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Filtronic Plc

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FY2019 Annual Report · Filtronic Plc
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Filtronic plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2019
Stock Code: FTC

www.filtronic.com

2

Welcome to 
Filtronic

Filtronic plc is a designer and 
manufacturer of advanced RF 
communications products supplying 
a number of market sectors, 
including mobile telecommunications 
infrastructure, defence and 
aerospace and public safety.  

Our objective is to grow profitably by being a trusted 
supplier to our customers of technically advanced 
products that deliver value to our clients. We focus 
on markets where we have a deep understanding 
of the sector and customer requirements and where 
we can leverage our know-how and IP portfolio. 

Our strategy to achieve this objective is: 

•  To nurture close working relationships with 

our customers to understand their needs and 
requirements; 

•  To develop class leading products in our core 

technology areas of mmWave transceivers, filters, 
tower top amplifiers and antennas; 

•  To develop sub-systems and solutions that 
meet customer specific and general market 
requirements; 

•  To expand our customer base within the markets 

we serve; and 

•  To widen the number of markets we serve. 

The rapid deployment of 5G Mobile 
Telecommunications networks is leading to 
significant investment in high speed / high capacity 
backhaul infrastructure. Filtronic 5G backhaul 
transceivers are being deployed at the core of 
leading 5G networks.  

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019
Filtronic plc Annual Report 2016
Filtronic plc Annual Report 2015
Filtronic plc Annual Report 2015
Filtronic plc Annual Report 2015

Investment in better connected blue light services 
around the world continues. The need for high 
quality voice and data networks that are secure and 
independent from commercial telecommunications 
systems has never been greater. The public safety 
market demands high reliability equipment for its 
mission critical networks and Filtronic has become a 
trusted supplier to this sector. 

Advanced RF technologies are essential in 
communication and radar systems utilised by 
today’s defence forces. Filtronic offers design and 
manufacturing services at our UK facilities that are 
valued by leading defence contractors. 

In addition to providing products and services to our 
established markets, Filtronic is at the vanguard of 
designing and supplying RF technology to emerging 
markets ranging from 5G test equipment, ultra-low 
latency RF connections for the financial services 
industry, gigabit Internet connections to high-speed 
rail networks and long-range data links to high-
altitude pseudo satellites (“HAPS”). 

Contents

Glossary

Strategic report
Financial highlights 

Operational highlights 

Chairman’s statement 

Chief Executive’s review 

Market review 

Objective and strategy 

Financial review 

Key performance indicators 

Risk management 

Corporate social responsibility report 

Governance report

Board of Directors 

Introductory letter from the Chairman 
of the Board on the Governance report 

Governance framework: Board and
committees, membership, remit and
activities

Audit Committee report

Directors’ remuneration report

Directors’ report

Financials
Independent auditors’ report to 
the members of Filtronic plc 

Consolidated income statement 

Consolidated statement 
of comprehensive income 

Consolidated balance sheet 

Consolidated statement of
changes in equity 

Company statement of changes in equity 

Consolidated cash flow statement 

Company balance sheet

Company cash flow statement 

Notes to the financial statements 

Shareholder information

02

03

03

04

05

08

11

14

16

17

19

21

22 

22 

25

27

30

32

37
38

39
40

40

41

42

43

44

74

01

What’s inside:

04

05

08

11

www.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC

Chairman’s statementFiltronic has entered the new financial year with a strong order book for both 5G backhaul and defence and aerospace related products.Chief Executive’s reviewSales to our leading defence and aerospace customer were strong throughout FY2019 and we anticipate further growth in this sector in FY2020.Objective and strategyOur business ethos is to be agile and responsive to customer needs and we operate with a high degree of delegated authority and empowerment.Market reviewThe deployment of 5G networks is a major driver for the deployment of wireless, E-band backhaul products. 
 
Glossary

3GPP:  
4G:  
5G:  
Backhaul:  

CAGR:  
C-RAN:  

E-band:  
EBITDA:  
eCPRI: 
EMEA:  
ETSI: 
ExaByte:  
FDD:  
Fronthaul:  

GHz:  
Gigabit:  
HAPS:  
ISG: 
IoT:  
IP:  
LAA:  
LBITDA:  
LEO:  
LMR:  
LTE:  
MHz:  
Midhaul:  

MIMO:  
mMIMO:  
mmWave:  
MWT: 
MNO:  
Mobile PC:  

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project 
4th Generation mobile networks 
5th Generation mobile networks 
The portion of a hierarchical telecommunications network that comprises the  
intermediate links between the core network and the small subnetworks at 
the edge of the network
Compound Average Growth Rate 
Centralised (or Cloud) - Radio Access Network: A centralised, cloud comput-
ing-based architecture for radio access networks that supports 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G and 
future wireless communication standards 
71GHz to 86GHz 
Earnings Before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortisation 
Enhanced Common Public Radio Interface
Europe, the Middle East and Africa 
European Telecommunication Standards
One quintillion bytes 
Frequency Division Duplex: a telecommunications duplex indexing method 
The portion of a C-RAN telecommunications architecture that comprises the  
intermediate links between the centralised radio controllers and the radio heads at 
the edge of a cellular network
Gigahertz: 10^9 Hertz 
10^9 bits 
High Altitude Pseudo-Satellites 
Industry Specification Group
Internet of Things 
Intellectual Property 
Licensed Assisted Access 
Loss Before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortisation 
Low Earth Orbit 
Land Mobile Radio 
Long-Term Evolution 
Megahertz: 10^6 Hertz 
The link in a telecommunications network between the controller or the radio head 
that feeds the next link in the network 
Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output 
Massive Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output 
Millimetre Wave 
Millimetre Wave Transmission
Mobile Network Operator 
Defined as laptop or desktop PC devices with built-in cellular modem or external 
USB dongle 

ODU:  
OEM:  
P25:  

Mobile router:   A device with a cellular network connection to the internet and Wi-Fi or ethernet 
connection to one or several clients (such as PCs or tablets) 
Outdoor Unit 
Original Equipment Manufacturer 
Project 25: a suite of standards for digital mobile radio communications designed for 
use by public safety organisations 
Remote Electrical Tilt 
Radio Frequency: a rate of oscillation in the range of around 3kHz to 300GHz 

RET:  
RF:  
Smartphone:   Mobile phones with data processing capabilities, e.g. iPhones, Android OS phones, 

TDD:  

TRM:  
TTA:  
UWB:  
V-band:  
Wi-Fi:  
X-haul  

Windows phones but also Symbian and Blackberry OS 
Time Division Duplex: duplex communication links where uplink is separated from 
downlink by the allocation of different time slots in the same frequency band 
Transmit Receive Module 
Tower Top Amplifier 
Ultra-Wide Band 
57GHz to 71GHz 
Technology to enable wireless internet 
Collectively, backhaul, fronthaul and midhaul 

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Strategic report

Financial highlights

Sales revenue

Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation

Operating profit

Profit before taxation  

Basic (loss)/earnings per share 

Diluted (loss)/earnings per share

Net cash balance at 31 May 

Cash inflow (used in)/from operating activities 

03

2019

Restated 

2018

£15.9m

£21.6m

£0.7m

£0.2m

£0.1m

(0.63)p

(0.63)p

£2.5m

£0.0m

£3.6m

£3.2m

£2.7m

0.59p

0.59p

£3.6m

£1.8m

Please note: 2018 numbers have been restated to reflect the ongoing continuing business with Telecoms Antenna Operations moved to 
discontinuing operations in line with IFRS 5.

Operational highlights

•  Strong demand for 5G backhaul products 

  Over £10m of order intake for Orpheus  

for delivery in FY2020 

•  Production capacity and capability 

increased	at	the	Sedgefield	site	to	meet	 
rising demand

•		Public	safety	market	product	offering	and	

engineering capability extended 

•  Engineering team strengthened in Leeds 

to capitalise on these opportunities

•  Final settlement of the warranty claim settled 
at $2m (£1.6m) with the balance sheet impact 
reflected	in	note	24.	The	warranty	claim	will	be	
paid out of existing cash resources over four 
instalments

•  Progression of the divestment of the 

Telecoms	Antenna	Operations	following	a	
comprehensive strategic review

Pictured: Automatic wire bonder

Strategic reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC 
 
 
 
	
	
 
 
   
   
 
04

Chairman’s statement

Dear fellow shareholder,

Welcome to the Filtronic plc Annual Report for the year ended 
31 May 2019.

The financial year proved to be both challenging and 
rewarding and despite setbacks associated with our Telecoms 
Antenna Operation, both in terms of drastically reduced 
demand for mMIMO antennas and warranty claims, we 
exit the year with renewed optimism on the back of strong 
demand for our 5G backhaul, public safety and defence and 
aerospace offerings.

5G backhaul demand has been strong and during the past 
few months we have built up a sizeable order book for which 
we have been scaling up production. Additionally, we saw 
production of the first two defence contracts previously 
announced fully ramped. The combination of these two events 
saw us approaching capacity at our Sedgefield facility and we 
have committed the funding to increase our manufacturing 
capability ahead of further growth in demand.

Substantial progress has been made by Filtronic’s executive 
team to refine and implement a strategy to address the 
changes in the markets we operate in and it is pleasing to 
see us build on established customer relationships as well as 
making good progress to expand the markets we serve.

As previously announced, we have decided to sell our 
Telecoms Antenna Operations. We have concluded that to be 
successful in this consolidating market requires a greater scale 
of organisation to compete with the much larger competitors 
now operating in this part of the market. Consequently, we will 
report this part of our business as a discontinuing operation.

Financial performance summary
Group sales for the year from continuing operations were 
£15.9m (2018: £21.6m) and an operating profit of £0.2m was 
achieved (2018: £3.2m). Earnings before interest, taxation, 
depreciation and amortisation (“EBITDA”) was £0.7m (2018: 
£3.6m).

The Group had net cash of £2.5m at the end of the financial 
year (2018: £3.6m). The cash reduction in the year is due to 
the investment in internally-generated development costs 
and plant and equipment. The Group maintains an invoice 
discounting facility in the UK with Barclays Bank plc of £3.0m 
that was undrawn at the year-end (2018: £nil). We have a 
further financing agreement with Wells Fargo Bank for an 
invoice factoring facility in the United States of $4.0m that was 
also undrawn at the year-end (2018: £nil). 

Dividend
No dividend is proposed for the year (2018: £nil). The Board 
continues to be of the opinion that shareholders are better 
served by cash being retained by the company to fund future 
opportunities.

Board composition
We were delighted to announce the appointment of Pete 
Magowan to the Board during the year. Pete has brought a 
fresh perspective to the business and his sector experience 
and capital markets knowledge are proving invaluable as we 
look to develop the business.

Outlook
Filtronic has entered the new financial year with a strong order 
book for both 5G backhaul and defence and aerospace related 
products. With a major investment program in new capital 
equipment on schedule, significant upside potential available 
from public safety markets and a disposal process for our 
Telecoms Antenna Operations underway, the Group is looking 
forward with considerable optimism.

Uncertainties continue to surround the terms and timing 
of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union 
and whilst operationally we have taken action to mitigate 
currently foreseeable disruption, it is not possible to predict all 
eventualities. The biggest impact we currently anticipate and 
are indeed witnessing, is in relation to foreign exchange, as the 
Group manages a surplus of US dollars through operating in 
global markets. 

Finally, I would like to thank our shareholders for the 
considerable patience they have shown as we restructure the 
Group, to our customers for their continuing faith in Filtronic 
and to our employees for their hard work throughout an 
incredibly busy year.

Reg Gott
Chairman
14 November 2019

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 201905

Chief Executive’s review

Following the announcement of Rob Smith’s resignation as a 
director of the Company I have taken on the role of Executive 
Chairman whilst we seek to recruit a new Chief Executive 
Officer.

value to our customers’ offerings. Our deep know-how of RF 
products, from fundamental design principles to advanced 
manufacturing techniques, has made us a “go-to” supplier for 
leading US tech companies and major European OEMs.

The objectives within our strategy to achieve this are:

•  To nurture close working relationships with our customers 

to understand their needs and requirements;

•  To develop class-leading products in our core technology 
areas of mmWave transceivers, filters, tower top amplifiers 
and antennas;

•  To develop sub-systems and solutions that meet customer 

specific and general market requirements;

•  To expand our customer base within the markets we serve; 

and

•  To widen the number of markets we serve.

The main markets that our ongoing activities are currently 
servicing are 5G backhaul, public safety and defence and 
aerospace. Our product ranges include mmWave transceivers 
and RF conditioning products. We are targeting opportunities 
in other adjacent markets that include 5G test equipment, 
ultra-low latency RF connections for the financial services 
industry, gigabit per second internet connections to high-
speed rail networks and long-range data links to high-altitude 
pseudo satellites (“HAPs”). We have achieved revenue during 
FY2019 in each of these target markets in the form of either 
product sales or development services and we are working 
hard to achieve further traction as these growth markets 
develop in the coming years.

FY2019 proved to be a pivotal year for Filtronic and FY2020 
has started well with strong order intake on the 5G backhaul 
product.

After considerable investment in developing mMIMO 
antennas for our lead OEM customer it was frustrating 
that the consolidation in the US Mobile Network Operator 
(“MNO”) market changed capital spending priorities. This 
resulted in a significant shortfall in our planned revenues for 
the year and triggered our decision to divest our Telecoms 
Antenna Operations. The warranty claim that arose during 
the year, relating to an antenna product shipped in 2016/17, 
exacerbated our challenge and whilst the final settlement is 
capped at £1.6m we are grateful for the constructive way this 
issue was approached by our customer and the efforts that 
were taken to mitigate the scale of the final settlement.

Whilst we faced challenges with our Telecoms Antenna 
Operations, we saw good performance in our continuing 
operations. Demand for 5G backhaul products was healthy 
in FY2019 and has accelerated in FY2020 with a succession 
of orders received. Currently, year to date sales plus order 
book for these products exceeds £10m. Sales of filters 
and combiners to the public safety market continue to be 
good and we have worked hard to gain further access to 
this market over the past 18 months. This has opened up a 
number of opportunities for us and we commenced a new 
product development program in FY2019 with the first new 
products being released at the end of the calendar year. Sales 
to our leading defence and aerospace customer were strong 
throughout FY2019 and we anticipate further growth in this 
sector in FY2020.

Our strategy and markets
Having decided that it is in the best interest of our 
stakeholders to sell our Telecoms Antenna Operations, 
considerable thought has gone into how we move forward as 
a business. Our simplified operating structure and reduced 
geographic footprint will enable us to clarify our strategy and 
underscores our long-term objective of serving markets that 
value our know-how, IP and ethos of working in partnership 
to create better technical and commercial solutions that meet 
our customers’ needs.

At our core, Filtronic is a specialist designer and manufacturer 
of advanced RF products that transmit, receive, condition 
and manage radio waves. We sell to markets that demand 
advanced and highly reliable products and solutions that add 

Pictured: Orpheus, mmWave Transceiver Module

www.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC

Strategic reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC06

Chief Executive’s review continued

5G Backhaul
Filtronic has supplied transceiver modules to the 
telecommunications industry for many years and we 
have established a reputation for quality and innovation. 
As an early mover to the E-band transceiver market, we 
have gained invaluable knowledge of the design and 
manufacturing techniques required at this high frequency, 
this has earned us an enviable reputation as a technology 
leader. With the introduction of 5G, a critical requirement 
for MNOs is the upgrade of backhaul to higher speed, 
higher capacity links required for this network architecture. 
Filtronic’s advanced transceiver modules offer the speed 
and capacity in a fast to market package that meets the 
demands of 5G backhaul.

Our class-leading Orpheus E-band transceivers have been 
designed into several customers’ ODU radios. Our lead 
customer has achieved considerable market success and 
has placed orders covering their current requirements that 
span the remainder of FY2020. In addition to our lead 
customer, Orpheus has been “designed-in” by tier-2 OEMs 
with order flow and forecasts from these customers also 
benefiting from 5G deployment.

We are in the process of extending and enhancing our 
manufacturing capability and we are currently installing 
plant and equipment that will meet current and forecast 
demand as well as working on plans for future capacity 
expansion. So far, we have committed to capital 
expenditure in FY2020 of approximately £1.0 million and we 
are further reviewing our longer-term needs. This investment 
will not only increase our capacity but the move to the latest 
generation equipment will allow us to improve production 
yields and product quality at the Sedgefield facility.

In addition to investing in our manufacturing capabilities, 
we continue to advance our product development and we 
have planned an important new product update for later in 
FY2020 and have commenced work on next-generation 
products that will be required in two to five years. The 5G 
backhaul market is moving rapidly, and we are determined 
to maintain a leading position in this sector.

Public Safety
Over the past ten years, Filtronic has established itself as a 
key supplier to the largest Western OEM in the public safety 
market. Our focus has been on supplying high reliability 
filters and combiners that meet our customer’s demanding 
specifications.

Over the past two years, we have worked hard to increase 
our knowledge and understanding of our customer’s 

Pictured: Tower Top Amplifier and TTA Controller Unit

future needs and requirements and as a consequence of the 
knowledge gained, we have launched several initiatives to 
better support them and to grow our sales into this market.

In FY2019 we commenced development of a new product 
family of Tower Top Amplifiers that not only meets our 
customer’s specifications but brings an array of advanced 
functions and features that differentiate our solution from the 
competition. Our intelligent product is based on the latest 
generation of processors and seamlessly connects processing 
and functions at the tower top to the base station. The 
Tower Top Amplifier has been released in October 2019 for 
qualification and we are about to commence development of 
further exciting new products for this market.

In addition to product development, we have initiated a 
process to “on-shore” production of all products for the US 
public safety market to our facility in Salisbury, Maryland. This 
is in part a countermeasure to increased tariffs on Chinese 
made products and also a recognition that “Made in the 
USA” has significant value and importance to this market. 
We anticipate the completion of our production move to the 
USA in H2 FY2020. Whilst there is some remodelling required 
of our facility in Salisbury, these costs are relatively minor in 
relation to the value of the business.

The products we have developed and are working on, are 
designed to be customer agnostic and we have targeted 
winning more customers in this important industry sector.

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 201907

Defence and aerospace
During FY2019 we continued to fulfil contracts that were 
awarded in FY2017 and FY2018. In addition to these core 
programmes we have won additional elements of these 
projects. The current contracts still have a number of years to 
run and we are positioned well to win follow-on orders as they 
flow down from prime contractors to the supply base.

Our know-how in volume manufacture of high frequency 
transceivers was critical to winning this work and as we 
enhance our production capabilities our capacity to win and 
execute additional contracts of this type will increase.

We continue to develop our relationship with our main 
customer in this sector and to develop other clients, having 
won some smaller contracts with other leading, UK based, 
defence prime contractors. Project gestation periods in this 
sector are typically long, however, we are working hard to 
build our exposure to this marketplace and have made some 
good inroads in developing relationships.

The future: a new look, a new focus and  
fresh opportunities
When we exit Telecoms Antenna Operations, we will be a 
leaner more focussed organisation and we will refresh our 
marketing and branding to reflect this. We have recently 
re-launched our website and we are working hard within the 
industry to communicate an invigorated and contemporary 
image that matches our reputation for innovation in RF.

With a strong order book, the outlook for FY2020 is 
encouraging and our challenge through the year is to 
introduce additional capacity to enable further growth. The 
markets we serve are seeing healthy expenditures and are 
generally buoyant. Beyond our currently served markets we 
are looking to progress by targeting high growth sectors that 
value our IP and know-how.

Reg Gott
Chairman
14 November 2019

Pictured: Tower Top Amplifier and TTA Controller Unit

Pictured: Cerus E-band Power Amplifier

Strategic reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC08

Market review 

Filtronic serves a number of markets with advanced RF 
communications equipment, the main markets being mobile 
telecommunications infrastructure (X-haul), public safety and 
defence and aerospace. In addition to these markets we have 
targeted other key sectors where we can add value through 
leveraging our IP and know-how. 

Mobile telecommunications infrastructure 
(X-haul) 
With the intended sale of the Telecoms Antenna Operations 
our main focus on the telecoms market is X-haul. 

X-haul is a collective term that covers front, mid and backhaul 
representing the various connections between the edge of 
network, remote radio heads and the core fibre network. 
X-haul has historically been achieved through fibre links or 
wirelessly, typically at frequencies below 23GHz. With the 
introduction of 5G networks, and the envisaged increase 
in data traffic, existing wireless links are being upgraded to 
E-band. Additionally, the higher frequencies being utilised for 
network access (device to network connection) result in lower 
range and consequently a requirement for more cell sites 
which is driving up the overall market size for X-haul links. 

The Ericsson Microwave Outlook Report 2018 states 
that, globally, wireless backhaul is likely to account for 
approximately 40 percent of backhaul connections and if 
China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan are excluded, this 
figure rises to 65 percent. Different jurisdictions are taking 
varying approaches to licensing for E-band, ranging from 
a light touch to an auction approach, with the majority of 
countries taking the view of reducing licensing, to encourage 
5G deployment. 

Wireless technology is a well-established backhaul technology 
and has been used in mobile networks for decades. To a large 

extent, LTE’s success has been built on the capacity, flexibility 
and short roll-out times that wireless microwave enables.  

Fibre optic presence in networks has increased in the 
recent past and this trend will continue as MNOs exploit the 
technology’s advantages. Nevertheless, wireless X-haul is a 
key enabler for 5G use cases, based on the following factors:  

•  Fibre is not ubiquitously available, especially in suburban/

rural areas. In addition, in urban areas, if the MNO is not an 
incumbent, fibre leasing may be too expensive. 

•  In current mobile networks, wireless is used in more than 

50 percent of cell sites. Replacing existing lower frequency 
wireless backhaul with fibre is not economically viable and 
therefore upgrading to E-band links is the most effective 
way to increase capacity. 

•  When a fibre Point of Presence (PoP) is a few hundred 
meters away from the radio access point, total cost of 
ownership evaluation tends to favour wireless connectivity. 
The cost of fibre trenching is unlikely to reduce over time 
whereas wireless costs are reducing, and performance is 
improving. 

•  In dense urban environments it is common to have fibre 
access at building level, but not at street pole level. 

•  E-band backhaul technology can address 5G’s challenging 
capacity and latency requirements. Propagation medium 
induced latency depends on the density of the medium, so 
the latency of a wireless connection is fundamentally lower 
than that of a fibre cable of the same length. Consequently 
E-band as a backhaul solution is more attractive for low 
latency-critical applications such as financial markets 
networks. 

Mobile subscriptions by technology (billion)

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

7.9
billion

8.8
billion

5G
LTE	(4G)
WCDMA/HSPA (3G)
GSM/EDGE-only (2G)
TD-SCDMA	(3G)
CDMA-only (2G/3G)
Other

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Note:	IoT	connections	and 
FWA subscriptions are not 
included in this graph

* A 5G subscription is counted as 
such when associated with a de-
vice that supports New Radio (NR), 
as	specified	in	3GPP	Release	15,	
and is connected to a 5G-enabled 
network.

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019 
 
09

•  Mission-critical applications (e.g. public safety) require 

high resiliency network performance. Wireless connectivity 
is generally more reliable than fibre during major events 
such as earthquakes, fire, or simple road maintenance. 
Moreover, in these cases, the recovery time is much faster 
with a wireless connection.  

In summary, the deployment of 5G networks is a major driver 
for the deployment of wireless, E-band backhaul products. 
The technical and economic advantages of E-band over 
fibre have now been established and accepted and Filtronic 
is seeing rapid growth in demand for its 5G Backhaul 
transceivers. 

Filtronic’s approach to the 5G backhaul market 
Filtronic differentiates itself from other players in the 5G 
backhaul market by offering transceiver modules that can 
be matched to customer designed or industry standard 
modems for incorporation in ODUs. This approach allows our 
customers to focus on their core competencies and results in 
reduced time to market and lower overall development costs. 

Filtronic’s Orpheus transceiver modules incorporate our 
own design chipsets that offer class-leading performance. 
However, we are truly device agnostic and have worked with 
clients to incorporate their preferred chipset solutions. This is 
of particular advantage to our clients as device manufacturers 
do not offer modularised products that can be incorporated 
into final systems. 

Whilst there are alternatives in the market and some OEMs 
have chosen to develop in-house design and manufacturing 
capabilities, Filtronic’s unique approach has allowed us to 
create a differentiated offering that has significant flexibility, 
cost and time to market advantages over other solutions. 
Furthermore, our class-leading chipsets mean that our 5G 
backhaul products continue to offer significant performance 
advantages. 

Public safety networks 
Public safety networks are communications networks 
operated for emergency services. Historically these services 
have been run on separate infrastructure to commercial 
mobile phone networks to provide secure and dedicated 
communications. 

There are two main international standards deployed. In North 
America, Project 25 (“P25”) has been widely deployed and 
in Europe and the rest of the world Terrestrial Trunked Radio 
(“TETRA”) is the most common standard.

Filtronic has traditionally focussed on the North American 
market where market dynamics and the demand for higher 
resilience and longer range have allowed us to differentiate our 
products. 

Overall expenditure on public safety networks continues to 

be good as emergency services look to expand coverage 
and upgrade from older FM analogue networks. Product life 
cycles in this industry tend to be significantly longer than in 
commercial mobile phone networks and therefore return on 
investment cases are more attractive for Filtronic. 

Historically the public safety market has placed considerable 
merit on the quality of voice services compared to data 
and therefore networks have tended to be narrow band. 
This dynamic is changing as emergency services become 
increasingly data-driven and the need for live video feeds 
from body cameras etc. is leading to increased interest in 
broadband networks and the adoption of 4G standards. 

Filtronic’s approach to the public safety market 
Filtronic has concentrated on supplying mission-critical filters 
and combiners to the North American P25 market and has 
established a strong relationship with the leading OEM in this 
sector. In FY2019, we decided to make a concerted effort to 
widen our product offering to this sector to capitalise on our 
relationship and standing in this marketplace. 

To this end, we have developed and launched a range of 
Tower Top Amplifiers (TTAs) and have other products in 
development that will be launched in the coming 12 months. 
Our TTA products have been designed to be OEM agnostic 
and will be marketed under our own brand. In addition, we 
have been commissioned by our customer to design and 
develop high-reliability filters suitable for 4G public safety 
networks that will emerge over the coming years. 

Filtronic has also worked closely with our lead customer 
to develop a plan to “onshore” manufacturing of public 
safety products to our facility in Salisbury, Maryland. This 
is in response to the imposition of tariffs on Chinese made 
products and also reflects long-term security concerns related 
to Chinese made products in critical national infrastructure. 

Overall the public safety market continues to show good 
levels of investment and our strategy is to deepen our 
customer relationship and introduce a broader product range 
to maximise our opportunity in this sector. 

Defence and aerospace  
Filtronic historically has been a 
supplier of RF components and 
sub-systems to the UK defence 
and aerospace industry. In 
recent years we have won 
and are currently delivering 
on contracts to supply 
transmit and receive modules 
(TRMs) for airborne radars. 
The programs that we are 
involved in are for two different 
aircraft types. As the aircraft 
manufacturers flow-down contracts 

Strategic reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC 
10

Market review continued

to the supply base, Filtronic is well positioned to participate 
in follow-on business. It is also likely that upgrades to existing 
aircraft fleets will be made to extend the operational life of 
aircraft already deployed and these upgrades will include 
latest generation radars. 

After several years of reductions in defence budgets, 
increasing geopolitical instability is leading to increased 
spending. Furthermore, spending on equipment is being 
driven by technology advances that demand more 
sophisticated RF solutions. 

Filtronic’s approach to the defence and 
aerospace market 
Filtronic’s targeted market in defence and aerospace is the 
manufacture of customer designed TRMs and associated RF 
components and sub-systems where our engineering and 
design capabilities can add value. By focusing on TRMs and 
associated sub-systems Filtronic can leverage our advanced, 
automated, volume manufacturing capabilities that are 
typically not offered by western suppliers outside of the USA. 

The market for land-based and naval radars is relatively 
small, but each system requires significant numbers of TRMs. 
Airborne radars offer greater volumes and have the added 
technical demands of low weight and the abilities to withstand 
high G-force. We are also engaging with missile system 
manufacturers as these applications demand significant 
volumes of TRMs and also have challenging technical 
specifications. 

Other growth markets 
We continue to develop opportunities in other adjacent 
markets and in particular for E-band applications. These 
include low latency private networks for financial markets, 
trackside to train gigabit wireless links, 5G handset test 
systems and HAPS systems. 

Low latency private networks 
Filtronic has designed and supplied customised versions 
of Orpheus E-band links to a customer supplying the 
financial services markets. Low latency financial networks 
are becoming recognised as an essential part in reducing 
transaction times in automated high-speed trading systems 
where time is money. 

Trackside to train communication links  
The provision of high speed, high capacity links to trains 
presents a number of interesting technical and commercial 
challenges. The provision of data and voice services 
to passengers has received increasingly high profile as 
customer expectations for good internet connection has 
increased with services, such as streaming video, delivered 
over 4G networks. Filtronic has partnered with a niche 
ODU manufacturer in a major trackside to high speed 

train evaluation project in Asia. This evaluation project is 
currently being scaled and whilst there is no certainty that the 
proposed system will be adopted, the market possibilities are 
substantial. 

5G handset test systems 
The next generation of mobile handsets is being designed to 
operate at higher frequencies being utilised by 5G networks. 
Filtronic’s knowhow of high-frequency RF design has enabled 
us to provide sub-system design and manufacture services 
to a key provider of test equipment to semiconductor 
manufacturers servicing the handset market. In FY2019 
we were commissioned to design, develop and supply an 
evaluation system that we hope will go into production in 
calendar year 2020. 

High-altitude pseudo satellites/low earth orbit 
satellites (“LEO”) 
In recent years there has been considerable work undertaken 
to develop airborne communications networks that overcome 
the limitations of terrestrial networks. A number of challenges 
exist in designing these systems amongst which is the 
development of communications links that deliver sufficient 
bandwidth and range to provide internet services. Filtronic has 
engaged with a number of organisations in this market and 
has been commissioned to develop proof of concept long 
range E-band links based on our core Orpheus products. 
To date, we have developed and sold sub-systems to 
customer specification to major West Coast, USA technology 
companies where we are developing a reputation for being a 
“go-to” mmWave specialist. 

Whilst we believe that commercial deployments of HAPS 
and LEO satellites are some way off, we continue to position 
ourselves to participate in this market segment as part of our 
future growth strategy. 

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 201911

Objective and strategy

Filtronic plc is a designer and manufacturer of advanced RF communications products supplying a 
number of different market sectors, including mobile telecommunications infrastructure, defence and 
aerospace and public safety.

Our objective is to grow profitably by being a trusted 
supplier to our customers of technically advanced products 
that deliver value to our clients. We focus on markets where 
we have a deep understanding of the sector and customer 
requirements and where we can leverage our know-how 
and IP portfolio.

Antenna products
Filtronic antenna products encompass a range of ultra-wide 
band small cell and macro base station antennas covering 
frequencies from 600MHz to 5GHz and are offered in band 
combinations that service auctioned spectrum in the USA 
and EMEA.

Our objectives within the strategy to achieve this are:

•  To nurture close working relationships with our 

customers to understand their needs and requirements;

•  To develop class-leading products in our core 

technology areas of mmWave transceivers, filters, tower 
top amplifiers and antennas;

•  To develop sub-systems and solutions that meet 

customer-specific and general market requirements;

•  To expand our customer base within the markets we 

serve; and

•  To widen the number of markets we serve.

Product strategy
Filtronic designs, manufactures and supplies technically 
advanced RF products that transmit, receive, condition and 
manage radio waves.

Our product range and wider technology capabilities are 
rich in IP and know-how with over 80 patents/applications 
across the portfolio.

Leeds and Sedgefield, UK
Sales, Manufacturing, Filter 
and mmWave Design and 
Central Services. 
Filtronic plc, Head Office.

Salisbury, MD, USA
Sales, Manufacturing, 
Logistics, Service  
and Repair  

In addition, we work closely with customers to develop 
advanced products to meet their specific requirements.

Filter products
Filtronic’s filter products cover a range of product classes, 
with solutions to support a variety of current and future 
requirement. Our filters and combiners are designed to 
meet exacting operating specifications and are designed for 
resilience in critical communications applications.

mmWave 5G transceiver products
Filtronic’s mmWave transceiver products are based around 
our class-leading, high-capacity, E-band transceivers 
technology and have been optimised for 5G mobile 
backhaul and wireless link applications such as trackside to 
train and HAPS/LEO ground to air communication.

Tower top amplifiers
TTAs are used in many mission-critical public safety LMR 
systems to enhance the received signal strength and 
quality.  This receive-only system consists of low-loss, high 
rejection filters coupled to low noise amplifiers with a high 
level of built-in redundancy. Filtronic’s solution employs a 
separate control unit based on the latest technology that 
monitors overall system performance and distributes the 
received signal to multiple separate receivers.

Organisational overview
It is Filtronic’s intention to divest its Telecoms Antenna 
Operations. This will encompass Filtronic’s operations in 
Täby, Sweden and Suzhou, China.

Looking to the future Filtronic will operate from three sites, 
Leeds and Sedgefield in the UK and Salisbury, Maryland, 
USA. The activities for each site are as follow:

Leeds, UK
Head office and engineering function for Filters, TTAs and 
associated RF systems and sub-systems.

Sedgefield, UK
Transceiver manufacturing, microwave and mmWave 
engineering, European sales and central services. 

Salisbury, MD, USA   
North American sales, service, repair and manufacturing of 
public safety products.

Strategic reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC12

Objective and strategy continued

Business ethos
Our business ethos is to be agile and responsive to 
customer needs and we operate with a high degree of 
delegated authority and empowerment.

Filtronic complies with internationally recognised standards 
covering issues such as anti-bribery and corruption, child 
labour, modern slavery and conflict materials. Details of our 
policies may be found on our website at www.filtronic.com

Our people
Filtronic firmly believes that it is our people who drive the 
success of our business. We have diverse, experienced 
and highly qualified teams, focused on delivering 
outstanding products and service to our customers.

Filtronic has a depth of engineering skills across its product 
portfolio. The mmWave transceiver team, based in the UK, 
has seen continuous development since 1997, whilst the 
filter team has expertise dating back to 1992, including 
unique expertise, know-how and design reputation in 
electronically reconfigurable filters. We continue to seek 
new engineering talent to enhance our design capabilities 
and further support growth opportunities.

What can mmWave do for 5G backhaul?
by Mike Geen,  
Chief Scientist ‒ mmWave Technology, Filtronic

The challenges of implementing 5G radio access have been 
widely discussed, yet a similar revolution will be needed in 
the technology that connects it to the core. As the first 5G 
networks are rolling out, network architects are seeking the 
highest capacities and data speeds possible for backhaul, 
in a format that can be rapidly and flexibly deployed 
wherever it is needed. The backhaul segment of the 
network is traditionally made up of the intermediate point-
to-point links between the core (or backbone) network and 
the small subnetworks at the network edge where the base 
stations are. Since 5G is aiming for multi-Gbps data rates 
for subscribers, all of this data will need to be backhauled 
at much higher rates too. 

As well as the evolution that is occurring in the air interface, 
the radio access network (RAN) is itself evolving, with its 
functions being ‘decomposed’ into a number of different 
locations. In 4G LTE, distributed RAN (D-RAN) and cloud 
(or centralised) RAN (C-RAN) respectively have allowed 
a remote or centralised baseband unit (BBU) to be used, 
connected to the remote radio unit (RRU) via an eCPRI 
‘fronthaul’ interface. In 5G the BBU will further be split 
into a distributed unit (DU) and one or more central units 
(CU), and these will be connected using a ‘mid-haul’ link. 
Collectively all these types of link are known as X-haul.

Now more than ever, a wireless solution rather than 
fibre will be the obvious choice for X-haul. Already in 

Europe around 50% of backhaul between the edge and 
the core network is wireless, and in some countries like 
India, the proportion is much greater than this. With the 
higher densities of small cells that will be needed for 5G, 
this share is set to increase rapidly. Not only is wireless 
backhaul quicker and simpler to deploy, it is much more 
cost-effective too. Laying new fibre typically costs between 
$35,000 and $100,000 per kilometre, whereas the cost for 
a wireless link is an order of magnitude lower. Furthermore, 
in a complex urban environment, it can often be impossible 
to lay new fibre exactly where it is needed.

The traditional bands for wireless backhaul between 6GHz 
and 42GHz have served us well for 3G and 4G. However, 
they would struggle to meet the needs of 5G, where the 
dual requirements of higher data rates and increased 
capacity mean that much higher bandwidths will be 
required. 

The obvious way to achieve the additional bandwidth 
required is to move higher up the spectrum into the 
mmWave bands, and this will be particularly effective in 
urban environments where link distances are relatively 
short. In the existing bands, there are a number of narrow 
channels — the total bandwidth available for mobile 
backhaul below 42GHz is just 15GHz. This is now being 
heavily used, and expensive licences are required to 
operate in these bands. In contrast, the mmWave bands 
above 50GHz will provide over 20GHz of additional 
bandwidth in large chunks, allowing very high data rates 
to be achieved. Some of the traditional wireless bands 
— notably 26GHz and 28GHz— have an uncertain future 
for backhaul, since they are now being targeted for 5G 
radio access. ETSI’s mWT ISG has expressed its concern 
about the need when allocating mmWave bands for 5G 
to consider the ability of operators to continue operating 
backhaul for their 3G and 4G networks as well as for the 
future 5G ones.

The main mmWave bands for telecom transport are V-band 
(57 – 71GHz) and E-band (71 – 86GHz). There is even 
some interest for the future in W-band (92 – 114.25GHz) 
and D-band (130 – 174.8GHz) but working at such 
high frequencies can introduce additional technical and 
manufacturing challenges. 

In 2015, just 0.2% of fixed wireless links were at V-band 
and around 2% at E-band. E-band, however, is increasing 
its share very rapidly—by 2018 E-band accounted for 
around 7% of links, and as it is now accepted as an 
essential element in 5G transport networks, this trend 
is forecast to continue with year on year growth rates of 
around 30%.

The licensing situation for V-band has restricted its 
development. Although V-band may seem attractive 
because it is licence-free in many countries, operator 

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 201913

concerns over interference and availability have hampered 
its application for mobile backhaul. V-band is however 
finding a place in multipoint-to-multipoint meshed networks 
in dense urban scenarios, where each network element, 
with beam-steerable antenna, could be reached by more 
than one direction by other equipment. This is helped 
by the extension of the licence-free band to 71GHz, 
which provides more bandwidth and better propagation 
characteristics. 

At higher frequencies, it is necessary to take atmospheric 
attenuation into consideration. There are well-characterised 
bands where absorption by water and oxygen molecules 
can be a problem, and rain attenuation increases rapidly 
with frequency up to around 70GHz, after which it begins 
to flatten out. Nevertheless, system simulations carried 
out by the ETSI mWT ISG (GR mWT 008) suggest that 
link distances of several hundred metres are practical at 
D-band frequencies with antenna sizes comparable to 
those at E-band.

Broader contiguous bandwidth allocations are not 
the whole story. Capacity and throughput can also be 
increased by techniques such as: network topology 
changes (densification, RAN sharing, increased fibre 
penetration from the core to the edge) shorter link 
distances utilising star topologies from the fibre aggregation 
point and increasing channel width in the traditional 
bands by the use of carrier aggregation. Combining 
carrier bandwidth from different parts of the spectrum not 
only offers an increase in the total bandwidth available 

to use but can also ensure availability where one band 
has superior propagation characteristics, allowing longer 
links. Several aggregation scenarios are now either being 
deployed or being proposed for future deployment: two or 
more of the traditional microwave and sub-6GHz bands, 
offering 1 – 5Gbps; a microwave band (15GHz, 18GHz or 
23GHz) plus E-band, providing up to 10Gbps; and in the 
future, E-band plus D-band can provide up to 100Gbps. 

Higher order modulation techniques can also increase 
data rates, but these demand higher signal-to-noise ratios 
and very linear components in order to keep error rate 
to a minimum. Multi-channel systems like XPIC (cross-
polarization interference cancelling) and line-of-sight MIMO 
have also been demonstrated to provide enhanced data 
rates, but with a need for more expensive radio equipment. 

In considering all these factors, we believe that wide-
bandwidth mmWave radios provide the optimum solution 
to meet the increasing capacity demands for backhaul and 
other types of transport in next-generation communications 
system. mmWave links currently have the ability to give 
fibre-like capacity — up to 40Gbps in multichannel 
configurations — and, with carrier aggregation, can 
operate at high capacity up to 10km. With a proven E-band 
technology platform, a rapid, low-risk transition from high-
performance short-range terrestrial links to the highest 
capacity long-range links has been made possible. New 
spectrum allocations above 95GHz will provide a path to 
even higher capacities in the future.

www.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC

Strategic reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC14

Financial review

Whilst the continuing business remains 
profitable with numerous exciting near-term 
opportunities on which to capitalise, the 
challenging trading environment of antennas 
led to a disappointing loss in the period and the 
decision to commence a sale process for the 
Telecoms Antenna Operation.

Revenues
Sales revenue for the Group from continuing operations 
decreased in the year by 26% to £15.9m (2018: 
£21.6m). The decrease is a result of our previously 
announced strategic withdrawal from low margin telecom 
filter business and an exceptional short-term revenue 
opportunity that we benefitted from in the public safety 
market in FY2018. Despite the reduction in revenue it 
was very encouraging to see year-on-year growth in two 
of our core markets; mmWave telecoms and defence. 
Output of our market-leading Orpheus product increased 
significantly over the year to meet growing demand from 
our lead OEM customer which also enabled us to take a 
strong order book into FY2020. The Orpheus order book 
has increased by 288% at 31 May over the prior year 
which has subsequently increased to 1,088% at the end of 
September 2019. 

Sales of defence products also saw year-on-year growth, 
where revenue to our lead customer continued to increase 
as throughput on two of our contracts reached full 
capacity. These long-term defence contracts provide more 
certainty over future revenues and align to our objective of 
broadening the markets we serve with a better quality of 
earnings.

The new revenue standard IFRS 15 ‘Revenue from 
Contracts with Customers’ came into mandatory effect 
for the Group during FY2019. However, this change in 
the Group’s revenue recognition policy has not materially 
impacted the value of revenue that would have been 
recognised under the former revenue standards, IAS 18 
Revenue and IAS 11 Construction Contracts.

Operating costs
Operating costs increased in the year to £7.6m (2018: 
£7.0m). This was a result of enlargement of the operational 
team to support new opportunities and the subsequent 
need to increase capacity for new contract wins. This is 
reflected in the average headcount for the year which has 
increased to 100 (2018: 96).

In addition to headcount increases, we waived a debt due 
from an OEM customer of £0.3m relating to filter material 
purchased for legacy product against the customers 
demand forecast that never materialised which was 
treated as a credit loss.

EBITDA
EBITDA in the year relating to the continuing operation was 
£0.7m (2018: £3.6m). This reduction was a direct result 
of lower revenues although this was slightly offset by an 
improved gross margin as legacy OEM filter business was 
replaced by mmWave and defence contracts. Depreciation 
and amortisation were broadly in line with the previous year.

Reconciliation of EBITDA

Operating profit 

Depreciation

Amortisation

EBITDA

2019
£000

234

335

75

664

Restated 
2018
£000

3,199

367

78

3,644

Taxation
A large tax credit of £2.1m (2018: £0.0m) has been 
recognised for the year, as set out in note 14 to the 
financial statements. The Group benefits from R&D 
tax credits in the UK as we continue to invest in the 
development of advanced product and process 
technology. An R&D tax credit of £1.4m was recognised in 
the year, 50% of which relates to the previous financial year, 
and is included in the total credit.

A deferred tax asset of £1.0m was recognised in the 
period as visibility of profits in the UK and USA increased 
as a result both of our strategy to address markets such 
as defence and public safety which offer longer term 
predictable revenues and the existence of a robust order 
book to be manufactured at our Sedgefield site.

Our overseas operations continue to be profitable and 
consequently incur corporation tax charges which 
amounted to £0.3m. In the USA this comes in the form of 
state taxes as substantial federal tax losses carried forward 
remain.

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 201915

Discontinued operations
Following the news of consolidation in the US Mobile 
Network Operator market and the impact on our Telecoms 
Antenna Operation a strategic review was undertaken. On 
completion of the review, the directors decided the best 
outcome for shareholders would be a sale of this part of the 
business. Consequently, this has been accounted for as a 
discontinued operation and is analysed in note 5. Sales in 
the period were £4.6m, primarily made up of Massive MIMO 
antennas, with an operating loss of £3.5m. This included an 
amount of £1.6m which related to a Settlement Agreement 
with our customer for a legacy antenna supplied in 2016/17 
that had a performance issue relating to a component within 
the antenna.

Research and development costs (“R&D”)
Total R&D costs in the year before capitalisation and 
amortisation of development costs were £1.2m (2018: 
£1.7m). The Group saw a reduction in R&D spend year-
on-year as the business reorganisation in the previous 
year saw some of the resource classified as engineering 
reallocated to augment activities related to the sales 
function and product test development. The Group remain 
committed to investment in R&D for the future growth of the 
business through new and enhanced products to meet the 
expanding demands of customer programmes. Key areas of 
expenditure in the year included progression of the mmWave 
technology roadmap and product development into adjacent 
markets such as 5G test equipment and HAPS which we 
anticipate will deliver significant future revenue opportunities.

The Group capitalises its development costs in line with 
IAS 38 as set out in note 2 to the financial statements. 
A reconciliation of R&D costs before capitalisation and 
amortisation can be seen in the table below:

Reconciliation of R&D costs

R&D costs in income statement 

Capitalisation of development costs

Amortisation of development costs

R&D costs before capitalisation  
and amortisation

2019
£000

1,026

250

(38)

Restated 
2018
£000

1,730

-

(33)

1,238

1,697

Capital expenditure
Capital expenditure of £0.4m (2018: £0.6m) related to new 
equipment to support and improve our operational capability 
to manufacture defence-related products in Sedgefield and 
to increase capacity at our service and repair centre in the 
USA.

value of its inventories and to make a provision for excess 
and obsolete inventory. As at 31 May 2019, the inventory 
provision was £1.1m (2018: £1.2m).

Assets held for sale 
IFRS 5 requires a company to present an asset held for 
sale where management is committed to a plan to sell a 
business, the asset is available for sale, an active process 
is in place and a sale is likely within 12 months. The 
directors have previously announced to shareholders the 
intention to undertake a sales process of the Telecoms 
Antenna Operation and therefore, in line with IFRS 5, the 
assets and liabilities relating to this area of the business 
have been presented as held for sale.  

Warranty provision 
In line with industry practice, the Group provides warranties 
to customers over the quality and performance of the 
products it sells. The Group’s policy is to make a provision, 
calculated as a percentage of sales revenue, after 
reviewing costs associated with faulty products returned. 
As at 31 May 2019, the warranty provision was £2.2m 
(2018: £0.4m); the increase in provision at the year-end 
reflecting the Settlement Agreement with our customer 
for a performance issue on a legacy antenna relating to a 
component used.

Funding and cash flow 
The Group recorded a decrease in cash and cash 
equivalents to £2.6m (2018: £3.8m) at the year-end due to 
investment activity.

Cash generation from operating activities in the year 
was £0.0m (2018: £1.8m). However, the Group invested 
£1.1m (2018: £1.1m) in capital expenditure and internally 
generated intangible assets which accounts for the 
reduction in the cash position. The full breakdown of this 
movement can be seen on the consolidated cash flow 
statement.

Net cash at the end of the period was £2.5m (2018: 
£3.6m) being £2.6m cash and cash equivalents and £0.1m 
of interest-bearing borrowings from the bank loan.

To provide additional cash headroom Filtronic has a £3.0m 
invoice discounting facility with Barclays Bank plc in the 
UK. As at 31 May 2019, £nil was drawn down against 
this facility (2018: £nil). Furthermore, the Group has an 
agreement with Wells Fargo Bank for an additional $4.0m 
invoice factoring facility to borrow against the debtors of 
our USA operation. As at 31 May 2019 $nil was drawn 
down against this facility (2018: $nil).

Inventory provision 
Inventory is valued at the lower of cost and net realisable 
value. It is the Group’s policy to regularly review the carrying 

Michael Tyerman
Finance Director 
14 November 2019

Strategic reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC16

Key performance indicators

The Group’s management team uses various Key Performance Indicators (“KPIs”) to monitor the 
financial and non-financial performance of the business. Below are the measures and metrics which 
the Board believes best indicate the performance of the Group’s continuing operations.

Revenue (£m)

£15.9m

EBITDA/(LBITDA) (£m)

£0.7m

6
.
3

7
.
0

EBITDA/(LBITDA) per 
employee (£k)

£7k

5
.
7
3

7

6
.
1
2

5
.

9
1

9

.
5
1

5
.
9

2016

2017

2018

2019

2016

2017

2018

2019

2016

2017

2018

2019

)
6
.
5
(

)
5
.
1
(

)
3
.
2
5
(

)
5
.
6
1
(

The total amount the Group earns 
from the sale of products and 
services.

The Board recognises EBITDA/(LBITDA) 
as a key metric of the underlying health 
of the business.

Employees are a critical asset in our 
business and we monitor the  
(LBITDA)/EBITDA per employee to 
measure productivity.

Restated

2019 

2018

Reconciliation of R&D costs £000 

£000

R&D costs in income statement 

1,026 

1,730

Capitalisation of development costs  250 

-

Amortisation of development costs 

(38) 

(33)

R&D costs before capitalisation and amortisation 

1,238 

1,697

Research and
development costs (£m)

£1.2m

Cash generated from/(used in) 
operating activities (£m)
£0.0m

9
.
3

8
.
1

0
.
0

5
.

3

7
1

.

2

.

1

1

.

2

2016

2017

2018

2019

The Board recognises that the Group 
needs to invest in new products, 
capabilities and technologies to 
participate in a technology-driven 
market and measures the investment 
made in research and development.

2016

2017

2018

2019

)

0

.

5

(

The Board recognises that cash flow 
from operating activities indicates 
whether the Group is able to generate 
sufficient positive cash flow to maintain 
and grow its operations, or it may 
require external funding for financing.

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019 
17

Risk management

Effective risk management is key to our success, both in the industry that we operate in and within 
our chosen business model. Filtronic supplies microwave, mmWave, base station filter products and 
antennas for the wireless telecommunications market. The Group operates in a fast-changing sector 
with a small number of sophisticated customers, demanding high-performance standards and 
international competition, all of which pose risks to the business.

The directors recognise that risk is inherent in any business and seek to manage risk in a controlled manner. The key business 
risks are set out as follows: 

Nature

Mitigation

Change 
in year

Risk

Market

We supply a range of niche products to a small 
number of large OEM customers as well as a 
number of MNOs.
The loss of any of these customers, material 
reduction in orders from any such customer or 
the timing of customer project roll-outs may have 
a material adverse effect upon Filtronic’s financial 
condition. 
With the rapid evolution of product technology 
and other corporate decisions, the size of our 
addressable market may be affected. We may 
also fail to forecast market movements correctly 
thus missing opportunities or wrongly predicting 
product longevity.

Manufacturing For most of the products, production is demand 
led and customers may vary their requirements 
at short notice, which also impacts inventory 
management. 
Customers in these businesses expect 
consistently high-quality products, decreasing 
prices and rapid product ramps, hence we 
depend on control of our operating environment, 
including management of security of supply 
in our supply chain, the provision of correctly 
designed technological solutions including the 
achievement of target cost-reduction plans and 
supply of product to specified timescales. Non-
performance in these areas would result in a 
diminished market position.

The Group seeks to mitigate this risk by working 
closely with customers, at all levels, to ensure that 
we are designed into their products at an early 
stage, enabling us to develop products that meet 
their specifications and requirements.
Filtronic aim to provide customers with a well 
resourced programme and a high level of service 
with a focus on product quality and delivery. This 
gives an advantage over our competitors that has 
facilitated new contract wins. 
The sales teams are actively seeking to increase 
the number of contract wins across a range of 
products, within existing and new customers, 
with an encouraging order book and opportunity 
pipeline. 
In a market of rapid technology changes, it is 
imperative the Group chooses opportunities 
that will yield a good rate of return and have 
an extended product life. All new opportunities 
are appraised to ensure there is a good match 
between our capacity, capabilities and likely 
adoption in a growing market with a good rate  
of return.

The Group’s internal and outsourced 
manufacturing processes are accredited under 
ISO 9001. 
We manufacture and assemble at our highly 
automated facility at NETPark, Sedgefield, 
based on our core competencies, and where 
appropriate, we outsource non-core processes 
to suppliers who can offer advantages over 
internal supply. Investment in capital equipment, 
working capital and additional employees has 
increased production capacity and capability 
enabling us to ramp existing customer projects 
and win new business.
Our antenna and filter products are 
manufactured by an outsourced partner who 
has a high degree of flexibility and a proven 
track record of product ramp and mass volume 
manufacturing, enabling us to flex volume with 
limited impact on our cost base and balance 
sheet.
All of our products are provided to customers 
after detailed qualification testing. We work 
closely with our customers to ensure that the 
test processes employed are appropriate so 
all products are supplied compliant to the 
customer’s specification.

Strategic reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC18

Risk management continued

Risk

Nature

Mitigation

Change 
in year

Technology

Recruitment 
and retention

Our product competitiveness is heavily 
influenced by technology choices at product 
concept stage and throughout the execution 
of design to product launch. 
The market is time-sensitive and 
opportunities may be lost if the technology 
we develop is inappropriate or fails to 
achieve customer specifications or meet 
the timescales required to match market 
demand.
For products in the production cycle, 
technology insertion is often required as a 
means of achieving price reductions, which 
underpin sales. 

Our ability to remain competitive in terms of technology 
and product design is underpinned by retaining key 
staff and effective design methodologies.
We work closely with our customers and suppliers to 
gain a thorough knowledge of the technology being 
developed in the marketplace. By staying close to the 
market, we position ourselves to react quickly to any 
technology changes that develop.
When undertaking new product introductions, we 
follow a process which facilitates a thorough review 
of the engineering development at various milestones 
throughout the project. This methodology is designed 
to ensure the product has no design defects, meets 
the required specification and is on time to exploit the 
market opportunity.
In order to protect our intellectual property, we maintain 
and apply for patents when appropriate.

The Group is reliant on the key skills and 
knowledge of its people in a range of areas 
especially in the engineering function. 
Failure to recruit, develop and retain an 
appropriate number of suitably qualified 
people in critical areas could affect our 
ability to design new products and meet our 
customers’ needs. 
We have also benefited from a number of 
non-UK employees filling key roles within the 
business. Due to the highly technical nature of 
our activities, these skills are not always readily 
available within the UK and any restrictions on 
the employment of these people could have 
an adverse effect on the Group.

The Group has a competitive remuneration package 
that is reflective of market conditions for key roles and 
is under review as conditions change. The Group also 
operates a long-term incentive plan for key employees 
and SAYE schemes for all UK employees. 
We continue to invest in our engineering teams to 
ensure we have the right skills to execute our strategy.
We also provide regular communications to all 
employees through communication meetings in each 
of our business locations along with a bi-monthly 
newsletter including a CEO blog giving updates about 
business performance. By giving our employees an 
understanding of our strategic direction, we believe it 
enables them to make meaningful contributions to the 
achievement of our goals.

Financial
management

The Group has specific exposure to credit 
risk and exchange rate fluctuations as a 
consequence of its global presence. A 
large proportion of the Group’s sales are 
denominated in US dollars, so the Group 
is subject to risks associated with currency 
movements. 

The Group has established a number of policies 
to mitigate these risks, further details of which are 
presented in note 38 to the financial statements. 
Predominantly, currency risk on the US dollar is 
managed through a natural hedge by matching the 
currency in which revenues is generated and the 
expenses incurred and forward contracts.

Brexit

As a consequence of the UK’s decision 
to leave the European Union, there is 
international uncertainty around the impact 
this will have on business and trade. 

The Group has operations and market presence in 
non-EU territories such as the USA. As a result, Brexit 
is not expected to have a material impact on the Group, 
however, management continues to monitor the current 
economic climate regularly for any potential future 
impacts.

The Board has established a continuous process for 
identifying, evaluating, and managing the significant risks the 
Group faces which has operated throughout the year and 
up to the date of this report. Such a system is designed to 
manage rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve 
business objectives and can only provide reasonable and 
not absolute assurance with respect to the preparation of 
financial information and the safeguarding of assets against 
material misstatement or loss.

The Board regularly reviews the effectiveness of 
the Group’s system of internal control. The Board’s 
monitoring covers all controls, including financial, 
operational and compliance controls, and risk 
management systems. It is based principally on 
reviewing reports from management to consider 
whether significant risks are identified, evaluated, 
managed and controlled and whether any significant 
weaknesses are promptly remedied and indicate a 
need for more extensive monitoring. 

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Corporate social responsibility report

Change 

in year

Acting with integrity and behaving responsibly is central to the execution of our strategy and 
underpin our business model. This report covers how Filtronic interacts with its stakeholders, its 
approach to key issues and its aims for the future.

19

Equal opportunities
The Group is committed to a policy of equal opportunity by
which it ensures that all employment-related activities are based
on merit and suitability for the job alone. Further information on 
our equal opportunities policy may be found on our website: 
www.filtronic.com/group-policies/.

Diversity and inclusion
Filtronic has diversity and equal opportunity policies to 
support our aim of providing equal opportunities for all 
without discrimination. These policies form part of the Group’s 
core values (expected of employees, suppliers and other 
stakeholders). Our policies and practices emphasise the 
importance of treating people in a non-discriminatory manner 
across the full employment life cycle, including hiring, reward, 
development, promotions, mobility and departure. In the 
event that an employee becomes disabled, the Group will 
make reasonable appropriate adjustments, and so far as is 
practicable, will continue to provide employment. Training is
provided to those making decisions on these factors so that 
no individual is disadvantaged and to prevent discrimination 
on the grounds of gender, religion, belief, race, creed, age, 
disability, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, or marital status. 

The Chief Executive Officer is the board member responsible 
for human resources.

Human rights
Filtronic applies human rights considerations to the way it 
does business, for example through our supplier and
anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies, our code of ethics, 
which is an integral part of our management policies, our 
practices in relation to health and safety, equal pay and 
employees’ freedom to join trade unions. The Group has 
adopted a specific policy on modern slavery reflecting 
the obligations contained in the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 
2015. Filtronic is committed to ensuring transparency in our 
approach to tackling modern slavery throughout our supply 
chain.

Health and safety
The Board is committed to ensuring the health and safety
(“H&S”) of the Group’s employees and applies high standards
throughout the Group in the control and management of  
its operations. The Board regularly reviews the Group’s
arrangements for the planning, organisation and control of
H&S matters. Global H&S meetings are held periodically with
participants from each of the Group’s six sites.

Employees
The Group’s success depends on its employees and the
Board recognises that it is their commitment and contribution
that is vital to the execution of the Group’s strategy.

With an international workforce, it is important that we provide
an environment where we attract, motivate and reward high 
quality employees, throughout the Group.

Employee development
Employee development is an important element of employee 
retention and motivation. The Group has an education 
and training policy in place which is being implemented 
through developing a Group-wide infrastructure to support 
the identification of staff development needs through 
meetings and staff appraisals. The aim is to provide quality 
staff development which supports the Group’s strategic 
objectives, whilst simultaneously aiding talent management 
and succession planning. Various formal and informal training 
has taken place over the year, including training sessions on 
the Group’s policies and General Data Protection Regulations 
(“GDPR”).

Looking to the future
Filtronic continues to work towards future-proofing the 
business to ensure we have the right skills for the future to 
support business growth. The Group is cognisant of its duty 
to plan for the future and a succession planning exercise will 
begin shortly.

Employee communications
The Group believes in keeping employees fully informed on 
matters which affect them through various communication 
forums. The Group holds regular employee communications 
sessions at which employees can review Group progress 
and raise, share and discuss specific issues and concerns 
that affect employees with senior management. The Group 
publishes a quarterly newsletter which outlines developments 
and plans across the business.

Strategic reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC20

Corporate social responsibility report continued

The environment
Care for the environment is an integral part of the Group’s 
business activities. It is the Group’s policy to ensure that its 
facilities are safe and the Group is committed to ensuring 
that its impact on the environment is minimised. The Group 
supports and trains its personnel to act responsibly in matters 
relating to the environment. The Group takes account of 
relevant legislation and regulations and analyses its practices, 
processes and products to reduce their environmental impact, 
and works with our customers and suppliers to achieve a high 
standard of environmental stewardship.

We have three sites which are certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 
14001 standard: Täby, Sweden; Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK; 
and Sedgefield, County Durham, UK.

Charitable and community support
Last year, we established a charity forum made up of 
volunteer employees from across the Group, the aim of
which is to ensure we are more involved in supporting our 
local communities through charitable work. Over the course 
of the year, Filtronic employees have participated in and 
sponsored various events. The Group provides paid leave of 
one day per annum for staff who wish to undertake voluntary 
or charitable work.

Supply chain
The adoption of an advanced product life cycle management 
software system has allowed for Group-wide management 
and control of our documentation to include product design, 
suppliers and change management as well as a module to 
address specific quality processes. Supply chain management 
is working to develop partnerships with our main suppliers 
to ensure they have systems in place that focus on quality, 
environment, corporate social responsibility and health 
and safety. The Group has adopted a specific policy on 
conflict minerals and works with our suppliers to ensure 
implementation including reporting on the use of conflict 
minerals throughout our supply chain.

The implementation of these management systems, which are 
designed to monitor and control processes such as quality, 
the environment and health and safety, provide Filtronic with 
the confidence that each and every product that is delivered 
to our customers is at an appropriate level of quality, and has 
been designed and manufactured in a way that considers 
our impact on the environment and the ultimate health and 
safety of our employees and our broader stakeholders who 
contribute to our success. We are continuing with the roll-out 
of a customer relationship management system in Filtronic 
that complements this approach.

Our Sedgefield site has embarked on a process for 
obtaining SC21 accreditation. SC21 (Supply Chains for the 
21st Century) is an improvement programme designed to 
accelerate the competitiveness of the defence and aerospace 
industry by raising the performance of its supply chains.

The FY2019 Strategic report, has been reviewed and 
approved by the Board of Directors on 14 November 2019 
and signed on its behalf by

Reg Gott
Chairman 
14 November 2019

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019 
Governance report

Board of Directors

21

Executive Directors
Reginald (Reg) Gott (aged 62) has been a Non-Executive Director since 2006. He 
was appointed as Chairman of the Board at the AGM held in 2015 and became 
Executive Chairman on 1 November 2019. He was Chief Executive of Resource 
Group Limited until early 2016. From 2002 to 2008, he was an Executive Director of 
FKI plc, an international diversified engineering group, and from 2009 to 2012 he was 
Chief Executive of Nuaire Group. He has an extensive background in the machinery, 
automation and controls segments of the capital goods markets across Europe and 
North America.

Michael Tyerman (aged 41) was appointed as Finance Director with effect from  
1 April 2016. Prior to joining Filtronic, Michael held various positions within Procter 
and Gamble, Huntsman Polyurethanes and Komatsu. He joined Filtronic in 2007 as 
Financial Controller of Filtronic Broadband and was promoted to the position of Group 
Financial Controller in 2009. He was Interim Head of Finance for the Filtronic Group 
from June 2015 and served in this position until his appointment to the Board. Michael 
is a Chartered Management Accountant.

Non-Executive Directors
Michael Roller (aged 54) was appointed as a Non-Executive Director on 1 June 2013; 
and was appointed Chairman of the Audit Committee on 27 November 2015. From 
March 2014 to May 2019, Michael was a member of the board of Bioquell plc as Group 
Finance Director. Michael has previously been Finance Director of a number of quoted 
companies, such as Corin Group plc. He has also held a number of other senior finance 
roles in a broad range of listed and private companies. Michael qualified as a Chartered 
Accountant with KPMG.

Peter (Pete) Magowan (aged 52) was appointed as a Non-Executive Director on  
19 November 2018 and as Chairman of the Remuneration Committee in March 2019. 
He was previously an early employee and main board member of ARM Holdings, an 
Executive at Fidelity International Ltd and General Partner at Alta Berkeley Venture 
Partners. Pete´s early operational career was in sales and marketing at leading 
technology companies. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and 
Electronic Engineering from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and 
Technology and a Diploma in Marketing from the University of Bristol Business School.

Photographs of directors by Simon Hill

Strategic reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC 
 
 
 
 
22

Governance report continued

Introductory letter from the Chairman of the 
Board on the Governance report
The Board recognises the importance of good corporate 
governance to promote the long-term success and 
sustainability of the business for the benefit of our 
shareholders and wider stakeholders. As chair, it is my role 
to oversee the adoption, delivery and communication of the 
Company’s corporate governance model.

In 2018, the Company adopted the Quoted Companies 
Alliance Code 2018 (“the QCA Code”) and it is the principles 
of this code that has been applied for the financial year ending 
31 May 2019. We have continued to consider and reflect 
on the principles of the QCA Code and their application 
throughout the year as the business has evolved. 

The Board notes the emphasis the code places on promoting 
a corporate culture based on ethical values and behaviours. 
Whilst the Company is going through a period of challenge 
and change, the Board is committed to maintaining high 
standards of corporate governance, integrity and business 
ethics throughout the Group. To further the promotion of 
ethical values and behaviours, an exercise to help define and 
codify Filtronic’s values has been initiated. It is the intention of 
management to encourage the participation of all staff in this 
exercise. We will be reporting on the outcomes of this exercise 
in next year’s report. 

We keep our governance arrangements under constant 
review. As an outcome of last year’s Board evaluation 
exercise, we were pleased to welcome Pete Magowan to 
the Board as a Non-Executive Director in November. Pete’s 
appointment has strengthened our sales and marketing 
expertise, which will be valuable in helping us steer the 
Company in line with our intentions for growth. I hope you find 
this report helpful in understanding our ongoing commitment 
to good governance.  

Reg Gott 
Chairman

Long-term value and strategy
The Company’s business model is focussed on promoting 
long-term value for all stakeholders. It is explained in detail in 
the Objective and Strategy section of this annual report.

Shareholder engagement
The Board places great value on maintaining open 
relationships with shareholders and the primary point of 
contact in the Company for this function is the Executive 
Chairman, supported by the FD. The Executive Chairman 
and FD undertake an extensive programme of meetings 
with shareholders at least twice a year, following the 
announcement of the financial results. The senior independent 
director is also available as an alternative communication 
channel for shareholders who may wish to raise any concerns. 
Presentations are also made to analysts at those times to 
present the Group’s results. This assists with the promotion 

of knowledge of the Group in the investment marketplace and 
with shareholders and also helps the directors to understand the 
needs and expectations of shareholders. The Board believes that 
the Annual General Meeting provides an excellent opportunity 
to communicate directly with shareholders. Please refer to the 
corporate governance section of our website  for more details:  
www.filtronic.com/investors/.

Stakeholders
The Board is aware of its duties to the Company’s stakeholders 
under section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 and considers 
its wider stakeholder and social responsibilities and their 
implications for long term success. Please refer to the Corporate 
social responsibility section of this report for an explanation of 
how the business model currently identifies the key resources on 
which it relies. The Company aims to improve the mechanism 
for obtaining direct feedback from stakeholders, (i) in the case 
of employees, through the roll-out of a new HR system that 
encourages feedback both anonymously and on the record 
across a broad range of issues and (ii) in the case of all other 
stakeholders through encouraging wider use of the messaging 
section of our new website www.filtronic.com/contact/.

Risk management
For full details on how the risk management framework is 
embedded and how the Board ensures that the Company’s risk 
management system identifies and manages the relevant risks, 
please see the Risk Management section of this report.

Maintaining a well-functioning, balanced team led 
by the Chair including a governance framework 
that is fit for purpose
The Board is comprised of the Chairman (Reg Gott), Executive 
Director, Michael Tyerman, FD and two Non-Executive Directors 
(Pete Magowan and Michael Roller). Michael Roller is the senior 
independent Non-Executive Director and he together with Pete 
Magowan are regarded by the Board as being independent Non-
Executive Directors. The Board is supported and assisted by the 
Company Secretary, Maura Moynihan, who attends, contributes 
to and minutes each Board meeting. All members of the Board 
have access to the advice and services of the General Counsel 
and Company Secretary and are able to take independent 
professional advice at the Company’s expense in the discharge 
of their duties. The Company has procedures to deal with 
directors’ conflicts of interest and the Board is satisfied that these 
procedures operate effectively. There is a formal schedule of 
matters reserved for the Board which is summarised below.

Board meetings
The Board meets regularly against a defined reporting timetable 
and also at times in between the scheduled meetings when 
required. As far as is reasonably practical, the Board meetings 
are held at the Company’s operational sites to enable local 
management teams to present operational and strategic 
programme progress to the Board. The Board believes this 
arrangement fosters greater transparency and enhanced 

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 201923

relationships between the management and the Board. During 
the year, the Board held meetings at its Sedgefield and Leeds 
sites.

Audit Committee
The primary function of the Audit Committee is to assist the 
Board in fulfilling its financial and risk oversight responsibilities.

Remit of the Board
Whilst many day-to-day operational matters are managed by 
the Executive Directors, other matters, including those listed 
below, are reserved for the Board:

The committee reviews items such as the half and full-year 
results and then make a recommendation to the Board. The 
Audit Committee is chaired by Michael Roller and includes 
Reg Gott and Pete Magowan.

•   Strategy and oversight of the management of the 

Company;

•   Approval of the Company and consolidated financial 

statements;

•   Approval of major corporate transactions and 

commitments;

•   Succession planning (appointment/removal of directors, 

PDMRs and the Company Secretary);

•   Approval of all terms of reference for the committees of the 

Board;

•   Review of the Group’s overall corporate governance 

arrangements including systems of internal control and risk 
management; and

•   Approval of the delegation of authority to the Chief 

Executive Officer or where appropriate to the relevant 
Board committee.

Committees
The Board continues to operate with three committees: The 
Audit Committee, the Remuneration Committee and the 
Nominations Committee. Detailed written terms of reference 
for each committee are maintained and are available to view 
on the Company website. In addition to formal meetings, 
the Nominations Committee and Remunerations Committee 
meet informally during the year to review and discuss Board 
composition and compensation.

Nominations Committee
The Nominations Committee is chaired by Reg Gott and 
includes Michael Roller and Pete Magowan. The Nominations 
Committee’s duties are confined to the nomination of 
appointments, reappointments and termination of employment 
or engagement of directors and the Company Secretary.

Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee is chaired by Pete Magowan 
and includes Michael Roller and Reg Gott. The members of 
the Remuneration Committee have no personal interest in the 
matters considered other than as shareholders. No potential 
conflicts of interest exist in relation to any member of the 
committee and their duties. The Remuneration Committee’s 
responsibilities include ensuring that the remuneration policy 
of the Company and its implementation are appropriate. It 
ensures that levels of remuneration are sufficient to attract, 
retain and motivate directors, senior managers and executives 
of the quality required to run the Company successfully whilst 
avoiding paying more than is necessary for this purpose.

Directors’ attendance FY2019
The Board normally schedules at least 10 meetings during the 
year.

Attendance at Board meetings and Committee meetings during the year ended 31 May 2019

Total Meeting in FY2019 
Reg Gott 
Michael Roller 
Pete Magowan* 
Rob Smith  
Michael Tyerman 

Board 
11 
11 
11 
7/7 
11 
11 

Audit 
3 
3 
3 
1/1 
N/A 
N/A 

Remuneration 
1 
1 
1 
N/A 
N/A 
N/A 

Nominations
3
3
3
N/A
N/A
N/A

*Pete Magowan joined the Board in November 2018

Governance reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC 
24

Governance report continued

To reinforce the values and cultures of Filtronic, training on 
the Group policies and PAM is periodically provided at all 
sites where each employee is reminded of the essence of 
each policy and its objective. During the most recent training 
sessions, employees were reminded of the existence of the 
whistleblowing policy so that employees who have concerns 
about ethical issues or matters of integrity can raise their 
concerns in confidence directly to Board members.

To emphasise to all employees the central role that the policies 
play in the day to day management and operation of the 
business, employee handbooks were amended and updated 
during the year across the Group to highlight the key role the 
policies play in the culture of the Company, the Group and its 
business enterprises.

An exercise to define the core values of Filtronic which should 
help to support the vision and objectives of the Company 
has been initiated. The participation of all employees will 
be encouraged with an emphasis on open and honest 
feedback. To help promote  and monitor a healthy corporate 
environment, the Company will be rolling out a new HR 
system with features which will allow employee feedback both 
positive or negative on matters such as culture and values and 
which should allow employees to identify both positive and 
negative behaviours which exemplify (or not) such values.

Communication

The Company is committed to open communication with all 
its shareholders. Communication is driven primarily through 
the Company’s website and the Annual General Meeting. All 
shareholders will receive a copy of the annual report (hard 
copy or electronic depending on shareholder preference. The 
half-year results are published on the Company’s website. The 
Company reports on the activities and responsibilities of the 
audit committee and the remuneration committee each year 
in the annual report. Copies of historic annual reports and 
notices of general meetings for the last five years are available 
on the website.

Board Composition, Skills, Time Commitment, 
Performance and Performance Evaluation
At present, the Board considers its overall size and the current 
composition to be broadly suitable and have the appropriate 
balance of sector, financial and public markets skills and 
experience. Composition of the Board will be reviewed at 
least annually by the Nominations Committee and will make 
recommendations to the Board based on a number of factors 
including the skills necessary for achieving the Company’s 
strategy and diversity.

The Board receives regular updates from the Company’s 
nominated adviser as well as from the Company’s lawyers 
from time to time. All members of the Board have access to 
the advice and support of the Company Secretary who is 
also responsible for facilitating an induction program for new 
directors.

All directors are expected to devote such time as is necessary 
for the proper performance of their duties. This includes the 
need to make themselves available if an event occurs that 
requires Board involvement. It is expected that Non-Executive 
Directors who chair committees and/or who are the senior 
Non-Executive Director will increase their time commitment to 
the Company.

A formal Board evaluation process is carried out once every 
calendar year. The evaluation questions the performance 
of the directors individually both in their capacity as board 
member and for their specific role as well as the performance 
of the Board itself and each of the Committees. The 2018 
evaluation exercise highlighted the requirement for a Board 
member with marketing and sales expertise in the sector; 
and consequently, it was followed by the appointment of Pete 
Magowan to the Board in November 2018. The 2019 Board 
evaluation will take place towards the end of the calendar 
year.

Company Culture
Acting with integrity and behaving responsibly is central to the 
execution of our strategy and underpin our business model. 
The Company has in place a comprehensive suite of Group 
policies that are endorsed by the Board and communicated to 
all employees, initially as part of a new employee’s induction 
process and subsequently as each new policy is adopted. 
These policies are available to view and download on the 
Company’s website at: www.filtronic.com. The policies are 
infused with the core values of Filtronic: Integrity, respect 
for others, seeking to always deliver quality products (and 
services) that meet and exceed customer expectations. 
Additionally, the Company has adopted a Procedures and 
Authorisations Manual (“PAM”) (updated when required) which 
sets out among other matters the approved authority levels 
within the Filtronic Group.

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 201925

Audit Committee report

During the year the Audit Committee comprised three 
independent Non-Executive Directors: 

to conclude that this would be more appropriate than the current 
arrangements, would recommend this to the Board.

Michael Roller (Chairman), Reg Gott and Pete Magowan.  

The Audit Committee’s terms of reference include the following 
roles and responsibilities: 

•   Monitoring and making recommendations to the Board  

During the year ended 31 May 2019, the Audit Committee 
discharged its responsibilities by: 

•   Reviewing and approving the external auditor’s terms of  

 engagement, remuneration and independence; 

 in relation to the Company’s published financial statements  
 and other formal announcements relating to the Company’s  
 financial performance; 

•   Reviewing the external auditor’s plan for the audit of the  

 Company’s financial statements, including the identification of   
 key risks; 

•   Advising the Board on whether the Committee believes  

 the Annual Report and Accounts, taken as a whole, are fair,  
 balanced and understandable and provide   
 the information necessary for shareholders to assess  
 the Company’s performance, business model and strategy;

•   Monitoring and making recommendations to the Board  

 in relation to the Company’s internal financial controls and  
 financial risk management systems; 

•   Annually considering the need for an internal audit function; 

•   Making recommendations to the Board in relation to the  

 appointment, re-appointment and removal of the  
 external auditor and approving the remuneration and terms  
 of engagement of the external auditor; 

•   Reviewing and monitoring the external auditor’s  

 independence and objectivity and the effectiveness of the  
 audit process, taking into consideration the relevant UK  
 professional and regulatory requirements; 

•   Monitoring the extent to which the external auditor is  

 engaged to supply non-audit services; and 

•   Ensuring that the Company has arrangements in place  

 for the investigation and follow-up of any concerns raised  
 confidentially by staff in relation to the propriety of financial  
 reporting or other matters. 

The Committee reviews its terms of reference and its 
effectiveness annually and recommends to the Board 
any changes required as a result of the review. The terms 
of reference are available on request from the Company 
Secretary and are available on the Company website, www.
filtronic.com. The Audit Committee meets at least three times 
a year and has direct access to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 
(“PwC”), the Company’s external auditor. The Board considers 
that the members of the Committee are independent 
and collectively have the skills and experience required to 
discharge their duties effectively, and that the Chairman of the 
Committee has recent and relevant financial experience.

The Company outsources its internal audit activity to third 
parties as it is not deemed appropriate given the size of the 
Company to have its own internal audit function. However, the 
Committee considers annually whether there is a need for an 
in-house internal audit function to be established and, were it 

•   Reviewing the Company’s internal financial controls operated    
 in relation to the business and assessing the effectiveness  
 of those controls in minimising the impact of key risks; 

•   Reviewing the appropriateness of the Company’s accounting    

 policies; 

•   Reviewing the Company’s draft Annual Report and Accounts,   
 Interim Report and interim management statements prior  
 to Board approval; 

•   Reviewing the external auditor’s detailed report to the  
 Committee on the annual financial statements; and

•   Reviewing the need for an internal audit function, and  

 determining what aspects of the Company’s operations  
 should be subject to outsourced internal audit scrutiny.

The following key areas of risk and judgement have been 
identified and considered by the Audit Committee in relation to 
the business activities and financial statements of the Group and 
Parent Company:

•   Group - Discontinued operations

•   Group - Warranty; and

•   Parent Company – Carrying value of the investment in the  

 subsidiary.

These issues were discussed with management and the auditor, 
in particular at the pre-year end audit planning meeting and at the 
conclusion of the audit of the financial statements. 

Discontinued operations: Following a comprehensive strategic 
review the Board announced its intention to dispose of the 
Telecoms Antenna Operation. The Committee considered the 
requirements of IFRS 5 ‘Non-current assets held for sale and 
discontinued operations’. The standard provides specific criteria 
that are required to be met for an operation to be classified as 
held for sale, including:

•  the sale must be highly probable;

•  there must be a committed plan in place to sell; and

•  completion is expected within one year.

Given a sales process had commenced at the balance sheet 
date, and the other conditions set out in IFRS 5 had been 
met, the Committee were satisfied that the Telecoms Antenna 

Governance reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
26

Audit Committee report continued

•   Challenged the work done by the auditor to test 

 management’s assumptions and estimates in the key risk  
 areas;

•   Reviewed reports received from the auditor on these and  

 other matters;

•   Received and considered feedback from management; and

•   Held private meetings with the auditor that provided the  
 opportunity for open dialogue and feedback between  
 the Committee and the auditor without management being  
 present.

In addition, the Chairman of the Committee has discussions 
by telephone and in person with the audit lead partner outside 
the formal committee process throughout the year.

Change 
in year

Having completed its review, the Audit Committee is satisfied 
that PwC remained effective and independent in carrying out 
its responsibilities up to the date of signing this report.

After careful consideration of the advice of the Audit 
Committee, the Board has concluded that the 2019 Annual 
Report is fair, balanced and understandable and provides 
the necessary information for the Company’s shareholders to 
assess the Group’s risks, performance, business model and 
strategy.

Operation should be classified as ‘held for sale’. The 
Committee was also in agreement it should be recognised at 
carrying value. The Committee further assessed whether this 
part of the business should be classified as a discontinued 
operation within the Income Statement. IFRS 5 states that 
where the operation has not been disposed of, but meets 
the definition as held for sale, then it should be classed as 
a discontinued operation, where the operation represents a 
separate major line of business. The Committee was satisfied 
that it should be treated as discontinued.

Warranty provision: The Group makes estimates of 
provisions for commitments arising from past events. IAS37 
requires that the entity recognises a best estimate of the 
amounts needed to settle the obligation where an entity 
has an obligation as a result of a past event, an outflow of 
resources is likely to settle the obligation and the amount can 
be reliably estimated. 

The Group became aware of a performance issue during the 
year on one of its legacy products relating to a component. 
To settle the obligation, negotiations took place with the 
customer to enter a warranty settlement agreement which 
capped the liability and settled the obligation. The Committee 
reviewed the warranty settlement agreement and concluded 
the provision and methodology applied was appropriate.

Carrying value of the investment in the subsidiary: The 
Committee considered the judgements made in relation to 
the valuation methodology adopted by management and 
the model inputs used. These are set out in note 16 to the 
financial statements.  

The Committee agreed with the judgements made by 
management and concluded that no impairment of the 
carrying value of the investment in the subsidiary in the Parent 
Company accounts was necessary.

The Company’s management and the auditor confirmed to 
the Audit Committee that they were not aware of any material 
misstatements. Having reviewed the reports received from 
management and the auditor, the Committee is satisfied that 
the key areas of risk and judgement have been appropriately 
addressed in the financial statements and that the significant 
assumptions used in determining the value of assets and 
liabilities have been properly appraised and are sufficiently 
robust. The Committee considers that PwC has carried out its 
duties as the auditor in a diligent and professional manner. 

As part of the review of auditor independence, PwC has 
confirmed that it is independent of the Company and has 
complied with applicable auditing standards.

In assessing the auditor’s effectiveness, the Committee:

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019 
 
 
 
 
 
Change 

in year

27

Directors’ remuneration report

Annual statement on remuneration

On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to present the Filtronic 
Directors’ remuneration report for the year ended 31 May 
2019. 

The Company, being listed on AIM, is not required to produce 
a comprehensive Directors’ remuneration report or to submit 
a remuneration policy to a binding vote. However, the Board 
does wish to maintain transparency and demonstrate good 
governance and so provides the following remuneration 
report.

The remuneration report sets out payments and awards 
made to the directors.

The Remuneration Committee comprises the Non-Executive 
Directors, including the Chairman. It defines the Company’s 
policy on remuneration, benefits and terms of employment for 
Executive Directors and senior management. The Committee 
also reviews and approves general increases in staff salaries 

and bonus arrangements and takes these into account when 
setting remuneration packages for Executive Directors and 
senior management.

The Remuneration Committee has reviewed the remuneration 
packages of the Executive Directors and senior management 
to ensure these continue to attract, retain and motivate 
talented people, while recognising wider shareholder interest. 
The Committee reviews all incentive-based rewards before 
they are awarded and has full discretion to adjust awards 
downwards if deemed appropriate. 

The Remuneration Committee terms of reference are available 
to view at www.filtronic.com/investors/.

The Remuneration Committee met once during the year 
including ad hoc meetings when needed.

Pete Magowan
Chairman, Remuneration Committee
14 November 2019

Details of the service contracts currently in place for directors are as follows:

Name

Executive service agreement appointment date 

Key current terms

Notice period

Reg Gott

Appointed to the Board on 13 July 2006  
Executive Chairman  
Nominations Committee  
Chairman

£180,000

6 months 

Michael Tyerman
Finance Director

Appointed to the Board on 1 April 2016

Base salary £102,455

6 months

Car allowance

Annual bonus

Health insurance

Pension

Name

Role

Non-Executive terms of appointment date

Fee

Notice period

Michael Roller

Audit Committee Chairman

Appointed to the Board on 1 June 2013

£40,000

3 months

Pete Magowan

Remuneration Committee 
Chairman

Appointed to the Board on 19 November 2018 

£40,000 

3 months 

Certain sections constitute the audited part of the reports of the remuneration report.

Governance reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC 
 
 
28

Directors’ remuneration report continued

Total single figure of remuneration for directors—audited
The directors’ total remuneration in respect of the year under review is shown below and compared to the previous year. The 
information in these tables has been audited by the Company’s independent auditor.

Salary or fee

Bonus

Benefits

Long Term 
Incentive

Total remuneration excluding 
pension contributions and
share-based payments

£000

FY2019 FY2018

FY2019 FY2018

FY2019 FY2018

FY2019 FY2018

FY2019 FY2018

Executive Directors
Rob Smith 
Michael Tyerman

Non-Executive Directors
Reg Gott 
Michael Roller 
Pete Magowan1
Total

162
92

60
40
20
374

157
90

60
40
-
347

-
-

-
-
-
-

-
-

-
-
-
-

11
8

-
-
-
19

11
8

-
-
-
19

31
16

-
-
-
47

-
-

-
-
-
-

204
116

60
40
20
440

168
98

60
40
-
366

1Pete Magowan was appointed to the Board on 19 November 2018.

Notes to the single figure table of remuneration for directors—audited

Taxable benefits
Taxable benefits in kind were unchanged in FY2019 and comprised car allowance and private health insurance.

In addition to these taxable benefits, the Executive Directors are provided with life assurance.

Incentive outcomes for FY2019
There was no bonus payment relating to FY2019.

Annual performance-related bonus plan
An annual performance-related bonus plan has been introduced for the year ending 31 May 2020 which will reward Executive 
Directors and key management and staff cash bonuses for delivering stretching profit targets aligned to the 2020 business plan.

Total single figure of pension benefits for directors—audited
The Executive Directors’ total pension benefits in respect of the year under review are shown below and compared to the 
previous year. The information in these tables has been audited by the Company’s independent auditor. 

£000

Rob Smith 
Michael Tyerman
Total

Contributions were made to the Company’s defined contribution scheme.

Pension contributions

FY2019

FY2018

13
7
20

13
7
20

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019 
29

Directors’ and relevant senior management holdings of Filtronic shares—audited
Directors are not required but are expected to have holdings in the ordinary share capital of the Company. The information in the 
following tables has been audited by the Company’s independent auditor. 

The interests of the directors, who were serving as at 31 May 2019, in the Company’s ordinary shares, which excludes interests 
under the share option schemes, are set out below:

Rob Smith 
Michael Tyerman
Reg Gott 
Michael Roller 
Pete Magowan

2019

Shares 

%

257,656
11,882
354,429
101,762
750,000
1,475,729

0.1%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
0.4%
0.7%

2018

Shares 

257,656
11,882
354,429
101,762
-
725,729

%

0.1%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
-
0.3%

All of the above shareholdings are held beneficially and include holdings of directors’ connected parties.

Management share option scheme—audited

The Executive Directors who served during the year ending 31 May 2019 held the following options over the ordinary shares of 
the Company:

Rob Smith
Rob Smith
Michael Tyerman
Michael Tyerman

Plan

ESOP
SAYE
ESOP
SAYE

Exercise period 

Option price

2019

2018

01/03/2019—28/02/2026
01/06/2019—30/11/2019
01/03/2019—28/02/2026
01/06/2019—30/11/2019

5.37p
5.20p
5.37p
5.20p

1,000,000
165,565
300,000
275,478
1,741,043

1,000,000
165,565
300,000
275,478
1,741,043

The ESOP scheme introduced in May 2016 was opened to Executive Directors and key management and staff across the 
Group with the specific intent to retain staff by awarding share options for delivering a significant increase in the share price, 
which if sustained for a defined minimum period will trigger vesting, but which can only be exercised by directors after three 
years of the scheme opening. However, the Remuneration Committee is able to adjust the outcome at its discretion to ensure 
it is fair and appropriate, taking into account the overall performance of the Group. Information relating to share options can be 
found in note 32.

The closing middle market price on 31 May 2019 was 8p, and on 31 May 2018 it was 9p. The range of middle market
share prices during the year ended  31 May 2019 was 5p—29p.

There were no changes in directors’ interests between 31 May 2019 and 14 November 2019. The Company’s register of 
directors’ interests, which is open to inspection at the registered office, contains full details of directors’ shareholdings.

Governance reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC 
 
30

Directors’ report

The directors present their report together with the audited
consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 May
2019. 

Going concern
The Group’s business, and the factors likely to affect its future 
development, performance and position are set out in the 
Strategic report.

The revenue, trading results and cash flows are explained in 
the financial review on page 14. 

After a review of forecasts including projections of profitability 
and cash flows for the year to 14 November 2020, the 
directors believe that the Group has adequate resources to 
continue to operate for the foreseeable future and that it is 
therefore appropriate to continue to adopt the going concern 
basis of accounting in the preparation of the consolidated and 
Company financial statements.

Directors and their interests
The directors of the Company during the year, and up to the 
date of this report, were as follows:

Rob Smith (Resigned 31 October 2019)
Michael Tyerman
Reg Gott
Michael Roller 
Pete Magowan

Details of directors’ interests in the share capital of the
Company are set out in the remuneration report on page 29.

Reg Gott, having served on the Board for more than nine
years, retires by rotation and, being eligible, offers
himself for re-election at the Annual General Meeting.

Pete Magowan, having been appointed by the Board on  
19 November, offers himself for election at the Annual General 
Meeting. 

Michael Roller, retires by rotation, and being eligible, offers 
himself for re-election at the Annual General Meeting. 

Michael Tyerman, retires by rotation, and being eligible, offers 
himself for re-election at the Annual General Meeting.

Directors’ indemnity
The Company has in place directors’ and officers’ liability
insurance on behalf of its directors and officers in accordance
with the provisions of the Companies Act. In addition, certain
directors benefit from an indemnity from the Company, to the
extent not prohibited by law, in respect of losses incurred as
a result of the discharge of their duties in the management
or supervision of any Company in the Group. The indemnity
does not automatically terminate when the indemnified person
ceases to be a director.

Directors’ conflicts of interest
There are no declarations to be made under Article 182 of the
Companies Act 2006.

Research and development expenditure
Research and development costs in the year before 
capitalisation and amortisation relating to continuing 
operations were £1.2m (2018: £1.7m), of which £0.2m was 
capitalised (2018: £nil). Amortisation of development costs in 
the year was £0.0m (2018: £0.0m).

Substantial shareholdings
Up to 31 May 2019, the Company had been notified, in
accordance with chapter 5 of the disclosure and transparency
rules, of the following voting rights as shareholders of the
Company. An analysis of shareholders as at 31 May 2019 
(as disclosed by shareholders via TR1) is set out in the table 
below. As at 31 May 2019, the Company had issued share 
capital of 208,128,947 ordinary shares of 0.1p each.

Financial results and dividend
The results for the year are set out in the income statement on
page 37. The position at the end of the year is shown in the 
balance sheet on page 39.

The directors are not recommending payment of a dividend
(2018: £nil).

Share capital
The Company’s share capital consists of 0.1p ordinary shares.
The rights and obligations attached to each share are equal.
Each share carries the right to one vote at the Annual General 
Meeting of the Company and carries no right to fixed income. 
There are no limitations on holding or transfer of the shares. 
The Board has no powers to issue or buy back the Company’s 
shares, other than those approved by the shareholders at the 
Annual General Meeting held in October 2018.

Top Investors

Rank

Investor

1
2
3
4
5

Legal & General Investment Mgt
Mrs Diana M Dixon
Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management
Mr David Newlands and Mrs Monique Newlands
River & Mercantile Asset Mgt

31-May-19

30,994,078
29,000,000
18,951,200
12,670,000
11,333,451

% 

14.89
13.93
9.11
6.09
5.45

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Directors’ report

31

Political and charitable contributions 
No contributions were made for political purposes (2018: 
£nil). The Group made charitable donations of £1,004 in the 
year (2018: £1,244).

Equal opportunities
The directors are committed to ensuring that there are equal
opportunities throughout the Group for all employees with
no discrimination on account of race, gender, age, sexual
orientation, disability, political views or religious beliefs.

Employee communication
Employee engagement with our strategy and values is vital 
to the success of the Group. The directors place great 
importance on keeping employees informed on matters 
that affect them as employees as well as matters that affect 
the performance of the Group. This is achieved through 
formal and informal meetings as well as through Group 
communication sessions.

  continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable,  
  matters related  to going concern; and  

•  Use the going concern basis of accounting unless they either   

intend to liquidate the Group or the Parent Company or  
to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but  
to do so.  

The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting 
records that are sufficient to show and explain the Parent 
Company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy 
at any time the financial position of the Parent Company and 
enable them to ensure that its financial statements comply 
with the Companies Act 2006.  They are responsible for such 
internal control, as they determine, as is necessary to enable the 
preparation of financial statements that are free from material 
misstatement, whether due to fraud or error and have general 
responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to 
them, to safeguard the assets of the Group and to prevent and 
detect fraud and other irregularities.  

Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held on
27 November 2019 at 11am at the offices of Pinsent Masons 
LLP, 1 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5AB. Full details of the business 
to be transacted at the meeting will be set out in the notice of 
the Annual General Meeting.

The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting 
records that are sufficient to show and explain the Group and 
Company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy 
at any time the financial position of the Group and Company and 
enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with 
the Companies Act 2006.

Statement of directors’ responsibilities in 
respect of the Annual Report, the Directors’ 
report and the financial statements
The directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report 
and the Group and Parent Company financial statements in 
accordance with applicable law and regulations.  

Company law requires the directors to prepare Group and 
Parent Company financial statements for each financial year.  
As required by the AIM rules of the London Stock Exchange, 
they are required to prepare the Group financial statements in 
accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards 
as adopted by the EU (“IFRSs as adopted by the EU”) and 
applicable law and have elected to prepare the Parent 
Company financial statements on the same basis.

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 Group and 
Parent Company and of their profit or loss for that period. In 
preparing each of the Group and Parent Company financial 
statements, the directors are required to:  

•  Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them  
  consistently;  

•  Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable,  

relevant and reliable;  

•  State whether they have been prepared in accordance with  

IFRSs as adopted by the EU;  

•  Assess the Group and Parent Company’s ability to 

The directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity 
of the Company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom 
governing the preparation and dissemination of financial 
statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Under applicable law and regulations, the directors are also 
responsible for preparing a Strategic report and a Directors’ 
report that complies with that law and those regulations.  

Disclosure of information to the auditor
The directors who held office at the date of approval of this
Directors’ report confirm that:

•  So far as they are each aware, there is no relevant audit  
information of which the Company’s auditor is unaware;  

  and

•  Each director has taken all the steps that they ought to have  

taken as a director to make themselves aware of any relevant    

  audit information and to establish that the Company’s  
  auditor is aware of that information.

Auditor
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has expressed a willingness to 
continue in office as the auditor and a resolution to reappoint 
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP will be proposed at the 
forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

On behalf of the Board
Maura Moynihan
Company Secretary
14 November 2019

Governance reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
32

Independent auditors’ report 
to the members of Filtronic plc

Opinion
In our opinion, Filtronic plc’s Group financial statements and Company financial statements (the “financial statements”):

•  give a true and fair view of the state of the Group’s and of the Company’s affairs as at 31 May 2019 and of the Group’s loss and 

the Group’s and the Company’s cash flows for the year then ended;

•  have been properly prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the 

European Union and, as regards the Company’s financial statements, as applied in accordance with the provisions of the 
Companies Act 2006; and

•  have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

We have audited the financial statements, included within the Annual Report and Accounts 2019 (the “Annual Report”), 
which comprise: the consolidated and Company balance sheets as at 31 May 2019; the consolidated income statement and 
consolidated statement of comprehensive income, the consolidated and Company cash flow statements, and the consolidated 
and Company statements of changes in equity for the year then ended; and the notes to the financial statements, which include a 
description of the significant accounting policies.

Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (“ISAs (UK)”) and applicable law. Our 
responsibilities under ISAs (UK) are further described in the Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements 
section of our report. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our 
opinion.

Independence
We remained independent of the Group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial 
statements in the UK, which includes the FRC’s Ethical Standard, as applicable to listed entities, and we have fulfilled our other 
ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.

Our audit approach
Overview

Materiality
•  Overall Group materiality: £205,000 (2018: £250,000), based on 1% of revenue.

•  Overall Company materiality: £122,000 (2018: £149,000), based on 1% of total assets.

Audit Scope
•  Three full scope audit components have been identified alongside the Company. This approach provided 94% coverage over 

the Group’s revenue.

•  All full scope audits were performed by the Group engagement team.

•  Analytical review procedures were performed by the Group engagement team over all out of scope components.

Key audit matters

•  Discontinued operations (Group)

•  Warranty provision (Group)

•  Carrying value of investments (Company)

The Scope of our audit
As part of designing our audit, we determined materiality and assessed the risks of material misstatement in the financial 
statements. In particular, we looked at where the directors made subjective judgements, for example in respect of significant 
accounting estimates that involved making assumptions and considering future events that are inherently uncertain. As in all of our 
audits we also addressed the risk of management override of internal controls, including evaluating whether there was evidence of 
bias by the directors that represented a risk of material misstatement due to fraud.

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Independent auditors’ report 

to the members of Filtronic plc

33

Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in the auditors’ professional judgement, were of most significance in the 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) identified by the auditors, including those which had the greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy; the 
allocation of resources in the audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team. These matters, and any comments we 
make on the results of our procedures thereon, were addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole, 
and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters. This is not a complete list of all 
risks identified by our audit. 

Key audit matter

Discontinued operations (Group)

We focused on this area due to the detailed requirements of 
IFRS in determining the appropriate classification of business 
performance and balance sheet items between continuing and 
discontinuing operations.

The Group is currently going through the process of re-
aligning its strategic focus to its critical communications and 
telecommunications operations, and thus plans to dispose of 
its antenna capabilities. See note 5.

IFRS 5 sets out specific criteria which must be met for a 
business operation to be classified as a ‘disposal group’ held 
for sale.  

There is a risk that management’s plan for disposal does 
not meet the requirements of IFRS 5, or the assets and 
liabilities associated with the disposal group cannot be reliably 
estimated.

Warranty provision (Group)

We focused on this area due to a specific, material warranty 
charge recognised in the year. See note 24.

The Group has recognised a specific warranty provision of 
$2m (£1.6m) as a result of performance issues of antenna 
product seen in the field that were shipped in 2016/17.

IAS 37 states that the amount to be recognised as a provision 
should be the best estimate of the expenditure required to 
settle the present obligation at the balance sheet date. 

Due to the judgemental nature of warranty provisioning there 
is considerable estimation uncertainty associated with the 
amount recorded.

Carrying value of investments (Company)

How our audit addressed the key audit matter

We obtained an understanding of the planned disposal and the 
timelines in which management expect to complete the sale, 
considering the status of the disposal work streams.

We reviewed correspondence with bidders, including indicative 
offers and documentation supporting the commercial rationale 
of the transaction.

We substantively tested management’s carve out process, 
developing an independent expectation of the carrying value of 
the assets and liabilities related to the proposed disposal group 
and of the after tax result from discontinued operations to be 
presented in the consolidated income statement. 

Based on the procedures we performed we were able to 
obtain sufficient audit evidence in respect of the appropriate 
application of IFRS 5 in the Annual Report.

We obtained correspondence with the counterparty to assess 
the level of provisioning against latest expectations of final 
settlement and, subsequently, obtained the signed settlement 
agreement confirming the matter has been settled at the level 
indicated in the previous correspondence between the parties.

We considered the completeness of the provision by reference 
to any other known or expected performance issues with the 
same or similar product in the field.

Based on the procedures we performed we were able to 
obtain sufficient audit evidence in respect of the adequacy of 
the warranty provision. 

We focused on this area due to the material investment value 
held on the Company’s balance sheet and the estimates and 
judgements required to determine its value in use and fair value 
less costs to sell.

We considered the carrying value of the investment 
by reference to the ‘value in use’ model prepared by 
management, which was based on discounted cash flows of 
the continuing Filtronic plc Group.

We tested the inputs to the model to Board approved budgets, 
including growth rates and capital expenditure forecasts and 
considered the discount rate applied by reference to the 
Group’s weighted average cost of capital.

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC 
34

Independent auditors’ report 
to the members of Filtronic plc continued

Key audit matter

How our audit addressed the key audit matter

Carrying value of investments (Company) continued

We determined that the calculations were most sensitive to 
growth and discount rate assumptions and calculated the 
degree to which these assumptions would need to move 
before an impairment conclusion was reached. We discussed 
the likelihood of such movements with management and 
agreed with their conclusion that they were unlikely.

We also considered the carrying value against firm offers 
received for the Group’s antennas capability, as this is a 
key input to the ‘fair value less costs to sell’ valuation of the 
discontinued operation.

Based on the procedures we performed we were able to 
obtain sufficient audit evidence in respect of the carrying value 
of the investment balance.

How we tailored the audit scope
We tailored the scope of our audit to ensure that we performed enough work to be able to give an opinion on the financial 
statements as a whole, taking into account the structure of the Group and the Company, the accounting processes and controls, 
and the industry in which they operate.

We tailored the scope of our audit to ensure that we performed enough work to be able to give an opinion on the financial 
statements as a whole, taking into account the structure of the Group and the parent Company, the accounting processes and 
controls, and the industry in which they operate.

There are three components which required a full scope audit of their financial information, due to their size and contribution to 
the financial results of the Group. These were the trading entities within the UK, being Filtronic Broadband Limited and Filtronic 
Wireless Limited, in addition to the trading entity in the US, Filtronic Wireless Inc.

Filtronic plc is also subject to a full scope audit of its financial information, due to the separate presentation of these financial 
statements within this report. All audit work supporting the Group opinion was performed by the PwC UK engagement team, with 
the exception of testing of physical inventory quantities, which was performed by PwC teams in local territories.

Materiality
The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality. We set certain quantitative thresholds for materiality. 
These, together with qualitative considerations, helped us to determine the scope of our audit and the nature, timing and extent of 
our audit procedures on the individual financial statement line items and disclosures and in evaluating the effect of misstatements, 
both individually and in aggregate on the financial statements as a whole. 

Based on our professional judgement, we determined materiality for the financial statements as a whole as follows:

Overall materiality 

How we determined it 

Rationale for benchmark applied 

Group financial statements 

Company financial statements

£205,000 (2018: £250,000). 

£122,000 (2018: £149,000).

1% of revenue. 

1% of total assets.

Based upon the Company’s trading  
performance in the year, revenue is  
considered to be the most stable and  
appropriate benchmark in appraising  
financial performance, and is a generally  
accepted auditing benchmark.

We believe that as a holding company,  
the most appropriate benchmark for 
materiality is total assets, which is a 
generally accepted auditing benchmark. 

For each component in the scope of our group audit, we allocated a materiality that is less than our overall group materiality. The 
range of materiality allocated across components was between £160,000 and £175,000. Certain components were audited to a 
local statutory audit materiality that was also less than our overall group materiality.

We agreed with the Audit Committee that we would report to them misstatements identified during our audit above £10,250 
(Group audit) (2018: £12,500) and £6,000 (Company audit) (2018: £12,500) as well as misstatements below those amounts 
that, in our view, warranted reporting for qualitative reasons.

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019 
 
 
 
 
 
35

Conclusions relating to going concern
ISAs (UK) require us to report to you when: 

•  the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate; or 

•  the directors have not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt 
about the Group’s and Company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least 
twelve months from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

We have nothing to report in respect of the above matters.

However, because not all future events or conditions can be predicted, this statement is not a guarantee as to the Group’s and 
Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. For example, the terms on which the United Kingdom may withdraw from 
the European Union are not clear, and it is difficult to evaluate all of the potential implications on the Group’s trade, customers, 
suppliers and the wider economy.  

Reporting on other information 
The other information comprises all of the information in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our auditors’ 
report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the 
other information and, accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion or, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in this 
report, any form of assurance 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 an apparent material inconsistency or material misstatement, 
we are required to perform procedures to conclude whether there is a material misstatement of 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 this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report based on these 
responsibilities.

With respect to the Strategic Report and Directors’ Report, we also considered whether the disclosures required by the UK 
Companies Act 2006 have been included.  

Based on the responsibilities described above and our work undertaken in the course of the audit, ISAs (UK) require us also to 
report certain opinions and matters as described below.

Strategic Report and Directors’ Report
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit, the information given in the Strategic Report and 
Directors’ Report for the year ended 31 May 2019 is consistent with the financial statements and has been prepared in 
accordance with applicable legal requirements. 

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the Group and Company and their environment obtained in the course of the 
audit, we did not identify any material misstatements in the Strategic Report and Directors’ Report. 

Responsibilities for the financial statements and the audit
Responsibilities of the directors for the financial statements
As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the 
financial statements in accordance with the applicable framework and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view. 
The directors are also responsible for such internal control as they 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’s and the 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 Company or to cease operations, or have no realistic 
alternative but to do so.

Auditors’ 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 auditors’ 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. 

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC36

Independent auditors’ report 
to the members of Filtronic plc continued

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the FRC’s website at:  
www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditors’ report.

Use of this report
This report, including the opinions, has been prepared for and only for the Company’s members as a body in accordance with 
Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving these opinions, accept or assume 
responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save where 
expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.

Other required reporting
Companies Act 2006 exception reporting
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:

•  we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

•  adequate accounting records have not been kept by the Company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from 

branches not visited by us; or

•  certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

•  the Company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns. 

We have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility. 

Tom Yeates (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
Newcastle upon Tyne
14 November 2019 

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Consolidated income statement

for the year ended 31 May 2019

Continuing operations

Revenue 

Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation

Amortisation of other intangible assets

Amortisation of development costs  

Depreciation

Operating profit

Finance costs

Exceptional finance items

Finance costs

Finance income

Profit before taxation

Taxation 

Profit for the period from continuing operations

Loss for the period from discontinuing operations
(Loss)/profit for the period

Basic (loss)/earnings per share 

Diluted (loss)/earnings per share 

37

Group

Restated
2018 
£000

21,632

3,644

(45)

(33)

(367) 

3,199

(61)

(486)

(547)

-

2,652

62

2,714

(1,483)

1,231

0.59p

0.59p

2019
£000

15,932

664

(38)

(37)

(355)

234

(154)

-

(154)

55

135

2,099

2,234

(3,547)

(1,313)

(0.63)p

(0.63)p

Note

17

17

18

6

12

13

14

5

15

15

The (loss)/profit for the period is attributable to the equity shareholders of the Parent Company, Filtronic plc.

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC38

Consolidated statement of
comprehensive income
for the year ended 31 May 2019

(Loss)/profit for the period

Other comprehensive income

Items that are or may be subsequently reclassified to profit and loss:

Currency translation movement arising on consolidation

Total comprehensive income for the period

Note

Group

2019
£000

2018
£000

(1,313)

1,231

29

60

(1,253)

178

1,409

The total comprehensive (expense)/income for the period is attributable to the equity shareholders of the Parent Company, 

Filtronic plc.

For the Company, there were no items of comprehensive (expense)/income other than the loss for the year. Accordingly, no 

Company statement of comprehensive income has been presented.

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Consolidated statement of

comprehensive income

for the year ended 31 May 2019

Consolidated balance sheet
at 31 May 2019

Non-current assets

Goodwill and other intangibles 

Property, plant and equipment

Deferred tax 

Current assets

Inventories 

Trade and other receivables 

Cash and cash equivalents 

Assets held for sale

Total assets 

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables 

Provisions 

Deferred income 

Financial liabilities

Liabilities directly associated with the assets held for sale

Non-current liabilities

Financial liabilities

Total liabilities 

Net assets

Equity

Share capital 

Share premium 

Translation	reserve

Retained earnings 
Total equity

The total equity is attributable to the equity shareholders of the Parent Company, Filtronic plc.

Company number 2891064.

Approved by the Board on 14 November 2019 and signed on its behalf by

Reg Gott
Chairman

14 November 2019

39

Group

Note

2019
£000

2018
£000

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

22

26

27

28

29

31

1,247

1,030

1,982

4,259

2,081

4,220

2,625

5,046

13,972

18,231

2,316

2,265

81

231

2,207

7,100

118

118

7,218

11,013

10,789

10,715

(558)

(9,933)

11,013

3,904

1,411

965

6,280

2,138

6,388

3,794

-

12,320

18,600

5,076

485

360

206

-

6,127

312

312

6,439

12,161

10,788

10,640

(618)

(8,649)

12,161

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC40

Consolidated statement of
changes in equity
for the year ended 31 May 2019

Share 
capital
£000

Share 
premium
£000

Translation 
reserve 
£000

10,788

10,640

(796)

Balance at 1 June 2017

Profit for the year

Share-based payments

Currency translation movement arising on consolidation

Balance at 31 May 2018

Loss for the year

New shares issued

Share-based payments

Currency translation movement arising on consolidation

-

-

-

-

-

-

10,788

10,640

-

1

-

-

-

75

-

-

Balance at 31 May 2019

10,789

10,715

Company statement of
changes in equity
for the year ended 31 May 2019

Retained 
earnings
£000

(9,905)

1,231

25

-

(8,649)

(1,313)

-

29

-

Total 
equity
£000

10,727

1,231

25

178

12,161

(1,313)

76

29

60

(9,933)

11,013

-

-

178

(618)

-

-

-

60

(558)

Balance at 1 June 2017

Loss for the year

Share-based payments

Balance at 31 May 2018

Loss for the year

New shares issued

Share-based payments

Balance at 31 May 2019

Share 
capital
£000

Share 
premium
£000

10,788

10,640

-

-

-

-

10,788

10,640

-

1

-

-

75

-

Retained 
earnings
£000

(3,555)

(695)

5

(4,245)

(819)

-

63

Total 
equity
£000

17,873

(695)

5

17,183

(819)

76

63

10,789

10,715

(5,001)

16,503

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Consolidated statement of

changes in equity

for the year ended 31 May 2019

Consolidated cash flow statement
for the year ended 31 May 2019

Cash flows from operating activities

Profit for the period from continuing operations

Loss for the period from discontinuing operations

Taxation

Finance income

Finance costs

Operating (loss)/profit including discontinuing operations

Share-based payments

Profit on disposal of plant and equipment

Depreciation 

Amortisation of intangible assets

Impairment of intangible assets

Movement in inventories

Movement in trade and other receivables 

Movement in trade and other payables 

Movements in provisions

Change in deferred income

Tax (paid)/received 

Net cash (used in)/generated from operating activities 

Cash flows from investing activities

Capitalisation of development costs

Acquisition of intangible assets

Acquisition of plant and equipment 

Proceeds on sale of assets 

Net cash used in investing activities 

Cash flows from financing activities

Interest paid 

Proceeds from bank loans

Exercise of employee share options

Proceeds from hire purchase agreements

Repayment of interest-bearing borrowings

Net cash (used in)/generated from financing activities 

Movement in cash and cash equivalents

Currency exchange movement 

Opening cash and cash equivalents 

Closing cash and cash equivalents 

41

Group

2019 
£000

2018 
£000

2,234

(3,547)

(2,059)

(55)

154

(3,273)

29

(2)

459

217

512

(348)

1,669

(657)

1,780

(279)

(127)

(20)

(666)

(11)

(380)

59

(998)

(103)

-

76

-

(182)

(209)

(1,227)

58

3,794

2,625

2,714

(1,483)

(5)

-

547

1,773

25

(48)

542

141

-

111

2,259

(3,292)

(60)

244

56

1,751

(436)

(19)

(604)

49

(1,010)

(61)

300

-

301

(75)

465

1,206

(10)

2,598

3,794

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC42

Company balance sheet
at 31 May 2019

Non-current assets

Investments in subsidiaries

Intangible assets

Current assets

Trade and other receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

Total assets

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables 

Total liabilities

Net assets 

Equity

Share capital 

Share premium 

Share based payments

Loss for the period

Retained earnings 

Total equity 

Company number 2891064.

Approved by the Board on 14 November 2019 and signed on its behalf by

Reg Gott
Chairman

14 November 2019

Company

Note

2019 
£000

2018
£000

16

17

21

23

27

28

33

31

10,564

19

10,583

6,148

196

6,344

16,927

424

424

16,503

10,789

10,715

63

(819)

(4,245)

16,503

10,564

122

10,686

11,528

342

11,870

22,556

5,373

5,373

17,183

10,788

10,640

5

(695)

(3,555)

17,183

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Company balance sheet

at 31 May 2019

Company cash flow statement
for the year ended 31 May 2019

Cash flows from operating activities

Loss for the period 

Finance costs

Operating loss

Amortisation of intangibles 

Share-based payments

Movement in trade and other receivables 

Movement in trade and other payables 

Net cash (used in)/generated from operating activities 

Cash flows from investing activities

Acquisition of intangible assets

Sale on proceeds of assets

Net cash generated from/(used in) investing activities 

Cash flows from financing activities

Proceeds from exercise of share options

Interest paid

Net cash generated from/(used in) financing activities

Movement in cash and cash equivalents

Opening cash and cash equivalents 

Closing cash and cash equivalents 

43

2018
£000

(695)

34

(661)

26

5

944

(58)

256

(5)

-

(5)

-

(33)

(33)

218

124

342

Company

2019 
£000

(819)

38

(781)

30

63

5,380

(4,949)

(257)

(2)

75

73

76

(38)

38

(146)

342

196

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC44

Notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 May 2019

1

Accounting policies
Reporting entity
Filtronic plc is a Company registered in England and Wales, domiciled in the United Kingdom, and listed on AIM on the 
London Stock Exchange.

Basis of preparation
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as 
adopted by the European Union and the Companies Act 2006 as applicable to companies using IFRS.

In accordance with corporate governance requirements and the statement of directors’ responsibilities, and as disclosed 
in the Directors’ report, the directors have undertaken a review of forecasts and the Group’s cash requirements for at least 
the next twelve months from the balance sheet signing date in order to consider whether it is appropriate that the Group 
continues to adopt the going concern assumption. 

The accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention except for forward foreign exchange
contracts that are accounted for on a fair value basis.

The accounting policies have been applied consistently throughout the Group.

Basis of consolidation and foreign currency translation
The financial statements consolidate the income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements of the Company 
and all of its subsidiaries.

Subsidiaries are all entities over which the Group has the power to govern the financial and operating policies. Subsidiaries 
are consolidated from the date on which control is transferred to the Group, and are not consolidated from the date that 
control ceases. Intragroup transactions and balances are eliminated on consolidation.

In publishing the Parent Company financial statements here together with the Group financial statements, the Company 
has taken advantage of the exemptions in s408 of the Companies Act 2006 not to present its individual income statement 
and related notes that form part of these approved financial statements. On consolidation, the financial statements of 
subsidiaries with a functional currency other than sterling are translated into sterling as follows:

•  The assets and liabilities in their balance sheets plus any goodwill are translated at the rate of exchange ruling at the
  balance sheet date; and
•  The income statements and cash flow statements are translated at the average rate of exchange each month in the  
  period, which approximates the rate of exchange ruling at the date of the transactions.

Currency translation movements arising on the translation of the net investments in foreign subsidiaries are recognised in 
the translation reserve, which is a separate component of equity.

The functional currency of each Group company is the currency of the primary economic environment in which the Group
company operates. The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional and presentational currency of 
the Company.

Transactions denominated in foreign currencies are translated into the functional currency of each Group company at the
exchange rate ruling at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are
translated into the functional currency at the rate of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date.

Foreign exchange gains and losses arising on the settlement of such transactions and translation of monetary assets and
liabilities are recognised in the income statement.

Discontinued operations
A discontinued operation is a component of the Group’s business, of which the operation and cash flows can be clearly 
distinguished from the rest of the Group and which:

• 
• 

represents a separate major line of business; and 
is part of a single co-ordinated plan to dispose of a separate major line of business.

Classification as a discontinued operation occurs at the earlier of disposal or when the operation meets the criteria to be 
classified as held-for-sale under IFRS 5.

When an operation is classified as a discontinued operation, the comparative income statement and OCI is re-presented as 
if the operation had been discontinued from the start of the comparative year.

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Notes to the financial statements

for the year ended 31 May 2019

45

1 Accounting policies (continued)

Revenue
In May 2014, the IASB issued IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers. This standard applies to annual reporting 
periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018 and has been endorsed by the EU. This standard replaces IAS 18 Revenue. The 
Group has adopted IFRS 15 in these financial statements.

The scope of IFRS 15 includes all contracts where the Group has agreed to provide goods or services to a customer, except 
for the following:

• Insurance contracts (IFRS 4) 
• Financial instruments (IAS 39/IFRS 9) 
• Leases (IAS 17)

IFRS 15 establishes principles for determining when and how revenue arising from contracts with customers should be 
recognised. Filtronic should recognise revenue when it transfers goods or services to a customer based on the amount of 
consideration to which we expect to be entitled from a customer in exchange for fulfilling our performance obligations.

During the year, the Group has undertaken a review of all income streams against the requirements of IFRS 15. Management 
has undertaken an assessment of all contracts and revenue streams across the business using the five-step approach 
specified by IFRS 15: identify the contract(s) with the customer; identify the performance obligations in the contract; determine 
the transaction price; allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and recognise revenue 
when (or as) a performance obligation is satisfied.

In determining the appropriate method of recognising revenue, management is required to make judgements as to whether 
performance obligations are satisfied over a period of time or at a point in time. For performance obligations that are satisfied 
over a period of time, judgements are made as to whether the output method or the input method is more appropriate to 
measure progress towards complete satisfaction of the performance obligation. If performance obligations are not satisfied 
over time, the Group recognises revenue at a point in time.

No revenue was recognised against development milestones in the current or prior financial year.

Revenue is measured at the fair value of consideration received or receivable for goods and services provided or performed in 
the normal course of business net of value added tax or sales tax.

Sale of finished goods product
Sales of finished goods product to customers are recognised when control of the product has transferred to the third party. 
This is usually when title passes to the customer, either on shipment or on receipt of goods depending on the delivery terms of 
the customer contract. The performance obligation is satisfied when control has passed to the customer. The transaction price 
is specified in the customer contract. This treatment has not changed following the adoption of IFRS 15.

Sale of consignment inventory
Filtronic supports one of its customers by holding inventory in a third-party location near to the customer’s production facility. 
Revenue is recognised when the goods have been moved out of the location by the customer and a consumption advice 
has been provided. The performance obligation is satisfied when control has passed to the customer. This treatment has not 
changed following the adoption of IFRS 15.

Non-recurring engineering (“NRE”)
NRE comprises contracts to provide engineering services, such as the design and development of a product, funded by the 
customer. The transaction price of the contract is known from inception of the contract. Each contract is reviewed to identify 
the number of distinct performance obligations and the transaction price is assigned accordingly, usually by the value of work 
performed on an input cost basis. Based on the performance of the contract to date, revenue is recognised over time. If 
relevant, an expected loss on a contract is recognised immediately in the income statement.

The management review of the IFRS 15 five-step approach concluded that there are no material contracts which would 
require different treatment under IFRS 15 versus IAS 18 Revenue in the financial year. 

Operating leases
Operating lease rentals are charged to the income statement on a straight line basis over the lease term.

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC46

Notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 May 2019

1

Accounting policies (continued)
Share-based payments
The Group operates equity settled share option schemes, under which share options are granted to certain employees. 

The fair value of the share options at the date of grant was calculated using an option pricing model, taking into account 
the terms and conditions applicable to the option grant. The fair value of the number of share options expected to vest was 
expensed in the income statement on a straight-line basis over the expected vesting period. At each reporting period, these 
vesting expectations were revised as appropriate.

A credit was made to equity equal to the share-based payment charge in the period.

Exceptional items
Exceptional items are those significant items which are separately disclosed by virtue of their size or incidence to enable  
a full understanding of the financial results.

Business combinations
All business combinations are accounted for by applying the acquisition method. Business combinations are accounted for 
using the acquisition method as at the acquisition date, which is the date on which control is transferred to the Group.

The Group measures goodwill at the acquisition date as:

•  The fair value of the consideration transferred; plus

•  The recognised amount of any non-controlling interests in the acquiree; plus

•  The fair value of any existing equity interest in the acquiree; less

•  The net recognised amount (generally fair value) of the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed.

When the excess is negative, a gain is recognised immediately in the consolidated income statement.

Costs related to the acquisition, other than those associated with the issue of debt or equity securities, are expensed as  
incurred.

Any contingent consideration payable is recognised at fair value at the acquisition date. If the contingent consideration is 
classified as equity, it is not remeasured and settlement is accounted for within equity. Otherwise, subsequent changes 
to the fair value of the contingent consideration are recognised in the consolidated income statement. Where contingent 
consideration is linked to continued employment it is classified as an employment cost and recognised in the consolidated 
income statement over the relevant period.

On a transaction-by-transaction basis, the Group elects to measure non-controlling interests, which have both present 
ownership interests and are entitled to a proportionate share of net assets of the acquiree in the event of liquidation, at its 
proportionate interest in the recognised amount of the identifiable net assets of the acquiree at the acquisition date.

Investments in subsidiaries
Investments in subsidiaries are stated in the Company’s financial statements at cost less any accumulated impairment losses.

Investments in subsidiaries are tested for impairment when there is an indication of impairment.

Goodwill
Goodwill that arises upon the acquisition of subsidiaries is included in intangible assets.

Goodwill is measured at cost less accumulated impairment losses. 

Goodwill, which is allocated to cash-generating units, is tested for impairment at least annually and when there is an indication 
of impairment. The goodwill carrying value is written down to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss recognised for 
goodwill is not reversed in a subsequent period.

On disposal of a subsidiary, the attributable amount of goodwill is included in the determination of the profit or loss on 
disposal.

Internally-generated intangible assets
All research costs are expensed as incurred.

Development costs chargeable to the customer are recognised as an expense in the same period as the associated customer 
revenue.

Development costs incurred on projects requiring product qualification tests to satisfy customer specifications are generally 
expensed as incurred, reflecting the technical risks associated with meeting the resultant product qualification test. 

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019 
47

1

Accounting policies (continued) 
Development costs incurred on projects are capitalised where firstly, the technical feasibility can be tested against 
relevant milestones, secondly, the probable revenue stream foreseen over the life of the resulting product can support 
the development, and thirdly, sufficient resources are available to complete the development. These capitalised costs are 
amortised on a straight-line basis over the expected life of the associated product.

Once a new product is in volume production, further development costs are expensed as they arise because they are incurred in 
response to continual customer demand to enhance the product functionality and to reduce product selling prices.

Other intangible assets
Other intangible assets that are acquired by the Group and have finite useful lives are measured at cost less accumulated 
amortisation and accumulated impairment losses.

Amortisation is calculated over the cost of the asset less its residual value.

Amortisation is recognised in the income statement on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of intangible 
assets, other than goodwill, from the date that they are available for use, since this most closely reflects the expected pattern 
of consumption of the future economic benefits embodied in the asset.

The estimated useful lives for the current and comparative periods are as follows:

•  Licences 
•  Software licence 

Life of the licence/patent 
4 to 5 years

Amortisation methods, useful lives and residual values are reviewed at each financial year end and adjusted if appropriate.

Impairment charges
The carrying amounts of the Group’s non-financial assets, other than inventories and deferred tax assets, are reviewed 
at each reporting date to determine whether there is any indication of impairment. If any such indication exists, then the 
asset’s recoverable amount is estimated. For goodwill and intangible assets that have indefinite useful lives or that are not 
yet available for use, the recoverable amount is estimated each year at the same time. The recoverable amount of an asset 
or cash-generating unit is the greater of its value in use and its fair value less costs to sell. In assessing value in use, the 
estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market 
assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset. For the purposes of impairment testing, assets 
that cannot be tested individually are grouped together into the smallest group of assets that generates cash inflows from 
continuing use that are largely independent of the cash inflows of other assets or groups of assets (the “cash-generating 
unit, or CGU”). Subject to an operating segment ceiling test, for the purposes of goodwill impairment testing, CGUs to which 
goodwill has been allocated are aggregated so that the level at which impairment is tested reflects the lowest level at which 
goodwill is monitored for internal reporting purposes.

An impairment loss is recognised if the carrying amount of an asset or its CGU exceeds its estimated recoverable amount.

Impairment losses are recognised in the income statement. Impairment losses recognised in respect of CGUs are allocated 
first to reduce the carrying amount of any goodwill allocated to the units, and then to reduce the carrying amounts of the 
other assets in the unit (group of units) on a pro rata basis.

An impairment loss in respect of goodwill is not reversed. In respect of other assets, impairment losses recognised in 
prior periods are assessed at each reporting date for any indications that the loss has decreased or no longer exists. An 
impairment loss is reversed if there has been a change in the estimates used to determine the recoverable amount. An 
impairment loss is reversed only to the extent that the asset’s carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that 
would have been determined, net of depreciation or amortisation, if no impairment loss had been recognised.

Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and less any accumulated impairment 
losses.

Depreciation is provided on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows:

•  Land  
•  Buildings   
•  Plant and equipment  
•  Computer hardware 

Not depreciated  
50 years 
3 to 10 years 
2 to 4 years

Property, plant and equipment are tested for impairment when there is an indication of impairment. If impaired, the carrying 
values of the assets are written down to their recoverable amounts.

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

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC 
 
 
48

Notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 May 2019

1

Accounting policies (continued)
Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost comprises the weighted average cost of materials 
and components together with attributable direct labour and overheads. Net realisable value is the estimated selling price 
less estimated costs of completion and sale.

Trade and other receivables
Trade and other receivables are stated net of any provision for doubtful debts.

Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash balances and bank deposits with an original maturity of three months or less.

Assets held for sale
Non-current assets, or disposal groups comprising assets and liabilities, are classified as held-for-sale if it is highly probable 
that they will be recovered primarily through sale rather than through continuing use.

Such assets, or disposal groups, are generally measured at the lower of their carrying amount and fair value less costs to 
sell. Any impairment loss on a disposal group is allocated first to goodwill, and then to the remaining assets and liabilities.

Once classified as held-for-sale, intangible assets are no longer amortised and property, plant and equipment are no longer 
depreciated.

Defined contribution pension schemes 
Defined contribution pension schemes are operated for employees. Contributions are recognised as an expense in the 
income statement as incurred.

Financial liabilities
Other current financial liabilities comprise borrowings, lease agreements and trade and other payables, and are recognised 
initially at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost.

Current tax
Current tax is the expected tax payable or receivable on the taxable income or loss for the year, using rates enacted or 
substantively enacted at the reporting date, and any adjustment to tax payable in respect of previous years.

Deferred taxation
Deferred tax is the tax expected to be payable or recoverable on differences between the carrying amounts of assets and 
liabilities in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position and the corresponding tax bases used in the computation 
of taxable profit and is accounted for using the statement of financial position liability method. Deferred tax liabilities are 
generally recognised for all taxable temporary differences and deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is 
probable that taxable profits will be available against which deductible temporary differences can be utilised. Such assets 
and liabilities are not recognised if the temporary difference arises from the initial recognition of goodwill or from the initial 
recognition (other than in a business combination) of other assets and liabilities in a transaction that affects neither the 
taxable profit nor the accounting profit.

The carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each statement of financial position date and reduced to the 
extent that it is no longer probable that sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all or part of the asset to be 
recovered.

Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability is settled or the asset is 
realised based on tax laws and rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted at the statement of financial position 
date. Deferred tax is charged or credited in the income statement, except when it relates to items charged or credited in 
other comprehensive income, in which case the deferred tax is also dealt with in other comprehensive income. Deferred 
tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to set off current tax assets against current tax 
liabilities and when they relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority and the Group intends to settle its 
current tax assets and liabilities on a net basis.

Grants
Capital-based grants, when present, are included within deferred income in the balance sheet and credited to the profit and 
loss account over the estimated useful economic lives of the assets to which they relate.

Grants that compensate the Group for expenses incurred are recognised in profit or loss as other operating income on a 
systematic basis in the same periods in which the expenses are recognised.

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 201949

1 

Accounting policies (continued) 
Warranty provision
A provision is recognised in the balance sheet when there is a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of a 
past event, and it is probable that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation and the amount can 
be reliably estimated. A warranty provision is recognised when products are sold based on historical warranty data. The 
level of warranty provision required is reviewed on a product-by-product basis and adjusted accordingly in light of actual 
experience.

Dilapidations and onerous leases
A provision for dilapidations and onerous leases is recognised in the balance sheet on a lease-by-lease basis and is based 
on the Group’s best estimates of the required cost to settle the obligations.

Share capital
Ordinary shares issued are classified as share capital in equity.

Dividends 
Interim dividends are recognised in equity in the period they are paid. Final dividends are recognised in equity in the period 
they are approved by shareholders.

Forward currency contracts
Forward currency contracts are held at fair value. The gain or loss on re-measurement to fair value is recognised 
immediately in the consolidated income statement.

Accounting developments and new standards
IFRS 15 Revenue from contracts with customers 

The impact of IFRS 15 is presented under ‘Revenue’ in this note of the Annual Report. 

IFRS 9 Financial Instruments

The Group has adopted IFRS 9 Financial Instruments which is mandatory for years commencing on or after 1 January 
2018. The Group does not believe that the new classification requirements have a material impact on its accounting for 
financial assets, financial liabilities, loans, investments in debt securities that are all managed on a fair value basis.

At the end of each reporting period, financial instruments are assessed for impairment. Any impairment charge is 
recognised in the profit and loss account.

Other standards not yet effective:

IFRS 16 Leases

IFRS 16 ‘Leases’ has an effective date for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019. The standard replaces IAS 
17 and establishes principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of leases. IFRS 16 eliminates 
the classification of leases as either operating leases or finance leases and introduces a single lessee accounting model.

Lessees will recognise a right of use (‘ROU’) asset and a corresponding financial liability on the balance sheet. The asset 
will be amortised over the length of the lease and the financial liability measured at amortised cost. Lessor accounting 
remains substantially the same as under IAS 17. This will result in a change in the costs in the income statement over the 
life of the lease as depreciation and interest charges will replace the lease costs currently charged to the income statement. 
The depreciation will be charged on a straight-line basis; however, interest is charged on the outstanding lease liabilities 
and will therefore be higher in the earlier years and decrease over time.

The Group will adopt the modified approach to transition where the initial asset values will be equal to the present value of 
the future lease payments as at the date of transition. This will result in all existing operating leases being capitalised over 
their remaining lives, as if they had just been entered into, and the Group accounts will reflect an elevated interest charge 
following adoption. The cumulative effect of initially applying it is recognised as an adjustment to the opening balance of 
retained earnings and comparatives are not restated. The implementation is expected to increase assets by approximately 
£1.7m and increase financial liabilities by the same amount with no effect on net assets or retained earnings.

As at 31 May 2019, the Group had operating lease commitments of £2.1m (See note 34) primarily relating to property 
lease commitments for our facilities in Sedgefield, Yeadon, Taby, Suzhou and Salisbury with the remaining balance being 
attributable to office equipment.

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC 
50

Notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 May 2019

1

Accounting policies (continued)
On transition the Group’s opening balance sheet position at 1 June 2019 will be adjusted for right-of-use assets by 
approximately £1.7m with corresponding lease liabilities of approximately £1.7m. EBITDA will increase by an estimated 
£0.4m in FY2020 as the pre-IFRS 16 rental charge is replaced by depreciation and interest.

The directors are currently considering the impact on the financial statements of the standards below that are issued but 
not yet effective.

• Annual Improvements to IFRS Standards 2015-2017 cycle – various standards; 
• IAS 19 Employee Benefits – Amendments to plan amendments, curtailments and settlements; 
• IFRIC 23 – Uncertainty over Income Tax Treatments; 
• IAS 1 – Presentation of Financial Instruments – Amendments to the definition of material; 
• IAS 8 – Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors – Amendments to the definition of material; 
• IFRS 3 – Business Combinations – Amendments to clarify the definition of a business; and 
• IFRS 17 – Insurance contracts.

The directors anticipate that the adoption of these standards and interpretations in future periods will have no material 
impact on their financial statements of the Group. Other new standards and interpretations in the year have not been 
included in the list above as they are not considered relevant to the Group.

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Notes to the financial statements continued

for the year ended 31 May 2019

51

2

Accounting estimates and judgements

The preparation of the financial statements requires the use of accounting estimates and judgements, that affect the 
application of accounting policies and reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expenses. The accounting 
estimates and judgements are continually evaluated. They are based on historical experience and other factors, including 
expectations of the future, that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from the 
expected results.

The accounting estimates and judgements that have a significant effect on the financial statements are considered below.

Goodwill and other intangibles—impairment 
Goodwill and other intangibles are tested for impairment by reference to the expected cash generated by the business unit. 
This is deemed to be the best approximation of value, but is subject to the same uncertainties as the cash flow forecast 
being used.

Investments in subsidiaries 
Investments in subsidiaries are tested for impairment by reference to the expected cash generated by the business unit. 
This is deemed to be the best approximation of value, but is subject to the same uncertainties as the cash flow forecast 
being used.

Inventory
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. The assessment of the net realisable value of inventory 
requires forecasts of the future demand and selling prices of inventory based on sales order book, market intelligence and 
inventory ageing.

Debtors
In line with industry practice, Filtronic extends credit terms to its customers. Due to the concentration of debtors, the effect 
of any one debtor defaulting would be material to the Group’s financial statements. Estimates and judgements are made 
when valuing the debtor as to its recoverability based on historical data, ageing of debts and market intelligence of our 
customers. A bad debt provision is created when it is unlikely the debt will be recovered.

Deferred tax asset
The recognition of the deferred tax assets relating to tax losses carried forward depends on forecasts of the future taxable 
profits of the Company and its subsidiaries. These forecasts require the use of estimates and judgements about the future 
performance of the Company and its subsidiaries using the current order book, forecasts and market knowledge.

Warranty provision
Warranties are given to customers on products sold to them. A warranty provision is recognised when products are 
sold and is based on historical warranty data. Actual warranty costs in the future may differ from the estimates based on 
historical performance. The level of warranty provision required is reviewed on a product-by-product basis and adjusted 
accordingly in light of actual experience. Although the warranty provision has increased in the year this does not raise the 
level of estimation uncertainty as the increase is a result of a fixed settlement agreement.

Capitalisation of development costs
In line with the requirements of IFRS, the Group’s policy is to capitalise development expenditure as intangible assets when 
all the following criteria are met:

•  The technical feasibility of completing the asset so that it will be available for use or sale; 
•  The intention to complete the asset and use or sell it; 
•  The ability to use or sell the asset; 
•  The asset will generate probable future economic benefits and demonstrate the existence of a market or the usefulness  
  of the asset, if it is to be used internally; 
•  The availability of adequate technical, financial and other resources to complete the development and to use or sell it; and 
•  The ability to measure reliably the expenditure attributable to the intangible asset.

This process is continually reviewed to ascertain whether any development costs meet the criteria for capitalisation.  
This requires various judgements by management as to whether the various criteria have been met. The period over which 
development costs are amortised is reviewed on a case-by-case basis in line with the expected product life.

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC52

Notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 May 2019

3

Segmental analysis

Operating segments
IFRS 8 requires consideration of the identity of the chief operating decision maker (‘CODM’) within the Group. In line 
with the Group’s internal reporting framework and management structure, the key strategic and operating decisions are 
made by the CEO, who reviews internal monthly management reports, budget and forecast information as part of this. 
Accordingly, the CEO is deemed to be the CODM.

Following the reorganisation of the business in the last financial year, merging the Filtronic Broadband and Filtronic 
Wireless businesses, the CODM has identified one operating segment within the Group as defined under IFRS 8. In 
turn, this is the only reportable segment of the Group as the entities in the Group have similar products and services, 
production processes and economic characteristics. Therefore, there is no allocation of operating expenses, profit 
measures or assets and liabilities to specific commercial markets. 

Accordingly, the CODM assesses the performance of the operating segment on financial information which is measured 
and presented in a manner consistent with those in the financial statements by reference to Group results against budget.

The Group profit measures are operating profit and EBITDA, both disclosed on the face of the consolidated income 
statement. No differences exist between the basis of preparation of the performance measures used by management and 
the figures in the Group financial statements.

The Group has four customers representing individually over 10% of revenue each and in aggregate 86% of revenue. This 
is split as follows:

•  Customer A - 25% 
•  Customer B - 24% 
•  Customer C - 22% 
•  Customer D - 15%

Geographical information
In presenting information on the basis of geographical segments, segment revenue is based on the geographical location 

of customers. Segment assets are based on the geographical location of the assets.

Continuing 
operations

Discontinuing 
operations

2018 
£000

2019
£000

Revenue by destination

United Kingdom

Europe

Americas 

Rest of the world 

2019
£000

3,658

4,818

4,913

2,543

2,529

2,588

13,727

2,788

15,932

21,632

Split of non-current assets by location

United Kingdom 

Europe  

Americas 

Rest of the world 

-

-

4,504

134

4,638

2018 
£000

-

2,310

53

-

Total

2019
£000

3,658

4,818

9,417

2,677

2018 
£000

2,529

4,898

13,780

2,788

2,363

20,570

23,995

2019 
£000

1,898

-

2,361

-

4,259

2018
£000

4,797

76

1,256

151

6,280

Non-current assets relate to property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and deferred tax.

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Notes to the financial statements continued

for the year ended 31 May 2019

4

Operating profit from continuing operations

Revenue

Material cost of goods sold

Wages and salaries

Social security costs

Pension costs 

Share-based payments 

Staff costs 

Amortisation of development costs

Amortisation of other intangible assets

Depreciation 

Depreciation and amortisation 

Other operating income

Other expenses

Total operating costs 

Operating profit

53

Restated
2018 
£000

2019
£000

15,932

21,632

8,073

4,105

11,439

3,965

434

239

29

392

232

25

4,807

4,614

38

37

355

430

(152)

2,540

7,625

234

33

45

367

445

(229)

2,164

6,994

3,199

5

Discontinuing operations

Discontinuing operations is the loss for the period relating to the Telecoms Antenna Operation which is currently held for 

sale. The result for the year includes the warranty provision for the settlement agreement as described in note 24.

Revenue

Material cost of goods sold

Wages and salaries

Social security costs

Pension costs 

Staff costs 

Amortisation of development costs

Amortisation of other intangible assets

Impairment of intangible assets

Depreciation 

Depreciation and amortisation 

Exceptional warranty charge

Other expenses

Total operating costs 

Operating loss

Taxation

Loss for the period from discontinuing operations

2019
£000

2018
£000

4,638

2,363

3,393

1,770

274

245

1,417

1,457

331

155

2,289

1,943

141

1

512

104

758

1,584

121

62

1

-

175

238

-

191

4,752

2,372

(3,507)

(1,426)

(40)

(57)

(3,547)

(1,483)

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC54

Notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 May 2019

6

Exceptional items

Finance costs is stated after charging exceptional items as follows:

Revaluation of foreign currency denominated intercompany balance

7

Operating items

Operating profit is stated after charging/(crediting):

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

Research and development costs before capitalisation/amortisation of development costs

Development costs capitalised

Amortisation of development costs

Amortisation of other intangibles

Operating lease rentals 

Foreign exchange gain

8 

Auditor’s remuneration 
The Company’s auditor is PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. The auditor’s remuneration was as follows:

Company auditor:

Audit of the Group and Company financial statements 

Company auditor and their associates:

Audit of subsidiaries’ financial statements pursuant to legislation 

Other services pursuant to such legislation

Other services

9

Employees
The average number of employees comprised:

2019
£000

-

-

2019
£000

355

1,238

(250)

38

37

284

(27)

2018 
£000

486

486

Restated
2018
£000

367

1,697

-

33

45

269

(82)

2019 
£000

2018
£000

25

44

2

-

71

20

44

2

2

68

Manufacturing 

Research and development

Sales

Administration

Continuing 
operations

Discontinuing 
operations

Group

2019
Number

2018 
Number

2019
Number

2018 
Number

2019 
Number

2018
Number

62

17

6

15

100

53

27

4

12

96

13

13

2

3

31

14

12

2

2

30

75

30

8

18

60

46

6

14

131

126

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Notes to the financial statements continued

for the year ended 31 May 2019

55

10

Compensation of directors
Details of the remuneration, pension entitlements and share options of the individual directors are set out in the Directors’ 
remuneration report on pages 27 to 29. The compensation of the directors was:

Salary or fees  

Long term incentives  

Benefits  

Total remuneration excluding pension contributions and share-based payments  

Pension contributions  

2019 
£000

2018 
£000

374

47

19

440

20

460

347

-

19

366

20

386

The Directors remuneration is paid through the Company.

The schedule 5 disclosure requirements are included in the Directors’ remuneration report. The elements that are audited 
are identified as such in that report. 

11

Related party transactions

Identity of related parties
The Group has a related party relationship with its subsidiaries and with its directors.

Transactions with subsidiaries
The main transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries are management administration recharges to its
subsidiaries of £432,000 (2018: £432,000) and a royalty charge of 1% of sales of filters and antennas to Filtronic Wireless 
Limited of £184,000 (2018: £184,000). These intercompany transactions are eliminated on consolidation.

The Company also acts as a central service to distribute money around the Group to ensure subsidiaries are adequately
funded to meet obligations and to invest funds from subsidiaries where surplus cash exists. The total figures for these
transactions along with the management and royalty charge can be seen in notes 21 and 23 through the movement in the
Company’s intercompany receivables and payables.

Transactions with key management personnel
Key management personnel are considered to be the Executive Directors of the Company. The remuneration given to 
these individuals is disclosed in the Directors’ remuneration report on pages 27 to 29.

12

Finance costs

Interest costs on loans for plant and equipment

Minimum service costs and interest charges on invoice discounting facilities

Revaluation of foreign currency denominated intercompany balance

13

Finance income

Revaluation of foreign currency denominated intercompany balance

2019
£000

19

69

66

154

2019
£000

55

55

2018
£000

10

51

486

547

2018
£000

-

-

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC 
56

Notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 May 2019

14

Taxation

Recognised in the income statement

Current tax credit

Overseas taxation in the period

Adjustment in respect of prior year — R&D tax credit 

R&D tax credit

Total current tax credit

Deferred tax credit

Origination and reversal of temporary differences 

Change of corporation tax rate

Total deferred tax (credit)/charge

Income tax credit

Income tax credit is attributable to:

Continuing operations

Discontinuing operations

The reconciliation of the effective tax rate is as follows:

Profit before tax from continuing operations

Loss before tax from discontinuing operations

(Loss)/profit before taxation

(Loss)/profit before taxation multiplied by standard rate of corporation tax

in the UK (19%)

Disallowable items

Income not taxable 

Deferred tax asset not recognised

Impact of tax rate change on deferred tax

Enhanced R&D tax credit

Adjustment in respect of prior year R&D tax credit 

Foreign tax not at UK rate 

Recognition of deferred tax asset previously unrecognised

Recognition of deferred tax asset from prior year

(19%)

7%

0%

23%

-

(19%)

(22%)

4%

(7%)

(29%)

2019 
£000

268

(728)

(628)

(1,088)

(971)

-

(971)

(2,059)

2019 
£000

(2,099)

40

(2,059)

2019 
£000

135

(3,507)

(3,372)

2019 
£000

(640)

231

6

777

-

(628)

(728)

138

(244)

(971)

2018 
£000

188

(243)

-

(55)

(93)

143

50

(5)

2018 
£000

(62)

57

(5)

2018 
£000

2,652

(1,426)

1,226

2018 
£000

319

157

(18)

237

143

(67)

19%

9%

(1%)

14%

9%

(4%)

(14%)

(243)

11%

(6%)

188

(93)

(37%)

(628)

Taxation

(62%)

(2,059)

0%

(5)

The main rate of UK corporation tax for the financial year was 19%. This will reduce to 17% from 1 April 2020. The US 
federal corporate tax rate was 21%. The deferred tax assets recognised in the year have been calculated at the rates  
expected to be in existence in the period of reversal.

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Notes to the financial statements continued

for the year ended 31 May 2019

15

Earnings/(loss) per share

Continuing 
operations

2019
£000

2018 
£000

Discontinuing 
operations

2019
£000

2018 
£000

57

Total
Group

2019
£000

2018 
£000

1,231

Profit/(loss) for the period

2,234

2,657

(3,547)

(1,426)

(1,313)

000

000

000

000

000

000

Basic weighted average number of shares

207,578

206,910

207,578

206,910

207,578

206,910

Dilution effect of share options

3,370

3,219

-

3,219

-

3,219

Diluted weighted average number of shares

210,948

210,129

207,578

210,129

207,578

210,129

Basic earnings/(loss) per share

Diluted earnings/(loss) per share

1.06p

1.06p

1.28p

1.28p

(1.71)p

(1.71)p

(0.69)p

(0.68)p

(0.63)p

(0.63)p

0.59p

0.59p

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC58

Notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 May 2019

16

Investments in subsidiaries

Cost

At 1 June 2017, 31 May 2018 and 31 May 2019

Impairment

At 1 June 2017, 31 May 2018 and 31 May 2019 

Carrying amount at 1 June 2017, 31 May 2018 and 31 May 2019

Company
investments in
subsidiaries
£000

21,110

(10,546)

10,564

The Company’s subsidiaries are related parties.

The subsidiaries at 31 May 2019, which were owned by Filtronic plc, were as follows:

Name of subsidiary

Country of
incorporation

Description of
equity held

Proportion
held

Activity

Filtronic Broadband Limited1

UK

1p ordinary shares 

100%

Filtronic Holdings UK Limited1
Isotek (Holdings) Limited1
Filtronic Inc2

UK

UK

USA

£1 ordinary shares 

1p ordinary shares 

US$1 ordinary 
shares

100%

100%

100%

Owned by Filtronic Holdings (UK) Limited:
Filtronic Wireless AB3

Sweden

SEK1 ordinary shares

100%

Owned by Isotek (Holdings) Limited:
Filtronic Wireless Limited1

UK

1p ordinary shares

100%

Filtronic Wireless Inc.2

USA

US$1 ordinary shares

100%

Isotek Limited1

UK

1p ordinary shares

100%

Design and manufacture 
of microwave products for 
telecommunication systems
Holding Company

Holding Company

Dormant Company

Design and manufacture 
of antenna products for 
telecommunication systems

Design and manufacture of 
filters and related products for 
telecommunication systems
Design and manufacture of 
filters and related products for 
telecommunication systems
Dormant Company

Owned by Filtronic Wireless Limited:
Isotek Hong Kong Holdings 
Limited4

Hong Kong

HK$1 ordinary shares

100%

Holding Company

Owned by Isotek Hong Kong Holdings Limited:
Isotek Suzhou Limited5

China

US$350,000
paid in share capital

100%

Filtronic Wireless Suzhou5

China

US$162,000
paid in share capital

100%

Design and manufacture 
of filters and related products 
for telecommunication systems

Design and manufacture 
of filters and related products 
for telecommunication systems

1 Filtronic House, 3 Airport West, Lancaster Way, Yeadon, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS19 7ZA, UK
2 700 Marvel Road, Salisbury, Maryland, 21801, USA
3 Antennvägen  6A, 18766, Täby, Sweden
4 RM 1501, C1 Grand Millennium Plaza (lower block), 181 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong
5 RM 802, Block 1, No. 135 Wangdun Road, SIP, Suzhou, China

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 201959

17

Goodwill and other intangibles

Goodwill
£000

Other intangibles
(core technology)
£000

Licence 
agreement 
£000

Software 
costs 
£000

Development 
costs
£000

Total
£000

3,235

10,884

160

Group

Cost

At 1 June 2017

Additions 

Disposals 

Currency translation movement

At 31 May 2018

Additions

- 

- 

-

3,235

-

Reclassification to assets held for sale

(2,261)

Currency translation movement

At 31 May 2019

Amortisation

At 1 June 2017

Disposals

Currency translation movement

Provided in the year

At 31 May 2018

Provided in the year 

Impairment of intangible assets

Reclassification to assets held for sale

Currency translation movement

At 31 May 2019

-

974

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Carrying amount at 1 June 2017 

Carrying amount at 31 May 2018

Carrying amount at 31 May 2019

3,235

3,235

974

- 

- 

-

10,884

-

-

-

10,884

10,884

-

-

-

10,884

-

-

-

-

10,884

-

-

-

- 

- 

-

160

-

(160)

-

-

48

-

-

15

63

14

-

(77)

-

-

112

97

-

567

19 

(30) 

(13)

543

11

(27)

15

542

515

(30)

(13)

31

503

24

-

(25)

15

517

52

40

25

286

436 

- 

-

15,132

455 

(30) 

(13)

722

666

15,544

677

(1,038)

(3,486)

-

15

350

12,750

95

11,542

-

-

95

190

179

512

(779)

-

102

191

532

248

(30)

(13)

141

11,640

217

512

(881)

15

11,503

3,590

3,904

1,247

Reconciliation of amortisation of other intangible assets

Amortisation of licence agreement

Amortisation of software costs

Amortisation of other intangible assets

Group

2019 
£000

2018
£000

Company

2019
£000

2018 
£000

14

24

38

15

31

46

-

15

15

15

13

28

The Company accounts include the software costs of £19,000 (2018: £25,000). The RET licence has been moved from 
the Company to Filtronic Wireless Inc. (2018: £97,000).

Goodwill and other intangibles relate to the acquisition of Isotek (Holdings) Limited. Goodwill is allocated to the Filtronic 
Wireless CGU and this CGU represents the lowest level within the Group at which the goodwill is monitored for internal 
management purposes. The Group tests goodwill annually for impairment or more frequently if there are indications that 
goodwill may be impaired.

The carrying value of intangible assets and goodwill has been assessed for impairment by reference to its value in use. 
Value in use was determined by discounting the future cash flows generated from the continuing use of the unit. The 
calculation of the value in use was based on the following key assumptions:

•  Budgets incorporating post-tax cash flows have been prepared to 31 May 2020 based on past experience, actual 
  operating results, known future cash flows and estimates of future cash flows;

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC 
 
60

Notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 May 2019

17

Goodwill and other intangibles (continued)

•  Cash flows for a further three years have been extrapolated from the year to 31 May 2020. A revenue growth factor of   
  3% was applied to the projections together with cost inflation of 3%. A perpetuity factor has been applied based on  

the year to 31 May 2024; and

•  The Group’s discount rate of 12% (2018:12%) was applied in determining the recoverable amount of the  
  unit, being the estimated weighted average cost of capital for the Filtronic Wireless CGU.

Based on this testing the directors do not consider any of the goodwill or intangible assets to be impaired, even allowing 
for a reasonable degree of sensitivity to the underlying assumptions, including the discount rate. However, following 
a review of the goodwill calculation an allocation to assets held for sale of £2.3m has been made as part of IFRS 5 
accounting given the filter know-how utilised within the integrated antenna products.

The licence agreement relates to a Remote Electrical Tilt (‘‘RET’’) licence to enable the use of RETs in the antenna 
products.

The accounting policy for intangible assets relating to the capitalisation of development costs is set out in notes 1 and 2. 

18

Property, plant and equipment

Cost

At 1 June 2017 

Additions 

Disposals

Currency translation movement 

At 31 May 2018

Additions 

Disposals 

Reclassification to assets held for sale

Currency translation movement

At 31 May 2019

Depreciation and impairment

At 1 June 2017 

Depreciation 

Disposals

Currency translation movement

At 31 May 2018

Depreciation 

Disposals 

Reclassification to assets held for sale

Currency translation movement 

At 31 May 2019

Carrying amount at 1 June 2017 

Carrying amount at 31 May 2018

Carrying amount at 31 May 2019

Group 
plant and 
equipment
£000

Company 
plant and 
equipment
£000

7,255

604

(457)

(31)

7,371

380

(507)

(667)

19

6,596

5,901

542

(456)

(27)

5,960

459

(435)

(430)

12

5,566

1,354

1,411

1,030

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019 
 
 
 
Notes to the financial statements continued

for the year ended 31 May 2019

19 

Deferred tax

Deferred tax assets

Opening balance 

Tax losses recognised

Effect of change in UK corporation tax rate 

Effect of change in overseas corporation tax rate

Effect of exchange rate movement

61

Group

2018 
£000

1,015

93

(42)

(101)

-

965

2019
£000

965

971

-

-

46

1,982

Deferred tax assets within the UK and the USA have been recognised as the directors consider that future taxable profits 
will be available against which they can be used. Future taxable profits are determined based on business plans for 
individual subsidiaries in the Group and the reversal of temporary differences. Deferred tax assets are reviewed at each 
reporting date and are reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable that the related tax benefit will be realised; such 
deductions are reversed when the probability of future taxable profits improves.

Deferred tax assets which have not been recognised:

Depreciation in advance of capital allowances

Tax losses carried forward 

Share options deferment

Group

Company

2019 
£000

1,957

2018
£000

2,161

10,817

11,121

91

95

2019
£000

455

9,449

91

2018 
£000

457

9,322

95

12,865

13,377

9,995

9,874

The deferred tax assets have not been recognised where the directors consider that it is unlikely that future taxable profits 
will be available against which they can be used. There is no expiry date for these unrecognised deferred tax assets which 
are reassessed at each reporting date.

20

Inventories

Group

Company

Raw materials 

Work in progress 

Finished goods

Inventory provision

Inventories are stated net of provision

2019
£000

2,408

518

254

2018
£000

2,895

282

128

3,180

3,305

(1,099)

(1,167)

2,081

2,138

2019
£000

2018
£000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Raw materials, consumables and changes in finished goods and work in progress recognised in cost of sales in the year 
amounted to £7,773,000 (2018: £12,756,000).

The amount charged to the income statement in the year in respect of write-downs of inventories is £nil (2018: £nil). The 
amount credited to the income statement in the year in respect of reversals of write-downs of inventories is £nil (2018: 
£72,000).

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC62

Notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 May 2019

21

Trade and other receivables 

Trade receivables

Group receivables 

Other receivables and prepayments 

There are no provisions for bad debt.

Group

Company

2019 
£000

2,419

-

1,801

4,220

2018
£000

5,736

2019
£000

-

2018 
£000

-

-

6,105

11,479

652

6,388

43

49

6,148

11,528

The Group receivables in the Company were reviewed in the year for expected credit losses as part of IFRS 9 
recoverability. The balance was impaired where it was deemed the intercompany entity was unable to repay its debt.

22

Assets held for sale

It was announced in December 2018 that a strategic review would be conducted of the Telecoms Antenna business. The 
directors are now committed to a plan to try and sell this part of the business with a process now in place. Consequently,  
this part of the business is presented as a disposal group held for sale.

The accounting standard, IFRS 5, dictates that a disposal group should be valued at the lower of carrying value or fair 
value less costs. At 31 May 2019, the disposal group is stated at carrying value and is comprised of the following assets 
and liabilities:

Goodwill and other intangible assets

Property, plant and equipment

Inventory

Trade and other receivables

Assets held for sale

Trade and other payables

Liabilities held for sale

2019
£000

2,605

237

406

1,798

5,046

£000

2,207

2,207

2018
£000

-

-

-

-

-

£000

-

-

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 201923

Trade and other payables

Trade payables

Group payables 

Other payables and accruals 

63

Group

Company

2019
£000

1,364

-

952

2,316

2018
£000

3,712

-

1,364

5,076

2019
£000

74

-

350

424

2018
£000

52

4,914

407

5,373

The Group payables in the Company were reviewed in the year for expected credit losses as part of IFRS 9 recoverability. 
The balance was impaired where it was deemed the Company was unable to repay its debt.

24

Provisions

Warranty provision

Opening balance 

Used during the year 

Released unused during the year

Charge for the year 

Group

2019
£000

425

(11)

(45)

1,836

2,205

2018
£000

475

(18)

(79)

47

425

Company

2019
£000

2018
£000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

The provision for warranty relates to the units sold during the last two financial years. The provision is based on estimates
made from historical warranty data.

The warranty charge in the year relates to performance issues of antenna product seen in the field that were shipped in 
2016/17 and settles the warranty costs relating to field returns in the affected areas. A settlement agreement has been 
agreed with the customer which obliges the Group to contribute towards costs of $2.0m (£1.6m). This finalises the liability 
with the customer under the warranty claim and will be paid in four instalments with the final payment being made in 
December 2020.

Dilapidation provision

Opening balance 

Released unused during the year

Group

2019
£000

60

-

60

2018
£000

70

(10)

60

Company

2019
£000

2018
£000

-

-

-

-

-

-

The Group leases facilities at five sites in the UK, USA, China and Sweden with each lease requiring the site to be restored 
to its original condition.

Total provision

Warranty provision 

Dilapidation provision

2019
£000

2,205

60

2,265

2018
£000

425

60

485

2019
£000

2018
£000

-

-

-

-

-

-

25

Deferred income
Deferred income classified as current consists of billings in advance of work completed for a customer that will be 
recognised as income in the next year.

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC64

Notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 May 2019

26

Financial liabilities

This note provides information about the contractual terms of the Group’s interest-bearing bank loans and borrowings 
which are measured at carrying value.

Bank loans—current

Obligations under finance leases—current

Total current financial liabilities

Bank loans—non-current

Obligations under finance leases—non-current

Total non-current financial liabilities

Total financial liabilities

Terms and debt repayment schedule

Bank loan

Finance lease

Group

2019
£000

2018
£000

Company

2019
£000

2018
£000

100

131

231

17

101

118

349

100

106

206

117

195

312

518

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Nominal 
interest 
rate

Carrying 
amount
2019
£000

Carrying 
amount
2018
£000

Date of 
maturity

7.6%

4.1%

31 August 2020

31 May 2021

117

232

217

301

Currency

GBP

GBP

Future minimum lease payments under finance leases, together with the carrying amount of lease obligations, are analysed 
as follows:

Finance lease

Less than one year

Between one and five years

Debt reconciliation

Balance at 1 June 2017

Proceeds from bank loans

Proceeds from finance leases

Interest paid

Repayment of borrowings

Balance at 31 May 2018

Acquisition finance leases

Interest paid

Repayment of borrowings

Balance at 31 May 2019

Group

2019
£000

131

101

232

2018
£000

106

195

301

Bank loans
£000

Finance
 lease
£000

-

300

-

(10)

(73)

217

-

(12)

(88)

117

-

-

301

-

-

301

31

(6)

(94)

232

Company

2019
£000

2018
£000

-

-

-

-

-

-

Total
£000

-

300

301

(10)

(73)

518

31

(18)

(182)

349

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 201965

26

Financial liabilities (continued)

Banking facilities
At 31 May 2019, the Group had an undrawn invoice discount facility with Barclays Bank of £3.0m which enables it to 
borrow up to 65% of the debtor book in the UK. In addition to the facility with Barclays Bank, the Group has a facility with 
Wells Fargo Bank of $4.0m enabling it to borrow up to 85% of the US debtor book. 

The bank loan, with a current carrying value of £117k, relates to an asset-based loan for plant and equipment at our facility 
in Sedgefield.

27

Share capital

At 1 June 2017 and 31 May 2018

Exercise of share options

At 31 May 2019

Group and Company  
ordinary shares of 0.1p each
£000

Number

206,910

1,219

208,129

10,788

1

10,789

Holders of the ordinary shares are entitled to receive dividends when declared, and are entitled to one vote per share at 
meetings of the Company.

28

Share premium

At 1 June 2017 and 31 May 2018

Exercise of share options

At 31 May 2019

29 

Translation reserve

At 1 June 2017

Currency translation movement arising on consolidation

At 1 June 2018

Currency translation movement arising on consolidation

At 31 May 2019

Group and
Company

10,640

75

10,715

Group
£000

(796)

178

(618)

60

(558)

The translation reserve comprises foreign currency differences arising from the translation of the financial statements of 
foreign operations.

30 

Dividends
The directors are not proposing to pay a dividend for the year ended 31 May 2019 (2018: £nil).

31 

Retained earnings

At 1 June 2017

Profit/(loss) for the period 

Share-based payments 

At 31 May 2018

Loss for the period  

Share-based payments  

At 31 May 2019

Group
£000

(9,905)

1,231

25

(8,649)

(1,313)

29

Company
£000

(3,555)

(695)

5

(4,245)

(819)

63

(9,933)

(5,001)

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC 
 
66

Notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 May 2019

32

Share options
There are six sharesave plans that have been offered to employees at the date of this report. The first five schemes 
offered to employees have now closed. Under these plans employees who join the plan save up to £500 per month for 
three years. The members of the plans were granted a number of share options based on the amount they would save 
over the three years. At the end of the three years, the members have a six-month period in which they can exercise 
the share options. The exercise price for an option for the first five schemes was the middle market quotation of Filtronic 
plc’s ordinary shares as derived from the Official List of London Stock Exchange on the dealing day immediately prior to 
the plan offer date. The sixth scheme had an exercise price calculated by reference to the average of the middle market 
closing price of the shares on AIM for the three dealing days prior to the invitation date.

Sharesave Plan—Scheme 5

Weighted average 
exercise price 2019

Number of 
options 2019

Weighted average 
exercise price 2018

Number of
options 2018

Outstanding at the beginning of the period

Cancelled during the period

Outstanding at the end of the period

Exercisable at the end of the period

31.0p

31.0p

31.0p

31.0p

-

-

-

-

31.0p

31.0p

31.0p

31.0p

78,383

(78,383)

-

-

The fifth sharesave scheme was offered to employees in June 2014 and has now closed.

Sharesave Plan—Scheme 6

Outstanding at the beginning of the period

Exercised during the period 

Cancelled during the period

Outstanding at the end of the period

Exercisable at the end of the period

Weighted average 
exercise price 2019

Number of 
options 2019

Weighted average 
exercise price 2018

Number of 
options 2018

5.2p

5.2p

5.2p

5.2p

5.2p

5,965,899

(96,135)

(42,299)

5,827,465

5,827,465

5.2p

5.2p

5.2p

5.2p

5.2p

6,079,289

-

(113,390)

5,965,899

-

A sixth sharesave scheme was offered to employees in June 2016.

The options outstanding at 31 May 2019 for Scheme 6 have a weighted average remaining contractual life of 0.5 years. 
The share options granted during the year to May 2017 have an exercise price of 5.2p and have an exercise period from 
1 June to 30 November 2019.

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Notes to the financial statements continued

for the year ended 31 May 2019

67

32

Share options (continued)

Management incentive plans
The options granted in the year to directors, key management and staff have specific performance targets attached 
to them. The target requires that the average mid-market closing price of a share over any period of 40 consecutive 
business days between the date of grant and the third anniversary of the date of grant is greater than 20 pence per share. 
Directors can only exercise their shares three years after grant after the target has been met. All other staff can exercise 
their shares in three equal tranches after each year if the performance target has been met during the relevant financial 
year. The exercise price for an option was the middle market quotation of Filtronic plc’s ordinary shares as derived from 
the Official List of the London Stock Exchange or AIM depending on the timing of the award and the market Filtronic 
traded on the dealing day immediately prior to the plan offer date. The Remuneration Committee is able to adjust the 
outcome at its discretion to ensure it is fair and appropriate, taking into account the overall performance of the Group. 

The following options under this scheme were outstanding at 31 May 2019:

Ordinary shares of 0.1p

Date granted

Earliest date 
exercisable

Latest date 
exercisable

Exercise price

4,100,251

300,000

300,000

383,333

200,000

200,000

5,483,584

01/03/2016

01/03/2016

11/04/2016

30/09/2016

28/09/2017

28/03/2018

01/03/2017

01/03/2017

11/04/2017

30/09/2017

28/09/2018

28/03/2019

28/02/2026

28/02/2026

10/04/2026

29/09/2026

27/09/2027

27/03/2028

5.4p

5.7p

8.5p 

11.6p

13.0p

9.0p

The weighted average price of options of the outstanding options under this scheme at 31 May 2019 was 6.41p.

Number of share 
options 2019

Number of share 
options 2018

Outstanding at the beginning of the period 

Granted during the period

Cancelled during the period

Exercised during the period

Outstanding at the end of the period

Exercisable at the end of the period

6,906,250

-

(300,000)

(1,122,666)

5,483,584

5,085,251

6,925,000

400,000

(418,750)

-

6,906,250

-

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC68

Notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 May 2019

33

Share-based payments

Share options expense

Group

2019 
£000

2018 
£000

29

29

25

25

Company

2019 
£000

2018 
£000

63

63

5

5

The share options expense is the fair value of the share options at the date of grant spread over the expected vesting period 
of the share options. The fair value of the share options at the date of grant was measured using the Black–Scholes model.

The inputs to the Black–Scholes model and the weighted average fair value of the share options granted during the year
were as follows:

Number of share options granted 

Weighted average share price 

Expected volatility 

Expected life 

Risk-free interest rate 

Weighted average fair value

Group

Company

2019

2018

2019

2018

-

-

-

-

-

-

400,000

11.0p

50%

3.0 years

0.5%

1.0p

-

-

-

-

-

-

400,000

11.0p

50%

3.0 years

0.5%

1.0p

Expected volatility is the estimate of the volatility of the share price over the expected life of the share options.

34

Operating lease commitments
At the balance sheet date, there were commitments for lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall
due as follows:

Group

Company

Less than one year

Between one and five years

More than five years

2019 
£000

320

1,156

583

2,059

2018 
£000

2019
£000

2018 
£000

264

668

-

932

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

The Group leases a number of facilities, offices and vehicles under non-cancellable operating leases. The lease terms are for
periods of one to ten years.

35

Pension costs

Defined contribution schemes 

Group

Company

2019
£000

485

2018
£000

386

2019
£000

38

2018
£000

37

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 201936

Capital expenditure commitments

Capital expenditure contracted for at the balance sheet date  
but not provided in the financial statements

37

Analysis of net cash/(debt)

Cash and cash equivalents 

Bank loans

Reconciliation of cash flow to movement in net cash

Movement in cash and cash equivalents

Cash flow from decrease /(increase) in debt financing 

Effect of exchange rate fluctuations 

Movement in net cash

Opening net cash

Closing net cash

69

Group

2019 
£000

2018
£000

Company

2019
£000

2018
£000

134

259

-

-

1 June
2018 
£000

Cash 
flow
£000

Other 
changes 
£000

31 May
2019 
£000

3,794

(1,227)

(217)

100

3,577

(1,127)

58

-

58

2019 
£000

(1,227)

100

58

(1,069)

3,577

2,508

2,625

(117)

2,508

2018 
£000

1,206

(217)

(10)

979

2,598

3,577

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC70

Notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 31 May 2019

38

Financial instruments

Fair value
The carrying amount of all the financial assets and liabilities approximates to their fair value as described below.

Cash and cash equivalents comprise bank balances and bank deposits with a maturity of three months or less.

Trade and other receivables are all receivable in less than one year. Trade receivables are generally receivable within 90 days.

Trade and other payables are all payable in less than one year. Trade payables are generally payable within 90 days.

Liquidity risk
The Group has net cash of £2.5m whilst the Company has net cash of £0.2m. The Group has access to a £3.0m sales 
invoicing facility with Barclays Bank and a $4.0m invoice factoring facility with Wells Fargo Bank. 

Cash is held on bank deposit for varying periods from overnight to six months to ensure all liabilities can be met as they 
fall due. 

The sales invoicing facility with Barclays Bank allows the Company to borrow 65% of the UK entities’ debtors 
denominated in US dollars and sterling up to a value of £3.0m.

The sales invoice factoring facility with Wells Fargo Bank allows the Company to borrow 85% of the US entities’ debtors 
denominated in US dollars up to a value of $4.0m.

The amount of cash available to the Group and the headroom available on debt facilities results in a low liquidity risk.

Credit risk
The exposure to credit risk is limited to the carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents and trade and other receivables 
in the balance sheet as follows:

Cash and cash equivalents 

Trade and other receivables

Group

Company

2019
£000

2,625

4,220

6,845

2018
£000

3,794

6,388

10,182

2019
£000

196

6,148

6,344

2018
£000

342

11,528

11,870

The cash and cash equivalents in the balance sheet were on deposit with large banks with high credit ratings as follows:

Barclays Bank plc

Bank of America Corporation

Wells Fargo

China CITIC Bank International Limited

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB 

Group

Company

2019
£000

1,494

30

815

188

98

2,625

2018
£000

2,760

447

-

87

500

3,794

2019
£000

196

-

-

-

-

2018
£000

342

-

-

-

-

196

342

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Notes to the financial statements continued

for the year ended 31 May 2019

71

38

Financial instruments (continued) 

The credit risk related to cash and cash equivalents is considered to be low due to the banks being large with high credit
ratings.

Credit risk is primarily related to trade receivables. The Group’s businesses are concentrated on long-term relationships 
with a small number of larger and long-established original equipment manufacturers. Overdue receivables are regularly 
monitored and appropriate action is taken to collect payment. The Group has historically incurred only low levels of 
unrecoverable receivables. Therefore credit risk is considered to be low.

The Company has no trade receivables.

Trade receivables included the following amounts for the Group’s largest customers:

Customer one  

Customer two

Customer three 

Other customers

The age of trade receivables that have not been provided for was as follows:

Not past due

Past due less than three months

Past due more than three months

No trade receivables have been provided for in either FY2019 or FY2018.

Group

2018
£000

1,541

1,337

1,080

1,778

5,736

2019
£000

830

786

468

335

2,419

Group

2019 
£000

2018 
£000

2,251

5,726

122

46

2

8

2,419

5,736

Interest rate risk
Cash is generally held on short-term bank deposits which earns interest at variable money market deposit rates. At 31 May 
2019, there was £nil held on short-term deposit. The remaining cash in the Group is held in very low interest rate accounts. 
Sterling interest rates are very low and therefore interest rate risk is considered to be low.

The interest rate sensitivity of the expected annual interest income/(costs) assuming a balance on deposit or loan of
£1,000,000 is as follows:

1.5% 

1.0% 

0.5%

Expected
annual
interest
income
£000

Expected
annual
interest
costs
£000

 15

10

5

(15)

(10)

(5)

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC72

Notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 May 2019

38

Financial instruments (continued)

Foreign currency risk
The Group’s and Company’s reporting currency is sterling, which is also the Company’s functional currency. The functional
currencies of the subsidiaries are sterling, US dollar, Chinese yuan and Swedish krona.

The Group’s results and financial position are affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.

The Group has generated a surplus of US dollars during the year due to an increasing number of projects being supplied in
US dollars. Whilst the Group’s major supplier invoices in US dollars, giving some degree of a natural hedge, it is not adequate 
to offset the exposure on currency risk. Therefore, the Group has used forward foreign exchange contracts to reduce the 
currency risk from surplus US dollars. The nature of the Group’s businesses means there is limited visibility of the currency 
required in US dollars. Therefore, when forward contracts are used to reduce currency risk, they are usually only for short 
periods of no more than six months. If the US dollar were to weaken significantly, this could materially reduce the Group’s 
revenue and operating profit.

Cash is mainly held in sterling and the US dollar.

The Group’s exposure to foreign currency risk for cash and cash equivalents, trade receivables and trade payables was as
follows:

Group

2019

SEK
£000

EUR
£000

98

-

-

98

-

-

(175)

(175)

RMB
£000

188

-

-

188

USD
£000

1,635

1,589

(667)

2,557

SEK
£000

505

-

(35)

470

2018

EUR
£000

8

-

(222)

(214)

RMB
£000

87

568

(524)

131

USD
£000

1,823

3,833

(2,299)

3,357

Cash and cash equivalents 

Trade receivables 

Trade payables 

Net exposure 

The sensitivity of the Group operating profit to the US dollar to sterling exchange rate, assuming all other variables remain 
constant, is as follows:

If the US dollar had been 1% stronger/weaker against sterling throughout the year ended 31 May 2019, then the Group 
operating profit would have been £33,000 higher/lower.

Capital management
The Group’s and Company’s capital is the total equity which comprises ordinary share capital and retained earnings. 

The Group currently has a sales invoice financing agreement in place for £3.0m in the UK and has recently entered into an 
agreement for a sales invoice factoring agreement in the USA for $4.0m. At 31 May 2019, the Group had net cash of  
£2.5m and the Company had a cash balance of £0.2m. The Group and Company have sufficient cash to cover working 
capital requirements and capital expenditure plans.

The Group’s objective when managing capital is to safeguard the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern in order to
provide future returns for shareholders.

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 201973

39

Forward-looking statements
Certain statements in this Annual Report are forward-looking. Where the Annual Report includes forward-looking statements,
these are made by the directors in good faith based on the information available to them at the time of their approval of this
report. Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including
both economic and business risk factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from any expected
future events or results referred to in these forward-looking statements. Unless otherwise required by applicable law,
regulation or accounting standard, the Group undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether as
a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Financialswww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC74

Shareholder information

Financial public relations
Walbrook PR Limited
4 Lombard Street
London
EC3V 9HD
Tel: 020 7933 8780

Annual General Meeting
The Company’s Annual General Meeting will be 
held at 11am on 27 November 2019 at the offices 
of Pinsent Masons LLP, 1 Park Row, Leeds  
LS1 5AB.

Registrars  
Link Asset Services 
Enquiries regarding shareholdings, change of 
address or similar particulars should be directed 
in the first instance to our Registrars, Link Asset 
Services whose address is: The Registry, 34 
Beckenham Road, Beckenham, Kent BR3 4TU, or 
call 0871 664 0300 (UK calls cost 10p per minute 
plus network extras). From overseas: +44 371 664 
0300. Lines are open 9.00am to 5.30pm, Monday 
to Friday, excluding public holidays. Alternatively, 
you can email: shareholderenquiries@linkgroup.
co.uk.

Filtronic website
Shareholders are encouraged to visit our website 
(www.filtronic.com) which has more information 
about the Company.

Directors
(All at Filtronic House, 3 Airport West, 
Lancaster Way, Yeadon, Leeds, 
West Yorkshire, LS19 7ZA, UK)

Michael Tyerman - Finance  Director

Reg Gott - Executive  Chairman

Michael Roller - Non-Executive Director

Pete Magowan - Non-Executive Director

Company Secretary
Maura Moynihan

Company number
2891064

Registered office
Filtronic plc
Filtronic House
3 Airport West
Lancaster Way
Yeadon, Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS19 7ZA
Tel: 0113 220 0000

Auditor
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
Central South Square 
Orchard Street 
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 3AZ

Bankers
Barclays Bank plc
10 Market Street
Bradford
BD1 1NR

www.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTC

Filtronic plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019Shareholder information

75

Strategic reportwww.filtronic.com  Stock Code: FTCFiltronic plc

Filtronic House 
3 Airport West  
Lancaster Way  
Yeadon  
Leeds  
West Yorkshire 
LS19 7ZA 
UK

+44	(0)	113	220	0000

www.filtronic.com