The	carrying	value	of	goodwill	allocated	to	the	EMEA	and	Americas	CGUs	as	at	31	March	2018	relates	to	acquisitions	made	by	SES	in	
previous	financial	years.

The	Group	tests	goodwill	annually	for	impairment	or	more	frequently	if	there	are	indications	that	goodwill	might	be	impaired.	Goodwill	
acquired	in	a	business	combination	is	allocated	to	the	cash	generating	units	(CGUs)	that	are	expected	to	benefit	from	that	business	
combination. In	2018/19	the	goodwill	impairment	testing	was	carried	out	on	a	value	in	use	(VIU)	basis	using	the	most	recently	approved	
management	budgets	for	the	year	ended	31	March	2020	together	with	the	most	recent	three-year	business	plan	extrapolated	to	a	
duration	of	five	years	in	total.	Projected	cash	flows	beyond	five	years	have	been	assumed	at	the	long-term	growth	rate	for	that	region	
and	these	have	been	used	to	formulate	a	terminal	value	for	the	discounted	cash	flow	calculation.	

Key	assumptions

The	key	assumptions	in	the	most	recent	annual	budget	on	which	the	cash	flow	projections	are	based	relate	to	discount	rates,	long-term	
growth	rates	and	operating	margins.

The	cash	flow	projections	have	been	discounted	using	the	Group’s	post-tax	weighted	average	cost	of	capital	adjusted	for	the	country	
and	market	risk.	Long-term	growth	rates	used	are	assumed	to	be	equal	to	the	long-term	growth	rate	in	the	gross	domestic	product	of	the	
region	in	which	the	CGU	operates.	CGU	operating	margin	is	based	on	past	results.

Asia	Pacific
EMEA
Americas

Summary of results

Discount	 

Rate

Long-term	
growth	rate

11.9%
9.6%
9.8%

1.7%
1.9%
1.9%

During	the	year	all	goodwill	was	tested	for	impairment,	with	no	impairment	charge	resulting.

As	the	VIU	is	most	sensitive	to	a	change	in	the	discount	rate	and	long-term	growth	rate,	the	Directors	have	considered	combinations	of	a	
reduction	in	the	long-term	growth	rate	and	an	increase	in	the	discount	rate	and	concluded	that	no	reasonably	foreseeable	changes	in	key	
assumptions	would	result	in	an	impairment	of	goodwill,	such	is	the	margin	by	which	the	estimate	exceeds	the	carrying	value.

16 Intangible assets 

Cost
At 1 April 2017
Additions
Acquisitions
Disposals
Exchange	adjustment

At	31	March	2018
Additions
Disposals
Exchange	adjustment

At 31 March 2019

Amortisation and 

impairment
At 1 April 2017
Charge for the year
Impairment
Disposals
Exchange	adjustment

At	31	March	2018
Charge for the year
Disposals
Exchange	adjustment

Net book value
At	31	March	2017

At	31	March	2018

At 31 March 2019

Developed	
technology  

£m

Customer 
relationships	£m

Purchased  
brand and 
trademarks
£m

Other	 
software	 

£m

Purchased 
software	rights
£m

Favourable 
leases
£m

Capitalised 
Research and 
Development
£m

157.7
–
–
–
(17.2)

140.5
–
–
10.6

151.1

63.1
18.6
–
–
(7.9)

73.8
18.7
–
5.7

98.2

94.6

66.7

52.9

92.4
–
151.5
–
(9.7)

234.2
–
(0.3)
6.2

240.1

41.0
11.1
–
–
(4.7)

47.4
22.5
(0.3)
3.8

73.4

51.4

186.8

166.7

29.5
–
76.0
–
(3.2)

102.3
–
–
2.0

104.3

11.8
3.7
–
–
(1.5)

14.0
3.3
–
1.1

18.4

17.7

88.3

85.9

7.8
0.8
–
(1.1)
(0.8)

6.7
0.2
–
0.1

7.0

4.7
1.1
–
(0.8)
(0.6)

4.4
0.7
–
0.1

5.2

3.1

2.3

1.8

15.6
0.4
309.0
–
(1.4)

323.6
–
(0.3)
1.1

324.4

8.5
4.5
–
–
(0.7)

12.3
39.5
(0.3)
0.3

51.8

7.1

311.3

272.6

–
–
14.9
–
–

14.9
–
–
–

14.9

–
0.1
–
–
–

0.1
0.5
–
–

0.6

–

14.8

14.3

50.9
9.9
–
(8.9)
(4.4)

47.5
–
(11.4)
1.8

37.9

25.8
7.3
11.2
(2.4)
(3.0)

38.9
3.6
(11.4)
1.5

32.6

25.1

8.6

5.3

109

Total
£m

353.9
11.1
551.4
(10.0)
(36.7)

869.7
0.2
(12.0)
21.8

879.7

154.9
46.4
11.2
(3.2)
(18.4)

190.9
88.8
(12.0)
12.5

280.2

199.0

678.8

599.5

For	the	purposes	of	the	adjusted	earnings	per	share	calculation	(note	13),	intangible	asset	amortisation	excludes	the	charge	relating	to	
other	software	of	£0.7m	(2018:	£1.1m).

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AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED

17 Property, plant and equipment

Cost
At 1 April 2017
Additions
Acquisitions
Disposals
Exchange	adjustment

At	31	March	2018
Additions
Disposals
Exchange	adjustment

At 31 March 2019

Depreciation
At 1 April 2017
Charge for the year
Disposals
Exchange	adjustment

At	31	March	2018
Charge for the year
Disposals
Exchange	adjustment

At 31 March 2019

Net book value
At	31	March	2017

At	31	March	2018

At 31 March 2019

18 Investments

Long	leasehold	
buildings and 
improvements
£m

Computer 
equipment  

£m

Fixtures,	fittings	 
and	office	
equipment  

£m

Motor	 

vehicles
£m

7.1
0.3
2.6
(1.6)
(0.4)

8.0
1.6
–
0.2

9.8

3.8
0.4
(0.4)
(0.3)

3.5
1.0
–
0.1

4.6

3.3

4.5

5.2

17.1
2.7
2.4
(3.3)
(1.7)

17.2
4.9
(1.1)
0.7

21.7

13.3
1.9
(3.0)
(1.3)

10.9
3.2
(1.0)
0.5

13.6

3.8

6.3

8.1

5.6
1.3
1.5
(0.1)
(0.7)

7.6
0.6
(0.2)
0.4

8.4

4.0
0.8
(0.1)
(0.4)

4.3
0.9
(0.2)
0.3

5.3

1.6

3.3

3.1

0.1
0.6
0.3
–
(0.1)

0.9
0.3
(0.1)
–

1.1

0.1
0.1
–
– 

0.2
0.3
(0.1)
–

0.4

–

0.7

0.7

Total
£m

29.9
4.9
6.8
(5.0)
(2.9)

33.7
7.4
(1.4)
1.3

41.0

21.2
3.2
(3.5)
(2.0)

18.9
5.4
(1.3)
0.9

23.9

8.7

14.8

17.1

The	Group	consists	of	a	parent	company,	AVEVA	Group	plc,	incorporated	in	the	UK,	and	a	number	of	subsidiaries	held	directly	or	
indirectly	by	AVEVA	Group	plc,	which	operate	and	are	incorporated	around	the	world,	each	contributing	to	the	Group’s	profits,	assets	
and	cash	flows.

The	Group’s	percentage	of	equity	capital	and	voting	rights	is	100%.

The	results	of	all	subsidiaries	have	been	consolidated	in	these	financial	statements.

At	31	March	2019	the	Group	held	the	following	principal	investments.	The	remainder	of	companies,	not	included	below,	are	disclosed	on	
the	inside	back	cover,	and	the	addresses	of	all	subsidiaries,	principal	or	dormant,	are	provided	on	pages	137-139.

Country of  
incorporation  
or registration

Country of  
incorporation  
or registration

AVEVA	Solutions	Limited
Schneider	Electric	Software	GB	Limited
Schneider	Electric	Software	Argentina	S.A.
AVEVA	Pty	Limited
AVEVA	Software	Australia	Holdings	Pty	Ltd
Schneider	Electric	Software	Australia	Pty	Ltd
AVEVA	do	Brasil	Informática	Ltda
Schneider	Electric	Software	Brasil	LTDA
Schneider	Electric	Software	Canada	Inc.
Schneider	Electric	Software	Chile	SpA
AVEVA	(Shanghai)	Consultancy	Co.	Limited
AVEVA	Solutions	(Shanghai)	Co.	Limited
Telvent	Control	System	(China)	Co.	Ltd
Schneider	Electric	Software	Colombia	S.A.S.

United	Kingdom Schneider	Electric	Software	Italia	S.P.A
United	Kingdom Wonderware	Italia	S.P.A.
Argentina
Australia
Australia
Australia
Brazil
Brazil
Canada
Chile
China
China
China
Colombia

AVEVA	KK
Schneider	Electric	Software	Japan	Inc
AVEVA	Korea	Limited
Schneider	Electric	Software	Korea	Ltd
AVEVA Sendirian Berhad
AVEVA	Asia	Pacific	Sendirian	Berhad
Schneider	Electric	Software	Mexico	SA	de	CV
Schneider	Electric	Software	Holdings	Netherlands	BV Netherlands
Netherlands
Schneider	Electric	Software	Netherlands	BV
Norway
AVEVA AS
Russia
AVEVA	Limited	Liability	Company
Russia
Schneider	Electric	Software	RU

Italy
Italy
Japan
Japan
Korea
Korea
Malaysia
Malaysia
Mexico

AVEVA	Denmark	A/S
AVEVA SA

Schneider	Electric	Software	France	SAS
AVEVA GmbH
Schneider	Electric	Software	Germany	GmbH
AVEVA	East	Asia	Limited
AVEVA	Solutions	India	LLP

Country of  
incorporation  
or registration

Denmark
France

France
Germany
Germany
Hong	Kong
India

AVEVA	Pte	Limited
Schneider	Electric	Software	Holdings	Singapore	

PTE Ltd

Schneider	Electric	Software	Spain	S.L.
AVEVA AB
Wonderware	Scandinavia	AB
Schneider	Electric	Software	(Thailand)	Co.	Ltd
Schneider	Electric	Software	Middle	East	FZE

AVEVA Information Technology India  

India

AVEVA	Inc.

Private	Limited

Schneider	Electric	Software	India	Private	Limited India

AVEVA	Software,	LLC

19 Financial assets

Current
Fair	value	of	forward	foreign	exchange	contracts
Non-current
Fair	value	of	forward	foreign	exchange	contracts

20 Trade and other receivables

Current
Amounts	falling	due	within	one	year:
Trade receivables
Amounts	owed	from	related	parties	(note	32)
Prepayments and other receivables

111

Country of  
incorporation  
or registration

Singapore
Singapore

Spain
Sweden
Sweden
Thailand
United	Arab	
Emirates

United	States	
of America
United	States	
of America

2019
£m

–

–

2019
£m

2018 
£m

0.5

–

2018 
£m

174.9
35.5
27.5

237.9

146.9
52.5
31.0

230.4

Trade	receivables	are	non-interest	bearing	and	generally	on	terms	of	between	30	and	90	days.	The	Directors	consider	that	the	carrying	
amount	of	trade	and	other	receivables	approximates	their	fair	value.

Non-current
Prepayments and other receivables

2019
£m

2.2

2.2

2018 
£m

1.2

1.2

Non-current	prepayments	and	other	receivables	include	rental	deposits	for	operating	leases.

As	at	31	March	2019,	the	provision	for	impairment	of	receivables	was	£7.2m	(2018:	£1.8m)	and	an	analysis	of	the	movements	during	the	
year	was	as	follows:

At 1 April 2017
Charge for the year
Utilised
Exchange	adjustment

At	31	March	2018
Charge for the year
Utilised
Exchange	adjustment

As at 31 March 2019

£m

2.0
1.2
(1.3)
(0.1)

1.8
6.3
(0.7)
(0.2)

7.2

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements112

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED

20 Trade and other receivables continued

As	at	31	March,	the	ageing	analysis	of	trade	receivables	and	amounts	owed	from	related	parties	(net	of	provision	for	impairment)	was	as	
follows:

Total
£m

Neither past due 
nor impaired
£m

Less	than	 

four months
£m

Four to eight 
months
£m

Eight to  

twelve	months
£m

More	than	 
twelve	months	 

£m

Past due not impaired

2019
Trade receivables
Amounts	owed	from	related	parties

2018
Trade receivables
Amounts	owed	from	related	parties

174.9
35.5

210.4

146.9
52.5

199.4

122.4
29.0

151.4

101.1
23.6

124.7

45.6
4.5

50.1

44.0
24.3

68.3

5.1
0.5

5.6

1.4
4.6

6.0

Further	disclosures	relating	to	the	credit	quality	of	trade	receivables	are	included	in	note	27.

21 Cash and cash equivalents 

Cash	at	bank	and	in	hand
Short-term deposits

Net	cash	and	cash	equivalents	per	cash	flow
Treasury deposits

1.8
1.5

3.3

0.4
–

0.4

2019
£m

126.5
0.7

127.2
0.6

127.8

–
–

–

–
–

–

2018 
£m

104.5
1.1

105.6
0.2

105.8

Treasury	deposits	represent	bank	deposits	with	an	original	maturity	of	over	three	months.	Treasury	deposits	held	with	a	fixed	rate	of	
interest	were	£0.6m	(2018:	£0.2m),	with	the	remainder	held	at	a	floating	rate.

Short-term	deposits	are	made	for	varying	periods	of	between	one	day	and	three	months,	depending	on	the	immediate	cash	requirements	
of	the	Group,	and	earn	interest	at	the	respective	short-term	deposit	rates.	£0.6m	(2018:	£1.0m)	were	at	a	fixed	rate	of	interest	and	the	
remainder	were	held	at	a	floating	rate	of	interest.

The	fair	value	of	cash	and	cash	equivalents	and	treasury	deposits	is	£127.8m	(2018:	£105.8m).

Further	disclosures	relating	to	credit	quality	of	cash	and	cash	equivalents	and	treasury	deposits	are	included	in	note	27.

22 Trade and other payables 

Current
Trade payables
Amounts	owed	to	related	parties	(note	32)
Social	security,	employee	taxes	and	sales	taxes
Accruals
Other	payables

2019
£m

2018 
£m

20.3
10.5
22.6
100.5
2.9

156.8

22.9
8.9
17.4
74.8
23.2

147.2

Trade	payables	are	non-interest	bearing	and	are	normally	settled	on	terms	of	between	30	and	60	days.	Social	security,	employee	taxes	
and	sales	taxes	are	non-interest	bearing	and	are	normally	settled	on	terms	of	between	19	and	30	days.	The	Directors	consider	that	the	
carrying	amount	of	trade	and	other	payables	approximates	their	fair	value.

23 Loans and borrowings

Current
Bank	loan

2019
£m

2018
£m

–

10.0

As	at	31	March	2019	the	Group	had	access	to	£100.0m	under	a	3-year	revolving	credit	facility	(2018:	£100.0m).	The	drawings	as	at	
31	March	2019	totalled	£nil	(2018:	£10.0m).	

113

The	revolving	credit	facility	permits	15	loans	to	be	outstanding	at	any	one	time.	Interest	on	drawings	is	calculated	at	LIBOR	plus	a	margin,	
initially	0.5%,	rising	only	if	net	leverage	position	deteriorates	considerably.	Additionally,	a	quarterly	commitment	fee	is	charged	on	the	
undrawn	facility	at	35%	of	the	margin.	The	termination	date	of	the	facility	is	28	February	2021	but	is	subject	to	an	extension	option.

24 Financial liabilities

Current
Fair	value	of	forward	foreign	exchange	contracts

25 Provisions

At 1 April 2019
Arising during the year

At 31 March 2019

2019
£m

0.1

2018 
£m

–

Non-current

Current

Onerous leases
£m

Onerous leases
£m

Restructuring
£m

–
2.6

2.6

–
0.5

0.5

–
1.4

1.4

Restructuring
Following	the	Combination	in	the	prior	year,	the	Group	has	been	working	to	integrate	the	business.	This	has	resulted	in	severances	being	
announced,	particularly	where	there	is	duplication	of	roles	and	functions	across	the	former	heritage	businesses.	

Onerous leases
As	part	of	the	integration	exercise,	the	Group	is	in	the	process	of	exiting	certain	properties	and	relocating	activities.	A	provision	has	been	
recognised	to	reflect	vacant	space	and	instances	where	the	agreed	lease	payments	exceed	market	rates.	

26 Obligations under leases 

As	at	31	March	2019	the	Group	had	the	following	future	minimum	rentals	payable	under	non-cancellable	operating	leases	as	follows:

Not later than one year
After	one	but	not	more	than	five	years
More	than	five	years

2019

Land and 
buildings
£m

14.8
27.6
0.4

42.8

Plant and 
machinery  

£m

1.7
1.8
–

3.5

2018

Land	and	
buildings
£m

13.7
24.8
2.7

41.2

Plant and 
machinery  

£m

1.7
1.7
–

3.4

The	Group	has	entered	into	commercial	leases	on	certain	properties,	motor	vehicles	and	items	of	equipment.	These	leases	have	a	
duration	of	between	one	and	fifty	years.	Certain	property	leases	contain	an	option	for	renewal.

27 Financial risk management

The	Group’s	principal	financial	instruments	comprise	cash	and	short-term	deposits,	and	forward	foreign	exchange	contracts.	The	Group	
has	various	other	financial	assets	and	liabilities	such	as	trade	receivables,	trade	payables	and	borrowings,	which	arise	directly	from	its	
operations.

The	Group	enters	into	forward	foreign	exchange	contracts	to	manage	currency	risks	arising	from	the	Group’s	operations.

It	is,	and	has	been	throughout	the	period	under	review,	the	Group’s	policy	that	no	speculative	trading	in	financial	instruments	shall	be	
undertaken.

The	main	risks	arising	from	the	Group’s	financial	instruments	are	market	risk,	credit	risk	and	liquidity	risk.	The	Board	reviews	and	agrees	
policies	for	managing	such	risks	on	a	regular	basis	as	summarised	below:

a)	Market	risk

Market	risk	is	the	risk	that	changes	in	market	prices,	such	as	foreign	exchange	rates	and	interest	rates,	will	affect	the	Group’s	income	or	
the	value	of	its	holding	of	financial	instruments.	The	objective	of	market	risk	management	is	to	manage	and	control	market	risk	
exposures	within	acceptable	parameters.

Interest rate risk
The	Group	holds	net	funds	and	hence	its	interest	rate	risk	is	associated	with	short-term	cash	deposits.	The	Group’s	overall	objective	with	
respect	to	holding	these	deposits	is	to	maintain	a	balance	between	security	of	funds,	accessibility	and	competitive	rates	of	return.

For	the	presentation	of	market	risks,	IFRS	7	requires	sensitivity	analysis	that	show	the	effects	of	hypothetical	changes	of	relevant	risk	variables	
on	profit	or	loss	and	shareholders’	equity.	The	Group	is	exposed	to	fluctuations	in	interest	rates	on	its	cash	and	cash	equivalents.	Borrowings	
are	at	a	fixed	rate	of	interest.	The	impact	is	determined	by	applying	sensitised	interest	rates	to	the	cash	and	cash	equivalents	balances.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements 
114

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED

27 Financial risk management continued

A	1%	point	decrease	in	the	Sterling	and	US	Dollar	interest	rates	would	not	have	had	an	impact	on	interest	income	(2018:	reduced	by	
£0.5m)	or	profit	after	tax	(2018:	reduced	by	£0.4m).

Foreign currency risk
Foreign	currency	risk	arises	from	the	Group	undertaking	a	significant	number	of	foreign	currency	transactions	in	the	course	of	operations.	
These	exposures	arise	from	sales	in	currencies	other	than	the	Group’s	presentational	currency	of	Sterling.	

The	Group	manages	exchange	risks,	where	possible,	by	using	forward	foreign	exchange	contracts.	The	Group	enters	into	forward	
foreign	exchange	contracts	to	match	forecast	cash	flows	arising	from	its	recurring	revenue	base.	In	addition,	it	enters	into	specific	
forward	foreign	exchange	contracts	for	individually	significant	revenue	contracts,	when	the	timing	of	forecast	cash	flows	is	reasonably	
certain.	Other	currency	exposures	are	harder	to	hedge	cost	effectively.	At	31	March	2019,	the	Group	had	outstanding	currency	exchange	
contracts	to	sell	$8.2m	and	€3.1m.	

The	Group	has	not	applied	hedge	accounting	during	the	current	year	and	therefore	all	gains	and	losses	on	forward	foreign	exchange	
contracts	have	been	included	in	the	Consolidated	income	statement.

The	Group	has	investments	in	foreign	operations	whose	net	assets	are	exposed	to	currency	translation	risk.	Gains	and	losses	arising	
from	these	structural	currency	exposures	are	recognised	in	the	Consolidated	statement	of	comprehensive	income.

Foreign currency sensitivity analysis
For	the	presentation	of	market	risks,	IFRS	7	requires	sensitivity	analysis	that	show	the	effects	of	hypothetical	changes	in	the	foreign	
exchange	rates	in	profit	or	loss	or	shareholders’	equity.	The	impact	is	determined	by	applying	the	sensitised	foreign	exchange	rate	to	the	
monetary	assets	and	liabilities	at	the	balance	sheet	date.

Currency	risks	as	defined	by	IFRS	7	arise	on	account	of	financial	instruments	being	denominated	in	a	currency	that	is	not	the	functional	
currency	and	being	of	a	monetary	nature;	differences	resulting	from	the	translation	of	financial	statements	into	the	Group’s	presentation	
currency	are	not	taken	into	consideration.

A	10%	change	in	the	US	Dollar	and	Euro	against	Sterling	would	have	impacted	equity	and	profit	after	tax	by	the	amounts	shown	below	
as	at	the	reporting	date	shown.	In	management’s	opinion,	this	is	a	reasonably	possible	change	given	current	market	conditions.	Our	
analysis	indicates	that	a	10%	change	in	other	currencies	would	not	have	a	significant	impact.	This	analysis	assumes	that	all	other	
variables,	in	particular,	interest	rates	and	other	foreign	currencies,	remain	constant.	The	analysis	is	performed	on	the	same	basis	for	
2017/18.

31 March 2019

US	Dollar

Euro

31	March	2018

US	Dollar

Euro

b)	Credit	risk

Increase/ 
(decrease) in 
average rate

10%
(10%)

10%
(10%)

Increase/ 
(decrease)	in	
average rate

10%
(10%)

10%
(10%)

Profit/(loss)  

£m

(2.2)
2.4

(2.4)
2.6

Profit/(loss)	 

£m

(1.0)
1.1

(0.6)
0.7

Equity 
£m

(2.2)
2.4

(2.4)
2.6

Equity 
£m

(1.0)
1.1

(0.6)
0.7

The	Group’s	principal	financial	assets	are	cash	and	cash	equivalents,	trade	and	other	receivables,	and	contract	assets.

Counterparties	for	cash	and	cash	equivalents	are	governed	by	the	treasury	policy,	which	has	been	approved	by	the	Board,	and	are	
limited	to	financial	institutions	which	have	a	high	credit	rating	assigned	by	international	credit	rating	agencies.	As	set	out	in	the	Group’s	
treasury	policy,	the	amount	of	exposure	to	each	counterparty	is	subject	to	a	specific	limit,	up	to	a	maximum	of	50%	of	the	Group’s	total	
counterparty	risk.	Within	this	overall	limit,	some	counterparties	are	subject	to	more	restrictive	caps	on	counterparty	exposure.

The	Group	trades	only	with	recognised,	creditworthy	third	parties	and	provides	credit	to	customers	in	the	normal	course	of	business.	The	
amounts	presented	in	the	Consolidated	balance	sheet	are	net	of	allowances	for	doubtful	receivables.	Expected	credit	loss	allowances	are	
made	against	trade	receivables	based	on	credit	risk	characteristics.	The	Group	has	credit	control	functions	to	monitor	receivable	
balances	on	an	ongoing	basis.	Credit	checks	are	performed	before	credit	is	granted	to	new	customers.	Due	to	the	credit	control	
procedures	in	place,	we	believe	all	the	receivables	are	of	good	quality.	The	Group	has	no	significant	concentration	of	credit	risk,	with	
exposure	spread	over	a	large	number	of	customers.	The	maximum	exposure	to	credit	risk	is	represented	by	the	carrying	amount	of	each	
financial	asset.	The	exposure	to	credit	risk	is	mitigated	where	necessary	by	either	letters	of	credit	or	payments	in	advance.

The	Group	does	not	require	collateral	in	respect	of	its	financial	assets.

115

c)	Liquidity	risk

The	Group	manages	liquidity	risk	by	maintaining	adequate	cash	reserves	and	by	continuously	monitoring	forecast	and	actual	cash	flows	
and	matching	the	maturity	of	financial	assets	and	liabilities.	As	at	31	March	2019	the	Group	has	access	to	undrawn	borrowing	facilities	
of	£100.0m	(2018:	£90.0m).	

The	table	below	analyses	the	Group’s	financial	liabilities,	which	will	be	settled	on	a	net	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	flows:

As at 31 March 2019

Trade and other payables
Amounts due to related parties

As	at	31	March	2018

Trade and other payables
Amounts due to related parties
Loans	and	borrowings

Less than 
 three months
£m

Between three 
months and six 
months
£m

Between six 
months and one 
year
£m

Greater than  

one year
£m

19.0
5.6

24.6

0.4
3.0

3.4

1.2
1.6

2.8

2.6
0.3

2.9

Less	than	 

three months
£m

Between	three	
months and  
six	months
£m

Between	six	
months and one 
year
£m

Greater than  

one year
£m

45.2
6.7
–

51.9

0.9
2.2
10.0

13.1

–
–
–

–

–
–
–

–

The	table	below	analyses	the	Group’s	forward	foreign	exchange	contracts,	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	flows:

As at 31 March 2019

Forward	foreign	exchange	contracts	(GBP/EUR)
Outflow
Inflow

Forward	foreign	exchange	contracts	(GBP/USD)
Outflow
Inflow

As	at	31	March	2018

Forward	foreign	exchange	contracts	(GBP/EUR)
Outflow
Inflow

Forward	foreign	exchange	contracts	(GBP/USD)
Outflow
Inflow

d)	Fair	values

Less than  

three months
’m

Between three  
months and  
six months  

’m

Between six 
months and one 
year
’m

Greater than  

one year
’m

€1.6
£1.4

$3.2
£2.4

€1.0
£0.9

$4.0
£3.0

€0.5
£0.4

$1.0
£0.7

–
–

–
–

Less	than	 

three months
’m

Between	three	
months and  
six	months
 ’m

Between	six	
months and one 
year
’m

Greater than  

one year
’m

€3.5
£3.2

$7.9
£5.9

€3.1
£2.8

$2.8
£2.0

€1.4
£1.3

$1.7
£1.2

–
–

–
–

The	book	values	of	the	Group’s	financial	assets	and	liabilities	consist	of	bank	and	cash	balances	of	£127.2m	(2018:	£105.6m)	and	
treasury	deposits	of	£0.6m	(2018:	£0.2m).	The	carrying	amounts	of	these	financial	assets	and	liabilities	in	the	Group’s	financial	
statements	approximates	their	fair	values.

In	addition,	the	Group’s	financial	assets	include	forward	foreign	exchange	contracts.	Financial	instruments	that	are	recognised	at	fair	
value	subsequent	to	initial	recognition	are	grouped	into	Levels	1	to	3	based	on	the	degree	to	which	the	fair	value	is	observable.	The	three	
levels	are	defined	as	follows:
•  Level	1	fair	value	measurements	are	those	derived	from	quoted	prices	(unadjusted)	in	active	markets	for	identical	assets	or	liabilities.
•  Level	2	fair	value	measurements	are	those	derived	from	inputs	other	than	quoted	prices	included	within	Level	1	that	are	observable	

for	the	asset	or	liability,	either	directly	(i.e.	as	prices)	or	indirectly	(i.e.	derived	from	prices).

•  Level	3	fair	value	measurements	are	those	derived	from	valuation	techniques	that	include	inputs	for	the	asset	or	liability	that	are	not	

based	on	observable	market	data	(unobservable	inputs).

At	31	March	2019,	the	Group	had	forward	foreign	exchange	contracts	which	were	measured	at	Level	2	fair	value	subsequent	to	initial	
recognition.	The	fair	value	of	the	liability	in	respect	of	foreign	exchange	contracts	was	£0.1m	at	31	March	2019	(2018:	asset	of	£0.5m).

The	resulting	loss	of	£0.5m	(2018:	loss	of	£0.1m)	on	the	movement	of	the	fair	value	of	forward	foreign	exchange	contracts	is	recognised	
in	the	Consolidated	income	statement	within	administrative	expenses.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements116

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED

27 Financial risk management continued
e)	Capital	management

The	Group’s	policy	is	to	maintain	a	strong	capital	base	so	as	to	maintain	investor,	market,	creditor,	customer	and	employee	confidence	
and	to	sustain	future	development	of	the	business.	The	capital	structure	of	the	Group	consists	of	equity	attributable	to	the	equity	holders	
of	AVEVA	Group	plc	comprising	issued	share	capital,	other	reserves	and	retained	earnings.

To	maintain	or	adjust	the	capital	structure,	the	Group	may	adjust	the	dividend	payment	to	shareholders,	return	capital	to	shareholders	or	
issue	new	shares.	

The	Board	monitors	the	capital	structure	on	a	regular	basis	and	determines	the	level	of	annual	dividend.	The	Group	is	not	exposed	to	any	
externally	imposed	capital	requirements.

28 Deferred tax

The	following	are	the	major	deferred	tax	liabilities	and	assets	recognised	by	the	Group	and	the	movements	thereon,	during	the	current	
and previous year:

Retirement 
benefit	
obligations 
£m

Intangible assets 
£m

Share options 
£m

Losses	 

£m

Other	temporary	
differences1
£m

At 1 April 2017
Impact of change in accounting policies

Restated balance as at 1 April 2017
Acquired
Credit to income statement
Credit to other comprehensive income
Credited to equity
Exchange	adjustment

At	31	March	2018
Credit to income statement
Credit to other comprehensive income
Credited to equity
Exchange	adjustment

–
–

–
(0.9)
–
1.5
–
–

0.6
(0.4)
(0.4)
–
–

(60.8)
–

(60.8)
(94.9)
33.6
–
(4.2)
5.5

(120.8)
15.9
–
–
(2.0)

At 31 March 2019

(0.2)

(106.9)

–
–

–
0.7
–
–
–
–

0.7
1.3
–
1.2
–

3.2

–
–

–
0.6
–
–
–
–

0.6
(0.6)
–
–
–

–

2.1
(14.9)

(12.8)
(0.8)
10.0
–
0.9
0.1

(2.6)
6.0
–
–
1.0

4.4

Total
£m

(58.7)
(14.9)

(73.6)
(95.3)
43.6
1.5
(3.3)
5.6

(121.5)
22.2
(0.4)
1.2
(1.0)

(99.5)

1	 Other	temporary	differences	consist	principally	of	deferred	tax	on	fixed	assets,	expenses	deductible	in	future	and	timing	differences	in	respect	of	revenue	recognition.

Certain	deferred	tax	assets	and	liabilities	have	been	offset.	The	following	is	the	analysis	of	the	deferred	tax	balances	(after	offset)	for	
financial	reporting	purposes:

Deferred	tax	liabilities
Deferred	tax	assets

2019
£m

(111.3)
11.8

(99.5)

2018 
£m

(130.5)
9.0

(121.5)

At	the	balance	sheet	date,	the	Group	has	unused	tax	losses	of	£28.3m	(2018:	£28.1m)	available	for	offset	against	future	profits.	No	
losses	(2018:	£1.4m)	expire	after	5	years	and	losses	of	£9.5m	(2018:	£7.5m)	expire	after	20	years.	All	other	losses	may	be	carried	
forward	indefinitely.

It	is	likely	that	the	majority	of	the	overseas	earnings	would	qualify	for	the	UK	dividend	exemption.	However,	£39.5m	(2018:	£20.4m)	of	
the	undistributed	earnings	of	overseas	subsidiaries	may	still	result	in	a	tax	liability	principally	as	a	result	of	withholding	taxes	levied	by	
the	overseas	jurisdictions	in	which	they	operate.	No	liability	has	been	recognised	because	the	Group	is	in	a	position	to	control	the	timing	
of	the	reversal	of	the	temporary	differences	and	it	is	probable	that	such	differences	will	not	reverse	in	the	foreseeable	future.

29 Retirement benefit obligations

The	Group	operates	defined	benefit	pension	schemes	in	the	UK,	Sweden,	Italy	and	Germany.	The	Group	also	provides	certain	post	
employment	benefits	to	employees	in	South	Korea,	Japan,	Australia,	UAE	and	Saudi	Arabia.	

The	UK	defined	benefit	pension	scheme,	previously	available	to	all	UK	employees,	was	closed	to	new	applicants	in	2002	and	closed	to	
future	accrual	from	1	April	2015.	UK	employees	are	now	offered	membership	of	a	defined	contribution	scheme.

The	German	unfunded	defined	benefit	schemes	are	closed	to	new	applicants	and	provide	benefits	to	nine	deferred	members.	No	current	
employees	participate	in	the	schemes.	

117

The	Group	provides	pension	arrangements	to	its	Swedish	employees	through	an	industry-wide	defined	benefit	scheme.	It	is	not	possible	
to	identify	the	share	of	the	underlying	assets	and	liabilities	in	the	scheme	which	is	attributable	to	the	Group	on	a	fair	and	reasonable	
basis.	Therefore	the	Group	has	applied	the	provisions	in	IAS	19	to	account	for	the	scheme	as	if	it	was	a	defined	contribution	scheme.

The	movement	on	the	provision	for	retirement	benefit	obligations	was	as	follows:

UK	defined	
benefit	scheme	 

German  
defined	benefit	 
schemes  

South	Korean	
severance pay  

At	31	March	2017
On	acquisition
Current service cost
Net interest on pension scheme liabilities
Return on pension scheme assets 
Actuarial remeasurements
Employer contributions
Exchange	adjustment

At	31	March	2018
Current service cost
Past service cost
Net interest on pension scheme liabilities
Return on pension scheme assets 
Actuarial remeasurements
Employer contributions
Exchange	adjustment

At 31 March 2019

£m

–
(4.3)
–
0.2
(0.2)
–
(1.3)
–

(5.6)
–
0.8
2.0
(1.9)
(0.8)
(1.6)
–

(7.1)

£m

1.4
1.9
0.1
–
–
(0.5)
–
–

2.9
0.1
–
–
–
–
(0.1)
–

2.9

£m

–
1.6
–
–
–
–
–
–

1.6
0.2
0.3
–
–
0.4
(0.1)
–

2.4

The	following	is	the	analysis	of	the	retirement	benefit	balances:

Retirement	benefit	surplus
Retirement	benefit	liabilities

Italy  
Plan
£m

1.8
–
0.2
–
–
–
(0.2)
–

1.8
0.3
–
–
–
0.7
(0.2)
–

2.6

IPS	Japan	 

Plan
£m

1.4
–
0.1
–
–
0.1
(0.2)
(0.1)

1.3
0.2
–
–
–
–
(0.1)
–

1.4

Other
£m

0.6
–
0.5
0.1
–
2.8
(0.5)
(0.3)

3.2
0.9
–
0.2
–
0.2
(0.8)
0.1

3.8

2019
£m

(7.1)
13.1

6.0

Total
£m

5.2
	(0.8)
0.9
0.3
(0.2)
2.4
(2.2)
(0.4)

5.2
1.7
1.1
2.2
(1.9)
0.5
(2.9)
0.1

6.0

2018 
£m

(5.6)
10.8

5.2

The	UK	defined	benefit	scheme	surplus	has	been	recognised	as	a	non-current	asset	as	the	Group	has	a	right	to	any	remaining	surplus	
after	all	liabilities	are	paid.	The	Trustees	may	not	distribute	any	surplus	without	the	agreement	of	the	Group.	If	such	agreement	is	
withheld,	the	Trustees	are	required	to	repay	any	remaining	funds	to	the	Group.

The	past	service	cost	recognised	in	the	UK	defined	benefit	scheme	relates	to	the	amendment	of	certain	historic	pension	schemes	to	
equalise	benefits	for	men	and	women.	This	adjustment	was	made	as	a	result	of	the	judgement	issued	by	the	High	Court	of	Justice	of	
England	and	Wales	on	26	October	2018	regarding	the	rights	of	female	members	of	certain	pension	schemes	to	equality	of	treatment	in	
relation	to	pension	benefits.	

a)	UK	defined	benefit	scheme
The	Group	operates	a	UK	defined	benefit	pension	plan	providing	benefits	based	on	final	pensionable	pay	which	is	funded.	This	scheme	
was	closed	to	new	employees	on	30	September	2002	(with	the	option	of	reopening	if	required)	and	was	converted	to	a	Career	Average	
Revalued	Earnings	basis	on	30	September	2004.	The	scheme	closed	to	future	benefit	accrual	with	effect	from	1	April	2015.	Pensions	are	
also	payable	to	dependants	on	death.	Administration	on	behalf	of	the	members	is	governed	by	a	trust	deed,	and	the	funds	are	held	and	
managed	by	professional	investment	managers	who	are	independent	of	the	Group.

Contributions	to	the	scheme	are	made	in	accordance	with	advice	from	an	external,	professionally	qualified	actuary,	Broadstone	
Corporate	Benefits	Limited,	at	rates	which	are	calculated	to	be	sufficient	to	meet	the	future	liabilities	of	the	scheme.	Scheme	assets	are	
stated	at	their	market	values	at	the	respective	balance	sheet	dates.

The	principal	assumptions	used	in	determining	the	pension	valuation	were	as	follows:

Main	assumptions:
Discount	rate
Inflation	assumption	–	RPI
Rate of salary increases
Rate of increase of pensions in payment
Rate of increase of pensions in deferment
Cash Commutation

The	duration	of	the	scheme	liabilities	is	estimated	to	be	17	years.

2019
%

2018 
%

2.5
3.6
5.6
3.3
2.6
20% of pension

2.6
3.5
5.5
3.2
2.5
20%	of	pension

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements118

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED

29 Retirement benefit obligations continued

For	the	years	ended	31	March	2019	and	2018,	the	mortality	assumptions	adopted	imply	the	following	weighted	average	life	
expectancies	at	age	65:

Male	currently	aged	65
Female currently aged 65
Male	currently	aged	45
Female currently aged 45

2019
Years

22.5
23.5
23.5
24.7

2018 
Years

22.9
23.9
23.9
25.1

Company	contributions	were	£1.6m	(2018:	£1.3m),	comprising	deficit	contributions	totalling	£1.4m	(2018:	£0.1m)	per	annum	plus	an	
administration	charge	of	£0.2m	(2018:	£0.2m).	In	2018,	there	was	a	one	off	additional	Company	contribution	of	£1.0m.	The	total	
contributions	in	2019/20	is	expected	to	be	approximately	£1.6m.

The	assumed	discount	rate,	inflation	rate	and	mortality	all	have	a	significant	effect	on	the	IAS	19	accounting	valuation.	The	following	
table	shows	the	sensitivity	of	the	valuation	to	changes	in	these	assumptions:

0.25	percentage	point	increase	to:
– discount rate
–	inflation	(including	pension	increases	linked	to	inflation)
Additional	one-year	increase	to	life	expectancy

The	assets	and	liabilities	of	the	scheme	at	31	March	2019	and	2018	were	as	follows:

Equities
Bonds
Other

Total fair value of assets
Present value of scheme liabilities

Net pension asset 

Impact on liabilities  
increase/(decrease)

2019
£m

(3.2)
2.3
3.2

2019
£m

31.0
28.7
25.1

84.8
(77.7)

7.1

2018 
£m

(3.4)
2.4
2.3

2018 
£m

33.2
27.1
23.1

83.4
(77.8)

5.6

The amounts recognised in the Consolidated income statement and Consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the year are 
analysed	as	follows:

Selling and administrative expenses
Past service cost 

Finance revenue
Interest income on pension scheme assets

Finance costs
Interest on pension scheme liabilities

Taken to Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
Actual return on pension scheme assets
Less:	interest	income	on	pension	scheme	assets

Changes	in	assumptions	and	experience	adjustments	on	liabilities

Remeasurement gain on defined benefit plan

Analysis	of	movements	in	the	present	value	of	the	defined	benefit	pension	obligations	during	the	year	are	analysed	as	follows:

At 1 April 
On	acquisition
Interest on pension scheme liabilities
Benefits	paid
Actuarial	loss	due	to	experience
Actuarial loss due to changes in the economic assumptions 
Actuarial gain due to changes in the demographic assumptions
Past service cost

At 31 March

The	above	defined	benefit	obligation	arises	from	a	plan	that	is	wholly	funded.	

2019
£m

77.8
–
2.0
(3.9)
0.1
2.2
(1.3)
0.8

77.7

2019
£m

0.8

2018 
£m

–

(1.9)

(0.2)

2.0

0.2

3.7
(1.9)

1.8
(1.0)

0.8

0.2
(0.2)

–
–

–

2018 
£m

–
77.6
0.2
–
–
–
–
–

77.8

Changes	in	the	fair	value	of	plan	assets	are	as	follows:

At 1 April
On	acquisition
Interest income
Contributions by employer
Benefits	paid
Actual return less interest in income

At 31 March

b)	German	defined	benefit	schemes

119

2018 
£m

–
81.9
0.2
1.3
–
–

83.4

2019
£m

83.4
–
1.9
1.6
(3.9)
1.8

84.8

The	Group	operates	four	defined	benefit	pension	schemes.	There	are	three	defined	benefit	pension	schemes	in	AVEVA	GmbH.	Tribon	
Solutions	GmbH	operated	an	unfunded	defined	benefit	scheme	that	provides	benefits	to	three	deferred	members	following	an	
acquisition	in	1992.	No	current	employees	participate	in	the	scheme	and	it	is	closed	to	new	applicants.	Benefit	payments	are	made	as	
they	fall	due.	

Since	the	acquisition	of	Bocad	in	May	2012,	AVEVA	Software	GmbH	had	been	responsible	for	the	pension	obligations	of	six	former	
Bocad	employees.	At	the	time	of	the	acquisition,	the	pension	obligations	were	only	partly	financed	via	external	funding	vehicles.	In	March	
2013,	AVEVA	concluded	an	agreement	with	an	external	insurance	provider	which	resulted	in	the	insurance	company	being	obliged	to	
provide	all	benefits	as	detailed	in	the	individual	pension	commitments,	with	AVEVA	only	having	an	obligation	if	the	external	insurance	
provider	defaults.

In	addition,	AVEVA	GmbH	operates	a	defined	benefit	pension	scheme	for	one	employee.	This	scheme	is	closed	to	new	members.	

There	are	two	unfunded	defined	benefit	schemes	in	the	German	SES	entity.	Seven	current	employees	participate	in	the	schemes,	both	
schemes	are	closed	to	new	applicants.

Details	of	the	actuarial	assumptions	used	to	value	these	schemes	in	accordance	with	IAS	19	are	set	out	below:

Rate of increase of pension in payment
Discount	rate
Mortality
Rate of salary increases
Retirement age

c)	South	Korean	severance	pay

2019

2018

1.8–2.5% 1.5%–2.5%
1.3% 1.2%–1.6%
13 – 20 years 13 – 20 years
n/a
60 – 63

n/a
60 – 63

South	Korean	employees	are	entitled	to	a	lump	sum	on	severance	of	their	employment	equal	to	one	month’s	salary	for	each	year	of	
service.

d)	Italy	plan

Certain	employees	in	Italy	have	an	accrued	entitlement	to	Defined	Benefit	termination	indemnity	payments.	The	plan	is	unfunded.	

e)	IPS	Japan	plan

Employees	enrolled	in	the	IPS	Japanese	plan	receive	a	lump	sum	payment	on	retirement	or	earlier	exit.	The	plan	is	unfunded.

f)	Other	retirement	schemes

Swedish	employees	employed	by	AVEVA	AB	aged	28	or	over	are	members	of	the	ITP,	an	industry	scheme	for	salaried	employees	which	
provides	benefits	in	addition	to	the	state	pension	arrangements.	The	ITP	scheme	is	managed	by	Alecta,	a	Swedish	insurance	company.	It	
is	a	multi-employer	defined	benefit	scheme	with	a	supplementary	defined	contribution	component.	AVEVA	AB	pays	monthly	premiums	
to	the	insurers	which	vary	by	age,	service	and	salary	of	the	employee.	AVEVA	AB	is	unable	to	identify	its	share	of	the	underlying	assets	
and liabilities in the scheme on a fair and reasonable basis because this information is not provided by the scheme and therefore has 
accounted	for	the	scheme	as	if	it	was	a	defined	contribution	pension	scheme.	At	31	March	2019,	Alecta’s	surplus	in	the	form	of	collective	
funding	level	was	144%	(2018:	152%)	which	was	calculated	in	accordance	with	the	Swedish	Annual	Accounts	Act	for	Insurance	
Companies.	The	total	cost	charged	to	the	income	statement	was	£0.2m	(2018:	£0.1m).

Certain	employees	in	Australia	have	a	statutory	right	to	receive	a	Long	Service	Leave	payment	at	dates	agreed	with	the	employee	(after	
the	qualifying	period).

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements120

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED

29 Retirement benefit obligations continued

Employees	in	UAE	and	Saudi	Arabia	are	entitled	to	a	lump	sum	benefit	on	retirement	or	termination.	This	is	based	on	service	and	final	
salary	and	is	a	legal	requirement	in	these	countries.

Certain	employees	in	India	have	a	statutory	right	to	receive	a	gratuity	payment	when	they	leave	service.	They	also	have	a	leave	
encashment	plan	(where	unused	annual	leave	can	be	used	to	purchase	an	additional	retirement	benefit).

g)	Defined	contribution	schemes

The	Group	operates	defined	contribution	retirement	schemes	for	certain	European	and	Asian	employees.	The	assets	of	the	schemes	are	
held	separately	from	those	of	the	Group.	The	total	cost	charged	to	the	income	statement	of	£15.6m	(2018:	£8.6m)	represents	
contributions	payable	to	these	schemes	by	the	Group	at	the	rates	specified	in	the	rules	of	the	plans.

30 Share-based payment plans

The	Group	has	four	equity-settled	share	schemes:	the	AVEVA	Group	plc	Long-Term	Incentive	Plan	(LTIP);	the	AVEVA	Group	Management	
Bonus	Deferred	Share	Scheme;	the	AVEVA	Group	plc	Senior	Employee	Restricted	Share	Plan	2015;	and	the	AVEVA	Group	plc	Executive	
Share	Option	Scheme	2007.	No	grants	have	been	made	under	the	2007	scheme.

The	following	table	illustrates	the	number,	and	movements	in,	share	options	for	the	schemes	during	the	year:

Outstanding	at	1	April	2017
On	acquisition
Granted during year
Additional	grants	as	a	result	of	modifications	to	existing	options1

Outstanding	at	31	March	2018
Exercisable	at	31	March	2018

Granted during year
Forfeited during the year
Exercised	during	the	year

Outstanding at 31 March 2019

Exercisable at 31 March 2019

LTIP

–
488,101
307,143
154,900

950,144
4,069

358,111
(299,258)
(1,145)

Restricted  
share plan

Deferred  

Share Scheme

–
196,671
–
105,861

302,532
1,248

122,156
(32,390)
(79,237)

–
12,468
–
6,703

19,171
–

44,620
–
(7,262)

Total

–
697,240
307,143
267,464

1,271,847
5,317

524,887
(331,648)
(87,644)

1,007,852

313,061

56,529

1,377,442

2,924

6,212

–

9,136

1	 During	the	year	ended	31	March	2018,	modifications	occurred	under	the	Company’s	employee	share	plans	in	relation	to	the	Return	of	Value	to	the	Company’s	shareholders,	
which	was	implemented	by	means	of	a	B	Share	Scheme.	The	modifications	operated	to	increase	the	number	of	shares	held	under	the	awards	by	a	factor	of	1.53846	and	
rounded	down	to	the	nearest	number	of	whole	shares.	

The	fair	value	of	option	awards	subject	to	EPS	performance	targets	was	measured	at	grant	date	using	the	Black	Scholes	option	pricing	
model,	and	the	fair	value	of	option	awards	subject	to	TSR	performance	targets	was	determined	by	use	of	Monte	Carlo	simulations,	both	
taking	into	account	the	terms	and	conditions	upon	which	the	instruments	were	granted.	As	a	result	of	the	reverse	acquisition	accounting,	
existing	share	option	awards	were	revalued	using	the	relevant	inputs	as	at	the	acquisition	date,	using	a	consistent	methodology	as	
outlined	above.	The	element	relating	to	service	prior	to	the	acquisition	date	has	been	included	within	consideration,	as	outlined	in	note	
14,	with	the	post-acquisition	element	reflecting	the	ongoing	charge	in	the	income	statement.	The	following	table	lists	the	inputs	to	the	
model	used	for	each	of	the	awards:

Year ended 31 March 2019

Weighted average exercise price 
Expected volatility
Risk-free interest rate
Expected life of option
Weighted average share price

LTIP

Restricted  
share plan

Deferred  

Share Scheme

3.56p
32%
0.8% to 0.9%
3 to 5 years
27.58

Black Scholes  

3.56p
32%
0.8% to 0.9%
3 years
26.51

–
32%
0.8%
3 years
25.71

Valuation type 

and Monte Carlo

Black Scholes

Black Scholes

121

Year	ended	31	March	2018

Weighted	average	exercise	price
Expected	volatility
Risk-free	interest	rate
Expected	life	of	option
Weighted average share price

Valuation type 

LTIP

3.56p
48%
0.5%
3 years
18.26

Restricted  
share plan

3.56p
48%
0.5%
3 years
18.26

Deferred	 

Share Scheme

–
48%
0.5%
3 years
18.26

Black	Scholes	 

and	Monte	Carlo

Black	Scholes

Black	Scholes

The	weighted	average	remaining	contractual	life	for	the	options	outstanding	at	31	March	2019	is	7.3	years	(2018:	7.1	years).

The	average	fair	value	of	options	granted	during	the	year	was	£25.31	(2018:	£19.14).	In	calculating	the	fair	value,	the	expected	life	of	the	
options	is	based	on	historical	data	and	is	not	necessarily	indicative	of	exercise	patterns	that	may	occur.	The	expected	volatility	reflects	
the	assumption	that	the	historical	volatility	is	indicative	of	future	trends,	which	may	also	not	necessarily	be	the	actual	outcome.

In	the	year	ended	31	March	2019	the	Group	recognised	an	expense	of	£11.2m	related	to	equity-settled	share-based	payment	
transactions	(2018:	£1.2m)	and	nil	related	to	cash-settled	share-base	payment	transactions	(2018:	£0.2m).

Details	of	the	share	option	plans	are	as	follows:

a)	Long-Term	Incentive	Plan	(LTIP)

The	performance	conditions	attached	to	the	options	awarded	in	2018/19	and	2017/18	are	based	on	EPS	growth	(50%),	Total	
Shareholder	Return	(TSR)	(25%)	against	a	comparator	group	combining	the	FTSE	350	Technology	Sector	and	the	S&P	Mid	Cap	400	
Software	companies,	and	strategic	objectives	(25%),	with	the	precise	measures	to	be	set	and	measured	by	the	Remuneration	
Committee.	

Further	information	about	the	performance	conditions	are	provided	in	the	Remuneration	Committee	report	on	page	74.

b)	Deferred	annual	bonus	share	plan

The	AVEVA	Group	Management	Bonus	Deferred	Share	Scheme	2008	(the	Deferred	Share	Scheme)	is	participated	in	by	Directors	and	
senior	management.	Subject	to	the	achievement	of	performance	conditions	relating	to	a	single	financial	year,	these	incentive	
arrangements	are	intended	to	reward	the	recipient	partly	in	cash	and	partly	in	ordinary	shares	in	the	Company	to	be	delivered	on	a	
deferred	basis.

The	award	of	deferred	shares	takes	the	form	of	nil-cost	options	exercisable	by	participants	in	three	equal	tranches,	one	in	each	of	the	
three	years	following	the	year	in	which	the	award	is	made.	The	option	may	be	exercised	in	the	42-day	period	beginning	on	the	
announcement	of	the	financial	results	of	the	Group	in	each	of	the	three	calendar	years	after	that	in	which	the	option	was	granted.	The	
last	date	of	the	exercise	is	the	end	of	the	42-day	period	following	the	announcement	of	the	financial	results	of	the	Group	in	the	third	
calendar	year	following	that	in	which	the	option	was	granted	or	(if	applicable)	such	later	date	as	the	Remuneration	Committee	may	
specify.	These	awards	are	made	solely	in	respect	of	performance	in	the	financial	year	immediately	prior	to	their	grant.	Delivery	of	the	
deferred	shares	is	not	subject	to	further	performance	conditions	but	each	participant	is	required	to	remain	an	employee	or	Director	of	the	
Group	during	the	three-year	vesting	period	in	order	to	receive	his	deferred	shares	in	full	(except	in	the	case	of	death	or	the	occurrence	of	a	
takeover,	reconstruction	or	amalgamation,	or	voluntary	winding	up	of	the	Company).	

c)	AVEVA	Group	plc	Senior	Employee	Restricted	Share	Plan	2015

The	AVEVA	Group	plc	Senior	Employee	Restricted	Share	Plan	2015	(the	Restricted	Share	Plan)	allows	awards	of	options	to	be	made	to	
senior	management	employees.	The	right	to	exercise	an	option	is	subject	to	completion	of	a	required	period	of	continued	employment	
within	the	Group,	usually	being	three	years. Options	that	are	not	exercised	prior	to	the	fifth	anniversary	(or,	in	the	case	of	an	award	with	
an	overall	award	period	of	more	than	four	years,	the	sixth	anniversary)	of	the	date	of	grant	shall	lapse.

31 Share capital and reserves
a)	Share	capital

Allotted, called-up and fully paid
161,287,697	(2018:	161,207,315)	ordinary	shares	of	3.56	pence	each

2019
£m

5.7

2018
£m

5.7

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements122

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED

31 Share capital and reserves continued

Details	of	the	shares	issued	during	the	year	and	the	prior	year	are	as	follows:

At 1 April
Issued as consideration for the purchase of SES
Exercise	of	share	options

At 31 March

2019  

Number

161,207,315
–
80,382

161,287,697

2019 
£m

5.7
–
–

5.7

2018  

Number

63,975,869
97,169,655
61,791

161,207,315

2018 
£m

2.3
3.4
–

5.7

On	1	March	2018	the	Company	issued	97,169,655	consideration	shares	of	3.56	pence	each	with	a	nominal	value	of	£3.4m.	The	issue	of	
new	shares	in	the	Company	in	exchange	for	shares	in	SES	attracted	merger	relief	under	section	612	of	the	Companies	Act	2006.	Of	the	
£1,817.9m	fair	value	of	the	shares	issued,	£3.4m	(3.56	pence	per	ordinary	share)	was	credited	to	share	capital,	£547.2m	(after	writing	off	
certain	transaction	costs)	to	share	premium,	and	the	remaining	£1,265.6m	to	the	merger	reserve	within	equity.

On	1	March	2018	the	Company	issued	64,037,660	B	shares	of	£10.15	each	paid	up	by	capitalisation	of	£650.0m	of	the	merger	reserve.	
Later	on	the	same	date	the	B	shares	were	redeemed	at	£10.15	per	share,	in	part	out	of	the	fresh	issue	referred	to	above	and	as	to	
£101.7m	out	of	distributable	reserves	(which	was	transferred	to	capital	redemption	reserve).

During	the	year	the	Company	issued	80,382	(2018:	61,791)	ordinary	shares	of	3.56	pence	each	with	a	nominal	value	of	£2,858	(2018:	
£2,197)	pursuant	to	the	exercise	of	share	options.	The	total	proceeds	were	£2,858	(2018:	£2,197),	which	included	a	premium	of	£nil	
(2018:	£nil).

b)	Other	reserves

Other	reserves	consist	of	the	following:

Merger reserve
This	represents	the	difference	between	the	equity	consideration	and	the	nominal	value	of	shares	issued	in	connection	with	the	
acquisition	of	SES	in	2018,	less	amounts	used	to	pay	up	the	B	shares.	The	return	of	value	to	shareholders	was	effected	through	the	issue	
and	redemption	of	B	shares	which	were	paid	up	out	of	the	merger	reserve.

Cumulative translation adjustment reserve
The	cumulative	translation	adjustment	reserve	is	used	to	record	exchange	differences	which	arise	from	the	translation	of	the	financial	
statements	of	foreign	subsidiaries.

Capital contribution reserve
Capital	contributions	represent	the	reimbursement	by	Schneider	Electric	Group	of	capital	expenditure	incurred	in	relation	to	the	carve	out	
of	SESB	following	the	Combination.	

Capital redemption reserve
This	represents	the	return	of	value	to	shareholders	from	AVEVA	Group	plc	insofar	as	made	out	of	distributable	reserves.	

Reverse acquisition reserve 
This	represents	the	difference	between	the	consideration	and	the	AVEVA	capital	equity	interests	on	acquisition.	

Treasury shares
Treasury	shares	reserve	represents	the	cost	of	the	shares	in	AVEVA	Group	plc	purchased	in	the	open	market	and	held	by	the	AVEVA	
Group	Employee	Benefit	Trust	2008	(EBT)	to	satisfy	deferred	shares	under	the	Group’s	deferred	annual	bonus	share	plan.	During	the	
year,	342,774	(2018:	15,444)	shares	were	purchased	by	the	EBT	at	a	price	of	£27.07	(2018:	£20.91)	and	7,262	shares	(2018:	11,543)	with	
an	attributable	cost	of	£150,028	(2018:	£243,462)	were	issued	to	employees	in	satisfying	share	options	that	were	exercised.

At 1 April 2017
Own	shares	purchased	
Shares issued to employees

At	31	March	2018
Own	shares	purchased
Shares issued to employees

At 31 March 2019

£m

0.2
0.3
(0.2)

0.3
9.3
(0.2)

9.4

123

32 Related party transactions

Transactions	between	the	Company	and	its	subsidiaries,	which	are	related	parties,	have	been	eliminated	on	consolidation	and	are	not	
disclosed	in	this	note.

During	the	year,	Group	companies	entered	into	the	following	transactions	with	Schneider	Electric	group	companies:

Sales of goods and services
Purchases of goods and services
Interest income
Interest	expense
Completion	accounts	adjustment
Other	non-trading	transactions	
Pre-closing management fees

2019
£m

80.1
(19.7)
–
–
(19.4)
4.3
–

During	the	year,	the	Group	paid	£17.4m	to	Schneider	Electric	SE,	the	parent	company	of	the	Schneider	Electric	Group.	All	other	
transactions	were	with	subsidiary	companies	within	the	Schneider	Electric	Group.

As	at	31	March,	Group	companies	held	the	following	balances	with	Schneider	Electric	group	companies:

Trade and other receivables
Trade and other payables
Non-trading receivables

2019
£m

34.1
(10.5)
1.4

2018
£m

72.9
(13.1)
0.3
(3.4)
–
(7.9)
(11.0)

2018
£m

43.1
(8.9)
9.4

Terms	and	conditions	of	transactions	with	related	parties

Outstanding	balances	at	31	March	2019	are	unsecured,	and	settlement	occurs	in	cash.	There	have	been	no	guarantees	provided	or	
received	for	any	related	party	receivables	or	payables.	For	the	year	ended	31	March	2019,	the	Group	has	not	recorded	any	impairment	of	
receivables	relating	to	amounts	owed	by	related	parties	(2018:	nil).	This	assessment	is	undertaken	each	financial	year	through	examining	
the	financial	position	of	the	related	party	and	the	market	in	which	the	related	party	operates.	

Remuneration	of	key	management	personnel

The	remuneration	of	the	key	management	personnel	of	the	Group	is	set	out	below	in	aggregate	for	each	of	the	categories	specified	in	IAS	
24	Related	Party	Disclosures.	In	the	11	month	period	to	28	February	2018,	the	key	management	personnel	were	considered	to	be	the	
Chief	Operating	Officer	and	the	Heads	of	Business	of	SES.	Following	the	Combination,	during	the	one	month	period	from	1	March	2018	
to	31	March	2018,	and	the	year	to	31	March	2019,	the	key	management	personnel	were	considered	to	be	the	Board	and	the	Executive	
Leadership	Team	of	the	AVEVA	Group	plc	enlarged	Group.	In	addition	to	their	salaries,	the	Group	also	provides	non-cash	benefits	and	
contributes	to	defined	contribution	pension	schemes	on	their	behalf.	Key	management	personnel	also	participate	in	the	Group’s	share	
option	schemes	and	deferred	annual	bonus	share	plan.	

Further	information	about	the	remuneration	of	individual	Directors	is	provided	in	the	audited	parts	of	the	Remuneration	Committee	
report	on	pages	60	to	79.

Short-term	employee	benefits
Share-based payments

2019
£m

7.2
8.2

15.4

2018
£m

2.9
0.4

3.3

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements124

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED

33 Changes in accounting policies

The	Group	has	adopted	IFRS	15	Revenue	from	Contracts	with	Customers,	and	IFRS	9	Financial	Instruments,	from	1	April	2018.	This	has	
resulted	in	changes	in	accounting	policies	and	adjustments	to	the	amounts	recognised	in	the	financial	statements.	

a)	IFRS	15	Revenue	from	Contracts	with	Customers	–	Impact	of	adoption	

The	Group	adopted	IFRS	15	using	the	full	retrospective	method	of	adoption.	In	summary,	the	following	adjustments	were	made	to	the	
amounts recognised in the primary statements: 

i)	 Rendering	of	services	–	transfer	of	control
ii)	 Providing	extended	payment	terms	to	customers
iii)	 Stand-alone	selling	prices

Impact on the balance sheet as at 31 March 2018 

Non-current assets
Goodwill

Current assets
Contract assets

Current liabilities
Contract liabilities

Non-current liabilities
Deferred	tax	liabilities

Equity
Other	reserves
Retained earnings

£m

IFRS	15	(i)
£m

IFRS	15	(ii)
£m

IFRS	15	(iii)
£m

Restated
£m

1,287.6

–

(0.8)

(3.3)

1,283.5

40.6

23.8

1.8

1.4

67.6

(157.2)

16.0

(0.9)

0.4

(141.7)

(120.7)

(9.3)

(0.2)

(0.3)

(130.5)

(1,178.1)
(167.7)

(1.2)
(29.3)

(0.1)
0.1

–
1.8

(1,179.4)
(195.1)

Due	to	the	Combination	being	accounted	for	as	a	reverse	acquisition,	IFRS	15	adjustments	that	would	ordinarily	adjust	equity	in	the	year	
ended	31	March	2018	are	divided	between	pre-acquisition	and	post-acquisition.	The	pre-acquisition	element	is	accounted	for	as	an	
adjustment	to	goodwill,	the	post-acquisition	element	is	adjusted	to	equity.

Contract	assets	recognised	in	relation	to	contracts	with	customers	were	previously	presented	as	accrued	income.	Contract	liabilities	
were	previously	presented	as	deferred	revenue.	

Impact on the balance sheet as at 1 April 2017 

£m

IFRS	15	(i)
£m

IFRS	15	(ii)
£m

IFRS	15	(iii)
£m

Restated
£m

Current assets
Contract assets

Current liabilities
Contract liabilities

Non-current liabilities
Deferred	tax	liabilities

Equity
Retained earnings

44.7

28.0

(117.4)

21.4

(60.8)

(14.9)

(146.6)

(34.5)

–

– 

– 

–

–

–

– 

–

Impact on the income statement and statement of other comprehensive income

Revenue
Selling	and	administration	expenses
Income	tax	expense

Profit	for	the	period

Exchange	differences	on	translation	of	foreign	operations
Other	comprehensive	income	for	the	period

Total comprehensive income

£m

499.1
(181.8)
0.8

(16.8)

Year	ended	31	March	2018

IFRS	15	(i)
£m

IFRS	15	(ii)
£m

IFRS	15	(iii)
£m

(10.4)
0.5
4.7

(5.2)

1.2
1.2

(4.0)

(0.1)
–
–

(0.1)

0.1
0.1

–

(2.3)
–
0.5

(1.8)

– 
–

(1.8)

72.7

(96.0)	

(75.7)

(181.1)

Restated
£m

486.3
(181.3)
6.0

(15.5)

Impact on the cash flow statement

Profit	for	the	period
Income	tax	expense

Changes in working capital
Contract assets
Contract liabilities

Net cash generated from operating activities 

Impact on earnings per share

Earning per share
– basic
– diluted

Adjusted	earnings	per	share
– basic
– diluted

125

Restated
£m

40.5
(6.0)

(28.5)
28.9

£m

47.6
(0.8)

(34.0)
22.1

Year	ended	31	March	2018

IFRS	15	(i)
£m

IFRS	15	(ii)
£m

IFRS	15	(iii)
£m

(5.2)
(4.7)

(0.1)
–

(1.8)
(0.5)

4.5
5.4

–

0.1
–

–

0.9
1.4

–

Year	ended	31	March	2018

Pence

46.97
46.73

78.83
78.43

IFRS 15
pence

Restated
pence

(7.05)
(7.01)

(7.05)
(7.01)

39.92
39.72

71.78
71.42

b)	IFRS	9	Financial	Instruments	–	Impact	of	adoption

IFRS	9	Financial	Instruments	replaces	the	provisions	of	IAS	39	that	relate	to	the	recognition,	classification	and	measurement	of	financial	
assets	and	liabilities,	derecognition	of	financial	instruments,	impairment	of	financial	assets	and	hedge	accounting.	

In	accordance	with	the	transitional	provisions	in	IFRS	9,	comparative	figures	have	not	been	restated.	The	reclassifications	and	
adjustments	arising	from	the	new	impairment	rules	are	therefore	not	reflected	in	the	restated	balance	sheet	as	at	31	March	2018,	but	are	
recognised	in	the	opening	balance	sheet	on	1	April	2018.	

The	total	impact	on	the	Group’s	retained	earnings	as	at	1	April	2018	was	£6,000.	

c)	Classification	and	measurement

As	at	1	April	2018,	management	has	assessed	which	business	models	apply	to	the	financial	assets	held	by	the	Group	and	has	classified	
its	financial	instruments	into	the	appropriate	IFRS	9	categories.	The	reclassification	has	had	no	effect	on	the	financial	statements.	

d)	Impairment	of	financial	assets	

The	Group	has	four	types	of	financial	assets	that	are	subject	to	IFRS	9’s	new	expected	credit	loss	model:
•  Trade receivables 
•  Contract assets 
•  Debt	investments	carried	at	amortised	cost	(other	receivables)
•  Debt	investments	carried	at	fair	value	(derivatives	included	in	financial	assets	and	financial	liabilities)

The	Group	applies	the	IFRS	9	simplified	approach	to	measuring	expected	credit	losses	which	uses	a	lifetime	expected	credit	loss	
allowance	for	all	trade	receivables	and	contract	assets.	To	measure	the	expected	credit	losses,	trade	receivables	and	contract	assets	
have	been	grouped	based	on	shared	credit	risk	characteristics	and	the	days	past	due.	

The	contract	assets	relate	to	unbilled	work	in	progress	and	have	substantially	the	same	risk	characteristics	as	the	trade	receivables	for	
the	same	types	of	contracts.	The	Group	has	therefore	concluded	that	the	expected	loss	rates	for	trade	receivables	are	a	reasonable	
approximation	of	the	loss	rates	for	the	contract	assets.	

The	application	of	the	IFRS	9	accounting	policy	resulted	in	a	decrease	of	£0.5m	to	selling	and	administration	expenses	for	the	year	
ending	31	March	2019.	

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements126

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

COMPANY BALANCE SHEET
31	March	2019

Non-current assets
Investments
Deferred	tax	assets

Current assets
Trade and other receivables
Cash and cash equivalents

Total assets

Equity
Issued share capital
Share premium
Capital redemption reserve
Merger	reserve
Retained earnings

Total equity

Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Current	tax	liabilities	

Total equity and liabilities

Profit for the year

Notes

2019
£m

2018
£m

5

6

8

7

1,325.0
1.3

1,303.7
–

1,326.3

1,303.7

121.0
0.2

121.2

71.6
0.3

71.9

1,447.5

1,375.6

5.7
574.5
101.7
619.6
127.9

5.7
574.5
101.7
619.6
73.3

1,429.4

1,374.8

17.0
1.1

18.1

0.8
–

0.8

1,447.5

1,375.6

108.8

103.7

The	accompanying	notes	are	an	integral	part	of	this	Company	balance	sheet.	

The	financial	statements	on	pages	126	to	130	were	approved	by	the	Board	of	Directors	on	29	May	2019	and	signed	on	its	behalf	by:

Philip Aiken
Chairman

Craig Hayman
Chief	Executive	Officer

Company number
2937296

127

COMPANY STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
31	March	2019

At 1 April 2017
Profit	for	the	year
Shares	issued	to	acquire	SES,	net	of	transaction	costs	
Issue and redemption of B shares
Share-based payments
Share options granted to employees of subsidiary 

companies
Dividends	paid

At	31	March	2018
Profit	for	the	year
Share-based payments
Share options granted to employees of subsidiary 

companies

Tax	arising	on	share	options
Dividends	paid

At 31 March 2019

Share 
capital 
£m

2.3
–
3.4
–
–

–
–

5.7
–
–

–
–
–

Share  
premium 
£m

27.3
–
547.2	
–
–

–
–

574.5
–
–

–
–
–

Capital 
redemption 
reserve 
£m

Merger	 
reserve 
£m

Profit	and	loss	
account 
£m

Total 
shareholders’ 
funds 
£m

–
–
–
101.7
–

–
–

101.7
–
–

–
–
–

4.0
–
1,265.6
(650.0)
–

–
–

619.6
–
–

–
–
–

84.7
103.7
–
(101.7)
0.9

3.0
(17.3)

73.3
108.8
6.6

4.7
0.5
(66.0)

118.3
103.7
1,816.2
(650.0)
0.9

3.0
(17.3)

1,374.8
108.8
6.6

4.7
0.5
(66.0)

5.7

574.5

101.7

619.6

127.9

1,429.4

The	accompanying	notes	are	an	integral	part	of	this	Company	statement	of	changes	in	shareholders’	equity.

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements128

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

NOTES TO THE COMPANY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1 Authorisation of Financial Statements and Corporate information

The	financial	statements	of	AVEVA	Group	plc	(the	Company)	for	the	year	ended	31	March	2019	were	authorised	for	issue	by	the	Board	of	
Directors	on	29	May	2019	and	the	balance	sheet	was	signed	on	the	Board’s	behalf	by	Philip	Aiken,	the	Chairman,	and	Craig	Hayman,	the	
CEO.	AVEVA	Group	plc	is	a	limited	Company	incorporated	and	domiciled	in	England	and	Wales	whose	shares	are	publicly	traded	on	the	
London	Stock	Exchange.	The	principal	activity	of	the	Company	is	that	of	a	holding	company.

These	financial	statements	were	prepared	in	accordance	with	Financial	Reporting	Standard	101	Reduced	Disclosure	Framework	(FRS	
101)	and	in	accordance	with	applicable	accounting	standards.	The	financial	statements	are	prepared	on	the	historical	cost	basis.	The	
accounting	policies	which	follow	set	out	those	policies	which	apply	in	preparing	the	financial	statements	for	the	year	ended	31	March	
2019.	The	financial	statements	are	presented	in	sterling,	rounded	to	the	nearest	£0.1m	except	when	otherwise	indicated.	

No	income	statement	is	presented	by	the	Company	as	permitted	by	section	408	of	the	Companies	Act	2006.	The	results	of	AVEVA	Group	
plc	are	included	in	the	Consolidated	financial	statements	of	AVEVA	Group	plc.	

The	Directors	believe	that	the	Company	is	well	placed	to	manage	its	business	risks	successfully	despite	macroeconomic	and	geopolitical	
uncertainties.	It	has	considerable	financial	resources	and	no	borrowings.	As	a	consequence	of	these	factors	and	having	reviewed	the	
forecasts	for	the	coming	year,	the	Directors	have	a	reasonable	expectation	that	there	are	adequate	resources	to	continue	in	operational	
existence	for	the	foreseeable	future.	Thus,	they	continue	to	adopt	the	going	concern	basis	of	accounting	in	preparing	the	annual	financial	
statements.	

2 Summary of significant accounting policies

Explained	below	are	the	significant	accounting	policies	of	the	Company.	The	full	Statement	of	Group	Accounting	Policies	is	included	on	
pages	131	to	136.

a)	Basis	of	accounting

The	Company	has	taken	advantage	of	the	following	disclosure	exemptions	under	FRS	101:
•  the	requirements	of	IAS	7:	Statement	of	Cash	Flows
•  the requirements of IAS 8: IFRSs issued but not effective
•  the requirements of IFRS 2: Share based payments
•  the	requirements	of	IFRS	7:	Financial	Instruments:	Disclosures
•  the requirements of IFRS 13: Fair Value measurements
•  the requirements of IAS 24: Related party disclosures

The	basis	for	all	of	the	above	exemptions	is	because	equivalent	disclosures	are	included	in	the	Consolidated	financial	statements	of	the	
Group	in	which	the	entity	is	consolidated.

b)	Taxation

Corporation	tax	payable	is	provided	on	taxable	profits	using	the	tax	rates	and	laws	that	have	been	enacted	or	substantively	enacted	by	
the	balance	sheet	date.	

Deferred	tax	is	recognised	in	respect	of	all	timing	differences	that	have	originated	but	not	reversed	at	the	balance	sheet	date	where	
transactions	or	events	that	result	in	an	obligation	to	pay	more,	or	a	right	to	pay	less,	tax	in	the	future	have	occurred	at	the	balance	sheet	
date.	Deferred	tax	is	measured	on	a	non-discounted	basis	at	the	average	tax	rates	that	are	expected	to	apply	in	periods	in	which	timing	
differences	reverse,	based	on	tax	rates	and	laws	enacted	or	substantively	enacted	at	the	balance	sheet	date.

c)	Share-based	payments

The	accounting	policy	in	relation	to	share-based	payment	transactions	is	disclosed	in	full	in	the	Consolidated	financial	statements.	The	
Company	recognises	the	expense	relating	to	the	Executive	Directors.	The	Company	also	records	a	corresponding	increase	in	its	
investments	in	subsidiaries	with	a	credit	to	equity	which	is	equivalent	to	the	IFRS	2	cost	in	subsidiary	undertakings.

d)	Investments	in	subsidiaries

Fixed	asset	investments	in	subsidiaries	are	shown	at	cost	less	provision	for	impairment.

3 Result for the year
AVEVA	Group	plc	reported	a	profit	for	the	financial	year	ended	31	March	2019	of	£108.8m	(2018:	profit	of	£103.7m).

Audit	fees	of	£7,000	(2018:	£7,000)	are	borne	by	another	Group	company.

The	Company	does	not	have	any	employees	(2018:	nil).	Directors’	emoluments	are	disclosed	in	the	Remuneration	Report	on	pages	60	to	
79,	and	in	respect	of	the	Executive	Directors	were	paid	by	a	UK	subsidiary	company.

4 Dividends

Declared and paid during the year
Interim	2018/19	dividend	paid	of	14.0	pence	(2017/18:	nil)	per	ordinary	share
Final	2017/18	dividend	paid	of	27.0	pence	(2016/17:	30.0	pence)	per	ordinary	share

129

2019
£m

22.5
43.5

66.0

2018
£m

–
17.3

17.3

Proposed for approval by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting

Final 2018/19 proposed dividend of 29.0 pence (2017/18: 27.0 pence) per ordinary share

46.8

43.5

The	proposed	final	dividend	is	subject	to	approval	by	shareholders	at	the	Annual	General	Meeting	on	8	July	2019	and	has	not	been	
included	as	a	liability	in	these	financial	statements.	If	approved	at	the	Annual	General	Meeting,	the	final	dividend	will	be	paid	on	2	August	
2019	to	shareholders	on	the	register	at	the	close	of	business	on	5	July	2019.

5 Investments

Cost	and	net	book	value
At 1 April 2018
Additions

At 31 March 2019

£m

1,303.7
21.3

1,325.0

Details	of	the	Company’s	subsidiary	undertakings	are	set	out	in	note	18	in	the	Consolidated	financial	statements	of	the	Group.

6 Trade and other receivables

Amounts	owed	by	Group	undertakings

7 Trade and other payables

Accruals
Amounts	owed	to	Group	undertakings

8 Share capital

Allotted, called-up and fully paid
161,287,697	(2018:	161,207,315)	ordinary	shares	of	3.56	pence	each

Details	of	the	shares	issued	during	the	year	and	the	prior	year	are	as	follows:

At 1 April
Issued as consideration for the purchase of SES
Exercise	of	share	options

At 31 March

2019
Number

161,207,315
–
80,382

161,287,697

2019
£m

5.7
–
–

5.7

2018
Number

63,975,869
97,169,655
61,791

161,207,315

On	1	March	2018	the	Company	issued	97,169,655	(2017:	nil)	consideration	shares	of	3.56	pence	each	with	a	nominal	value	of	£3.4m	
(2017:	nil).	The	issue	of	new	shares	in	the	Company	in	exchange	for	shares	in	SES	has	attracted	merger	relief	under	section	612	of	the	
Companies	Act	2006.	Of	the	£1,817.9m	fair	value	of	the	shares	issued,	£3.4m	(3.56	pence	per	ordinary	share)	has	been	credited	to	share	
capital,	£547.2m	(after	writing	off	certain	transaction	costs)	to	share	premium,	and	the	remaining	£1,265.6m	to	the	merger	reserve	
within	equity.

2019
£m

121.0

2018
£m

71.6

2019
£m

3.2
13.8

17.0

2019
£m

5.7

2018
£m

0.8
–

0.8

2018
£m

5.7

2018
£m

2.3
3.4
–

5.7

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements130

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

NOTES TO THE COMPANY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED

8 Share capital continued

On	1	March	2018	the	Company	issued	64,037,660	B	shares	of	£10.15	each	paid	up	by	capitalisation	of	£650.0m	of	the	merger	reserve.	
Later	on	the	same	date	the	B	shares	were	redeemed	at	£10.15	per	share,	in	part	out	of	the	fresh	issue	referred	to	above	and	as	to	
£101.7m	out	of	distributable	reserves	(which	was	transferred	to	capital	redemption	reserve).

During	the	year	the	Company	issued	80,382	(2018:	61,791)	ordinary	shares	of	3.56	pence	each	with	a	nominal	value	of	£2,858	(2018:	
£2,197)	pursuant	to	the	exercise	of	share	options.	The	total	proceeds	were	£2,858	(2018:	£2,197),	which	included	a	premium	of	£nil	
(2018:	£nil).

Details	of	share	options	awarded	to	Executive	Directors	during	the	year	are	contained	in	the	Directors’	remuneration	report.	Note	30	of	
the	Consolidated	financial	statements	for	the	Group	includes	details	of	share	option	awards	made	during	the	year.

9 Related party transactions

During	the	year	the	Company	made	a	payment	of	£19.4m	to	Schneider	Electric,	a	related	party,	in	relation	to	the	finalised	completion	
accounts	following	the	acquisition	of	SES.	

There	are	no	related	party	balances	held	at	31	March	2019.	

131

STATEMENT OF GROUP ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Statement of compliance

The	Consolidated	financial	statements	of	AVEVA	Group	plc	and	all	its	subsidiaries	(the	Group)	have	been	prepared	in	accordance	with	
IFRS,	as	adopted	by	the	European	Union,	as	they	apply	to	the	financial	statements	of	the	Group	for	the	year	ended	31	March	2019.	The	
Group’s	financial	statements	are	also	consistent	with	IFRSs	as	issued	by	the	IASB.	

The	parent	Company	financial	statements	of	AVEVA	Group	plc	have	been	prepared	under	the	FRS	101	reduced	disclosure	framework	
and	are	included	on	pages	126	to	130.

Basis of consolidation

The	Consolidated	financial	statements	comprise	the	financial	statements	of	AVEVA	Group	plc	and	its	subsidiaries	as	at	31	March	each	
year.	The	financial	statements	of	subsidiaries	are	prepared	using	existing	GAAP	for	each	country	of	operation.	Adjustments	are	made	to	
translate	any	differences	that	may	exist	between	the	respective	local	GAAP	and	IFRSs.

Inter-company	balances	and	transactions,	including	unrealised	profits	arising	from	intra-Group	transactions,	have	been	eliminated	in	
full.	Subsidiaries	are	consolidated	from	the	date	on	which	control	is	obtained	by	the	Group	and	cease	to	be	consolidated	from	the	date	on	
which	control	is	transferred	out	of	the	Group.	On	acquisition,	assets	and	liabilities	of	subsidiaries	are	measured	at	their	fair	values	at	the	
date	of	acquisition,	with	any	excess	of	the	cost	of	acquisition	over	this	value	being	capitalised	as	goodwill.

SES	entities	are	a	combination	of	software	legal	entities	in	certain	countries	and	the	software	portion	of	other	legal	entities	that	also	
include	non-software	related	businesses.	The	software	portion	of	these	legal	entities	has	been	carved-out	and	included	in	this	combined	
financial	information	as	described	in	this	basis	of	preparation.	Assets	and	liabilities	have	been	measured	at	the	carrying	amount	at	
which	they	would	be	included	in	each	of	the	combined	entities	separate	financial	statements	(whether	resulting	from	a	carve-out	from	a	
larger	legal	entity	or	incorporated	in	a	separate	legal	entity	as	a	subsidiary),	based	on	Schneider	Electric’s	date	of	transition	to	IFRS	as	
endorsed	by	the	EU	on	April	1,	2004.

Assets	and	liabilities	of	software	operations	carved-out	from	legal	entities	with	other	non-software	operations	have	been	initially	
recorded	through	group	funding	(expressed	as	amounts	receivable	from/payable	to	related	parties)	at	their	carrying	value	in	the	
separate	financial	statements	of	the	legal	entity	to	which	these	assets	and	liabilities	belong	to	as	described	above.	Subsequently,	the	
cash	generated	or	consumed	by	such	carved-out	entities	has	been	reflected	as	a	debit	or	credit	to	group	funding	and	has	been	reflected	
accordingly	in	the	cash	flow	statement	in	the	line	“change	in	funding	with	related	parties”.	Last,	at	the	time	of	the	legal	reorganisation	of	
each	of	these	carved-out	operations	into	a	separate	dedicated	legal	entity/subsidiary,	group	funding	has	been	recorded	as	equity	or	
current	account	with	a	related	party	(the	Schneider	Electric	Group).

Some	of	the	operations	of	SES	reflected	in	the	combined	financial	information	have	not	existed	as	separate	legal	entities	for	the	entire	
financial	years	for	which	information	is	presented.	The	revenues	and	costs	of	these	operations	have	been	carved-out	from	the	legal	
entities	in	which	these	operations	are	included	using	historical	information	relating	to	SES	transactions	included	in	the	accounting	
information	systems	and	management	reporting	of	the	Schneider	Electric	Group.	

Direct	and	indirect	costs	reflected	in	the	combined	financial	statements	include	costs	that	were	charged	to	SES	by	Schneider	Electric	
related	to	the	operations	of	SES.	Indirect	costs	relate	to	certain	support	functions	that,	prior	to	completion	of	the	combination,	were	
provided	on	a	centralised	basis	within	Schneider	Electric	and	Schneider	Electric	shared	service	centre	locations.	For	all	carved-out	
operations,	other	indirect	costs	incurred	have	been	allocated	using	reasonable	and	consistent	conventions	based	on	the	type	of	costs	
involved	to	provide	the	fairest	approximation	of	the	cost	of	services	received	based	on	amounts	actually	attributable	to	the	carved-out	
SES	operations.

Current	income	tax,	other	than	taxes	owed	to	a	tax	jurisdiction	(i.e.	for	combined	entities	that	are	not	a	separate	tax	entity	of	their	own	
but	are	included	or	consolidated	in	a	larger	tax	entity),	was	deemed	to	have	been	settled	by	or	to	Schneider	Electric	and	recorded	against	
group	funding	when	income	tax	profits/deficits	continue	to	belong	to	the	combined	entity	under	applicable	tax	law	or	contract	with	their	
tax	parent,	in	the	year	the	related	income	tax	was	recorded.	The	current	income	tax	charge	and	position	included	in	the	combined	
financial	information	may	not	be	indicative	of	the	financial	position,	results	and	cash	flows	that	would	have	been	presented	if	SES	had	
been	a	standalone	entity.	

Business Combinations

Business	combinations	are	accounted	for	using	the	acquisition	method.	

Identifying	the	acquirer	in	a	business	combination	is	based	on	the	concept	of	‘control’.	Normally,	where	an	acquisition	is	affected	by	an	
exchange	of	equity	interests,	the	shareholders	of	the	entity	that	issues	securities	(the	legal	parent	entity)	retain	the	majority	holding	in	
the	combined	group.	The	positions	might	be	reversed	in	certain	circumstances,	where	it	is	the	legal	subsidiary	entity’s	shareholders	who	
effectively	control	the	combined	group,	even	though	the	other	party	is	the	legal	parent.	In	the	case	of	the	legal	acquisition	of	SES,	the	
financial	statements	are	a	continuation	of	the	accounting	acquirer	(SES)	and	reflect	the	acquisition	of	the	legal	acquirer	(AVEVA	Group	
plc).

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements132

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

STATEMENT OF GROUP ACCOUNTING POLICIES CONTINUED

The	cost	of	an	acquisition	is	measured	as	the	aggregate	of	the	consideration	transferred,	which	is	measured	at	acquisition	date	fair	
value.	In	the	case	of	a	reverse	acquisition,	this	represents	the	consideration	transferred	by	the	accounting	acquirer,	as	opposed	to	the	
legal	acquirer.	Any	contingent	consideration	to	be	transferred	by	the	acquirer	will	be	recognised	at	fair	value	at	the	acquisition	date.	
Contingent	consideration	classified	as	equity	is	not	remeasured	and	its	subsequent	settlement	is	accounted	for	within	equity.	Contingent	
consideration	is	measured	at	fair	value	with	the	changes	in	fair	value	recognised	in	the	statement	of	profit	or	loss.

Acquisition-related	costs	are	expensed	as	incurred	and	included	in	administrative	expenses.	In	the	case	of	a	reverse	acquisition,	the	
costs	incurred	by	the	legal	acquirer	(AVEVA	Group	plc)	are	considered	to	be	pre-acquisition	and	are	not	therefore	included	within	the	
income	statement.

Goodwill	is	initially	measured	at	cost	(being	the	excess	of	the	aggregate	of	the	consideration	transferred	over	the	net	identifiable	assets	
acquired	and	liabilities	assumed).	In	the	case	of	a	reverse	acquisition,	the	net	identifiable	assets	acquired	and	liabilities	assumed,	are	
those	of	the	legal	acquirer	(AVEVA	Group	plc).	After	initial	recognition,	goodwill	is	measured	at	cost	less	any	accumulated	impairment	
losses.	For	the	purpose	of	impairment	testing,	goodwill	acquired	in	a	business	combination	is	allocated	to	each	of	the	Group’s	cash-
generating	units	that	are	expected	to	benefit	from	the	combination,	irrespective	of	whether	other	assets	or	liabilities	of	the	acquiree	are	
assigned	to	those	units.

Adoption of new and revised standards

The	Group	has	applied	IFRS	15	Revenue	from	Contracts	with	Customers	and	IFRS	9	Financial	Instruments	for	the	first	time	for	the	annual	
reporting	period	commencing	1	April	2018.	For	further	detail	regarding	the	adoption	of	these	accounting	standards,	please	refer	to	note	
31.	No	other	standards	or	interpretations	came	into	force	during	the	year	which	had	a	significant	impact	on	the	Group’s	financial	
statements.

New standards and interpretations not yet effective

The	IASB	have	issued	the	following	standards	(although	in	some	cases	not	yet	adopted	by	the	EU)	which	are	expected	to	have	
implications	for	the	reporting	of	the	financial	position	or	performance	of	the	Group	or	which	will	require	additional	disclosures	in	future	
financial	years:

IFRS 16
IFRIC Interpretation 23
Annual Improvements 2017
Amendments to IAS 28
Amendments to IAS 19

Leases
Uncertainty	over	Income	Tax	Treatment

Effective for periods 
commencing after

1	January	2019
1	January	2019
1	January	2019
1	January	2019
1	January	2019

The	Group	intends	to	adopt	these	standards	in	the	first	accounting	period	after	the	effective	date.	The	Directors	do	not	expect	that	the	
adoption	of	the	Standards	listed	above	will	have	a	material	impact	on	the	financial	statements	of	the	Group	in	future	periods,	except	as	
noted	below:

IFRS 16 Leases

IFRS	16	will	replace	the	current	requirements	of	IAS	17.	IFRS	16	requires	lessees	to	recognise	new	assets,	in	the	form	of	right	of	use	
assets	and	corresponding	liabilities	under	an	on	balance	sheet	accounting	model,	similar	to	current	finance	leases	accounting.	AVEVA	
will	adopt	the	standard	from	1	April	2019,	with	the	first application	in	the	financial	year	ending	31	March	2020.	The	Group	will	apply	the	
standard	without	restating	figures	for	comparative	periods,	under	the	modified	retrospective	approach.	As	a	practical	expedient,	AVEVA	
will	not	reassess	whether	a	contract	is	or	contains	a	lease	at	the	date	of	initial	application.	

The	Group	has	assessed	the	impact	that	the	adoption	of	IFRS	16	will	have	on	the	financial	statements	and	relevant	indicators	and	the	
implications	on	the	business	practices.	Analyses	are	undertaken	in	the	context	of	the	recent	Business	Combination,	using	the	available	
exemptions	for	short	term	leases	(including	leases	with	a	residual	maturity	below	twelve	months)	and	low	value	leases	(<£5,000).	

In	the	Consolidated	statement	of	comprehensive	income,	the	right	of	use	asset	will	be	depreciated	using	the	straight-line	method	and	
finance	related	cost/interest	will	be	recognised	on	the	liability.	When	the	standard	is	implemented	on	1	April	2019,	AVEVA	estimates	that	
the	impact	on	the	assets	will	be	between	£57.0m	and	£67.0m,	together	with	an	additional	lease	liability	of	the	same	amount.	Net	right	of	
use	assets	are	estimated	at	between	£71.4m	and	£81.4m,	including	£14.3m	relating	to	a	favourable	lease	transferred	from	intangible	
assets.	The	impact	on	the	income	statement	in	future	periods	is	not	expected	to	be	material.	

Existing	operating	lease	commitments	are	set	out	in	note	26	of	the	consolidated	financial	statements.

Foreign currencies

The	functional	and	presentational	currency	of	AVEVA	Group	plc	is	Pounds	Sterling	(£).	Transactions	in	foreign	currencies	are	initially	
recorded	at	the	functional	currency	rate	ruling	at	the	date	of	the	transaction.	Monetary	assets	and	liabilities	denominated	in	foreign	
currencies	are	retranslated	at	the	functional	currency	rate	of	exchange	ruling	at	the	balance	sheet	date.	All	differences	are	taken	to	the	
Consolidated	income	statement.

133

Non-monetary	items	that	are	measured	in	terms	of	historical	cost	in	a	foreign	currency	are	translated	using	the	exchange	rate	as	at	the	
date	of	the	initial	transaction.

The	subsidiaries	have	a	number	of	different	functional	currencies.	As	at	the	reporting	date,	the	assets	and	liabilities	of	these	overseas	
subsidiaries	are	translated	into	Pounds	Sterling	(£)	at	the	rate	of	exchange	ruling	at	the	balance	sheet	date,	and	their	income	statements	
are	translated	at	the	average	exchange	rates	for	the	year.	Exchange	differences	arising	on	the	retranslation	are	taken	directly	to	the	
Consolidated	statement	of	other	comprehensive	income.	

Goodwill

Goodwill	on	acquisitions	is	initially	measured	at	cost,	being	the	excess	of	the	cost	of	the	business	combination	over	the	acquirer’s	interest	
in	the	net	fair	value	of	the	identifiable	assets,	liabilities	and	contingent	liabilities.	Following	initial	recognition,	goodwill	is	measured	at	
cost	less	any	accumulated	impairment	losses.	

Where	goodwill	forms	part	of	a	cash-generating	unit	and	part	of	the	operation	within	that	unit	is	disposed	of,	the	goodwill	associated	
with	the	operation	disposed	of	is	included	in	the	carrying	amount	of	the	operation	when	determining	the	gain	or	loss	on	disposal	of	the	
operation.	Goodwill	disposed	of	in	this	circumstance	is	measured	on	the	basis	of	the	relative	values	of	the	operation	disposed	of	and	the	
portion	of	the	cash-generating	unit	retained.

If	the	potential	benefit	of	tax	losses	or	other	deferred	tax	assets	does	not	satisfy	the	criteria	in	IFRS	3	for	separate	recognition	when	a	
business	combination	is	initially	accounted	for	but	is	subsequently	realised,	the	Group	recognises	the	deferred	tax	income	in	the	
Consolidated	income	statement.

Intangible assets

Intangible assets acquired separately are capitalised at cost and from a business acquisition are capitalised at fair value as at the date of 
acquisition.	Following	initial	recognition,	the	cost	model	is	applied	to	each	class	of	intangible	asset	as	set	out	below.	

Expenditure	on	internally	developed	intangible	assets,	excluding	development	costs,	is	taken	to	the	Consolidated	income	statement	in	
the	year	in	which	it	is	incurred.	Internal	software	development	expenditure	is	recognised	as	an	intangible	asset	only	after	its	technical	
feasibility	and	commercial	viability	can	be	demonstrated.

Useful	lives	are	also	examined	on	an	annual	basis	and	adjustments,	where	applicable,	are	made	on	a	prospective	basis.	Amortisation	is	
calculated	on	a	straight-line	basis	over	the	estimated	useful	economic	lives	of	the	asset,	which	are	as	follows:

Developed	technology
Customer relationships
Purchased brands1
Trademarks
Other	software
Purchased	software	rights
Favourable	Leases
Capitalised	Research	&	Development	

1	 Brands	held	are	considered	to	have	indefinite	lives,	therefore	no	amortisation	is	charged.

Research expenditure

Research	expenditure	is	written	off	in	the	year	of	expenditure.

Government grants

Years

3–12
5–20
n/a
5–15
3–7
3–10
Length	of	contract
3–5

Grants	in	respect	of	specific	Research	&	Development	projects	are	recognised	as	receivable	when	there	is	reasonable	assurance	that	
they	will	be	received	and	the	conditions	to	obtain	them	have	been	complied	with.	They	are	credited	to	the	income	statement	in	the	same	
period	as	the	related	Research	&	Development	costs	for	which	the	grant	is	compensating.	The	grant	income	is	presented	as	a	deduction	
from	the	related	expense.

Property, plant and equipment

Property,	plant	and	equipment	is	stated	at	cost	less	depreciation	and	any	accumulated	impairment	losses.	

Depreciation	is	calculated	on	a	straight-line	basis	to	write	down	the	assets	to	their	estimated	residual	value	over	the	useful	economic	life	
of	the	asset	as	follows:

Computer Equipment
Fixtures,	fittings	and	office	equipment
Motor	vehicles

Leasehold	buildings	and	improvements	are	amortised	on	a	straight-line	basis	over	the	period	of	the	lease	(3	to	49	years)	or	useful	
economic	life,	if	shorter.	

Years

3
6–8
4

Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements134

AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

STATEMENT OF GROUP ACCOUNTING POLICIES CONTINUED

Impairment of assets

Goodwill	arising	on	acquisition	is	allocated	to	cash-generating	units	expected	to	benefit	from	the	combination’s	synergies	and	represents	
the	lowest	level	at	which	goodwill	is	monitored	for	internal	management	purposes	and	generates	cash	flows	which	are	independent	of	
other	cash-generating	units.	The	recoverable	amount	of	the	cash-generating	unit	to	which	goodwill	has	been	allocated	is	tested	for	
impairment	annually	or	when	events	or	changes	in	circumstance	indicate	that	it	might	be	impaired.	The	carrying	values	of	property,	plant	
and	equipment	and	intangible	assets	other	than	goodwill	are	reviewed	for	impairment	when	events	or	changes	in	circumstance	indicate	
the	carrying	value	may	be	impaired.	If	any	such	indication	exists	and	where	the	carrying	values	exceed	the	estimated	recoverable	
amount,	the	assets	or	cash-generating	units	are	written	down	to	their	recoverable	amount.	The	recoverable	amount	is	the	greater	of	net	
selling	price	and	value	in	use.	In	assessing	value	in	use,	the	estimated	future	cash	flows	are	discounted	to	their	present	value	using	a	
post-tax	discount	rate	that	reflects	current	market	assessments	of	the	time	value	of	money	and	the	risks	specific	to	the	asset.	For	an	
asset	that	does	not	generate	largely	independent	cash	inflows,	the	recoverable	amount	is	determined	for	the	cash-generating	unit	to	
which	the	asset	belongs.	If	the	initial	allocation	of	goodwill	acquired	in	a	business	combination	cannot	be	completed	before	the	end	of	the	
first	annual	period	in	which	the	business	combination	is	effected,	that	initial	allocation	shall	be	completed	before	the	end	of	the	first	
annual	period	beginning	after	the	acquisition	date.	Impairment	losses	are	recognised	in	the	income	statement	in	the	administrative	
expenses	line	item.

Trade and other receivables

Trade	receivables,	which	generally	have	30	to	90	day	terms,	are	recognised	and	carried	at	original	invoice	amount	less	an	allowance	for	
any	uncollectible	amounts.	An	estimate	for	doubtful	debts	is	made	when	collection	of	the	full	amount	is	no	longer	probable.	Bad	debts	
are	written	off	when	identified.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash	and	short-term	deposits	in	the	Consolidated	balance	sheet	comprise	cash	at	bank	and	in	hand	and	short-term	deposits	with	an	
original	maturity	of	three	months	or	less.	The	carrying	amount	of	these	approximates	their	fair	value.	For	the	purpose	of	the	Consolidated	
cash	flow	statement,	cash	and	cash	equivalents	consist	of	cash	and	cash	equivalents	as	defined	above,	net	of	outstanding	bank	
overdrafts.

Derivative financial instruments

The	only	derivative	financial	instruments	the	Group	holds	are	forward	foreign	exchange	contracts	to	reduce	exposure	to	foreign	
exchange	risk.	The	Group	does	not	hold	or	issue	derivative	financial	instruments	for	speculative	purposes.	All	forward	foreign	exchange	
contracts	have	been	marked-to-market	and	are	held	at	fair	value	on	the	Consolidated	balance	sheet.	The	Group	has	not	applied	hedge	
accounting	during	the	year	and	therefore	movements	in	fair	value	are	being	recorded	in	the	Consolidated	income	statement.	Fair	value	is	
estimated	using	the	settlement	rates	prevailing	at	the	period	end.

Leases

Leases	where	the	lessor	retains	substantially	all	the	risks	and	benefits	of	ownership	of	the	asset	are	classified	as	operating	leases.	
Operating	lease	payments	are	recognised	as	an	expense	in	the	Consolidated	income	statement	on	a	straight-line	basis	over	the	lease	
term.

Taxation

The	Group	is	subject	to	income	tax	in	numerous	jurisdictions.	The	Group	recognises	provisions	for	tax	based	on	estimates	of	taxes	that	
are	likely	to	become	due.	Where	the	final	tax	outcome	is	different	from	the	amounts	that	were	initially	recorded,	such	differences	will	
impact	the	current	income	tax	and	deferred	tax	provisions	in	the	period	in	which	such	determinations	are	made.	

Deferred	income	tax	is	provided,	using	the	liability	method,	on	all	temporary	differences	at	the	balance	sheet	date	between	the	tax	bases	
of	assets	and	liabilities	and	their	carrying	amounts	for	financial	reporting	purposes.

The	UK	Research	&	Development	Credit	(RDEC)	is	recognised	in	the	income	statement	and	netted	off	Research	&	Development	expenses	
as	the	RDEC	is	of	the	nature	of	a	government	grant.

Deferred	income	tax	liabilities	are	recognised	for	all	taxable	temporary	differences:
•  except	where	the	deferred	income	tax	liability	arises	from	goodwill	amortisation	or	the	initial	recognition	of	an	asset	or	liability	in	a	
transaction	that	is	not	a	business	combination	and,	at	the	time	of	the	transaction,	affects	neither	the	accounting	profit	nor	taxable	
profit	or	loss;	and

•  in	respect	of	taxable	temporary	differences	associated	with	investments	in	subsidiaries,	except	where	the	timing	of	the	reversal	of	the	
temporary	differences	can	be	controlled	and	it	is	probable	that	the	temporary	differences	will	not	reverse	in	the	foreseeable	future.	

135

Deferred	income	tax	assets	are	recognised	for	all	deductible	temporary	differences,	carry-forward	of	unused	tax	assets	and	unused	tax	
losses	to	the	extent	that	it	is	probable	that	taxable	profit	will	be	available	against	which	the	deductible	temporary	differences,	carry-
forward	of	unused	tax	assets	and	unused	tax	losses	can	be	utilised:
•  except	where	the	deferred	income	tax	asset	relating	to	the	deductible	temporary	difference	arises	from	the	initial	recognition	of	an	

asset	or	liability	in	a	transaction	that	is	not	a	business	combination	and,	at	the	time	of	the	transaction,	affects	neither	the	accounting	
profit	nor	taxable	profit	or	loss;	and

•  in	respect	of	deductible	temporary	differences	associated	with	investments	in	subsidiaries,	deferred	tax	assets	are	only	recognised	to	
the	extent	that	it	is	probable	that	the	temporary	differences	will	reverse	in	the	foreseeable	future	and	taxable	profit	will	be	available	
against	which	the	temporary	differences	can	be	utilised.

The	carrying	amount	of	deferred	income	tax	assets	is	reviewed	at	each	balance	sheet	date	and	reduced	to	the	extent	that	it	is	no	longer	
probable	that	sufficient	taxable	profit	will	be	available	to	allow	all	or	part	of	the	deferred	income	tax	asset	to	be	utilised.

Deferred	income	tax	assets	and	liabilities	are	measured	at	the	tax	rates	that	are	expected	to	apply	to	the	year	when	the	asset	is	realised	
or	the	liability	is	settled,	based	on	tax	rates	(and	tax	laws)	that	have	been	enacted	or	substantively	enacted	at	the	balance	sheet	date.

The	income	tax	effects	of	items	recorded	in	either	other	comprehensive	income	or	equity	are	recognised	in	the	Consolidated	statement	of	
comprehensive	income	or	the	Consolidated	statement	of	changes	in	shareholders’	equity	respectively.	Otherwise,	income	tax	is	
recognised	in	the	Consolidated	income	statement.	

Revenue,	expenses	and	assets	are	recognised	net	of	the	amount	of	sales	taxes	except:
•  where	the	sales	tax	incurred	on	a	purchase	of	goods	and	services	is	not	recoverable	from	the	taxation	authority,	in	which	case	the	

sales	tax	is	recognised	as	part	of	the	cost	of	acquisition	of	the	asset	or	as	part	of	the	expense	item	as	applicable;	and

•  receivables	and	payables	are	stated	with	the	amount	of	sales	taxes	included.

The	net	amount	of	sales	taxes	recoverable	from,	or	payable	to,	the	taxation	authority	is	included	as	part	of	receivables	or	payables	in	the	
Consolidated	balance	sheet.	

Post retirement benefits

For	the	defined	benefit	schemes,	the	defined	benefit	obligation	is	calculated	annually	for	each	plan	by	qualified	external	actuaries	using	
the	projected	unit	credit	method	which	attributes	entitlement	to	benefits	to	the	current	period	(to	determine	current	service	cost)	and	to	
the	current	and	prior	periods	(to	determine	the	present	value	of	defined	benefit	obligation).	The	retirement	benefit	liability	in	the	
Consolidated	balance	sheet	represents	the	present	value	of	the	defined	benefit	obligation	(using	a	discount	rate	derived	from	a	published	
index	of	AA	rated	corporate	bonds)	as	reduced	by	the	fair	value	of	plan	assets	out	of	which	the	obligations	are	to	be	settled	directly.	Fair	
value	is	based	on	market	price	information	and	in	the	case	of	quoted	securities	is	the	published	bid	price.	The	value	of	a	net	pension	
benefit	asset	is	restricted	to	the	present	value	of	any	amount	the	Group	expects	to	recover	by	way	of	refunds	from	the	plan	or	reductions	
in	the	future	contributions.	The	current	service	cost	is	recognised	in	the	Consolidated	income	statement	as	an	employee	benefit	expense.	
The	net	interest	element	of	the	defined	benefit	cost	is	calculated	by	applying	the	discount	rate	to	the	net	defined	benefit	liability	or	asset.

Actuarial	gains	and	losses	arising	from	experience	adjustments	or	changes	in	actuarial	assumptions	are	credited	or	charged	in	the	
Consolidated	statement	of	comprehensive	income	in	the	period	in	which	they	arise.

The	Group	also	operates	defined	contribution	pension	schemes	for	a	number	of	UK	and	non-UK	employees.	Contributions	to	defined	
contribution	plans	are	charged	to	profit	before	tax	as	they	become	payable.

Share-based payments

The	cost	of	equity-settled	transactions	with	employees	is	measured	by	reference	to	the	fair	value	at	the	date	at	which	they	are	granted,	
further	details	of	which	are	given	in	note	30.	

The	cost	of	equity-settled	transactions	is	recognised,	together	with	a	corresponding	increase	in	equity,	over	the	period	in	which	the	
performance	conditions	are	fulfilled,	ending	on	the	date	on	which	the	relevant	employees	become	fully	entitled	to	the	award	(vesting	
date).	The	cumulative	expense	recognised	for	equity-settled	transactions	at	each	reporting	date	until	the	vesting	date	reflects	the	extent	
to	which	the	vesting	period	has	expired	and	the	Group’s	best	estimate	of	the	number	of	equity	instruments	that	will	ultimately	vest.

No	expense	is	recognised	for	awards	that	do	not	ultimately	vest,	except	for	awards	where	vesting	is	conditional	upon	a	market	condition,	
which	are	treated	as	vesting	irrespective	of	whether	or	not	the	market	condition	is	satisfied,	provided	that	all	other	performance	
conditions	are	satisfied.

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AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

STATEMENT OF GROUP ACCOUNTING POLICIES CONTINUED

Where	the	terms	of	an	equity-settled	award	are	modified,	as	a	minimum	an	expense	is	recognised	as	if	the	terms	had	not	been	modified.	
In	addition,	an	expense	is	recognised	for	any	increase	in	the	value	of	the	transaction	as	a	result	of	the	modification,	as	measured	at	the	
date	of	modification.

Where	an	equity-settled	award	is	cancelled,	it	is	treated	as	if	it	had	vested	on	the	date	of	cancellation	and	any	expense	not	yet	
recognised	for	the	award	is	recognised	immediately.	However,	if	a	new	award	is	substituted	for	the	cancelled	award,	and	designated	as	
a	replacement	award	on	the	date	that	it	is	granted,	the	cancelled	and	new	awards	are	treated	as	if	they	were	a	modification	of	the	
original	award,	as	described	in	the	previous	paragraph.	

The	dilutive	effect	of	outstanding	options	is	reflected	as	additional	share	dilution	in	the	computation	of	earnings	per	share,	subject	to	an	
estimate	of	whether	performance	conditions	will	be	met.

Employee benefit trust

The	Group	has	established	an	employee	benefit	trust	(AVEVA	Group	Employee	Benefit	Trust	2008),	which	is	a	separately	administered	
trust	and	is	funded	by	loans	from	Group	companies.	The	assets	of	the	trust	comprise	shares	in	AVEVA	Group	plc	and	cash	balances.	The	
Group	recognises	assets	and	liabilities	of	the	trust	in	the	Consolidated	financial	statements	and	shares	held	by	the	trust	are	recorded	at	
cost	as	a	deduction	from	shareholders’	equity.

Consideration	received	for	the	sale	of	shares	held	by	the	trust	is	recognised	in	equity,	with	any	difference	between	the	proceeds	from	the	
sale	and	the	original	cost	being	taken	to	retained	earnings.	

FULL LIST OF ADDRESSES AND SUBSIDIARIES

A	full	list	of	addresses	of	all	subsidiaries	and	significant	holdings	is	provided	below,	alphabetically	by	country	within	each	region.

137

Head office

AVEVA Group plc

High Cross 
Madingley	Road
Cambridge
CB3 0HB
UK

EMEA

AVEVA	Denmark	A/S

Sofiendalsvej	5A
9200 Aalborg SV
Denmark

AVEVA SA

5	Square	Felix	Nadar	
Bat	C,	94300	Vincennes
France

Schneider	Electric	Software	France	SAS

35	Rue	Joseph	Monier
92506	Rueil	Malmaison	
France

AVEVA GmbH

Otto-Volger-Street	7c
65843	Sulzbach	(Taunus)
Germany

Schneider	Electric	Software	Germany	GmbH

Altrottstraße 31 
Walldorf 
69190 
Germany

Schneider	Electric	Software	Italia	SPA
Wonderware	Italia	S.p.A.

Viale	Milano	no.	177	
GALLARATE
Milan
Italy

AVEVA	(The	Netherlands)	B.V.
Schneider	Electric	Software	Netherlands	B.V.
Schneider	Electric	Software	Holdings	Netherlands	B.V.

Baarnsche	dijk	10	B
3741LS	Baarn	
Netherlands

AVEVA AS

Golf	Tower
Kanalsletta	2,N-4033	Stavanger
Norway

AVEVA	Limited	Liability	
Company

3rd	Floor,	Office	9,	Lit	4
Pavlovskaya	Street	7,	115093
Moscow
Russia

Schneider	Electric	Software	RU

Moika	Embankment	58	
lit.	A,	of.	504	190	000	
St.	Petersburg	
Russia

Schneider	Electric	Software	Spain	S.L.

Calle Valgrande 6
Alcobendas 28108
Madrid
Spain

AVEVA AB

PO	Box	50555,	Drottninggatan	18
SE-202 15
Malmo
Sweden

Wonderware	Scandinavia	AB	

Mobilvagen	10,	
223	62,	Skane	lan
Lund
Sweden

AVEVA	Yazilim	VE	Hizmetleri	A.S.

Kurtköy	Aeropark,	Yenişehir	Mahallesi,	Osmanlı	Bulvarı
No:11	Kat	5	A/28,	34912	Pendik/İstanbul
Turkey

Schneider	Electric	Software	Middle	East	FZE

Plot.	No.	S10809
P.O.	Box	61495
Jebel	Ali
Dubai
UAE

AVEVA	Solutions	Limited
AVEVA	Finance	Limited
AVEVA	Financing	Limited
CADCentre	Property	Limited
FabTrol	Systems,	UK	Limited
LFM	Software	Limited
AVEVA	Limited
AVEVA	Consulting	Limited
AVEVA	Engineering	IT	Limited
AVEVA	Managed	Services	Limited
CadCentre	Limited
CadCentre	Engineering	IT	Limited
Cadcentre	Pension	Trustees	Limited
Tribon	Solutions	(UK)	Limited

High Cross 
Madingley	Road
Cambridge
CB3 0HB
UK

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AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

FULL LIST OF ADDRESSES AND SUBSIDIARIES CONTINUED

8over8	Limited

Northern	Ireland	Science	Park	
Fort	George,	Bay	Road
Londonderry
BT48 7TG
UK

Schneider	Electric	Software	GB	Limited

101	Science	Park
Milton	Road
Cambridge
CB4	0FY
UK

Americas

Schneider	Electric	Software	Argentina	S.A.

Suipacha	1111,	Floor	11
Buenos Aires 
C1008AAW 
Argentina

AVEVA	do	Brasil	Informática	Ltda

Torre Rio Sul 
Rua	Lauro	Muller
116	Sala	2202,	2203,	2204	and	2205	
Botaforgo	–	Rio	de	Janeiro
Cep:	22.290-160
Brazil

Schneider	Electric	Software	Brasil	Ltda.	

Rua Alves Guimaraoes 
No.	462,	conj.	41/42	
Pinheiros 
Sao Paulo 
05410-000 
Brazil

Schneider	Electric	Software	Canada	Inc.

49	Quarry	Park	Blvd.	SE	
Calgary Alberta AB T2C 5H9 
Canada

AVEVA	Chile	S.p.A.

Calle Andrés Bello 2711
Office	1701
Chile

Schneider	Electric	Software	Chile	S.p.A.

222	Ricardo	Lyon	Av	
Office	501	
Providencia 
Santiago
Chile

AVEVA	Colombia	S.A.S

World Trade Center
Calle	100	No.	8a-49
TorreB,	PH,	
Oficina	22.	Bogota
Colombia

Schneider	Electric	Software	Colombia	S.A.S.

Calle	69	A	No.	4-77	Bogota
Colombia

AVEVA	Software	and	Services	S.A	de	C.V.
AVEVA	de	Mexico	S.	de	R.L.

AV.	Insurgentes	Sur	No.	863,	Piso	7
Col.	Napoles,	Deleg	Benito	Juarez
D.F.	CP	06600
Mexico

Schneider	Electric	Software	Mexico	SA	de	CV

Ejercito	National	No.	904,	Palmas	Polanco
Ciudad	de	Mexico
11560
Mexico

AVEVA	Software,	LLC

Wonderware	de	Mexico,	Inc.
Wonderware	of	Venezuela,	Inc.
2711 Centerville Road 
Suite 400
Wilmington	Delaware	
DE	19808
USA

AVEVA	Inc.

10350	Richmond	Avenue,	Suite	400
Houston
TX 77042
USA

Asia Pacific

AVEVA	Pty	Limited

The Forest Centre
Suite	5,	Level	29
221	St	Georges	Terrace,
Perth,
WA 6000
Australia

8over8	Pty	Limited

L29,	108	St	Georges	Terrace
Perth,	WA	6000
Australia

Schneider	Electric	Software	Australia	Pty	Ltd
AVEVA	Software	Australia	Holdings	Pty	Ltd

78 Waterloo Road
Macquarie	Park	
New	South	Wales	2113
Australia

AVEVA	(Shanghai)	Consultancy	Co.	Limited
AVEVA	Solutions	(Shanghai)	Co.	
Limited

Unit	1503-1506,	YouYou	International	Plaza
No.	76	Pu	Jian	Road
Shanghai 200127
China

139

Telvent	Control	Systems	(China)	Co.	Ltd

Middle	Zone,	2/F,	No.1	Building
No.	2,	2nd	Liangshuihe	River	Street	
Beijing	Economic	&	Technological	Development	Area
100176	Beijing
China

AVEVA	East	Asia	Limited

Room 1501
Grand	Millennium	Plaza	(lower	block)
181 Queens Road
Central	Hong	Kong
Hong	Kong

AVEVA	Information	Technology	India	Private	Limited

Unit	No	202,	Wing	A,	2nd	Floor
Supreme	Business	Park,	Supreme	City,	Powai
Mumbai	400	076
India

AVEVA	Solutions	India	LLP

Tower	2.1,	2nd/4th	Floor,	WaveRock
Sy.no	115	APIIC	IT/ITE	SEZ
Nanakramguda
Gachibowli,	Hyderabad	–	500008
India

AVEVA	Pte	Limited
Schneider	Electric	Software	Holdings	Singapore	Pte.	Ltd.

15	Changi	Business	Park	
Central 1 
unit #03-01/05 
Singapore 486057 
Singapore

AVEVA	Korea	Limited

14th	Floor,	Haesung	2	Building
942-10	Daechi-dong,	Kangnam-gu	Seoul
Republic	of	Korea

Schneider	Electric	Software	Korea	Ltd

13F,	Kbiz	DMC	Tower
189,	Seongam-ro
Mapo-gu	Seoul
South	Korea

Schneider	Electric	Software	Korea	Ltd
Wonderware	Korea	Co.	Ltd.

13F,	Kbiz	DMC	Tower
189,	Seongam-ro
Mapo-gu	Seoul
Republic	of	Korea

AVEVA	Software	India	Private	Limited

3rd	Floor,
Plot No 97 & 98
Survey	Nos	40	Part	41	Guttala,	Begumpet	Village	Serilingampally	
Hyderabad
Telangana-500081
India

Schneider	Electric	Software	India	Private	Limited

Schneider	Electric	Software	(Thailand)	Co.,	Ltd

No.	46	Rungrojthanakul	Building,	1st,	
10th - 11th Floors 
Ratchadapisek	Road	
Huaykwang	Subdistrict	
Huaykwang	District	
Bangkok	
Thailand

Salarpuria	Touchstone,	
Survey	No.15A	
Portion of Survey No 14
P7,	Kadubeesanahalli
Varthur Hobli 
Bangalore 
Karnataka	-	560037
India 

AVEVA	KK

Nisseki	Yokohama	Bldg
19F	1-1-8,	Sakuragi-cho,
Naka-ku,	Yokohama
231-0062
Japan

Schneider	Electric	Software	Japan	Inc

OASE	Shibaura	MJ	Building
2-15-6 Shibaura 
Minato-ku	
Tokyo	
Japan

AVEVA	Asia	Pacific	Sendirian	Berhad

AVEVA Sendirian Berhad
Level	7,	Menara	Milenium,	
Jalan	Damanlela,	Pusat	Bandar	
Damansara	Heights,	50490	Kuala	Lumpur,
Malaysia

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AVEVA Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

COMPANY INFORMATION AND ADVISERS

Chairman
Chief	Executive
Deputy	Chief	Executive	&	CFO
Non-Executive	Director	
Non-Executive	Director	
Independent	Non-Executive	Director
Independent	Non-Executive	Director
Independent	Non-Executive	Director
Independent	Non-Executive	Director	(appointed	1	February	2019)

DIRECTORS

Philip	Aiken	
Craig	Hayman	
James	Kidd	
Emmanuel	Babeau		
Peter	Herweck	
Jennifer	Allerton	
Christopher	Humphrey	
Ron	Mobed	
Paula	Dowdy	

COMPANY SECRETARY

David	Ward	

REGISTERED OFFICE

High Cross 
Madingley	Road
Cambridge CB3 0HB

REGISTERED NUMBER

2937296

AUDITOR
Ernst	&	Young	LLP

One	Cambridge	Business	Park
Cambridge	CB4	0WZ

BANKERS
Barclays	Bank	plc

9–11	St	Andrews	Street	
Cambridge CB2 3AA

SOLICITORS
Ashurst	LLP

London	Fruit	&	Wool	Exchange
1	Duval	Square
London	E1	6PW	

Mills	&	Reeve	LLP

Botanic House 
100 Hills Road 
Cambridge CB2 1PH

STOCKBROKERS 
Numis	Securities	Limited

The	London	Stock	Exchange	Building
10 Paternoster Square 
London	EC4M	7LT

J.P.	Morgan	Cazenove

25	Bank	Street	
Canary Wharf
London	E14	5JP

REGISTRARS
Link	Asset	Services

The Registry 
34	Beckenham	Road	
Beckenham	BR3	4TU

FINANCIAL PR
FTI Consulting

200 Aldersgate Street
London	EC1A	4HD

	
	
	
	
	
	
	
Strategic Report | Governance Report | Financial Statements

141

GLOSSARY

AGM – Annual General Meeting

IIoT – Industrial Internet of Things

AI – Artificial Intelligence

AR – Augmented Reality

Industry 4.0 – The name given to the fourth industrial revolution; 
this includes cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, cloud 
computing and artificial intelligence

AVEVA E3D – AVEVA Everything3D

ISAs UK – International Standards on Auditing (UK)

AVEVA LIFE – AVEVA’s newly-developed set of values

KPI – Key Performance Indicators

CAD – Computer-Aided Design

LTIP – Long-Term Incentive Plans

CEO – Chief Executive Officer

MT3D – More than 3D

CFO – Chief Financial Officer

NED – Non-Executive Director

CGUs – Cash Generating Units

OO – Owner Operator

CHRO – Chief Human Resources Officer

PBT – Profit before tax

CIO – Chief Information Officer

R&D – Research & Development

COO – Chief Operating Officer

RCF – Rolling Credit Facility

CTO – Chief Technology Officer

Digital Twin – A digital replica of a physical asset that can 
understand the asset’s state, respond to changes, improve 
business operations and add value

Revenue haircut – An adjustment to revenue of £8.6m for the 
12 months to 31 March 2019 reflecting an acquisition accounting 
adjustment to deferred revenue on the opening balance sheet

RDEC – Research & Development Expenditure Credit

EBT – Employee Benefit Trust

RSP – Restricted Share Plan

ELT – Executive Leadership Team

SaaS – Software as a Service

EMEA – Europe, Middle East & Africa

SES – Schneider Electric industrial software business

EPC – Engineering Procurement and Construction

SLT – Strategic Leadership Team

EPS – Earnings per share

STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths

ERM – Enterprise Resource Management

EY – Ernst & Young

FCA – Financial Conduct Authority

FRC – Financial Reporting Council

GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation

GHG – Greenhouse Gas

IE&D – Integrated Engineering and Design

IFRSs – International Financial Reporting Standards

TSA – Transitional Services Agreement. An arrangement where 
Schneider Electric continues to provide infrastructure support and 
back office resource for legal entities transferred in the sale to 
AVEVA for a monthly fee, for an agreed time period

TSR – Total Shareholder Return

VIU – Value in use

VR – Virtual Reality

WAEP – weighted average exercise price

WISE – Women in Science and Engineering

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