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Vista Group International Limited

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VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITEDANNUALREPORT2016VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED ANNUAL REPORT 2016TABLE OF

CONTENTS

  02  Chairman & CEO’s Letter

  04  Vista Group Companies

GROUP TRADING OVERVIEW

10  Group Trading Overview

15  Corporate Responsibility

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

18  Corporate Information

  20  Directors’ Report

  21 

Independent Auditor’s Report

  27  Financial Statements

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

  66  Corporate Governance

This report is dated 24 March 2017 and is signed 

on behalf of the Board of Vista Group International 

Limited by Kirk Senior, Executive Chairman, and 

Murray Holdaway, Chief Executive.

K Senior
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN
24 March 2017

M Holdaway
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
24 March 2017

01
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

 
 
Chairman & CEO’s Letter

KIRK SENIOR
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

MURRAY HOLDAWAY
GROUP CEO

CHAIRMAN AND CEO’S LETTER

Dear Shareholder,

VISTA CINEMA

Welcome to the Annual Report of Vista Group 
International Limited (Vista Group). 2016 was another 
very strong year of profi t, growth and investment for 
the future.

We have many strengths across all our businesses, 
but in particular we’d like to highlight the following:

•  Leading global position in an expanding fi lm industry

•  Consistent strong revenue growth

•  Strong recurring revenue

•  Sustained profi tability

•  Positive operating cash generation

•  Dividend payer

One of the many highlights of 2016 was our major 
strategic transaction in China. We had a strong and 
growing business in China and now, with a signifi cant 
partner in WePiao, we are even more enthusiastic 
about the future potential for that business in the China 
market. The transaction resulted in a large capital gain 
in 2016 ($41m), but the outlook for Vista China going 
forward is what we are most excited about.

FINANCIALS

Vista Group delivered strong growth in 2016, exceeding 
the revenue and EBITDA(1) of 2015. 

Vista Group revenue of $88.6m was $23.2m or 35% 
up on 2015. EBITDA(1) of $17.6m was 17% ahead of the 
previous year.

We expect to maintain annual revenue growth in the 
20-25% range in the coming year.

Vista Cinema achieved another powerhouse 
performance with 20%+ revenue growth and 847 new 
cinema sites, now totalling 5,557 sites globally. New 
cinema site openings remain strong globally and Vista 
Cinema’s position as the leading software supplier 
will ensure continued strong growth. The very strong 
revenue base underpins the Group’s high level of over 
60% recurring revenue to total revenue.

We continue to invest internally in innovation, both 
with existing products and new ideas. Opportunities 
with cloud technologies, social media and global 
ticketing platforms provide exciting opportunities 
for 2017 and beyond.

VEEZI

Veezi site numbers grew over 50% with very strong, and 
higher than anticipated, recurring revenue. Continued 
momentum in the USA, a recent industry wide agreement 
in Sweden and market entries in France, China and India 
should propel Veezi to exciting growth targets in 2017.

MOVIO

Movio is on track with its mission to revolutionise the 
way the fi lm industry connects with and targets movie 
goers. Movio Cinema continues to build an impressive 
resume of cinema circuits, a key driver of success for 
Movio Media. The media business continues to achieve 
high engagement with the major fi lm studios, with 
several multi-year deals in place. In addition, Movio 
Media has attracted signifi cant interest from large third 
party digital marketing agencies which should extend 
campaign offerings and open up new opportunities.

(1)   EBITDA is defi ned as earnings before depreciation and amortisation ($3.3m), net fi nance expense, income tax and the expense accrual 

related to the VCL deferred consideration.

02
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

MACCS

PEOPLE

The major focus of 2016 was delivering the development 
work for the Warner Bros. USA implementation, which 
went live in late February 2017. This is a major milestone, 
and creates a platform for MACCS to continue to 
grow in the USA. MACCS also performed well in a 
number of international territories and continues to 
be the pre-eminent supplier of theatrical distribution 
software globally. 

NUMERO

Numero continues to build its reputation as a cutting 
edge technology supplier of fi lm box offi ce tracking. 
The early stage commercial deals in place in Australia 
and New Zealand have given it a strong platform 
to expand in 2017. Numero has started collecting 
signifi cant data from China, attracting strong interest 
from the major fi lm studios, and is executing plans for 
other market expansions. 

POWSTER

We invested in this successful UK based creative 
marketing business in April 2016 and are delighted with 
the strong revenue and EBITDA contributions, but also 
the synergies that this business brings to other aspects 
of the Group. The recent relocation of the company’s 
Founder and CEO to Los Angeles should see this 
business go to another level in 2017.

During the year, the Group made a signifi cant 
investment in additional talent, increasing the staff 
numbers in existing businesses by over 100 people. 
When you add in the acquisitions we made, total staff 
numbers for the group now exceed 530. Vista Group is 
focused on attracting a highly talented and diversifi ed 
workforce and acknowledge all those involved in the 
recruitment, training and mentoring of all our people – 
well done, you are doing a great job!

We are also delighted to welcome the appointment 
of an additional Independent Director, Cris Nicolli, 
who joined the Board on 17 February 2017. Cris brings 
signifi cant experience and skills in the IT sector and 
leadership of large scale technology businesses 
which have seen signifi cant growth, and strongly 
complements the skills of the existing Board. 

OUTLOOK

The outlook for all our businesses looks very positive. 
We will continue to leverage our global position as the 
leading supplier of software to the fi lm industry and 
the many exciting and innovative opportunities that 
arise from that.

On behalf of the Board, we thank you for your 
continued support.

CINEMA INTELLIGENCE

Yours sincerely,

Kirk Senior
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

Murray Holdaway
CEO AND FOUNDER

We made an early stage investment in Cinema 
Intelligence, which uses sophisticated algorithms 
to provide business intelligence solutions to cinema 
exhibitors focused predominantly on optimising the 
forecasting, booking and scheduling of movies. We 
look forward to exciting results from this business 
in the medium term. 

FLICKS

Whilst still a relatively small business in terms of 
revenue, this business has achieved strong increased 
revenue in 2016 and has its own growth plans, as well 
as providing the Group with valuable innovation and 
insights that can be utilised globally.

DIVIDEND

In line with the dividend policy established by the Board 
in 2016, the Directors have resolved to pay our very fi rst 
dividend at the top end of the range (50%) of NPAT 
attributable to owners of the parent after adjustment 
for the capital gain related to the disposal of Vista 
China. The dividend will carry full imputation credits.

The dividend of 4.61 cents per share represents a total 
payment of $3.8m and is payable on 24 March 2017 for 
shareholders of record on 10 March 2017.

03
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

VISTA GROUP COMPANIES

VISTA 
ENTERTAINMENT 
SOLUTIONS 
(VES)

100%

MOVIO

100%

MACCS 
INTERNATIONAL
B.V

50.1%

NUMERO

50%

CINEMA
INTELLIGENCE

50%

POWSTER

50%

FLICKS

100%

04
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

Vista Group is continuing its mission to become the 
leading provider of software to the fi lm industry. 

Vista Group operates in a vertical market which in many 
respects is similar to any other vertical industry. In most 
industries the sectors are known as manufacturing, 
supply, retail and consumer. In the fi lm industry our 
sectors are known as:

•  Production – entities that make movies

•  Distribution – entities that distribute movies

•  Exhibition – the cinemas that show the movies

•  Moviegoer – the public that go to see a movie

The graphic below is a view of how Vista Group sees the 
vertical market that it operates in and where the products 
that it currently offers fi t in to that vertical market.

With the integration of the products that Vista Group 
has created/acquired we are building an ability to 
follow the business elements of a fi lm from production 
through to viewing by a moviegoer. We are then able 
to follow the data and fi nancial results created at the 
box offi ce back through to the various industry sectors.

The data aggregation and analysis that is required 
by the fi lm industry is signifi cant. This provides many 
additional opportunities for Vista Group products 
(Movio, Numero, Powster) along with the opportunity 
to pass data between the vertical sectors (highlighted 
by the grey bands) more effi ciently. These activities 
provide signifi cant current and future market 
opportunities for Vista Group.

PRODUCTION

DISTRIBUTION

CINEMA EXHIBITION

MOVIEGOER

THE BIG STUDIOS: 
Sony / Disney / Paramount
Warner Bros / Universal / Fox

Legendary Entertainment 
Amblin Entertainment 
Scott Free Productions 
Wingnut Films

Madman 
E1 
Rialto

$$$$

You

Hoyts / Event
Regal / Cineplex
VUE Cinemas

FILMS

05
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

OVERVIEW OF VISTA GROUP BUSINESSES AND PRODUCTS

Vista Cinema delivered another very strong performance in 2016 
with positive revenue growth, and a continuation of excellent EBITDA 
results. Growth was achieved while substantially boosting organisational 
capability with over 88 people added in key areas of Product 
Development and Global Operations. 

Vista Cinema was implemented in new countries (including Ukraine, 
Denmark, and Paraguay), and for new customers including Jinyi (China), 
Ster Kinekor (South Africa), and Nordisk (Denmark). Vista Cinema ended 
2016 with 5,557 sites implemented globally – an increase of 847 (18%) from 
the previous year. This represented 686 new license sites and 161 from 
the CCG relationship in France. In addition, Vista Cinema implemented its 
software in 285 non cinema sites for existing customers in related small 
retail food and beverage operations.

Exciting new developments in both new and existing product areas were 
well advanced in 2016. In particular, the areas of Staff Management, Media 
Management, and the management of third party ticket sales channels 
present increasing opportunities for growth. Additionally, in 2016, Vista 
Cinema ramped up its investment in the software design area, investing 
further in a strong design (UI/UX) team, and broadening the technology 
base of the products created.

Veezi reached the milestone of 500 contracted sites during 2016, and is 
now installed in over 20 countries. Signifi cant work was undertaken on a 
country wide agreement in Sweden. This has been completed in 2017 and 
with over 120 letters of intent signed, it is expected to provide a signifi cant 
boost to site numbers. First sites went live in the important countries of 
China and France, while work on the product to make it saleable in India 
neared completion. Average revenue per contracted cinema continues to 
grow as product additions were made available and customer transaction 
volumes exceeded expectations.

Movio Cinema revenue grew 42% in 2016, with notable growth in South 
Africa, Norway, Denmark, the UAE and the successful implementation of 
Vue in the United Kingdom. Movio Cinema’s Campaign component grew 
signifi cantly, with email volume increasing 108% to 1.5 billion and the SMS 
business growing from an initial 500,000 messages in 2015 to 10 million 
in 2016. Contracted customers increased 47% to 50 from FY2015. 

Movio Media continues to evolve the product offering to fi ll new demand, 
with a number of product releases attracting new customers, in particular 
the addition of ethnicity data for the US market. This capability assisted 
in securing long term agreements with Warner Bros. and Sony. New 
contracts are expected in early 2017 which will expand the reach of the 
Media product. Revenue contribution increased more than 100% from 
FY2015 with further growth projected.

06
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

MACCS performed slightly below expectation due to the Warner Bros. 
implementation being moved from November 2016 to February 2017. 
Signifi cant services revenue was earned during 2016 as part of the project, 
however the expected go-live in February 2017 will enable further license 
revenue to be recognised. MACCS has performed well in international 
territories outside of the USA, with a number of new territories being added. 
Signifi cant progress was made in bringing its box offi ce collection service 
MACCSbox to a number of new markets including Australia and the USA.

NEW ACQUISITIONS

In the fi rst 6 months of 2016 Vista Group completed the strategic 
acquisition of three companies: Powster Limited (‘Powster’), Share 
Dimension B.V. including its subsidiary S.C. Share Dimension S.R.L. 
(collectively ‘Cinema Intelligence’) and Flicks.co.nz Limited (‘Flicks’).

Powster has performed to plan and has added to the Vista Group result 
at both revenue and EBITDA lines. Progress has been made towards 
establishing a creative studio in Los Angeles which should add 
signifi cant business to Powster in 2017. 

Cinema Intelligence is still an early stage business and continues to 
require investment from Vista Group. A signifi cant new product in Box 
Offi ce Forecasting was brought to market and has gained interest from 
a number of existing Vista Group customers.

Flicks is still a relatively small business in terms of revenue, but achieved 
encouraging revenue growth in New Zealand with all major fi lm distributors 
advertising on the platform throughout the year. A new Flicks Android app 
was added to the NZ market, as well as an update of the existing Apple 
iOS app. The visitation rate to Flicks’ websites and mobile apps in Australia 
continues to grow and 2017 should see further monetisation of this growth.

07
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

Operationally the new venture is making signifi cant 
progress in positioning itself for growth within the 
China market. The main purpose of the transaction 
with WePiao was to create an entity in China that 
had the local presence to represent the Vista Group 
products across the whole China market and to develop 
the scale to be able to achieve this. The new venture 
should become profi table and return positive associate 
company earnings to Vista Group in future years.

In the four months since the new venture has been 
established it has already:

•  Opened an offi ce in Beijing

•  Recruited new staff and welcomed staff transferring 

from WePiao

•  Introduced products beyond Vista Cinema and Veezi 

– Numero and Movio

•  Signed new customers to support the growth 

of the business

Vista Group is excited by the opportunity that this new 
venture provides us with, in what is the fastest growing 
cinema market in the world.

VISTA CHINA

Vista Group completed one of the largest tech industry 
transactions in China by a New Zealand company during 
2016. This involved a transaction with Bejing Weying 
Technology Co. Ltd (WePiao) – a Tencent affi liate.

In what is the fastest growing fi lm and cinema market 
in the world Vista Group is providing the new venture 
with the distribution rights to all existing Vista Group 
software including Vista Cinema, Veezi, Movio, 
MACCS and Numero. This is expected to facilitate 
the acceleration of Vista Group’s growth strategy in 
China for its core cinema product Vista Cinema and 
its cloud based product, Veezi, which is ideally suited 
to the large number of smaller cinemas in China. It will 
also provide a launch platform for Movio, MACCS and 
Numero software in China.

The basis of the transaction was:

•  Vista Group reduced its equity holding in its Chinese 

subsidiary from 100% to 39.5%

-  Sale of shares in Vista China 

-  Vista China issuing new shares to WePiao to raise 

capital for growth

•  Vista Group providing Vista China with a 10 year 

exclusive distribution right to its 5 core products – 
Vista Cinema, Veezi, Movio, MACCS and Numero

•  WePiao to subscribe for 2.0% of new shares to be 

issued in Vista Group

Full explanation of the treatment and values associated 
with the recognition of the transaction is contained 
in our market release of 21 February 2017, with 
further detail in sections 4.1 and 4.4 of the Financial 
Statements. The key elements of this are:

•  One-off capital gain on sale of shares in Vista China 

of $41.1m

•  Revenue released in 2016 of $3.4m and $11.0m held 
as Deferred Revenue in the Statement of Financial 
Position

•  Ongoing revenue from maintenance fees through 

the term of the reseller agreement

08
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

GROUP TRADING

OVERVIEW

This result does highlight the key strengths of Vista Group:

•  Leading global position in an expanding fi lm industry

•  Consistent strong revenue growth

•  Strong annuity revenue

•  Sustained profi tability

•  Positive operating cash generation

•  Dividend payer

(1)   EBITDA is defi ned as earnings before depreciation and 

amortisation ($3.3m), net fi nance expense, income tax and the 
expense accrual related to the VCL deferred consideration.

(2)   Underlying EBITDA is defi ned as EBITDA(1) less foreign currency 

gains and losses and has the impact of the acquisitions in 
2016 removed.

30%

Average revenue growth 
per year for the last 3 years

35%

Revenue growth over FY2015 
*28% excl. acquisitions

32%

Increase in value of recurring 
revenue to $53.2m

GROUP TRADING OVERVIEW

Vista Group produced strong revenue growth (35%), 
positive operating cash fl ow ($5.4m) and maintained 
a strong balance sheet to provide a platform for the 
continued growth of Vista Group. Earnings based on 
EBITDA(1) have improved 16.6% to $17.6m, despite the 
$3.0m negative foreign exchange movement compared 
to 2015. Vista Group continued its strong focus on 
software development, the improvement of its existing 
products and the creation of new products for the 
market. In line with previous market advice, Vista 
Group has capitalised $4.1m against key projects 
in Vista Cinema and Movio.

When the EBITDA(1) result is adjusted for abnormal 
items such as foreign exchange movements and the 
impact of new acquisitions, underlying EBITDA(2) 
as a percentage of revenue increased to 22%, 
up 2 percentage points from 2015.

REVENUE ANALYSIS

s
n
o

i
l
l
i

M
$

100

75

50

25

0

2013

2014

2015

2016

License Fees

Maintenance

Other

10
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
VISTA CINEMA

Largest Group subsidiary outperformed growth forecasts 
for third year in a row. Revenue growth 20%+ in FY2016.

847 new cinema sites added (includes 161 from CCG) to bring 
global total to 5,557. In addition 285 installations at customer 
owned small retail outlets.

Estimate 38% of large circuit market (global). Total Global screen 
growth still strong.

New offi ce in South Africa to support market. With Ster Kinekor 
we now have 100% of large circuit market. The offi ce will support 
opportunities in the growing African market.

Advanced developments on existing products and new initiatives 
for future growth.

Investment in staff to support the business. 

KIMBAL RILEY
Chief Executive, 
Vista Entertainment 
Solutions

NEW SITES ADDED

TOTAL SITE COUNT

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Existing customers

New customers

Acquisitions

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

WORLD SHARE

Vista Entertainment Solutions percentage of the world market – for Cinema Exhibition Companies with 20+ screens.

87% CANADA
2,052/2,347 screens

42% USA
13,413/31,913 screens

97% CENTRAL AMERICA
6,543/6,750 screens

22% SOUTH AMERICA
1,260/5,812 screens

26% EUROPE
4,845/18,953 screens

57% MIDDLE EAST
1,307/2,311 screens

93% AFRICA
761/819 screens

23% ASIA
7,017/30,415 screens

95% AUSTRALASIA
1,698/1,788 screens

38% WORLD WIDE
38,896/101,108 screens

11
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

VEEZI

Site number growth of 52% to 532 at year end across 
20 countries.

Addressable market size approximately 25,000 Cinemas.

ARR strong at $5,750 per annum per site ($480 per month).

New agreement with Film Industry Organisation in Sweden 
with signifi cant opportunity in 2017.

French certifi cation achieved and fi rst site live. Wider market 
entry planned for 2017.

China SARFT approval gained and fi rst site live in late 2016.

TOTAL SITE COUNT

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

MATTHEW PREEN
General Manager

$3.06m

Annualised Recurring Revenue (ARR)

532

2013

2014

2015

2016

Global total of contracted sites

MACCS & MACCSBOX

MACCS – Movie ACCounting System

Theatrical distribution software providing a logistics and
fi nancial solution.

MaccsBox – Theatrical Value Chain

Collects audited box offi ce results (eBor) centrally and 
provides them to distributors.

2016

Completed the Warner Bros. domestic enhancements and 
the release of MACCS 9.0.

Commenced development of cloud based application for 
smaller distributors.

Introduced MaccsBox to the USA.

2017

Warner Bros. go live Q1 2017.

Further country rollouts of MaccsBox.

12
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

BURT HULS
Chief Executive 
& Founder

MOVIO

On track with their mission: To revolutionise the way fi lm 
distributors and cinema exhibitors interact with moviegoers.

Movio Cinema

Increased customers from 37 to 50 of the world’s largest cinema 
circuits including AMC (USA), Ster Kinekor (SA) and Vue (UK).

Movio Media

New multi-year deals signed with Sony, Warner Bros., Lionsgate.

Signifi cant opportunities opened up in the digital media space.

2017

Increasing the volume of active moviegoers via new data sources 
including online transactions.

Extending the campaign offering to incorporate digital media 
(web, mobile, social).

WILL PALMER
Chief Executive
& Co-founder

$305    Total revenue per 1,000 

active members

EMAIL GROWTH

500

400

300

200

100

0

s
n
o

i
l
l
i

M

2013

2014

2015

2016

Email/SMS Sent

s
n
o

i
l
l
i

M

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

MEMBER DATABASE

2013

2014

2015

2016

Active members

Non-active members

POWSTER

Provides world-leading fi lm marketing products 
including interactive content to promote fi lms.

Marketing platform for movie studios, powering the 
world’s biggest fi lms. One destination per fi lm with 
all cinemas and show-times listed.

2016

All six major studios using Powster platforms in the US.

Joined Vista Group.

Doubled staff across London and Los Angeles.

2017

Opening of Los Angeles studio.

Launch Trailered, a new web destination that enables 
moviegoers to consume trailers in a completely new way.

Launch of VR show times.

13
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

STE THOMPSON
CEO & Founder

CINEMA INTELLIGENCE

2016

Opened LA offi ce.

Global expansion – running implementations on three continents.

Released new forecasting module.

2017

Build more integration to Vista.

Strong focus on North America.

CLAUDIU 
TANASESCU
CEO

FLICKS

Authoritative Australasian movie and cinema guide

Moviegoer access nationally for every movie playing; cinemas, 
session times, booking links, videos and trailers, reviews 
(user and critical) plus editorial from Australasia’s best 
industry contributors.

2016

Best year for advertising revenues and best year to date 
for total website visitors.

2017

Build Australian advertising revenue.

Commence presence in new territories.

Release new SaaS based website product for small cinemas.

PAUL 
SCANTLEBURY
CEO

14
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Vista Group has grown from a small company created 
by 5 founders and then a group of very loyal employees 
many of whom over time became senior managers and 
shareholders in the business. The goal that Vista Group 
should not just be a successful company but a great 
place to work, a great supplier and a good corporate 
citizen in the territories in which it operates remains 
at the core of the way the business operates today.

EMPLOYEES & RECRUITMENT

Since then we have created strong relationships 
with other faculties and Universities to provide our 
knowledge to them and to provide project work for 
students and specialist post graduate students.

Vista Group has assisted SESA (Software Engineering 
Students Association) through organising co-managed 
events as a primary sponsor to ensure students can 
enjoy some activities outside of study and of course 
to learn a little about Vista Group.

INTERNS

Vista Group runs a strong intern program as part of our 
dedication to developing the tech talent of tomorrow. 
A testament to our strong employment brand is that 
we now have over 650 applicants for the program each 
year. The program involves us bringing up to 15 interns 
into the business over summer. They are paid to work 
on projects and spend time in development teams. 
Part time work is offered through the year where this 
fi ts a student’s schedule with the goal being that they 
will move through to be employees once they have 
graduated.

ROBOTICS

On a smaller scale Vista Group has for many years been 
a supporter of one of the most successful secondary 
school VEX robotics teams in New Zealand. The Lynfi eld 
College team (a west Auckland school) has won several 
world titles (held in the USA) and through sponsorship 
by Vista Group and the Vista Group staff it has assisted 
in the building of the Robots and travel costs.

Vista Group’s success has been built on good people 
doing good things. Our ability to attract and retain 
talent has been at the heart of our success. Our staff 
not only deliver great customer outcomes but have fun 
together while doing so. Vista Group genuinely care for 
our staff and put their wellbeing at the heart of every 
decision we make.

We acknowledge our responsibility as a key employer 
in the tech industry in New Zealand and are looking to 
continue to take a leadership role in developing both 
our staff and industry as a whole.

DIVERSITY

Vista Group always looks for great talent in the people 
it employs and that diversity of thought leads to 
fantastic idea generation. As the tech industry suffers 
from a shortage of talent in New Zealand, and in other 
territories in which we operate, we have become 
approved by immigration authorities to recruit talented 
people from overseas to help grow the employee base 
of the business. We have customers in 79 countries 
around the world and while our staff do not quite 
cover all those countries we certainly represent a wide 
range of counties with over 20 languages spoken by 
staff. This creates an enormous benefi t to an outward 
looking, export oriented New Zealand business.

RELATIONSHIP WITH UNIVERSITIES

From its early days Vista Group formed a strong 
relationship with Auckland University and a key 
project course run through the Information Systems 
department (IS340). For 9 years we had project teams 
of 3 work in Vista Group to create prototypes of new 
modules, many of which have become part of the Vista 
product set. We are very proud of the fact that a high 
percentage of those staff have become permanent 
staff members upon graduating with many moving 
on to leadership roles. 

15
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

TAXES PAID

VISTA FOUNDATION

Vista Group is passionate about the New Zealand fi lm 
industry and wants to help the next generation of 
feature fi lm-makers launch their careers. 

The principal aim of the Foundation is to foster 
a viable, successful and inclusive local fi lm industry 
in New Zealand. By providing support and education 
for necessary skills and expertise, the Foundation will 
encourage the production of exceptional works of 
New Zealand cinema, and extend the opportunities 
available to more groups and individuals.

A well-supported local fi lm industry will enable material 
that builds the cultural base of New Zealand fi lm, in turn 
creating works of international appeal that showcase 
both New Zealand culture and the fi lm-making talent 
of New Zealanders. 

With establishment funding from the founding 
shareholders of Vista Group and the intent of Vista 
Group to continue funding support in future years 
the Vista Foundation is positioning itself to meet 
its principal aims for many years to come.

Roger Donaldson (producer and director of several 
New Zealand classics and several Hollywood 
blockbusters) is the patron and the independent Board 
of the Vista Foundation has several leading industry 
representatives alongside two Vista representatives.

Vista Group is committed to being a good corporate 
citizen and understands the importance of paying tax 
and the positive contribution that tax makes to the 
jurisdictions in which it operates. Vista Group does not 
actively structure its businesses or policies to divert 
profi ts to low tax jurisdictions or tax havens. The largest 
single cost element within Vista Group is personnel 
costs. This means that in addition to income taxes Vista 
Group is a signifi cant payer of payroll based taxes in 
all the jurisdictions in which it operates. Vista Group 
uses payroll practices and systems approved in each 
jurisdiction to ensure that it meets all its obligations 
with respect to correctly deducting and paying these 
taxes to the local tax authorities.

The pie chart shows the signifi cant share that taxes 
make up of total revenue (when combined they are 
greater than our profi t).

The bar graph shows taxes as a percentage of Trading 
Net Profi t.

TAXES AS A PERCENTAGE OF
TOTAL REVENUE

4.0%

12.9%

13.5%

69.5%

Income Tax

Payroll Taxes

Trading Net Profit

Business Expenses

TAXES AS A PERCENTAGE OF 
TRADING NET PROFIT

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

95.4%

29.6%

Income Tax

Payroll Taxes

16
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

FINANCIAL

STATEMENTS

CORPORATE INFORMATION

DIRECTORS

Kirk Senior

Murray Holdaway

Brian Cadzow

Susan Peterson

James Ogden

Cris Nicolli – appointed 17 February 2017

REGISTERED OFFICE

Level 3, Fujitsu House

60 Khyber Pass Road

Newton

Auckland, 1023

New Zealand

Phone +64 9 984 4570

NATURE OF BUSINESS

Provision of management solutions for the fi lm industry

COMPANY NUMBER

1353402

ARBN

600 417 203

AUDITOR

PricewaterhouseCoopers

188 Quay St,

Auckland, 1142

SOLICITORS

New Zealand

DLA Piper New Zealand

Hudson Gavin Martin

50-64 Customhouse Quay

Level 8

2 Commerce Street

Auckland 1010

PO Box 2791

Wellington, 6140

UK

DLA Piper UK LLP

1 St Paul’s Place

Sheffi eld S1 2JX

United Kingdom

USA

DLA Piper LLP (US)

Hernandez Shaeldel & Assoc

550 South Hope Street, Suite 2300

2 North Lake Ave, Suite 930

Los Angeles, CA 90071-2678

Pasadena, CA 91101

USA

Canada

USA

China

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP

1 First Canadian Place, 44th Floor

28th Floor Offi ce Tower Beijing Yintai Centre

Toronto, Ontario

Canada, M5X 1B1

2 Jianguomenwai Avenue 

Chaoyang District 

Beijing 100022

18
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

SHARE REGISTRY

New Zealand

Australia

Link Market Services Ltd

Link Market Services Ltd

Level 11, Deloitte Centre

Level 12, 680 George St

BANKERS

Sydney

NSW 2000

Bank of New Zealand

Deloitte Centre

80 Queen Street

Auckland, 1142

Barclays Bank PLC

1 Churchill Place

London, E14 5HP

United Kingdom

80 Queen Street 

Auckland 1010

New Zealand

ASB Bank Limited

PO Box 35 

Shortland St

Auckland, 1140

UK

HSBC Bank PLC

2nd Floor, 62-76 Park St

London, SE1 9DZ

United Kingdom

USA

HSBC Bank USA, NA

660 South Figueroa Street

Los Angeles

California 90017

USA

China

HSBC Bank (China) Coy. Ltd.

China Merchant Bank

Level 30, HSBC Building

18F, Bus Plaza

Shanghai ifc

No. 398 Huaihai Zhong Road

8 Century Avenue, Pudong

Shanghai 200020

Shanghai 200120

People’s Republic of China

People’s Republic of China

Australia

Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Level 10, 101 George St

Parramatta

NSW 2150

Australia

19
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

DIRECTORS’ REPORT

The Board of Directors present the fi nancial statements of the Group for the year ended 31 December 2016 and the 
independent auditor’s report thereon.

For and on behalf of the Board of Directors who approved these fi nancial statements for issue on 24 February 2017.

Kirk Senior 
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN 
24 February 2017 

M Holdaway
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
24 February 2017

20
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
Independent Auditor’s Report

Independent auditor’s report
To the shareholders of Vista Group International Limited

The consolidated financial statements comprise:

•

•

•

•

•

the statement of financial position as at 31 December 2016;

the statement of comprehensive income for the year then ended;

the statement of changes in equity for the year then ended;

the statement of cash flows for the year then ended; and

the notes to the financial statements, which include a summary of significant accounting policies.

Our opinion
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements of Vista Group International Limited (the
Company), including its subsidiaries (the Group), present fairly, in all material respects, the financial
position of the Group as at 31 December 2016, its financial performance and its cash flows for the year
then ended in accordance with New Zealand Equivalents to International Financial Reporting
Standards (NZ IFRS) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (New Zealand) (ISAs
NZ) and International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). Our responsibilities under those standards are
further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the consolidated financial
statements section of our report.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for
our opinion.

We are independent of the Group in accordance with Professional and Ethical Standard 1( Revised)
Code of Ethics for Assurance Practitioners (PES 1) issued by the New Zealand Auditing and Assurance
Standards Board and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ Code of Ethics for
Professional Accountants (IESBA Code), and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in
accordance with these requirements.

Our firm carries out other services for the Group in the areas of related assurance services and
employee incentive scheme advice. The provision of these assurance and other services has not
impaired our independence as auditor of the Group.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, 188 Quay Street, Private Bag 92162, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
T: +64 9 355 8000, F: +64 9 355 8001, pwc.co.nz

21
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

Our audit approach

Overview

An audit is designed to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial
statements are free from material misstatement.

Materiality

Overall group materiality: $880,000, which represents 1% of total revenues.

Audit scope

Key audit
matters

We chose revenue as the benchmark because, in our view, this is the metric
against which is most commonly used by management and the users of the
financial statements to measure the performance of the Group, and is a
generally accepted benchmark.

We agreed with the Audit and Risk Committee that we would report to them
misstatements identified during our audit above $40,000 as well as
misstatements below that amount that, in our view, warranted reporting for
qualitative reasons.

Our key audit matters are:

•

•

Accounting for the Vista China transaction

Impairment testing of goodwill

Materiality
The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality.

Based on our professional judgement, we determined certain quantitative thresholds for materiality,
including the overall Group materiality for the consolidated financial statements as a whole as set out
above. These, together with qualitative considerations, helped us to determine the scope of our audit,
the nature, timing and extent of our audit procedures and to evaluate the effect of misstatements, both
individually and in aggregate on the consolidated financial statements as a whole.

Audit scope
We designed our audit by assessing the risks of material misstatement in the consolidated financial
statements and our application of materiality. As in all of our audits, we also addressed the risk of
management override of internal controls including among other matters, consideration of whether
there was evidence of bias that represented a risk of material misstatement due to fraud.

We tailored the scope of our audit in order to perform sufficient work to enable us to provide an
opinion on the consolidated financial statements as a whole, taking into account the structure of the
Group, the accounting processes and controls, and the industry in which the Group operates.

We perform audits of the significant subsidiaries of the Group as well as the holding company to
appropriately address the risk of misstatement and to obtain sufficient audit coverage and evidence.
These audits were undertaken by PwC New Zealand and performed at a materiality level calculated
with reference to a proportion of the Group materiality appropriate to the relative financial scale of the
subsidiary concerned.

PwC

22
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in
our audit of the consolidated financial statements of the current year. These matters were addressed in
the context of our audit of the consolidated financial statements as a whole, and in forming our
opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.

Key audit matter

How our audit addressed the key audit
matter

Accounting for the Vista China transaction

Note 4.1 provides details of a number of
transactions that collectively have been termed
the Vista China Transaction. These
transactions resulted in two significant
estimates where judgement needed to be
applied.

1. Valuation of the retained shareholding in
Vista China

Following the disposal of Vista China, the
retained interest in Vista China of 39.5% was
initially recorded at fair value. The valuation
was carried out by an independent expert who
determined that the value of the residual
interest was $28.6m.

The valuation involved:

• Determining the value of Vista China based

on the price paid by Bejing Weying
Technology Co. (WePaio) for the 55%
controlling shareholding acquired;

• Determining an appropriate discount rate
reflecting significant influence but not
control;

• Assessing whether the related reseller

arrangements were on arms-length terms.

Determining the appropriate discount rate and
assessing the terms of the reseller agreement
involved the applicable of judgement and
estimation.

2. Revenue recognition from the Reseller
Agreement

Vista Group has anu mber of performance
obligations under the reseller agreement.
These included the granting of exclusive
distribution rights of Vista’s licensed programs
in China, localisation of these products, and

PwC

We obtained and reviewed the agreements
associated with the transaction and held
discussions with management and the Directors
to understand the legal and commercial
substance of the arrangements entered into.

Having identified that there were two key areas
of judgement and estimation, we addressed these
as follows.

In relation to the valuation of the retained
interest in Vista China, we engaged our own
expert experienced in valuing companies to
assess the valuation approach undertaken by
managements’ independent expert. This included
reviewing the valuation methodology and
whether the discount rate used was supportable
by reference to the terms of the transaction and
comparison to other similar transactions.

We also considered the independence of
managements’ expert, their experience in valuing
companies and the conclusions reached.

In relation to the reseller agreement we gained
an understanding of Vista’s performance
obligations under the agreement. Through review
of the agreement and discussions with
management we determined the appropriate
revenue recognition policy for each performance
obligation.

We then gained an understanding of how
management had negotiated the revenue due
under the contract and assessed how
management had allocated this to each
performance obligation using standard selling
prices, in particular the revenue associated with
the granting of distribution rights and
localisation of the licensed programs. Through

23
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

ongoing training, support and maintenance
services. Management has applied judgement
in determining the nature of these
performance obligations, the time period over
which these obligations will be satisfied, the
associated revenue for each obligation and
from this the amount of revenue that should be
recognised.

This assessment has resulted in $3.4m of
revenue being recognised for the year ended 31
December 2016 and $11.0m of revenue being
deferred in the Statement of Financial
Position.

Impairment testing of goodwill

Note 4.3 provides details of the composition of
the goodwill balance of $50.3 million as at 31
December 2016.

Management is required to perform an annual
assessment to determine whether there is any
impairment of goodwill. This is disclosed in
Note 7.4.

To do this, management used a discounted
cash flow (DCF) model to value each division
(cash generating unit) and then compared
these values to the carrying value of the
associated assets and liabilities of each cash
generating unit, including goodwill as at 31
December 2016.

The discounted cash flow models involve the
application of judgment including determining
certain key assumptions and estimates,
specifically:

• The future revenue growth rates for the 5
year period forecast based on historic and
expected future performance;

• Determining the long term growth rates for

cash flows beyond the 5 year forecast
period;

PwC

this we also gained comfort that the reseller
arrangement was on arm’s length terms.

We ensured that:

• At balance date the distribution rights had

been granted in accordance with the
agreement and accordingly the associated
revenue recognised;

• Revenue from maintenance and support

services had been recognised on a straight-
line basis over the period the services are to
be provided in accordance with the
agreement; and

•

Localisation services have yet to be
completed in accordance with the agreement
and therefore have been recorded as deferred
revenue.

From the procedures performed we have no
matters to report.

We gained an understanding of the business
process applied by management in assessing
impairment of goodwill. We held discussions
with management about the performance of each
cash generating unit and whether there were any
events or circumstances that would indicate that
goodwill was impaired.

We assessed the reasonableness of the key
estimates and assumptions made by
management, by performing the following
procedures:

• Obtaining an understanding of how

management prepared its budgets and
forecast and the associated review and
approval processes;

• Assessing the reliability of management’s

historical budgets and forecasts by reference
to actual performance;

• Assessing whether the growth rates used over
the 5 year period forecast were reasonable
compared to historic growth, board approved
budgets and other strategic and operational
initiatives being undertaken;

24
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

• Calculating the weighted average cost of

capital for each cash generating unit used
to discount the forecast cash flows.

• Comparing the terminal growth rates against
New Zealand long-term rates and industry
specific rates; and

The assessments completed by management
concluded that goodwill was not impaired as at
31 December 2016 but the valuation of Share
Dimension was sensitive to changes in the
revenue growth assumptions, as disclosed in
Note 7.4 of the financial statements.

• Recalculating the discount rates used and

comparing the discount rates against similar
market participants.

• We also performed a sensitivity analysis by

increasing and decreasing key assumptions to
consider whether any reasonably possible
changes could result in impairment of
goodwill.

Based on the procedures performed and evidence
examined we obtained comfort that the key
assumptions and estimates were appropriate to
support the impairment tests and that a
reasonable possible change in key assumptions
would not result in an impairment other than in
respect of the carrying value of Share
Dimension’s goodwill of $1.7 million.

Information other than the financial statements and auditor’s report
The Directors are responsible for the annual report. The annual report is expected to be made available
to us after the date of this auditor’s report.

Our opinion on the consolidated financial statements does not cover the other information included in
the annual report and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion on the other information. In
connection with our audit of the consolidated financial statements, our responsibility is to read the
other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent
with the consolidated financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise
appears to be materially misstated. If, when we read the annual report, we conclude that there is a
material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

Responsibilities of the Directors for the consolidated financial statements
The Directors are responsible, on behalf of the Company, for the preparation and fair presentation of
the consolidated financial statements in accordance with NZ IFRS and IFRS, and for such internal
control as the Directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of consolidated financial
statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the consolidated financial statements, the Directors are responsible for assessing the
Group’s ability to continue as ag oing concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going
concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Directors either intend to liquidate
the Group or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the consolidated financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial
statements, as a whole, are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to
issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance,

PwC

25
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs NZ and ISAs will always detect
a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are
considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence
the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these consolidated financial statements.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located at the
External Reporting Board’s website at:

https://xrb.govt.nz/Site/Auditing_Assurance_Standards/Current_Standards/Page1.aspx

Who we report to
This report is made solely to the Company’s shareholders, as a body. Our audit work has been
undertaken so that we might state those matters which we are required to state to them in an auditor’s
report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume
responsibility to anyone other than the Company and the Company’s shareholders, as ab ody, for our
audit work, for this report or for the opinions we have formed.

The engagement partner on the audit resulting in this independent auditor’s report is Julian Prior.

For and on behalf of:

Chartered Accountants
24 February 2017

Auckland

PwC

26
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2016

Revenue

Total revenue

Sales and marketing expenses

Operating expenses

Administration expenses

Acquisition expenses

Foreign currency losses/(gains) 

Total expenses

Operating Profi t

Finance costs

Finance income

Share of loss from associate

Capital gain on sale of Vista China

Profi t before tax

Tax expense

Profi t for the year

Profi t for the year is attributable to:

Owners of the parent

Non-controlling interests

2016

2015

SECTION

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

3

7.6

7.6

7.6

4.1

4.1

8.1

88,589

88,589

7,100

42,849

22,949

1,338

1,378

75,614

12,975

(580)

480

(914)

41,069

53,030

(3,550)

65,431

65,431

4,567

31,727

17,995

2,722

(1,742)

55,269

10,162

(503)

462

-

-

10,121

(3,981)

49,480

6,140

48,620

860

49,480

5,753

387

6,140

Other comprehensive (loss)/income

Items that may be reclassifi ed to profi t or loss:

Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations, net of tax

(1,779)

510

Total comprehensive income for the year

47,701

6,650

Total comprehensive income for the year is attributable to:

Owners of the parent

Non-controlling interests

Earnings per share for profi t attributable to the equity holders of the parent

Basic (cents per share)

Diluted (cents per share) 

The above statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

47,201

500

47,701

$0.61

$0.60

6,346

304

6,650

$0.07

$0.07

6.2

6.2

27
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2016

ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE OWNERS OF THE PARENT

CONTRIBUTED 
EQUITY

RETAINED 
EARNINGS

FOREIGN 
CURRENCY 
RESERVE

SHARE-BASED 
PAYMENT 
RESERVE

NON-
CONTROLLING 
INTERESTS

TOTAL 
EQUITY

TOTAL

SECTION

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000 NZ$’000

NZ$’000 NZ$’000

Balance at 1 January 2016 

45,952

22,661

Profi t for the period

Other comprehensive loss

Total comprehensive income

Issue of share capital

Share-based payments

Disposal of Vista China

VCL share based payment

Acquisition of non-controlling 
interests

6.1

6.3

4.1

4.2

-

-

-

7,983

75

1,644

-

164

-

48,620

-

(1,419)

2,296

71,073

7,979 79,052

- 48,620

-

(1,419)

860 49,480

(360)

(1,779)

48,620

(1,419)

- 47,201

500 47,701

-

-

-

-

-

264

-

-

-

7,983

1,043

(1,644)

-

1,118

264

-

-

-

-

-

7,983

1,118

264

-

2,249

2,249

Balance at 31 December 2016

55,654

71,281

(991)

1,695 127,639

10,728 138,367

Balance at 1 January 2015 

Profi t/(loss) for the period

Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income

Share-based payments

2014 employee share based 
payment transactions - 
closed 2015

6.3

6.4

45,952

15,895

(429)

1,666 63,084

7,675

70,759

-

-

-

-

-

5,753

-

5,753

-

1,013

-

593

593

-

-

-

-

-

5,753

593

6,346

1,643

1,643

(1,013)

-

387

6,140

(83)

510

304

6,650

-

-

1,643

-

Balance at 31 December 2015

45,952

22,661

164

2,296

71,073

7,979 79,052

The above statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

28
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016

CURRENT ASSETS
Cash

Short term deposits

Trade and other receivables

Income tax receivable

Total current assets

NON-CURRENT ASSETS
Property, plant and equipment

Investment in associate

Goodwill

Intangible assets

Deferred tax asset

Total non-current assets

Total assets

CURRENT LIABILITIES
Trade and other payables

Deferred revenue

Contingent consideration

Income tax payable

Total current liabilities

NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES
Borrowings

Deferred revenue

Employee benefi ts – VCL acquisition

Provisions

Deferred tax liability

Total non-current liabilities

Total liabilities

Net assets

EQUITY
Contributed equity

Retained earnings

Foreign currency revaluation reserve

Share based payment reserve

Total equity attributable to owners of the parent

Non-controlling interests

Total equity

SECTION

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

2016

2015

5.1

5.1

7.1

7.3

4.1 / 4.4

4.3

7.2

8.2

7.5

4

5.3

8.2

6.1

6.3

4.4

15,798

5,540

73,392

449

95,179

4,162

27,669

50,285

12,789

1,541

16,863

10,437

30,069

517

57,886

2,380

-

41,109

9,152

220

96,446

52,861

191,625

110,747

14,519

22,473

3,122

2,315

6,637

14,476

1,253

1,788

42,429

24,154

4,848

3,444

343

279

1,915

10,829

4,792

-

468

-

2,281

7,541

53,258

31,695

138,367

79,052

55,654

71,281

(991)

1,695

127,639

10,728

45,952

22,661

164

2,296

71,073

7,979

138,367

79,052

For and on behalf of the Board who authorised these fi nancial statements for issue on 24 February 2017.

Kirk Senior Executive Chairman 

Susan Peterson Chair Audit and Risk Committee

The above statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

29
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
STATEMENT OF CASHFLOWS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2016

CASHFLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Receipts from customers

Interest received

Payments to suppliers

Taxes paid

Interest paid

SECTION

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

2016

2015

69,247

476

(58,502)

(5,484)

(317)

60,113

462

(50,527)

(3,114)

(339)

Net cash infl ow from operating activities

5.2

5,420

6,595

CASHFLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Purchase of property, plant and equipment

Purchase of intangible assets

Advance to associate

Acquisition of a business, net of cash acquired

Disposal of Vista China

(3,353)

(4,890)

(1,121)

(7,163)

(1,439)

(1,059)

(2,672)

-

(6,680)

Net cash (applied to) investing activities

(17,966)

(10,411)

CASHFLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Issue of ordinary shares

Net cash infl ow from fi nancing activities

Net decrease in cash and short term deposits

Cash and short term deposits at the beginning of the year

Foreign exchange differences

6.1

7,983

7,983

(4,563)

27,300

(1,399)

-

-

(3,816)

30,746

370

Cash and short term deposits at end of year

5.1

21,338

27,300

The above statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

30
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

General information 

In the current year, the layout of these fi nancial statements has been updated to present them in a way that is easier for 
the reader to understand. This has been achieved by including Accounting Policies and Critical Judgements alongside 
the notes and focusing on presenting the information in a manner that increases clarity and ease of understanding.

The notes are consolidated into nine sections. Each section contains an introduction which is indicated by the 
symbol above. The fi rst section outlines general information about Vista Group and guidance on how to navigate 
through this document.

Accounting policies 

The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of these fi nancial statements are set out throughout 
the document where they are applicable. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented, 
unless otherwise stated.

Accounting policies are identifi ed by the symbol above.

Critical judgements and estimates in applying the accounting policies

Further details of the nature of these Critical Judgements and estimates may be found throughout the fi nancial 
statements as they are applicable and are identifi ed by the symbol above.

1. GENERAL INFORMATION
These consolidated fi nancial statements are for Vista Group International Limited (the ‘Company’ and its subsidiaries, 
collectively ‘Vista Group’) which is a company incorporated and domiciled in New Zealand, and whose shares are 
publicly traded on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). 

The Company is registered under the Companies Act 1993 and is an FMC reporting entity under Part 7 of the 
Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. The fi nancial statements of Vista Group have been prepared in accordance 
with the requirements of Part 7 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 and the NZX Main Board Listing Rules. 

In accordance with the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 because fi nancial statements are prepared and presented 
for Vista Group, separate fi nancial statements for the Company are no longer required to be prepared and presented.

The principal activity of Vista Group is the sale, support and associated development of software for the fi lm industry.

These fi nancial statements were approved by the Directors on 24 February 2017.

2. BASIS OF PREPARATION
This section outlines the legislation and accounting standards which have been followed in the preparation of these 
fi nancial statements along with explaining how the information has been aggregated.

2.1  KEY LEGISLATION AND ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

The consolidated fi nancial statements of Vista Group have been prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted 
Accounting Practice in New Zealand (NZ GAAP). Vista Group is a for-profi t entity for the purposes of complying with 
NZ GAAP. The consolidated fi nancial statements comply with New Zealand equivalents to International Financial 
Reporting Standards (NZ IFRS), other New Zealand fi nancial reporting standards and authoritative notices that 
are applicable to entities that apply NZ IFRS. The consolidated fi nancial statements also comply with International 
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and interpretations issued by the IFRS Interpretations Committee (IFRS IC) 
applicable to companies reporting under IFRS.

The fi nancial statements have been prepared on the basis of historical cost except for contingent consideration 
which is measured at fair value.

31
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

2.2  ADOPTION OF NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

Certain new accounting standards and interpretations have been published that are not mandatory for 31 December 
2016 reporting period and have not been early adopted by Vista Group. The key items applicable to Vista Group are: 

NZ IFRS 15: Revenue from contracts with customers 
(Effective date: annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018) 

NZ IFRS 15 deals with revenue recognition and establishes principles for reporting useful information to users of 
fi nancial statements about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash fl ows arising from an 
entity’s contracts with customers. Revenue is recognised when a customer obtains control of a good or service 
and thus has the ability to direct the use and obtain the benefi ts from the good or service. The standard replaces 
NZ IAS 18 ‘Revenue’ and NZ IAS 11 ‘Construction contracts’ and related interpretations. The standard is effective for 
annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018. Vista Group intends to adopt NZ IFRS 15 on its effective date 
and has yet to assess its full impact. 

NZ IFRS 9: Financial Instruments 
(Effective date: annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018) 

NZ IFRS 9 addresses the classifi cation, measurement and derecognition of fi nancial assets and fi nancial liabilities 
and introduces new rules for hedge accounting. In July 2014, the IASB made further changes to the classifi cation 
and measurement rules and also introduced a new impairment model. These latest amendments now complete 
the new fi nancial instruments standard. The standard is effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 
1 January 2018. Vista Group intends to adopt NZ IFRS 9 on its effective date and has yet to assess its full impact. 

NZ IFRS 16: Leases 
(Effective date: periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019) 

NZ IFRS 16, ‘Leases’, which replaces the current guidance in NZ IAS 17, was published by the International Accounting 
Standards Board (IASB) in January 2016. Under NZ IFRS 16, a contract is, or contains, a lease if the contract conveys 
the right to control the use of an identifi ed asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration. Under NZ IAS 17, 
a lessee was required to make a distinction between a fi nance lease (on balance sheet) and an operating lease (off 
balance sheet). NZ IFRS 16 now requires a lessee to recognise a lease liability refl ecting future lease payments and 
a ‘right-of-use asset’ for virtually all lease contracts. The IASB has included an optional exemption for certain short-
term leases and leases of low-value assets; however, this exemption can only be applied by lessees. The standard 
is effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019. Early adoption is permitted but only in 
conjunction with NZ IFRS 15, ‘Revenue from Contracts with Customers. Vista Group intends to adopt NZ IFRS 16 
on its effective date and has yet to assess its full impact.

There are no other standards that are not yet effective and that would be expected to have a material impact 
on Vista Group.

2.3  BASIS OF CONSOLIDATION

Vista Group’s fi nancial statements consolidate those of the Company, and its subsidiaries as at 31 December 2016. 
A subsidiary is an entity over which Vista Group has control. Control is achieved when Vista Group is exposed, 
or has rights, to variable returns from its involvement with the investee and has the ability to affect those returns 
through its power to direct the activities of the investee.

Consolidation of a subsidiary begins when Vista Group obtains control over the subsidiary and ceases when Vista 
Group loses control of the subsidiary. Income and expenses of a subsidiary acquired or disposed of during the year 
are included within the statement of comprehensive income from the date Vista Group gains control until the date 
Vista Group ceases to control the subsidiary. All subsidiaries have a reporting date of 31 December. In preparing 
the consolidated fi nancial statements, all inter entity balances and transactions and unrealised profi ts and losses 
arising within the consolidated entity have been eliminated in full. A change in the ownership interest of a subsidiary 
without a loss of control is accounted for as an equity transaction.

Non-controlling interests, presented as part of equity, represent the portion of a subsidiary’s profi t or loss and net 
assets that is not held by Vista Group. Vista Group attributes total comprehensive income or loss of subsidiaries to 
the amounts of the Company and the non-controlling interests based on their ownership interests.

32
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VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Vista Group treats transactions with non-controlling interests that do not result in a loss of control as transactions 
with equity owners of the group. A change in ownership interest results in an adjustment between the carrying 
amounts of the controlling and non-controlling interests to refl ect their relative interests in the subsidiary. Any 
difference between the amount of the adjustment to non-controlling interests and any consideration paid or 
received is recognised in a separate reserve within equity attributable to the owners of the Company.

2.4  FOREIGN CURRENCY

Functional and presentation currency

Items included in the fi nancial statements of each of Vista Group’s entities are measured using the currency of the 
primary economic environment in which the entity operates (‘the functional currency’). The consolidated fi nancial 
statements are presented in New Zealand Dollars (NZD), which is Vista Group’s presentation currency. All fi nancial 
information has been presented rounded to the nearest thousand dollars ($000). 

Transactions and balances

Foreign currency transactions are translated into the functional currency using the exchange rates prevailing at the 
dates of the transactions. Foreign exchange gains and losses resulting from the settlement of such transactions and 
from the translation at year-end exchange rates of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies 
are recognised in the statement of comprehensive income.

Foreign Currency Translation Reserve (FCTR)

The FCTR is used to record exchange differences arising from the translation of the fi nancial statements of foreign 
subsidiaries for consolidation purposes.

Group companies

The results and fi nancial position of all Vista Group entities (none of which has the currency of a hyper-infl ationary 
economy) that have a functional currency different from the presentation currency are translated into the 
presentation currency as follows;

(a)   assets and liabilities for each balance sheet presented are translated at the closing rate at the date of that 

balance sheet

(b)   income and expenses for each income statement and statement of other comprehensive income, are translated 
at average exchange rates (unless this average is not a reasonable approximation of the cumulative effect of 
the rates prevailing on the transaction dates, in which case income and expenses are translated at the rate on 
the dates of the transactions);

(c)   all resulting exchange differences are recognised in other comprehensive income

(d)   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. Exchange differences arising are recognised 
in other comprehensive income

Foreign exchange gains and losses that relate to borrowings are presented in the statement of comprehensive 
income, within fi nance costs. All other foreign exchange gains and losses are presented in the statement of 
comprehensive income on a net basis within other expenses.

2.5  INVESTMENT IN ASSOCIATE

Associates are those entities over which Vista Group is able to exert signifi cant infl uence but which are not 
subsidiaries or jointly controlled entities. Vista Group’s investment in an associate is accounted for using the equity 
method. Under the equity method, the investment in an associate is initially recognised at cost. In the event of loss 
of control of a subsidiary, resulting in an associate company, this is recognised initially at fair value. The carrying 
amount of the investment in associates is increased or decreased to recognise Vista Group’s share of the profi t or 
loss and other comprehensive income of the associate after the acquisition date. Dividends received or receivable 
from associates and joint ventures are recognised as a reduction in the carrying amount of the investment.

When the Vista Group’s share of losses in an equity-accounted investment equals or exceeds its interest in the 
entity, including any other unsecured long-term receivables, Vista Group does not recognise further losses, unless 
it has incurred obligations or made payments on behalf of the other entity. Unrealised gains on transactions 
between Vista Group and its associates are eliminated to the extent of the Vista Group’s interest in these entities. 

33
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ANNUAL REPORT 2016
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Unrealised losses are also eliminated unless the transaction provides evidence of an impairment of the asset 
transferred. The carrying amount of equity-accounted investment is tested for impairment in accordance with 
the policy described in section 7.4. 

The fi nancial statements of the associate are prepared for the same reporting period as Vista Group. When 
necessary, adjustments are made to bring the accounting policies in line with those of Vista Group. 

2.6  GROUP INFORMATION

The fi nancial statements include the following signifi cant subsidiaries:

NAME

PRINCIPAL ACTIVITY

COUNTRY OF 
INCORPORATION

SHAREHOLDING 
2016

SHAREHOLDING 
2015

Vista Entertainment Solutions 
Limited

Software development and 
licensing

New Zealand

100%

100%

Virtual Concepts Limited

Holding company

New Zealand

Movio Limited 

Movio Inc

Provision of online loyalty data 
analytics and marketing

New Zealand

Provision of online loyalty data 
analytics and marketing

USA

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

MACCS International B.V.

Software development and 
licensing

Netherlands

50.1%

50.1%

Vista Entertainment Solutions 
(UK) Limited

Software licensing

United Kingdom

100%

100%

Vista Entertainment Solutions 
(USA) Inc

Software licensing

Vista Entertainment Solutions 
Shanghai Limited*

Software licensing

USA

China

100%

100%

39.5%

100%

Book My Show Limited

Online cinema ticketing website

New Zealand

Book My Show (NZ) Limited

Online cinema ticketing website

New Zealand

Share Dimension B.V.

Software development and 
licensing

Netherlands

S.C. Share Dimension S.R.L

Software development

Romania

Flicks.co.nz Limited

Advertising sales

New Zealand

Powster Limited 

Marketing and creative solutions

United Kingdom

*Vista Entertainment Solutions Shanghai Limited is no longer a subsidiary, see section 4.1 for details. 

74%

74%

50%

50%

100%

50%

74%

74%

-

-

-

-

3. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
This section outlines further details of Vista Group’s fi nancial performance by building on information presented 
in the Statement of Comprehensive Income

3.1  REVENUE

Revenue is recognised to the extent that it is probable that the economic benefi ts will fl ow to Vista Group and 
the revenue can be reliably measured. The following specifi c recognition criteria must also be met before revenue 
is recognised.

34
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VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Products

Product revenue comprises the sale of computer software licenses and is recognised when the signifi cant risks 
and rewards of ownership have been transferred by making the software usable to the licensee. No revenue is 
recognised if there are signifi cant uncertainties regarding recovery of the consideration due, associated costs 
or the possible non-implementation and return of the software. In 2016 a fee related to the sale of an exclusive 
distribution right in China is recognised in this category. See section 4.1 for more detail.

Maintenance

Maintenance services are billed in advance for a fi xed term. Revenue is recorded within deferred revenue on the 
statement of fi nancial position and recognised on a straight-line basis over the term of the contract billing period, 
as services are provided. 

Services

Services comprise of service fees which are one-off charges. Revenue is recognised when the service is complete 
or on a stage of completion basis. 

Development

Development revenue comprises the revenue associated with development effort as requested and paid for by 
customers. This category includes revenue associated with development services to deliver the localisation of 
Vista Group software under the reseller agreement with Vista China. See section 4.1.

Other revenue 

Other revenue comprises revenue earned from advertising. 

Product

Maintenance

Services

Development

Other

Total revenue

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

39,153

35,124

9,534

4,321

457

 21,750 

 31,427 

 12,070 

 - 

 184 

88,589

65,431

Critical judgements used in applying accounting policies and estimation uncertainty

As disclosed in 4.1, Vista Group entered into a reseller agreement with Vista China which included a number of 
performance obligations made by Vista Group. Management has applied judgement and estimation in determining 
the nature of these performance obligations, the time period over which these obligations will be satisfi ed, the 
associated revenue for each obligation and from this the amount of revenue that has been recognised for the year 
ended 31 December 2016.

3.2  SEGMENT REPORTING 

Vista Group operates in a single vertical fi lm/cinema market and is structured through operating subsidiaries that 
report monthly to the Chief Executive. The Chief Executive and the Board are considered to be the Chief Operating 
Decision Maker in terms of NZ IFRS 8 Operating Segments. 

Vista Group operates across four regions. Asia Pacifi c (APAC) which comprises primarily Vista China, note that 
after the disposal of this entity (see section 4.1) non-current operating assets are reduced to nil in 2016 (2015: 
$127,000). The other three regions comprise Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the United States and Canada 
(Americas) and the Oceania region which consists of New Zealand and Australia, within which Vista Entertainment 
Solutions Limited and the Company are included. 

Revenue is reported via fi ve main sources – Product, Maintenance, Services, Development and Other, there is no 
material indirect revenue source. No allocation of costs or assets is made against these revenue groups that would 
enable disclosure of segmented information in this way. 

35
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Revenue is allocated to geographical regions on the basis of where the sale is recorded by each operating entity within 
Vista Group. Independent resellers are used to promote the Vista products in multiple jurisdictions. The revenues 
recognised via these independent resellers are not allocated geographically, rather they are shown within the 
Oceania and EMEA regions.

Geographic information

REVENUE

2016 

Product

Maintenance

Services

Development

Other

Total revenue 

2015

Product

Maintenance

Services

Development

Other

Total revenue 

APAC

4,809

849

334

554

-

TOTAL

EMEA 

AMERICAS 

OCEANIA 

NZ$’000

11,849

9,264

5,892

896

-

10,695

12,700

2,460

936

-

11,800

12,311

848

1,935

457

39,153

35,124

9,534

4,321

457

 6,546 

 27,901 

 26,791 

 27,351 

88,589

TOTAL

APAC

EMEA 

AMERICAS 

OCEANIA 

NZ$’000

 1,611 

 2,207 

 172 

 184 

 - 

 5,385 

 7,899 

 5,875 

 613 

 - 

 6,894 

 11,246 

 3,919 

 643 

 130 

 7,860 

 10,074 

(309)

 974 

 54 

21,750

31,426

9,657

2,414

184

 4,174 

 19,772 

 22,832 

 18,653 

65,431

No individual customer exceeded 10% of revenue in 2016 or 2015. 

Non-current operating assets by location are presented in the following table. Note that investment in associate 
is excluded from the non-current assets balance presented.

Geographic information

NON-CURRENT OPERATING ASSETS

Oceania

APAC

Americas

EMEA

Total non-current operating assets

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

34,498

-

8,394

25,885

26,981

127

9,028

16,725

68,777

52,861

4. ACQUISITIONS DISPOSALS AND BUSINESS COMBINATIONS
This section outlines how Vista Group has accounted for transactions to acquire new businesses and dispose 
of an existing subsidiary and how this has impacted the fi nancial statements. 

4.1  VISTA CHINA TRANSACTION

Transaction description

On 25 August 2016, Vista Group received fi nal regulatory approval to establish with Bejing Weying Technology 
Co. Ltd (WePiao) a new venture in China. Under the terms of the agreement, WePiao has acquired a 55.4% equity 
holding in Vista Entertainment Solutions (Shanghai) Limited (Vista China) via the combination of the purchase 
from Vista Group of 18.3% of the existing shares in Vista China and the issue of new shares. On completion of the 
transaction, Vista Group holds a 39.5% shareholding in Vista China, with the remaining 5.0% being held by a third 

36
36
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

party. Due to the revised shareholding in Vista China and Board composition, Vista Group ceased to have effective 
control of Vista China as of the completion date of the transaction. Holding two Board seats out of seven enables 
Vista Group to exercise signifi cant infl uence over Vista China and therefore classifi es this entity as an Associate 
and ceases to consolidate Vista China as of the completion date. 

Under the Reseller Agreement, Vista China has been granted an exclusive distribution right for the initial period of 
ten years within mainland China, with a right of renewal, to all existing Vista Group software including Vista Cinema, 
VEEZI, Movio, MACCS and Numero. The Reseller Agreement specifi es the payment of Localisation fees to Vista 
Group to cover the effort that must be invested to prepare Vista Group software products for further deployment in 
the China market. Support and Maintenance fees are also payable under the Reseller Agreement to cover customer 
support, training and upgrades to Vista Group software suite. 

Gain on sale of Vista China

At the disposal date, the carrying value of the identifi able net assets in Vista China was $1.5m. Vista Group sold 
18.3% of the shares in Vista China for $16.5m. The fair value of the retained 39.5% shareholding in Vista China has 
been valued by an independent valuation expert at $28.6m. Vista Group has recognised a gain on sale of $41.1m, 
calculated as follows:

Consideration received or receivable

Fair value of the 39.5% of Vista China retained by Vista Group

Less: carrying value of net assets of Vista China

Transaction costs

Foreign currency translation reserve

Gain on sale of Vista China before income tax

Income tax expense

Gain on sale of Vista China after income tax

Carrying amounts of Vista China 

The carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for Vista China as at the date of sale 25 August 2016 were:

2016

NZ$’000

16,533

28,583

45,116

(1,511)

(2,272)

(264)

41,069

-

41,069

Total non-current assets

Cash

Trade and other receivables

Total current assets

Total assets

Total non-current liabilities

Other current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Total liabilities

Net assets

25 AUGUST 2016

NZ$’000

126

4,723

3,681

8,404

8,530

(67)

(926)

(6,026)

(7,019)

1,511

Vista China was consolidated as a subsidiary for the period through 31 August 2016. During this period the entity 
contributed revenue of $6.7m and EBIT of $0.4m. Vista Group recognised an equity accounted loss for the period 
after which Vista China ceased to be consolidated of $0.9m. As at 31 December 2016, Vista Group holds a sundry 
receivable of $16.5m from WePiao for the purchase of 18.3% of the equity of Vista China. As at 31 December 2016, 
Vista Group also holds a trade receivable of $19.0m from Vista China. See section 4.4 for more information. 

37
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Critical judgements used in applying accounting policies and estimation uncertainty

Judgement and estimation is applied in determining the fair value of the 39.5% interest retained in Vista China 
following the sale of the controlling shareholding to WePiao. An appropriately qualifi ed independent expert was 
appointed by the Board who determined the fair value of the retained interest at $28.6m. The determination of this 
amount was based on the sale price for the 18.3% of Vista China sold by Vista Group and the amount at which new 
shares in Vista China were issued to WePiao, adjusted to refl ect a premium for control. 

4.2  2016 ACQUISTIONS AND OTHER BUSINESS COMBINATIONS

Business combinations

The acquisition method of accounting is used to account for all business combinations, regardless of whether 
equity instruments or other assets are acquired. The consideration transferred for the acquisition of a subsidiary 
comprises cash and the fair value of any asset or liability resulting from a contingent consideration arrangement. 

Identifi able assets acquired and liabilities and contingent liabilities assumed in a business combination are, with 
limited exceptions, measured initially at their fair values at the acquisition date. Vista Group recognises any non-
controlling interest in the acquired entity on an acquisition-by-acquisition basis either at fair value or at the non-
controlling interest’s proportionate share of the acquired entity’s net identifi able assets. 

Acquisition-related costs are expensed as incurred. 

The excess of the:

•  consideration transferred, 

•  amount of any non-controlling interest in the acquired entity; and

•  acquisition-date fair value of any previous equity interest in the acquired entity

over the fair value of the net identifi able assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. If those amounts are less than 
the fair value of the net identifi able assets of the subsidiary acquired, the difference is recognised directly in the 
statement of comprehensive income as a bargain purchase. 

Where settlement of any part of cash consideration is deferred, the amounts payable in the future are discounted 
to their present value as at the date of exchange. The discount rate used is the entity’s incremental borrowing rate, 
being the rate at which a similar borrowing could be obtained from an independent fi nancier under comparable 
terms and conditions. 

Contingent consideration is classifi ed either as equity or a fi nancial liability. Amounts classifi ed as a fi nancial liability 
are subsequently remeasured to fair value with changes recognised in the statement of comprehensive income. 

If the business combination is achieved in stages, the acquisition date carrying value of the acquirer’s previously 
held equity interest in the acquiree is remeasured to fair value at the acquisition date. Any gains or losses arising 
from such remeasurement are recognised in the statement of comprehensive income.

POWSTER LIMITED

On 1 April 2016, Vista Group acquired a 50% shareholding in Powster Ltd (Powster). Powster is a London based 
business that provides bespoke marketing concepts and creative solutions to the fi lm and entertainment industry. 

This strategic acquisition continues Vista Group’s strategy of creating a comprehensive suite of technology 
solutions for the global fi lm industry. Vista Group will benefi t from Powster’s capability to deliver innovative digital 
marketing and operational solutions for distributors and exhibitors and as a result it will enhance Vista Group’s 
product offering to studios. Powster will benefi t from potential cost effi ciencies from being part of Vista Group 
as well as leveraging Vista Group’s relationships across its geographic locations and customer base.

The terms of the acquisition achieve effective control of Powster via Vista Group’s ability to exercise majority voting 
rights. Accordingly, the investment in Powster is treated as a subsidiary and consolidated at the acquisition date.

38
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VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Details of the purchase consideration, the net assets acquired and goodwill are as follows:

Cash

Contingent consideration

Total purchase consideration

The assets and liabilities recognised as a result of the acquisition are as follows:

Property, plant and equipment

Cash on hand

Trade and other receivables

Tax payable

Trade and other payables

Net identifi able assets acquired

Non-controlling interest

Goodwill

Total purchase consideration

NZ$’000

7,188

2,493

9,681

NZ$’000

65

1,994

1,895

(726)

(134)

3,094

1,547

8,134

9,681

The fair value of trade receivables is $1.54m with no bad debt provision required as all customer accounts are 
deemed to be fully performing. The total amount of accounts receivable past due but not impaired was $0.9m.

Contingent consideration

The purchase agreement includes contingent consideration. Contingent consideration is payable in two tranches to 
be paid in April 2017 and April 2018 respectively. The Payment tranches are based upon the achievement of EBITDA(1) 
for the FY2016 and FY2017 periods. For the purposes of quantifying the amounts payable for each respective 
tranche, an estimate has been developed based on the expected performance of the Powster business for these 
fi nancial years. The assumptions used have been validated by senior management. The estimated cashfl ows for 
each tranche have been discounted back to the balance date at a cost of capital of 8%, to be unwound over the 
period of the tranche as a fi nance charge.

At the acquisition date, the fair value of the contingent consideration was estimated to be $2.5m. There has been 
no change to this estimate as at 31 December 2016. The maximum amount payable under the purchase agreement 
is uncapped, based on fi nancial performance.

Goodwill 

Goodwill is attributable to Powster’s ability to enable Vista Group to increase the breadth of its product offering 
to studios. Goodwill is also attributable to Powster’s cost effi ciencies provided by access to Vista Group’s 
infrastructure and customer network. Goodwill is not deductible for tax purposes.

Vista Group elected to measure the non-controlling interest in the acquiree as a proportion of net assets acquired.

Revenue included in the consolidated income statement from 1 April 2016 to 31 December 2016 is $3.9m. Powster 
contributed net profi t before tax of $2.1m for the same period. Had Powster been consolidated from 1 January 
2016, the impact on the statement of comprehensive income for the period ended 31 December 2016 would have 
been an increase in revenue to $5.0m and an increase in net profi t before tax to $2.3m.

SHARE DIMENSION BV

On 4 January 2016, Vista Group acquired a 50% shareholding in Share Dimension B.V. a Netherlands based 
software development company. Share Dimension B.V. and its subsidiary S.C. Share Dimension S.R.L. are Dutch 
and Romanian software development companies respectively, specialising in predictive analytics applications for 
cinema exhibitors. Their fl agship product Cinema Intelligence, offers a collection of modules aimed at optimising 
the scheduling of fi lms to increase the profi tability of cinema exhibitors.

(1)  EBITDA is defi ned as earnings before net fi nance expenses, income tax, depreciation and amortisation.

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ANNUAL REPORT 2016
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

The strategic partnership presents benefi ts to both parties. Share Dimension gains market access opportunities 
to Vista Group’s customer network, whilst Vista Group gains access to new and additional technology for its 
customers. Creating a strong integration between the products will increase the velocity of the uptake of the 
Share Dimension product.

Vista Group acquired a 50% shareholding in Share Dimension. Effective control of Share Dimension is achieved as 
a result of Vista Group controlling the majority voting rights of the Supervisory Board. Accordingly, the investment 
in Share Dimension is treated as a subsidiary and consolidated as of the acquisition date. Details of the purchase 
consideration, the net assets acquired and goodwill are as follows:

Cash

Total purchase consideration

The assets and liabilities recognised as a result of the acquisition are as follows:

Property, plant and equipment

Intangible assets

Cash on hand

Trade and other receivables

Trade and other payables

Net identifi able assets acquired

Non-controlling interest

Goodwill

Total purchase consideration

Goodwill 

NZ$’000

2,235

2,235

NZ$’000

53

419

701

409

(568)

1,014

507

1,728

2,235

Goodwill is attributable to integrating Share Dimension’s technology platform creating new opportunities and 
markets for Vista Group. Goodwill is not deductible for tax purposes.

Contingent consideration

The purchase agreement includes contingent consideration. Contingent consideration is payable in two tranches 
to be paid in April 2017 and April 2018 respectively. The payment tranches are based upon the achievement of 
specifi ed total revenue, recurring revenue and EBITDA(1) targets for the FY2016 and FY2017 periods. Based on the 
forecasts provided by Share Dimension, an estimate has been developed to calculate the amounts payable for both 
these fi nancial years. The calculation assumptions used have been validated by senior management. At acquisition 
date and 31 December 2016, the fair value estimate of the contingent consideration payable is nil. The maximum 
amount of contingent consideration payable under the purchase agreement is uncapped, based on fi nancial 
performance.

Vista Group elected to measure the non-controlling interest in the acquiree as a proportion of net assets acquired. 
Revenue included in the consolidated income statement from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2016 is $0.58m. 
Share Dimension contributed a net loss before tax of $1.31m for the same period. 

FLICKS.CO.NZ LIMITED

On 8 April 2016, Vista Group acquired 100% of the shares of Flicks.co.nz Limited (Flicks), a company based 
in Auckland, New Zealand. Flicks is New Zealand’s most complete and up-to-date source of movie, cinema and 
session time information.

Vista Group acquired Flicks because of its strong position in the New Zealand cinema industry and the potential 
for synergies to be realised through combination with Vista Group.

(1)  EBITDA is defi ned as earnings before net fi nance expenses, income tax, depreciation and amortisation.

40
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VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Details of the purchase consideration, the net assets acquired and goodwill are as follows:

Cash

Deferred purchase price

Total purchase consideration

The assets and liabilities recognised as a result of the acquisition are as follows:

Property, plant and equipment

Intangible assets

Cash on hand

Trade receivables

Trade and other payables

Net identifi able assets acquired

Goodwill

Total purchase consideration

NZ$’000

604

130

734

NZ$’000

3

38

55

78

(44)

130

604

734

The fair value of trade receivables is $78,000 with any individual debts that were known to be uncollectable 
written off in the period within which they were identifi ed.

Goodwill

Goodwill is attributable to Flicks’ strong position in the New Zealand cinema industry and the potential for synergies 
to be realised when combined within Vista Group. Goodwill is not deductible for tax purposes.

The deferred purchase price of $0.14m (20% of the purchase price) is to be paid on the fi rst anniversary following 
the completion date. The payment of the deferred purchase price was contingent at the time of the transaction 
upon the achievement of certain performance criteria for the year ended 31 March 2016. Upon receipt of the 
31 March 2016 accounts, it was deemed that the performance criteria were achieved and therefore the deferred 
purchase price is expected to be paid and is therefore recognised as part of the business combination.

The deferred purchase price payment is discounted for one year at 8%. Therefore, the total amount recognised 
as part of the business combination is $0.13m with a fi nance charge over the period 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017.

The acquired business contributed revenues of $0.45m and net profi t before tax of $0.06m to Vista Group for 
the period 8 April 2016 to 31 December 2016. Had Flicks been consolidated from 1 January 2016, the impact on the 
statement of comprehensive income for the full year period ended 31 December 2016 would have been an increase 
in revenue to $0.58m and an increase in net profi t before tax to $0.09m.

VIRTUAL CONCEPTS LIMITED (VCL) – acquisition of remaining 43% of share capital in 2014 

The acquisition of the remaining 43% of VCL (trading as Movio Limited) in August 2014 included contingent 
consideration that was payable to the former owners in the form of cash and shares. Contingent consideration 
is payable in three tranches on 1 April 2016, 1 April 2017 and 1 April 2018. As at 31 December 2016, the fi rst 
tranche had been paid in line with the estimate made at 31 December 2015 and amounted to $0.7m in cash and 
$1.6m in shares. At the reporting date, the fair value of the remaining contingent consideration to be paid in the 
second tranche in 2017 was revised down by $0.5m. Amounts related to the third tranche payable in 2018 remain 
unchanged and currently expected to be paid on the date specifi ed above.

41
41
ANNUAL REPORT 2016
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

The table summarises the changes in estimates in the contingent consideration for VCL:

TOTAL CONTINGENT CONSIDERATION AT 31 DECEMBER 2016 

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

REVISED 
ESTIMATE 

ORIGINAL 
ESTIMATE 

MOVEMENT

 - Cash (current)

 - Cash (non-current)

 - Cash (Shares)

1,063

343

936

1,226

343

1,247

(163)

-

(311)

2,342

2,816

(474)

Vista Group has recognised a liability in regards to amounts to be settled in shares of $0.9m. This will be settled by 
a variable number of shares depending upon the share price at exercise. The number of shares will be based upon 
the average share price for the 30 days preceding exercise date.

Further details related to the acquisition of VCL are included in the 2015 Annual Report.

TICKETSOFT 

In April 2015, Vista Group acquired the assets of US based cinema software company Ticketsoft. The total consideration 
to acquire the assets of Ticketsoft included contingent consideration of $1.8m, payable quarterly through to September 
2016. Payment is based upon the achievement of certain performance obligations, primarily the number of sites 
transitioned to Vista Group software. During 2015, $0.5m was paid out as contingent consideration based on sites 
deployed during that period.

At 31 December 2016, the estimated total pay-out under the contingent consideration has been adjusted down 
from $1.75m to $1.15m. The updated calculation is based upon a revised estimate of the number of sites expected to 
transition. The impact of $0.6m from the revised estimate is recognised through the Statement of Comprehensive 
Income within acquisition costs.

PREVIOUS ACQUISITIONS

Details of acquisitions during the year ended 31 December 2015 are included in the 2015 Annual Report. 

4.3  GOODWILL

Gross carrying amount

Balance 1 January

Acquisition through business combinations (see section 4.2)

Disposals

Exchange differences

Balance 31 December

Accumulated impairment

Balance 1 January

Balance 31 December

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

44,663

10,466

-

(1,290)

37,270

7,015

-

378

53,839

44,663

(3,554)

(3,554)

(3,554)

(3,554)

Carrying amount 31 December

50,285

41,109

42
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VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Goodwill can be analysed as follows:

Vista Entertainment Solutions Limited (VESL)

Virtual Concepts Limited (VCL)

MACCS International BV (MACCS)

Share Dimension BV (Share Dimension)

Powster Limited (Powster)

Flicks.co.nz Limited (Flicks)

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

12,865

16,970

11,165

1,762

6,919

604

12,461

16,965

11,683

-

-

-

Goodwill allocation at 31 December

50,285

41,109

The Directors have carried out an annual impairment review of goodwill allocated to the CGU’s, in order to ensure that 
recoverable amounts exceed aggregate carrying amounts (see section 7.4 for key assumptions and sensitivity analysis).

4.4  OTHER RELATED PARTIES

ASSOCIATE COMPANIES

Vista China

Vista Group has a 39.5% interest in Vista China (see section 4.1 for details), a material associate company that has 
been accounted for using the equity method in the consolidated fi nancial statements. Vista Group commenced equity 
accounting for Vista China, formerly a subsidiary, on the date after which control ceased, being 1 September 2016. 

Subsequent to 1 September 2016, the types of related party transactions undertaken were defi ned under the reseller 
agreement. The reseller agreement specifi es transactions related to localisation work, support and maintenance 
fees and payment for an exclusive 10 year distribution right for all Vista Group software with a right of renewal 
for another 10 year period. At the commencement date of the transaction with WePiao there was an outstanding 
receivable of $3.9m from Vista China which is included in the total outstanding balance as at 31 December 2016. 

ENTITY 

NATURE OF TRANSACTIONS 

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

Vista Entertainment Solutions Shanghai Limited

Related party receivable

Vista Entertainment Solutions Shanghai Limited

Related party payable

Total exposure

19,010

(1,280)

17,730

-

-

-

Related party transactions for the 4 months ended 31 December 2016 include:

RECEIVABLES/
(PAYABLE)

RECEIVABLES/
(PAYABLE)

2016

2015

License fees

Development fees

Maintenance fees

Receivable owing prior to associate status

Total

31 DECEMEBER 
2016

NZ$’000

2,462

5,793

5,572

5,183

19,010

As at 31 December 2016, only $3.4m of the fees identifi ed above had been recognised as revenue in Vista Group 
with the remaining balance of $16.6m held on the Statement of Financial Position as deferred revenue which is 
estimated to be earned and recognised over the next 3 years. 

All of the related party transactions during the period were made on normal commercial terms and no amounts 
owed by related parties have been provided for, written off or forgiven during the period.

43
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ANNUAL REPORT 2016
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

A summarised income statement for Vista China and a reconciliation to the equity accounted loss recognised in Vista 
Group is detailed below for the four month period subsequent to disposal. This has been amended to refl ect adjustments 
made by entity when using the equity method including modifi cations for differences in accounting policies.

RESULT FOR THE FOUR MONTH PERIOD ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2016

Revenue

Total expenses

Operating loss

Finance income

Loss for the period

Vista Group equity accounted interest

Vista Group equity accounted loss for the period

A summarised statement of fi nancial position as at 31 December 2016 is presented below:

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016

Cash

Trade and other receivables

Total current assets

Total non-current assets

Total assets

Total current liabilities

Net assets

Total equity

The carrying value of the investment in associate held by Vista Group is detailed below:

Carrying value as at 31 August 2016

Equity accounted loss for the period

Investment in associate

Numero Limited

NZ$’000

3,391

(5,740)

(2,349)

37

(2,312)

39.5%

(914)

NZ$’000

40,173

8,256

48,429

154

48,583

(27,656)

20,927

20,927

28,583

(914)

27,669

Vista Group has a 50% interest in Numero Limited, an associate that is accounted for using the equity method in 
the consolidated fi nancial statements. Vista Group has ceased to recognise further losses during the year related 
to Numero as accumulated losses would exceed Vista Group’s equity interest.

Vista Group’s related parties include its associate company, Numero Limited. All of the related party transactions 
during the period were made on normal commercial terms and no amounts owed by related parties have been 
provided for, written off or forgiven during the period (2015: $Nil). 

The types of related party transactions undertaken during the period relate to recharges for development work 
undertaken and advances made. 

44
44
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

ENTITY

Numero Limited

Numero Limited

Numero Limited

Total

NATURE OF TRANSACTIONS

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

RECEIVABLES/
(PAYABLE)

RECEIVABLES/
(PAYABLE)

2016

2015

Related party loan

Constructive obligation

Related party receivable

2,621

(50)

2,792

1,500

(50)

1,910

5,363

3,360

The related party transactions incurred during the year include:

Recharges - license fees

Recharges - development fees

Recharges - other advances

Total

31 DECEMEBER 
2016

NZ$’000

396

523

(37)

882

The amounts receivable are unsecured and no guarantees are in place. Vista Group can call the debt recognised 
as an intercompany receivable at any time. Interest of 10% is charged against the intercompany loan per the loan 
agreement. The Company has not recorded any impairment of the balance receivable as at 31 December 2016 
(2015: $Nil) due to the Board’s confi dence in future performance of Numero, based on the budget for the coming 
year and forecasts beyond 2017. 

Vista Group ceased to recognise further losses related to the associate company Numero in 2015. Losses were previously 
recognised to the extent of the value held in equity for Numero, however this has now been offset by Vista Group’s share 
of losses. During the year Numero made a loss of $1.26m, Vista Group’s share being $0.63m (2015: $0.75m).

At balance date, Vista Group has continued to recognise a constructive obligation of $50,000 (2015: $50,000).

COMPENSATION OF KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL

Key management personnel include Vista Group’s Board of Directors and senior management.

Key management personnel remuneration includes the following expenses:

Salaries including bonuses

Share based payments

Directors fees

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

2,730

-

236

1,762

36

305

During 2016 the number of employees classifi ed as senior management increased from six at the end of 2015 
to ten, due to organisational changes and acquisitions. Effective from 1 July 2016, Kirk Senior, Chairman of Vista 
Group became Executive Chairman and his remuneration was reclassifi ed from that point onwards from Directors 
fees to Salaries including bonuses in the table above. 

45
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ANNUAL REPORT 2016
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

5. CASH AND CASHFLOWS
This section builds on information from the Statement of Cashfl ows and provides details on the cash and short 
term deposits held on the Statement of Financial Position. This section also provides details of a range of fi nancial 
risks associated with these balances and how Vista Group manages these risks.

5.1  CASH AND SHORT TERM DEPOSITS

Cash 

Cash comprises cash at bank and on hand. 

Short term deposits

Short term deposits, which are subject to an insignifi cant risk of changes in value are presented on the statement 
of fi nancial position.

Cash

Short term deposits

Total cash and short term deposits

5.2  RECONCILIATION OF NET SURPLUS TO CASH FLOWS

Net profi t/(loss) after tax

Non-cash items:

Amortisation 

Depreciation

Share based payment expense

Unwinding of discount on contingent consideration

Capital gain on sale of Vista China

Acquisition expenses

Loss from investment in associate

Foreign exchange movements

Allowance for bad debts

Movements in working capital

Increase/(decrease) in related party in trade and other payables

(Increase)/decrease in related party trade and other receivables, net of 
deferred revenue

Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables

(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables, net of deferred revenue

Increase/(decrease) in taxation receivable and payable

Net change in working capital 

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

15,798

5,540

16,863

10,437

21,338

27,300

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

49,480

6,140

2,308

1,044

1,118

289

(41,069)

1,068

914

(295)

(25)

1,216

781

2,259

164

-

-

-

(872)

36

(34,648)

3,584

1,171

(5,183)

9,551

(12,986)

(1,965)

(9,412)

-

-

1,322

(5,318)

867

(3,129)

Net cash fl ows from operating activities 

5,420

6,595

46
46
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

5.3  BORROWINGS

Borrowings are initially recognised at fair value less directly attributable transactions costs and subsequently 
measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. Borrowing costs are expensed as incurred.

In November 2013, Vista Group established a $2.0m commercial credit facility with ASB Bank Limited to fund 
working capital requirements. The interest rate is fl oating at 6.10% (2015: 6.4%) per annum with no set expiry 
date. At balance date, there was no draw down against this facility.

In March 2014, Vista Group established a EUR 3.0 million facility with ASB Bank Limited to acquire 25.1% of the 
share capital of MACCS International BV. The loan matures on 12 March 2020 and the current interest rate is 
2.85% (2015: 2.66%) per annum. 

Security for both the commercial credit facility and the Euro loan with ASB Bank Limited is secured by a general 
security agreement under which the bank has a security interest in all Vista Group’s tangible assets. Covenants 
in place include a total equity and EBITDA covenant which are reported quarterly. Vista Group has been fully 
compliant with all covenants for the year.

Related party loan

Bank borrowings

Total borrowings

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

303

4,545

4,848

-

4,792

4,792

5.4  FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT

Vista Group is exposed to three main types of risks in relation to fi nancial instruments, which are market (foreign 
currency risk and interest rate risk), credit and liquidity. 

Vista Group’s risk management framework is set by the Board and implemented by management. It’s focus includes 
actively monitoring and securing Vista Group’s short to medium-term cash fl ows by minimising the exposure to 
fi nancial markets. The most signifi cant fi nancial risks to which Vista Group is exposed are described below.

Foreign currency risk

Most of Vista Group’s transactions carry a component that is ultimately repatriated back to NZD. Exposures to 
currency exchange rates arise from overseas sales, which are primarily denominated in US dollars (USD), Pounds 
Sterling (GBP), Australian dollars (AUD) and Euros (EUR). 

To mitigate exposure to foreign currency risk, non-NZD cash fl ows are monitored in accordance with the Vista 
Group’s risk management policies. Vista Group’s risk management policies include treasury management and 
foreign exchange policies the implementation of which is set and reviewed regularly by the Board. Vista Group’s risk 
management procedures distinguish short-term foreign currency cash fl ows (due within 6 months) from longer-term 
cash fl ows (due after 6 months). Where the amounts to be paid and received in a specifi c currency are expected to 
largely offset one another, no further hedging activity is undertaken. The foreign exchange policy does allow for the 
use of hedging activity, however to date these instruments have not been utilised.

47
47
ANNUAL REPORT 2016
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Foreign currency denominated fi nancial assets and liabilities which expose Vista Group to currency risk are disclosed 
below. The amounts shown are those reported to key management translated into NZD at the closing rate:

USD

GBP

EUR

AUD

RMB

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

31 DECEMBER 2016

Financial assets

Cash 

Trade receivables 

Sundry receivables 

Financial liabilities

Trade payables 

Borrowings 

Contingent consideration 

Total exposure 

31 DECEMBER 2015

Financial assets

Cash 

Trade receivables 

Sundry receivables 

Financial liabilities

Trade payables 

Borrowings 

Contingent consideration 

Total exposure 

6,390

14,912

-

(677)

-

(735)

3,220

4,676

-

(260)

-

(2,250)

2,835

3,978

-

(376)

(4,848)

-

984

979

-

-

13,827

16,510

(188)

(2,197)

-

-

-

-

19,890

5,386

1,589

1,775

28,140

5,050

7,460

-

(62)

-

(1,253)

11,195

8

77

-

-

-

-

324

1,437

-

(30)

(4,792)

-

137

942

-

(2)

-

-

1,329

2,010

-

-

(27)

-

-

85

(3,061)

1,077

3,312

The following table illustrates the sensitivity of profi t or loss and equity in regards to Vista Group’s fi nancial assets 
and fi nancial liabilities affected by USD/NZD exchange rate the GBP/NZD exchange rate, the EUR/NZD exchange 
rate and AUD/NZD exchange rate ‘all other things being equal’. It assumes a +/- 10% change of the NZD/USD 
exchange rate for the year ended at 31 December 2016 (2015: 10%). A +/- 10% change is considered for the 
NZD/GBP exchange rate (2015: 10%). A +/- 10% change is considered for the NZD/AUD exchange rate (2015: 10%). 
A +/- 10% change is considered for the NZD/EUR exchange rate (2015: 10%). These percentages have been 
determined based on the average market volatility in exchange rates in the previous 12 months. The sensitivity 
analysis is based on Vista Group’s foreign currency fi nancial instruments held at each reporting date.

31 December 2016

10% strengthening in NZD

10% weakening in NZD

31 December 2015

10% strengthening in NZD

10% weakening in NZD

PROFIT/EQUITY

USD

GBP

EUR

AUD

RMB

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

(1,808)

2,210

(1,018)

1,244

(490)

598

(8)

9

(144)

177

278

(340)

-

(161)

197

(98)

120

(2,558)

3,127

-

-

Exposures to foreign exchange rates vary during the year depending on the volume of overseas transactions. 
Nonetheless, the analysis above is considered to be representative of Vista Group’s exposure to market risk. 

Interest rate risk

Vista Group’s interest rate risk primarily arises from long-term borrowing, cash, short term deposits and advances to 
associates. Borrowings and deposits at variable rates expose Vista Group to cash fl ow interest rate risk. Borrowings 
and deposits at fi xed rates expose Vista Group to fair value interest rate risk.

48
48
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

The following tables set out the interest rate repricing profi le and current interest rate of the interest bearing 
fi nancial assets and liabilities. 

AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016 

Assets

Advance to Numero

Short term deposits

Cash

Liabilities

Bank borrowings

Related party loan

EFFECTIVE 
INTEREST 
RATE

10%

2.33%

2.85%

5%

FLOATING

FIXED UP TO 
3 MONTHS

FIXED UP TO 
6 MONTHS

FIXED UP TO 
5 YEARS

TOTAL

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

-

-

15,798

15,798

-

-

-

-

5,540

-

5,540

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

2,621

-

-

2,621

5,540

15,798

2,621

23,959

(4,545)

(303)

(4,545)

(303)

(4,848)

(4,848)

(2,227)

19,111

Total exposure

15,798

5,540

Profi t or loss is sensitive to higher/lower interest income/expense from cash and short term deposits as a result 
of changes in interest rates.

AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016

Assets

Cash

Short term deposits

Total exposure

Credit risk

EFFECTIVE 
INTEREST RATE 
+1%

EFFECTIVE 
INTEREST RATE 
-1%

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

158

5

163

(158)

(5)

(163)

Credit risk is the risk that a counterparty fails to discharge an obligation to Vista Group. Vista Group is exposed 
to this risk for various fi nancial instruments, for example trade and sundry receivables and deposits with fi nancial 
institutions. The maximum exposure to credit risk is limited to the carrying amount of fi nancial assets recognised 
at 31 December, as summarised section 9.4.

Vista Group continuously monitors defaults of customers and other counterparties, identifi ed either individually 
or by Vista Group, and incorporates this information into its credit risk controls. Vista Group’s policy is to deal 
only with creditworthy counterparties.

At 31 December Vista Group has certain trade receivables that have not been settled by the contractual due date 
but are not considered to be impaired because of the nature of contracts and the longevity of ongoing customer 
relationships. The amounts at 31 December, analysed by the length of time past due, are:

Not more than 3 months

Between 3 months and 4 months

Over 4 months

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

10,881

580

4,241

8,450

1,267

3,988

15,702

13,705

49
49
ANNUAL REPORT 2016
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

As at 31 December 2016, Vista Group holds a receivable from its associate company, Vista Entertainment Solutions 
Shanghai Limited, amounting to $19.0m, $5.2m of which is presented above and is not more than 3 months past 
due. The transaction driving this receivable primarily relates to the WePiao transaction as Vista China ceased to 
be a subsidiary and became an associate. See section 4.1 for more detail. 

In respect of trade receivables, Vista Group is not exposed to any signifi cant credit risk exposure to any single 
counterparty or any group of counterparties having similar characteristics. Trade receivables consist of a large number 
of customers in various industries and geographical areas. Based on historical information about customer default 
rates, management considers the credit quality of trade receivables that are not past due or impaired to be good.

The credit risk for cash and short term deposits is considered negligible, since the counterparties are reputable 
banks with high quality external credit ratings.

Liquidity risk

Liquidity risk is the risk that Vista Group might be unable to meet its obligations. Vista Group’s objective is to 
maintain a balance between continuity of funding and fl exibility through monitoring of cash and short term deposits 
and the use of bank overdrafts and bank loans (see section 5.3). Vista Group’s policy is that not more than 25% of 
borrowings should mature in the next 12-month period. No debt will mature in less than one year at 31 December 
2016 (2015: Nil) based on the carrying value of borrowings refl ected in the fi nancial statements. Vista Group 
assessed the concentration of risk with respect to refi nancing its debt as being low. Access to sources of funding 
is suffi ciently available and debt maturing within 12 months can be rolled over with existing lenders.

Vista Group has signifi cant cash balances held as cash on hand and in short term deposits of $21.3m (refer section 5.1). 
The dividend policy is to distribute between 30% to 50% of net profi t after tax subject to immediate and future growth 
opportunities and identifi ed capital expenditure requirements. At balance date Vista Group has a NZD $2m on call 
credit facility with the ASB, against which there has been no draw down. 

The table below summarises the maturity profi le of Vista Group’s non-derivative fi nancial liabilities based on 
contractual undiscounted payments.

ON DEMAND

LESS THAN 
3 MONTHS

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

3 TO 12 
MONTHS

NZ$’000

1 TO 5 
YEARS

> 5 YEARS

TOTAL

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

2016

Trade payables

Sundry accruals

Borrowings

Interest on borrowings

Contingent consideration

2015

Trade payables

Sundry accruals

Borrowings

Interest on borrowings

Contingent consideration

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

6,229

4,231

-

32

-

10,492

762

2,918

-

32

-

3,712

-

-

-

97

3,122

3,219

-

-

-

96

1,253

1,349

-

-

4,848

308

-

5,156

-

-

4,792

22

-

4,814

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

6,229

4,231

4,848

437

3,122

18,867

762

2,918

4,792

150

1,253

9,875

50
50
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

6. CAPITAL STRUCTURE
This section outlines Vista Group’s capital structure and details of share based employee incentives which have 
an impact on Vista Group’s equity.

Equity, reserves and dividend payments

Share capital represents the nominal value of shares that have been issued. Incremental costs directly attributable 
to the issue of ordinary shares are recognised as a deduction from equity. Retained earnings include all current and 
prior period retained profi ts. Dividend distributions payable to equity shareholders are included in trade and other 
payables when the dividends have been approved by the Board on or before the end of the reporting period but 
not yet distributed. All transactions with owners of the Parent are recorded separately within equity.

All shares are ordinary authorised, issued and fully paid shares. They all have equal voting rights and share equally 
in dividends and any surplus on winding up. The shares have no par value. 

6.1  CONTRIBUTED EQUITY

Shares issued and fully paid:

Beginning of the year

Ordinary shares issued during the year

2016

2015

2016

2015

NO. OF SHARES 
000’S

NO. OF SHARES 
000’S

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

79,973

1,967

79,973

-

45,952

9,702

45,952

-

Total shares authorised at 31 December

81,940

79,973

55,654

45,952

During the 2016 fi nancial year, 1,967,204 shares were issued (2015: Nil). A total of 314,076 shares were issued for 
no consideration in respect to share-based payments related to VCL contingent consideration (refer section 4.2). 
A total of 14,323 shares were issued in respect to an employee incentive agreement for no consideration. A total 
of 1,638,805 representing 2% of total Vista Group shares were issued to Weying NZ (BVI) Limited, a 100% owned 
subsidiary of Vista Group’s China joint partner WePiao for consideration of $8.0m. Refer to section 4.1 for detail. 

6.2  EARNINGS PER SHARE AND DIVIDENDS

Earnings per share

Vista Group presents basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS) data for its ordinary shares. Basic EPS is calculated 
by dividing the profi t or loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of the Parent by the weighted average number 
of ordinary shares in issue during the year.

Diluted EPS refl ects any commitments Vista Group has to issue shares in the future that would decrease EPS. In 
2016, these are in the form of share based payments and performance rights. To calculate the impact it is assumed 
that share based payments related to FY16 earning targets are achieved and all the performance rights are taken, 
therefore adjusting the weighted average number of shares.

The following refl ects the income and share data used in the basic and diluted EPS computations:

Profi t attributable to ordinary shareholders of the Parent for basic earnings

Profi t attributable to ordinary shareholders of the Parent adjusted for the 
effect of dilution

Weighted average number of shares in basic earnings per share

Shares deemed to be issued for no consideration in respect 
of share-based payments

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

48,620

48,620

80,356

434

5,753

5,753

79,973

203

Weighted average number of shares used in diluted earnings per share

80,932

80,463

EPS

Diluted EPS

$0.61 

$0.60 

$0.07 

$0.07 

51
51
ANNUAL REPORT 2016
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Dividends

Vista Group intends to pay an annual dividend for 2016. The dividend at 50%, will be at the top end of the policy 
range. This will be based on the profi t after tax for the year attributable to owners of the parent after adjustment 
for the capital gain related to the disposal of Vista China.

6.3  SHARE BASED PAYMENTS 

Equity settled long term incentive scheme

During the 2015 fi nancial year, the Directors approved and implemented an equity settled long-term incentive 
scheme for selected key management personnel. During the 2016 fi nancial year the Directors issued the 2016 
Long Term Incentive Scheme, under identical terms and conditions. The Long Term Incentive Scheme is intended 
to focus performance on achievement of key long term performance metrics, refer to section 6.4 for more details 
of the scheme.

Share based payment reserve

The share based payment reserve is used to record any equity share based incentives. The reserve value represents 
the difference between the value at the time of allocation and the cash received incentives plus the equity component 
of contingent consideration payable.

6.4  EQUITY SETTLED LONG TERM INCENTIVE SCHEME

During 2016, the Directors approved the second annual issue of an equity settled Long Term Incentive Scheme 
implemented in 2015 for selected key management personnel (“Participants”). The plan is intended to focus 
performance on achievement of key long term performance metrics. 

The allocation of performance rights is based on a percentage of annual base salary, adjusted by a risk factor 
calculated using the Monte Carlo valuation model. Performance rights are granted under the plan for no consideration 
and carry no dividend or voting rights. Participation in the scheme is at the Board’s discretion and participants in the 
scheme are not guaranteed a place from year to year.

The amount of performance rights that will vest depends on Vista Group’s relative Total Shareholder Return 
(“TSR”) to shareholders. Vesting of performance rights is dependent upon Vista Group achieving relative TSR 
targets over a two and three year performance period, against all other NZX50 companies (excluding Vista Group), 
with 50% of the value of rights allocated under each target. Vesting of the performance rights is defi ned by the 
following table:

PERCENTILE PERFORMANCE AGAINST NZX50 COMPANIES

VESTING PERFORMANCE RIGHTS

Less than 50th percentile

50th - 75th percentile

Greater than 75th percentile

Zero

50% to 75% pro-rata on a straight line basis

100%

TSR is measured by the change in TSR from the start date of the grant period until the end of the performance 
period (two years and three years). The scheme allows the carry forward of any performance rights that do not vest 
in the fi rst vesting period to be eligible to vest in the vesting period for the second tranche of performance rights. 
The scale at which carried over rights may vest at the end of the tranche two vesting period shall commence at the 
TSR percentile achieved in respect of the tranche one vesting period. 

The fair value of rights granted is recognised as an employee expense in the statement of comprehensive income 
with a corresponding increase in the employee share based payments reserve. The fair value is measured at grant 
date and amortised over the vesting periods. Vista Group has recognised $0.55m of employee expenses during 
the year ended 31 December 2016 (2015: $0.2m). 

The fair value of the rights granted is measured using Vista Group share price as at the grant date less the present 
value of the dividends forecast to be paid prior to each vesting date. When performance rights vest, the amount 
in the share based payments reserve relating to those rights are transferred to share capital. When any vested 
performance rights lapse upon employee termination, the amount in the share based payments reserve relating 
to those rights is transferred to retained earnings.

52
52
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
000’S

103

100

115

116

434

2015

000

NUMBER OF 
PERFORMANCE RIGHTS

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Set out below are summaries of performance rights granted under the plan:

TOTAL VALUE OF GRANTED 
PERFORMANCE RIGHTS

PERFORMANCE RIGHTS GRANTED 
AT 31 DECEMBER 2016

GRANT DATE

EXPIRY DATE

1 January 2015

1 January 2015

1 January 2016

1 January 2016

1 April 2017

1 April 2018

1 April 2018

1 April 2019

$000’S 

248

248

413

413

1,322

GRANT DATE

As at 1 January

Granted during the year

Exercised during the year

Forfeited during the year

As at 31 December

AVERAGE 
EXCERCISE PRICE PER 
PERFORMANCE RIGHT

2016

000

NUMBER OF 
PERFORMANCE RIGHTS

AVERAGE 
EXCERCISE PRICE PER 
PERFORMANCE RIGHT

$2.44

$3.62

$3.62

$3.11

206

231

-

(3)

434

$2.44

$2.44

-

206

-

-

206

Virtual Concepts Limited (VCL) incentive scheme

Certain employees of VCL receive remuneration in the form of share based payments contingent upon achieving 
certain annual milestones as part of the acquisition of VCL. The cost is recognised within acquisition expenses in 
the statement of comprehensive income, refer to section 4.2 for more details of the scheme. 

Expenses arising from share based payment transactions

The expense recognised for employee services received during the year is shown in the following table and are 
included within operating expenses:

Expenses arising from VCL acquisition

Equity settled LTI scheme

Total expense 

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

1,564

551

2,115

1,435

208

1,643

6.5  CAPITAL MANAGEMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Vista Group’s capital management objective is to provide an adequate return to its shareholders. This is achieved 
by pricing products and services commensurately within the level of risk. 

Vista Group monitors capital requirements to ensure that it meets its lending covenant obligations and to maintain 
an effi cient overall fi nancing structure. At balance date Vista Group maintains low levels of debt. 

The amounts managed as capital by Vista Group for the reporting periods under review are summarised as follows:

Consolidated shareholders’ funds

Consolidated assets

Capital ratio

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

138,367

191,625

72%

79,052

110,747

71%

53
53
ANNUAL REPORT 2016
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

7. ASSETS AND LIABILITES
This section outlines further details of Vista Group’s fi nancial performance by building on information presented 
in the Statement of Financial Position.

7.1  TRADE AND OTHER RECEIVABLES

Trade receivables

Sundry receivables

Accrued revenue

Prepayments

Related party loan (see section 4.4)

Related party receivables – trading (see section 4.4)

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

45,440

19,979

987

1,573

2,621

2,792

23,653

2,163

-

843

1,500

1,910

Total trade and other receivables

73,392

30,069

Vista Group has recognised a loss of $5,000 (2015: $36,000) in respect of bad and doubtful trade receivables 
during the year ended 31 December 2016. The loss has been included in administration expenses. The impairment 
allowance included in trade receivables as at 31 December 2016 was $110,000 (2015: $160,000). Sundry receivables 
include a receivable of $16.5m from WePiao related to the equity purchase of 18.3% of Vista China. See section 4.1. 
Trade receivables include a receivable of $19.0m from Vista China. See section 4.4 for more detail. 

Assessment of the doubtful debt provision 

The assessment of providing for doubtful debts involves judgement. The collectability of trade receivables and 
sundry receivables is reviewed on an on-going basis. A provision for impairment is established when there is objective 
evidence that Vista Group will not be able to collect an amount due according to the original terms of the receivable. 
See section 5.4 for detail. 

7.2  INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Intangible assets

Intangible assets acquired separately are measured on initial recognition at cost. The cost of intangible assets acquired 
in a business combination is their fair value at the date of acquisition. Following initial recognition, intangible assets are 
carried at cost less any accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses. 

Intangible assets with fi nite lives are amortised over the useful economic life. The amortisation period and the 
amortisation method for an intangible asset with a fi nite life are reviewed at least at the end of each reporting period. 
The amortisation expense on intangible assets with fi nite lives is recognised in the statement of comprehensive income 
in the expense category that is consistent with the function of the intangible assets.

Development costs and internally generated software 

Costs associated with maintaining computer software programmes are recognised as an expense within the statement 
of comprehensive income as incurred. Development costs that are directly attributable to the design and testing of 
identifi able and unique software products controlled by Vista Group are recognised as intangible assets only when all 
of the following criteria are met:

•  it is technically feasible to complete the software product so that it will be available for use;

•  management intends to complete the software product and use or sell it;

•  there is an ability to use or sell the software product;

•  it can be demonstrated how the software product will generate probable future economic benefi ts;

•  adequate technical, fi nancial and other resources to complete the development and to use or sell the software 

product are available; and

•  the expenditure attributable to the software product during its development can be reliably measured.

Other development expenditures that do not meet these criteria are recognised as an expense as incurred within 
operating expenses. Development costs previously recognised as an expense are not recognised as an asset in 
a subsequent period.

54
54
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Intellectual property 

Intellectual property has been acquired through business combination. Customer relationships include the purchase 
of existing customer bases via an existing license agreement or business combination. Software licenses include the 
purchase of third party software in the normal course of business. Internally generated software is recognised on 
the basis described above.

Intangible assets are amortised on a straight-line basis over the following useful economic lives:

•  Intellectual property 

•  Customer relationships 

•  Software licenses 

4 to 15 years;

4 to 15 years;

2.5 years;

•  Internally generated software 

3 to 5 years based on their estimated useful life

Refer to section 7.4 for policies on goodwill measurement and impairment testing.

2016

Gross carrying amount

Balance 1 January 2016

Additions – acquired

Internally generated software

Acquisition through business 
combinations (see section 4.2)

Exchange differences

INTERNALLY 
GENERATED 
SOFTWARE

SOFTWARE 
LICENSES

INTELLECTUAL 
PROPERTY

CUSTOMER 
RELATIONSHIPS

TOTAL

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

643

-

4,171

-

-

2,260

1,608

64

-

38

-

-

-

419

6,469

1,117

-

-

10,980

1,181

4,171

457

(87)

(311)

(398)

Balance 31 December 2016

4,814

2,362

1,940

7,275

16,391

Accumulated amortisation

Balance 1 January 2016

Amortisation

Exchange differences

Balance 31 December 2016

-

(96)

-

(96)

(523)

(152)

-

(675)

(211)

(624)

162

(673)

(1,094)

(1,436)

372

(1,828)

(2,308)

534

(2,158)

(3,602)

Carrying amount 31 December 2016

4,718

1,687

1,267

5,117

12,789

2015

Gross carrying amount

Balance 1 January 2015

Additions – acquired

Internally generated software

Acquisition through business 
combinations (see section 4.2)

Exchange differences

INTERNALLY 
GENERATED 
SOFTWARE

SOFTWARE 
LICENSES

INTELLECTUAL 
PROPERTY

CUSTOMER 
RELATIONSHIPS

TOTAL

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

-

-

643

-

-

2,136

100

-

-

24

1,408

-

-

193

7

3,413

1,929

-

1,083

44

6,957

2,029

643

1,276

75

Balance 31 December 2015

643

2,260

1,608

6,469

10,980

Accumulated amortisation

Balance 1 January 2015

Amortisation

Balance 31 December 2015

-

-

-

Carrying amount 31 December 2015

643

(281)

(242)

(523)

1,737

(63)

(148)

(211)

(268)

(826)

(612)

(1,216)

(1,094)

(1,828)

1,397

5,375

9,152

55
55
ANNUAL REPORT 2016
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

7.3  PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT 

Property, plant and equipment

Items of property, plant and equipment are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and impairment losses. 
Cost includes expenditure that is directly attributable to the acquisition of the asset. 

The cost of replacing part of an item of property, plant and equipment is recognised in the carrying amount of the 
item if it is probable that the future economic benefi ts embodied within the asset will fl ow to Vista Group and its cost 
can be measured reliably. The costs of the day-to-day servicing of property, plant and equipment are recognised 
within the Statement of Comprehensive Income as incurred.

Depreciation is provided on fi xtures, fi ttings and computers. Depreciation is recognised in the profi t or loss to write 
off the cost of an item of property, plant and equipment, less any residual value, over its expected useful life:

•  Fixtures and fi ttings  

6 to 14 years straight line

•  Computer equipment 

2.5 to 6 years straight line

2016

Gross carrying amount

Balance 1 January 2016

Divestment of Vista China assets

Acquisition through business combinations (section 4.2)

Additions

Exchange differences

Balance 31 December 2016

Accumulated depreciation

Balance 1 January 2016

Current year depreciation

Divestment of Vista China assets

Exchange differences

Balance 31 December 2016

Carrying amount 31 December 2016

2015

Gross carrying amount

Balance 1 January 2015

Additions

Exchange differences

Balance 31 December 2015

Accumulated depreciation

Balance 1 January 2015

Current year depreciation

Exchange differences

Balance 31 December 2015

Carrying amount 31 December 2015

FIXTURES & 
FITTINGS

COMPUTER 
EQUIPMENT

TOTAL

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

2,441

(87)

24

1,873

(51)

2,761

(78)

97

955

(70)

5,202

(165)

121

2,828

(121)

4,200

3,665

7,865

(824)

(474)

10

33

(1,998)

(570)

29

91

(2,822)

(1,044)

39

124

(1,255)

(2,448)

(3,703)

2,945

1,217

4,162

FIXTURES & 
FITTINGS

COMPUTER 
EQUIPMENT

TOTAL

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

1,927

453

61

2,441

(584)

(222)

(18)

(824)

1,617

2,095

606

60

2,761

(1,391)

(559)

(48)

4,022

1,059

121

5,202

(1,975)

(781)

(66)

(1,998)

(2,822)

763

2,380

56
56
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

7.4  IMPAIRMENT TESTING

Impairment testing of goodwill, other intangible assets and property, plant and equipment

Goodwill and other indefi nite life intangible assets are not amortised and are tested for impairment annually 
irrespective of whether there is any indication of impairment. If any such indication exists, then the asset’s 
recoverable amount is estimated. After initial recognition goodwill is measured at cost less any accumulated 
impairment losses.

Other assets are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying 
amount may not be recoverable. 

An impairment loss is recognised if the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its recoverable amount. Impairment 
losses are recognised in the statement of comprehensive income. 

The recoverable amount of an asset is the greater of its value in use and its fair value less cost to sell. For the purposes 
of assessing impairment, assets are grouped at the lowest levels for which there are separately identifi able cash 
infl ows which are largely independent of the cash infl ows from other assets or groups of assets (cash-generating 
units). The allocation is made to those cash generating units that are expected to benefi t from the business 
combination in which goodwill arose. In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash fl ows are discounted to their 
present value using a pre-tax discount rate that refl ects current market assessments of the time value of money and 
the risks specifi c to the asset.

Critical judgements used in applying accounting policies and estimation uncertainty

Information about estimates and judgements that have the most signifi cant effect on recognition and measurement 
of goodwill and intangible assets are provided below. Actual results may be substantially different. 

Goodwill and other intangible assets

The amount of goodwill initially recognised is dependent on the allocation of the purchase price to the fair value 
of the identifi able assets acquired and the liabilities assumed. The determination of the fair value of the assets and 
liabilities, particularly intangible assets is based, to a considerable extent, on management’s judgement. Goodwill 
is subject to annual impairment testing.

Judgement is applied specifi cally to the following:

1)  Assumptions in the value in use calculation for impairment testing purposes.

2)  Assumptions in fair value calculation on acquisition. 

Goodwill has been allocated to the following Cash Generating Units (CGU):

-  Virtual Concepts Limited

-  MACCS International BV

-  Vista Entertainment Solutions Limited

-  Powster Limited

- 

- 

Share Dimension BV

Flicks.co.nz Limited

This is the lowest level at which goodwill is monitored for internal management reporting purposes. In determining 
the recoverable amount of each CGU the value in use calculation is based on post tax cash fl ows for subsequent 
years which are extrapolated using estimated growth rates. Management has projected the cash fl ows for each 
CGU over a fi ve-year period based on approved budgets for the fi rst year. Determination of appropriate post tax 
cash fl ows and discount rates for the calculation of value in use is subjective and requires a number of assumptions 
and estimates to be made, including growth in net profi t, timing and quantum of future capital expenditure, long 
term growth rates and the selection of discount rates to refl ect the risks involved. 

The key assumptions used for the value in use calculation are as follows:

Revenue growth average over 5 years

Terminal growth rate

CGU post-tax WACC rate – MACCS, Flicks and Vista

CGU post-tax WACC rate – Powster

CGU post-tax WACC rate – VCL and Share Dimension

57
57
ANNUAL REPORT 2016
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

13% - 50% 

12% - 28%

2.5%

9.0%

12.0%

16.0%

2.5%

12.0%

-

16.0%

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

The revenue growth average range has increased due to new acquisitions completed in 2016 which have higher 
revenue growth assumptions than those tested in 2015.

Other factors considered when testing goodwill for impairment include:

•  actual fi nancial performance against budgeted fi nancial performance;

•  any material unfavourable operational and regulatory factors; and

•  any material unfavourable economic outlook and market competition.

Impairment testing results

The calculations confi rmed that there was no impairment of goodwill during the year (2015: $Nil). The Board 
believes that any reasonable possible change in the key assumptions used in the calculations for all CGU’s with the 
exception of Share Dimension, would not cause the carrying amount to exceed the recoverable amount. The Share 
Dimension CGU impairment assessment is sensitive to revenue growth assumptions. Should the average revenue 
growth assumption decrease over the fi ve year period tested, by more than 5%, then the carrying value would 
equal the recoverable amount.

7.5  TRADE AND OTHER PAYABLES

Trade payables

Sundry accruals

Deferred lease incentives

Constructive obligations - associates

Employee benefi ts

Employee benefi ts - VCL contingent consideration

Total trade and other payables 

SECTION 

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

2016

2015

4.4

4.2

6,229

4,231

510

50

2,436

1,063

14,519

762

3,325

-

50

1,909

591

6,637

Included in trade and other payables is a balance of $1.28m payable to the associate company Vista China. See 
section 4.4 for detail.

7.6  EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PAYABLES AND ACCRUALS

Short-term employee benefi ts

Accruals for wages, salaries, including non-monetary benefi ts, commissions and annual leave expected to be settled 
within 12 months of the reporting date are recognised in respect of employees’ services up to the reporting date. 
They are measured at the amounts expected to be paid using the remuneration rate expected to apply at the time 
of settlement, on an undiscounted basis. Expenses for non-accumulating sick leave are recognised when the leave 
is taken and are measured at the rates paid or payable. 

Vista Group has pension obligations in respect of various defi ned contribution plans. Vista Group pays contributions 
to publicly or privately administered pension insurance plans on a mandatory or contractual basis. Vista Group 
has no further payment obligations once the contributions have been paid. The contributions are recognised as 
an employee entitlement expense when they are due.

Employee benefi ts expense included in total expenses

Wages and salaries

Share-based payment expense

Defi ned contribution plans

Total employee benefi ts

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

40,324

29,679

551

3,716

208

2,815

44,591

32,702

58
58
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

8. TAX

8.1  INCOME TAX EXPENSE

Income tax

The tax expense for the period comprises current and deferred tax. Tax is recognised in profi t or loss in the 
Statement of Comprehensive Income, except to the extent that it relates to items recognised in other comprehensive 
income or directly in equity. In this case, the tax is also recognised in other comprehensive income or directly 
in equity, respectively. 

The current income tax charge is calculated on the basis of the tax laws enacted or substantively enacted at the balance 
sheet date in the countries where Vista Group’s subsidiaries operate and generate taxable income. Management 
periodically evaluates positions taken in tax returns with respect to situations in which applicable tax regulations 
are subject to interpretation and establishes provisions where appropriate on the basis of amounts expected to 
be paid to the tax authorities.

Income tax expense comprises:

Current tax expense

Deferred tax expense (Section 8.2)

Tax expense

Reconciliation of income tax expense

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

5,326

(1,776)

3,550

4,001

(20)

3,981

The relationship between the expected tax expense based on the domestic effective tax rate of the Company at 28% 
(2015: 28%) and the reported tax expense in the Statement of Comprehensive Income can be reconciled as follows:

Profi t before tax

Taxable income

Domestic tax rate for Vista Group International Limited

Expected tax expense/(benefi t)

Foreign subsidiary company tax

Non-assessable income/non-deductible expenses

Prior period adjustment

Deferred taxation not previously recognised

Impairment of foreign tax credits

Other

Actual tax expense/(benefi t)

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

53,030

53,030

28%

10,121

10,121

28%

14,848

2,834

(358)

(10,579)

(314)

4

-

(51)

(110)

1,179

(103)

10

133

38

3,550

3,981

As at 31 December 2016, Vista Group has $5,839,264 (2015: $3,680,502) of imputation credits available for use 
in subsequent reporting periods. 

8.2  DEFERRED TAX ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

Deferred income tax

Deferred income tax is provided in full, using the liability method, on temporary differences arising between tax bases 
of assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts in the consolidated fi nancial statements. However, the deferred 
income tax is not accounted for if it arises from initial recognition of an asset or liability in a transaction other than 
a business combination that at the time of the transaction affects neither accounting nor taxable profi t or loss. 
Deferred income tax is determined using tax rates (and laws) that have been enacted or substantially enacted 

59
59
ANNUAL REPORT 2016
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

by the balance sheet date and are expected to apply when the related deferred income tax asset is realised or the 
deferred income tax liability is settled. 

Deferred income tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profi t will be available 
against which the temporary differences can be utilised. 

Deferred income tax is provided on temporary differences arising on investments in subsidiaries and associates, 
except where the timing of the reversal of the temporary difference is controlled by Vista Group and it is probable 
that the temporary difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future. 

Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to offset current tax 
assets against current tax liabilities and when the deferred income taxes assets and liabilities relate to income 
taxes levied by the same taxation authority on either the same taxable entity or different taxable entities where 
there is an intention to settle the balances on a net basis.

Deferred taxes arising from temporary differences and unused tax losses can be summarised as follows:

2016

Trade and sundry receivables

Employee benefi ts

Property, plant and equipment

Other

Intangible assets

Unused tax losses

Deferred tax temporary asset/(liability)

2015

Trade and sundry receivables

Employee benefi ts

Property, plant and equipment

Other

Intangible assets

Unused tax losses

Deferred tax temporary asset/(liability)

The analysis of deferred tax assets and liabilities is as follows:

OPENING 
BALANCE

ACQUIRED 
AS PART OF 
A BUSINESS 
COMBINATION

RECOGNISED 
IN INCOME 
STATEMENT

CLOSING 
BALANCE

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

15

324

(185)

(513)

(1,884)

182

(2,061)

-

-

-

-

(89)

-

(89)

13

98

(9)

572

287

815

28

422

(194)

59

(1,686)

997

1,776

(374)

OPENING 
BALANCE

ACQUIRED 
AS PART OF 
A BUSINESS 
COMBINATION

RECOGNISED 
IN INCOME 
STATEMENT

CLOSING 
BALANCE

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

33

160

-

(371)

(1,553)

204

(1,527)

-

-

-

-

(554)

-

(554)

(18)

164

(185)

(142)

223

(22)

15

324

(185)

(513)

(1,884)

182

20

(2,061)

Deferred tax assets:

Deferred tax assets to be recovered after more than 12 months

Deferred tax assets to be recovered within 12 months

Deferred tax liabilities:

Deferred tax liability to be recovered after more than 12 months

Deferred tax liability to be recovered within 12 months

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

1,105

436

220

-

(1,880)

(35)

(1,948)

(333)

60
60
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

9. OTHER INFORMATION

9.1  EXPENSES

Government grants

Government grants are recognised where there is reasonable assurance that the grant will be received and all 
attached conditions will be complied with. When the grant relates to an expense item it is recognised as a deduction 
against that cost on a systematic basis over the periods that the related costs, for which it is intended to compensate, 
are expensed. When the grant relates to an asset, it is recognised as income in equal amounts over the expected 
useful life of the related asset.

During the year, Vista Group recognised a total of $1.86m (2015: $2.0m) of grants from the Callaghan Innovation 
and NZTE to assist with Research and Development and new market entry respectively. At balance date, there 
is a 10% retention amount related to 2016 grants of $0.19m yet to be paid and subject to independent auditor 
review. Government grants are recognised within the Statement of Comprehensive Income as a reduction to 
administrative expenses.

Auditor’s remuneration included in administration expenses

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

Audit of fi nancial statements

Audit and review of fi nancial statements - PwC

Audit and review of fi nancial statements - Grant Thornton

Other services

Performed by PwC:

IFRS accounting advice

Review of R&D growth grant

Advice on long-term employee incentive scheme

FRS 101 conversion accounting advice for UK subsidiary

iXBRL fi nancial statement tagging

Due diligence agreed upon procedures

Performed by Grant Thornton:

Tax advisory services

Other accounting and compliance advice

Total other services

Total fees paid to auditor(s)

Other expenses

Included in administration expenses:

Depreciation (Section 7.3)

Amortisation of intangible assets (Section 7.2)

Lease payments recognised as an operating lease expense

239

-

10

8

7

12

4

19

-

-

60

299

157

40

51

-

137

-

-

-

98

2

288

485

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

1,044

2,308

2,572

781

1,216

1,854

Vista Group has expensed $8.1m of aggregated research and development expenditure associated with software 
research and development for 2016 (2015: $7.1m) within operating expenses in the Statement of Comprehensive Income.

61
61
ANNUAL REPORT 2016
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

9.2  OPERATING LEASES

Leased assets

All leases are operating leases. Leases in which a signifi cant portion of the risks and rewards of ownership are not 
transferred to Vista Group as a lessee are classifi ed as an operating lease. Payments made under operating leases (net 
of any incentives received from the lessor) are charged to the Statement of Comprehensive Income on a straight-line 
basis over the period of the lease. Associated costs, such as maintenance and insurance, are expensed as incurred in 
the Statement of Comprehensive Income.

Operating lease committments

Vista Group has operating lease commitments in respect of property and equipment. The total future minimum 
payments under non-cancellable operating leases were payable as follows:

Less than one year

Between one and fi ve years

More than fi ve years

9.3  FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Financial instruments

2016

2015

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

2,552

5,451

-

8,003

1,937

4,039

-

5,976

The classifi cation of fi nancial assets and liabilities depends on the purpose for which the fi nancial assets were 
acquired. Management determines the classifi cation of Vista Group’s fi nancial assets and liabilities at initial recognition. 

Vista Group’s fi nancial assets for the periods covered by these fi nancial statements consist only of loans and 
receivables. 

Vista Group measures all fi nancial liabilities, with the exception of contingent consideration, at amortised cost in 
the periods covered by these fi nancial statements. Contingent consideration is measured at fair value. Contingent 
consideration is classifi ed as equity or a fi nancial liability. Amounts classifi ed as a fi nancial liability are subsequently 
remeasured to fair value with changes in the fair value recognised in the statement of comprehensive income. 

(a)  Loans and receivables 

Loans and receivables are non-derivative fi nancial assets with fi xed or determinable payments that are not quoted 
in an active market. They are included in current assets, except for loans and receivables with maturities greater 
than 12 months after the balance sheet date. These are classifi ed as non-current assets. Vista Group’s loans and 
receivables comprise ‘trade and other receivables’ in the Statement of Financial Position. 

(b)  Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost 

Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost are non-derivative fi nancial liabilities with fi xed or determinable 
payments that are not quoted in an active market. Trade and other payables, employee benefi ts, related party 
loans and borrowings are classifi ed as fi nancial liabilities measured at amortised cost. 

Recognition and derecognition

Financial assets are derecognised when the rights to receive cash fl ows from the fi nancial assets have expired or 
have been transferred and Vista Group has transferred substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership. Financial 
liabilities are derecognised if Vista Group’s obligations specifi ed in the contract expire or are discharged or cancelled. 

Measurement 

At initial recognition, Vista Group measures a fi nancial asset and liability at its fair value plus transaction costs that 
are directly attributable to the acquisition of the fi nancial asset. 

After initial recognition, loans and receivables are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest 
method. After initial recognition, fi nancial liabilities are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. 

62
62
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Impairment 

Vista Group assesses at the end of each reporting period whether there is objective evidence that a fi nancial 
asset or group of fi nancial assets is impaired. A fi nancial asset or a group of fi nancial assets is impaired and 
impairment losses are incurred only if there is objective evidence of impairment as a result of one or more events 
that occurred after the initial recognition of the asset (a ‘loss event’) and that loss event (or events) has an impact 
on the estimated future cash fl ows of the fi nancial asset or group of fi nancial assets that can be reliably estimated. 
Evidence of impairment may include indications that the debtor or group of debtors is experiencing signifi cant 
fi nancial diffi culty, default or delinquency in interest or principal payments, the probability that they will enter 
bankruptcy or other fi nancial reorganisation and observable data indicating that there is a measurable decrease 
in the estimated future cashfl ows, such as changes in arrears or economic conditions that correlate with defaults. 

For loans and receivables, the amount of the loss is measured as the difference between the asset’s carrying amount 
and the present value of estimated future cash fl ows (excluding future credit losses that have not been incurred) 
discounted at the fi nancial asset’s original effective interest rate. The carrying amount of the asset is reduced and 
the amount of the loss is recognised in the statement of comprehensive income. 

If, in a subsequent period, the amount of the impairment loss decreases and the decrease can be related objectively 
to an event occurring after the impairment was recognised (such as an improvement in the debtor’s credit rating), 
the reversal of the previously recognised impairment loss is recognised in the statement of comprehensive income

Fair value of fi nancial assets and liabilities

Vista Group’s fi nancial assets and liabilities by category are summarised as follows:

Cash and short term deposits

These are short term in nature and carrying value is equivalent to their fair value.

Trade, related party and other receivables

These assets are short term in nature and are reviewed for impairment; the carrying value approximates their 
fair value.

Trade, related party and other payables

These liabilities are mainly short term in nature with the carrying value approximating their fair value. 

Related party loans

Fair value is estimated based on current market interest rates available for receivables of similar maturity and risk. 
The interest rate is used to discount future cash fl ows. 

Borrowings

Borrowings have fi xed and fl oating interest rates. Fair value is estimated using the discounted cash fl ow model 
based on a current market interest rate for similar products; the carrying value approximates their fair value.

Fair values

Vista Group’s fi nancial instruments that are measured subsequent to initial recognition at fair values and are 
grouped into levels based on the degree to which the fair value is observable: 

Level 1   - fair value measurements derived from quoted prices in active markets for identical assets.

Level 2  -  fair value measurements derived from inputs other than quoted prices included within level 1 that are 

observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly.

Level 3  -  fair value measurements derived from valuation techniques that include inputs for the asset or liability 

which are not based on observable market data.

The fair value of the contingent consideration on Ticketsoft was assessed as level 3, using a discount rate of 8% to 
refl ect the time value of money. The main level 3 inputs used by Vista Group were based upon a defi ned set of metrics 
related to the transition of Ticketsoft customers to Vista Cinema software. There have been no transfers between 
levels or changes in the valuation methods used to determine the fair value of the Group’s fi nancial instruments during 
the period. Sensitivities to reasonably possible changes in non-market observable valuation inputs would not have 
a material impact on the Vista Group’s fi nancial results. 

63
63
ANNUAL REPORT 2016
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Financial instruments by category

Loans and receivables

Cash 

Short term deposits

Trade receivables

Sundry receivables

Related party receivables - trading

Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost

Trade payables

Sundry accruals

Borrowings

Financial liabilities measured at fair value

Contingent consideration

SECTION

NZ$’000

NZ$’000

2016

2015

5.1

5.1

7.1

7.1

4.4

7.5

7.5

5.3

4

15,798

5,540

45,440

19,979

2,792

16,863

10,437

23,653

2,163

3,410

89,549

56,526

6,229

4,231

4,848

3,122

18,430

762

2,918

4,792

1,253

9,725

9.4  OTHER DISCLOSURES

Contingent liabilities

There were no contingent liabilities for Vista Group at 31 December 2016 (2015: $Nil).

Capital commitments

There were no capital commitments for Vista Group at 31 December 2016 (2015: $Nil).

Events after balance date

On 17 February 2017, Vista Group announced the appointment of Mr. Cris Nicolli to its Board of Directors 
as a non-executive independent director.

On 21 February 2017, the Directors approved a fully imputed fi nal dividend of 4.61 cents per share. The dividend 
record date is 10 March 2017 and payment date is 24 March 2017.

There have been no other events subsequent to 31 December 2016 which materially impact on the results reported 
(2015: nil).

64
64
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CORPORATE

GOVERNANCE

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The Investor Centre section of the Company’s website 
(vistagroup.co.nz.) includes copies of the following 
corporate governance documents referred to in 
this section:

•  Constitution 

•  Corporate Governance Code and Appendices 

(the Code), including:

-  Code of Ethics

-  Securities Trading Policy & Guidelines

-  Shareholder Participation

-  Audit & Risk Committee Charter

-  Nominations & Remuneration Committee Charter

•  Diversity Policy

•  Continuous Disclosure Policy

•  Risk and Compliance Framework Summary 

The Board recognises the importance of good corporate 
governance, particularly its role in delivering improved 
corporate performance and protecting the interests of 
all stakeholders.

The Board is responsible for establishing and 
implementing the Company’s corporate governance 
frameworks, and is committed to fulfi lling this role 
in accordance with best practice while observing 
applicable laws, the NZX Corporate Governance Best 
Practice Code (NZX Code), the New Zealand Financial 
Markets Authority Corporate Governance in New 
Zealand – Principles and Guidelines handbook and the 
Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations 
(3rd Edition) issued by the ASX Corporate Governance 
Council (ASX Recommendations).

For the reporting period to 31 December 2016, the 
Company believes that it has complied in all material 
respects with the NZX Code.

The Company changed its listing category on the ASX 
to that of an ASX Foreign Exempt Listing on 27 October 
2015 and, as a result, it is exempt from complying with 
the majority of the listing rules of the ASX. Instead 
the Company is required to primarily comply with the 
listing rules of the NZX as its home exchange, including 
in relation to corporate governance. The Company 
has, however continued to report its approach to 
governance against the 8 fundamental principles of 
the ASX Recommendations as set out in this section.

PRINCIPLE 1 – LAY SOLID FOUNDATIONS 
FOR MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT

Companies should establish and disclose the respective 
roles and responsibilities of the Board and management 
and how their performance is monitored and evaluated.

Recommendation 1.1 – Companies should disclose 
(a) the respective roles and responsibilities of the 
Board and management and (b) those matters 
expressly reserved to the Board and those delegated 
to management.

The Board is the overall and fi nal body responsible 
for all decision making within the Company, having 
a core objective to effectively represent and promote 
the interests of shareholders with a view to adding 
long-term value to the Company.

The Code describes the Board’s role and responsibilities 
and regulates internal Board procedures. The Board 
has the responsibility to work to enhance the value of 
the Company in the interests of the Company and the 
shareholders.

The Board 

The Board is responsible for directing the Company 
and enhancing shareholder value in accordance with 
good corporate governance principles. Further, the 
Board has statutory responsibilities for the affairs and 
activities of the Company, with delegation to the Chief 
Executive Offi cer (the CEO) and other management 
of the Company. 

The main functions of the Board, the CEO and senior 
executive team are set out in the Code. There is a clear 
delineation between the Board’s responsibility for the 
Company’s strategy and activities, and the day-to-day 
management of operations conferred upon other 
offi cers of the Company. 

The Board reserves certain functions to itself. 
These include: 

•  approving, and from time to time reviewing, 
the Company’s corporate mission statement; 

•  selecting and (if necessary) replacing the CEO; 

•  ensuring that the Company has adequate 

management to achieve its objectives and to 
support the CEO so that a satisfactory plan for 
management succession is in place; 

•  reviewing and approving the strategic, business and 

fi nancial plans prepared by management; 

•  reviewing and approving certain material 

transactions, and making certain investment and 
divestment decisions; 

•  approving and overseeing the administration of 

the Company’s technology development strategy; 

66
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

•  monitoring the Company’s performance against its 

Delegation 

approved strategic, business and fi nancial plans and 
overseeing the Company’s operating results; 

•  ensuring ethical behaviour by the Company, the 

Board and management, including compliance with 
the Company’s constitution, the relevant laws, listing 
rules and regulations and the relevant auditing and 
accounting principles; 

•  implementing and from time to time reviewing the 
Company’s Code of Ethics, to foster high standards 
of ethical conduct and personal behaviour and hold 
accountable those Directors, managers or other 
employees who engage in unethical behaviours; 

•  ensuring the quality and independence of the 

Company’s external audit process; and 

•  assessing from time to time its own effectiveness 
in carrying out these functions and the other 
responsibilities of the Board. 

Indemnities and insurance 

In accordance with Section 162 of the Companies Act 
1993 and the Company’s Constitution, the Company 
indemnifi es the Directors in relation to potential liabilities 
and costs they may incur for acts or omissions in their 
capacity as Directors. The Directors’ and Offi cers’ 
Liability insurance covers risks normally covered by such 
policies arising out of acts or omissions of Directors 
and employees in their capacity as such. In addition, 
the Company acquired prospectus insurance for its initial 
public offering. Details are recorded in the interests 
register as required by the Companies Act 1993.

Board meetings

In the period from 1 January 2016 until 31 December 
2016 the Board has met formally 9 times. At each 
scheduled meeting the Board considers key fi nancial 
and operational information as well as matters of 
strategic importance. Directors who are not members 
of the Committees may attend the Committee meetings. 

Company subsidiaries 

The Company has three wholly owned subsidiaries, 
Vista Entertainment Solutions Limited (“VESL”), Virtual 
Concepts Limited (“VCL”) and Flicks.co.nz Limited 
(“Flicks”). VESL has four wholly owned subsidiaries 
consisting of Vista Entertainment Solutions (USA) 
Inc., Vista Entertainment Solutions (UK) Limited, Vista 
International Entertainment Solutions South Africa 
(Pty) Limited and Vista Entertainment Solutions 
(Canada) Limited. VCL has two wholly owned 
subsidiaries consisting of Movio Ltd and Movio 
Inc. Board meetings were held for each of these 
subsidiaries during the year ended 31 December 2016, 
with material matters raised in these meetings reported 
to the Company’s Board, as appropriate.

To enhance effi ciency, the Board has delegated some 
of its powers to Board Committees and other powers 
to the CEO. The CEO’s employment contract is not 
for a specifi c term. The day-to-day leadership and 
management of the Company is undertaken by the 
CEO and senior management.

The CEO is responsible for: 

•  formulating the vision for the Company; 

•  recommending policy and the strategic direction 

of the Company for approval by the Board; 

•  providing management of the day to day operations 

of the Company; and 

•  acting as the spokesperson of the Company. 

The terms of the delegation by the Board to the CEO 
are documented in the Code and more clearly set out 
in the Company’s Delegated Authority Manual. This 
manual also establishes the authority levels for decision-
making within the Company’s management team. 

The CEO has also formally delegated decision making to 
senior management within their areas of responsibility 
and subject to quantitative limits to ensure consistent 
and effi cient decision making across the Company. 

Board Committees

The Board has established and adopted Charters for 
two Committees: the Audit and Risk Committee and 
the Nominations and Remuneration Committee. 

The membership of each Committee at 31 December 
2016 was:

•  Audit and Risk – Susan Peterson (Chair), Kirk Senior 

and James Ogden

•  Nominations and Remuneration Committee – James 

Ogden (Chair), Susan Peterson and Kirk Senior

Other Committees may be established from time to time.

The Nominations and Remuneration Committee held 
two formal meetings during the fi nancial year ended 
31 December 2016 with other matters, particularly 
the approval of grants under the Long Term Incentive 
scheme for employees dealt with by the full Board in 
this period. The Audit and Risk Committee met 6 times 
during the year. The auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, 
attended the meetings. The meetings of both 
committees were attended by all members.

Recommendation 1.2 – Companies should undertake 
appropriate checks before appointing a person, or 
putting forward to security holders a candidate for 
election as a director and provide security holders with 
all material information in its possession relevant to a 
decision on whether or not to elect or re-elect a director.

67
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

Nomination and appointment 

•  recommended the addition of a further non-

The procedures for the appointment and removal of 
Directors are ultimately governed by the Company’s 
Constitution. The Company has established a Nominations 
and Remuneration Committee governed by the 
Nomination and Remuneration Committee Charter, 
a copy of which is available on the Company’s 
website. The primary objectives of the Nominations 
and Remuneration Committee are to ensure that a 
formal and transparent method for the nomination 
and appointment of Directors exists; to recommend 
Director appointments to the Board; and to regularly 
review the composition of the Board to ensure the 
right composition of Directors is maintained.

The Nominations and Remuneration Committee does 
this by: 

•  making recommendations to the Board as to its size; 

•  reviewing the composition of the Board to ensure 

the most appropriate balance of skills, qualifi cations 
and experience; 

•  reviewing Board succession plans to maintain 

an appropriate balance of skills, experience and 
expertise on the Board; 

•  reviewing criteria for determining suitability of 

potential Directors in terms of balance of the Board; 

•  identifying and maintaining a list of suitably qualifi ed 
people who could be approached for future Board 
positions; 

•  ensuring there is an appropriate induction 

programme in place for all new Directors; and

•  making recommendations to the Board about the 

appointment and re-election of Directors.

When recommending to the Board suitable candidates 
for appointment as Directors, the Committee will 
consider, among other things: 

•  the candidate’s experience as a Director;

•  their skills, expertise and competencies; and

•  the extent to which those skills complement 

the skills of existing Directors. 

Retirement and re-election

The Board acknowledges and observes the relevant 
Director rotation/retirement rules under the NZX 
Main Board Listing Rules.

Two Directors (Kirk Senior and Susan Peterson) 
retired by rotation and were re-elected at the 
Annual Shareholders Meeting in May 2016.

Changes post 31 December 2016

During the 2016 year Kirk Senior increased his time 
commitment in the role of Executive Chair and as 
result the Board has undertaken the following steps:

executive independent Director. The process to 
appoint a new Director commenced in late 2016 
under the nomination and appointment process 
for new Directors. As a result of this process 
Cris Nicolli was appointed as an independent 
non-executive director on 17 February 2017;

•  Kirk Senior relinquished his role as Chair and as 

a member of the Nominations and Remuneration 
Committee. James Ogden was appointed as Chair 
and Cris Nicolli as a member. The current members 
of the Nominations and Remuneration Committee 
are now James Ogden (Chair), Susan Peterson, 
and from his appointment on 17 February 2017, 
Cris Nicolli. The members of this Committee, 
including the Chair, are independent Directors.

Recommendation 1.3 – Companies should have 
a written agreement with each Director and senior 
executive setting out the terms of their appointment.

New Directors are required to consent to act as a 
Director and receive a formal letter of appointment 
which sets out duties and responsibilities, rights and 
remuneration entitlements.

Each senior executive is employed under an individual 
employment agreement which sets out the terms 
on which the senior executive is employed including 
details of the executive’s duties and responsibilities, 
rights and remuneration entitlements. The employment 
agreement also sets out the circumstances in which 
employment may be terminated by either the 
Company or the executive.

Recommendation 1.4 – The company secretary should be 
accountable directly to the Board, through the chair, on all 
matters to do with the proper functioning of the Board.

The Company is not required to have and has not 
appointed a company secretary. One of the two internal 
legal counsel acts as Board Minute Secretary.

Recommendation 1.5 – Companies should have a policy 
concerning diversity and disclose that policy together 
with measurable objectives for achieving gender diversity 
and its progress towards achieving those objectives.

Diversity Policy

Vista values and respects the contributions, ideas and 
experiences of people from all backgrounds and is 
proud to have a diverse company with staff from all 
around the world. The Company has a formal Diversity 
Policy, a copy of which is available on the Company’s 
website. The Diversity Policy sets out the Company’s 
commitment to achieving diversity in the attributes 
and experiences of the Board, management and staff 
across a broad range of criteria including gender, 
background, and education (amongst others). 

68
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

The Company set an objective for the 2016 fi nancial 
year to review our recruitment policy for any bias. 
In compliance with the Diversity Policy the Board 
has reviewed the Company’s performance against 
that objective.

PROGRESS MADE: Our multi-stage recruitment 
process (most hires involve 3 separate interviews 
including a panel) and use of psychometric testing 
provides us with confi dence that we are providing a 
platform that ensures that gender or other bias is not 
present in hiring decisions. While the recruitment of 
female staff continues to be diffi cult in the technology 
sector due to the lack of qualifi ed candidates, we have 
had signifi cant success in 2016 recruiting from a wide 
geographic and ethnic pool. 

The objectives for the 2017 fi nancial year are to: 

(a)   continue to strive to ensure strong female 

candidates are identifi ed in the recruitment 
process for all board and senior executive roles;

(b)   review and encourage participation of 

underrepresented groups in our leadership 
training programmes; 

(c)   complete a review of our gender pay equality.

For the Company in total the percentage of females 
remained consistent with 2016 despite a signifi cant 
increase in total headcount through both growth 
and business acquisition. 

Gender Diversity Statistics

AS AT 
31 DECEMBER 2016

MALE

FEMALE

NO.

%

NO.

%

TOTAL

Board

4

80.0%

Senior Executive*

8 100.0%

1

0

20.0%

0.0%

5

8

Total Company

396

74.4% 136

25.6%

532

AS AT 
31 DECEMBER 2015

Board

Senior Executive*

MALE

FEMALE

NO.

%

NO.

%

TOTAL

4

5

80.0%

100.0%

1

0

20.0%

0.0%

5

5

Total Company

280

75.7%

90

24.3%

370

*   For the purposes of this annual report “Senior Executive” means 

the senior executive team constituted in accordance with the Code, 
and who report directly to the CEO. The senior executive team are 
“offi cers” for the purposes of the NZX Main Board Listing Rules.

Recommendation 1.6 – Companies should have and 
disclose the process for evaluating the performance 
of the Board, its committees and individual directors 
and disclose, in relation to each reporting period, 
whether a performance evaluation was undertaken in 
the reporting period in accordance with that process.

Performance evaluation of the Board, 
its Committees and individual Directors 

The Chair of the Board must ensure that rigorous, 
formal processes for evaluating the performance of 
the Board, Board Committees and individual Directors 
are in place and the Chair must lead such processes. 
Further, as part of that evaluation process the Board 
must establish performance criteria for itself and review 
its performance against those criteria (at least) annually. 
The Board must also review its relationship with 
management annually. As part of the review process, the 
Board will use, evaluate, and where necessary action, the 
results of a board performance questionnaire. Further, 
the Committee undertakes an annual self-review of 
its objectives and responsibilities. In addition, those 
objectives and responsibilities are also reviewed (as 
against the Nominations and Remuneration Committee 
Charter) by the Board and CEO. 

A review was undertaken during September 2016 
and the results reported to the Board at the October 
meeting. Recommendations from the results of the 
review have been considered and will be implemented 
by the Board.

Recommendation 1.7 – Companies should have and 
disclose a process for periodically evaluating the 
performance of its senior executives and disclose, 
in relation to each reporting period, whether 
a performance evaluation was undertaken in 
accordance with that process.

Performance evaluation of senior executives 

The Board is responsible for constantly monitoring 
the performance of the CEO against the Board’s 
requirements. 

The Nominations and Remuneration Committee 
is responsible for evaluating the performance of 
the CEO and oversees the CEO’s evaluation of 
senior management that report directly to the CEO. 
The functions of the Committee are set out in the 
Nominations & Remuneration Committee Charter, a 
copy of which is available on the Company’s website. 

For the fi nancial year ended 31 December 2016, 
the performance evaluation of the CEO and senior 
management is based on criteria set by the Nominations 
and Remuneration Committee which includes the 
performance of the business, the accomplishment 
of long-term strategic objectives and other non-
quantitative objectives agreed at the beginning of 
each fi nancial year. Performance evaluations of the 
CEO and senior management team will be completed 
in accordance with the process established by the 
Company’s Nominations and Remuneration Committee 
and the terms of the Code (as applicable). 

69
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

PRINCIPLE 2 – STRUCTURE THE BOARD 
TO ADD VALUE

Companies should have a Board of an appropriate 
size, composition, skills and commitment to 
adequately discharge its duties effectively.

Composition of the Board

At 31 December 2016, the Board comprised fi ve 
Directors, as follows:

–  Kirk Senior

–  James Ogden 

–  Susan Peterson

–  Murray Holdaway

–  Brian Cadzow

The Board has a broad range of IT, fi lm industry, 
fi nancial, sales, business and other skills and expertise 
necessary to meet its objectives. There has been some 
change to the roles of the Board members in 2016, as 
a result, Kirk Senior is now executive Chairman, and 
James Ogden and Susan Peterson are non-executive 
independent Directors. The Company’s Constitution 
currently requires a minimum of three Directors and 
a maximum of eight. 

With the change of Kirk Senior to an Executive role 
the Board commenced a process to recruit a new 
independent non-executive Director who could add 
to the skills matrix of the existing members and ensure 
at least an equal number of independent non-executive 
to executive Directors. As a result of this process 
Cris Nicolli was appointed as an independent non-
executive director on 17 February 2017.

Recommendation 2.1 – The Board should have an 
appropriately structured nomination committee.

The Company has established a Nominations and 
Remuneration Committee governed by the Nomination 
and Remuneration Committee Charter, a copy of 
which is available on the Company’s website. Further 
information as to the primary objectives, processes 
and composition of the Nomination and Remuneration 
Committee are contained on pages 67 and 68 in 
relation to Recommendation 1.2.

Recommendation 2.2 – Companies should have and 
disclose a board skills matrix setting out the mix of 
skills and diversity that the Board currently has or 
is looking to achieve in its membership.

In determining the composition of the Board, the 
Nominations and Remuneration Committee ensures 
that the Board has an optimal size and mix of skills 
to facilitate effi cient and appropriate decision making.

With the decision of the Board to recruit a new 
independent non-executive Director the Board has 
considered the skills of the existing Directors to ensure 
that the skills of the new director will complement 
and add to the effectiveness of decision making. 
The existing Board is satisfi ed that it has had, and 
with the addition of Cris Nicolli as a new independent 
non-executive Director will continue to have, the 
appropriate mix of skills and diversity for strategic 
decision-making and effective oversight in relation 
to the Company’s affairs as at the date of this report. 
The skills and experience of each Director are set out 
on page 76 in the ‘Disclosures’ section.

Recommendation 2.3 – Companies should disclose 
whether its directors are independent.

Director independence 

The Board Charter requires that a minimum of two 
Directors be “independent”. The Board takes into 
account the guidance provided under the NZX Main 
Board Listing Rules and the ASX Recommendations, 
in determining the independence of Directors. Under 
those rules and recommendations, Directors are 
considered to be independent if they are non-executive 
and do not have an interest or relationship that could 
or could be perceived to unreasonably infl uence their 
decisions relating to the Company or interfere with 
their ability to act in the Company’s best interests. 
The Board will review any determination it makes 
as to a Director’s independence on becoming aware 
of any information that may have an impact on the 
independence of the Director. For this purpose, 
Directors are required to ensure that they immediately 
advise the Board of any relevant new or changed 
relationships to enable the Board to consider and 
determine the materiality of the relationships. 

As at 31 December 2016, the Board considered 
that James Ogden and Susan Peterson are 
Independent Directors. As at 31 December 2016, 
the Board has determined that Murray Holdaway 
and Brian Cadzow are not Independent Directors 
because of their executive responsibilities and 
respective substantial shareholdings. Kirk Senior 
has increased his commitment level to the 
Company and is now considered to have executive 
responsibilities, in addition to his role as Chairman, 
and therefore the Board does not consider that 
he is an Independent Director. 

On 17 February 2017, Cris Nicolli was appointed to 
the Board. The Board considers that Cris Nicolli is 
an Independent Director.

70
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

Length of Service of Directors

DIRECTOR

APPOINTED

LENGTH OF SERVICE 
TO 31 DEC 2016

Murray Holdaway 6 August 2003

13 years, 5 months

Brian Cadzow

6 August 2003

13 years, 5 months

Kirk Senior

3 June 2014

2 years, 7 months

Susan Peterson

3 June 2014

2 years, 7 months

James Ogden

3 June 2014

2 years, 7 months

Cris Nicolli

17 February 2017

n/a

Confl icts of interest 

The Code outlines the Board’s policy on confl icts of 
interest. Where confl icts of interest do exist, Directors 
excuse themselves from discussions and do not exercise 
their right to vote in respect of such matters.

Recommendation 2.4 – A majority of the Board should 
be independent directors.

Whilst, the Board does not comply with the ASX 
Recommendation that a majority of the Board should 
be independent Directors, the Board considers that 
it has an appropriate mix of skills, experience and 
independence to ensure the Company is governed 
in a manner that ensures that the interests of all 
shareholders are represented and protected. The 
change in role for Kirk Senior resulted in the Board 
commencing a process to recruit a new independent 
Director to establish a position of an equal number of 
executive and independent Directors. As a result of this 
process Cris Nicolli was appointed as an independent 
non-executive director on 17 February 2017. The Board 
is also confi dent that proper processes are in place to 
address the needs and expectations of stakeholders 
with respect to independence in decision-making and 
the management of any confl icts of interest. 

Recommendation 2.5 – The Chairman should be an 
independent director and, in particular, should not 
be the same person as the CEO.

The ASX Recommendations require that the Chairman 
should be an independent Director. Whilst, Mr Senior 
is not considered an independent Director, he is 
considered to be the most appropriate Director to act 
as Chairman because of the depth of his leadership and 
operational experience and considerable professional 
network across the international fi lm industry. The Board 
is confi dent that Mr Senior is capable of exercising 
independent views and judgement in exercising his 
role as Chairman.

The Chairman of the Board is elected by the Directors. 
The Board supports the separation of the role of 
Chairman (Kirk Senior) and CEO (Murray Holdaway) 

in accordance with the requirements of the NZX Code 
and the ASX Recommendations. The Chairman’s role is 
set out in the Code and includes to manage the Board 
effectively, to provide leadership to the Board, and to 
facilitate the Board’s interface with the CEO. 

Recommendation 2.6 – Companies should have 
a program for inducting new directors and provide 
appropriate professional development opportunities 
for directors to develop and maintain the skills 
and knowledge needed to perform their role 
as directors effectively.

All Directors are responsible for ensuring they remain 
current in understanding their duties as Directors. 
To ensure ongoing education, Directors are regularly 
informed of developments that affect the Company’s 
industry and business environment, as well as company 
and legal issues that impact the Directors themselves. 
Directors have access to management and any additional 
information they consider necessary for informed 
decision making.

Board access to information and advice 

The Director – Commercial and Legal in conjunction 
with the Chief Financial Offi cer is responsible for 
supporting the effectiveness of the Board by ensuring 
that policies and procedures are followed and co-
ordinating the completion and dispatch of the Board 
agendas and papers. All Directors have access to the 
senior management team, including the Director – 
Commercial and Legal and the Chief Financial Offi cer, 
to discuss issues or obtain information on specifi c 
areas in relation to items to be considered at Board 
meetings or other areas as they consider appropriate. 
Further, Directors have unrestricted access to Group 
records and information.

The Board, the Board Committees and each Director 
have the right, subject to the approval of the Chairman, 
to seek independent professional advice at the 
Company’s expense to assist them to carry out their 
responsibilities as a Director or Committee member. 
Further, the Board and Board Committee members have 
the authority to secure the attendance at meetings of 
external parties with relevant experience and expertise. 

PRINCIPLE 3 – ACT ETHICALLY AND 
RESPONSIBLY

Companies should act ethically and responsibly.

Recommendation 3.1 – Companies should have a code 
of conduct for its directors, senior executives and 
employees and disclose that code or a summary of it.

The Board maintains high standards of ethical conduct 
and the CEO is responsible for ensuring that high 
standards of conduct are maintained by all staff. 

71
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

Code of Ethics 

The Company has adopted a Code of Ethics which 
plays a key role in establishing the framework by which 
the Company’s employees are expected to conduct 
themselves. A copy of the Code of Ethics is available 
on the Company’s website. The Code of Ethics is 
intended to facilitate decisions that are consistent with 
the Company’s values, business goals and legal and 
policy obligations. The Code of Ethics covers, among 
other things, confl icts of interest, gifts and behaviours. 

The Code of Ethics will guide the Company and 
its employees to: 

•  the practices necessary to maintain confi dence 

in the Company’s integrity; 

•  the practices necessary to take into account the 
Company’s legal obligations and the reasonable 
expectations of their stakeholders; and 

•  the responsibility and accountability of individuals 
for reporting and investigating reports of unethical 
practices. 

Any person who becomes aware of a breach or 
suspected breach of the Code of Ethics is required to 
report it immediately in accordance with the policy.

PRINCIPLE 4 – SAFEGUARD INTEGRITY 
IN CORPORATE REPORTING

Companies should have formal and rigorous processes 
that independently verify and safeguard the integrity 
of their corporate reporting.

Recommendation 4.1 – The Board should establish 
an appropriately structured audit committee.

Audit and Risk Committee

The Board has an Audit and Risk Committee whose 
primary objective is to assist the Board in fulfi lling 
its responsibilities by: 

•  ensuring the quality and independence of the 

Company’s external audit process; 

•  overseeing (among other things): 

-  the integrity of external fi nancial reporting, 

-  application of accounting policies, 

-  fi nancial management, and 

-  the risk management framework and monitoring 

compliance with that framework; 

•  providing a formal forum for communication 

between the Board and senior fi nancial 
management; 

•  regularly reviewing the Company’s internal controls 

and systems; 

•   undertaking an annual self-review of the 

Committee’s objectives; 

•   regularly reporting to the Board on the operation of 

the Company’s risk management and internal control 
processes; and 

•  provide suffi cient information to the Board to allow 
the Board to report annually to shareholders and 
stakeholders on risk identifi cation and management 
procedures and relevant internal controls of the 
Company. 

The current members of the Audit and Risk Committee 
are Susan Peterson (Chair), Kirk Senior, James Ogden 
and from his appointment on 17 February 2017, Cris 
Nicolli. A majority of the Committee members are 
non-executive and independent Directors. The Audit 
and Risk Committee is chaired by Susan Peterson who 
is an independent Director and not Chair of the Board. 

Directors who are not members of the Audit and Risk 
Committee and employees of the Company will only 
attend Audit and Risk Committee meetings at the 
invitation of the Committee.

A copy of the Audit and Risk Committee Charter 
is available on the Company’s website. 

Recommendation 4.2 – CEO and CFO certifi cation 
of fi nancial statements.

The provisions of Chapter 2M of the Corporations 
Act do not apply to the Company. Accordingly, the 
Company will not seek or obtain the assurance from 
management ordinarily required by section 295A 
of the Corporations Act and will not be complying 
with Recommendation 4.2 (or any other related 
recommendations) on an ongoing basis. 

Recommendation 4.3 – External auditor’s attendance 
and availability at the AGM.

The external auditor attends the AGM. Shareholders 
are given a reasonable opportunity at the meeting to 
ask the auditor questions relevant to the conduct of 
the audit, the audit report, the Company’s accounting 
policies and the independence of the auditor.

PRINCIPLE 5 – MAKE TIMELY AND 
BALANCED DISCLOSURE

Companies should make timely and balanced 
disclosure of all matters concerning the company that 
a reasonable person would expect to have a material 
effect on the price or value of its securities.

Recommendation 5.1 – The Company should have 
a written policy for complying with its continuous 
disclosure obligations and disclose that policy or 
a summary of it.

The Company is subject to the disclosure requirements 
of securities and other laws in New Zealand and 
Australia and is required to comply with the NZX 

72
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

Main Board Listing Rules. The Company changed 
its ASX listing category from a Standard Listing to 
an ASX Foreign Exempt Listing effective from the 
commencement of trading on 27 October 2015. As an 
ASX Foreign Exempt Listing, the Company is required 
to immediately provide ASX with all of the information 
that it provides to NZX that is, or is to be, made public.

The Company is committed to notifying the market 
through full and fair disclosure to the NZX Main 
Board and ASX of any material information related 
to its business that is required to be disclosed by 
the NZX Main Board Listing Rules. The Company is 
mindful of the need to keep stakeholders informed 
through a timely, clear and balanced approach which 
communicates both positive and negative news. These 
notifi cations are available on the Company’s website. 

The Company is also required to comply with the periodic 
disclosure requirements under the NZX Main Board 
Listing Rules. 

The Company has adopted a Continuous Disclosure 
Policy which establishes procedures that are aimed 
at ensuring that the Directors and all employees of 
the Company are aware of and fulfi l their disclosure 
obligations under the NZX Main Board Listing Rules. 
A copy of the Company’s Continuous Disclosure Policy 
is available on the Company’s website. 

The Continuous Disclosure Policy creates a Disclosure 
Committee which will determine whether information 
is material and whether it should be released. 
The Disclosure Committee is made up of the Board 
Chair, Audit and Risk Committee Chair and one 
other independent Director. The Policy has been 
communicated internally to ensure that it is strictly 
adhered to by the Board and the Company’s employees.

PRINCIPLE 6 – RESPECT THE RIGHTS 
OF SHAREHOLDERS

Companies should respect the rights of its 
shareholders by providing them with appropriate 
information and facilities to allow them to exercise 
those rights effectively.

Recommendation 6.1 – The Company should provide 
information about itself and its governance to 
shareholders on its website.

A copy of the Code is available on the Company’s 
website. The Company’s website, www.vistagroup.
co.nz, provides information to shareholders and 
investors about the Company. The website includes 
copies of past annual reports, results announcements, 
media releases and general company information. 

Recommendation 6.2 – The Company should design 
and implement an investor relations program to facilitate 
effective two-way communication with investors.

Although the Company does not have a formal 
shareholder communications policy, it does take 
appropriate steps to keep shareholders informed 
about its activities and to listen to issues or concerns 
raised by shareholders.

Fundamental to the Company’s provision of information 
to shareholders is the management of its continuous 
disclosure obligations which facilitates all shareholders 
having access to important company information. 
In addition to lodging this information with the NZX 
and the ASX, the Company uses its website to make 
available to shareholders information about the 
Company and its activities.

Recommendation 6.3 – The Company should disclose 
the policies and processes it has in place to facilitate and 
encourage participation at meetings of shareholders.

The Code addresses Shareholder Participation. 
This section of the Code is designed to highlight the 
Board’s accountability to shareholders. Further, this 
section encourages shareholders to use the annual 
general meeting to ask questions and make comments 
on the performance of the Company. This section of 
the Code highlights that the Board welcomes input 
from shareholders and encourages shareholders to 
submit questions in writing prior to the annual general 
meeting so that an informed answer can be given 
at that meeting, and also indicates that the Board 
will ensure that the Company’s external auditors 
are available for questioning by shareholders at 
the annual general meeting. 

Recommendation 6.4 – The Company should give 
shareholders the option to receive communications 
from, and send communications to, the Company 
and its security registry electronically

Shareholders have the option of electing to receive 
all shareholder communications, including dividend 
statements, by e-mail. The Company provides a printed 
copy of the Annual Report to only those shareholders 
who have specifi cally elected to receive a printed copy. 
Other shareholders are advised that the Annual Report 
is available on the Company’s website in accordance 
with the requirements of the NZ Companies Act 1993.

All announcements made to the NZX and the ASX are 
available to shareholders by email notifi cation when 
a shareholder provides the Company’s Share Registry 
with an email address and elects to be notifi ed of all 
such announcements.

The Company’s Share Register is managed and 
maintained by Link Market Services Limited. Shareholders 
can access their shareholding details or make enquiries 
about their current shareholding electronically.

73
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

PRINCIPLE 7 – RECOGNISE AND MANAGE RISK

Companies should establish a sound risk management 
framework and periodically review the effectiveness 
of that framework.

Recommendation 7.1 – The Company should establish 
an appropriately structured risk management committee 
for the oversight of material business risks.

The identifi cation and effective management of the 
Company’s risks are a priority of the Board. The CEO 
is accountable for all operational and compliance risk 
across all of the Company’s operations and businesses. 
The Director – Commercial and Legal has management 
accountability for the effective implementation of the 
Risk Framework (as defi ned below) across all of the 
Company’s businesses. 

The Company has in place an overarching Operating Risk 
and Compliance Framework (the “Risk Framework”), 
supported by operating risk and compliance policies 
that aim to ensure that Vista Group, its Directors 
and employees will comply with relevant regulatory 
requirements such as New Zealand laws, NZX Main Board 
Listing Rules, ASX listing rules applicable to an ASX 
Foreign Exempt Listing and relevant codes of practice. 

Recommendation 7.2 – The Board or a committee 
of the Board should review the Company’s risk 
framework at least annually to satisfy itself that 
it continues to be sound.

In addition to the Risk Framework, the Code provides 
that the Audit and Risk Committee will regularly report 
to the Board on the operation of the Company’s risk 
management and internal control processes and 
provide suffi cient information to the Board to allow 
the Board to report annually to shareholders and 
stakeholders on risk identifi cation and management 
procedures and relevant internal controls of the 
Company. During the fi nancial year ended 31 December 
2016, the Board received and considered a report on 
the Company’s management of material security risks. 
In addition, the Company’s senior management reports 
at each meeting on the established Risk Register for 
the Company.

Recommendation 7.3 – The Company should disclose 
the structure and role of its internal audit function.

While the Company does not have an internal audit 
function, the Company fosters a culture of excellence 
in all areas of risk management and takes all operating 
and compliance risk obligations seriously.

The purpose of the Risk Framework is to ensure a 
consistent approach to operating and compliance risk 
across all the Company’s businesses in all geographies 
where the Company operates. The Risk Framework sets 
out the specifi c areas for which the CEO and Director – 
Commercial and Legal are accountable. 

The Chief Executive is accountable for all operational 
and compliance risks across all of the Company’s 
operations and businesses. The Chief Financial Offi cer 
has management accountability for the effective 
implementation of the Risk Framework across all 
of the Company’s businesses.

As discussed above, the Board has established an 
Audit and Risk Committee whose primary objective 
is to assist the Board in fulfi lling its responsibilities 
by, amongst other things:

•   overseeing (among other things) the risk management 

framework and monitoring compliance with that 
framework; 

•   providing a formal forum for communication between 

the Board and senior fi nancial management; 

•   regularly reviewing the Company’s internal controls 

and systems; 

•   undertaking an annual self-review of the 

Committee’s objectives; 

•   regularly reporting to the Board on the operation of 

the Company’s risk management and internal control 
processes; and 

•   providing suffi cient information to the Board to 

allow the Board to report annually to shareholders 
and stakeholders on risk identifi cation and 
management procedures and relevant internal 
controls of the Company.

All individual employees of the Company are 
accountable for their personal compliance with the 
Risk Framework and supporting policies. At the time 
of employment, all new staff are required to confi rm 
that they have read and are aware of the Company’s 
policies. On an annual basis, all staff are required to 
re-confi rm awareness of and adherence to policies.

Recommendation 7.4 – The Company should disclose 
whether it has any material exposure to economic, 
environmental and social sustainability risks and, if it 
does, how it manages or intends to manage those risks.

The Board considers that a number of risks across 
various risk categories have the potential to impact on 
the economic, environmental and social sustainability 
of the Company in one way or another. Details of these 
types of risks and the way in which they are managed are 
set out in the Company’s prospectus at pages 44 to 48, 
a copy of which is available on the Company’s website.

74
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

PRINCIPLE 8 – REMUNERATE FAIRLY 
AND RESPONSIBLY

Companies should pay director remuneration suffi cient 
to attract and retain high quality directors and design its 
executive remuneration to attract, retain and motivate 
high quality senior executives and to align their interests 
with the creation of value for security holders.

Recommendation 8.1 – The Board should establish an 
appropriately structured remuneration committee.

Nominations and Remuneration Committee 

The Company has established a Nominations and 
Remuneration Committee, which is governed by the 
Nominations and Remuneration Committee Charter. 
In addition to the objectives mentioned above, further 
primary objectives of the Committee are to ensure that 
a formal and transparent method to recommend Director 
remuneration packages exists and to assist the Board in 
the establishment of remuneration policies and practices, 
including setting and reviewing the CEO’s remuneration 
and that of other senior executives and Directors (both 
non-executive and executive) The Committee is also 
required to regularly review and recommend changes 
to Director remuneration to ensure that it is at an 
appropriate level and effectively managed. 

As stated above, the Nominations and Remuneration 
Committee had three members at 31 December 2016, 
consisting of a majority of independent Directors 
and, is now chaired by an independent director. With 
the appointment of Cris Nicolli to the Board and the 
Nominations and Remuneration Committee with 
effect from 17 February 2017, the Committee will have 
3 members all of whom are independent Directors.

Recommendation 8.2 – The Company should 
separately disclose its policies and practices regarding 
the remuneration of non-executive directors and 
the remuneration of executive directors and other 
senior executives.

 Director remuneration

Directors’ fees are currently set at a maximum of 
$500,000 per annum for the non-executive Directors. 
The actual amount of fees paid in the past year was 
$236,000.

Full disclosure of Directors’ remuneration is set out 
at page 78.

The Chairman is now remunerated through the 
executive remuneration structure. The independent 
Directors receive $80,000 per annum each. This was 
increased from $75,000 effective 1 May 2016. The 
CEO and other executive Directors, including the 
Chairman receive remuneration from the Company 
and its subsidiaries (the Vista Group) and do not 

receive Directors’ fees. Shareholders have approved 
the Directors’ fees in aggregate for all Directors at 
$500,000 per annum. This fee pool includes headroom 
for the appointment of Cris Nicolli as an additional 
independent Director through the Board appointment 
process. Directors are also entitled to be paid for 
reasonable travel, accommodation and other expenses 
incurred by them in connection with their attendance 
at Board or shareholder meetings, or otherwise in 
connection with the Vista Group’s business. 

Following the adoption of a long term incentive 
plan in 2015, Executive and senior management 
remuneration currently comprises three components: 
fi xed remuneration, short term performance incentives 
and a long term incentive plan. This is to ensure 
appropriate weighting of incentives between short 
and longer-term performance and to align executive 
packages with longer-term shareholder value.

Fixed remuneration

Fixed remuneration consists of base salary and benefi ts.

Short term performance incentives

The short term performance incentive will be an 
annual risk performance bonus which is either a specifi c 
percentage of each executive’s base salary or a set 
value. The executives’ and senior managers’ right to 
short term performance incentives will be conditional 
on the performance of the individual and the company 
and will be assessed annually by the Board. 

Executive Long-Term incentive plan

The Vista Group established a long term incentive plan 
(the LTI Plan) for executives, senior managers and staff 
in 2015. The LTI Plan aims to align executives’, senior 
managers’ and staff interests with those of shareholders, 
by providing a proportion of remuneration on an 
“at-risk” basis aligned to the achievement of defi ned 
performance targets. Grants have been made in 2015 
with a commencement date of 1 January 2015 and in 
2016 with a commencement date of 1 January 2016. 
The fi rst vesting date under the 2015 grants is due on 
1 April 2017 .

Recommendation 8.3 – If the Company has an equity-
based remuneration scheme, it should have a policy 
on whether participants are permitted to enter into 
transactions (whether through the use of derivatives 
or otherwise) which limit the economic risk of 
participating in the scheme and disclose that policy 
or a summary of it.

All Directors and employees are required to comply 
with the Company’s Securities Trading Policy and 
Guidelines in undertaking any trading in the Company’s 
shares. The table of Directors’ shareholdings is included 
in the Disclosures section of this Annual Report.

75
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

DISCLOSURES

DIRECTORS 

The names of the Company’s directors in offi ce during the fi nancial year and until the date of this report are as follows. 
Directors were in offi ce for this entire period unless otherwise stated.

K Senior, BCom, CA (Executive Chairman), re-elected May 2016

M Holdaway, BSc, BCom (Executive Director)

B Cadzow, BCom, (Executive Director)

S Peterson, BCom, LLB (Independent Director), re-elected May 2016

J Ogden, BCA Hons, FCA, CFInstD (Independent Director)

Directors appointed post 31 December 2016

C Nicolli, BMBS, FAICD, appointed 17 February 2017 

STOCK EXCHANGE LISTINGS

The Company’s ordinary shares are listed and quoted on the NZX and on the ASX.

On 27 October 2015, the Company changed its listing category on the ASX to that of an ASX Foreign Exempt Listing.

ENTRIES RECORDED IN THE INTERESTS REGISTER

The Company maintains an Interests Register in accordance with the Companies Act 1993 and the Financial 
Markets Conduct Act 2013. The following are particulars of entries made in the Interests Register for the period 
1 January 2016 to 31 December 2016.

Directors’ interests, Directors’ disclosed interests, or cessations of interest, in the following entities pursuant 
to section 140 of the Companies Act 1993 during the year ended 31 December 2016 are marked*.

NAME OF DIRECTOR

ENTITY

NATURE OF GENERAL DISCLOSURE

Murray Holdaway Invista Share Nominee Limited

Director and shareholder

Holdaway and Geary Trust

Trustee

Brian Cadzow

B&J Associates Consulting Limited

Director and shareholder

Invista Share Nominee Limited

Director and shareholder

B&J Cadzow Family Trust

A J Cadzow Trust*

K A Cadzow Trust*

Waiotahi Trust*

Grandma’s Trust*

Johnson Trust

Trustee

Trustee

Trustee

Trustee

Trustee

Trustee

Titirangi Golf Club Inc.

Board member

Kirk Senior

Kirk Senior Pty Limited

Director and shareholder

Senior Family Super Fund Pty Limited

Director and shareholder

Kirk Senior Family Trust

Trustee

James Ogden

The Warehouse Group Limited and group companies

Director

The Warehouse Group Financial Services Limited*

Director

Summerset Group Holdings Limited

Tegel Group Holdings Limited*

Director

Chair

76
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

NAME OF DIRECTOR

ENTITY

James Ogden 
(continued)

Pencarrow Private Equity Fund

NATURE OF GENERAL DISCLOSURE

Independent Member of the 
Investment Committee

Pencarrow Bridge Fund GP Limited (General Partnership)* Director

Crown Forest Rental Trust

NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal 

Alliance Group Limited

Petone Investments Limited

Ogden Consulting Limited

Susan Peterson

The New Zealand Merino Company Limited 

Member of the Audit and Risk 
Committee

Member

Director

Director and shareholder

Director and shareholder

Director and Chairman of Audit 
and Risk Committee

NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal

Member

Peterson Mellsop Family Trust

Trustee and benefi ciary

Trustpower Limited

Director

Organic Initiative Limited

Director and shareholder

Fantail Network Trust

Xero Limited (appointed 22 February 2017)*

Trustee

Director

Cris Nicolli 
(appointed 
17 February 2017)

Nicolli Holdings PTY Limited

Director and shareholder

Nicolli Family Superannuation Fund

Kadasig Aid & Development

Trustee

Treasurer

Share dealings of Directors

Directors disclosed, pursuant to section 148 of the Companies Act 1993, acquisitions and disposals of relevant 
interests in the Company shares during the year ended 31 December 2016. 

DATE OF 
ACQUISITION 
OR DISPOSAL

NAME OF 
DIRECTOR

NO & CLASS OF 
SHARES ACQUIRED 

OR (DISPOSED) NATURE OF RELEVANT INTEREST

CONSIDERATION 
PAID OR 
(RECEIVED)

23 March 2016 Murray Holdaway

(5,378,471) Benefi cial as Trustee of Holdaway and Geary Trust ($28,505,896)

23 March 2016 Brian Cadzow

(3,241,438) Benefi cial as Trustee of B&J Cadzow Family Trust

($17,179,621)

23 March 2016 Kirk Senior

(922,421) Director of Kirk Senior Pty Ltd

23 March 2016

Susan Peterson

1,900

Legal

($4,888,831)

$10,070

1 June 2016

Murray Holdaway

(20,000) Benefi cial as Trustee of Holdaway and Geary Trust

($23,500)

1 June 2016

Brian Cadzow

(10,000) Benefi cial as Trustee of B&J Cadzow Family Trust

($23,500)

77
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

Shareholdings of Directors at 31 December 2016

NAME OF DIRECTOR

Murray Holdaway

Brian Cadzow

Kirk Senior

James Ogden

Susan Peterson

DIRECTLY 
HELD

HELD BY 
ASSOCIATED 
PERSONS

3,955,391

3,231,437

922,420

130,000

44,453

 Remuneration of Directors

Details of the total remuneration of, and the value of other 
benefi ts received by, each Director of the Company during 
the fi nancial year ended 31 December 2016 are as follows:

DIRECTOR

FEES

REMUNERATION

Murray Holdaway

Brian Cadzow

Kirk Senior

James Ogden

Susan Peterson

 -

 -

315,400

260,800

79,600

211,340

78,333

78,333

 -

 -

Employee remuneration

The following table shows the number of employees 
(including employees holding offi ce as Directors of 
subsidiaries) whose remuneration and benefi ts for 
the year ended 31 December 2016 were within the 
specifi ed bands above $100,000. The remuneration 
fi gures shown in the table include all monetary 
payments actually paid during the course of the year 
ended 31 December 2016. The table does not include 
amounts paid post 31 December 2016 that related to 
the year ended 31 December 2016, such as short-term 
incentive scheme bonuses. The table below includes 
the remuneration of Murray Holdaway, Brian Cadzow 
and Kirk Senior. No Director of a subsidiary receives 
or retains any remuneration or other benefi ts from 
the Company for acting as such.

EMPLOYEE REMUNERATION

100,000 

  -

 110,000 

110,001 

  -

 120,000 

120,001 

  -

 130,000 

130,001 

  -

 140,000

140,001 

  -

 150,000

150,001 

  -

 160,000 

160,001 

  -

170,000

170,000 

  -

 180,000

180,001 

  -

 190,000 

190,001 

  -

 200,000

200,001 

  -

209,999

220,001 

  -

 230,000

250,001 

  -

 260,000

260,001 

  -

 270,000

290,001 

  -

 300,000

300,001 

  -

310,000

310,001 

  -

320,000

370,001 

  -

 380,000

410,001 

  -

 420,000

STAFF 
NUMBERS

25

22

15

5

4

7

6

5

5

3

1

1

1

3

1

1

1

1

1

Total

108

Analysis of shareholding at 29 February 2017

RANGE 

1 – 1,000

1,001 – 5,000

5,001 – 10,000

10,001 – 50,000

50,001 – 100,000

NUMBER OF 
HOLDERS

NUMBER 
OF SHARES

% OF 
SHARES 
ISSUED

305

181,592

0.22%

516

212

119

15

1,470,012

1.79%

1,588,011

1.94%

2,580,373

3.15%

1,091,771

1.33%

Greater than 100,000

39

75,028,534

91.57%

1206

81,940,293

100%

78
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

NUMBER 
OF SHARES

PERCENTAGE 
HOLDING

37,792,153

46.12%

5,894,838

3,955,391

3,231,437

2,707,989

2,029,210

1,797,606

7.19%

4.83%

3.94%

3.30%

2.66%

2.48%

2.19%

1,638,805

2.00%

1,329,800

1,252,473

922,420

1.62%

1.53%

1.13%

772,621

0.94%

712,604

701,350

699,741

664,957

573,491

548,266

540,857

540,857

0.87%

0.86%

0.85%

0.81%

0.70%

0.67%

0.66%

0.66%

70,483,259

86.02%

6 Gregory James Trounson & Donald Mackenzie Gibson & Kathryn Mary Lee Trounson

2,176,393

Twenty largest shareholders at 29 February 2017

INVESTOR NAME

1

2

New Zealand Central Securities Depository Limited

J P Morgan Nominees Australia Limited

3 Murray Lawrence Holdaway & Helen Rachel Geary & Stephen John Mcdonald

4 Brian John Cadzow & Julie Ann Cadzow & Peter Allen Lewis

5 Bruce Alexander Wighton & Marianne Bachler & Peter John Clark

7 Bnp Paribas Nominees Pty Ltd

8 Citicorp Nominees Pty Limited

9 Weying NZ (Bvi) Limited

10 Bnp Paribas Noms Pty Ltd

11 HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited

12 Kirk Senior Pty Limited

13 Investment Custodial Services Limited

14 National Nominees Limited

15 Waspp Corporation Ltd

16 Forsyth Barr Custodians Ltd

17 David Smith & Lara Smith

18 Peter Joseph Beguely & Samuel James Beguely

19 John Trevor Hanson & Bruce Trevor Hanson

20 Mark E Pattie & Kelly M Pattie & Northern Trustee Services (No. 74) Limited

20 Smith Family Holdings Ltd

Substantial Product Holders

According to notices given under the Financial 
Markets Conduct Act 2013, the following persons 
were Substantial Product Holders in the Company at 
31 December 2016 in respect of the number of voting 
securities set opposite their names:

NAME OF SUBSTANTIAL PRODUCT HOLDER

Devon Funds Management Limited

Fidelity International

Harbour Asset Management

Fisher Funds Management Ltd

NUMBER AND 
CLASS OF SHARES

9,718,168

7,999,163

6,379,620

4,858,573

Options

Nil

79
ANNUAL REPORT 2016

Performance Rights

The Company issued a total of 205,930 performance rights under the LTI scheme in the 2015 grant to a number of 
employees and these will vest in two equal tranches. The Company issued 230,788 performance rights under the 
LTI scheme in the 2016 grant to a number of employees and these will vest in two equal tranches. The table below 
shows the grants and outstanding rights at 31 December 2016.

GRANT YEAR

2015

2016

Total

230,788

436,718

TOTAL 
ORIGINAL 
GRANT

VESTING DATES OF OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE RIGHTS

APR-17

APR-18

APR-19

APR-20

205,930

102,965

102,965

TOTAL 
OUTSTANDING

205,930

230,788

115,394

115,394

102,965

218,359

115,394

–

436,718

The vesting of each tranche is subject to Vista Group achieving certain performance hurdles contained within the 
LTI scheme. Upon vesting each performance right will entitle the holder to one ordinary share.

Auditor Remuneration

The Company confi rmed the re-appointment of PwC 
as its auditor at its annual shareholder meeting on 
24 May 2016. The amount payable to PWC by the 
Company and its subsidiaries for audit and non-audit 
services work for the fi nancial year ended 31 December 
2016 is disclosed in section 9.1 to the fi nancial 
statements. The Board considers that due to the 
nature and quantum of the non-audit services work 
the auditor’s independence is not compromised.

Waivers 

The Company had no NZX waivers granted or 
published by NZX within or relied upon in the 
12 months ending 31 December 2016. 

Subsidiary Company Directors

The following people held offi ce as Directors of 
subsidiary companies at 31 December 2016: 

•  Kirk Senior: VESL, Vista Entertainment Solutions 

(USA) Ltd, Virtual Concepts Ltd, Movio Ltd, Movio 
Inc., Share Dimension B.V., Powster Ltd and Stardust 
Solutions Ltd.

•  Murray Lawrence Holdaway: VESL, MACCS 

International B.V., Vista Entertainment Solutions 
(UK) Ltd, Vista Entertainment Solutions (Shanghai), 
Vista Entertainment Solutions (Canada) Ltd, Book 
My Show Ltd, Book My Show (NZ) Ltd, Numero 
Ltd, Numero (Aus) Pty Ltd, Flicks.co.nz Ltd, Vista 
International Entertainment Solutions South Africa 
PTY Ltd, Powster Ltd, Stardust Solutions Ltd.

•  Brian John Cadzow: VESL, Virtual Concepts Ltd, 
MACCS International B.V., Vista Entertainment 
Solutions (UK) Ltd, Vista Entertainment Solutions 
(USA) Ltd, Vista Entertainment Solutions (Canada) 
Ltd, Book My Show Ltd, Book My Show (NZ) Ltd, 
Numero Ltd, Numero (Aus) Pty Ltd, Movio Limited, 
Movio Inc., Flicks.co.nz Ltd.

•  William Stanley Palmer: Movio Inc.

•  L.H. Huls: MACCS International B.V.

•  Mathieu H.W. Van As: MACCS International B.V.

•  Rajesh Chandrakant Balpande: Book My Show Ltd 

& Book My Show (NZ) Ltd

•  Simon John Burton: Numero Ltd & Numero (Aus) 

Pty Ltd

•  Sven Andresen: VPF Hub

•  Kimbal Riley: Vista Entertainment Solutions 

(Shanghai), Vista International Entertainment 
Solutions South Africa PTY Ltd.

•  Derek Geoffrey Forbes: Stardust Solutions Ltd

•  Steven Thompson: Powster Ltd

•  Nick Patsides: Powster Ltd

Annual Meeting

The Company’s Annual Meeting of shareholders will be 
held in Auckland on 25 May 2017 at 3:00 pm. A notice 
of Annual Meeting and Proxy Form will be circulated 
to shareholders in April 2017.

Donations

The Vista Group made donations of $14,383 (2015 – 
$18,333) during the 2016 fi nancial year.

Exercise of NZX Disciplinary Powers

NZX did not exercise any of its powers under NZX 
Listing Rule 5.4.2 in relation to the Company during 
the 2016 fi nancial year.

Credit Rating

The Company has no credit rating.

80
VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

VISTA GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITEDLevel 3, 60 Khyber Pass RoadNewton, Auckland 1023Phone: +64 9 984 4570Fax: +64 9 379 0685Email: info@vistagroup.co.nzWebsite: www.vistagroup.co.nz