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Vita Life Sciences Limited

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FY2013 Annual Report · Vita Life Sciences Limited
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163173 Project Velocys - R&A 2013 COVER_163173 Project Velocys - R&A 2013 COVER  02/05/2014  15:32  Page ii

Velocys plc
115e Olympic Avenue
Milton Park
Abingdon
OX14 4SA
United Kingdom

Registered Number: 5712187 

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013

www.velocys.com

 
163173 Project Velocys - R&A 2013 COVER_163173 Project Velocys - R&A 2013 COVER  02/05/2014  15:32  Page iv

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Velocys (formerly Oxford Catalysts) enables modular gas-to-liquids (GTL) plants to convert
unconventional, remote and problem gas into valuable liquid fuels. Systems based on the
Company’s technology are significantly smaller than those using conventional technology, enabling
modular plants that can be deployed cost effectively in remote locations and on smaller fields than
is possible with competing systems. Together with world-class partners, Velocys provides complete
modular GTL solutions that address an untapped market of up to 25 million barrels of fuel a day.

Velocys plc is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE: VLS). The Company has
approximately 100 employees with facilities in Houston, Texas, USA and near Oxford, UK and
Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Directors, secretary and advisors to the Company

Velocys plc registration no.

5712187

Registered office

115e Olympic Avenue
Milton Park
Abingdon
Oxfordshire
OX14 4SA

Contents

Page

Directors

Chairman’s statement................................................................................................................................ 2
Chief Executive’s report ............................................................................................................................. 3
Strategic report........................................................................................................................................... 6
Directors’ report .......................................................................................................................................... 10
Corporate governance report..................................................................................................................... 12
Directors’ remuneration report ................................................................................................................. 14
Statement of directors’ responsibilities................................................................................................... 17
Independent auditors’ report..................................................................................................................... 18
Consolidated income statement  .............................................................................................................. 20
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income................................................................................ 21
Consolidated statement of financial position.......................................................................................... 22
Velocys plc statement of financial position ............................................................................................. 23
Consolidated statement of changes in equity ......................................................................................... 24
Velocys plc statement of changes in equity............................................................................................. 25
Consolidated statement of cash flows ..................................................................................................... 26
Velocys plc statement of cash flows......................................................................................................... 27
Notes to the financial statements ............................................................................................................ 28

Dr Pierre Jungels (Non-executive Chairman)
Roy Lipski (Chief Executive)
Susan Robertson (Chief Financial Officer)
Dr Paul F. Schubert (Chief Operating Officer)
Dr Andrew Jamieson (Non-executive Director)
Dr Jan Verloop (Non-executive Director)
Sandy Shaw (Non-executive Director)
Julian West (Non-executive Director)

Company secretary

Susan Robertson

Brokers & nominated
advisors

Numis Securities Limited
The London Stock Exchange Building
10 Paternoster Square
St Pauls
London EC4M 7LT

Registrars

Bankers

Capita Registrars Limited
The Registry
34 Beckenham Road
Beckenham
Kent BR3 4TU

Barclays Bank Plc
Wytham Court
11 West Way
Oxford OX2 0JB

Public relations

Chartered accountants and
statutory auditors

Lionsgate Communications Limited
First Floor, 29-30 St James’s St
London WC2A 1PB

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
One Reading Central
23 Forbury Road
Reading RG1 3JH

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013  

Highlights

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

Entered GTL joint venture with Waste Management, NRG Energy and Ventech (post year end)

Velocys technology selected for further projects

—
—
—

Red Rock Biofuels
Pinto Energy
Waste Management (post year end)

Ventech order of reactors for 1,400 bpd of capacity received; production underway

PTT began FEED study for 1,000 bpd GTL plant using Velocys technology

Sale of 175 bpd reactor (post year end) to a CIS customer

Cemented manufacturing partnership with Shiloh Industries; strategic investment in Velocys
(post year end)

Cash* at period end of £26.4 million (FY 2012: £9.5 million)

Pierre Jungels, CBE, Chairman of Velocys, said:

“2013 was a strong year for Velocys. Our leadership position in smaller scale GTL is firmly
established and market opportunities continue to advance. We enter 2014 confident and ready for
commercial success.”

* 

Defined as cash, cash equivalents and short term investments (see note 20).

1

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Chairman’s statement
We are at a remarkable time in the history of the fuels industry.

Houston, placing Velocys at the heart of the oil and gas
industry. Roy Lipski, our CEO, is heading up this effort,
and I am grateful to him and his family for making this
move which is already proving highly beneficial.

Total revenues for the period were £4.8 million
(2012: £7.6 million) due to the expected fall-off in
development revenue during this transition phase to
commercialisation. Cash* at period end stood at £26.4
million (2012: £9.5 million), while cash outflow** was
£12.5 million (2012: £8.9 million).

Outlook
Velocys enters 2014 with its commercial readiness
established, a strong pipeline of projects moving through
engineering stages, and a powerful market pull. I look
forward with excitement to seeing us reap the benefits
through 2014 and beyond.

Pierre Jungels, CBE 
Chairman
26 March 2014

On the supply side, the abundance of natural gas,
especially from shale and other unconventional
resources, is ever more apparent. This gas is widely
distributed, creating the possibility of energy
independence for many more nations – but it is often
hard to bring to market, where the quantities or distances
do not justify a pipeline. On the demand side, liquids
(diesel and jet fuel) continue to grow, driven by sectors
where substitution of these fuels is very difficult. At the
same time, environmental needs promote the search for
lower-emission products and for sustainable supply
chains, including decentralised production.

These conditions create a strong, stable market for the
distributed, smaller scale gas-to-liquids (GTL) plants that
Velocys technology is enabling. In North America, the
shale gas revolution has opened up a future where cheap
gas can power a newly competitive US through a wide
range of downstream industries. Meanwhile, in other
regions such as Russia and Central Asia, GTL is an
attractive route to market for many stranded gas fields
and for associated gas that is currently flared. Beyond
GTL, there are also attractive opportunities to produce
renewable fuels from biomass and waste, using the
Company’s Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process.

Velocys is perfectly positioned to capture these markets.
During 2013, we fully established our commercial supply
chains for both reactors and catalyst, as well as field
service. An important milestone was the order from one of
our partners, Ventech Engineers International, LLC
(Ventech) for reactors totalling 1,400 barrels per day (bpd)
of capacity. After the period end, we cemented another
key partnership with our reactor core manufacturer,
Shiloh Industries, Inc. (Shiloh). We see such partnerships
as an important part of our strategy for building a strong
business and addressing the complete needs of a GTL
plant.

Velocys has grown its team to around 100 people,
particularly strengthening the commercial and process
engineering functions. It is a testament to both Velocys
and the opportunities for smaller scale GTL that we
continue to attract and retain world-class talent. I thank
our staff for the enormous efforts they are making to
secure the Company’s future success.

Also in 2013, the Company consolidated its two brands
(Velocys and Oxford Catalysts) to help it speak with one
clear voice. Additionally, we opened a new office in

*
**

Defined as cash, cash equivalents and short term investments.
Defined as cash movement excluding monies from fund raising and issuance of shares.

2

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013  

Chief Executive’s report

Introduction
In 2013, Velocys firmly consolidated its leading position
and is poised to capture the exciting opportunity that has
opened up for distributed fuels production. The Company
has readied itself for sales in all aspects of the business,
including engineering, supply chain and marketing.
Velocys continues to be selected for commercial projects
based on the performance and favourable economics of
its technology, and is taking the initiative in helping those
projects progress. A number are now close to fruition, and
we look forward not only to securing those sales, but to
the acceleration of this whole market.

Market conditions
Throughout 2013, long-term market conditions continued
to favour smaller scale GTL. Agencies such as the US
Government’s Energy Information Administration support
a consensus view that the spread between oil and gas
prices in North America is likely to remain high for
decades to come. Furthermore, abundant gas is now
recognised as a global phenomenon with still increasing
recoverable reserves – but many of them without an
economic route to market. GTL provides the means to
convert this gas into inherently more valuable liquid
hydrocarbons – high quality distillate fuels and speciality
products such as lubricants and waxes.

The profile of the GTL industry, and of Velocys in
particular, has risen significantly in 2013 as evidenced by
a string of publications, such as a strong analyst’s report
in December from Bernstein entitled ‘What if “Small Scale
Gas To Liquids” Was the Next “Shale Gas”?’, and an article
in the Natural Gas Daily headed “The future will be micro
for GTL technology”. Altogether over 600 press articles
mentioned Velocys. In addition, Velocys is increasingly
being invited to comment on industry matters.

Commercialisation
Sales and prospects
The Company’s pipeline of prospects continues to grow in
value, as new projects are added and existing ones
progress to more advanced engineering stages.
Furthermore, most customers see their immediate
project as the first of many, and have identified additional
sites to bring on projects in succession to their first one.

After period end, Velocys entered a joint venture with
Waste Management, NRG Energy (NRG), and Ventech to
develop GTL plants in the US and other selected
geographies using a combination of renewable gas
(biogas and landfill gas) and natural gas. Waste
Management is North America’s leading provider of
comprehensive waste management services and the
200th largest company on the Fortune list; NRG is a

Fortune 500 company with the largest and most diverse
competitive independent power generation portfolio in
the US, and Ventech is a global leader in the design and
construction of modular refineries. The joint venture is
currently completing detailed engineering for its first
proposed project to be located at Waste Management’s
East Oak landfill site in Oklahoma, USA. A final decision to
proceed is expected later in the year. Development
activities for additional facilities are planned to begin
shortly.

In September 2013, Velocys was selected to supply FT
technology for a 2,800 bpd GTL plant in the US being
developed by Pinto Energy, LLC (“Pinto”) at an 80-acre
industrial site that it owns in the Port of Ashtabula, Ohio.
Pinto will convert abundant low-cost natural gas from the
Utica and Marcellus shale region into high value
speciality products (solvents, lubricants and waxes), as
well as ultra- clean transportation fuels. Pinto is working
towards issuing the final notice to proceed in the third
quarter of 2014. Start-up of the plant is expected in 2016.
Pinto recently completed another important milestone
and secured the air and storm water permits for this
facility.

During the period, Calumet Specialty Product Partners,
L.P. (Calumet), who in September 2012 selected the
Velocys FT technology for a proposed GTL plant at their
Karns City, Pennsylvania, USA refinery, completed initial
engineering with Ventech and partook in a successful visit
to the Company’s demonstration facility in Brazil.
Calumet is currently focused on a number of significant
existing commitments, including the construction of a
new refinery in North Dakota, and has not yet initiated
more detailed engineering for the proposed GTL plant.
Further updates will be provided as the project
progresses.

In October, Velocys executed a commercial agreement
with PTT Public Company Limited (PTT), the national
energy company of Thailand and a Fortune Global 100
firm, to proceed with the commercial deployment of the
Company’s GTL technology in Thailand and other regions.
Velocys and PTT have been collaborating since late 2009.
In this next phase, PTT has commissioned Toyo
Engineering Corporation (Toyo) to prepare a detailed front
end engineering design (FEED) for a 1,000 bpd GTL plant.
The engineering study is expected to be completed in the
second half of 2014.

While the primary focus of the Company’s commercial
development efforts remains on GTL projects in North
America, the portfolio of project opportunities is also
growing in other regions. For example, Velocys now has
more than a dozen active prospects in former Soviet

3

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Chief Executive’s report (continued)

Union countries. This interest is driven by the need to
capture the world’s largest volume of flared gas and to
monetise substantial stranded gas reserves. After the
reporting period, Velocys announced the sale of a full-
scale commercial reactor (175 bpd nominal capacity) to a
customer in the region, underlining the suitability of
Velocys technology for the opportunities there. The
Company has been monitoring recent events in Russia
and does not believe that presently its portfolio of
opportunities is significantly impacted. 

As well as GTL, Velocys also advanced several biomass-
to-liquids (BTL) projects in 2013. In July, the Company
was selected as the FT technology provider for the design
and possible construction of a commercial BTL plant in
Oregon, USA for Red Rock Biofuels, which is a subsidiary
of IR1 Group LLC (IR1), an experienced biofuels project
developer. This project was awarded a $4.1 million grant
from the US Department of Defense, to help fund detailed
engineering for a 1,100 bpd facility. The proposed facility
will convert some 170,000 tons per year of forestry
derived biomass into liquid transportation fuels. IR1
expects to apply later this year for the additional grant
funding of $70 million available to support construction.

As previously reported, in 2012 Velocys was selected by
project developer Solena Fuels Corporation (Solena) to
provide its FT technology for GreenSky London, Europe’s
first commercial scale sustainable jet fuel facility being
developed in partnership with British Airways, as well as
for similar plants planned by Solena for other cities.
Engineering work has continued on the project and
further news is expected in due course. 

As well as the announced projects, Velocys is working on
a number of other prospects that remain confidential.
Many opportunities are coming to the Company, and
capital for plants is available. On projects which are at an
advanced stage, Velocys is exploring how it can further
align with its customers and partners to accelerate
market adoption. The JV with Waste Management, NRG
and Ventech is an example of this.

Demonstration and pilot plants
The Company’s demonstration plant in Fortaleza, Brazil,
which includes both its FT and Steam Methane Reforming
(SMR) reactors and which is targeted at offshore GTL,
continued to operate during 2013 in collaboration with
the Brazilian national oil company, Petrobras. At the end
of the year, Velocys received the fifth and final
demonstration success payment from its partners Toyo
and MODEC. Referring to the Company’s technology, Toyo
has now publicly stated that it “has been successfully
demonstrated in Brazil”. Velocys expects that alongside
its partners, it will be invited to bid for the first floating

GTL installation when Petrobras issues a formal tender. It
will update the market further at that time. 

In addition, during 2013, Velocys commissioned and
began operation of its own fully integrated pilot plant at
its technology centre in Columbus, Ohio. This facility is a
showcase of the Velocys technology for customers,
provides samples of liquid products, helps train plant
operators, and enables validation of future technology
improvements. 

Manufacturing and supply capability
Over the course of 2013, Velocys continued to make
excellent progress implementing its strategy of attracting
and qualifying world-class partners from various
industries. The Company has created a high-quality, cost-
effective reactor supply chain that can scale rapidly in
order to meet customer demand. 

Following year end, Velocys cemented a partnership with
Shiloh, with whom it has been working since 2012, and
who have set up the first mass-manufacturing cell for
Velocys reactor cores. Shiloh is one of North America’s
leading suppliers of engineered metal products and light
weighting solutions to the automotive industry. Initial
capability supports annual sales of up to 10,000 bpd of
capacity, and plans are in place to enable ramp up to
40,000 bpd in line with demand. Under the partnership
agreement, both companies will work to continuously
improve manufacturing of the Velocys FT reactor, and
over time to enhance the effectiveness of the whole GTL
plant. Concurrently, Shiloh purchased 601,326 shares of
Velocys at 200p per share, representing a 32% premium
to market price at the time. Shiloh is additionally
investing several million dollars in manufacturing
resources for Velocys, and is making available to the
partnership a dedicated team of engineers. 

Velocys has also fully qualified its catalyst supply chain,
and continues to develop partnerships that will keep it at
the forefront of catalyst development, manufacturing,
and servicing. The Company’s catalyst handling partner,
Mourik International BV, has deemed that all the relevant
processes, materials, and test methods for the Velocys FT
reactors are fit and ready for commercial use.

Intellectual property
Velocys has continued to grow and protect its intellectual
property (IP) portfolio which now includes 894 patents
granted and pending, and an even larger number of
invention records. During the period, the Company filed 5
new patent applications, while 74 patents were granted in
jurisdictions including the US, Australia, Canada, China,
Japan, Russia, Taiwan, and various European countries. 

4

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013  

5

Where it sees infringement by others, the Company has
taken action to protect its IP. In March 2013, Velocys filed
a case against CompactGTL in the UK, alleging
infringement of two patents. In January 2014, the case
was suspended while CompactGTL went into
administration. It is now progressing again through the
courts, with a trial expected in the third quarter of 2014. 

Rebranding
The parent company’s name was changed from Oxford
Catalysts Group PLC to Velocys plc on 25 September
2013, and a new brand identity rolled out. This enables
Velocys to present a single front to its customers and
investors, and completes the integration of the two
companies, Oxford Catalysts and Velocys, that joined
forces in 2008. 

Resources
The Company continues to develop its commercial
capability and has recruited additional staff in business
development, marketing, engineering and operations.
This brings the total number of employees to
approximately 100, with about three-quarters in the US
and the remainder in the UK. In particular, the process
engineering team was significantly bolstered in readiness
for supporting early projects. We have been delighted to
see how the Company’s reputation in the industry is
enabling it to attract the very best people. In addition to
recruiting new talent, we have worked hard to develop
and grow the skills of the very capable existing workforce
at Velocys, ensuring that we keep harnessing the passion
and innovation of everyone in the organisation. 

Recognising the importance of Houston as a centre for
activity and talent in the oil and gas industry, Velocys
established a new office there for commercial and
engineering activities. This presence is already proving to
be a valuable asset, placing Velocys at the heart of the
world’s oil and gas market.

Roy Lipski
Chief Executive
26 March 2014 

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Strategic report
The Directors present their review of the Company’s performance during the
year to 31 December 2013 and their assessment of the risks faced by the
Company.

Principal activities
Velocys designs and develops technology for the
production of clean synthetic fuels from both
conventional fossil fuels and renewable sources such as
bio-waste. The business is primarily focused on the
emerging market need for modular GTL plants in the
range of 1,500 to 15,000 barrels per day. 

It is estimated that this is a market that has the potential
of producing as much as 25 million barrels of fuel a day.
As this market becomes better recognised a number of
competitors have entered it. Velocys is one of the most
established companies in the market and is recognised
as a world leader in the development of smaller-scale GTL
technology.

The Company’s business model incorporates the sale of
reactors, licences for use of the reactor and catalyst
technology, regular revenue from the catalyst which will
be periodically renewed, and fees for engineering and
support services.

The principal activity of Velocys plc (the “parent
company”) is a holding company. The two operating
subsidiaries are Velocys, Inc. and Velocys Technologies
Limited. In the Report and Accounts the three entities are
referred to collectively as the “Company”.

Business review
A review of the Company’s activities during the year and
future strategy is dealt with in the Chairman’s statement
on page 2 and the Chief Executive’s report on pages 3-5.

Financial review
2013 was the first year in the Company’s history where it
had no revenue from development projects. This is an
anticipated stage in the transition to commerciality, as
activities become focused on commercial readiness. As a
consequence revenues during the period were
£4.8 million (2012: £7.6 million), derived from success
payments on the Petrobras demonstration, income
recognised on the sale of reactors to Ventech, and
engineering revenues from customers. 

Unfunded research and development costs and other
administrative expenses increased to £16.8 million
(2012: £12.5 million) as commercial activities ramp up.
Adjusted losses* for the period were £13.0 million
(2012: £7.9 million). Cash outflow** in the period was
£12.5 million (2012: £8.9 million).

Velocys is well capitalised having successfully closed an
equity funding on 3 January 2013 which raised £30.6
million (before expenses). At period end, the Company
had £26.4 million of cash*** (FY 2012: £9.5 million).

Costs
The breakdown of costs in 2013 was £10.5 million of R&D
costs (2012: £7.1m) and £6.3m of administrative
expenses (£5.4m). One of the main contributors to the
increase in R&D spend was the cost of commissioning
and starting to operate a pilot plant at the Ohio site.

In addition during 2013 Velocys began assembling a team
of process engineers in the US and the UK. R&D spend
also includes costs relating to patents and other IP.
Administrative expenses include costs for the business
development team, which was expanded in 2013. 

Key performance indicators
At the current stage of the business, the Directors
consider that performance is best measured by
achievement against technical and business development
goals which are referred to in the Chief Executive’s report.
These include progress in demonstrations, progress
towards commercial readiness, including having in place
manufacturing capability and capability to support new
projects, and progress in the development of our sales
prospects.

Employees
Velocys is committed to being a good employer and
endeavours to train staff well, to pay them fairly and to
maintain a safe environment in which they can work.
Velocys is also committed to equal opportunity.

Velocys keeps detailed environmental health and safety
records and takes the safety and wellbeing of its
employees very seriously. During 2013 there were no
lost-time accidents across the Company’s sites, which
brought the total number of operating hours without such
an accident to over 2 million.

In 2013, the Company began recording data concerning
the number of women employees in each area of the
business. Of the 95 employees working for Velocys at
31 December 2013, 25% were women. The percentage of
female employees broken down by area of the business
was as follows.

*

Adjusted losses exclude the impact of foreign exchange losses: (2013: £0.3 million, 2012: £nil million) and non-cash items (depreciation,
amortisation and share-based payments: (£3.7 million, 2012: £2.5 million).

**

Defined as movement in cash, cash equivalents and short term investments excluding monies from fund raising and issuance of shares.

*** Defined as cash, cash equivalents and short term investments (see note 20).

6

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013  

Scientific & engineering employees
Sales, finance, HR & admin employees
Senior managers

2013
14%
71%
29%

Performance
As Velocys develops to commercialisation, it has worked
to ensure that it will be able to meet the performance
requirements for its products through a number of
measures including:

Two of the eight members of the Board are women.

The Company will be exploring opportunities to expand
this monitoring and looks forward to being able to use
year-on-year data to help ensure that it is meeting its
goals as an employer.

Environment
Velocys is concerned to manage the environmental
impact of its operations and understands that the first
step in doing this is to analyse the key components. Air
travel and building operations have been identified as two
of the major contributors of CO2 emissions by the
Company. 

A lesser source is the operating of the Company’s pilot
plant at its Ohio facility.

In 2013, air travel by employees booked through the
Company contributed 597.7 tonnes of CO2. There is no
comparative data for 2012. From 2014 the Company will
seek to capture data for air travel booked by employees.
The Company will also look at the proportion of the
emissions that are produced by travel between its sites. 

The consumption of electricity at the business’s three
sites is the major part of the Company’s CO2 emissions
attributable to building operations. KWh consumption is
being recorded but Velocys will be looking at the energy
mix of its suppliers in reaching an understanding of the
resulting emissions.

The task for the Company in the coming year will be to
seek to develop a more comprehensive model of its
environmental impact and to understand the implications
of its first set of year-on-year data.

Operating risks
The key operating risks of the Company and the measures
taken to manage these are summarised below.

Technology
The Company manages the development of its technology
through separate programmes. Each programme has a
specific set of milestones, measurable goals, timeline and
budget. Performance against each of these is monitored
monthly. This enables the Company to identify issues at
an early stage and take appropriate mitigating action.

(cid:129) Working with vendors who fabricate Velocys’

proprietary catalysts and reactors and negotiating
with them to secure petrochemical industry standard
warranties for these materials;

(cid:129) Working with third parties to provide

recommendations to the Company’s quality
assurance/control and then to review and validate
the implementation of the programmes;

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

Operating the Company’s testing and pilot facilities
to model client specific standard and upset
conditions, and then developing mitigation or
remediation strategies where testing identifies risk
areas;

Growing the staff including addition of personnel
with relevant commercial experience;

(cid:129) Working with world-class partners to enable

products to be delivered to customers and combining
with existing, well-proven technologies;

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

Developing commercial terms that do not unduly
commit Velocys to performance beyond its capability;

As the operation of customer plants is outside its
control, Velocys’ agreements with its customers state
that it shall not be liable to licensees for
environmental, toxic waste, hazardous waste or
pollution liability.

Scale up
Velocys has engaged in a series of programmes to
demonstrate the scale up of its reactor technology from
laboratory to commercial scale allowing the technology to
be assessed at relevant scale. The first of its several
demonstrations, at Güssing in Austria, was completed in
2010, which successfully demonstrated the FT reactor. A
full scale (nominal 25 barrel per day) reactor was
installed and successfully demonstrated at a customer
site in the Asia-Pacific region in 2012. A demonstration
programme for a fully integrated GTL unit for Petrobras in
Brazil ran for much of 2013. In addition, Velocys has
installed its own pilot plant at its Ohio facility.

In the case of catalysts scale up, the Company has
worked with established, reputable catalyst

7

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Strategic report (continued)

manufacturers to develop the capability to make
available commercial quantities of catalyst. Catalyst
produced at each stage of the scale up process is tested
to ensure it meets the relevant specification. The
Company’s FT catalyst which will be supplied with the
full-scale FT reactors is now capable of being produced in
commercial quantities.

Market adoption
In order to minimise the risk of non-adoption of its
technology by the market, the Company for the most part
works with partners who are substantial players in their
fields and who have significant interest in developing the
technology commercially, as this would give them a
competitive advantage. The Company has developed a
substantial pipeline of opportunities which are being
progressed through its own business development team
as well as through its engineering partners. The Company
continually monitors and assesses the strength of this
pipeline. 

Personnel retention
The Company has in place policies designed to ensure it
attracts and retains key personnel. These include a
performance evaluation system, training, and incentive
and share option schemes.

External risks
The performance of Velocys is subject to macroeconomic
conditions and changes in external factors such as
interest and exchange rates, inflation, and oil and natural
gas prices. 

These risks are managed through monitoring and analysis
of the economic climate and the operating environment,
and by ensuring that Velocys has sufficient information to
develop a thorough understanding of potential impacts,
through which it can develop mitigating policies and
contingencies. Additionally, where possible Velocys looks
to ensure its contracts provide protection against adverse
external factors.

Funding
Velocys has transitioned from a development phase
under which its activities were supported in part through
partner-funded programmes to a commercialisation
phase which is financed from the Company’s own
resources. The costs and time required for this
commercialisation are uncertain and Velocys’ policy is to
ensure that it has sufficient resources in place to be able
to fully pursue commercialisation opportunities. The
Directors believe that by making use of the funds
obtained at the start of 2013, and with the addition of
funds in March 2014 noted in the Directors’ report, the
business is adequately funded for the foreseeable future.

The prices of oil and natural gas have a particular
relevance to future demand for those of the business’s
products that will provide solutions for the production of
oil substitutes using natural gas as a feedstock. It is
reasonable to expect that higher oil prices will improve
the economics of such products whilst higher natural gas
prices will have the opposite effect. However, Velocys
considers that there are numerous other drivers for future
demand including regulatory requirements, security of
supply, need for energy diversification, and specific local
economics, taxes and subsidies, which mean that oil and
gas prices are not the only significant factors, and are
therefore not an undue risk for the business.

Manufacturing
Velocys works with leading manufacturers of equipment
and catalysts to develop the manufacturing capability for
commercial sales of its products. By using manufacturing
partners with proven track-records in their respective
fields, rather than developing capability in-house, the
Directors consider that the manufacturing risk is
significantly reduced.

IP protection
The Company assigns significant resources through the IP
Director and external lawyers to enhancing and protecting
its IP, both in terms of patented and non-patented IP. In
addition to investment in an extensive patent portfolio,
the Company has processes to capture and manage
knowhow and other knowledge assets.

Financial risks
The activities of Velocys expose it to a number of financial
risks which are dealt with specifically below. The use of
financial derivatives is governed by policies, which
provide a set of written principles, approved by the Board
of Directors, for the management of these risks. At
present Velocys makes use of financial derivatives only in
respect of the foreign exchange exposure arising from
funding its US operations.

The financial instruments of the Company, including the
parent company, comprise cash and cash equivalents,
short-term investments, trade and other receivables, and
trade and other payables. The main purpose of these
financial instruments is to support the funding of
business activities. 

8

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013  

Creditors
The Company’s principal financial assets are cash, cash
equivalents and short-term investments, trade and other
receivables. The Company’s credit risk is primarily
attributable to its trade receivables, which are
concentrated in a small number of high value customer
accounts. The Company has policies to manage this risk,
including where applicable, carrying out relevant financial
checks on customers, requiring letters of credit or
advance payments.

The credit risk of liquid funds is limited to counterparties
(banks) with high credit ratings assigned by international
credit rating agencies. Velocys has a treasury policy
designed to ensure that cash, cash equivalents and
short-term investments are only placed with high credit
rated institutions and that the spread of such assets is
sufficient that it is not overly exposed to any one
institution.

Interest rates
Movements in interest rates affect Velocys which holds
cash balances and borrowings. As cash flows allow, a
proportion of interest bearing assets are held at fixed rate
to ensure certainty of interest income. All of the
business’s borrowings incur interest charges at a fixed
rate. 

Liquidity
Company policy is to maintain sufficient cash balances to
meet anticipated requirements to a medium term horizon.
Funds are placed on time deposits with other cash
balances held available for immediate withdrawal if
required.

Exchange rates
A significant part of Velocys’ activities are located in the
US and the funding requirements for these are
denominated in US dollars. Where possible, revenue is
receipted in US dollars, which acts as a natural hedge
against this exposure. To reduce uncertainty over the
impact of exchange rate movements, forward contracts
are taken out fixing the rate of exchange, and a proportion
of Velocys’ liquid assets is held in US dollar denominated
accounts. 

In the Company’s consolidated accounts, there are
significant US dollar denominated goodwill and acquired
intangible assets relating to the acquisition of the US
subsidiary. These balances are subject to exchange rate
fluctuations which result in movements in reserves;
however, the Directors do not consider it necessary to
hedge such exchange rate movements since they do not
have any impact on the cash position of the Company.

Capital management
Velocys’ objectives when managing capital are to
safeguard its ability to continue as a going concern in
order to provide returns for shareholders and benefits for
other stakeholders, and to maintain an optimal capital
structure to reduce the cost of capital.

The Company believes that at this stage of its
development, equity is the most suitable form of funding
for its activities and this forms the basis of the capital
that it manages. The Company’s objectives when
managing this capital are: to secure its ability to continue
as a going concern; to have sufficient funds to protect it
against unforeseen events and risks; to have sufficient
funds to enable the Company to address the
opportunities that can deliver future benefits to the
Company’s shareholders and provide them with a return
which rewards the risks undertaken.

This is accomplished through a planning process that
involves an annual strategy and risk review, annual
budgeting and regular re-forecasting. The Company
believes that it has sufficient cash and cash equivalents
to meet its capital management objectives. 

Future developments
The Board aims to continue its corporate strategies as set
out in the Chairman’s statement and Chief Executive’s
report.

Company development activities
The Company continues to invest in development. The
catalyst and microchannel technologies currently being
developed are expected to make significant contributions
to the growth of the business. The Directors regard
investment in development as important for success in
the medium to long term.

Approved by the Board and signed on its behalf by:

Roy Lipski
Chief Executive
26 March 2014

9

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Directors’ report

Business risks
A full explanation of the Company’s risks and its risk
management policies is made in the Strategic report.

Substantial shareholdings
On 6 March 2014, the Company had been notified of the
following holdings of 3% or more of the issued share
capital of Velocys plc.

Lansdowne Partners
Henderson Global
Investors
Invesco Asset
Management
Ruffer LLP
Baillie Gifford & Co Ltd
Ervington Investments
Limited

Number of
shares held
22,409,586

15,312,406

14,947,875
11,200,000
4,551,242

4,000,000

Percentage
of issued
share capital
19.25%

13.15%

12.84%
9.62%
3.91%

3.44%

Fund raising
On 11 December 2012, the Company announced the
successful conditional placing of shares to raise £29.3m
net of expenses. This placing was approved at a general
meeting of its shareholders on 3 January 2013 and the
shares were admitted to trading on AIM on 4 January
2013.

On 11 March 2014 the Company announced the
purchase of shares by Shiloh Industries Inc (“Shiloh”) as
part of a commercial partnership to manufacture the
Velocys FT reactor. Shiloh subscribed for 601,326 new
ordinary shares of 1 pence each at a price of 200p per
share.

Dividends
The Directors do not recommend any dividend for the
year ended 31 December 2013 (2012: nil).

Directors
The Directors of Velocys plc as at 31 December 2013,
who served throughout the year and up to the date of
approval of the financial statements, unless otherwise
indicated, were as follows:

Pierre Jungels (Non-executive Chairman)
Roy Lipski (Chief Executive)
Susan Robertson (Chief Financial Officer)
Paul Schubert (Chief Operating Officer, appointed 
1 July 2013)
Andrew Jamieson (Non-executive Director) 

Jan Verloop (Non-executive Director)
Sandy Shaw (Non-executive Director)
Julian West (Non-executive Director, appointed 1 July
2013)

All Directors are subject to election by shareholders at
the first opportunity after their appointment, and to re-
election thereafter at intervals of not more than three
years. At the 2014 annual general meeting the following
Directors will retire and offer themselves for re-election.

(cid:129)
(cid:129)

Paul Schubert
Julian West

Directors’ qualifying third party indemnity
provision
The Company maintains directors’ qualifying third party
indemnity insurance to provide cover for legal action
against its Directors. This has been in place throughout
the year and remains in place at the date of this report.

Directors’ interests
The Directors who held office at 31 December 2013 had
the following interests in the shares of parent company
undertakings (as recorded in the register of Directors’
interests and including those of the spouse or civil
partner and children under 18).

Velocys plc
Ordinary £0.01 shares

Name of Director
Pierre Jungels
Roy Lipski
Susan Robertson
Paul Schubert
Andrew Jamieson
Jan Verloop
Sandy Shaw
Julian West

31 December
2013
223,031
2,417,098
304,874
–
25,000
150,837
17,758
75,000

31 December
2012
223,031
2,417,098
304,874
–
25,000
150,837
–
–

Details of Directors’ share options and service contracts
are shown in the Directors’ remuneration report.

Annual general meeting
The annual general meeting of the Company will be held
at the Company’s Milton Park premises at 10.45am on
Tuesday 10 June 2014.

Auditors and disclosure of information to
auditors
Each of the persons who is a Director at the date of
approval of this report confirms that:

10

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

so far as the Director is aware, there is no relevant
audit information of which the Company’s auditors
are unaware; and

the Director has taken all the steps that he/she
ought to have taken as a Director in order to make
himself/herself aware of any relevant audit
information and to establish that the Company’s
auditors are aware of that information.

This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in
accordance with the provisions of s418 of the Companies
Act 2006.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP have expressed their
willingness to continue in office as auditors and a
resolution to reappoint them will be proposed at the
forthcoming annual general meeting.

Approved by the Board and signed on its behalf by:

Roy Lipski
Chief Executive
26 March 2014

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013  

11

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Corporate governance report

Corporate governance
Companies who have their securities traded on AIM are not required to comply with the principles and provisions of the UK
Corporate Governance Code (2010) and the amendments incorporated in the Corporate Governance Code (2012). The Board,
however, has determined that the Company should maintain high standards of corporate governance and whilst not fully
complying within this report with the UK Corporate Governance Code, including the full disclosure requirements, has adopted
procedures and has taken steps to adopt the underlying principles, in so far as appropriate given the size of the Company and
the nature of its operations. 

Board of Directors
The Company is controlled by the Board of Directors which comprises three Executives, one of whom is the Chief Executive,
and five Non-executive Directors. All of the Non-executive Directors are considered to be independent. The Company
terminated its business development consultancy arrangement with Andrew Jamieson at the end of 2012, although the
arrangement was not material in either the amount of time required from Dr Jamieson, nor in the amount of income that it
provided and was not considered to have any impact on his ability to be considered independent. The roles of Chief Executive
and Chairman are separate. All Directors are able to take independent advice to assist them in their duties if necessary. The
detailed biographies of all Directors are provided on the Company’s web site. 

The Board is responsible to shareholders for the proper management of Velocys and meets formally at least six times a year to
set the overall direction and strategy of the Company, to review operating and financial performance and to consider and
advise on senior management appointments. The Board also monitors and approves financial policy and budgets, including
capital expenditure. All key operational decisions are subject to Board approval. The Company Secretary is responsible for
ensuring that Board procedures are followed and that any and all applicable rules and regulations are complied with.

Directors are subject to election by shareholders at the first opportunity after their appointment. In addition, one third of
Directors are subject to retirement by rotation at each annual general meeting. The Board has introduced a process for
evaluating the effectiveness of the Board and its committees. This is by means of a questionnaire survey of all Board members
and other relevant senior executives.

Committees of the Board
Remuneration committee
The remuneration committee comprises the Non-executive Directors chaired by Sandy Shaw. This committee reviews, inter-
alia, the performance of the Executive Directors and sets the scale and structure of their remuneration and basis of their
service agreements, having due regard to the interests of shareholders. The remuneration committee also determines the
allocation of share options to Executive Directors. No Director has a service agreement exceeding one year.

One of the policies of the remuneration committee is that no individual participates in discussions or decisions concerning his
or her own remuneration. The Directors’ remuneration report is set out on pages 14 to 17.

Audit committee
The audit committee comprises the Non-executive Directors and is chaired by Dr Jan Verloop. Under its terms of reference it
meets at least twice a year, and amongst other duties it reviews the monitoring of the Company’s internal controls, accounting
policies and financial reporting, and provides a forum through which the external auditors report. It meets at least once a year
with the external auditors without Executive Directors present.

Nominations committee
The nominations committee consists of the Non-executive Directors, under the chairmanship of Dr Pierre Jungels. It meets at
least once a year, and amongst its other duties it reviews the composition of the Board and its succession planning, and keeps
under review the leadership needs of the Company with a view to ensuring the continued ability of the Company to compete
effectively in the marketplace.

Senior management team
The day-to-day management of the Company is overseen by the senior management team, consisting of the Executive
Directors and other senior managers, under the leadership of the Chief Executive.

Board and committee attendance at scheduled Board and committee meetings

Number of meetings held in 2013
Attendance* by:
− Pierre Jungels
− Roy Lipski
− Susan Robertson
− Paul Schubert
− Andrew Jamieson
− Jan Verloop
− Sandy Shaw
− Julian West

Board
7

100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

Audit
committee
3

Remuneration
committee
4

Nominations
committee
1

100%
n/a
n/a
n/a
100%
100%
100%
100%

100%
n/a
n/a
n/a
100%
100%
100%
100%

100%
n/a
n/a
n/a
100%
100%
100%
100%

The attendance percentage relates only to applicable meetings. In the case of Paul Schubert and Julian West this includes only those meetings
since their appointment on 1 July 2013.

*

12

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013  

Relations with shareholders
The Board considers effective communication with shareholders to be very important, and encourages regular
dialogue with investors. The Board responds promptly to questions received verbally or in writing. Directors regularly
attend meetings with shareholders and analysts throughout the year. Shareholders will be given at least 21 days’
notice of the annual general meeting, at which they will have the opportunity to discuss the Company’s developments
and performance.

The Company’s web site www.velocys.com contains full details of the Company’s activities, press releases and other
details, as well as a link to the relevant web page of the London Stock Exchange web site for share price details,
share trading activities and graphs, as well as Regulatory News Service (RNS) announcements.

Maintenance of a sound system of internal control
The Directors have overall responsibility for ensuring that the Company maintains a system of internal control to
provide them with reasonable assurance that the assets of the Company are safeguarded and that shareholders’
investments are protected. The system includes internal controls appropriate for a Company of the size of Velocys,
and covers financial, operational, compliance (including health and safety) and risk management. Such systems are
designed to manage, rather than eliminate, the risk of failure to achieve business objectives; any system can provide
only reasonable, and not absolute, assurance against material misstatement or loss. The process in place for
reviewing Velocys’ systems of internal control includes procedures designed to identify and evaluate failings and
weaknesses, and, in the case of any categorised as significant, procedures exist to ensure that necessary action is
taken to remedy the failings.

The Board has considered its policies with regard to internal controls as set out in the UK Corporate Governance Code
and undertakes assessments of the major areas of the business and methods used to monitor and control them. In
addition to financial risk, the review covers operational, commercial, regulatory and health and safety risks. The risk
review is an ongoing process with reviews being undertaken on a regular basis.

The key procedures designed to provide an effective system of internal controls that are operating up to the date of
sign-off of this report are set out below.

Control environment
There is an organisational structure with clearly defined lines of responsibility and delegation of accountability and
authority.

Risk management
The Company employs Directors and senior personnel with the appropriate knowledge and experience for a business
engaged in activities in its field of operations, and undertakes regular risk assessments and reviews of its activities.

Financial information
The Company prepares detailed budget and working capital projections which are approved annually by the Board
and are maintained and updated regularly throughout the year. Detailed management accounts and working capital
cash flows are prepared on a monthly basis and compared to budgets and projections to identify any significant
variances.

Management of liquid resources
The Board is risk averse when investing the Company’s surplus cash. The Company’s treasury management policy is
reviewed periodically, sets out strict procedures and limits on how surplus funds are invested.

The Board has considered it inappropriate to establish an internal audit function, given the size of the Company.
However, this decision will be reviewed as the operations of the Company develop.

Review of corporate governance disclosures
The Board has voluntarily complied with those principal Corporate Governance principles of the UK Corporate
Governance Code in so far as appropriate given the size of the Company and the nature of its operations. These have
not been formally reviewed by the Company’s auditors. The auditors’ responsibility extends only to reading this report
as a part of the Annual report and accounts and considering whether it is consistent with the audited financial
statements.

13

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Directors’ remuneration report

Introduction
It is not a requirement for companies that have securities listed on AIM to comply with the disclosure requirements of
Directors’ Remuneration Report Regulations 2013 or to comply with the UKLA Listing Rules and the disclosure
provisions under schedule 8 to SI 2008/410 of the Companies Act 2006; consequently certain disclosures are not
included below. The remuneration committee, however, is committed to maintaining high standards of corporate
governance and has taken steps to comply with the principles of best practice in so far as they can be applied
practically given the size of the Company and the nature of its operations.

Unaudited information
Remuneration report
The Board has applied the principles of good governance relating to Directors’ remuneration as described below.

Remuneration committee
The remuneration committee comprises the Non-executive Directors under the chairmanship of Sandy Shaw. The
committee’s constitution and operation is compliant with the provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code on
Corporate Governance. When setting its remuneration policy for Executive Directors, the committee gives
consideration to the provisions and principles of the UK Corporate Governance Code.

Remuneration policy for Executive Directors
The remuneration policy has been designed to ensure that Executive Directors receive appropriate incentive and
reward given their performance, responsibility and experience. When assessing this, the remuneration committee
looks to ensure that the policy aligns the interests of the Executive Directors with those of shareholders.

The Company’s remuneration policy for Executive Directors is to:

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

Consider the individual’s experience and the nature, complexity and responsibilities of their work in order to set a
competitive salary that attracts and retains management of the highest quality;

Link individual remuneration packages to the Company’s long-term performance through both bonus schemes
and share option plans;

Provide post-retirement benefits through payment into defined contribution pension schemes;

Provide employment related benefits including provision of life assurance and medical insurance.

Remuneration of Executive Directors
Executive Directors’ remuneration is considered annually. The current remuneration package is based on an external
review of Board and other senior executive remuneration commissioned by the remuneration committee in 2011. This
review looked at the overall composition of the remuneration and made recommendations based on benchmarking
with other companies similar in size, industry and stage of development. The basic components of this package are
set out below. The remuneration committee has commissioned a new external review by independent remuneration
experts to review the package for 2014 onwards. The results of this review have not yet concluded.

Base salary
The base salary is reviewed annually at the beginning of each year. The review process undertaken by the
remuneration committee has regard to the development of the Company and the contribution that individuals will
continue to make. Consideration is also given to the need to retain and motivate individuals, and available
information on the package levels in comparable organisations.

Annual performance incentive
All Executive Directors are eligible, at the discretion of the remuneration committee, for an annual bonus. The
remuneration committee sets targets for bonus awards at the beginning of each year. Awards are determined by both
the performance of the individual and the Company as a whole at the end of each year. The performance targets for
the Company comprise measures of certain financial, as well as technical and business development.

Pensions and other benefits
The Company contributes to individuals’ defined contribution pension plans.

Other benefits provided are life assurance, private medical insurance and relocation allowances where applicable. No
company car is provided, but Directors are paid an allowance for business miles travelled in accordance with HMRC
guidelines. In the case of Roy Lipski and Paul Schubert who are located in the USA, they are entitled to the standard
benefits provided to all of the Company’s US full-time employees under the medical plan.

14

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013  

During 2013, Roy Lipski relocated from Plain City, Ohio to Houston, Texas and the Company paid for the costs of
relocation for himself and his family, including housing rental costs for a defined period of time to facilitate this move.
Where these costs were taxable, the Company paid gross up costs. These costs are included in the other benefits
category in the analysis shown below.

ELTIP awards
Following the detailed remuneration review carried out in 2011 using external consultants, the remuneration
committee concluded that setting of performance conditions for a company at the stage of development of Velocys is
not appropriate. Therefore an ELTIP mechanism was introduced in 2011, where the remuneration committee may, at
its discretion at the start of each year set the maximum number of options to be awarded to each executive at the
start of the following year based on annual performance targets set for each executive. These awards will vest over a
three year period. Associated with the ELTIP, the remuneration committee also established a discretionary employee
benefit trust which shall facilitate ELTIPs granted and to be granted.

Remuneration policy for Non-executive Directors
The remuneration of the Non-executive Directors is determined by the Board as a whole, based on a review of current
practices in other equivalent companies. The Non-executive Directors do not receive any pension payments towards
private arrangements, nor do they participate in any of the bonus schemes. Fees are based on a fixed fee plus a fee
for additional consulting services, of which there were none in 2013.

The Non-executive Directors each have service agreements which are reviewed annually by the Board. All Non-
executive Directors retire by rotation and are re-elected every 3 years at the annual general meeting.

Audited information
Directors’ remuneration
The Directors’ received the following remuneration in relation to the year to 31 December 2013.

Name of Director
Executive
Roy Lipski *
Susan Robertson
Paul Schubert**

Salary and
fees
£

237,444
165,766
84,718

Non-executive
Pierre Jungels
Sandy Shaw
Andrew Jamieson ***
Jan Verloop
Julian West**

66,500
40,000
40,000
39,281
22,500

Aggregate emoluments 
and pension
contributions

696,209

Bonus
£

197,260
105,676
41,327

–
–
–
–
–

Other
benefits
£

106,313
929
5,728

2013

Pension
Totals contributions
£

£

541,017
272,371
131,773

14,050
11,547
4,890

–
–
–
–
–

66,500
40,000
40,000
39,281
22,500

–
–
–
–
–

2012
Totals
£

488,785
282,860
–

53,000
8,750
50,000
32,451
–

2012
Pension
£

13,555
11,266
–

–
–
–
–
–

344,263

112,970

1,153,442

30,487

915,846

24,821

*

**

Includes company reimbursed relocation costs associated with move to Houston as described above.

Includes only remuneration since date of appointment as a Director on 1 July 2013.

*** Up to the end of 2012 Dr Jamieson’s fees comprised two elements: a fixed fee for his work as a director of the Company and a variable
component for additional consultancy primarily related to business development paid under a separate service contract. This contract
provided for consultancy work to be paid at a rate of £1,500 per day and in addition, at the end of each service year (31 March) for each
day of consultancy, a number of share options were issued. This calculation was based on the number of shares equal to £500 per day
at the share price on the date of issue and with a strike price equal to the nominal share price. The options were immediately
exercisable and have an expiry date 10 years from date of grant. During 2013 3,390 options were granted in respect of the year ended
31 December 2012. This grant is included in the table of options below. No fees have been paid for 2013 and no further options will be
granted.

15

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Directors’ remuneration report (continued)

Directors’ share options
Aggregate emoluments disclosed above do not include any amounts for the value of the options to acquire ordinary
shares in Velocys plc granted to or held by the Directors. 

Details of all Directors’ shareholdings are disclosed on page 10 in the Directors’ report.

Details of all options held by the Directors at 31 December 2013 are as follows.

Name of Director

At 31
December
2012

Granted Exercised

Lapsed

At 31
December
2013

Exercise
price (£)

Earliest
date of
exercise

Exercisable
at 31
Date of December
2013

expiry

Roy Lipski
Bonus 2009
ELTIP 2008
ELTIP 2009
ELTIP 2011
ELTIP 2012
ELTIP 2012
ELTIP 2013
ELTIP 2013

Total

342,000
100,000
140,000
625,000
818,000
613,000

–
–
–
–
–
–
– 1,126,563
281,640
–

2,638,000 1,408,203

Susan Robertson
EMI
Bonus 2008
Bonus 2010
ELTIP 2009
ELTIP 2011
ELTIP 2012
ELTIP 2012
ELTIP 2013
ELTIP 2013

62,893
42,105
37,655
105,000
390,625
365,000
273,803
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
502,930
125,732

Total

1,277,081

628,662

Paul Schubert

EMI
ELTIP 2012
ELTIP 2012
ELTIP 2013
ELTIP 2013

Total

Andrew Jamieson

2010
2012
2013

Total

–
–
–
–
–

–

–
–
–
–
–

–

6,500
10,204
–

16,704

–
–
3,390

3,390

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–

–
–
–
–
–

–

–
–
–

–

–
342,000
–
100,000
–
140,000
–
625,000
–
818,000
613,000
–
– 1,126,563
281,640
–

– 4,046,203

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

62,893
42,105
37,655
105,000
390,625
365,000
273,803
502,930
125,732

– 1,905,743

–
–
–
–
–

320,513
119,000
52,600
502,930
125,733

– 1,120,776

–
–
–

–

6,500
10,204
3,390

20,094

0.01 31/03/10 31/03/20
0.01 24/01/11 19/11/18
0.01 31/01/12 04/11/19
0.58 20/09/11 20/09/21
0.49 01/01/15 01/02/22
0.49 01/01/12 01/02/22
1.59 01/01/16 12/04/23
1.59 12/04/13 12/04/23

342,000
100,000
140,000
625,000
–
408,666
–
93,880

1,709,546

1.59 29/10/10 01/04/18
0.01 31/03/09 31/03/19
0.01 20/03/11 20/03/21
0.01 31/01/12 21/11/19
0.01 20/09/11 20/09/21
0.49 01/01/15 01/02/22
0.49 01/01/12 01/02/22
1.59 01/01/16 12/04/23
1.59 12/04/13 12/04/23

0.56 04/10/14 04/10/21
0.49 01/01/15 01/02/22
0.49 01/01/12 01/02/22
1.59 01/01/16 12/04/23
1.59 12/04/13 12/04/23

0.01 31/03/11 31/03/21
0.01 20/04/12 19/04/22
0.01 01/05/13 05/01/23

62,893
42,105
37,655
105,000
390,625
–
182,536
–
41,911

862,725

–
–
23,066
–
41,911

64,977

6,500
10,204
3,390

20,094

The market price of the parent company’s shares as at 31 December 2013 was 145p (2012: 154p) and the range during
the year was 124p to 201p (2012: 40p to 163p). Details of options and the cost of such share-based payments are given
in note 13.

Dr Schubert’s options are unchanged from 1 July 2013 when he was appointed a Director.

16

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013  

Statement of Directors’ responsibilities

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

Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the
Directors have prepared the financial statements for the parent company (Velocys plc) and the Company (Velocys plc
and its subsidiaries) in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the
European Union. Under company law, the Directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are
satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the parent company, and of
the profit or loss of the Company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Directors are required
to:

(cid:129)

Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

(cid:129) Make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

State whether applicable IFRSs as adopted by the European Union have been followed, subject to any material
departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the
Company will continue in business.

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the
Company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and
of Velocys plc and enable them to ensure that the financial statements and the Directors’ remuneration report
comply with the Companies Act 2006 and, as regards the Company financial statements, Article 4 of the IAS
Regulation. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and of Velocys plc and hence for
taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

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

The Directors consider that the annual report and accounts, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and understandable
and provides the information necessary for shareholders to assess the Company’s performance, business model and
strategy.

On behalf of the Board

Roy Lipski
Chief Executive
26 March 2014

17

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Independent auditors’ report
to the members of Velocys plc

Report on the financial statements
Our opinion
In our opinion:

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

The financial statements, defined below, give a true and fair view of the state of the Company’s and of the parent
company’s affairs as at 31 December 2013 and of the Company’s loss and the Company’s and the parent
company’s cash flows for the year then ended;

The Company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union;

The parent company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union and as applied in accordance with the
provisions of the Companies Act 2006; and

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006
and Article 4 of the IAS Regulations.

This opinion is to be read in the context of what we say in the remainder of this report.

What we have audited
The Company financial statements and parent company financial statements (the “financial statements”), which are
prepared by Velocys plc, comprise: 

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

The consolidated and parent company statement of financial position as at 31 December 2013;

The consolidated income statement and statement of comprehensive income for the year then ended;

The consolidated and parent company statement of cash flows for the year then ended;

The consolidated and parent company statement of changes in equity for the year then ended;

The accounting policies; and

The notes to the financial statements, which include other explanatory information.

The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and IFRSs as adopted
by the European Union and, as regards the parent company financial statements, as applied in accordance with the
provisions of the Companies Act 2006.

In applying the financial reporting framework, the Directors have made a number of subjective judgements, for
example in respect of significant accounting estimates. In making such estimates, they have made assumptions and
considered future events.

Certain disclosures required by the financial reporting framework have been presented elsewhere in the Annual
report and accounts (the “Annual report”), rather than in the notes to the financial statements. These are cross-
referenced from the financial statements and are identified as audited.

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

(cid:129) Whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the Company’s and the parent company’s circumstances and

have been consistently applied and adequately disclosed; 

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

The reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by the Directors; and

The overall presentation of the financial statements. 

In addition, we read all the financial and non-financial information in the annual report to identify material
inconsistencies with the audited financial statements and to identify any information that is apparently materially

18

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013  

incorrect based on, or materially inconsistent with, the knowledge acquired by us in the course of performing the
audit. If we become aware of any apparent material misstatements or inconsistencies we consider the implications
for our report.

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion the information given in the Chairman’s statement, the Chief Executive’s report, the Strategic report,
the Directors’ report and the Directors’ remuneration report for the financial year for which the financial statements
are prepared is consistent with the financial statements.

Opinion on additional disclosures
Directors’ remuneration report
The parent company voluntarily prepares a Directors’ remuneration report in accordance with the provisions of the
Companies Act 2006. The Directors have requested that we audit the part of the Directors’ remuneration report
specified by the Companies Act 2006 to be audited as if the parent company were a quoted company.

In our opinion the part of the Directors’ remuneration report to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance
with the Companies Act 2006.

Other matters on which we are required to report by exception
Adequacy of accounting records and information and explanations received
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:

(cid:129) We have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

(cid:129)

(cid:129)

Adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent company, or returns adequate for our audit have
not been received from branches not visited by us; or

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

We have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility.

Directors’ remuneration
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion, certain disclosures of Directors’
remuneration specified by law are not made. We have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility. 

Responsibilities for the financial statements and the audit
Our responsibilities and those of the Directors
As explained more fully in the statement of Directors’ responsibilities, the Directors are responsible for the
preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view.

Our responsibility is to audit and express an opinion on the financial statements in accordance with applicable law
and ISAs (UK & Ireland). Those standards require us to comply with the Auditing Practices Board’s Ethical Standards
for Auditors.

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

Sam Taylor (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
Reading
26 March 2014

19

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Consolidated income statement
for the year ended 31 December 2013

Revenue
Cost of sales

Gross profit
Unfunded research and development costs

Share-based payments

Other administrative expenses

Total administrative expenses

Operating loss
Finance income

Finance costs

Other income

Finance income, net
Loss before income tax

Income tax credit

Loss for the financial year attributable to the 

owners of Velocys plc

Loss per share attributable to the 

owners of Velocys plc
Basic and diluted loss per share (pence)

Note

5

13

9

6

7

8

12

14

2013
£’000

4,753

(3,300)

1,453

(10,477)

(2,782)

(6,339)

(19,598)

(18,145)

419

(364)

58

113

(18,032)

1,111

2012

£’000

7,632

(4,769)

2,863

(7,088)

(1,341)

(5,369)

(13,798)

(10,935)

152

(53)

–

99

(10,836)

437

(16,921)

(10,399)

(14.60)

(11.47)

The notes on pages 28 to 53 are part of these consolidated financial statements.

The Company has elected to take the exemption under Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 to not present the
parent company income statement and statement of comprehensive income. The loss for the parent company for the
year was £6,322,000 (2012: loss £8,359,000).

20

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013  

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
for the year ended 31 December 2013

Loss for the year

Other comprehensive expense

Items that will be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss 

when specific conditions are met
Foreign currency translation differences

Total comprehensive expense for the year

The notes on pages 28 to 53 are part of these consolidated financial statements.

2013
£’000

(16,921)

(269)

(17,190)

2012

£’000

(10,399)

(1,269)

(11,668)

21

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Consolidated statement of financial position
as at 31 December 2013

Assets

Non-current assets
Intangible assets

Property, plant and equipment

Current assets
Trade and other receivables

Current income tax asset

Inventory

Short-term investments – funds held on deposit

Cash and cash equivalents

Total assets

Current liabilities
Trade and other payables

Borrowings

Non-current liabilities
Trade and other payables

Borrowings

Total liabilities

Net assets

Capital and reserves attributable to the owners of Velocys plc
Called up share capital

Share premium account

Merger reserve

Share-based payment reserve

Accumulated losses

Total equity

Note

15

16

18

19

20

20

21

23

22

23

25

25

2013
£’000

24,971

2,084

27,055

1,112

1,750

263

11,875

14,475

29,475

56,530

(6,284)

(104)

(6,388)

(232)

(1,192)

(1,424)

(7,812)

48,718

1,164

95,793

369

9,813

(58,421)

48,718

2012

£’000

25,205

1,896

27,101

1,592

600

330

–

9,451

11,973

39,074

(3,927)

(74)

(4,001)

(147)

(1,181)

(1,328)

(5,329)

33,745

914

66,662

369

7,031

(41,231)

33,745

The notes on pages 28 to 53 are part of these consolidated financial statements.

The financial statements on pages 20 to 53 were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on
26 March 2014. They were signed on its behalf by:

Susan Robertson
Chief Financial Officer

Company number 5712187

22

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013  

Velocys plc statement of financial position
as at 31 December 2013

Assets

Non-current assets
Investments

Current assets
Current income tax asset

Total assets

Net assets

Capital and reserves attributable to the owners
of Velocys plc
Called up share capital

Share premium account

Share-based payment reserve

Accumulated losses

Total equity

Note

17

25

25

2013
£’000

77,355

1,300

78,655

78,655

1,164

95,793

9,813

(28,115)

78,655

The notes on pages 28 to 53 are part of these consolidated financial statements.

The financial statements on pages 20 to 53 were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on
26 March 2014. They were signed on its behalf by:

Susan Robertson
Chief Financial Officer

Company number 5712187

2012

£’000

52,665

150

52,815

52,815

914

66,662

7,031

(21,792)

52,815

23

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Consolidated statement of changes in equity
as at 31 December 2013

Called up

share capital

£’000

902

Share Share-based

premium

account

£’000

65,270

payments

reserve

£’000

5,690

Merger Accumulated

reserve

£’000

losses

£’000

Total

equity

£’000

369

(29,563)

42,668

Balance at 1 January 2012

Comprehensive income
Loss for the year

Other comprehensive income
Foreign currency translation differences

Total comprehensive expense

Transactions with owners
Share-based payments – value of 

employee services

Proceeds from share issues

Total transactions with owners

Balance at 1 January 2013

Comprehensive income
Loss for the year

Other comprehensive income
Foreign currency translation differences

Total comprehensive expense

Transactions with owners
Share-based payments – value of 

employee services

Proceeds from share issues

Total transactions with owners

–

–

–

–

12

12

914

–

–

–

–

250

250

–

–

–

–

1,392

1,392

66,662

–

–

–

–

29,131

29,131

95,793

–

–

–

1,341

–

1,341

7,031

–

–

–

2,782

–

2,782

9,813

–

–

–

–

–

–

(10,399)

(10,399)

(1,269)

(1,269) 

(11,668)

(11,668)

–

–

–

1,341

1,404

2,745

369

(41,231)

33,745

–

–

–

–

–

–

(16,921)

(16,921)

(269)

(269)

(17,190)

(17,190)

–

–

–

2,782

29,381

32,163

48,718

Balance at 31 December 2013

1,164

369

(58,421)

The notes on pages 28 to 53 are part of these consolidated financial statements.

24

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013  

Velocys plc statement of changes in equity
as at 31 December 2013

Share Share-based

Called up

share capital

£’000

902

premium

account

£’000

65,270

payments Accumulated

Balance at 1 January 2012

Comprehensive income
Loss for the year

Total comprehensive expense

Transactions with owners
Share-based payments – value of employee services

Proceeds from share issues

Total transactions with owners

Balance at 1 January 2013

Comprehensive income
Loss for the year

Total comprehensive expense

Transactions with owners
Share-based payments – value of employee services

Proceeds from share issues

Total transactions with owners

Balance at 31 December 2013

–

–

–

12

12

914

–

–

–

250

250

1,164

–

–

–

1,392

1,392

66,662

–

–

–

29,131

29,131

95,793

The notes on pages 28 to 53 are part of these consolidated financial statements.

reserve

£’000

5,690

–

–

1,341

–

1,341

7,031

–

–

2,782

–

2,782

9,813

losses

£’000

Total

equity

£’000

(13,433)

58,429

(8,359)

(8,359)

–

–

–

(8,359)

(8,359)

1,341

1,404

2,745

(21,792)

52,815

(6,323)

(6,323)

–

–

–

(28,115)

(6,323)

(6,323)

2,782

29,381

32,163

78,655

25

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Consolidated statement of cash flows
for the year ended 31 December 2013

Cash flows from operating activities
Operating loss before taxation

Depreciation and amortisation

Share-based payments

Changes in working capital (excluding the effects of

exchange differences on consolidation)

– Trade and other receivables

– Trade and other payables

– Inventory

Taxes (paid) credit received

Other

Net cash used in operating activities

Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment

Purchase of intangible fixed assets

Interest received

Interest paid

Proceeds from sale of fixed assets

(Increase) decrease in funds placed on deposit 

Net cash (used in) from investing activities

Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds of issuance of ordinary shares

Increase (decrease) in borrowing

Net cash from financing activities

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

Exchange losses on cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

Note

16

15

20

23

20

The notes on pages 28 to 53 are part of these consolidated financial statements.

2013
£’000

(18,145)

878

2,782

702

2,594

62

(39)

6

(11,160)

(971)

(418)

197

(38)

52

(11,875)

(13,053)

29,381

70

29,451

5,238

9,451

(214)

14,475

2012

£’000

(10,935)

1,170

1,341

(234)

441

(34)

387

-

(7,864)

(696)

(358)

225

(53)

–

6,459

5,577

1,404

(63)

1,341

(946)

10,579

(182)

9,451

26

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013  

Velocys plc statement of cash flows
for the year ended 31 December 2013

Cash flows from operating activities
Loss before income tax

Movement in intercompany balances

Cash consumed by operations

Tax credit received

Net cash used in operating activities

Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds of issuance of ordinary shares

Net cash from financing activities

Net movement in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

The notes on pages 28 to 53 are part of these consolidated financial statements.

2013
£’000

(7,743)

(21,638)

(29,381)

–

(29,381)

29,381

29,391

–

–

–

2012

£’000

(8,320)

6,824

(1,496)

92

(1,404)

1,404

1,404

–

–

–

27

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Notes to the financial statements

1  General information

Velocys plc is a company incorporated in England and Wales and domiciled in England. It operates through its
subsidiaries Velocys, Inc. and Velocys Technologies Limited; collectively they are referred to in the Notes as the
“Company”, with Velocys plc as the “parent company”. The nature of the Company’s operations and its principal
activities are set out in the summary on the inside front cover and on the highlights page, the Directors’ report on
page 10 and in the Chairman’s statement and Chief Executive’s report on pages 2 to 4.

The parent company is a public limited company which is listed on AIM.

2  Accounting policies

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

Basis of preparation
The consolidated and parent company financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International
Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (IFRSs as adopted by the EU), IFRIC
Interpretations and the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under IFRS and Article 4 of the IAS
Regulation. The consolidated and parent company financial statements have been prepared under the historical
cost convention, as modified for fair value under IFRS 13 “Fair value measurement”.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires the use of certain critical accounting
estimates. It also requires management to exercise its judgement in the process of applying the Company’s
accounting policies. The areas involving a higher degree of judgement or complexity, or areas where assumptions
and estimates are significant to the consolidated financial statements, are disclosed in note 3.

Going concern
The Directors have at the time of approving the financial statements, a reasonable expectation that the Company
and the parent company have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable
future. Thus they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

Accounting developments
The following new standards, amendments to standards and interpretations are mandatory for the first time for
the financial year beginning 1 January 2013.

•

Amendment to IAS 1, “Financial statements presentation”, regarding other comprehensive income. The main
change resulting from these amendments is a requirement for entities to group items presented in ‘other
comprehensive income’ (OCI) on the basis of whether they are potentially reclassifiable to the profit or loss
subsequently.

The following new standards, amendments to standards and interpretations are mandatory for the first time for
the financial year beginning 1 January 2013, but are not currently relevant for the Company. 

Amendment to IAS 12, “Income taxes”, on deferred tax. This amendment introduces an exception to the
existing principle for the measurement of deferred tax assets or liabilities arising on investment property
measured at fair value. As a result of the amendments, SIC-21, “Income taxes – recovery of revalued non-
depreciable assets”, will no longer apply to investment properties carried at fair value. The amendment is not
effective until 1 January 2013. The Company does not hold any investment properties measured at fair value.

Amendment to IFRS 1, “First time adoption”, on government loans. This amendment addresses how a first
time adopter would account for a government loan with a below-market rate of interest when transitioning to
IFRS. This is not applicable to the Company.

Amendment to IFRS 7, “Financial instruments: Disclosures”, on offsetting financial assets and financial
liabilities. These new disclosures are intended to facilitate comparison between those entities that prepare
IFRS financial statements and those that prepare US GAAP financial statements. The standard is not
expected to have any impact on the Company.

IFRS 11, “Joint arrangements”, issued in May 2011. The standard is not applicable to the Company. 

•

•

•

•

28

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

•

•

•

•

IFRS 12, “Disclosures of interests in other entities” includes the disclosure requirements for all forms of
interests in other entities, including joint arrangements, associates, special purpose vehicles and other off
balance sheet vehicles. The standard is not applicable to the Company. 

IFRS 13, “Fair value measurement”, aims to improve consistency and reduce complexity by providing a precise
definition of fair value and a single source of fair value measurement and disclosure requirements for use
across IFRSs. The standard is not expected to have any impact on the Company.

IAS 27, “Separate financial statements”. This standard includes the provisions on separate financial
statements that are left after the control provisions of IAS 27 have been included in the new IFRS 10. The
standard will not impact the Company.

IAS 28, “Associates and joint ventures”. This standard includes the requirements for joint ventures, as well as
associates, to be equity accounted following the issue of IFRS 11. The standard is not applicable to the
Company.

The following new standards, amendments to standards and interpretations have been issued but were not
effective for the financial year beginning 1 January 2013 and have not been adopted early.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

IFRS 10, “Consolidated financial statements” builds on existing principles by identifying the concept of control
as the determining factor in whether an entity should be included within the consolidated financial
statements of the parent company. The standard is not applicable until 1 January 2014 but is available for
early adoption. The Company has assessed that this will not impact the entities which are consolidated. 

IFRS 9, “Financial instruments”, issued in December 2009. This addresses the classification and
measurement of financial assets. The standard is not applicable until 1 January 2015 but is available for early
adoption. The Company has assessed that this will not impact the accounting for its financial assets.

Amendment to IAS 32, “Financial instruments: Presentation”, on offsetting financial assets and financial
liabilities. This amendment updates the application guidance in IAS 32, “Financial instruments: Presentation”,
to clarify some of the requirements for offsetting financial assets and financial liabilities on the balance
sheet. This is applicable for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2014. This is not currently
relevant to the Company.

Amendments to IFRS 10, “Consolidated financial statements”, IFRS 12 and IAS 27 for investment entities.
These amendments mean that many funds and similar entities will be exempt from consolidating most of
their subsidiaries. This is applicable for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2014. This is not
currently relevant to the Company.

Amendment to IFRS 9, “Financial instruments” regarding general hedge accounting. These amendments bring
into effect a substantial overhaul of hedge accounting that will allow entities to better reflect their risk
management activities. The effective date is to be determined. This is not currently relevant to the Company.

Amendment to IAS 36 “Impairment of assets”. These amendments address the disclosure of information
about the recoverable amount of impaired assets if that amount is based on fair value less costs of disposal.
This is applicable for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2014.

IAS 39 “Financial instruments: Recognition and measurement’, on novation of derivatives and hedge
accounting. This is applicable for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2014. This is not
currently relevant to the Company.

Amendment to IAS 19 regarding defined benefit plans. The standard is not applicable to the Company as there
is no defined benefit pension scheme. This is applicable for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 July
2014.

IFRIC 21 “Levies”. This is applicable for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2014. This is not
currently relevant to the Company.

Financial risk management policies
Financial risk management policies are set forth in the Strategic report on pages 8-9.

29

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

Significant accounting policies
Consolidation – subsidiaries
The purchase method of accounting is used to account for the acquisition of subsidiaries by the Company. The
cost of an acquisition is measured as the fair value of the assets acquired, equity instruments issued and
liabilities incurred or assumed at the date of exchange plus, for acquisitions completed prior to 1 January 2010,
costs directly attributable to the acquisition. For acquisitions completed on or after 1 January 2010, directly
attributable costs are expensed. Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities and contingent liabilities assumed in a
business combination are measured initially at their fair values at the acquisition date, irrespective of the extent of
any minority interest. The excess of the cost of acquisition over the fair value of the parent company’s share of the
identifiable net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. If the cost of acquisition is less than the fair value of the
net assets of the subsidiary acquired, the difference is recognised directly in the income statement. Acquired
subsidiaries are consolidated from the date on which control of the subsidiary is transferred to the Company.

Intercompany transactions, balances and unrealised gains and losses on transactions between Company entities
are eliminated. Accounting policies of subsidiaries have been changed where necessary to ensure consistency
with the policies adopted by the Company.

Segment reporting
Operating segments are reported in a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided to the chief operating
decision-maker. The chief operating decision-maker, which is responsible for allocating resources and assessing
performance of the operating segments, has been identified as the Senior Management Team.

Foreign currency translation
Functional and presentation currency 
Items included in the financial statements of each of the Company’s entities are measured using the currency of
the primary economic environment in which the entity operates (‘the functional currency’). The consolidated
financial statements are presented in sterling (£), which is Velocys plc’s functional and the Company’s
presentation currency.

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 consolidated income statement. Foreign exchange gains and losses
that relate to borrowings and cash and cash equivalents are presented in the income statement within ‘finance
income’ or ‘finance costs’.

Entities within the Company 
The results and financial position of all the Company entities (none of which has the currency of a hyper-
inflationary economy) that have a functional currency different from the presentation currency are translated into
the presentation currency as follows:

1) Assets and liabilities for each balance sheet presented are translated at the closing rate at the date of that

balance sheet;

2)

Income and expenses for each income statement 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); and

3) All resulting exchange differences are recognised as a movement within equity.

On consolidation, exchange differences arising from the translation of the net investment in foreign operations are
taken to shareholders’ equity.

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.

30

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents includes cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term highly liquid
investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown
within borrowings in current liabilities on the balance sheet.

Bank accounts held which have an original maturity of more than three months, or which are subject to significant
restrictions over access, are not presented as cash and cash equivalents. Such amounts are shown separately as
short-term investments or other financial assets with appropriate disclosure of the related terms.

Inventory
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realisable value. Cost is determined on a first-in, first-out basis
and includes transport and handling costs. In the case of manufactured products, cost includes all direct
expenditure including production overheads. Where necessary, provision is made for obsolete, slow-moving and
defective inventories. Items purchased for use in research and development funded contracts are expensed to
that contract immediately, those held for own development are also expensed when acquired. Items purchased for
ongoing commercial sale are held in inventory and expensed when used or sold.

Leases
Leases in which a significant portion of the risks and rewards of ownership are retained by the lessor are classified
as operating leases. Payments made under operating leases (net of any incentives received from the lessor) are
charged to the income statement on a straight-line basis over the period of the lease.

The Company leases certain property, plant and equipment. Leases of property, plant and equipment where the
Company has substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership are classified as finance leases. Finance leases
are capitalised at the lease’s commencement at the lower of the fair value of the leased property and the present
value of the minimum lease payments.

Each lease payment is allocated between the liability and finance charges so as to achieve a constant rate on the
finance balance outstanding. The corresponding rental obligations, net of finance charges, are included in other
long-term payables. The interest element of the finance cost is also charged to the income statement over the
lease period so as to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability for each
period. The property, plant and equipment acquired under finance leases is depreciated over the shorter of the
useful life of the asset and the lease term.

Revenue recognition
Revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts
receivable for goods and services provided in the normal course of business, net of trade discounts, value added
tax and other sales related taxes and after eliminating sales within the Company.

Revenue from product sales is recognised when the significant risks and rewards of ownership of the goods have
passed to the buyer. This will be either on delivery of the goods or service, or over the manufacturing period, where
the right to consideration is accrued on a percentage of completion basis.

Revenue from development contracts is measured in accordance with the Company’s policy on development
contracts. Revenue on most development contracts is earned on a time and materials basis, supplemented by
milestones, and is recognised as the work is performed. In the situation where contracts are for fixed services and
value, where the outcome of a development contract can be estimated reliably, revenue and costs are recognised
by reference to the stage of completion of the contract activity at the balance sheet date. This is normally
measured by the proportion that costs incurred for work performed to date bear to the estimated total costs,
except where this would not be representative of the stage of completion.

Where the outcome of a development contract cannot be estimated reliably, contract revenue is recognised to the
extent of contract costs incurred where it is probable that they will be recoverable. Contract expenses are
recognised as costs in the year in which they are incurred. When it is probable that total contract costs will exceed
revenue, the total expected loss is recognised as an expense immediately.

Contracts for development work may include either upfront payments or milestone payments, payable on
successful attainment of defined milestones. Where upfront non-refundable payments are received on signing of
an agreement, such payments are deferred and amortised over the life of the agreement to which it relates. For
milestone payments, revenue is only recognised when the milestone has been successfully achieved and no
further obligations remain.

31

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Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

Revenue is recognised only when the collection of related receivables is probable. When uncertainty arises about
the collectability of an amount that has already been recorded in revenue, any provision required as a result of
that uncertainty is recognised as an expense and not a reduction in revenue.

Grants are recognised as income over the periods necessary to match them, on a systematic basis, with the costs
which they are intended to compensate. Grant income is not recognised until the conditions for their receipt have
been complied with and there is assurance that the grant will be received. 

Where a grant is received to fund the acquisition of property, plant and equipment, the income is deferred and
recognised over the useful economic life of the related asset.

Interest income is accrued on a time basis by reference to the principal outstanding and at the effective interest
rate applicable.

Recognition of revenue with regards to the commercial sale of FT reactors and catalyst is dependent on the terms
of the sales agreement.

Where a sales agreement requires the manufacture of a reactor to bespoke specifications, the right to revenue will
accrue over the manufacturing period. Revenue will be recognised based on a percentage completion basis
assessed against total costs associated with the manufacturing process.

Where a sales agreement requires the supply of a reactor from existing inventory, the right to recognise revenue is
only earned on supply of the reactor. Recognition will occur at the point when substantially all risk and reward
associated with the reactor has passed to the customer.

Intangible assets 
Licences
Purchased licences are capitalised at the present value of the minimum licence payments. Amortisation will
commence when related revenue starts to be earned and it will be charged in equal annual instalments over the
life of the patents to which the licences relate. Provision is made for any impairment.

Patents and trademarks
Patents and trademarks are included at cost less accumulated amortisation and amortised in equal annual
instalments over a period of 20 years, which is their estimated useful economic life. Provision is made for any
impairment. Where patent expenditure is funded by arrangements with development partners, the costs of such
patents are not capitalised, but are expensed as cost of sales.

Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of an acquisition over the fair value of the parent company’s share of
the identifiable net assets of the acquired subsidiary at the date of acquisition. Goodwill on acquisitions of
subsidiaries is included in ‘Intangible assets’. Goodwill is tested annually for impairment and carried at cost less
accumulated impairment losses. Impairment reviews are performed more frequently if events or changes in
circumstances indicate a potential impairment. Impairment losses on goodwill are not reversed. Gains and losses
on the disposal of an entity include the carrying amount of goodwill relating to the entity sold.

Goodwill is allocated to cash-generating units for the purpose of impairment testing. The allocation is made to
those cash-generating units or groups of cash-generating units that are expected to benefit from the business
combination in which the goodwill arose, identified according to operating segment.

Software
Purchased software is measured initially at cost and is amortised on a straight-line basis over its estimated useful
life of 3 years. Provision is made for any impairment.

In process technology 
In process technology consists of purchased intangibles and capitalised development costs and is carried at cost
less accumulated amortisation and impairment losses. When the development phase is completed, amortisation
of the intangibles will begin.

32

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Purchased intangibles
Purchased intangibles arose from the acquisition of Velocys, Inc. These purchased intangibles are valued using
discounted cash flow valuations of the projected future benefits arising from the technology acquired. See
“Impairment of non-financial assets” below.

Capitalised development costs 
Development costs are normally charged to the income statement in the year they are incurred except in those
circumstances where, during the development phase of a project, the Company is able to identify an intangible
asset and demonstrate that the asset will generate probable future economic benefits. In such cases, provided the
criteria defined under IAS 38 are met, then the costs are capitalised as in process technology. The costs in respect
of funded projects are recognised to the extent that the costs meet the relevant criteria, net of any amounts
reimbursed by research partners.

Development costs are amortised, from the point the asset is available for use in the manner intended by
management, on a straight-line time basis or other appropriate basis over the period of its expected benefit. See
“Impairment of non-financial assets” below.

Impairment of non-financial assets
Assets that have an indefinite useful life, for example goodwill and investments are not subject to amortisation
and are tested annually for impairment. Assets that are subject to amortisation are reviewed for impairment
whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. An
impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable
amount. The recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value less costs to sell and value in use. For the
purposes of assessing impairment, assets are grouped at the lowest levels for which there are separately
identifiable cash flows (cash-generating units). Non-financial assets other than goodwill that suffered an
impairment are reviewed for possible reversal of the impairment at each reporting date. Assets that are not yet
being amortised are reviewed for impairment on an annual basis.

Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment is stated at cost, net of depreciation and any provision for impairment. Cost
includes the original purchase price of the asset and the costs attributable to bringing the asset to its working
condition for its intended use. Depreciation is provided on all property, plant and equipment at rates calculated to
write off the cost or valuation, less estimated residual value, of each asset on a straight-line basis over its
expected useful life, as follows: plant and machinery, 3-5 years. No depreciation is provided on assets under
construction. Residual value is calculated on prices prevailing at the balance sheet date. Residual values and
useful lives are reviewed annually and adjusted, if appropriate, at each balance sheet date.

Expenditure funded by research partners is only capitalised where there are no significant rights acquired by that
third party over the asset and the asset has a clear enduring use beyond the specific funding project, these are
regularly reviewed.

Investments
Investments are shown at cost less provision for impairment. See “Impairment of non-financial assets” above.

Share-based payments
Velocys plc issues share options to certain Company employees, which are accounted for as equity settled. Equity
settled share-based payments are measured at fair value (excluding the effect of non market-based vesting
conditions) at the date of grant. The fair value, determined at the grant date of the equity settled share-based
payments, is expensed on a straight-line basis over the vesting period, based on the Company’s estimate of shares
that will eventually vest and adjusted for the effect of non market-based vesting conditions.

Fair value is measured by use of the Black-Scholes pricing model. The expected life used in the model has been
adjusted, based on management’s best estimate, for the effects of non-transferability, exercise restrictions, and
behavioural considerations. When options are exercised the proceeds received, net of attributable transaction
costs, are credited to share capital and premium.

The grant by the parent company of options on its equity instruments to employees of subsidiary undertakings is
treated as a capital contribution. The fair value of employee services received, measured by reference to the grant
date fair value, is recognised over the vesting period as an increase to investments in subsidiary undertakings with
a corresponding credit to equity.

33

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

At each balance sheet date, the Company revises its estimates of the number of options that are expected to vest.
It recognises the impact of the revision to original estimates, if any, in the profit and loss account with a
corresponding adjustment to reserves.

Short term employee benefits
Accruals are included to reflect the cost of short term compensation to employees for absences such as paid
leave.

Pension costs
The Company operates various defined contribution pension schemes for its employees. The amount charged to
the income statement in respect of pension costs and other post-retirement benefits is the sum of contributions
payable in the year. Differences between contributions payable and contributions actually paid are shown as
either accruals or prepayments in the balance sheet. The Company has no further payment obligations once the
contributions have been paid.

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

Deferred tax is recognised using the liability method, on temporary differences arising between the tax bases of
assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts in the consolidated financial statements. However, deferred 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 transaction affects neither accounting nor taxable profit or loss. Deferred income
tax is determined using tax rates (and laws) that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the balance sheet
date and are expected to apply when the related deferred income tax asset is realised or the deferred income tax
liability is settled.

Deferred income tax assets are recognised only to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profit will be
available against which the temporary differences can be utilised. Deferred income tax is provided on temporary
differences arising on investments in subsidiaries except where the timing of the reversal of the temporary
difference is controlled by the parent company and it is probable that the temporary difference will not reverse in
the foreseeable future.

Financial instruments 
Trade receivables
Trade receivables are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the
effective interest method, less provision for impairment. A provision for impairment of trade receivables is
established when there is objective evidence that the Company will not be able to collect all amounts due
according to the original terms of the receivables. Significant financial difficulties of the debtor, probability that
the debtor will enter bankruptcy or financial reorganisation, and default or delinquency in payments (more than 30
days overdue) are considered indicators that the trade receivable is impaired. The amount of the provision is the
difference between the asset’s carrying amount and the present value of estimated future cash flows, discounted
at the original effective interest rate. The carrying amount of the asset is reduced through the use of an allowance
account, and the amount of the loss is recognised in the income statement within ‘cost of sales’. When a trade
receivable is uncollectible, it is written off against the allowance account for trade receivables. Subsequent
recoveries of amounts previously written off are credited against ‘cost of sales’ in the income statement.

Trade payables 
Trade payables are stated at fair value and subsequently held at amortised cost.

Financial liabilities and equity instruments 
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual
arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of
the Company after deducting all of its liabilities.

Borrowings 
Interest bearing loans and overdrafts are initially recorded at fair value, taken as proceeds received net of direct
issue costs and thereafter at amortised cost. Finance charges, including premiums payable on settlement or
redemption and direct issue costs, are recognised in the income statement using the effective interest method

34

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

and are added to the carrying amount of the instrument to the extent that they are not settled in the period in
which they arise.

Provisions
Provisions are recognised when the Company has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of past
events, it is probable that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation, and the amount has
been reliably estimated. 

Provisions are measured at the present value of the expenditures expected to be required to settle the obligation
using a pre-tax rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to
the obligation. The increase in the provision due to passage of time is recognised as interest expense.

Derivative financial instruments
The Company enters into forward contracts and options to fund its US operations. Derivative financial instruments
are classified as current assets or current liabilities where they have a maturity period within 12 months. Where
derivative financial instruments have a maturity period greater than 12 months, they are classified within either
non-current assets or non-current liabilities. Financial assets and liabilities are initially recognised and
subsequently measured at fair value. The gain or loss on re-measurement to fair value is recognised immediately
in the income statement, in net finance income.

3  Critical accounting estimates and judgements

The preparation of financial information in conformity with IFRS requires the use of estimates and assumptions
that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the reporting date and the reported amounts of
revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Although these estimates are based on management’s best
knowledge of the amount, event or actions, actual results ultimately may differ from those estimates. The
estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing material adjustment to the carrying amounts of
assets and liabilities within the next financial period are discussed below.

Investments
The carrying value of investments is considered in the context of market capitalisation and future forecast
earnings.

Share-based payments
The fair value calculation of share-based payments requires several assumptions and estimates. Their details are
disclosed in note 13. Such assumptions and estimates could change and could affect the amount recorded.

Valuation of acquired intangible assets
Estimation of the fair values of acquired intangible assets requires assumptions as to value, future life and future
cash flows for impairment tests. There is a high degree of judgement required in making these assumptions which
impact both the initial fair value acquired and the carrying value as at the balance sheet date (see note 15).

At 31 December 2013, the carrying value of the Company’s intangible assets was £24,971,000 (2012: £25,205,000).
This carrying value includes no charge in 2013 (2012: nil). 

Revenue recognition and cost of sales
In order to recognise revenue, the fair value of each component of the Fischer-Tropsch process is identified; which
includes the sale of the reactor, an initial licence fee, the lease of catalyst, and ongoing engineering services. This
fair value will be based on the sales contract and historical actual data. 

Once the fair value of the components has been determined, revenue will then be recognised in line with the
underlying nature of the contract. Revenue for the reactor will be recognised over the construction period. Where
the fair value of the licence fee can be determined this will be recognised upon commencing the contract, if
however no reliable fair value can be determined any revenue associated with the licence fee will be deferred and
recognised in line with the reactor sales. Catalyst lease income will be recognised monthly whilst the service
element will be recognised when services are provided. 

Where the underlying costs associated with any component cannot be estimated, any profit element identified will
be deferred until such time as the costs can be reliably estimated. 

35

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

4  Segmental information

The chief operating decision-maker has been identified as the Senior Management Team (“SMT”). This committee
reviews the Company’s internal reporting in order to assess performance and allocate resources. Management has
determined the operating segments based on these reports.

The SMT considers that the business comprises a single activity which is the design and development of
technology for synthetic fuels production. The SMT reviews the Company’s profit or loss and its cash flows, assets
and liabilities on a company-wide basis. In carrying out these reviews, the SMT considers all material items of
income and expenditure that are directly attributable to individual development programmes. The internal
management reports do not allocate assets and liabilities or shared overheads to individual products or projects.

Based on the above considerations, there is considered to be one reportable segment, synthetic fuels. The
business is segmented on the basis that the key end use market is that of synthetic fuels production. At this stage,
the synthetic fuels segment represents over 90% of the business and therefore represents the only material
segment.

Internal and external reporting is on a consolidated basis, with purchases and sales between subsidiaries
eliminated on consolidation. Therefore, the segmental and financial information is the same as that set out in the
consolidated income statement, consolidated statement of comprehensive income, the consolidated statement of
financial position, the consolidated statement of cash flows and the consolidated statement of changes in equity.

The SMT assesses the performance of the operating segment based on a measure of operating loss.

The Company’s operating segment operates in three main geographical areas. Revenue is allocated based on the
country in which the customer is located.

Total revenue

Europe
£’000

45

2013

Americas
£’000

1,924

Asia Pacific
£’000

2,784

Europe
£’000

194

2012

Americas
£’000

3,329

Asia Pacific
£’000

4,109

Non-current assets, consisting primarily of goodwill, other intangible assets and property, plant and equipment,
totalling £26,039,000 (2012: £26,045,000) were located in the United States. All other non-current assets are held
in the United Kingdom.

5

Revenue from partners
The majority of revenue of the Company is derived from a small number of significant development partners, who
are not related parties. The total amounts recognised from partners where revenue comprises 10% or more of
Company revenue is as follows.

2013
£’000

2,783
1,835
135

4,753

2013
£’000

419
–

419

2012
£’000

4,031
–
3,601

7,632

2012
£’000

136
16

152

Partner 1
Partner 2
Partners less than 10%

Total

6

Finance income

Interest income on bank deposits
Foreign exchange gains

36

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

7

Finance costs

Unwinding of discount on deferred licence payments payable
Interest on finance leases
Interest on borrowings
Foreign exchange losses

8

Other income

Sale of fixed assets

9

Expenses by nature

Employee benefit expense (see note 11)
Sub-contractor and consultant costs
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment: owned (note 16)
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment: leased (note 16)
Amortisation of intangible assets (note 15)
Operating lease payments – plant and machinery
Operating lease payments – other
Patent and other IP costs
Materials expense
Other expenses

Total costs of sales, unfunded research and development costs, share-based 
payments and other administrative expenses

2013
£’000

20
11
27
306

364

2013
£’000

58

58

2013
£’000

11,217
1,664
703
37
138
7
413
1,213
4,077
3,429

22,898

10 Auditors’ remuneration

During the year the Company (including its overseas subsidiaries) obtained the following services from the
Company’s auditors.

Fees payable to Company’s auditors for the audit of parent company and
consolidated financial statements
Fees payable for the audit of Company’s subsidiaries pursuant to legislation
Fees payable to the Company’s auditors for other services
– Tax services

2013
£’000

25
59

18

102

2012
£’000

20
5
28
–

53

2012
£’000

–

–

2012
£’000

8,763
2,332
1,036
28
106
12
325
864
2,788
2,313

18,567

2012
£’000

23
48

24

95

37

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

11 Employee benefit expense

The average monthly number of Group employees (including the Executive Directors) was as follows.

Research, design and development
Administration

Total average headcount

Employees’ aggregate remuneration comprised the following costs.

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs
Severance expense
Share-based payments granted to Directors and employees

2013
Number

69
22

91

2013
£’000

7,719
504
207
5
2,782

11,217

2012
Number

60
19

79

2012
£’000

6,804
427
185
6
1,341

8,763

Details of Directors’ remuneration are given in the audited information in the remuneration report on pages 15-16
which forms part of these financial statements.

12 Income tax
Current tax
Due to the availability of losses incurred in the year, there is no charge to corporation tax. The Company has
accrued £1,150,000 in respect of R&D tax credit claims for the years ending 31 December 2012 and 2013 (2012:
£437,000 in respect of claims for years ending 31 December 2011 and 2012). A claim for the year ending 31
December 2012 was submitted to HMRC at the end of 2013. A tax charge of £39k was incurred in the US in respect
of 2012, and paid in the year.

Deferred tax
At 31 December 2013 the Company has a net unrecognised deferred tax asset of £14,860,000 (2012: £13,099,000)
arising from trading losses from incorporation. No recognition (2012: nil) of the net deferred tax asset has been
made at 31 December 2013 on the grounds of uncertainty over its recoverability in light of the Company’s nascent
revenue streams and commitment to continued investment in research and development and therefore there is no
impact on the current or prior year income statement.

Of this unrecognised deferred tax asset, £9,911,000 (2012: £7,301,000) is anticipated to remain available
indefinitely to offset against future taxable trading profits of the companies in which the losses arose. The
remainder has expiry dates between 2023 and 2033 (2012: 2023 and 2031).

The standard rate of corporation tax in the United Kingdom changed from 24% to 23% with effect from 1 April
2013. Accordingly, profits in the United Kingdom were taxed at an effective rate of 23.25%. Legislation to reduce
the main rate of corporation tax from 23% to 21% from 1 April 2014 was included in the Finance Act 2013,
substantively enacted on 17 July 2013, and consequently deferred tax balances have been remeasured. A further
reduction of the main rate to 20% is proposed to take effect from 1 April 2015. This further rate reduction had not
been substantively enacted at the balance sheet date and, therefore, is not included in these financial statements.
The impact of this further change is not expected to be material.

The actual tax charge for the current and previous year is higher (2012: higher) than the theoretical amount that
would arise using the weighted average tax rate applicable to the results of the consolidated entities, for the
reasons set out in the following reconciliation.

38

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Loss on ordinary activities before tax

Tax calculated at domestic tax rates applicable to losses in the 
respective countries

Tax effects of:
− Expenses not deductible for tax purposes
− Unutilised tax losses
− R&D tax credit relating to prior years
− R&D tax credit

Current tax credit for year (see above)

The weighted average applicable tax rate was 27.0% (2012: 24.0%).

13 Share-based payments

Equity settled share option scheme
The Company has four share option schemes that cover all employees.

2013
£’000

(18,145)

(4,875)

9
4,866
(236)
(875)

(1,111)

2012
£’000

(10,836)

(2,596)

36
2,560
163
(600)

(437)

EMI scheme
The EMI scheme covers all employees of the Company. Options are exercisable at a price equal to the mid-market
value of the parent company’s ordinary shares on the day prior to grant and vest after the earlier of three, four or
five years from grant or date of joining the Company. Options expire after 10 years and are forfeited if the
employee leaves the Company before the options vest.

Movements in the number of share options outstanding and their related weighted average exercise prices are as
follows.

At 1 January
Granted
Forfeited
Exercised

At 31 December

2013

2012

Weighted
average
exercise price

60.90p
145.45p
59.72p
63.43p

80.17p

Number of
options

3,351,010
903,200
(375,300)
(67,674)

3,811,236

Weighted
average
exercise price

62.33p
63.43p
68.08p
55.00p

60.90p

Number of
options

2,871,595
1,000,887
(339,654)
(181,818)

3,351,010

Of the 3,811,236 options outstanding at 31 December 2013, 191,740 were exercisable (2012: 106,545). The
weighted average exercise price of the exercisable shares was 95.38p (2012: 126.71p).

Share options outstanding at the end of the year have the following expiry dates and exercise prices.

Year of expiry

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2022

Total

Range of
exercise price

124.00p
159.00p
54.50p
52.77 – 69.00p
47.31 – 59.50p
43.67 – 156.00p
118.87 – 169.36p

43.67 – 169.36p 

2013

2012

Number of
options

16,129
62,893
12,523
100,195
2,091,296
638,200
890,000

3,811,236

Weighted
average
exercise price

124.00p
159.00p
119.78p
70.66p
55.29p
66.49p
145.15p

80.17p

Number of
options

16,129
62,893
27,523
152,869
2,431,796
659,800
–

3,351,010

Weighted
average
exercise price

124.00p
159.00p
54.50p
59.92p
56.36p
67.25p
–

60.90p

39

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

The weighted average fair value of options granted during the year determined using the Black-Scholes valuation
model was 38.21p (2012: 15.15p) per option. The significant inputs into the model were as follows.

Weighted average share price at grant date
Weighted average exercise price
Expected volatility (i)
Annual risk free rate
Dividend yield

Expected life

2013

145.45
145.45
30%
3%
0%

4.0 Years

2012

63.43p
63.43p
30%
3%
0%

3.0 Years

(i)

The expected volatility was determined by reference to comparable companies and review of historic actual volatility based on
statistical analysis of daily share prices since the date of Velocys plc’s listing on AIM.

Total expense recognised in the income statement for share options granted to Directors and employees was
£163,000 in 2013 (2012: £109,000).

Executive long-term incentive plan (ELTIP) 
The ELTIP scheme covers executives of the Company. Options are exercisable at a price of 1p or at a price equal to
the mid-market value of the parent company’s ordinary shares on the day prior to the grant. Options vest after a
period of one, two or three years from grant, expire after 10 years and are forfeited if the employee leaves the
Company before the options vest.

Movements in the number of share options outstanding and their related weighted average exercise prices are as
follows.

At 1 January
Granted
Forfeited

At 31 December

2013

2012

Weighted
average
exercise price

31.71p
–
–

31.71p

Number of
options

1,595,000
–
–

1,595,000

Weighted
average
exercise price

24.89p
–
0.01p

31.71p

Number of
options

2,050,000
–
(455,000)

1,595,000

Of the 1,595,000 options outstanding at 31 December 2013, 1,595,000 were exercisable (2012: 1,178,334). The
weighted average exercise price of the exercisable shares was 31.71p (2012: 28.71p).

Share options outstanding at the end of the year have the following expiry dates and exercise prices.

Year of expiry

2018
2019
2021

Total

Range of
exercise price

1.00p
1.00p
1.00 – 58.00p

1.00 – 58.00p

2013

2012

Number of
options

100,000
245,000
1,250,000

1,595,000

Weighted
average
exercise price

1.00p
1.00p
40.19p

31.71p

Number of
options

100,000
245,000
1,250,000

1,595,000

Weighted
average
exercise price

1.00p
1.00p
40.19p

31.71p

No share options were issued in 2013 (2012: nil). Total expense recognised in the income statement for share
options granted to Directors and employees was £27,000 in 2013 (2012: £252,000).

The Company has set up a trust whereby the exercise value of the options may be paid to executives when options
are exercised. The exercise value of the options is accrued in the share based payment charge.

40

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

New executive long-term incentive plan (NELTIP) 
Under the NELTIP scheme 3,052,222 share options were granted to executives of the Company in April 2013 after
certain performance conditions relating to the year ended 31 December 2012 were satisfied. The fair value of the
share options was recognised from the commencement of the performance related period to the date of vesting.
Options will be granted in April 2014 in respect of the year ended 31 December 2013 subject to performance
conditions being met.

Options are exercisable at a price either equal to the mid-market value of the parent company’s ordinary shares on
the day prior to the grant or to the nominal value of the shares. Options vest immediately or after a period of one,
two or three years from grant, they expire after 10 years and are forfeited if the employee leaves the Company
before the options vest.

Movements in the number of share options outstanding and their related weighted average exercise prices are as
follows.

At 1 January
Granted
Forfeited
Exercised

At 31 December

2013

2012

Weighted average
exercise price

Number of Weighted average
exercise price

options

49.00p
159.00p
–
49.00p

108.92p

2,587,103
3,052,222
–
(36,000)

5,603,325

49.00p 
–
–
–

49.00p

Number of
options

2,587,103
–
–
–

2,587,103

Of the 5,603,325 options outstanding at 31 December 2013, 906,215 were exercisable (2012: 369,367). The
weighted average exercise price of the exercisable shares was 73.70p (2012: 49.00p). Options for 2011 were
granted in 2011 whereas options for 2012 were granted in April 2013.

Share options outstanding at the end of the year have the following expiry dates and exercise prices.

Year of expiry

2022
2023

Total

Range of
exercise price

49.00p
159.00p

49.00 – 159.00p

2013

2012

Number of
options

2,551,103
3,052,222

5,603,325

Weighted
average
exercise price

49.00p
159.00p

108.92p

Number of
options

2,587,103
–

2,587,103

Weighted
average
exercise price

49.00p
–

49.00p

No options had been granted under this scheme in respect of the financial year ending 31 December 2013,
however based on performance at this date it is anticipated that an award of up to 2,459,000 options will be made
in April 2014 under this scheme. The weighted average fair value of the options to be granted in respect of year
ended 31 December 2013 using the Black-Scholes valuation model is 100.91p (2012: 87.47p) per option. The
significant inputs into the model were as follows.

Weighted average share price at grant date
Weighted average exercise price
Expected volatility (i)
Annual risk free rate
Dividend yield

Expected life

2013*

159.00p
64.20p
30%
3%
0%

3.6 Years

2012

145.00p
64.17p
30%
3%
0%

3.0 Years

(i)

*

The expected volatility was determined by reference to comparable companies and review of historic actual volatility based on
statistical analysis of daily share prices since the date of Velocys plc’s listing on AIM.

These are in relation to share options that are to be granted in 2014 and are based on estimates. Next year’s accounts will be
adjusted to reflect the actual charge.

41

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

Total expense recognised in the income statement for share options granted to Directors and employees was
£1,452,000 in 2013 (2012: 260,000). In addition, an expense of £849,000 relating to shares yet to be granted for the
year ended 31 December 2013 has been accrued within the share-based payments charge (2012: £597,000).

The Company has set up a trust whereby the exercise value of the options may be paid to executives when options
are exercised. The exercise value of the options is accrued in the share based payment charge.

Velocys scheme 
The Velocys, Inc. Stock compensation plan (“Pre-acquisition scheme”) was acquired as part of the acquisition of
Velocys, Inc. by Velocys plc, formerly Oxford Catalysts Group PLC, on 20 November 2008. The scheme was started
in 2001 and covers all US based employees. Prior to the acquisition, Velocys, Inc.’s board of directors granted non-
qualified share options to employees with expiry 10 years from grant date. The options’ exercise price was equal to
the stock’s fair market value at the date of grant. Options are forfeited if an employee leaves the Company.
Generally, options vest as follows.

After 1 year of service from vest start date:
Each month subsequent to 1 year of service:

25% of grant
1/48th of grant

Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the acquisition of Velocys, Inc., each vested and unvested Pre-acquisition
scheme option existing on the acquisition date was converted into 0.3659 of a Velocys plc, then Oxford Catalysts
Group PLC, option (the ratio of the value of one share of Velocys, Inc. stock to one share of Velocys plc, formerly
Oxford Catalysts Group PLC stock) with a corresponding increase to the exercise price. Share options are
exercisable in US dollars.

During 2011, the Company reviewed employee incentives and concluded that the Pre-acquisition scheme options
did not provide the intended incentive or retention value for its employees due to significant shifts in the market
price since the original grants. Consequently, holders of these options were offered the opportunity to forfeit their
options and have new options issued. All such new issues vest in three years and expire 10 years from date of
grant.

Details of the share options outstanding under the Pre-acquisition scheme are as follows.

At 1 January
Forfeited
Exercised

At 31 December

2013

2012

Weighted average
exercise price

Number of Weighted average
exercise price

options

$0.94
$1.10
$0.77

$0.95

344,291
(61,976)
(79,900)

202,415

$0.97
$1.11
$0.77

$0.94

Number of
options

565,382
(128,698)
(92,393)

344,291

Of the options outstanding presented above, 70,536 (2012: 171,872) were exercisable as of 31 December 2013.
The weighted average share price of the exercisable shares was $0.99 (2012: $0.94).

Share options outstanding at the end of the year have the following expiry dates and exercise prices.

Year of expiry

2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2021

Total

Range of
exercise price
per share

$0.77
$0.77
$0.77
$2.21 – $2.22
$2.21 – $2.54
$0.93

$0.77 – $2.54

2013

Weighted
average
exercise price

–
$0.77
$0.77
–
$2.45
$0.93

$0.95

Number of
options

–
951
60,367
–
9,218
131,879

202,415

2012

Weighted
average
exercise price

$0.77
$0.77
$0.77
$2.21
$2.45
$0.93

$0.94

Number of
options

70,161
951
81,702
9,840
9,218
172,419

344,291

Total expense recognised in the income statement for share options granted under the Velocys, Inc. plan was
£4,000 (2012: £4,000).

42

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Bonus shares
The Company previously maintained two bonus share schemes for certain executives: one in respect of employees
of Velocys Technologies Limited and one in respect of employees of Velocys, Inc. Under both schemes, the value of
the bonus was based upon the executive’s salary as well as the Company and the executive achieving certain
targets throughout the year. No awards will be made under these schemes during, or in respect of, 2013.

The Velocys Technologies Limited bonus share scheme awarded nominal value share options (1p) that were issued
after year end. The awards vested on the date of grant and expire 10 years thereafter. As there are no awards
under this scheme for 2013, the share-based payment expense for the year includes no cost in 2013 (2012: nil) for
the Velocys Technologies Limited bonus share options. Details of the bonus shares outstanding under the Velocys
Technologies Limited bonus share scheme are as follows.

At 1 January
Adjustment

At 31 December

2013

2012

Exercise
price

1p
–

1p

Number of
options

421,760
–

421,760

Exercise
price

1p
1p

1p

Number of
options

384,105
37,655

421,760

The adjustment was in respect of shares granted on 21 March 2011.

Velocys Technologies Limited bonus share options outstanding at the end of the year have the following expiry
dates.

Year of Expiry

2019
2020
2021

Total

Exercise 
price

1p
1p
1p

1p

2013
Number of
options

42,105
342,000
37,655

421,760

2012
Number of
options

42,105
342,000
37,655

421,760

The Velocys, Inc. bonus share scheme consists of deferred shares awarded subsequent to year end at a nominal
price of 1p. 20% of the award is granted on each anniversary of the date of award. Shares remaining to be granted
in future years totalled 16,418. Bonus share awards in 2013 were nil.

The share-based payment expense for the year includes no cost in 2013 (2012: £ nil) relating to shares granted
under the Velocys, Inc. bonus share scheme.

Other share options
Since 2011 the Board has approved the granting of share options to a small number of consultants who provide a
strategic service to the business.

Movements in the number of share options outstanding and their related weighted average exercise prices are as
follows.

At 1 January
Granted
Forfeited
Exercised

At 31 December

2013

2012

Weighted average
exercise price

Number of Weighted average
exercise price

options

Number of
options

23.37p
21.44p
1.00p
1.00p

58.38p

527,054
75,210
(70,000)
(300,000)

232,264

81.28p
1.00p
–
–

23.37p

146,850
380,204
–
–

527,054

Of the 232,264 options outstanding at 31 December 2013, 189,944 were exercisable (2012: 16,704). The weighted
average exercise price of the exercisable shares was 72.65p (2012: 1.00p). A further 21,375 options will be granted

43

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

to consultants at the start of 2014 in respect of the year ended 31 December 2013. The weighted average exercise
price of these options is 145.25p.

Share options outstanding at the end of the year have the following expiry dates and exercise prices.

Year of expiry

2021
2022
2023

Total

Range of
exercise price

1.00 – 85.00p
1.00p
1.00 – 53.10p

1.00 – 85.00p

2013

Weighted
average
exercise price

81.28p
39.71p
1.00p

58.38p

Number of
options

146,850
10,204
75,210

232,264

2012

Weighted
average
exercise price

81.28p
1.00p
–

23.37p

Number of
options

146,850
380,204
–

527,054

The weighted average fair value of options granted during the year determined using the Black-Scholes valuation
model was 126.43p (2012: 71.38p) per option. The weighted average fair value of options to be granted in 2014 in
respect of 2013 was estimated to be 176.00p per option. The significant inputs into the model were as follows.

Weighted average share price at grant date
Weighted average exercise price
Expected volatility (i)
Annual risk free rate
Dividend yield

Expected life

2013

147.85p
21.44p
30%
3%
0%

2012

78.40p
4.75p
30%
3%
0%

0.8 Years

3.0 Years

(i)

The expected volatility was determined by reference to comparable companies and review of historic actual volatility based on
statistical analysis of daily share prices since the date of Velocys plc’s listing on AIM.

The share-based payment expense for the year includes a cost of £249,000 (2012: £101,000) related to options
granted to consultants. An expense of £38,000 relating to the year ended 31 December 2013 has been accrued
within the share-based payment charge.

Share-based payments charge
The total charge for share-based payments during the year was £2,782,000 (2012: £1,341,000) of which
£1,786,000 (2012: £842,000) relates to options granted to Directors and the remainder to other employees.

14 Loss per share

The basic loss per share is calculated by dividing the loss attributable to owners of the parent company by the
weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year.

Loss attributable to owners of Velocys plc (£’000s)
Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue

Basic and diluted loss per share (pence)

2013

(16,921)
115,929,849

(14.60)

2012

(10,399)
90,659,989

(11.47)

Diluted loss per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of shares in issue to assume
conversion of all potential dilutive shares. Share options have not been included in the number of shares used for
the purpose of calculating diluted loss per share since these would be anti-dilutive for the period presented. There
are no other potentially dilutive instruments. Details of share options are given in note 13.

44

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

15 Intangible assets

Company
2013

Cost
At 1 January 2013
Additions
Foreign exchange movement

At 31 December 2013

Accumulated amortisation
At 1 January 2013
Charge for the year
Foreign exchange movement

At 31 December 2013

Net book amount
At 31 December 2013

2012

Cost
At 1 January 2012
Additions
Foreign exchange movement

At 31 December 2012

Accumulated amortisation
At 1 January 2012
Charge for the year
Foreign exchange movement

At 31 December 2012

Net book amount
At 31 December 2012

Goodwill
£’000

In-process
technology
£’000

Patents,
licence and
trademarks
£’000

Software
£’000

4,147
–
(85)

4,062

–
–
–

–

19,844
–
(404)

19,440

–
–
–

–

1,454
328
(30)

1,752

277
114
(9)

382

4,062

19,440

1,370

128
90
(7)

211

91
24
(3)

112

99

Goodwill
£’000

In-process
technology
£’000

Patents,
licence and
trademarks
£’000

Software
£’000

4,334
–
(187)

4,147

–
–
–

–

20,738
–
(894)

19,844

–
–
–

–

1,152
337
(35)

1,454

188
93
(4)

277

4,147

19,844

1,177

112
21
(5)

128

82
13
(4)

91

37

Total
£’000

25,573
418
(526)

25,465

368
138
(12)

494

24,971

Total
£’000

26,336
358
(1,121)

25,573

270
106
(8)

368

25,205

In-process technology is yet to be brought into use and hence is not being amortised.

Intangible assets in use are amortised over their expected useful lives and are reviewed when there is an
indication that impairment may have occurred.

Goodwill and in-process technology intangible assets that are not yet ready for use are subject to an annual
impairment review. The impairment review for in-process technology is performed for each Cash Generating Unit
(CGU) identified in accordance with the Company’s accounting policy. It has been determined that there are six
CGUs, each representing a separate technology stream for which distinct revenue streams are either being
currently generated or are anticipated in the future.

Goodwill originates entirely from the acquisition of the Velocys Inc. subsidiary in 2008. It is not possible to allocate
goodwill to each individual CGU as goodwill is considered to relate to the synthetic fuel group of CGUs as a whole.
This group represents an operating segment as described in further detail within the segmental disclosures in
note 4. Five of the six in-process technology CGUs are included within this segment which represents over 95% of
the total value of intangible assets. 

An impairment test is a comparison of the carrying value of the assets of the CGU (or group of CGUs for goodwill)
with their recoverable amount. Where the recoverable amount is less than the carrying value, an impairment
results. The Company has carried out its annual impairment testing at 31 December each year. The recoverable
amounts of the CGUs are determined based on the value in use (VIU) calculations for all but one of the technology
streams, which due to the stage of its development has been measured at the estimated fair value less cost to
sell. The VIU calculation is based upon the estimated discounted future cash flows to be generated by the
respective technology stream.

45

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

Key assumptions
The key assumptions in the VIU calculations are the discount rate applied and sales and gross margin forecasts
for the period of the expected useful life of the technology.

Sales and gross margin forecasts
Future sales forecasts are based upon the commercialisation of the Company’s technology in what is an emerging
and nascent market. Forecast sales and gross margin levels are therefore dependent upon speed of uptake of the
Company’s technology, the size of the markets and the penetration achieved in those markets.

In all cases the approved budget for the following financial year forms the initial basis for the forecasts. Growth
rate assumptions have then been applied to revenue for periods of between 6 and 7 years for each CGU. Revenue
growth beyond this period has not been assumed in the VIU calculations as it is difficult at this stage to assess a
long term growth rate. An expected useful life for each technology stream has been estimated at 15 years in each
case.

Discount rate
The discount rate applied to each CGU represents a post-tax rate that reflects market assessment of the time
value of money at the balance sheet date and the risks specific to each CGU. The pre-tax discount rates applied to
each CGU are between 25% and 30% (2012: 25% and 30%).

Summary of results
During the year, goodwill and in-process technology intangible assets were tested for impairment with no
impairment charge resulting (2012: nil).

The forecasts used in the impairment review as at 31 December 2013 indicate significant headroom when
comparing recoverable amount against carrying value. However, given the early stage of adoption there remains a
significant level of judgment involved in making the assumptions for revenues and margins.

Amortisation of intangible assets is charged to other administrative expenses in the consolidated income
statement. Under no reasonable scenario is an impairment expected to arise.

Parent company
The parent company has no intangible assets (2012: nil).

46

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Assets under
construction
£’000

Plant and
machinery
£’000

200
418
–
(456)
(2)

160

–
–
–
–

–

160

6,264
553
(185)
456
(135)

6,953

4,568
740
(185)
(94)

5,029

1,924

Assets under
construction
£’000

Plant and
machinery
£’000

9
260
–
(64)
(5)

200

–
–
–
–

–

200

6,171
436
(189)
64
(218)

6,264

3,850
1,064
(186)
(160)

4,568

1,696

Total
£’000

6,464
971
(185)
–
(137)

7,113

4,568
740
(185)
(94)

5,029

2,084

Total
£’000

6,180
696
(189)
–
(223)

6,464

3,850
1,064
(186)
(160)

4,568

1,896

16 Property, plant and equipment

Company
2013

Cost
At 1 January 2013
Additions
Disposals
Transfers to plant and machinery
Foreign exchange

At 31 December 2013

Accumulated depreciation
At 1 January 2013
Charge for the year
Disposals
Foreign exchange

At 31 December 2013

Net book amount
At 31 December 2013

2012

Cost or valuation
At 1 January 2012
Additions
Disposals
Transfers to plant and machinery
Foreign exchange

At 31 December 2012

Accumulated depreciation
At 1 January 2012
Charge for the year
Disposals
Foreign exchange

At 31 December 2012

Net book amount
At 31 December 2012

The net book amount of leased assets included above is £162,000 (2012: £40,000). Depreciation is charged to
other administrative expenses in the consolidated income statement.

Parent company
The parent company has no property, plant or equipment (2012: nil).

As at 31 December 2013, the Company had entered into contractual commitments for the acquisition of property,
plant and equipment amounting to £24,000 (2012: £38,000).

47

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

17 Investments

Capital
Loan to contributions to
subsidiaries
£’000

subsidiaries
£’000

Total
investment in
subsidiaries
£’000

Capital
Loan to contributions to
subsidiaries
£’000

subsidiaries
£’000

Total
investment
in subsidiaries
£’000

Velocys plc 

2013

2012

Investment in
subsidiaries
At 1 January
Movement in loans
Capital contributions
Foreign exchange

At 31 December

26,040
23,858
–
(1,950)

47,948

26,625
–
2,782
–

29,407

52,665
23,858
2,782
(1,950)

77,355

32,995
(6,667)
–
(288)

26,040

25,284
–
1,341
–

26,625

58,279
(6,667)
1,341
(288)

52,665

The Directors believe the carrying value of the investments is supported by their expected future cash flows.
Investments include long term loans to both Velocys, Inc. and Velocys Technologies Limited. Investments are
stated at cost.

The parent company has investments in the following subsidiary undertakings.

Subsidiary undertakings

Country of
incorporation or principal
business address

Velocys Technologies Limited

England and Wales

Principal activity

Design and development of
catalysts, and exploitation of
platform catalyst technologies

Velocys, Inc.

Delaware, USA

Design, development and exploitation
of its microchannel technologies

The parent company has investments in the following dormant subsidiaries.

% Holding
(all ordinary
share capital)

100

100

Dormant subsidiary

Incorporated

Principal activity

% Holding

Oxford Catalysts UK Limited

England and Wales (07671880)

Oxford Catalysts Trustees Limited

England and Wales (07788054)

Dormant company

Dormant company

18 Trade and other receivables

Current
Trade receivables
Prepayments and accrued income
Other receivables

Company

2013
£’000

102
797
213

1,112

100%

100%

2012
£’000

772
401
419

1,592

The parent company had no trade and other receivables (2012: nil).

The fair value of trade and other receivables is not materially different to the book value above (2012: not
materially different). The majority of the trade receivables are due from large multinational groups and hold a low
credit risk. The maximum exposure to credit risk at the reporting date is the carrying value of each class of
receivable plus cash balances held. The Company does not hold any collateral as security (2012: nil).

48

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

As at 31 December 2013 Company trade receivables of £71,000 (2012: £58,000) were past due but not impaired.
These related to a number of partners for whom there is no history of default. The ageing analysis of these trade
receivables past the due date is as follows.

Up to 3 months

Company

2012
£’000

58

58

2013
£’000

71

71

The parent company had no trade and other receivables past due but not impaired (2012: nil).

Trade receivables outstanding at year end represent approximately 8 days’ sales (2012: 37 days).

The Company believes that the full amount of trade receivables recognised is recoverable after allowance has
been made for doubtful debts. At 31 December 2013, the parent company had no overdue trade receivables (2012:
nil). The other classes within trade and other receivables do not contain impaired assets (2012: nil).

The allowance for doubtful debt relates to two smaller companies who no longer appear to be in a position to pay.
Details of the allowance for doubtful debt are as follows:

Allowance for doubtful debt included in trade receivables

Provision
At 1 January

At 31 December

Trade and other receivables are denominated in the following currencies:

UK sterling
US dollars

19 Inventory

Raw materials and consumables
Finished goods

Total

The parent company has no inventory.

2013
£’000

90

90

2013
£’000

662
450

1,112

2013
£’000

–
263

263

2012
£’000

90

90

2012
£’000

307
1,285

1,592

2012
£’000

37
293

330

Company

49

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

20 Short term investments, cash and cash equivalents

Short term investments – funds held on deposit
Cash and cash equivalents

Total

Company

2012
£’000

–
9,451

9,451

2013
£’000

11,875
14,475

26,350

Under IFRS 7, cash held on term deposits of greater than 3 months has been classified as a short term investment.

All short term investments are in UK sterling denominated accounts. Cash and cash equivalents are held in both
US dollars and UK sterling denominated accounts as follows:

UK sterling denominated:

Short term investments – funds held on deposit
Cash and cash equivalents

US dollar denominated:

Cash and cash equivalents

The parent company has no cash or cash equivalents (2012: nil).

21 Trade and other payables: current

Trade payables
Other taxation and social security
Accruals
Deferred income

Company

Company

Company

2012
£’000

–
6,596

6,596

2012
£’000

2,855

2,855

2012
£’000

959
60
2,339
569

3,927

2013
£’000

11,875
8,813

20,688

2013
£’000

5,662

5,662

2013
£’000

1,526
65
3,863
830

6,284

The parent company has no current trade and other payables (2012: nil).

The fair values of trade and other payables are not considered to be materially different to their carrying values
based on discounted cash flows.

22 Trade and other payables: non-current

Accruals
Deferred licence payments

The parent company has no non-current trade and other payables (2012: nil).

Company

2012
£’000

5
142

147

2013
£’000

96
136

232

50

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

The deferred licence payments payable represents the discounted value of the minimum licence payments due
under the terms of a licence agreement between Velocys and Isis Innovation Ltd (Isis), the technology transfer
office of the University of Oxford. Under this agreement, Isis granted Velocys the worldwide rights for the duration
of the patents to certain intellectual property and is entitled to a royalty of 4% of direct sales and 11% of any
indirect sales incorporating the licensed intellectual property. In addition, there are certain minimum payments;
the first of these payments of £5,000 became payable in 2009. Thereafter, the minimum payment rose by £5,000
per annum for the next 3 years then remains at £20,000 (plus an inflation escalator) per annum for the remainder
of the contract. The discounted value of these payments is included in intangible assets. 

The fair values of trade and other payables are not considered to be materially different to their carrying values
based on discounted cash flows.

23 Borrowings

The parent company had no borrowings in 2013 (2012: nil). Maturity of borrowings for the Company is as follows.

Within 1 year
Within 2 to 5 years
Greater than 5 years

2013
£’000

104
969
223

1,296

Group

2012
£’000

74
730
451

1,255

On 1 December 2009, Velocys plc’s wholly owned subsidiary, Velocys, Inc. (Velocys) entered into a loan agreement
with the State of Ohio (the State) allowing Velocys to borrow up to $2.25 million to fund qualified capital projects.
Under this loan agreement a qualified capital project is one that is for research and development purposes, is
completed by 30 June 2010 (subsequently extended to 31 August 2012) and the costs of which are at least 25%
funded by Velocys. The interest rate for the loan is 2.00% per annum with a service fee of 0.25% of the principal
balance. The loan is repaid to the State using a blended payment schedule as follows:

•

•

For the first five years of the loan, the principal is paid in consecutive monthly instalments based upon an
original amortisation over 20 years with any interest accrued during that particular month;

For the remaining term of the loan, the principal is paid in consecutive monthly instalments based upon the
remaining term of the loan (5 years) with any interest accrued during that particular month.

The loan is secured by all plant and machinery acquired using the loan proceeds as well as a guarantee of
payment provided by the Company. The gross book value of the property secured is £1,994,000 (2012: £2,035,000).
The loan was fully drawn down in 2012. After repayments of principal, the amount outstanding on the loan as at
31 December 2013 is £1,134,000 (2012: £1,218,000). 

All remaining borrowings arise from finance lease obligations. The fair values of borrowings are not considered to
be materially different to their carrying values based on discounted cash flows.

24 Derivative financial instruments

The Company sells UK sterling and buys US dollars to fund its operations in the United States, for which purpose it
makes use of forward contracts and options. At 31 December 2013 the notional principal amounts of the
outstanding forward foreign exchange contracts were £4,000,000 (2012: nil), and the notional principal amount of
the outstanding forward foreign exchange option was £1,000,000 (2012: nil). All the outstanding contracts will
mature during 2014. Gains and losses against the US dollar exchange rate as at 31 December 2013 are recognised
in finance costs in the consolidated income statement and in current liabilities in the consolidated statement of
financial position.

51

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

25 Called up share capital

Company and parent company

At 1 January 2012
Employee share options scheme: shares issued
Equity investment by Ventech

At 31 December 2012
Employee share options scheme: shares issued
Fund raising January 2013

At 31 December 2013

Number of
shares
(thousands)

90,210
288
934

91,432
500
24,479

116,411

Ordinary
shares
£’000

902
3
9

914
5
245

1,164

Share
Premium
£’000

65,270
141
1,251

66,662
99
29,032

95,793

Velocys plc does not have an authorised share capital as this requirement was abolished under the Companies Act
2006 from 1 October 2010 and updates to the articles of association to bring these in line with the Companies Act
2006 were approved at the Company’s annual general meeting in June 2011.

A total of 11,702,661 (2012: 8,826,218) options to subscribe for ordinary shares of Velocys plc have been granted
and are outstanding at 31 December 2013 under the employee options schemes operated within the Company and
contracts for options granted to a limited number of consultants. Details are given in note 13.

In December 2012, the Company announced the placing of 24,479,300 shares at £1.25 per share to raise
£30 million (before expenses). This placing was approved at a general meeting of its shareholders on 3 January
2013 and the shares were admitted to trading on AIM on 4 January 2013.

26 Commitments

Capital commitments are disclosed in note 16.

Operating lease commitments
The Company leases various offices under non-cancellable operating lease agreements. The lease terms are
between 2 and 5 years and the majority of lease agreements are renewable at the end of the lease period at
market rate.

Future aggregate minimum lease payments under non-cancellable property leases:
– Within one year
– Between one and five years
– After more than five years

Future commitments under non-cancellable operating plant and equipment leases:
– Within one year
– Between one and five years

2013
£’000

377
1,478
842

2,697

2013
£’000

1
4

5

2012
£’000

267
1,428
1,017

2,712

2012
£’000

1
1

2

52

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Licence from Battelle
As part of the diligence requirements set forth in one of the licence agreements between Velocys, Inc., the
subsidiary acquired from The Battelle Memorial Institute (“Battelle”) in 2008, and Battelle, Velocys is required to
pay annual licence payments of $150,000 to Battelle for each of four separate fields of use commencing in the
year ending 30 September 2013. The future of the licence arrangement is the subject of current discussions with
Battelle, although licence payments will be required until expiration of the licence or until the Company decides to
allow the field of use to become non-exclusive. Battelle can, at its own discretion defer the licence requirements.
Since the licence payments remain at the discretion of the Company, they are not capitalised.

27 Pension arrangements

The Company operates a number of defined contribution schemes for which the pension cost charge for the year
amounted to £207,000 (2012: £185,000).

28 Related party transactions

There were no material related party transactions.

29 Contingent liabilities

In April 2010, Velocys Inc., a subsidiary of Velocys plc, filed a lawsuit in the US against Catacel Corp. (“Catacel”), a
supplier of catalysts to CompactGTL plc (“CompactGTL”), claiming infringement of several of the Company’s United
States patents. In October 2011, the judge in this case, found in favour of a sanctions motion against the other
side. A ruling on damages to be awarded to Velocys in relation to this is still pending at the date of these financial
statements. 

In response to this case, CompactGTL challenged the validity of eight patents in the US, one of which is included in
the infringement claim. As at the date of these financial statements, seven of these patents have already
successfully passed re-examination (including the one which is included in the infringement claim) and one is still
pending. In addition, CompactGTL filed a case in the UK courts challenging the validity of seven UK patents but did
not progress this case further. 

In March 2013, Velocys Inc. filed a case against CompactGTL in the UK courts alleging infringement of two of the
patents, which are among the seven UK patents previously challenged by CompactGTL. These patents are the UK
equivalent of three of the US patents referred to above that successfully passed re-examination in the US. It has
been agreed with the courts that the validity claims by CompactGTL for these two patents will be incorporated into
this case. 

Whilst the outcome of these cases is not certain, the Directors are confident of the Company’s infringement cases
against Catacel and CompactGTL, as well as the validity of those of its patents that are being challenged,
particularly in light of the successful re-examination record to date. Furthermore, the Directors consider that even
in the unlikely event of a successful challenge to the few remaining patents in question, this would have no
material detrimental impact on the Company’s business or the overall strength of its patent portfolio. 

Costs incurred to date relating to these cases have been expensed. However, given the nature of UK patent
challenges, should its case be unsuccessful, the Company may be liable for some of CompactGTL’s UK legal costs
(and vice versa). On this basis, no provision has been recognised in respect of this action.

53

163173 Project Velocys - R&A 2013 COVER_163173 Project Velocys - R&A 2013 COVER  02/05/2014  15:32  Page iv

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013 

Velocys (formerly Oxford Catalysts) enables modular gas-to-liquids (GTL) plants to convert
unconventional, remote and problem gas into valuable liquid fuels. Systems based on the
Company’s technology are significantly smaller than those using conventional technology, enabling
modular plants that can be deployed cost effectively in remote locations and on smaller fields than
is possible with competing systems. Together with world-class partners, Velocys provides complete
modular GTL solutions that address an untapped market of up to 25 million barrels of fuel a day.

Velocys plc is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE: VLS). The Company has
approximately 100 employees with facilities in Houston, Texas, USA and near Oxford, UK and
Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Directors, secretary and advisors to the Company

Velocys plc registration no.

5712187

Registered office

115e Olympic Avenue
Milton Park
Abingdon
Oxfordshire
OX14 4SA

Contents

Page

Directors

Chairman’s statement................................................................................................................................ 2
Chief Executive’s report ............................................................................................................................. 3
Strategic report........................................................................................................................................... 6
Directors’ report .......................................................................................................................................... 10
Corporate governance report..................................................................................................................... 12
Directors’ remuneration report ................................................................................................................. 14
Statement of directors’ responsibilities................................................................................................... 17
Independent auditors’ report..................................................................................................................... 18
Consolidated income statement  .............................................................................................................. 20
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income................................................................................ 21
Consolidated statement of financial position.......................................................................................... 22
Velocys plc statement of financial position ............................................................................................. 23
Consolidated statement of changes in equity ......................................................................................... 24
Velocys plc statement of changes in equity............................................................................................. 25
Consolidated statement of cash flows ..................................................................................................... 26
Velocys plc statement of cash flows......................................................................................................... 27
Notes to the financial statements ............................................................................................................ 28

Dr Pierre Jungels (Non-executive Chairman)
Roy Lipski (Chief Executive)
Susan Robertson (Chief Financial Officer)
Dr Paul F. Schubert (Chief Operating Officer)
Dr Andrew Jamieson (Non-executive Director)
Dr Jan Verloop (Non-executive Director)
Sandy Shaw (Non-executive Director)
Julian West (Non-executive Director)

Company secretary

Susan Robertson

Brokers & nominated
advisors

Numis Securities Limited
The London Stock Exchange Building
10 Paternoster Square
St Pauls
London EC4M 7LT

Registrars

Bankers

Capita Registrars Limited
The Registry
34 Beckenham Road
Beckenham
Kent BR3 4TU

Barclays Bank Plc
Wytham Court
11 West Way
Oxford OX2 0JB

Public relations

Chartered accountants and
statutory auditors

Lionsgate Communications Limited
First Floor, 29-30 St James’s St
London WC2A 1PB

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
One Reading Central
23 Forbury Road
Reading RG1 3JH

163173 Project Velocys - R&A 2013 COVER_163173 Project Velocys - R&A 2013 COVER  02/05/2014  15:32  Page ii

Velocys plc
115e Olympic Avenue
Milton Park
Abingdon
OX14 4SA
United Kingdom

Registered Number: 5712187 

Velocys plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2013

www.velocys.com