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RWS
Annual Report 2014

RWS · LSE Industrials
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FY2014 Annual Report · RWS
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2 014   A N N U A L   R E P O R T                                R W S   H O L D I N G S   P L C

A U S T R A L I A

C H I N A

F R A N C E  

G E R M A N Y  

J A P A N     S W I T Z E R L A N D

U K

U S A

   
   
 
 
   
   
www.rws.com

2 014   A N N U A L   R E P O R T   R W S   H O L D I N G S   P L C

Contents

Chairman’s Statement 

Strategic Review  

Board of Directors 

Directors’ Report  

Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities 

Directors’ Remuneration Report 

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of RWS Holdings plc 

Financial Statements 

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income 

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position 

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity 

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows 

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements 

Company Balance Sheet  

Notes to the Company Financial Statements 

Shareholder information  

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RWS Holdings plc  1

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chairman’s Statement

It gives me great pleasure to be able to report 
another year of progress for RWS against a stuttering, 
slowly improving, economic backdrop and volatile 
currency markets. For the eleventh consecutive 
year as a public company we have delivered 
growth in sales, underlying profits and dividends, 
demonstrating the strength and resilience of the 
Group’s core, market leading, patent translations 
business. inovia has grown quickly whilst a renewed 
focus on margins is delivering incremental benefits. 
Elsewhere, the search business prospered, as did 
PatBase and our operation in China. 

RESULTS AND FINANCIAL REVIEW 

The Group has achieved further significant progress 
in underlying operational performance, reflecting 
continued growth in the core patent translations 
business, together with enhanced contributions from 
the Information division (including PatBase) and 
China in particular.

Group sales advanced by 21% to £93.6 million 
(2013: £77.4 million), assisted by a first full year 
contribution from inovia. In constant currency terms, 
sales were up by 26% to £97.8 million, of which 
19% arose from acquisitions. Adjusted operating 
profit before amortization of intangibles and share 
option costs was up 9% to £22.0 million (2013: 
£20.1 million).

Adjusted profit before tax, amortization of 
intangibles, share option costs, and in 2013 a 
gain on sale of associate increased by 5% to 
£22.1 million (2013: £21.0 million). This produced 
a 5% increase in adjusted earnings per share to 
40.5p (2013: 38.6p), with no change in the number 
of shares in issue. As described below, RWS has 
been adversely affected by the strength of sterling 
in 2014 compared to 2013. At constant currency, 
the adjusted profit before tax would have been 
£23.0 million, a 10% increase over 2013. The 
principal causes of the adverse currency movement 
were exchange losses on Euro denominated assets 
coupled with unrealised losses on forward contracts.

Reported profit before tax was £19.6 million 
(2013: £20.5 million), a fall of 4%, due to higher 
amortization charges and increased share based 
payment costs. The basic earnings per share were 
35.9p (2013: 37.6p), a fall of 5%. The effective tax 
rate was 22.6% (2013: 22.4%).

2  RWS Holdings plc

At 30 September 2014, shareholders’ funds had 
reached £78.4 million (2013: £71.7 million), of 
which net cash represented £22.5 million (2013: 
£18.3 million). The positive movement in net cash is 
despite significant outlays in respect of corporation 
tax of £5.2 million, the final dividend for 2013 and 
the interim dividend for 2014, totalling £8.7 million, 
and £4.3 million for the purchase of a new building 
adjoining Group headquarters for future expansion. 

CURRENCY EFFECTS AND HEDGING   

Reported revenues were £4.2 million lower than 
they would have been on a constant currency basis, 
resulting from the strong performance of sterling. 
The average rate used for conversion of Euro 
revenues was 81.5p to the € versus 84.2p in 2013. 
For the US dollar, the average rate was 1.66 dollars 
to the £ versus 1.56 dollars in 2013. 

RWS’s policy is to hedge its net trading exposure 
to the Euro, and since the inovia acquisition, to 
the US$. Looking forward, RWS has hedged its 
estimated Euro exposure from 1 January 2015 to 
31 December 2015 at an average rate of 1 Euro = 
81.0p. Similarly, the Group’s estimated net exposure 
to the US$ has been hedged from 1 January 2015 
to 30 September 2015 at an average rate of 
1 GBP = US$1.60. 

DIVIDEND 

I am pleased to announce that the Board has 
recommended a final dividend of 18.0p per share. 
The interim dividend, paid in July, was 4.9p per 
share, so that the total payout in respect of the year 
will amount to 22.9p per share, an increase of 13% 
over 2013, reflecting both the underlying growth 
in Group earnings during 2014 and the Board’s 
confidence in the Group’s continued progress. This 
proposed payout marks an eleven year unbroken 
record of double digit increases in the dividend 
since flotation in November 2003.

The proposed total dividend is 1.57 times covered 
by basic earnings per share. Subject to shareholder 
approval at the Annual General Meeting, the final 
dividend will be paid on 27 February 2015 to all 
shareholders on the register at 30 January 2015.

Chairman’s Statement (continued)

SHARE OPTION PLAN 

RWS announced on 4 April 2013 that the Board 
had approved a new share option plan for 
Executive Directors and senior managers, under 
which options would be granted over ordinary 
shares representing up to a maximum of 4% of 
the Group’s share capital. The plan is designed to 
further align the interests of senior employees and 
shareholders and to promote the retention of the 
Group’s senior executives.

Options have been issued to ten participants, with 
a subscription price of 646p per share. The earliest 
vesting date is 3 April 2015 and the latest exercise 
date is 3 April 2021. 

AUDITORS 

Earlier this year, in line with best practice, RWS 
carried out a competitive audit tender process. As a 
result of which, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP “PwC” 
were appointed as the Group’s auditors.

Shareholders will be invited to approve PwC’s re-
appointment as auditors at the Company’s Annual 
General Meeting in February 2015.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank BDO for 
their help and support over many years as we have 
grown and developed the RWS business. 

to avoid net staff reductions in the recent recession 
and headcount has now reached 605 full time 
equivalents (2013: 591), with productivity continuing 
to improve. I wish to record my thanks to all of them 
for their contribution.

I am delighted to announce that David Shrimpton, 
the Group’s senior Non Executive Director, has 
agreed to become Non Executive Deputy Chairman. 
David has worked with RWS since January 2010 
and continues to bring a wealth of financial and 
business experience to the Board. His appointment 
is a significant step towards ensuring the future 
growth of the RWS business.  

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 

RWS seeks to be a socially responsible Group 
which has a positive impact on the communities it 
operates in. We look to employ a workforce which 
reflects the diversity of the Group’s communities. 
No discrimination is tolerated, and we endeavour 
to give all employees the opportunity to develop 
their capabilities. We provide an excellent working 
environment, the latest technology and appropriate 
training.

RWS’s staff contributes generously on a monthly 
basis to a wide selection of local and national 
charities and their contributions are matched by the 
Group. 

PROPOSED SHARE SPLIT 

CURRENT TRADING AND OUTLOOK 

The Directors, having consulted with the Group’s 
brokers, consider that an enlarged number of 
ordinary shares with a lower price per share will 
serve to improve the marketability and liquidity of 
the Group’s shares.

We have made a reasonable start to the new 
financial year and expect to make further progress 
as we experience the full benefit of 2014 client wins 
and develop the targeted cross selling opportunities 
provided by the inovia acquisition.

A proposal will therefore be put to the forthcoming 
AGM that, subject to shareholder approval, a 5 for 
1 share split will be effected. 

The Board fully expects the Group to grow revenues 
and profits in 2015, consolidating its market leading 
position in the intellectual property support services 
space.

PEOPLE 

RWS has always been dependent upon the quality 
and commitment of its entire staff to provide and 
maintain the high levels of service expected by the 
Group’s clients. We were pleased that we were able 

Andrew Brode

8 December 2014

RWS Holdings plc  3

 
Strategic Review

BUSINESS MODEL

RWS is the world’s largest provider of patent 
translations and one of the leading players in the 
provision of intellectual property support services 
and high level technical translation services. It has a 
blue chip multinational client base spanning Europe, 
North America and Asia, active in patent filing in 
the medical, pharmaceutical, chemical, aerospace, 
defence, automotive and telecoms industries. The 
Group’s principal business activities are: 
■ Patent translations, which currently accounts for 
over 55% of Group revenue. RWS differentiates 
itself from the competition through the quality of its 
translations and the high level of customer service 
and support it provides. 
■ Information, which includes a comprehensive 
range of patent search, retrieval and monitoring 
services as well as PatBase, one of the world’s 
largest searchable commercial patent databases, 
access to which is sold exclusively as an annual 
subscription service. 
■ International web based patent filing solutions via 
the recently acquired inovia business. This activity is 
expected to grow and continue to be a significant 
source of patent translation revenues for the RWS 
Group. 
■ Commercial translations, with a particular 
emphasis on medical and technical translations. 

OUR STRATEGY

RWS’s objective is to increase shareholder value by 
growing the Group’s revenue and adjusted profit 
before tax.

Our strategy to achieve this is focused upon organic 
growth complemented by deploying the Group’s 
substantial cash holdings for selective acquisitions, 
providing these can be demonstrated to enhance 
shareholder value.

Organic growth is driven by: 
■ increases in the worldwide patent filing activities 
of existing and potential multinational clients 
■ corporates, law firms and attorneys outsourcing 
all or part of the foreign patent search, filing and 
translation process 
■ the growing demand for language services and 
the Group’s ability to increase its market share by 
winning new clients attracted by its leading position 
and reputation, in an otherwise fragmented sector

4  RWS Holdings plc

■ the retention of our client base, which includes 
the majority of the top 20 patent filers both in 
Europe and globally, many of which will use the 
Group for substantially all of their patent translation 
requirements, and 
■ the addition of several key new clients each year 
with whom activity levels build up over time.

In terms of acquisitive growth, we continue to search 
for suitable potential acquisitions in the intellectual 
property support services and specialist commercial 
translation spaces. We seek niche businesses 
capable of delivering well above industry average 
levels of profitability or highly complementary 
businesses capable of reinforcing the Group’s 
dominant position in intellectual property support 
and translation services.

We are particularly pleased to be able to show 
our progress against these stated objectives with 
11 straight years of sales and profit growth. 

Annual Revenue £m

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Annual Adjusted PBT £m

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Strategic Review (continued)

OPERATING REVIEW 

Patent Translations 
The Group’s core patent translations business 
represents approximately 55% of Group sales and 
grew underlying revenues by 7% to £52.0 million 
(2013: £48.8 million, after elimination of £4.7 million 
of intercompany sales to inovia). The growth drivers 
were earlier client wins, and organic growth from 
the established client base. The macroeconomic 
background delivered further grounds for optimism 
with record numbers of new patent applications 
recorded in 2013.

The Group has enhanced its market leadership 
within its chosen niche of servicing a worldwide 
blue-chip client base, embracing many of the 
world’s leading patent filers. As evidence of this 
leading role, the Group serviced 10 of the top 15 
applicants at the World Intellectual Property Office 
and 11 of the top 15 applicants at the European 
Patent Office in 2013. Following the acquisition 
of inovia in September 2013, we have been able 
to combine the direct sales efforts of RWS and 
inovia in the US (the largest market for intellectual 
property support services) and have been successful 
in Europe in developing selective cross selling 
opportunities with major European corporates. 
China continues to attract North American and 
European patent filers seeking patent protection 
there, as a result of which our headcount in China 
has grown to 57 employees. As first outlined in last 
year’s review, we have continued to develop the 
production and training centre with two universities 
in Rizhao, which has caught the attention of the 
university in Xi’an where a similar centre has been 
established. These centres enable the Group to 
expand its Chinese offering but at a lower cost 
than in Beijing. Our long term relationship with 
international patent bodies seeking to enlarge their 
collections of translated Chinese patent prosecution 
documents has prospered.

Commercial Translations 
The commercial translations business, which 
accounts for 17% of Group sales, experienced 
currency headwinds and cyclical downturns. We 
group all non-patent translations in this division and 
it remains the sector of our business most exposed 
to competition. It operates in the UK, Germany and 
Switzerland. Given the intensity of the competition, 
we continue to focus upon specialist niches and 
larger projects where the Group’s resources and 

expertise can provide a competitive edge. We 
experienced subdued trading in our German-
speaking activities in the first half, followed by 
some improvement in the second half. We have 
now established an into-German patent translation 
facility in the Berlin office, which will balance the 
cyclical effect evident in the commercial translation 
activities and improve margins through better 
utilisation of existing resources. The commercial 
translation business does enable RWS to offer 
customers a complete solution to their translation 
needs whilst continuing to provide good cross selling 
opportunities for the patent translation business.

Information 
The information business accounts for 7% of Group 
sales and enjoyed an outstanding year, with 
growth of 17% in revenues to £6.2 million (2013: 
£5.3 million). In particular, our patent search 
and watch services grew by 36%, whilst the high 
margin subscription service – PatBase – grew by a 
further 5%. We have continued to invest in PatBase 
searchability, content and geographic coverage, 
and will make further investments in 2015 to secure 
the resilience and robustness of the platform which 
provides 24/7 worldwide access.

inovia 
The Group acquired the remaining two thirds 
of inovia’s equity in September 2013. In its first 
full year contribution, inovia achieved a 15% 
increase in gross sales to US$33.0 million (2013: 
US$28.8 million, of which only US$1.8 million was 
post acquisition revenue and consolidated into 
the 2013 financial statements). In sterling terms, 
gross sales reached £19.4 million (after elimination 
of £0.5 million of intercompany sales to Patent 
Translations), and as a continued underlying 
benefit of the acquisition, patent translation 
transfer revenues reached $7.1 million (2013: 
$7.3 million).

With new product developments and as a full 
member of the Group, inovia has been able to 
attract larger corporates. Its largest customer in 
2014, a leading pharmaceutical group, developed 
from a small volume of sales in 2013. Further 
penetration of larger corporates is likely to put 
pressure on margins, but forms part of the strategy 
for inovia within the Group. It helps to achieve 
growth and increase market share, generates 
incremental higher margin translation revenue, and 
further improves client retention rates. We have 

RWS Holdings plc  5

Strategic Review (continued)

started to see the benefits from the reorganisation 
of the senior sales management in the US in 2014 
(inovia’s key market) and we expect a further 
double digit sales growth in 2015.

In October this year inovia was recognised for the 
first time as the leading foreign filing provider by 
Managing Intellectual Property magazine’s annual 
ranking of the top Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) 
firms, further consolidating the Group’s position as 
a leading provider of intellectual property support 
services, which now account for over 80% of the 
Group’s sales. 

RISK MANAGEMENT

The Group maintains a risk register which is 
reviewed and assessed on an annual basis by the 
Board of Directors. The key risks to the business 
are errors in the provision of the Group’s services, 
in a mismatch between currencies (especially 
as between the Euro and Sterling), in regulatory 
changes to patent translation requirements in Europe 
and in the failure to successfully integrate acquired 
businesses into RWS. Additionally, as with any 
people business delivering high quality services, the 
Group depends upon its ability to attract and retain 
well trained staff.

MARKET UPDATE 

These risks are mitigated as follows:

Patent Filing Statistics 
The USA and China drove record-level patent-
filing activity via WIPO in 2013 as the number of 
annual international patent applications surpassed 
the 200,000 mark for the first time, showing a 
5% increase in the 2013 PCT filings to 205,300 
(2012: 195,400). The European Patent Office 
(EPO) also published record numbers, with the 
total number of European patent filings increasing 
by 3% to 265,690 (2012: 258,450). European 
filings from Chinese applicants grew by 16%. Patent 
applications in China increased by 26% to 825,136 
(120,200 of which came from foreign applicants).

■ Failings in service provision are most likely to 
arise as a result of human error. RWS was one of 
the earliest adopters of ISO certification and invests 
in exhaustive and regularly updated procedures to 
minimise the risk of error. In addition, the Group 
carries substantial professional indemnity insurance. 
■ As previously reported, currency risk is partly 
mitigated via hedging operations. 
■ We have in the past drawn the market’s attention 
to the proposed European Union Patent (“the 
Unitary Patent”) and its potential impact upon 
the Group’s sales and profits. Despite significant 
hurdles, the Unitary Patent has been making further 
progress. There appears to be consensus now that 
the earliest implementation would be in 2016 and 
that this is still very optimistic. It should be noted 
that a number of member states of the current 
European Patent system are not EU members, and 
that Spain and Italy remain implacably opposed 
to the Unitary Patent. Professional opinion remains 
highly sceptical both as regards jurisdiction 
and actual financial benefits, which cannot be 
quantified until fees have been set and published. 
Because the proposed Unitary Patent will run in 
parallel with the existing system, it will not provide 
any financial advantage to many corporates 
seeking patent protection in only selected key 
countries, and will have a new and untried litigation 
system. Our research indicates that there is currently 
little interest amongst large corporates and their 
professional advisers in full usage of the new 
system. That being the case, we anticipate minimal, 
incremental loss of revenues in the first few years 
after the introduction of the Unitary Patent. 

6  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
Strategic Review (continued)

■ In September 2013 RWS acquired the inovia 
business. Integration is ongoing and focuses on 
several areas. Supplier and service consolidation 
continues to reduce technical costs and improve 
underlying margins. New technical developments 
ensure maintenance of our leading market position 
and help to increase the attractiveness of our 
technical solutions for new markets and existing 
RWS customers. Selected cross-selling opportunities 
have brought in new clients and continue to 
enhance our pipeline. inovia Directors and other 
senior managers, regularly attend Board and other 
meetings in the UK, which improves communication 
and enhances the integration process. 
■ As a significant employer in the local area 
of South Buckinghamshire, we believe we offer 
stability of employment, competitive salaries and 
an excellent working environment. In the current 
economic climate we have been successful in 
recruiting high calibre staff as required, but 
competition for talented people to work on the 
periphery of the London conurbation is undoubtedly 
intensifying.

On behalf of the Board

Richard Thompson

8 December 2014

RWS Holdings plc  7

 
Board of Directors at 30 September 2014

Andrew S Brode (74)
Chairman 

Peter Mountford (57)   
Non-Executive Director 

Member of the Audit Committee and Remuneration 
Committee 

Chairman of the Audit Committee and member of 
the Remuneration Committee 

Appointed as a Director 11 April 2000 

Appointed as a Director 11 April 2000 

Founder of Bybrook and led the management buy in 
of the RWS Group. A substantial shareholder in the 
Company 

Chairman of Mountford Capital Limited, Chairman 
of Heropreneurs and a Non-Executive Director of a 
number of other private companies  

Non-Executive Chairman of Learning Technology 
Group plc and Electric Word plc and Non-Executive 
Director of Vitesse Media plc 

Elisabeth A Lucas (58)   
Non-Executive Director  

Non-Executive Director of a number of private 
companies 

Member of the Audit Committee and member of the 
Remuneration Committee 

Reinhard Ottway (55)   
Chief Executive Officer 

Joined RWS Group in 1977, Managing Director of 
Translations Division from 1992 and Chief Executive 
Officer from 1995 to 2011 

Appointed as a Director 1 January 2012 

Appointed as a Director on 11 November 2003 

Joined RWS Group in 1994 and was Business 
Development Director from 2001   

Richard Thompson (52) 
Finance Director and Company Secretary 

Appointed as a Director and Company Secretary 
28 November 2012 

Registered office 
Europa House 
Chiltern Park 
Chiltern Hill 
Chalfont St Peter  
Buckinghamshire  
SL9 9FG  

Previously worked for Actix International Limited, 
a global supplier of software and services to the 
telecommunications market 

Company registration number  
3002645 

David E Shrimpton (71) 
Senior independent Non-Executive Director and 
Deputy Chairman 

Chairman of the Remuneration Committee, member 
of the Audit Committee 

Appointed as a Director 1 January 2010 

Non-Executive Director of a number of private 
companies 

8  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Directors’ Report 

The Directors present their annual report together 
with the audited consolidated financial statements 
for the year ended 30 September 2014. 

BUSINESS PERFORMANCE AND RISKS 

The review of the business, operations, principal 
risks and outlook are dealt with in the Strategic 
review on pages 4 to 7. The key performance 
indicators of the Group are revenues and adjusted 
pre-tax profit before amortization of acquired 
intangibles, share option costs and any profits or 
losses on disposal of subsidiaries or associates. 

FINANCIAL RESULTS

The financial statements set out the results of the 
Group for the year ended 30 September 2014 
which are shown on page 20.

Group revenues advanced by 20.9% to 
£93.6 million (2013: £77.4 million) and pre-tax 
profit before amortization of intangibles and share 
option costs, and in 2013 gain on disposal of 
associate, was £22.1 million (2013: £21.0 million), 
a rise of 5.2%. Profit before tax was £19.6 million 
(2013: £20.5 million). The current year total tax 
expense was £4.4 million (2013: £4.6 million) an 
effective tax rate of 22.6% (2013: 22.4%).

Basic earnings per share was 35.9 pence (2013: 
37.6 pence). 

DIVIDENDS

The Directors recommend a final dividend of 
18.00 pence per Ordinary share to be paid on the 
27 February 2015 to shareholders on the register 
at 30 January 2015, which, together with the 
dividend of 4.90 pence paid in July 2014, makes 
a total dividend for the year of 22.90 pence (2013: 
20.25 pence). The final dividend will be reflected 
in the financial statements for the year ending 
30 September 2015. 

The proposed total dividend per share is 1.57 times 
covered by basic earnings per share.

GOING CONCERN ACCOUNTING BASIS 

In view of the Group’s cash resources  
(£22.5 million at 30 September 2014), combined 
with the free cash flow in 2014 of £13.1 million 
(2013: £16.0 million) and recent operating results, 
the Directors have a reasonable expectation that 
the Group has adequate resources to continue in 
operation for the foreseeable future. For this reason, 
the Directors continue to adopt the going concern 
basis in preparing the financial statements. 

FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS 

Information about the use of financial instruments 
by the Group is given in note 17 to the financial 
statements. 

EVENTS AFTER THE REPORTING DATE 

No significant events have occurred between 
30 September 2014 and the date of authorisation of 
these financial statements. 

DIRECTORS 

Details of members of the Board at 30 September 
2014 are set out on page 8. 

The interests of the Directors in shares during 
the year are set out on page 15 in the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report. 

Andrew Brode and Reinhard Ottway retire by 
rotation at the Annual General Meeting and being 
eligible offer themselves for re-election. 

The Company’s Annual General Meeting will be 
held in London on 10 February 2015. 

DIRECTORS’ INDEMNITIES 

As permitted in its articles of association, the 
Director’s have the benefit of an indemnity which 
is a third party indemnity provision as defined 
in section 234 of the Companies Act 2006. The 
indemnity was in force throughout the last financial 
year and is currently in force. (The Company also 
purchased and maintained throughout the financial 

RWS Holdings plc  9

 
 
Directors’ Report (continued)

year, Directors and Officers liability insurance in 
respect of itself and its Directors). 

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The Board 
The Board comprised three Executive and three 
Non-Executive Directors. The Board considers that 
all of the Non-Executive Directors are independent 
in character and judgement and that there are no 
relationships or circumstances which are likely to 
affect their independent judgement.

The Executive Directors have direct responsibility 
for business operations whilst the Non-Executive 
Directors have a responsibility to bring 
independent, objective judgement to bear on 
Board decisions. The Board met six times during 
the year to review financial performance and 
approve key business decisions, so that it retained 
control over strategic, budgetary, financial and 
organisational issues and monitored executive 
management. In addition to the Executive Directors, 
the members of the Senior Executive Team are: 
Charles Sitch, Managing Director UK Translations 
Division; Neil Simpkin, Deputy Managing Director 
UK Translations Division; Jo Hindley, Commercial 
Director UK Translations Division; Caroline 
Chenique, European Sales Director; Roberto Aletto, 
IT Director and David Nelson, Managing Director 
inovia. They are invited to attend various board 
meetings and report on the areas of responsibility 
delegated to them.

Audit Committee 
The members of the Audit Committee are Peter 
Mountford (committee Chairman), David Shrimpton, 
Elisabeth Lucas and Andrew Brode. 

The members with the exception of Andrew Brode, 
are Non-Executive Directors and the Board is 
satisfied that they have recent and relevant financial 
experience. Andrew Brode is the Group’s Chairman 
and a substantial shareholder in the Ordinary 
shares of the Company. The Finance Director and 
representatives from the external auditors attend 
meetings at the request of the Committee. During the 
year the Committee met four times.

The Committee reviews and makes recommendations 
to the Board on: any change in accounting policies; 
decisions requiring a major element of judgement 

10  RWS Holdings plc

and risk; compliance with accounting standards and 
legal and regulatory requirements; disclosures in the 
interim and annual report and accounts; dividend 
policy and payment; any significant concerns of 
the external auditor about the conduct, results or 
overall outcome of the annual audit of the Group; 
and, any matters that may significantly affect the 
independence of the external auditor.

In addition the Committee has oversight of the 
external audit process and reviews its effectiveness 
and approves any non-audit services provided.

Remuneration Committee 
Further information about the Committee and the 
Company’s remuneration policy is set out on page 
14 in the Directors’ Remuneration Report.

Internal controls and risk management 
The Board has overall responsibility for the Group’s 
system of internal controls. The 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 against 
material misstatement or loss.

The Directors believe that the Group has internal 
control systems in place appropriate to the size 
and nature of the business. The key elements are: 
bimonthly Group board meetings with reports 
from and discussions with senior executives on 
performance and key risk areas in the business; 
monthly financial reporting, for the Group and for 
each subsidiary, of actual performance compared 
to budget and previous year; annual budget 
setting; and, a defined organisational structure with 
appropriate delegation of authority. The Board also 
receives a report from the external auditor on matters 
identified in the course of the statutory audit work.

In addition, a further Board Meeting is held during 
the year to consider and assess the risks facing 
the business and approve the steps and timetable 
senior management have established to mitigate 
those risks. 

EMPLOYMENT OF DISABLED PERSONS 

It is Company policy that people with disabilities 
should have the same consideration as others 
with respect to recruitment, retention and personal 
development. People with disabilities, depending 

 
Directors’ Report (continued)

on their skills and abilities, enjoy the same career 
prospects as other employees and the same scope 
for realising potential. 

at the date of this report the Company does not hold 
any Ordinary shares in the capital of the Company 
in treasury. 

EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT 

STATUTORY PRE-EMPTION RIGHTS 

The Company’s policy is to consult and discuss with 
employees at staff meetings matters likely to affect 
employee interests. The Company is committed to 
a policy of recruitment and promotion on the basis 
of aptitude and ability irrespective of sex, race or 
religion. Group subsidiaries endeavour to provide 
equal opportunities in recruiting, training, promoting 
and developing the careers of all employees. 

SUBSTANTIAL SHAREHOLDINGS 

At 30 September 2014, excluding the Directors, the 
following were substantial shareholders:

Liontrust Asset Management 
Octopus Investments 
Investec Wealth and Investment 
Blackrock Investment Management 
Invesco Perpetual 

% holding 
11.7 
4.9 
4.3 
4.2 
3.2 

AUTHORITY TO ALLOT 

Under section 549 Companies Act 2006, the 
Directors are prevented, subject to certain 
exceptions, from allotting shares in the Company or 
from granting rights to subscribe for or to convert 
any security into shares in the Company without the 
authority of the shareholders in General meeting. 
An ordinary resolution will be proposed at the 
10 February 2015 Annual General Meeting which 
renews, for the period ending 10 May 2016, or 
if earlier the date of the 2016 Annual General 
Meeting, the authority previously granted to the 
Directors to allot shares, and to grant rights to 
subscribe for or convert any security into shares in 
the Company, up to an aggregate nominal value 
of £705,266, representing approximately one third 
of the share capital of the Company in issue at 
8 December 2014.

The Directors have no immediate plans to make use 
of this authority except in respect of the issue of 
shares under the employee share option scheme. As 

Under section 561 of the Companies Act 2006, 
when new shares are allotted, they must first be 
offered to existing shareholders pro rata to their 
holdings. A special resolution will be proposed at 
the 10 February 2015 Annual General Meeting 
which renews, for the period ending on 10 May 
2016 or, if earlier, the date of the 2016 Annual 
General Meeting, the authorities previously granted 
to the Directors to:  
(a) allot shares of the Company in connection with a 
rights issue or other pre-emptive offer; and  
(b) otherwise allot shares of the Company, or sell 
treasury shares for cash, up to an aggregate 
nominal value of £211,579 (representing in 
accordance with institutional investor guidelines, 
approximately 10% of the share capital in issue as 
at 8 December 2014).

The Directors have no immediate plans to make use 
of these authorities. In addition, and in line with best 
practice, the Company has not issued more than 
7.5% of its issued share capital on a non-pro rata 
basis over the last four years. 

RULE 9 OF THE CITY CODE

Under rule 9 of the city code, where any person 
acquires an interest in shares which carry 30 per 
cent or more of the voting rights, that person is 
normally required to make a general offer to all 
the remaining shareholders of the Company to 
acquire their shares. An ordinary resolution was 
approved at the 11 February 2014 Annual General 
Meeting which approved, for the period ending 
on 10 May 2017 or, if earlier, the date of the 2017 
Annual General Meeting, the waiver by the Panel 
on Takeovers and Mergers of any requirement under 
rule 9 for Andrew Brode (Chairman) and related 
parties to make a general offer to the shareholders 
of the Company as a result of any market purchase 
by the Company of its own shares.

RWS Holdings plc  11

 
 
Directors’ Report (continued)

CHANGE OF AUDITOR 

Following a tender process in 2014, 
Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP (PwC) was appointed 
as the Company’s external auditor commencing with 
the 2014 financial year. PwC have expressed their 
willingness to continue in office and a resolution 
to reappoint them will be proposed at the Annual 
General Meeting. 

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS

All of the Directors have taken all the steps that they 
ought to have taken to make themselves aware of 
any information relevant to the audit and established 
that the auditors are aware of that information. As 
far as each of the Directors is aware, the auditors 
have been provided with all relevant information.

12  RWS Holdings plc

 
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities

The Directors are responsible for preparing the 
annual report and the financial statements in 
accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the Directors to prepare 
financial statements for each financial year. Under 
that law the Directors have elected to prepare 
the Group financial statements in accordance 
with International Financial Reporting Standards 
(IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union and the 
Company financial statements in accordance with 
United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting 
Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and 
applicable law). 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 the Company 
and of the profit or loss of the Group for that 
period. The Directors are also required to prepare 
financial statements in accordance with the rules of 
the London Stock Exchange for companies trading 
securities on the Alternative Investment Market.

In preparing these financial statements, the 
Directors are required to:

■ select suitable accounting policies and then 
apply them consistently; 
■ make judgements and accounting estimates that 
are reasonable and prudent; 
■ state whether the Group financial statements 
have been prepared in accordance with IFRSs 
as adopted by the European Union and the 
Company financial statements have been prepared 
in accordance with United Kingdom Generally 
Accepted Accounting Practice, subject to any 
material departures disclosed and explained in the 
financial statements; 
■ prepare the financial statements on the going 
concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume 
that the Company will continue in business.

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate 
accounting records that are sufficient to show and 
explain the Company’s transactions and disclose 
with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial 
position of the Company and enable them to 
ensure that the financial statements comply with the 
requirements of the Companies Act 2006. They are 
also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the 
Company and hence for taking reasonable steps 
for the prevention and detection of fraud and other 
irregularities.

WEBSITE PUBLICATION

The Directors are responsible for ensuring the 
annual report and the financial statements are 
made available on a website. Financial statements 
are published on the Company’s website in 
accordance with legislation in the United Kingdom 
governing the preparation and dissemination 
of financial statements, which may vary from 
legislation in other jurisdictions. The maintenance 
and integrity of the Company’s website is the 
responsibility of the Directors. The Directors’ 
responsibility also extends to the ongoing integrity 
of the financial statements contained therein.

On behalf of the Board

Richard Thompson

8 December 2014

RWS Holdings plc  13

 
 
Directors’ Remuneration Report

REMUNERATION COMMITTEE

SHARE OPTIONS 

On 3 April 2013 the Board approved a new share 
option scheme. The scheme was designed to 
incentivise Executive Directors and Executives and 
further align the interests of senior employees and 
shareholders. The Committee has responsibility for 
supervising the scheme and the grant of options 
under its terms. 

SERVICE CONTRACTS 

The Non-Executive Directors do not have service 
contracts. Their appointments will continue unless 
and until terminated by either party giving not less 
than 30 days’ notice.

The service contracts of Executive Directors continue 
unless and until terminated by either party giving at 
least six months’ notice. 

The date of the Chairman’s service contract is 
30 October 2003 and the service contracts of 
Reinhard Ottway and Richard Thompson are 
dated 20 December 2011 and 1 November 2012 
respectively. In the event of early termination, the 
Executive Directors’ service contracts provide for 
compensation up to a maximum of the total benefits 
which he or she would have received during the 
notice period. 

DIRECTORS’ EMOLUMENTS AND PENSION 
CONTRIBUTIONS 

The aggregate remuneration, excluding pension 
contributions, paid or accrued for the Directors of 
the Company for service in all capacities during the 
year ended 30 September 2014 was £952,000 
(2013: £965,000). The remuneration of individual 
Directors and the pension contributions paid by the 
Group to their personal pension schemes during the 
year were as follows:

The members of the Remuneration Committee are 
David Shrimpton (committee Chairman), Peter 
Mountford, Elisabeth Lucas and Andrew Brode.

With the exception of Andrew Brode the members 
are Non-Executive Directors.

The remit of the Committee is primarily to determine 
and agree with the Board the framework or broad 
policy for the remuneration of the Company’s 
Executive Directors and, if required by the 
Board, the Senior Executives of the Group. The 
remuneration of Non-Executive Directors is a matter 
for the Board, excluding the Non-Executive Directors. 
No Director or Senior Executive is involved in 
any discussion or decision about his or her own 
remuneration.

The Remuneration Committee met once during the 
year.

The Board has confirmed that the Group’s overall 
remuneration policy is designed to attract and retain 
the right people and provide appropriate incentives 
to encourage enhanced performance so as to 
create growth in shareholder value. 

INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS OF REMUNERATION 

For Executive Directors and Senior Executives the 
components contained in the total remuneration 
package are: base salary; performance related 
annual bonus, share options and other customary 
benefits such as; holidays and health benefits, 
sickness benefit and pension contributions. 

Neither the performance related annual bonus nor 
the share options apply to the Chairman.

Performance related bonuses are based on a 
combination of sales and/or adjusted profit before 
tax targets depending on an individual’s area of 
responsibility.

For Non-Executive Directors there is only one 
component, a base fee.

14  RWS Holdings plc

Directors’ Remuneration Report (continued)

Salary 
or fees 

£’000 

247 
– 
305 
229 
45 
35 
35 
896 

2014 

2014 

2013 

2013

Bonus 

£’000 

Taxable 
benefits 

£’000 

Pension 
contributions 

£’000 

Total 

£’000 

Pension
contributions

£’000

Total 

£’000 

 –  
– 
33 
19 
– 
– 
– 
52 

3 
– 
1 
– 
– 
– 
– 
4 

250 
 –  
339 
248 
45 
35 
35 
952 

15 
– 
9 
7 
– 
– 
– 
31 

239 
83 
322 
206 
45 
35 
35 
965 

26
2
8
3
–
–
–
39

Andrew Brode 
Michael McCarthy (to 31 December 2013) 
Reinhard Ottway  
Richard Thompson (from 28 November 2013) 
Elisabeth Lucas 
Peter Mountford 
David Shrimpton 

DIRECTORS’ INTERESTS IN SHARES 

The interests of the Directors as at 30 September 2014 (including the interests of their families and related 
trusts), all of which were beneficial, in the Ordinary shares were:

Andrew Brode 
Elisabeth Lucas  
Peter Mountford 
Richard Thompson 

Ordinary shares of 5 pence

18,034,812
10,000
13,755
2,600
18,061,167

The interests of the Directors at the year end in options to subscribe for Ordinary shares of the Company, 
together with details of options granted during the year are included in the following table. All options were 
granted at market value at the date of grant.

Approved Share Option scheme 

 Number of shares under option 

At 
1 October  
2013 

4,643  
4,643  

Issued in 
the year 

Exercised in 
the year 

At
30 September 
2014 

Exercise price 
pence

First date 
exercisable 

Last date
exercisable

 –  
 –  

 –  
 –  

 4,643  
 4,643  

646.00 
646.00 

03 ⁄04 ⁄16 
03 ⁄04 ⁄16 

03 ⁄04 ⁄21
03 ⁄04 ⁄21

Reinhard Ottway 
Richard Thompson 

Unapproved Share Option scheme 

 Number of shares under option 

At 
1 October  
2013 

503,149  
249,253  

Issued in 
the year 

Exercised in 
the year 

At
30 September 
2014 

Exercise price 
pence

First date 
exercisable 

Last date
exercisable

 –  
 –  

 –  
 –  

 503,149  
 249,253  

646.00 
646.00 

03 ⁄04 ⁄15 
03 ⁄04 ⁄15 

03 ⁄04 ⁄21
03 ⁄04 ⁄21

Reinhard Ottway 
Richard Thompson 

RWS Holdings plc  15

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Directors’ Remuneration Report (continued)

The options granted under both schemes will be 
exercisable at the mid market price of 646p.

The market price of the Company’s share as at 
30 September 2014 and the highest and lowest 
market prices during the year are as follows:

30 September 2014 
Highest Market Price 
Lowest Market Price 

760p
1,030p
731p

All participants in the share option scheme have 
indemnified the Company against any tax liability 
relating to the option including class 1 employer’s 
national insurance contribution. 

TRANSACTIONS WITH DIRECTORS 

During the year there were no material transactions 
between the Company and the Directors, other than 
their emoluments.

On behalf of the Board

Richard Thompson

8 December 2014

16  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
 
 
Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of RWS Holdings plc

REPORT ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

OUR OPINION
In our opinion:

■ RWS Holdings plc’s Group financial statements 
and parent Company financial statements (the 
“financial statements”) give a true and fair view 
of the state of the Group’s and of the parent 
Company’s affairs as at 30 September 2014 and of 
the Group’s profit and cash flows for the year then 
ended; 
■ the Group financial statements have been 
properly prepared in accordance with International 
Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRSs”) as adopted 
by the European Union; 
■ the Company financial statements have been 
properly prepared in accordance with United 
Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; 
and 
■ the financial statements have been prepared in 
accordance with the requirements of the Companies 
Act 2006. 

WHAT WE HAVE AUDITED 
RWS Holdings plc’s financial statements comprise:

■ the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position 
as at 30 September 2014; 
■ the Company Balance Sheet as at 30 September 
2014; 
■ the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive 
Income for the year then ended; 
■ the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the 
year then ended; 
■ the Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity 
for the year then ended; and 
■ the notes to the financial statements, which 
include a summary of significant accounting 
policies and other explanatory information.

Certain required disclosures have been presented 
elsewhere in the Annual Report, rather than in the 
notes to the financial statements. These are cross-
referenced from the financial statements and are 
identified as audited.

The financial reporting framework that has been 
applied in the preparation of the Group financial 
statements is applicable law and IFRSs as adopted 
by the European Union. The financial reporting 
framework that has been applied in the preparation 

of the company financial statements is applicable 
law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards 
(United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting 
Practice). In applying the financial reporting 
framework, the Directors have made a number 
of subjective judgements, for example in respect 
of significant accounting estimates. In making 
such estimates, they have made assumptions and 
considered future events. 

OPINION ON OTHER MATTER PRESCRIBED 
BY THE COMPANIES ACT 2006 

In our opinion, the information given in the 
Strategic Report and the Directors’ Report for the 
financial year for which the financial statements are 
prepared is consistent with the financial statements. 

OTHER MATTERS ON WHICH WE ARE 
REQUIRED TO REPORT BY EXCEPTION

ADEQUACY OF ACCOUNTING RECORDS 
AND INFORMATION AND EXPLANATIONS 
RECEIVED

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 
■ the company financial statements are not in 
agreement with the accounting records and returns.

We have no exceptions to report arising from this 
responsibility. 

DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION 

Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to 
report to you if, in our opinion, certain disclosures 
of Directors’ remuneration specified by law are not 
made.

We have no exceptions to report arising from this 
responsibility. 

RWS Holdings plc  17

 
Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of RWS Holdings plc (continued)

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE FINANCIAL 
STATEMENTS AND THE AUDIT

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES   
AND THOSE OF THE DIRECTORS 

We primarily focus our work in these areas 
by assessing the Directors’ judgements against 
available evidence, forming our own judgements, 
and evaluating the disclosures in the financial 
statements.

We test and examine information, using sampling 
and other auditing techniques, to the extent we 
consider necessary to provide a reasonable 
basis for us to draw conclusions. We obtain audit 
evidence through testing the effectiveness of 
controls, substantive procedures or a combination 
of both. In addition, we read all the financial and 
non-financial information in the Annual Report to 
identify material inconsistencies with the audited 
financial statements and to identify any information 
that is apparently materially incorrect based on, 
or materially inconsistent with, the knowledge 
acquired by us in the course of performing the audit. 
If we become aware of any apparent material 
misstatements or inconsistencies we consider the 
implications for our report.  

Nigel Reynolds (Senior Statutory Auditor)  
for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP  
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors 
London 
8 December 2014

As explained more fully in the Statement of 
Directors’ Responsibilities set out on page 13, the 
Directors are responsible for the preparation of the 
financial statements and for being satisfied that 
they give a true and fair view. Our responsibility 
is to audit and express an opinion on the financial 
statements in accordance with applicable law 
and International Standards on Auditing (UK and 
Ireland) (“ISAs (UK & Ireland”). Those standards 
require us to comply with the Auditing Practices 
Board’s Ethical Standards for Auditors.

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. 

WHAT AN AUDIT OF FINANCIAL 
STATEMENTS INVOLVES 

We conducted our audit in accordance with 
ISAs (UK & Ireland). An audit involves obtaining 
evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the 
financial statements sufficient to give reasonable 
assurance that the financial statements are free from 
material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or 
error. This includes an assessment of: 

■ whether the accounting policies are appropriate 
to the group’s and the company’s circumstances 
and have been consistently applied and adequately 
disclosed; 
■ the reasonableness of significant accounting 
estimates made by the Directors; and 
■ the overall presentation of the financial 
statements. 

18  RWS Holdings plc

  
2 014   F I N A N C I A L   S TAT E M E N T S

RWS Holdings plc  19

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income for the year ended 30 September

Revenue 
Cost of sales 
Gross profit 
Administrative expenses 
Operating profit 
Analysed as: 
Operating profit before charging: 
Amortization of customer relationships, trademarks and technology 
Share based payment costs 
Operating profit 
Finance income 
Finance costs 
Share in results of associate 
Gain on disposal of associate 
Profit before tax 
Taxation expense 
Profit for the year 
Other comprehensive expense* 
Loss on retranslation of foreign operations  
Total other comprehensive expense 
Total comprehensive income attributable to: 
Owners of the parent 

Basic earnings per Ordinary share (pence per share) 
Diluted earnings per Ordinary share (pence per share) 

Note 

3 

4 

11 
19 

6 
6 

7 

9 
9 

2014 
£’000 

93,556 
(56,783) 
36,773 
(17,187) 
19,586 

22,036 
(1,572) 
(878) 
19,586 
57 
(14) 
–  
 –  
19,629 
(4,430) 
15,199 

(618) 
(618) 

14,581 

35.9 
35.6 

2013
£’000

77,404
(45,558)
31,846
(12,981)
18,865

20,060
(727)
(468)
18,865
456
 – 
496
693
20,510
(4,592)
15,918

(294)
(294)

15,624

37.6
37.6

 *Other comprehensive expense includes only items that will be subsequently reclassified to Profit before tax when specific  conditions are met. 

The notes on pages 24 to 48 form part of these financial statements.

20  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position at 30 September

Registered Company 3002645 

Assets 
Non-current assets 
Goodwill 
Intangible assets 
Property, plant and equipment 
Deferred tax assets 

Current assets 
Trade and other receivables 
Foreign exchange derivatives 
Cash and cash equivalents 

Total assets 
Liabilities 
Current liabilities 
Trade and other payables 
Income tax payable 
Provisions 

Non-current liabilities 
Other payables 
Provisions 
Deferred tax liabilities 

Total liabilities 
Total net assets 
Equity 
Capital and reserves attributable to owners of the parent 
Share capital 
Share premium  
Share based payment reserve 
Reverse acquisition reserve 
Foreign currency reserve 
Retained earnings 
Total equity 

The notes on pages 24 to 48 form part of these financial statements. 

Note  

10 
11 
12 
13 

14 
17 
20 

3 

15 

16 

15 
16 
13 

3 

18 

2014 
£’000 

30,512 
8,228 
17,310 
353 
56,403 

16,385 
554 
22,479 
39,418 
95,821 

12,277 
2,198 
480 
14,955 

30 
378 
2,024 
2,432 
17,387 
78,434 

2,116 
3,583 
1,346 
(8,483) 
569 
79,303 
78,434 

2013
£’000

30,780
9,896
13,002
270
53,948

16,574
566
18,305
35,445
89,393

11,512
2,555
740
14,807

 – 
530
2,343
2,873
17,680
71,713

2,116
3,583
 468 
(8,483)
1,187
72,842
71,713

The financial statements on pages 20 to 48 were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on  8 December 2014 and were signed on its behalf by:  

Andrew Brode
Director

RWS Holdings plc  21

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity for the year ended 30 September

Share 
capital 

£’000 

2,116 

–  
–  

–  

–  

–  

 –  
 –  

 –  

 –  

 –  

2,116  

 3,583  

–  
–  

–  

–  

–  

 –  
 –  

 –  

 –  

 –  

2,116  

 3,583  

Share 
based payment 
reserve 

£’000 

–  
–  
468  
468  

–  
878  
1,346  

At 1 October 2012 

Profit for the year 
Currency translation differences 

Total Comprehensive income
for the year 30 September 2013 

Dividends 
Credit arising on share based  
payments 

At 30 September 2013 

Profit for the year 
Currency translation differences 

Total Comprehensive income  
for the year 30 September 2014 

Dividends 
Credit arising on share based  
payments 

At 30 September 2014 

Other reserves 

At 1 October 2012 
Other Comprehensive loss for the year  
Credit arising on share based payments 
At 30 September 2013 

Other Comprehensive loss for the year  
Credit arising on share based payments 
At 30 September 2014 

Share 
premium 
account 

£’000 

Other 
reserves 
(see below) 

£’000 

Retained 
earnings 

£’000 

3,583  

 (7,002) 

 64,532  

Total equity
attributable to
owners of the
parent

£’000

63,229

15,918
(294)

15,624

(7,608)

468 
71,713

15,199
(618)

14,581

(8,738)

878

78,434

Total
other
reserves

£’000

(7,002)
(294)
468
(6,828)

(618)
878 
(6,568)

 –  
 (294) 

(294) 

 –  

 468  

 (6,828) 

 –  
 (618) 

 (618) 

 –  

 878  

 (6,568) 

Reverse 
acquisition 
reserve 

£’000 

(8,483) 
 –  
 –  
(8,483) 

 –  
 –  
 (8,483) 

15,918  
 –  

15,918 

 (7,608) 

 –  

 72,842  

 15,199  
 –  

 15,199  

(8,738) 

 –  

79,303  

Foreign 
currency 
reserve 

£’000 

1,481 
(294) 
 –  
 1,187  

 (618) 
 –  
569 

The nature and purpose of each reserve within equity is as follows: 
– Share capital is nominal value of the shares issued. 
 – Share premium is the amount received for shares issued in excess of their nominal value. 
 – Share based payment reserve is the credit arising on the share based payment charges in relation to the Company’s share option schemes. 
 – Foreign currency reserve is the cumulative gain or loss arising on retranslating the net assets of overseas operations into sterling.
–  Reverse acquisition reserve was created when RWS Holdings plc became the legal parent of Bybrook Limited. The substance of this combination was that Bybrook 

Limited acquired RWS Holdings plc.

– Retained earnings are the cumulative net gains and losses, including the capital reserve from the Company balance sheet. 

The notes on pages 24 to 48 form part of these financial statements.

22  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 30 September

Cash flows from operating activities 
Profit before tax 
Adjustments for: 
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 
Amortization of intangible assets 
Share based payment costs 
Finance income 
Finance expense 
Share in results of associate 
Gain on disposal of associate 
Operating cash flow before movements in working capital and provisions 
Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables 
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables 
Cash generated from operations 
Income tax paid 
Net cash inflow from operating activities 
Cash flows from investing activities 
Interest received 
Acquisition of subsidiary, net of cash acquired 
Purchases of property, plant and equipment 
Purchases of intangibles (computer software) 
Net cash outflow from investing activities 
Cash flows from financing activities 
Dividends paid  
Net cash outflow from financing activities 
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year 
Exchange losses on cash and cash equivalents 
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year 

Free cash flow 
Analysis of free cash flow 
Net cash generated from operations 
Net interest received 
Income tax paid 
Purchases of property, plant and equipment 
Purchases of intangibles (computer software) 
Free cash flow 

Note  

12 
11 

21 
12 
11 

8 

20 

2014 
£’000 

19,629 

599 
1,632 
878 
(57) 
 14  
 –  
 –  
22,695 
64 
503 
23,262 
(5,239) 
18,023 

108 
 –  
(4,919) 
(78) 
(4,889) 

(8,738) 
(8,738) 
4,396 
18,305 
(222) 
22,479 

23,262 
108 
(5,239) 
(4,919) 
(78) 
13,134 

2013
£’000

 20,510

666
799
468
(456)
 – 
(496)
(693)
20,798
(309)
(36)
20,453
(4,249)
16,204

151
(14,892)
(376)
(34)
(15,151)

(7,608)
(7,608)
(6,555)
25,096
(236)
18,305

20,453
151
(4,249)
(376)
(34)
15,945

The Directors consider that the free cash flow analysis above indicates the cash generated from normal  activities excluding acquisitions and dividends paid.

The notes on pages 24 to 48 form part of these financial statements.

RWS Holdings plc  23

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES 

Basis of accounting and preparation  
of financial statements 
RWS Holdings plc is a public limited company 
incorporated and domiciled in England and Wales 
whose shares are publicly traded on the Alternative 
Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.

The Group financial statements consolidate those of 
the Parent Company and its subsidiaries. The Parent 
Company financial statements present information 
about the Company as a separate entity and not 
about its Group.

The consolidated financial statements have been 
prepared in accordance with International Financial 
Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the EU, 
IFRIC interpretations and Companies Act 2006 
applicable to Companies reporting under IFRS.

The consolidated financial statements have been 
prepared under the historic cost convention as 
modified, where applicable, by the revaluation of 
financial assets and financial liabilities at fair value 
through the income statement.

The principal accounting policies adopted in 
the preparation of the consolidated financial 
statements are set out below. The policies have 
been consistently applied to all the years presented, 
unless otherwise stated.

The Company has elected to prepare the Company 
financial statements in accordance with UK 
Accounting Standards. These are presented on 
pages 49 to 55 and the accounting policies in 
respect of Company information are set out on 
pages 51 to 52.

Changes in accounting policies 
There were no new standards, interpretations 
and amendments, applied for the first time from 
1 October 2013, that have had a material effect on 
the financial statements.

Certain new standards, amendments and 
interpretations to existing standards have been 
published that are mandatory for later accounting 
periods and which have not been adopted early. 
There were no new standards, amendments or 
interpretations that are expected to have a material 
impact on the Group.

24  RWS Holdings plc

The preparation of the financial statements in 
conformity with generally accepted accounting 
principles requires management to make estimates 
and judgements that affect the reported amounts 
of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial 
statements and the reported amounts of revenues 
and expenses during the reported period. Actual 
results could differ from these estimates. Judgements 
include classification of transactions between the 
income statement and the balance sheet, whilst 
estimations focus on areas such as carrying values 
and estimated lives.

Consolidation 
A subsidiary is an entity controlled, directly or 
indirectly. Control is regarded as the power to 
govern the financial and operating policies of 
the entity so as to benefit from its activities. The 
financial results of subsidiaries are consolidated 
from the date control is obtained until the date that 
control ceases. All intra-group transactions are 
eliminated as part of the consolidation process.

On 11 November 2003, RWS Holdings plc 
became the legal parent company of Bybrook 
Limited and its subsidiary undertakings. The 
substance of the combination was that Bybrook 
Limited acquired RWS Holdings plc in a reverse 
acquisition.

Goodwill arose on the difference between the fair 
value of the legal parent’s share capital and the fair 
value of its net liabilities at the reverse acquisition 
date. This goodwill was written-off in the year 
ended 30 September 2004, because the goodwill 
had no intrinsic value.

Business combinations 
Under the requirements of IFRS 3 (revised), all 
business combinations are accounted for using the 
acquisition method (‘acquisition accounting’). The 
cost of a business acquisition is the aggregate 
of fair values, at the date of exchange, of assets 
given, liabilities incurred or assumed, and equity 
instruments issued by the acquirer. Following 
IFRS 3 (revised) becoming effective, costs directly 
attributable to business combinations are expensed, 
where previously they were treated as part of the 
cost of the acquisition. 

The cost of a business combination is allocated at 
the acquisition date by recognising the acquiree’s 
identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities 

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

that satisfy the recognition criteria, at their fair 
values at that date. The acquisition date is the date 
on which the acquirer effectively obtains control of 
the acquiree. An intangible asset, such as customer 
relationships or trademarks, is recognised if it meets 
the definition of an intangible asset under IAS 38 
‘Intangible assets’. The excess of the cost of the 
acquisition over the fair value of the Group’s share of 
the net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill.

Goodwill and other intangible assets 
Intangible assets are stated at historic purchase cost 
less accumulated amortization.

Goodwill arising on acquisitions is capitalised and 
subject to an impairment review, both annually and 
when there is an indication that the carrying value 
may not be recoverable. At the date of acquisition, 
goodwill is allocated at the lowest levels for which 
there are separate identifiable cash flows for the 
purpose of impairment testing. Assets which have 
suffered an impairment are reviewed for possible 
reversal of the impairment at each reporting date.

Intangible assets separately identified from 
goodwill acquired as part of a business 
combination are initially stated at fair value. The fair 
value attributable is determined by discounting the 
expected future cash flows to be generated from 
that asset at the risk adjusted weighted average 
cost of capital appropriate to that intangible asset. 
The assets are amortized over their estimated useful 
lives which range from five to ten years.

Acquired computer software licences are 
capitalised on the basis of the costs incurred to 
acquire and bring to use the specific software. 
These assets are amortized using the straight 
line method over their estimated useful lives (not 
exceeding three years).

Revenue recognition 
Group revenue represents the fair value of the 
consideration received or receivable for the 
rendering of services, net of value added tax 
and other similar sales based taxes, rebates and 
discounts and after eliminating inter-company sales. 
Revenue, other than subscription and commission 
income, is recognised as a translation, filing or 
search is fulfilled in accordance with agreed client 
instructions and includes, where contracts are 
partially completed, the revenue on the element of 
the work performed to date.

Subscription revenue is recognised on a straight 
line basis over the term during which the service 
is provided. Commission income is credited to 
revenue upon securing the related sale.

Accrued income represents the full receivable value 
of work performed to date.

Foreign currencies 
The individual financial statements of each Group 
company are presented in the currency of the 
primary economic environment in which it operates 
(its functional currency). For the purpose of the 
consolidated financial statements, the results and 
financial position of each Group company are 
expressed in pounds sterling, which is the functional 
currency of the Company, and the presentation 
currency for the consolidated financial statements.

In preparing the individual financial statements of 
the individual companies, transactions in currencies 
other than the entity’s functional currency (foreign 
currencies) are recorded at the rates of exchange 
prevailing on the dates of the transactions. At each 
reporting date, monetary assets and liabilities 
that are denominated in foreign currencies are 
retranslated at the rates prevailing on the reporting 
date. Non-monetary items that are measured in 
terms of historical cost in foreign currency are not 
retranslated.

Exchange differences on all transactions are 
taken to operating profit in the Statement of 
Comprehensive Income.

In the consolidated financial statements, the assets 
and liabilities of the Group’s foreign operations 
are translated at exchange rates prevailing on the 
reporting date. Income and expense items are 
translated at the average exchange rates, which 
approximate to actual rates, for the relevant 
accounting period. Exchange differences arising, if 
any, are classified as other comprehensive income 
and recognised in the Group’s foreign currency 
reserve.

Goodwill and fair value adjustments arising on the 
acquisition of a foreign entity are treated as assets 
and liabilities of the foreign entity and translated 
at the closing rate. The Group has elected to treat 
goodwill and fair value adjustments arising on 
acquisitions before the date of transition to IFRSs as 
sterling-denominated assets and liabilities.

RWS Holdings plc  25

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

Segment information 
Segment information reflects how management 
controls the business. This is primarily by the type 
of service supplied and then by the geographic 
location of the business units delivering those 
services. The assets and liabilities of the segments 
reflect the assets and liabilities of the underlying 
companies involved.

Property, plant and equipment 
Property, plant and equipment are stated at historic 
purchase cost less accumulated depreciation where 
cost includes the original purchase price of the 
asset and the costs attributable to bring the asset to 
its working condition for intended use.

The Group’s policy is to write off the difference 
between the cost of each item of property, plant 
and equipment and its estimated residual value 
systematically over its estimated useful life using the 
straight-line method on the following bases:

Freehold land and buildings – Nil to 2% 
 Long leasehold and leasehold improvements – 
the length of the lease 
Furniture and equipment – 10% to 33% 
Motor vehicles – Over six years

All items of property, plant and equipment are 
tested for impairment when there are indications 
that the carrying value may not be recoverable. 
Any impairment losses are recognised immediately 
in the Statement of Comprehensive Income. Any 
assets which have suffered an impairment are 
reviewed for possible reversal of the impairment at 
each reporting date.

The gain or loss on disposal or retirement of an 
asset is determined as the difference between 
the sales proceeds and the carrying amount of 
the asset and is recognised in the Statement of 
Comprehensive Income.

Associates 
Where the Group has the power to participate in 
(but not control) the financial and operating policy 
decisions of another entity, it is classified as an 
associate. Associates are initially recognised in the 
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position at cost.

excess of the Group’s investment in the associate 
are not recognised unless there is an obligation to 
make good those losses.

Any premium paid for an associate above the 
fair value of the Group’s share of the identifiable 
assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities acquired 
is capitalised and included in the carrying amount 
of the associate. Where there is objective evidence 
that the investment in an associate has been 
impaired the carrying amount of the investment is 
tested for impairment in the same way as other non-
financial assets.

Derivative financial instruments 
The Group uses derivative financial instruments to 
manage its exposure to foreign exchange arising 
from operational activities.

Derivative financial instruments are initially 
measured at fair value (with direct transaction costs 
being included in the Statement of Comprehensive 
Income as an expense) and are subsequently 
remeasured to fair value at each reporting date.

Changes in carrying value are recognised in the 
Statement of Comprehensive Income.

Trade and other receivables 
Trade and other receivables represent amounts due 
from customers in the normal course of business. All 
amounts are initially stated at fair value and are 
subsequently measured at amortized cost, using the 
effective interest rate method.

Cash and cash equivalents 
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash in hand, 
deposits held at call with banks and highly liquid 
investments with original maturities of three months 
or less and are subject to an insignificant risk of 
changes in value.

Taxation 
The tax expense represents the sum of the tax 
currently payable and deferred tax. Tax is 
recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive 
Income except to the extent that it relates to items 
recognised directly in equity, in which case it is 
recognised in equity.

The Group’s share of post-acquisition profits and 
losses is recognised in the Consolidated Statement 
of Comprehensive Income, except that losses in 

The current tax payable is based on taxable profit 
for the year. Taxable profit differs from profit as 
reported in the Statement of Comprehensive Income 

26  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

because it excludes items that are not taxable or 
deductible. The Group’s current tax assets and 
liabilities are calculated using tax rates that have 
been enacted or substantively enacted by the 
reporting date.

Deferred tax is the tax expected to be payable or 
recoverable on differences between the carrying 
amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial 
statements and the corresponding tax bases used in 
the computation of taxable profit, and is accounted 
for using the balance sheet 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. Deferred tax is calculated using tax 
rates that are expected to apply in the period when 
the liability is settled or the asset realised based on 
tax rates that have been enacted or substantively 
enacted at the reporting date.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when 
there is a legally enforceable right to offset current 
tax assets and 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.

Employee benefits 
The Group operates a defined contribution pension 
plan and has no further obligations once the 
contributions have been paid. Payments to the plan 
are recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive 
Income as they fall due.

Paid holidays are regarded as an employee 
benefit and as such are charged to the Statement 
of Comprehensive Income as the benefits are 
earned. An accrual is made at the balance sheet 
date to reflect the fair value of holidays earned but 
not yet taken.

Trade and other payables 
Trade and other payables are initially measured 
at fair value, and are subsequently measured at 
amortized cost, using the effective interest rate 
method.

Provisions 
Provisions are recognised when the Group has a 
present legal or constructive obligation as a result 
of a past event from which it is probable that it will 
result in an outflow of economic benefits that can 
reasonably be estimated.

Leases 
Leases where the lessor retains substantially all the 
risks and benefits of ownership of the asset are 
classified as operating leases.

Operating lease rental payments are recognised 
as an expense in the Statement of Comprehensive 
Income on a straight-line basis over the lease term. 
The benefit of lease incentives is spread over the 
term of the lease.

Capital 
The Group considers its capital to comprise its 
ordinary share capital, share premium, other 
reserves and accumulated retained earnings. In 
managing its capital, the Group’s primary objective 
is to ensure its continued ability to provide a 
consistent return for its equity shareholders through 
a combination of capital growth and distributions. 
The Group has historically considered equity 
funding as the most appropriate form of capital 
for the Group but keeps this under review bearing 
in mind the risks, costs and benefits to equity 
shareholders of introducing debt finance.

Equity issued by the Company is recorded as the 
proceeds received net of direct issue costs.

Share based payments 
The Group and Company provide benefits to 
certain employees (including certain Executive 
Directors), in the form of share based payment 
transactions whereby employees render services in 
exchange for rights over shares in the form of share 
options.

These equity settled share based transactions are 
measured as the fair value of the share option at 
the grant date. The fair value excludes the effect 
of non market based vesting conditions. Details 
regarding the determination of the fair value of 
these options can be seen in note 19.

The fair value determined at the grant date of the 
share options is expensed on a straight line basis 
over the vesting period, based on the Group’s 

RWS Holdings plc  27

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

Fair value of identifiable net assets acquired 
Upon acquisition of a business the fair value of 
identifiable assets and liabilities are calculated. 
These values are either based on reports obtained 
from independent 3rd party professional valuers or 
internally generated discounted cash flow forecasts.

Share based payments 
The Group operates a share based payment 
scheme. The charge for share based payments is 
based on the fair value of awards at the date of 
grant which is partly calculated by use of the Black-
Scholes pricing model which requires judgement to 
be made regarding volatility, dividend yield, risk 
free rates of return and expected option lives. The 
inputs used in these pricing models to calculate the 
fair values are set out in note 19.

An element of the share based payment charge 
also relies on certain assumptions over the future 
performance of the share price which may not be 
met or may be exceeded by the time the relevant 
awards vest.

Useful economic lives of intangible  
and tangible assets 
The useful economic lives and residual values 
of assets have been established using historic 
experience and an assessment of the nature of the 
assets involved.

Provisions 
Provisions are assessed annually in accordance 
with the Group’s accounting policy. Provisions are 
recognised when it is probable that an outflow of 
economic benefits will occur as a result of a past 
event or transaction and a reliable estimate of the 
outflow can be made. In the event that estimates 
are wrong, this may impact the financial statements 
in future periods.

estimate of the number of share options that will 
vest. At each balance sheet date the Group revises 
its estimate of the number of options expected to 
vest as a result of the effect on non market based 
vesting conditions. The impact of the revision of 
the original estimates, if any, is recognised in the 
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income 
such that the cumulative expense reflects the revised 
estimate with a corresponding adjustment to equity 
reserves.

Dividends 
Dividend distribution to the Company’s shareholders 
is recognised as a liability in the Group’s financial 
statements in the period in which dividends are 
approved by the Company’s shareholders. 

2  CRITICAL JUDGEMENTS AND 

ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES IN APPLYING 
THE GROUP’S ACCOUNTING POLICIES 

The Group makes certain estimates and assumptions 
regarding the future. Estimates and judgements 
are evaluated based on historical experience 
and other factors, including expectations of future 
events that are believed to be reasonable under the 
circumstances. The estimates and assumptions are 
reviewed on an ongoing basis. In the future, actual 
experience may vary materially from management 
expectation.

Key sources of estimation uncertainty 
The following estimates and assumptions are 
considered to have a risk of causing a material 
adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and 
liabilities in the financial statements.

Impairment of goodwill 
Determining whether goodwill is impaired requires 
an estimation of the value in use of the cash-
generating units to which goodwill has been 
allocated. The value in use calculation requires the 
Group to estimate the future cash flows expected 
to arise from the cash-generating units and 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 cash-
generating unit. More details on the carrying value 
of goodwill is included in note 10.

28  RWS Holdings plc

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

3 SEGMENT INFORMATION 

The chief operating decision maker has been identified as the Board. The Board reviews the Group’s internal 
reporting in order to assess performance and allocate resources, and to date has divided the Group into 
four reportable segments. The Board assesses the performance of the segments based on revenue and 
profit/(loss) from operations. These are measured on a basis consistent with the income statement.

The Group comprises 4 divisions, Patent and Commercial translations (for management reporting purposes 
analysed between UK and Overseas), the Information division, offering a full range of patent search, 
retrieval and monitoring services and inovia, a global provider of web-based filing solutions.

The unallocated segment relates to corporate overheads, assets and liabilities.

The segment results for the year ended 30 September 2014 are as follows:

Revenue
Patent translation 
Commercial translation 
inovia 
Information 
Revenue 
Operating profit/(loss) before charging:  
Amortization of customer relationships and trademarks 
Share based payment (charges)/credit 
Profit/(loss) from operations 
Finance income  
Finance expense 
Profit before taxation 
Taxation  
Profit for the year 

Translations 
UK 

Translations 
Overseas 

inovia 

Information 

Unallocated 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

47,738 
10,502 
 –  
 –  
58,240 
16,383 
(1,429) 
(320) 
14,634 

4,288 
5,499 
 –  
 –  
9,787 
2,175 
 –  
(117) 
2,058 

 –  
 –  
 19,373  
 –  
19,373 
 967  
 –  
 –  
967 

 –  
 –  
 –  
6,156 
6,156 
3,135 
(143) 
19 
3,011 

 –  
 –  
 –  
 –  
 –  
(624) 
 –  
(460) 
(1,084) 

Group

£’000

52,026
16,001
19,373
6,156
93,556
22,036
(1,572)
(878)
19,586
57
(14)
19,629
(4,430)
15,199

Overseas intercompany revenues to the UK amounting to £4.8 million have been eliminated on 
consolidation. All sales between segments are carried out on an arm's length basis.

RWS Holdings plc  29

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

3 SEGMENT INFORMATION (CONTINUED) 

The segment results for the year ended 30 September 2013 are as follows:

Revenue
Patent translation 
Commercial translation 
inovia 
Information 
Revenue 
Operating profit/(loss) before charging: 
Amortization of customer relationships and trademarks 
Share based payment charges 
Profit/(loss) from operations 
Finance income 
Share in results of associate 
Gain on disposal of associate 
Profit before taxation 
Taxation  
Profit for the year 

Translations 
UK 

Translations 
Overseas 

inovia 

Information 

Unallocated 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

49,035 
11,010 
 –  
 –  
60,045 
15,973 
(584) 
(160) 
15,229 

4,505 
6,366 
 –  
 –  
10,871 
2,322 
 –  
(59) 
2,263 

 –  
 –  
1,186 
 –  
 1,186  
 129  
 –  
 –  
 129  

 –  
 –  
 –  
5,302 
5,302 
2,390 
(143) 
(19) 
2,228 

 –  
 –  
 –  
 –  
 –  
(754) 
 –  
(230) 
(984) 

Group

£’000

53,540
17,376
1,186
5,302
77,404
20,060
(727)
(468)
18,865
456
496
693
20,510
(4,592)
15,918

Overseas intercompany revenues to the UK amounting to £4.2 million have been eliminated on 
consolidation. All sales between segments are carried out on an arms length basis.

The segment assets and liabilities at 30 September 2014 are as follows:

Total assets 

Total liabilities 

Capital expenditure 
Depreciation  
Amortization 

Translations 
UK 

Translations 
Overseas 

inovia 

Information 

Unallocated 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

Group

£’000

70,247 

5,739 

5,448 

6,148 

8,239 

95,821

6,851 

1,893 

2,881 

2,709 

3,053 

17,387

4,614 
345 
1429 

217 
94 
60 

6 
1 
 –  

127 
98 
143 

33 
61 
 –  

4,997
599
1,632

Capital expenditure comprises additions to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, including 
additions from acquisitions through business combinations.

30  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

The segment assets and liabilities at 30 September 2013 are as follows:

Total assets 
Total liabilities 

Capital expenditure 
Depreciation  
Amortization 

Translations 
UK 

Translations 
Overseas 

inovia 

Information 

Unallocated 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

62,744 
6,451 

6,408 
367 
584 

5,250 
1,849 

4,508 
4,081 

5,286 
1,950 

11,605 
3,349 

159 
98 
65 

8 
– 
– 

88 
142 
 143  

126 
59 
7 

Group

£’000

89,393
17,680

6,789
666
799

Capital expenditure comprises additions to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, including 
additions from acquisitions through business combinations.

The majority of unallocated assets relates to cash held by the Parent Company.

Segment assets and liabilities are reconciled to the Group’s assets and liabilities as follows:

Segment assets and liabilities 
Unallocated:
Deferred tax 
Property, plant and equipment 
Non-financial assets 
Other financial assets and liabilities 
Total unallocated 

Assets 
2014 
£’000 

Liabilities 
2014 
£’000 

Assets 
2013 
£’000 

Liabilities
2013
£’000

 87,582  

 14,334  

 77,788  

 14,331 

250 
102 
216 
7,671 
8,239 
95,821 

1,712 
 –  
483 
858 
3,053 
17,387 

189 
130 
271 
11,015 
11,605 
89,393 

2,048
 – 
771
530
3,349
17,680

The assets allocated to a segment consist primarily of operating assets such as property, plant and 
equipment, intangible assets, goodwill, receivables and cash.

The liabilities allocated to a segment comprise primarily trade payables and other operating liabilities.

The Group’s operations are based in the UK, Continental Europe, Asia, United States of America and 
Australia. The table below shows turnover by the geographic market in which customers are located.

UK 
Continental Europe 
Asia, United States of America and Australia 

2014 
£’000 

16,511 
46,134 
30,911 
93,556 

2013
£’000

11,401
43,522
22,481
77,404

No customer accounted for more than 7% of Group turnover in either the current or prior year.

RWS Holdings plc  31

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

3 SEGMENT INFORMATION (CONTINUED) 

The following is an analysis of revenue, carrying amount of assets, and additions to property, plant and 
equipment and intangible assets, analysed by the geographical area in which the Group’s undertakings are 
located. 

Revenue 

Segment assets 

2014 
£’000 

64,396 
5,499 
23,661 
93,556 

2013 
£’000 

65,347 
6,335 
5,722 
77,404 

2014 
£’000 

84,633 
2,588 
8,600 
95,821 

2013 
£’000 

79,636 
2,440 
7,317 
89,393 

Capital expenditure 
2014 
2013
£’000 
£’000

4,774 
106 
39 
4,919 

6,656
43
90
6,789

UK  
Continental Europe 
Asia, United States of America and Australia 

4 PROFIT FROM OPERATIONS

This has been arrived at after charging/(crediting):
Staff costs (note 5) 
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment and motor vehicles (note 12) 
Amortization of intangible assets (note 11) 
Foreign exchange gains 
Operating lease rentals:
 – Property 
 – Plant and equipment 

Auditor’s remuneration
Fees payable to the Company’s auditors and its associates for the audit of the Group’s annual accounts   
Fees payable to the Company’s auditors and its associates for other services:
 – The audit of the Company’s subsidiaries  
 – Tax Compliance services 
 – Audit-related assurance services  
Total fees 

5 STAFF COSTS

Staff costs (including Directors) comprise:
Wages and salaries 
Social security costs 
Other Pension costs 
Share based payment expense (note 19) 

2014 
£’000 

2013
£’000

25,632 
599 
1,632 
(481) 

22,091
666
799
(316)

627 
132 

50 

95 
60 
 –  
205 

621
175

53

87
58
18
216

2014 
£’000 

2013
£’000

21,847 
2,493 
414 
878 
25,632 

18,910
2,345
368
468
22,091

The Group operates a defined contribution pension scheme making payments on behalf of employees to 
their personal pension plans.

32  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

Payments of £414,000 (2013: £368,000) were made in the year and charged to the income statement in 
the period they fell due. At the year end there were unpaid amounts included within Other Creditors totalling 
£53,000 (2013: £44,000).

Details of Directors’ remuneration and pension contributions are disclosed in the Directors’ Remuneration 
Report on pages 14 to 16.

Key management compensation

Short term employee benefits 
Post employment benefits 
Share based payments 

2014 
£’000 

2,466 
77 
878 
3,421 

2013
£’000

2,434
75
468
2,977

The key management compensation includes the six (2013: seven) Directors of RWS Holdings plc, the five 
(2013: five) members of the Senior Executive Team who are not Directors of RWS Holdings plc and the four 
(2013: three) Managing Directors of the operating subsidiary undertakings based overseas.

The monthly average number of people employed by the Group, including Directors and part-time 
employees, during the year was:

Production staff 
Administrative staff 

6 FINANCE INCOME AND EXPENSE

Finance income
 – Returns on short-term deposits  
 – Movement in the fair value of foreign currency contracts  

Finance expense
 – Interest on deferred consideration relating to an acquisition 
 – Movement in the fair value of foreign currency contracts  
Net finance income 

2014 
Number 

2013
Number

464 
129 
593 

434
98
532

2014 
£’000 

2013
£’000

57 
–  

(1) 
(13) 
43 

149
307

 – 
 – 
456

RWS Holdings plc  33

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

7 TAXATION 

Taxation recognised in the income statement is as follows:
Current tax expense
Tax on profit for the current year
 – UK 
 – Overseas 
Adjustment in respect of prior years 

Deferred tax
Current year movement 
Prior year movement 
Total tax expense in the Statement of Comprehensive Income 

The table below reconciles the UK statutory tax charge to the Group’s total tax charge.

Profit before taxation 
Notional tax charge at UK corporation tax rate of 22.0% (2013: 23.5%) 
Effects of:
Items not deductible or not chargeable for tax purposes 
Gain on disposal of associate not chargeable for tax 
Differences in overseas tax rates 
Adjustments in respect of prior years 
Total tax expense for the year 

2014 
£’000 

2013
£’000

4,077 
717 
89 
4,883 

(395) 
(58) 
4,430 

2014 
£’000 

19,629 
4,318 

(116) 
 –  
139 
89 
4,430 

4,097
861
(180)
4,778

(196)
10
4,592

2013
£’000

20,510
4,820

(160)
(163)
275 
(180)
4,592

Factors that may affect future tax charges 
The standard rate of corporation tax in the UK changed from 24.0% to 23.0% with effect from 1 April 2013. 
Legislation was enacted to reduce the main rate of corporation tax from 23.0% to 21.0% with effect from 
1 April 2014. 

The main rate will reduce further to 20% (and will become unified with the small companies rate) from 
1 April 2015. The reductions in tax rate to 21% and subsequently to 20% were substantively enacted for the 
purposes of IAS 12, ‘Income taxes’, on 2 July 2013.

As these rate changes have been substantively enacted at the balance sheet date, their effects have been 
included in these financial statements. 

8 DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS 

Final, paid 21 February 2014 (2013: paid 22 February 2013) 
Interim, paid 25 July 2014 (2013: paid 19 July 2013) 

34  RWS Holdings plc

2014 

2014 

2013 

2013

pence 
per share 

15.75 
4.90 
20.65 

£’000 

6,665 
2,073 
8,738 

pence
per share 

13.48 
4.50 
17.98 

£’000

5,704
1,904
7,608

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

The Directors recommend a final dividend in respect of the financial year ended 30 September 2014 of 
18.00 pence per Ordinary share to be paid on 27 February 2015 to shareholders who are on the register 
at 30 January 2015. This dividend is not reflected in these financial statements as it does not represent a 
liability at 30 September 2014. The final proposed dividend will reduce shareholders’ funds by an estimated 
£7.6 million. 

9 EARNINGS PER ORDINARY SHARE

Basic earnings per share are based on the post-tax group profit for the year and a weighted average 
number of Ordinary shares in issue during the year calculated as follows:

Weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue for basic earnings 
Dilutive impact of share options  
Weighted average number of Ordinary shares for diluted earnings 

2014 

2013

42,315,968 
410,758 
42,726,726 

42,315,968
23,190
42,339,158

Adjusted earnings per Ordinary share is also presented to eliminate the effects of amortization of customer 
relationships, trademarks and share options and in 2013 a gain on sale of an associate. This presentation 
shows the trend in earnings per Ordinary share that is attributable to the underlying trading activities. The 
reconciliation between the basic and adjusted figures is as follows:

2014 

Basic 
earnings 
per share 

2013 

Basic 
earnings 
per share 

2014 

Diluted 
earnings 
per share 

pence 

pence 

pence 

2013

Diluted
earnings
per share

pence

2014 

£’000 

2013 

£’000 

Profit for the year 
Post tax adjustments
Amortization of customer relationships, trademarks and technology 
Gain on sale of Associate 
Charges for share based payments 
Adjusted earnings 

15,199 

15,918 

35.9 

37.6 

35.6 

37.6

1,242 
 –  
694 
17,135 

574 
(547) 
370 
16,315 

3.0 
 –  
1.6 
40.5 

1.4 
(1.3) 
0.9 
38.6 

2.9 
 –  
1.6 
40.1 

1.4
(1.3)
0.9
38.6

10 GOODWILL

Cost and net book value
At 1 October 
Additions  
Exchange adjustments 
At 30 September 

2014 
£’000 

30,780 
 –  
(268) 
30,512 

restated
2013
£’000

14,053
16,800
 (73)
30,780

In the year management finalised the fair value adjustments relating to the acquisition of inovia in 2013. This 
has resulted in a £455,000 increase to goodwill. Further details can be seen in note 21.

RWS Holdings plc  35

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

10 GOODWILL (CONTINUED)

During the year, goodwill was tested for impairment. The recoverable amount for each cash-generating 
unit (“CGU”) has been determined from value in use calculations. The key assumptions for the value in use 
calculations are those regarding discount rates, growth rates and expected changes to selling prices and 
direct costs during the period. All of these assumptions have been reviewed during the year. Management 
estimates discount rates using pre tax rates that reflect current market assessments of the time value of 
money and the risk specific to each CGU, this has resulted in a range of discount rates being used within 
the calculations. The growth rates used in the calculations are based on a review of both recently achieved 
growth rates and a prudent estimate of likely future growth rates for each specific market sector.

Key assumptions for the value in use calculations are as follows:

Translations UK 
Translations Continental Europe 
inovia 
Information 

Long Term 
Growth Rate 

Discount
Rates

2% 
2% 
2% 
2% 

11%
12%
17%
12%

As part of the value in use calculation, management prepare cash flow forecasts derived from the most 
recent financial budgets, approved by the Board of Directors for the next 12 months, and extrapolates the 
cash flows for 5 years based on an estimated growth rate. This rate does not exceed the expected growth 
rate for the relevant markets of each CGU.

The Group has conducted a sensitivity analysis on the carrying value of each of the CGUs. For the 
Translations UK and Information CGUs there are no reasonably possible changes in the key assumptions that 
could cause the carrying value of the CGUs to exceed their recoverable amounts. For the Continental Europe 
and inovia CGUs a reduction in growth rates of 56% and 64% respectively would be required to cause the 
carrying value of goodwill to equal the recoverable amount.

Based on the result of the value in use calculations undertaken, the Directors conclude that the recoverable 
amount in the CGUs exceeds its carrying value.

The allocation of goodwill to CGUs is as follows:

Translations
   UK  
   Continental Europe 

   inovia 
   Information 
At 30 September  

2014 
£’000 

2013
£’000

17,751 
4,143 
21,894 
6,837 
1,781 
30,512 

17,751
4,411
22,162
6,837
1,781
30,780

Subsidiaries
A list of the subsidiaries whose results or financial position principally affect the figures shown in the Group 
financial statements is shown in note 4 to the Company’s separate financial statements.

36  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

11 INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Cost
At 1 October 2012 
Additions 
Disposals 
Currency translation 
 At 30 September 2013 
Additions 
Disposals 
Currency translation 
At 30 September 2014 
Accumulated amortization and impairment
At 1 October 2012 
Amortization charge 
Disposals 
Currency translation 
At 30 September 2013 
Amortization charge 
Disposals 
Currency translation 
At 30 September 2014 
Net book value
At 1 October 2012 
At 30 September 2013 
At 30 September 2014 

Technology 

Trademarks 

Customer
relationships 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

Software 

£’000 

Total

£’000

 –  
 2,011  
 –  
 (37) 
 1,974  
 –  
 –  
 –  
 1,974  

 –  
 – 
 –  
 – 
 –  
 385  
 –  
 10  
 395  

 –  
 1,974  
 1,579  

 236  
 –  
 –  
 12  
 248  
 –  
 –  
 (16) 
 232  

 220  
17  
 –  
11  
 248  
 –  
 –  
 (16) 
 232  

 16  
 –  
 –  

 6,324  
 4,368  
 –  
 109  
 10,801  
 –  
 –  
 (218) 
 10,583  

 2,187  
 710  
 –  
 70  
 2,967  
 1,187  
 –  
 (123) 
 4,031  

 4,137  
 7,834  
 6,552  

 339  
 34  
 (61) 
 13  
 325  
 78  
 (10) 
 (22) 
 371  

 218  
 72  
 (61) 
 8  
 237  
 60  
 (6) 
 (17) 
 274  

 121  
 88  
 97  

 6,899 
 6,413 
 (61)
 97
 13,348 
 78 
 (10)
 (256)
 13,160 

 2,625 
 799 
 (61)
 89 
 3,452 
 1,632 
 (6)
 (146)
 4,932 

 4,274 
 9,896 
 8,228 

Trademarks, Technology and Customer Relationships are amortized over 5 to 10 years and Software over 
3 years. 

RWS Holdings plc  37

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

12 PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

Cost
At 1 October 2012 
Currency translation 
Additions 
Acquisitions 
Disposals 
At 30 September 2013 
Currency translation 
Additions 
Disposals 
At 30 September 2014 
Accumulated depreciation
At 1 October 2012 
Currency translation 
Acquisitions 
Depreciation charge 
Disposals 
At 30 September 2013 
Currency translation 
Depreciation charge 
Disposals 
At 30 September 2014 
Net book value
At 1 October 2012 
At 30 September 2013 
At 30 September 2014 

Freehold 
land 
and  
buildings 

Leasehold 
land, 
buildings and 
improvements 

Furniture
and 
equipment 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

Motor 
vehicles 

£’000 

 12,375  
 –  
 –  
 –  
 –  
 12,375  
 –  
 4,538  
 –  
16,913 

 311  
 –  
 –  
 178  
 –  
 489  
 –  
 215  
 –  
 704  

12,064 
11,886 
16,209 

519 
 –  
 –  
 –  
 –  
519 
 –  
 62  
 –  
581 

262 
 –  
 –  
64 
 –  
326 
 –  
4 
 –  
330 

257 
193 
251 

2,022 
9 
376 
13 
 (78) 
2,342 
(39) 
319 
(9) 
2,613 

1,109 
6 
4 
420 
 (73) 
1,466 
(27) 
378 
(9) 
1,808 

913 
876 
805 

79 
 –  
 –  
 –  
 –  
79 
 –  
 –  
 –  
79 

28 
 –  
 –  
4 
 –  
32 
 –  
2 
 –  
34 

51 
47 
45 

Total

£’000

14,995
9
376
13
(78)
15,315
(39)
4,919
(9)
20,186

1,710
6
4
666
(73)
2,313
(27)
599
(9)
2,876

13,285
13,002
17,310

The Freehold addition in 2014 includes £4,300,000 of new office space on the Chiltern Park estate for 
future business expansion.

38  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

13 DEFERRED TAX 

The deferred tax assets and liabilities and the movements during the year, before offset of balances within 
the same jurisdiction, are as follows:

Deferred tax assets
At 1 October 2012 
Credited/(charged) to income 
At 30 September 2013 
Credited/(charged) to income 
At 30 September 2014 

Deferred tax liabilities
At 1 October 2012 
Acquisition of subsidiary 
Charged/(credited) to income 
Credited to equity 
At 30 September 2013 
Charged/(credited) to income 
Credited to equity 
At 30 September 2014 

Accelerated 
tax 
depreciation 

Other
temporary
differences 

£’000 

£’000 

Share 
Options 

£’000 

 –  
58 
58 
111 
169 

67 
(5) 
62 
(4) 
58 

161 
(11) 
150 
(24) 
126 

Accelerated
tax
depreciation 

Intangibles 

£’000 

£’000 

211  
 –  
 83  
 –  
 294  
 18  
 –  
312 

956 
1,340 
(227) 
(20) 
2,049 
(330) 
(7) 
1,712 

2014 
£’000 

Total

£’000

228
42
270
83
353

Total

£’000

1,167
1,340
 (144)
 (20)
2,343
 (312)
 (7)
2,024

2013
£’000

Deferred tax assets 
Deferred tax liabilities 
Net deferred tax balance at 30 September  

353 
(2,024) 
(1,671) 

270
(2,343)
(2,073)

Deferred tax is calculated using tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability is settled 
or the asset realised based on tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted at the reporting date.

RWS Holdings plc  39

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

14 TRADE AND OTHER RECEIVABLES  

Trade receivables 
Less: allowance for doubtful debts 

Other receivables 
Prepayments and accrued income 

2014 
£’000 

13,792 
(144) 
13,648 
131 
2,606 
16,385 

2013
£’000

13,523
(156)
13,367
222
2,985
16,574

Trade receivables are non-interest bearing and generally have a 30 day term. Due to their short maturities, 
the carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximate to their fair value. 

Trade receivables net of allowances are held in the following currencies: 

Sterling 
Euros 
Japanese Yen 
US Dollars 
Swiss Francs 
Other 

The ageing of trade receivables at the reporting date was:  

Not past due 
Past due 1-30 days 
Past due 31-60 days 
Past due 61-90 days 
Past due > 90 days 

Movement in allowance for doubtful debts: 

At 1 October 
Utilised 
Charged 
At 30 September  

2014 
£’000 

2,555 
6,311 
444 
3,656 
504 
178 
13,648 

2014 
£’000 

9,191 
3,268 
805 
288 
96 
13,648 

2013
£’000

2,423
5,907
562
4,110
351
14
13,367

2013
£’000

8,390
3,657
935
311
74
13,367

2014 
£’000 

2013
£’000

156 
(23) 
11 
144 

161
(14)
9
156

Given the profile of the Group’s customers, no further credit risk has been identified with trade receivables 
other than those balances for which an allowance has been made.

40  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

15 TRADE AND OTHER PAYABLES

Due in less than one year
Trade payables 
Other tax and social security payable 
Other creditors 
Accruals and deferred income 

2014 
£’000 

2013
£’000

5,771 
1,015 
590 
4,901 
12,277 

4,944
969
737
4,862
11,512

The carrying amount of trade and other payables approximates to their fair value. Trade payables normally 
fall due within 30 to 60 days.

Due in more than one year
Rental deposits 

2014 
£’000 

2013
£’000

30 

 – 

This long term creditor relates to rental deposits received in relation to the leasing of a portion of the newly 
acquired property, Randall House. 

16 PROVISIONS

Due in less than one year
At 1 October 
Charged to the income statement 
Utilised 
Released 
Transferred from provisions due in more than one year 
At 30 September 

2014 
£’000 

2013
£’000

740 
 –  
(55) 
(281) 
76 
480 

336
404
 – 
 – 
 – 
740

Of the above provision, £404,000 relates to a claim made by a third party for the cost of work performed 
during the sale of inovia to RWS in September 2013. This is the full value of the claim, which is expected to 
be determined by arbitration in the first half of 2015.

Due in more than one year
At 1 October 
Utilised 
Charged to the income statement 
Transferred to provisions due in less than one year 
At 30 September 

2014 
£’000 

2013
£’000

530 
(76) 
 –  
(76) 
378 

530
(75)
75
 – 
530

This long term provision relates solely to monthly ongoing future pension payments to a third party and will 
continue for the remainder of the recipients life.

RWS Holdings plc  41

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

17 FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT 

Categories of financial instruments 
All financial assets other than derivative assets are classified as loans and receivables, and all financial 
liabilities are held at amortized cost.

The principal financial assets and liabilities on which financial risks arise are as follows:

Financial assets
Trade and other receivables – current 
Foreign exchange derivatives 
Cash and cash equivalents 

Financial liabilities
Trade and other payables – current 

Carrying 
value 
2014 

£’000 

Carrying
value
2013

£’000

15,246 
554 
22,479 
38,279 

8,486 
8,486 

15,303
566
18,305
34,174

7,655
7,655

Trade and other receivables – current includes accrued revenue of £1,598,000 (30 September 2013: 
£1,936,000).

Trade and other payables – current includes Trade payables, other tax and social security balances plus 
certain other selected accruals.

Financial risk management objectives and policies 
The principal financial risks to which the Group is exposed are those of liquidity, interest rate, credit, foreign 
currency and capital. Each of these is managed as set out below.

The Board has overall responsibility for the determination of the Group’s risk management objectives and 
policies and, whilst retaining ultimate responsibility for them, it has delegated the authority for designing and 
operating processes that ensure the effective implementation of the objectives and policies to the Group’s 
Finance Director.

The overall objective of the Board is to set policies that seek to reduce risk as far as possible without unduly 
affecting the Group’s competitiveness and flexibility.

Liquidity risk 
In addition to its cash balances the Group has an overdraft facility of £1.5 million which was undrawn as at 
the year end. Most available funds, after meeting working capital requirements, are invested in sterling, euro 
and US dollar deposits with maturities not exceeding three months. Accordingly, liquidity risk is considered 
to be low.

Interest rate risk 
The majority of the Group’s cash balances are held with its principal bankers earning interest at variable 
rates of interest. The target yield on deposits is UK base rate plus a margin. To the extent the sterling 
overdraft is utilised it attracts a rate of base plus 2%.

42  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

The currency profiles of the Group’s cash and cash equivalents at 30 September 2014 are set out below. 

Assets – Cash and cash equivalents
Sterling 
US Dollar 
Euros 
Yen 
Swiss Francs 
Other 

  Floating rate  Floating rate 
2013

2014 

£’000 

£’000

9,607 
4,324 
6,175 
961 
1,206 
206 
22,479 

11,645
3,317
2,144
597
585
 17  
18,305

If interest rates changed by 1%, the profit and loss impact would not be material to the Group’s results in 
either the current or prior year.

irectors believe that a change of 1% represents a reasonable sensitivity of the Group’s interest rate risk. 

D

The 
The analysis assumes that all other variables remain constant.

Credit risk 
The Group is exposed to credit risk on cash and cash equivalents, derivative instruments and trade and other 
receivables.

Cash balances, predominantly held in the UK are placed with the Group’s principal bankers who are rated 
A by Standard & Poor’s, and also with an additional two institutions carrying an A and A- rating.

Trade receivable exposures are managed locally in the operating units where they arise. The client base 
tends to be major blue chip organisations or self regulated bodies such as patent agents and legal firms. 
As a result the Group rarely considers a credit check is appropriate but, and where management have 
doubt, they will use their judgement and may impose a credit limit or require payment in advance. No client 
accounts for more than 7% (2013: 6%) of group revenues and there were no significant concentrations of 
credit risk at the balance sheet date.

Provisions for doubtful debts are established in respect of specific trade and other receivables where it is 
deemed they may be irrecoverable.

Foreign currency risk 
Approximately 51% (2013: 50%) of group external sales in the reporting period were denominated in Euros 
and 20% in US dollars (2013: 17%) while the cost base of the Group is predominantly denominated in 
sterling.

The Group has established spot and forward foreign exchange facilities with its principal bankers and 
Investec at a level that enables it to manage most of its Euro and US dollar currency exposures on expected 
future sales over the next twelve months. 

The Group’s policy is, where possible, to allow Group entities to settle liabilities denominated in the 
functional currency with cash generated in that currency from their own operations. Transaction exposures 
arise from non-local currency sales and purchases by subsidiaries with gains and losses on transactions 
arising from fluctuations in exchange rates being recognised in the income statement. In entities which have 
a material exposure the policy is to seek to manage the risk using forward foreign exchange contracts. 

RWS Holdings plc  43

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

17 FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED)

Assets and liabilities of Group entities located in Germany, Switzerland, the United States, Japan and China 
are principally denominated in their respective currencies and are therefore not materially exposed to 
currency risk. On translation to sterling gains or losses arising are recognised directly in equity.

The carrying amounts of the Group’s material foreign currency denominated monetary assets and liabilities 
at the reporting date are as follows:

Euros 
US Dollars 
Swiss Francs 
Yen 
Other 

Liabilities 
2014 

£’000 

Liabilities 
2013 

£’000 

2,052 
185 
 –  
408 
59 
2,704 

942 
186 
 –  
 –  
59 
1,187 

Assets 
2014 

£’000 

11,046 
5,345 
1,277 
21 
92 
17,781 

Assets
2013

£’000

6,429
2,997
577
457
121
10,581

Foreign currency sensitivity analysis 
The following table details the Group’s sensitivity to a 10% increase and decrease in sterling against the 
major currencies listed in the table above. The sensitivity analysis includes only the outstanding denominated 
monetary items and adjusts their translation at the end of the period for a 10% change in the sterling 
exchange rate. A positive number below indicates an increase in profit and other equity where sterling 
weakens against the relevant currency. For a 10% strengthening of sterling against the relevant currency, 
there would be an equal and opposite impact on profit and other equity, and the balances would be 
negative. The sensitivities below are based on the exchange rates at the reporting date used to convert the 
assets or liabilities to sterling.

Euros 
US Dollars 
Swiss Francs 
Yen 

818 
469 
116 
(35) 
1,368 

Profit and loss impact
2013

2014 
£’000 

£’000

499
256
52
42
849

If the exchange rate on uncovered exposures were to move significantly between the year end and date of 
payment or receipt there could be an impact on the Group’s profit. As all financial assets and liabilities are 
short-term in nature this risk is not considered to be material.

Whilst the table above indicates the Group’s gross exposure, in practice this would be reduced as a result of 
the forward foreign currency contracts in place. The fair value of the forward foreign currency contracts at 
30 September 2014 was £554,000 which was confirmed to the valuation provided by Barclays Bank plc 
and Investec respectively.

44  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

The Group’s derivative financial instruments in place at the year end are as follows:

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts 

An analysis of the Group’s forward contracts maturity is as follows: 

Up to 3 months 
3 to 6 months 
6 to 12 months 

2014 
£’000 

2013
£’000

554 

566

2014 
£’000 

186 
105 
263 
554 

2013
£000

139
137
290
566

Capital risk 
The Group considers its capital to comprise its ordinary share capital, share premium, other reserves and 
accumulated retained earnings. In managing its capital, the Group’s primary objective is to ensure its 
continued ability to provide a consistent return for its equity shareholders through a combination of capital 
growth and distributions. The Group has historically considered equity funding as the most appropriate form 
of capital for the Group but keeps this under review bearing in mind the risks, costs and benefits to equity 
shareholders of introducing debt finance.

Following dividend payments of £8,738,000, closing reserves are £78,434,000 and there is no external 
debt finance.

The Group is not subject to externally imposed capital requirements.

18 SHARE CAPITAL 

Authorised
Ordinary shares of 5 pence each 
Allotted, called up and fully paid
At beginning and end of year 

2014 
Number 

2014 
£’000 

2013 
Number 

2013
£’000

100,000,000 

5,000 

100,000,000 

5,000

42,315,968 

2,116 

42,315,968 

2,116

RWS Holdings plc  45

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

19 SHARE BASED PAYMENT

On 6 April 2013 the Company adopted a new share option scheme for senior employees. Under the 
scheme, options to purchase ordinary shares are granted by the Board of Directors, subject to the exercise 
price of the option being not less than the market value at the grant date. The options typically vest after a 
period of 3 years and the vesting schedule is subject to predetermined overall company selection criteria. 
In the event that the option holder’s employment is terminated, the option may not be exercised unless the 
Board of Directors so permits. The options expire 8 years from the date of grant.

Number of 
 approved  
 options 

Number of 
unapproved 
 options 

Vesting date

Exercise 
Price 

Grant 
Date 

 approved  
 options 

unapproved 
 options 

Lapse
Date

32,501 

1,660,141 

6.46 

3 April 2013 

3 April 2016  3 April 2015 

3 April 2021

A charge of £878,000 (2013: £468,000) has been made in the accounts relating to share options all of 
which related to equity settled share based payment transactions.

No options were exercised during the year.

The fair values of the share option is estimated as at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing 
model. The following table lists the range of assumptions applied to the options granted in the respective 
period shown.

Weighted average share price at grant 
Weighted average exercise price 
Expected life of option (years) 
Volatility (%) 
Dividend yield (%) 
Risk free interest rate (%) 
Option value 

Approved 
 Option Scheme 

  Unnapproved
 Option Scheme

6.46 
6.46 
3 
33.5 
2.69 
2 
1.31 

6.46
6.46
2
33.5
2.69
2
1.11

Expected volatility was determined by calculating the historical volatility of the Group’s share price over the 
previous 3 years. 

20 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS 

Cash at bank and in hand 
Short-term deposits 

2014 
£’000 

12,990 
9,489 
22,479 

2013
£’000

14,255
4,050
18,305

Short-term deposits have original maturity of three months or less. The fair value of these assets supports their 
carrying value.

There are no restrictions regarding the utilisation of the Group’s cash resources.

46  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

21 ACQUISITIONS

inovia Holdings Pty Limited 
On 17 September 2013 the Group acquired the remaining two thirds share of inovia Holdings Pty Limited. 
The fair values disclosed at 30 September 2013 were provisional. These have now been finalised and the 
balance sheet at 30 September 2013 restated.

The adjustments shown below have been reflected in the 2013 balance sheet and all relevant notes.

The net assets acquired were:

Net assets acquired:
Property, plant and equipment 
Intellectual property 
Intangible asset – customer relationships 
Intangible asset – technology based 
Trade and other receivables 
Cash and cash equivalents 
Trade and other payables 
Provisions 
Deferred tax liabilities 

Goodwill on acquisition  
Total consideration 
Satisfied by:
Cash 
Deferred consideration 
Fair value of 33% associate 

Estimated
Fair value 
adjustments 
at 30 Sep 
2013 

Original 
Book value 

Estimated 
Fair value  Measurement 
period 
at 30 Sep 
adjustments 
2013 

Revised
Fair value
at 30 Sep
2013

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000

7 
1,025 
 –  
 –  
1,594 
1,971 
(2,849) 
 –  
 –  
1,748 

 –  
(1,025) 
2,975 
2,011 
49 
 –  
 –  
 –  
(1,047) 
2,963 

7 
 –  
2,975 
2,011 
1,643 
1,971 
(2,849) 
 –  
(1,047) 
 4,711 
 15,106 
19,817 

 14,871 
 180 
4,766 
 19,817 

 –  
 –  
 –  
 –  
(96) 
94 
(373) 
(404) 
 –  
(779) 

7
 – 
2,975
2,011
1,547
2,065
(3,222)
(404)
(1,047)
 3,932
15,561
 19,493

 14,871
(144)
 4,766
 19,493

The main factors leading to a recognition of goodwill on the acquisition of inovia Holdings Pty Limited are, 
the presence of certain intangible assets in the acquired entity which do not qualify for separate recognition 
such as the assembled workforce and cost synergies within the Group’s operations in the United Kingdom, 
and, an unidentified proportion representing the balance contributing to profit generation.

Goodwill arising from the acquisition of inovia has been allocated to both the inovia and the UK Translations 
CGU. The allocation is based on management’s assessment of the relative future benefits to each CGU 
arising from the acquisition.  

RWS Holdings plc  47

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

22 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS 

During the year in the normal course of business, RWS provided translation services worth £113,000 (2013: 
£81,000) to entities within the Learning Technologies Group plc and Andrew Brode has an interest in this 
Company. An amount of £2,000 due from Learning Technologies Group plc at 30 September 2014 was 
discharged in October 2014 (2013: £9,000). 

23 COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES 

The Group had no material capital commitments contracted for but not provided for in the financial 
statements (2013: £nil). 

24 OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS 

Operating lease payments represent rentals payable by the Group for its office properties and certain 
equipment. Property leases have various terms, escalation clauses and renewal rights.

At the reporting date, the Group had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments  
under non-cancellable operating leases which fall due as follows:

Within one year 
In the second to fifth years inclusive 
After five years 

2014 
£’000 

2013
£’000

771 
861 
478 
2,110 

806
1,117
29
1,952

25 EVENTS SINCE THE REPORTING DATE

No significant events have occurred between the balance sheet date and the date of authorisation of these 
financial statements.

48  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2 014   P A R E N T   C O M P A N Y   F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S

RWS Holdings plc  49

Parent Company Financial Statements

The following parent entity financial statements are prepared under UK GAAP and relate to the Company and 
not to the Group. The statement of accounting policies which have been applied to these accounts can be 
found on pages 51 and 52. 

Company Balance Sheet 
at 30 September 

Registered Company 3002645 

Fixed assets 
Investments 

Current assets 
Debtors 
Cash at bank and in hand 

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 
Net current assets 
Total assets less current liabilities 

Capital and reserves 
Share capital 
Share premium account 
Share option reserve 
Capital reserve 
Profit and loss account 
Total shareholders’ funds  

2014 
£’000 

2013
£’000

Note 

4 

5 

6 

7 
8 
8 
8 
8 
8 

14,871 
14,871 

5,984 
6,535 
12,519 
145 
12,374 
27,245 

2,116 
3,583 
1,346 
2,030 
18,170 
27,245 

13,993
13,993

4,013
10,040
14,053
246
13,807
27,800

2,116
3,583
468
2,030
19,603
27,800

The financial statements on pages 50 to 55 were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue 
on 8 December 2014 and were signed on its behalf by: 

Andrew Brode 
Director

50  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Parent Company Financial Statements

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES 

Basis of preparation 
These financial statements present financial information for RWS Holdings plc as a separate entity, and have 
been prepared in accordance with the historical cost convention, the Companies Act 2006 and United 
Kingdom Accounting Standards (UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). The Company’s Consolidated 
Financial Statements, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by 
the European Union, are separately presented. The principal accounting policies adopted in these company 
financial statements are set out below and, unless otherwise indicated, have been consistently applied for all 
periods presented.

In accordance with FRS 18, Accounting policies, the Directors have reviewed the accounting policies of the 
Company as set out below and consider them to be appropriate.

Going concern 
The Directors believe that preparing these financial statements on the going concern basis is appropriate 
based on cash flow projections for the foreseeable future.

Related party transactions 
The Company is exempt under the terms of FRS 8, Related party disclosures, from disclosing related party 
transactions with entities that are part of the Group.

Cash flow statement 
The cash flows of the Company are included in the consolidated cash flow statement of RWS Holdings 
plc which is included in this annual report. Consequently, the Company is exempt under the terms of FRS1 
(revised) from publishing a cash flow statement.

The principal accounting policies are:

Investments 
Investments are stated at cost less provision for impairment.

Pensions 
Contributions to personal pension plans are charged to the profit and loss account in the period in which they 
fall due.

Dividend distribution 
Interim dividends are recorded when they are paid and the final dividends are recorded when they become 
legally payable.

Taxation 
Current tax, including UK corporation tax, is provided at amounts expected to be paid (or recovered) using 
the tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the balance sheet date. 

Share based payments 
The Group and Company provide benefits to certain employees (including certain Executive Directors), in the 
form of share based payment transactions whereby employees render services in exchange for rights over 
shares in the form of share options. These equity settled share based transactions are measured as the fair 
value of the share option at the grant date. The fair value excludes the effect of non market based vesting 
conditions. Details regarding the determination of the fair value of these options can be seen in note 19 of the 
consolidated financial statements.

RWS Holdings plc  51

Notes to the Parent Company Financial Statements (continued)

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED) 

The fair value determined at the grant date of the share options is expensed on a straight line basis over 
the vesting period, based on the Group’s estimate of share options that will vest. At each balance sheet 
date the Group revises its estimate of the number of options expected to vest as a result of the effect on non 
market based vesting conditions. The impact of the revision of the original estimates, if any, is recognised in 
the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income such that the cumulative expense reflects the revised 
estimate with a corresponding adjustment to equity reserves. 

2 PROFIT FOR THE YEAR 

The Company has taken advantage of Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and has not included its 
own Profit and Loss Account in these financial statements. The Company profit after tax for the year ended 
30 September 2014 under UK GAAP was £7,305,000 (2013: £7,064,000).

Audit fees payable in relation to the audit of the financial statements of the Company are £50,000 (2013: 
£53,000). Fees paid to PwC LLP and its associates for non-audit services to the Company itself are not 
disclosed in the individual accounts of RWS Holdings plc because the Company’s consolidated accounts are 
required to disclose such fees on a consolidated basis. 

3 DIRECTORS AND EMPLOYEES 

There were no employees (2013: nil) of the Company other than the Directors. The remuneration of the 
Directors of RWS Holdings plc for services in all capacities is set out below:  

Directors’ emoluments 
Pension costs – paid to the Director’s personal pension scheme 

2014 
£’000 

952 
31 
983 

2013
£’000

965
39
1,004

During the year the Company had 6 (2013: 7) Directors, including three Non-Executive Directors, providing 
services to the Group. During the year 3 Directors (2013: 4) received contributions to their personal pension 
schemes.

Emoluments of the highest paid Director: 

Emoluments 
Pension costs – paid to the Director’s personal pension scheme 

2014 
£’000 

2013
£’000

339 
9 
348 

322
8
330

Details of Directors’ remuneration and pension contributions are disclosed in the Directors’ Remuneration 
Report on pages 14 to 16.

52  RWS Holdings plc

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Parent Company Financial Statements (continued)

4 INVESTMENTS 

Cost and net book value at beginning of year 
Additions – capital contributions 
Cost and net book value at beginning and end of year 

2014 
£’000 

13,993 
878 
14,871 

2013
£’000

13,525
468
13,993

The Directors consider that the value of the company’s fixed asset investments, which are listed below, is 
supported by their underlying assets.

The following were the principal wholly owned subsidiary undertakings and have been consolidated in the 
financial statements:  

Country of incorporation  

  Nature of business 

Beijing RWS Science & Technology Information  
Consultancy Co. Ltd 

RWS Group Deutschland GmbH  
(formerly Document Service Center GmbH) 

Eclipse Translations Limited 
RWS Schweiz GmbH (formerly Ifama GmbH) 
KK RWS Group  
Lawyers’ and Merchants’ Translation Bureau Inc 
RWS Group GmbH 
RWS Group Limited 
RWS Information Limited 
RWS (Overseas) Limited 
RWS Translations Limited 
PharmaQuest Limited 
inovia Pty Holdings Limited 

 China 

 Germany 

 England 
 Switzerland 
 Japan 
 USA 
 Germany 
 England 
 England 
 England 
 England 
 England 
 Australia 

  Patent, technical and legal translations

  Technical and legal translations

  Technical and legal translations
  Technical and legal translations
  Patent, technical and legal translations
  Technical and legal translations
  Technical and legal translations
  Holding company
  Patent and technical information searches
  Holding company
  Patent, technical and legal translations
  Technical and medical translations
  Patent filing

All principal subsidiary undertakings, except RWS Group Limited, are held indirectly.

5 DEBTORS 

Amounts owed by Group undertakings 
Deferred tax 
Other debtors 
Prepayments 
Amounts due within one year 

2014 
£’000 

5,942 
 –  
14 
28 
5,984 

2013
£’000

3,542
396
18
57
4,013

The amounts owed by Group undertakings are repayable on demand and classified as due within one year.

RWS Holdings plc  53

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Parent Company Financial Statements (continued)

6 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 

Trade Creditors 
Amounts owed to group undertakings 
Accruals 

7 SHARE CAPITAL 

Authorised
Ordinary shares of 5 pence (2013: 5 pence) each 
Allotted, called up and fully paid
Ordinary shares of 5 pence (2013: 5 pence) each 
At beginning and end of the year 

2014 
£’000 

2013
£’000

6 
36 
103 
145 

9
75
162
246

2014 
Number 

2014 
£’000 

2013 
Number 

2013
£’000

100,000,000 

5,000 

100,000,000 

5,000

42,315,968 

2,116 

42,315,968 

2,116

8 SHAREHOLDERS’ FUNDS AND MOVEMENTS ON RESERVES 

Share 
capital 

£’000 

 2,116  
 –  
 –  
 –  
2,116  

Share 
premium 
account 

£’000 

3,583  
 –  
 –  
 –  
3,583  

Share
based 
payment 
reserve 

£’000 

 468  
 878  
 –  
 –  
1,346  

Total
Profit & loss  Shareholders’
funds

account 

£’000 

£’000

 19,603  
 –  
 (8,738) 
7,305  
18,170  

27,800 
878 
 (8,738)
7,305 
27,245 

Capital 
reserve 

£’000 

 2,030  
 –  
 –  
 –  
2,030  

At beginning of year 
Credit arising on share based payment charges 
Dividends 
Profit for the year 
At end of year 

The balance on the capital reserve is an amount not distributable to shareholders and not transferred to the 
profit and loss account. 

9 RECONCILIATION OF MOVEMENTS IN SHAREHOLDERS’ FUNDS

Opening shareholders’ funds  
Profit for the year 
Share Options 
Dividends paid  
Shareholders’ funds at end of year 

54  RWS Holdings plc

2014 
£’000 

27,800 
7,305 
878 
(8,738) 
27,245 

2013
£’000

27,876
7,064
468
(7,608)
27,800

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Parent Company Financial Statements (continued)

10 GUARANTEES AND OTHER FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS 

In respect of overdraft facilities, the Company, together with certain subsidiary undertakings, has given to 
the Group’s principal bankers cross-guarantees secured by fixed and floating charges over the assets of the 
Group. At the end of the year liabilities covered by these guarantees totalled £nil (2013: £nil).

11 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS 

The Company has taken advantage of the exemption allowed under Financial Reporting Standard No 8 
“Related Party Transactions” not to disclose any transactions or balances with entities which are part of the 
Group as consolidated financial statements of the ultimate parent company are available from Companies 
House.    

12 POST BALANCE SHEET EVENTS 

There have been no events since 30 September 2014 that require disclosure. 

RWS Holdings plc  55

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Shareholder information

Corporate headquarters  
and Registered office
No. 3002645
Europa House 
Chiltern Park
Chiltern Hill
Chalfont St Peter
Buckinghamshire
SL9 9FG
United Kingdom
Tel:  +44 (0)1753 480200 
Fax: +44 (0)1753 480280

Public relations advisers
MHP Communications
60 Great Portland Street
London W1W 7RT
Tel: +44 (0)20 3128 8100

Nominated adviser and broker
Numis Securities Ltd
London Stock Exchange Building
10 Paternoster Square
London EC4M 7LT
Tel:  +44 (0)20 7260 1000

Registrars 
Capita Asset Services
The Registry
34 Beckenham Road
Beckenham
Kent BR3 4TU
Tel: 087 1664 0300
(calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras,  
lines are open 8.30am – 5.30pm Mon – Fri)
from outside the UK: +44 (0)20 8639 3399
Email: ssd@capita.co.uk

Independent Auditors
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Embankment Place
London WC2N 6RH

Solicitors
Olswang
90 High Holborn
London WC1V 6XX

Principal bankers
Barclays Bank plc
Level 28
1 Churchill Place
Canary Wharf
London E14 5HP

56  RWS Holdings plc

www.rws.com

2014 ANNUAL REPORT RWS HOLDINGS PLC