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Vita Life Sciences Limited

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FY2014 Annual Report · Vita Life Sciences Limited
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Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

 
Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

Velocys is the company at the forefront of smaller scale gas-to-liquids (GTL) that turns natural gas
or biomass into premium liquid products such as diesel and jet fuel. Smaller scale GTL adds value
to shale gas and bio-waste, and makes stranded or flared gas economic – an untapped market of
up to 25 million barrels per day.

Velocys technology, protected by over 900 patents, is specifically designed for smaller scales,
combining super-active catalysts with intensified reactor systems. The Company’s standardised
modular plants are easier to ship and faster to install, at lower risk, even in the most remote or
challenging locations. Together with world-class partners, Velocys works flexibly to unlock gas
resources of 15,000 to 150,000 mmbtu per day, allowing more companies to take advantage of
more opportunities.

Velocys plc is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE: VLS). The Company is
well capitalised and has a multi-disciplinary staff of over 100 operating from its commercial centre
in Houston, Texas, USA and technical facilities near Oxford, UK and Columbus, Ohio, USA. Its first
commercial plant, funded by Waste Management (NYSE: WM), NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) and
Ventech Engineers, is on track to enter commercial production in H1 2016.

Contents

Page

Chairman’s statement................................................................................................................................ 2
Chief executive’s report ............................................................................................................................. 3
Strategic report........................................................................................................................................... 5
Directors’ report .......................................................................................................................................... 10
Corporate governance report..................................................................................................................... 12
Directors’ remuneration report ................................................................................................................. 15
Statement of directors’ responsibilities................................................................................................... 19
Independent auditors’ report..................................................................................................................... 20
Consolidated income statement  .............................................................................................................. 22
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income................................................................................ 23
Consolidated statement of financial position.......................................................................................... 24
Velocys plc statement of financial position ............................................................................................. 25
Consolidated statement of changes in equity ......................................................................................... 26
Velocys plc statement of changes in equity............................................................................................. 27
Consolidated statement of cash flows ..................................................................................................... 28
Velocys plc statement of cash flows......................................................................................................... 29
Notes to the financial statements ............................................................................................................ 30

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014  

Highlights

• Formation of GTL joint venture with Waste Management, NRG Energy and Ventech
• First commercial plant under construction in Oklahoma, USA on schedule for commissioning in

H1 2016

• Acquisition of Pinto Energy and its 4,800 bpd Ashtabula GTL plant development targeting FID at

end 2015

• Sale of commercial reactor to CIS customer with delivery in progress
• Cemented manufacturing partnership with Shiloh Industries
• UK High Court ruled in favour of Velocys IP in litigation against CompactGTL 
• Revenue* of £1.7 million (FY 2013: £4.8 million) - first year with 100% commercial revenue
• £52 million raised before expenses in oversubscribed equity placing at £2.25 per share
• Cash** at period end of £59.8 million (FY 2013: £26.4 million) 

Roy Lipski, CEO of Velocys, said:

“2014 was one of the most successful years in the history of Velocys. With over $85 million of cash
on the balance sheet, the unwavering support of major partners and our first commercial plant
under construction, Velocys is poised to take advantage of the significant opportunities which
typically surface during times of market volatility such as these, and notwithstanding some
potential near term headwinds in the oil and gas industry, to establish an even stronger business
and market position. Interest in smaller scale GTL remains high and I look forward to achieving the
significant milestones ahead of us.”

*  Before exceptional items.
** Defined as cash, cash equivalents and short term investments (see note 23).

1

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Chairman’s statement
The era of smaller scale GTL is now here. The first commercial plant
incorporating our technology is under construction.

At a time when lower oil prices have created uncertainty
in the fuels industry, smaller scale GTL continues to have
a valuable role to play, driven by local needs to bring
stranded or wasted gas to market and by demand for its
clean premium products. Current market conditions
highlight the benefit of a technology that is designed for
smaller scales and can therefore access the specific
niches of value, typically sites with low- or negative-cost
feed stocks or high-value product opportunities where
the GTL arbitrage remains strong. 

Velocys is well positioned to move forward as a leader in
the market for smaller scale GTL. Its position has been
firmly established with the decision to proceed with
construction of the GTL JV’s plant in Oklahoma, USA. 

This facility will be our first commercial reference plant,
and I am delighted to report that it is advancing well and
remains on target for commissioning in H1 2016. In
addition to progressing the build on this plant, the GTL JV,
now renamed ENVIA Energy, has identified and is
evaluating candidate sites for possible next plants. 

During 2014, Velocys took another step forward to
accelerate the market for smaller scale GTL by acquiring
a leading project development company, Pinto Energy,
now called Velocys Project Solutions (VPS). This new
capability enables Velocys to develop the market faster,
and to improve both the breadth and quality of its offering
to customers. The team is currently developing the
Ashtabula GTL plant and has a further pipeline of
projects.

Another major success in 2014 was the outcome of our IP
litigation case against CompactGTL. Defending IP is a long
and expensive process and not to be undertaken lightly.
The overwhelming success of our case, which concluded
with the judge ruling in our favour on all items examined,
strongly vindicates our position of having a unique
technology robustly protected by patents. At a time when
others may be looking to enter this attractive new market,
our strong IP position is clearly an important competitive
advantage.

Key priorities for Velocys going forward are the successful
delivery of its first GTL plant, the development of future
projects and the building up of resources to support
them. We have made substantial progress throughout the
year on these objectives, including work with our supply
chain partners to ensure all the relevant capabilities are

in place. As announced in March last year, Velocys
cemented an important collaboration agreement with
Shiloh Industries (Shiloh), our reactor manufacturing
partner. At that time, Shiloh made a $2 million investment
in shares of Velocys. 

As further support for these efforts, we have continued to
grow the Velocys team. At the end of 2014, the Company
had some 115 employees comprising a world class group
of technical, engineering and commercial talent. Velocys
announced in 2013 the establishment of its new Houston
base; we now have the full complement of staff there to
support commercial, engineering and project
development activities. 

In September 2014, Velocys completed a significant
equity placing, raising £52 million before expenses. It was
oversubscribed and attracted strong support from
shareholders. As a result, the Company moves into 2015
well capitalised, with the resources to succeed in its next
stage of commercialisation. 

Total revenues for the period before exceptional items
were £1.7 million (2013: £4.8 million) and were all derived
from commercial activities. Cash* at period end stood at
£59.8 million (2013: £26.4 million), while cash outflow**
was £18.1 million (2013: £12.5 million).

Outlook
Velocys enters 2015 with a very strong balance sheet and
in the exciting position of having its first commercial
reference plant under construction, which promises to be
a significant catalyst for business when complete.
Although volatility in the markets may cause a degree of
hesitancy in the short term, companies with longer term
outlook are already planning for higher oil prices or
restored margins. The market for smaller scale GTL
remains compelling and there are exciting opportunities
ahead for Velocys. I look forward with confidence to
seeing our first commercial plant in operation. 

Pierre Jungels, CBE 
27 March 2015

*
**

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 2014  

Chief executive’s report
Velocys is the company at the forefront of smaller scale GTL.

Introduction
In 2014, Velocys reached a momentous milestone event:
the first commercial plant using our technology was
committed and is now under construction. This
achievement is the culmination of many years of effort
and preparation, and the Company is focussed on
ensuring this plant is successfully brought into operation. 

Market conditions 
After a sustained period of high oil prices, the second half
of 2014 saw a dramatic and unexpected fall. As a result,
large scale GTL projects whose rationale is simply to take
advantage of the mass-market price arbitrage between
natural gas and crude oil will be difficult to progress at
this time, as they cannot be placed in the most
advantaged locations and since their capital costs are too
high for an industry currently struggling with cash flow.

Whilst some investment decisions are under greater
scrutiny, good opportunities remain for smaller scale GTL;
many local situations are likely to retain their
attractiveness, even with lower gas-oil differentials at the
major hubs. These projects either utilise economically-
priced gas or other low- or negative-cost feed stocks, or
serve a market where a premium can be realised, for
example by producing high-value speciality products
such as base oils or waxes, or by serving isolated areas
where liquid fuel import costs are high.

In this tougher market, quality counts; projects need to
use the most competitive technology in order to achieve
the best economic returns. Those companies, like
Velocys, that possess vital elements – a strong balance
sheet, supportive partners, and plants that are already
committed – are well positioned to benefit from this
challenging period whilst others may struggle.

Commercialisation
Sales and prospects 
Against this backdrop, we saw a number of the prospects
in the Velocys sales pipeline moving forward in 2014,
most notably the Oklahoma plant funded by ENVIA
Energy, a joint venture partnership between Waste
Management, NRG Energy, Ventech Engineers
International and Velocys. Not only is this project the first
commercial reference plant for smaller scale GTL using
Velocys technology, it is the first to be funded by the joint
venture that was formed to develop a series of such
plants utilising biogas from Waste Management landfill
sites supplemented by pipeline gas. 

The Oklahoma GTL plant is now under construction with
the reactors in build at Shiloh, the modules being
fabricated at Ventech’s workshop and the groundwork

having commenced at the site. This work is on schedule,
with commissioning anticipated during the first half of
2016. 

As well as being a technology supplier to the Oklahoma
project, Velocys is also a minority investor in the plant
through the JV. This closer involvement in the project is
paying dividends through improved visibility of the key
factors required to make such projects successful. 

Also in 2014, Velocys received an order for a reactor for a
demonstration facility at a customer site in the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). This reactor
is also in fabrication for delivery during 2015.

Another project that has made significant headway in
2014 is the Red Rock Biofuels project. In September
2014, it was announced that this customer was awarded
a $70 million grant from the US Department of Defense to
construct a biomass-to-liquids (BTL) plant incorporating
Velocys technology. Red Rock Biofuels, a subsidiary of IR1
Group LLC, has experience constructing and operating
commercial-scale biofuels facilities. The new BTL plant in
Oregon will convert some 170,000 tons per year of
forestry and sawmill waste into approximately 1,100
barrels per day of ultra clean transportation fuels. As well
as securing the grant, the project owners also announced
in 2014 that they had secured an offtake agreement for
jet fuel from Southwest Airlines. 

Project development 
During 2014, in order to accelerate market adoption of its
technology, Velocys took steps towards developing
“shovel ready” projects which can be independently
financed. This was the driver behind the acquisition of
Pinto Energy (now renamed Velocys Project Solutions) in
June 2014, which gave Velocys an initial team of people
skilled in project development and a pipeline of project
opportunities. Since then, the new team has been
expanded and includes 9 full time staff, with an initial
focus on bringing the Ashtabula project, which is now
planned to be a 4,800 bpd plant producing speciality
waxes and chemicals, to final investment decision (FID)
towards the end of 2015. 

Pilot plant and demonstration activities
The Velocys pilot plant located in Columbus, Ohio
continues to support our sales effort. In addition to
providing product samples for potential customers, the
plant has been used to demonstrate specific operating
conditions for various customers, including a successful
run at the conditions for the Oklahoma plant. In
preparation for the operation of the Oklahoma plant we
established an operational support team and developed

3

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Chief executive’s report (continued)

protocols, manuals and training capabilities for
commercial operation, as well as the relevant techniques
and equipment for catalyst handling on a commercial
scale. 

At the end of 2013, we announced that the Velocys plant
in Fortaleza, Brazil, at a site owned by the Brazilian
national oil company, Petrobras, had completed its
demonstration. This was the culmination of the joint
development agreement (“JDA”) between Velocys and its
partners for offshore applications of GTL, MODEC and
Toyo Engineering, and as a result the JDA was concluded
in 2014. Whilst off-shore GTL remains a promising
prospect in the long term, we believe that this market will
only develop after on-shore plants have been established.

Manufacturing and supply chain
At the start of 2014, Velocys stepped up its partnership
with Shiloh, the manufacturer of the Company’s reactor
cores. Shiloh is one of North America’s leading suppliers
of engineered metal products and light weighting
solutions to the automotive industry. Together we created
a supply chain infrastructure that is capable of
supporting  annual sales of up to 10,000 bpd based on
state-of-the-art manufacturing technology and quality
systems from the automotive industry, and have plans
that allow us to ramp up to 40,000 bpd in line with
demand. This partnership involved investment in a
multimillion dollar facility at Shiloh’s Ohio site where
construction of the first reactors is now in progress. 

As part of the partnership arrangement, Shiloh purchased
601,326 shares of Velocys at 200p per share,
representing a 32% premium to market price at the time.

During 2014, Velocys also launched production of its
commercial catalyst which is being manufactured by one
of the Company’s catalyst manufacturing partners.

Intellectual property
Velocys’ IP position was considerably strengthened during
2014 by the very favourable judgement in the litigation
case against CompactGTL. Not only did the judge rule
that CompactGTL was infringing both the Velocys patents
in question, but also the Velocys patents were upheld. We
have been awarded costs for which CompactGTL has
made an interim payment of £850,000 pending final
settlement, and the court ordered an immediate
injunction restraining them from carrying out infringing
activities. The case is continuing, with determination of
damages to Velocys expected to follow after additional
disclosures from CompactGTL have been received.

4

The key significance of this outcome is that it
demonstrates the robustness of our IP and our ability to
defend it rigorously where we see infringement.
Equivalents of the two patents in this case have also been
approved in numerous other jurisdictions around the
world, including places where smaller scale GTL might be
deployed, such as the United States and Canada, and
countries where FT reactors and other associated
equipment might be manufactured, such as Japan and
South Korea.

Velocys has a very substantial patent portfolio comprising
more than 900 patents, covering a broad range of
countries, which protects key inventions relevant to
smaller scale GTL. The Company also holds a significant
inventory of trade secrets which it has gained through
years of development and practice.

Equity funding 
On 29 September 2014, Velocys announced an equity
placing of £52 million comprising 23.1 million shares at
£2.25 per share, underscoring the commitment and
confidence of investors in the Velocys business. These
funds will be used to strengthen the Company’s balance
sheet in support of sales, help the development of
selected projects to funding readiness, and support the
general working capital needs of the business. 

Resources
The Velocys team has expanded to meet the increasing
demands and opportunities ahead, particularly in staff
with skills in engineering, manufacturing, operations,
plant commissioning and project development. Velocys
employees are located across three main sites in Oxford,
UK and Ohio and Houston, USA. We have a team that is
world-class in the very areas needed to successfully
deliver our leading technology – drawn from some of the
leading players in our industry – as well as an established
base at the heart of the oil and gas industry, Houston.
From a financial perspective, the fund raise in September
2014 leaves Velocys well capitalised to deliver on its goals
and ambitions. 

Roy Lipski
Chief executive
27 April 2015 

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014  

Strategic report
The Directors present their review of the Company’s performance during the
year to 31 December 2014 and their assessment of the risks faced by
Velocys

Principal activities
Velocys is at the forefront of the design and development
of technology for the production of premium liquid
products such as clean synthetic diesel and jet fuel from
both conventional fossil fuels and renewable sources
such as bio-waste. 

The primary focus of the business is on the emerging
market need for modular gas-to-liquids (GTL) plants in
the range of 15,000 to 150,000 mmbtu (million British
thermal units) 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. The Directors consider that, given the size of the
potential market opportunity, competition represents a
positive factor that will help to stimulate market growth.
Velocys is one of the most well established companies in
the market and is recognised as a world leader in the
development of smaller scale GTL technology.

The Company’s core 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.

In addition, Velocys Project Solutions, a subsidiary
acquired during 2014 (see note 30), works to bring
potential GTL projects to the point of development.
Foremost of these is its Ashtabula site in Northeast Ohio.
The Company also holds a small stake in the joint venture
company formed to run the plant at the first commercial
site in Oklahoma using the Company’s technology. 

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

Business review
A review of the Company’s activities during the year and
future outlook is dealt with in the Chairman’s statement
on page 2 and the Chief executive’s report on pages 3-4.

Financial review
2014 was the first year where all the Company’s revenues
were from commercial sources as opposed to
development payments and milestones. Revenue before
exceptional items for 2014 was £1.7 million (2013:
£4.8 million)(see note 5), which included the first revenue
from a commercial plant plus some revenue from
engineering services and studies for potential clients. As
explained in the revenue recognition section of note 2, the
Company adopted a change in accounting policy relating
to recognition of revenue from reactor sales. Under this
new policy, the company will recognise revenue on
reactors when delivered. 

As a result, previously recognised revenue from reactors
in build in 2013 was reversed. The net effect of this was a
negative exceptional item in revenue of £1.7 million.

Unfunded research and development costs and other
administrative expenses increased to £21.0 million before
exceptional items (2013: £16.8 million) as the Company
continues to grow. Costs after exceptional items of
£1.3 million (see note 4) are £22.3 million. The exceptional
item, which is a non-cash item, represents an impairment
of intangible assets (see note 2). Adjusted losses for the
period* were £18.7 million (2013: £14.1 million). Cash
outflow ** in the period was £18.1 million (2013:
£12.5 million).

Velocys is well capitalised having successfully completed
an equity funding on 20 October 2014 which raised
£50.3 million (after expenses), and with a $2.0 million
investment by the Company’s manufacturing partner
Shiloh Industries, Inc. in February 2014. At period end, the
Company had £59.8 million of cash*** (FY 2013:
£26.4 million).

Costs
The breakdown of costs in 2014 was £11.2 million of R&D
costs (2013: £10.5m) and £9.9 million of administrative
expenses (£6.3 million). The main areas of cost increase
have been in areas required to reach full
commercialisation: process engineering, value
engineering and process control; and the pursuit of
in-house project opportunities, such as the Ashtabula
project. 2014 also saw significant costs for the operation
of the Company’s pilot plant, which completed important
customer-supporting test runs during the year.

*

Adjusted losses exclude the impact of foreign exchange losses, (2014: £1.1 million gain; 2013: £0.3 million loss) non-cash items
(depreciation, amortisation and share-based payments: £4.3 million, 2013: £3.7 million) and exceptional non-cash items (2014: £1.3m;
2013: nil).

** Defined as cash movement excluding monies from fund raising and issuing shares.
*** Defined as cash, cash equivalents and short term investments (see note 23).

5

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Strategic report (continued)

Substantial costs were also incurred in defending the
Company’s IP portfolio, some of which have been
recouped as a result of a court judgement.

Key performance indicators
At the current stage of the business, the Directors
consider that performance is most appropriately
measured by achievement against technical and business
development goals, which are outlined in the Chief
executive’s report. These goals include demonstrations of
technical progress, milestones in commercial readiness
and manufacturing capability, and indicators of the
Company’s ability and resources to support new projects
and the development of 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 committed to equal opportunity for all its
employees.

Velocys keeps detailed environmental health and safety
records and takes the safety and well-being of its
employees very seriously. During 2014 there were no
Lost-Time Accidents across the Company’s sites, which
meant that the total number of operating hours without
such an accident is over two million.

The Company began recording data in 2013 concerning
the number of women employees in each area of the
business. Of the 115 employees working for Velocys at
31 December 2014 25% were women (2013: 25% of
95 employees). The percentage of female employees
broken down by areas of the business was as follows.

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

2014
14%
53%
29%

2013
14%
71%
29%

Two of the eight members of the Board are women (2013:
two of eight members).

Given the small size of the Company and the need for
highly specialised and scarce talent, it is difficult to plan
a goal based around a gender diversity metric. However,
this will not deter the Company from ensuring that
diversity is considered for placing talent and that gender
diversity, as one element of the overall diversity of the
Company’s staff, will continue to be closely monitored.

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, and
to build up a data picture year on year. Air travel and
building operations have been identified as two of the
major contributors of CO2 emissions by the Company. 

In 2014 air travel on the Company’s behalf contributed
533.6 tonnes of CO2 (2013: 597.7 tonnes). The 2014 figure
captures air travel booked by employees as well as
through travel agencies and, referring to the average staff
headcount in note 12, equates to 5.0 tonnes per employee
(2013: 6.6 tonnes). For 2014 the proportion of air travel
that was between the Company’s offices in Oxfordshire,
Ohio and Texas was 55%; there is no comparable figure
for 2013.

During 2014 Velocys maintained records of kilowatt-
hours (kWh) billed to the Company in respect of
consumption of electricity and domestic gas, to
determine its CO2 emissions attributable to building
operations. Emissions from consumption of electricity
during the year were 905 tonnes, and from consumption
of gas were 746 tonnes; there are no comparable figures
for 2013.

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

Technology
The Company continues to pursue development of the
various aspects of its cutting-edge technology through a
number of programmes. Each programme has a specific
set of milestones, measurable goals, a timeline and
budget. Performance against these criteria is monitored
every month. Through this process the Company is able to
identify any issues at an early stage and to take
appropriate mitigating action.

Performance
With the prospect of the start up of its first commercial
plant just months away, Velocys is committed to ensuring
that its products will be able to meet their respective
performance requirements. The measures put in place to
achieve this include: 
• Reserving the first of the commercial batch of

reactors purely for testing

• Working with vendors who fabricate the Company’s

proprietary catalysts and reactors to secure
petrochemical industry-standard warranties for these
materials

6

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014  

Market adoption
Velocys is the proponent of a ground-breaking
technology, and seeks to maximise the reassurance it can
provide to its potential customers by working extensively
with partners who are substantial players in their fields,
and who have significant interest, through the prospects
for competitive advantage, in developing the Company’s
technology commercially. The Company continually
monitors publicly available information on the activities of
competitors and on related technologies to ensure that it
remains at the forefront of smaller scale GTL
development.

The Company has developed a substantial pipeline of
opportunities, which are being progressed through its
own project development and business development
teams as well as through its engineering partners. This
pipeline has been boosted markedly by the addition of
Velocys Project Solutions. The Company continually
monitors and assesses the strength of this pipeline. 

Funding
The Directors believe that the cash balance at the end of
2014 provides the Company with adequate funds to
continue its operations and to be able to pursue selective
opportunities as they arise. Notwithstanding the healthy
cash balance at the end of 2014, the Directors continue to
review, frequently and carefully, the appropriateness of
the Company’s ongoing spending commitments, as well
as giving due consideration to the costs and benefits of
strategic plans. 

Manufacturing
Velocys partners with leading equipment and catalyst
manufacturers to develop the capability and capacity to
deliver commercial sales of its products. By preferring to
work with manufacturing partners, with proven track-
records in their respective fields, rather than developing
in-house capability, the Directors believe that
manufacturing risk is considerably reduced. 

IP protection
The Company places great emphasis on enhancing and
protecting its IP, both patented and non-patented. In
2014, Velocys was successful in its patent infringement
and validity case against CompactGTL. This success has
provided the opportunity for the Company to demonstrate
the strength of its IP and its ability to defend it strongly.

Personnel retention
In a competitive marketplace and as a small, and
relatively young company, Velocys is well aware that it
needs to work hard to attract and retain high quality
personnel, and it uses a range of advisers and has put in

7

•

In conjunction with third parties, building a set of
robust quality assurance/control programmes, and
then reviewing and validating the implementation of
these programmes

• Modelling client-specific standard and upset

conditions using the Company’s own testing and pilot
facilities, and then developing mitigation or
remediation strategies where testing identifies areas
of risk

• Expanding the staff base and in particular bringing in
personnel with relevant commercial experience
• Working with world-class partners to ensure delivery

of products to customers, and combining with
existing, well-proven technologies

• Developing commercial terms that do not unduly

commit Velocys to performance beyond its capability,
especially during the initial period of plant delivery
and operation

• Commissioning an independent engineer’s report,
which has qualified the Company’s technology as
“sound”

• As the operation of customer plants is outside its

control the Company’s 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. In 2013 Velocys installed a
pilot plant at its facility in Ohio and during 2014 this plant
was run to test the target conditions for the ENVIA Energy
Oklahoma commercial project.

Prior to that, the Company had successfully
demonstrated its FT reactor in 2010, followed by the
demonstration of a full-scale (nominal 25 barrel per day)
reactor at a customer site in 2012, and progressed to a
demonstration programme for a fully integrated GTL unit,
which ran for much of 2013.

In the case of catalyst scale up, the Company works with
established, reputable catalyst manufacturers in
developing 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,
supplied with the full-scale FT reactors, is now capable of
being produced in commercial quantities.

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Strategic report (continued)

place a package of benefits as well as a number of key
policies in order to be able to do this. The Company has
rolled out across its UK and US sites a range of schemes
covering incentivisation, share options, training and
performance evaluation.

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

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.

It has been impossible to ignore the change in the oil price
over recent months, and for Velocys these parameters
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 variations in the
oil and gas prices will affect the economics of such
projects.

However the Company holds firm to its belief that there
are numerous other drivers for future demand which
protect the Company against unpropitious moves in the
commodity markets. Specific customer or geographical
conditions or requirements will be significant factors for
future demand, and may include an array of factors such
as local regulatory requirements, security of supply, need
for energy diversification, and particular local economics,
taxes and subsidies.

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 Company
policies, which are approved by the Board of Directors,
and which provide a set of written principles for the
management of these risks. At present Velocys makes
use of financial derivatives only in the management 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,

8

and short term investments, as well as trade and other
receivables, and trade and other payables. The main
purpose of these financial instruments is to support the
funding of business activities.

Credit risk
The Company’s principal financial assets are cash, cash
equivalents and short term investments, as well as 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 adheres to a treasury
policy which ensures that liquid assets are only placed
with high credit rated institutions and that the spread of
such assets restricts the Company’s exposure to any one
institution.

Interest rates
Movements in interest rates affect Velocys through its
holdings of cash balances and borrowings. As much
certainty of interest income as can be garnered is
generated by placing funds on fixed rate deposits as cash
flows allow. 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.
Cash flow forecasts are regularly reviewed, resulting in
cash balances being held for immediate withdrawal as
necessary, with other funds being placed on time
deposits of varying duration. 

Exchange rates
A significant proportion of the Company’s activities is
undertaken in the US, resulting in a funding requirement
for US dollars. Where possible, revenue is receipted in US
dollars, which acts as a natural hedge against this
exposure. To manage the remaining exposure a
proportion of the Company’s liquid assets is held in US
dollars, and uncertainty over the impact of future
exchange rate movements is managed through the use of
forward contracts at fixed rates of exchange. 

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014  

In the Company’s consolidated accounts, there are
significant US dollar denominated goodwill and
purchased intangible assets relating to the acquisition of
Velocys, Inc. 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 as they do not
have any impact on the Company’s cash position.

Capital management
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. 

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 essential for success in the
medium to long term.

Approved by the Board and signed on its behalf by:

The Company’s objectives when managing this capital
are: 
•
•

to secure its ability to continue as a going concern 
to maintain an optimal capital structure to reduce the
cost of capital
to preserve sufficient funds to protect it against
unforeseen events and risks
to enable the Company to make funds available to
take advantage of opportunities that can deliver
positive benefits to the Company’s shareholders and
provide them with a return which rewards the risks
undertaken.

•

•

These objectives are met through a robust planning
process that includes 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.

Roy Lipski
Chief executive
27 April 2015

9

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Directors’ report

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 2015 annual general meeting the following
Directors will retire and offer themselves for re-election.
•
•

Andrew Jamieson
Roy Lipski

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 2014 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
2014
223,031
2,417,098
304,874
–
25,000
150,837
17,758
75,000

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

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

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

Annual general meeting
The annual general meeting of the Company will be held
at Milton Park Innovation Centre, 99 Park Drive, Milton
Park, Oxfordshire, OX14 4RY at 10.45am on Tuesday
23 June 2015.

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

Substantial shareholdings
On 10 April 2015, the Company was notified of the
following holdings of 3% or more of the issued share
capital of Velocys plc.

Lansdowne Partners
Ervington Investments
Limited
Henderson Global
Investors
Invesco Asset
Management
Woodford Investment
Management
Ruffer LLP

Number of
shares held
26,631,808

20,985,412

17,189,515

14,600,000

11,478,922
8,400,000

Percentage
of issued
share capital
18.77%

14.79%

12.11%

10.29%

8.09%
5.92%

Fund raising
On 29 September 2014, the Company announced the
successful conditional placing of shares to raise £50.3m
net of expenses. This placing was approved at a general
meeting of its shareholders on 17 October and the
shares were admitted to trading on AIM on 20 October.

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 2014 (2013: nil).

Directors
The Directors of Velocys plc as at 31 December 2014,
who served throughout the year and up to the date of
approval of the financial statements, were as follows:

Dr Pierre Jungels (Non-executive Chairman)
Roy Lipski (Chief executive)
Susan Robertson (Chief financial officer)
Dr Paul 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 and from January
2015 Senior independent Director)

10

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:
•

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
27 April 2015

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014  

11

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

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, a Chairman and four Non-executive Directors. All of the Non-executive Directors are considered to be
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. In January 2015, the Company announced that it had appointed one
of the Non-executive Directors, Julian West as Senior independent Director. The detailed biographies of all Directors
are provided on the Company’s website. 

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 a process for
evaluating the effectiveness of the Board and its committees by means of a questionnaire survey of all Board
members. In addition, the Board has recently introduced a process for the evaluation of performance of and provision
of feedback to each individual Board member, including the Chairman. 

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 15 to 18.

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 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.

Under its current form, the audit committee does not have a member with recent and relevant financial experience
with competence in accounting and/or auditing. The Board believes that this departure from the Corporate
Governance code is currently acceptable given the stage of development of the Company and the otherwise strong
level of financial literacy of its Non-executive members. The Board expects that this will not continue in the medium
term and plans to give a high priority to financial experience in future Non-executive Board appointments. 

Nominations committee
The nominations committee consists of the Non-executive Directors, under the chairmanship of Dr Pierre Jungels. It
meets on average 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.

12

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014  

Board and committee attendance at scheduled Board and committee meetings

Number of meetings held in 2014
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
2

Remuneration
committee
6

Nominations
committee
2

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. During 2014, all Directors were eligible for Board meetings.

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.

13

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Corporate governance report (continued)

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, and 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 key 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.

14

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014  

Directors’ remuneration report

Introduction
The remuneration committee 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 it can be applied practically given the size of the
Company and the nature of its operations. Since 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 large and medium-
sized companies and groups (accounts and reports) regulations 2008 certain disclosures are not included below.

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:
•

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 bonus schemes and
long-term share-based plans

•

• provide post-retirement benefits through payment into defined contribution pension schemes
• provide employment-related benefits including life assurance and medical insurance.

Remuneration of Executive Directors
Executive Directors’ remuneration is considered annually. In addition, the remuneration committee undertakes a
comprehensive review using external advisors every three years. The current remuneration package is based on such
a review commissioned by the remuneration committee at the end of 2013. This review looked at the overall
remuneration package for executives 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. 

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 target
bonus award for each individual is based on a percentage of base salary for each individual. In the case of the CEO,
this percentage is 100%; for the other executives, this percentage is 75%. The maximum award for stretch target
performance is twice the target amount. The remuneration committee sets performance 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 goals.  

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, in
line with the Company’s standard policies. In the case of Mr Lipski, who is located in the USA, he is entitled to the
standard medical benefits provided to all of the Company’s US full-time employees.

15

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Directors’ remuneration report (continued)

During 2013, Mr Lipski relocated from Plain City to Houston 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. Rental costs
continued part way through 2014 and have now ceased. Where these costs were taxable, the Company paid grossed
up costs. These costs are included in the other benefits category in the analysis shown below. The review of the CEO’s
base salary in 2014 included recognition of a cost of living adjustment associated with this move to Houston.

ELTIP awards
As part of its comprehensive review of executive remuneration in 2013 and 2014, the remuneration committee
concluded that a revised long term incentive plan needed to be adopted for the executives going forward. Following
extensive consultation with both advisors and the major investors in the Company, a new ELTIP scheme was adopted
in 2014 subject to obtaining relevant approval from shareholders for revised headroom limits for the number of
awards that could be issued under the share plan scheme. This approval was obtained at a general meeting of
shareholders in February 2015, following which, the Company made ELTIP awards to its executives under the new
scheme in February 2015 for both 2014 and 2015.

The new ELTIP scheme (within NELTIP in note 15) has the following features:
•
awards include both time vesting and performance vesting elements
•
the performance criteria are designed to align with shareholder interests and are based on compound annual
growth of the Company’s market capitalisation excluding fund raising subsequent to 1 January 2015
targets set for achievement of the maximum award are designed to be stretching
a minimum performance threshold below which none of the performance awards vest

•
•
• pro rata vesting of award between minimum and stretch targets, up to maximum award amount
•

all awards are subject to the detailed rules within the Velocys employee option plan and include malus and
clawback provisions.

In the case of the CEO, it was determined that the ELTIP would comprise a single 5 year award, intended to ensure
focus on growth targets over a longer horizon. This award includes an element that vests on a time basis (30% of the
award), with the remainder related to performance. Of the performance component, no awards vest unless a
minimum threshold performance is met with pro rata vesting between 0 -100% for performance between the
minimum threshold and the maximum stretch target. 

In the case of the other Executive Directors, the awards are made annually, based on a multiple of base salary and
have a three year performance period. Of these awards, 23% vest on a time basis. For the remaining performance
based awards, 30% vest at a threshold level of performance with additional awards vesting pro rata for performance
between the minimum and the maximum stretch target. 

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. Remuneration is based on a fixed fee,
plus a separate fee for any additional consulting services.

Each Non-executive Director has a service agreement that is reviewed annually by the Board. All Non-executive
Directors retire by rotation and are subject to re-election every 3 years at the annual general meeting.

16

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014  

Audited information
Directors’ remuneration
The Directors’ received the following remuneration in relation to the year to 31 December 2014.

Name of Director

Executive
Roy Lipski *
Susan Robertson
Paul Schubert
Non-executive
Pierre Jungels
Sandy Shaw
Andrew Jamieson
Jan Verloop
Julian West

Salary and
fees
£

Bonus
£

289,346
187,500
165,687

576,596
195,117
128,311

Other
benefits
£

77,320
929
24,226

EBT
payment
£

–
–
195,349

80,000
45,000
45,000
43,705
45,000

–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–

2014
Pension
Totals contributions
£

£

2013
Totals
£

943,262
383,546
513,573

80,000
45,000
45,000
43,705
45,000

16,095
13,181
4,734

541,017
272,371
131,773

–
–
–
–
–

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

2013
Pension
£

14,050
11,547
4,890

–
–
–
–
–

Aggregate emoluments
and pension 
contributions

901,238

900,024

102,475

195,349

2,099,086

34,010

1,153,442

30,487

*

Includes Company-reimbursed relocation costs associated with the move to Houston as described above.

Directors’ share options
Aggregate emoluments disclosed above include amounts paid through the employee benefit trust (EBT) in relation to
share options exercised during the year. They do not however include any amounts relating to share based awards
that are not exercised during the year. Such amounts are included in the share-based payments award included in
the financial statements, details of which are provided in note 15. 

In December 2014, Dr Schubert exercised 277,100 options. These resulted in a net gain of £368,000 inclusive of a
bonus award through the employee benefit trust, shown in the remuneration table above.

ELTIP awards made in 2015 relating to 2014
Due to the need to obtain shareholder approval for the revised share plan, awards under the revised ELTIP plan for
2014 were not made until 26 February 2015. However, these were included in the calculation of the share-based
payment charge for 2014. The awards were as follows:

Name of Director

Roy Lipski
Susan Robertson
Paul Schubert

Award type

Shares under
award

RSU *
Option
RSU *

7,000,000
245,881
187,826

% with
performance
conditions

70%
77%
77%

Exercise
price (£)

n/a
£0.01
n/a

Earliest
date of

exercise Date of expiry

02/01/19
02/01/17
02/01/17

02/01/20
26/02/25
02/01/18

Also on 26 February, further awards were made to two executives, representing the ELTIP annual awards for the year
commencing 1 January 2015, as follows:

Name of Director

Susan Robertson
Paul Schubert

*

Restricted share units

Award type

Option
RSU *

Shares under
award

205,508
156,985

% with
performance
conditions

77%
77%

Exercise
price (£)

£0.01
n/a

Earliest
date of

exercise Date of expiry

02/01/18
02/01/18

26/02/25
02/01/19

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

17

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Directors’ remuneration report (continued)

Details of all options held by the Directors at 31 December 2014 are as follows.

Granted Exercised

Lapsed

At 31
December
2014

Exercise
price (£)

Earliest
date of
exercise

Exercisable
at 31
Date of December
2014

expiry

At 31
December
2013

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

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
986,306
246,576

Name of Director

Roy Lipski
Bonus 2009
ELTIP 2008
ELTIP 2009
ELTIP 2011
ELTIP 2012
ELTIP 2012
ELTIP 2013
ELTIP 2013
ELTIP 2014
ELTIP 2014

Total

4,046,203 1,232,882

Susan Robertson
EMI
Bonus 2008
Bonus 2010
ELTIP 2009
ELTIP 2011
ELTIP 2012
ELTIP 2012
ELTIP 2013
ELTIP 2013
ELTIP 2014
ELTIP 2014

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

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
440,316
110,079

Total

1,905,743

550,395

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–

Paul Schubert
EMI
ELTIP 2012
ELTIP 2012
ELTIP 2013
ELTIP 2013
ELTIP 2014
ELTIP 2014

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

– (112,619)
–
–
(52,600)
–
–
–
(83,822)
–
336,711
–
(28,059)
84,178

342,000
–
100,000
–
140,000
–
625,000
–
818,000
–
–
613,000
– 1,126,563
281,640
–
986,306
–
246,576
–

– 5,279,085

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

62,893
42,105
37,655
105,000
390,625
365,000
273,803
502,930
125,732
440,316
110,079

– 2,456,138

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

207,894
119,000
–
502,930
41,911
336,711
56,119

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
1.64 01/01/17 01/04/24
1.64 01/04/14 01/04/24

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
1.64 01/01/17 01/04/24
1.64 01/04/14 01/04/24

–

–

0.56 04/10/14 04/10/21
0.49 01/01/15 01/02/22
–
1.59 01/01/16 12/04/23
1.59 01/01/15 12/04/23
1.64 01/01/17 01/04/24
1.64 01/01/15 01/04/24

342,000
100,000
140,000
625,000
–
613,000
–
187,760
–
82,192

2,089,952

62,893
42,105
37,655
105,000
390,625
–
273,803
–
83,821
–
36,693

1,032,595

207,894
–
–
–
–
–
–

207,894

6,500
10,204
3,390

20,094

Total

1,120,776

420,889 (277,100)

– 1,264,565

Andrew Jamieson
2010
2012
2013

Total

6,500
10,204
3,390

20,094

–
–
–

–

–
–
–

–

–
–
–

–

6,500
10,204
3,390

20,094

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

The market price of the parent company’s shares as at 31 December 2014 was 144p (2013: 145p) and the range
during the year was 140p to 237p (2013: 124p to 201p). Details of options and the cost of share-based payments are
given in note 15.

18

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014  

Statement of directors’ responsibilities

The Directors are responsible for preparing the annual report, the Strategic report, the Director’s 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:
•
• make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent
•

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

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently

• 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 website. 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
27 April 2015

19

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Independent auditors’ report
to the members of Velocys plc

Report on the financial statements
Our opinion
In our opinion, Velocys plc’s group financial statements and company financial statements (the “financial
statements”):
•

give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the parent company’s affairs as at 31 December 2014
and of the group’s loss and the group’s and parent company’s cash flows for the year then ended
have been properly prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRSs”) as adopted
by the European Union, and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

•

•

What we have audited
Velocys plc’s financial statements comprise:
•
•

the consolidated and parent company statement of financial position as at 31 December 2014
the consolidated income statement and consolidated 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, and
the notes to the financial statements, which include a summary of significant accounting policies and other
explanatory information.

•
•
•

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

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

Opinion on other matter prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, the information given in the Strategic Report and the Directors’ report for the financial year for which
the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements.

Other matters on which we are required to report by exception
Adequacy of accounting records and information and explanations received
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:
• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit, or
•

adequate accounting records have not been kept by the company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been
received from branches not visited by us, or
the company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns.

•

We have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility.

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

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 set out on page 19, the directors are
responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view.

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

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

20

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014  

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

been consistently applied and adequately disclosed
the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by the directors, and
the overall presentation of the financial statements. 

•
•

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

We test and examine information, using sampling and other auditing techniques, to the extent we consider necessary
to provide a reasonable basis for us to draw conclusions. We obtain audit evidence through testing the effectiveness
of controls, substantive procedures or a combination of both. 

In addition, we read all the financial and non-financial information in the Annual report and accounts 2014 to identify
material inconsistencies with the audited financial statements and to identify any information that is apparently
materially incorrect based on, or materially inconsistent with, the knowledge acquired by us in the course of
performing the audit. If we become aware of any apparent material misstatements or inconsistencies we consider the
implications for our report.

Sam Taylor (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
Reading
27 April 2015

21

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Consolidated income statement
for the year ended 31 December 2014

Note

2014

£’000

2014

£’000

Before

Exceptional

2014

£’000

2013

£’000

exceptional

items

1,736

(536)

1,200

(11,163)

(3,407)
(9,853)

(24,423)

(23,223)

1,225

(29)
56

1,252

(21,971)
929

6

15

10

7

8
9

13

items

(note 4)

(1,742)

1,742

–

–

–
(1,328)

(1,328)

(1,328)

–

–
–

–

(1,328)
–

Total

(6)

1,206

1,200

(11,163)

(3,407)
(11,181)

(25,751)

(24,551)

1,225

(29)
56

1,252

(23,299)
929

4,753

(3,300)

1,453

(10,477)

(2,782)
(6,339)

(19,598)

(18,145)

419

(364)
58

113

(18,032)
1,111

(21,042)

(1,328)

(22,370)

(16,921)

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)

16

(17.24)

(18.33)

(14.60)

The notes on pages 30 to 59 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 £5,649,000 (2013: loss £6,323,000).

22

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014  

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
for the year ended 31 December 2014

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

2014

£’000

2014

£’000

Before

Exceptional

exceptional

items

(21,042)

items

(note 4)

(1,328)

2013

£’000

2014

£’000

Total

(22,370)

(16,921)

1,108

–

1,108

(269)

Total comprehensive expense for the year

(19,934)

(1,328)

(21,262)

(17,190)

The notes on pages 30 to 59 are part of these consolidated financial statements.

23

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Consolidated statement of financial position
as at 31 December 2014

Assets
Non-current assets
Intangible assets
Property, plant and equipment
Investments

Current assets
Trade and other receivables
Current income tax asset
Inventory
Derivative financial instruments
Short term investments – funds held on deposit
Cash and cash equivalents

Total assets

Liabilities
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Derivative financial instruments
Borrowings

Non-current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Borrowings
Deferred tax

Total liabilities

Net assets

Capital and reserves attributable to owners of Velocys plc
Called up share capital
Share premium account
Merger reserve
Share-based payment reserve
Foreign exchange reserve
Accumulated losses

Total equity

Note

17
18
20

21

22
27
23
23

24
27
26

25
26
14

29
29

2014

£’000

28,347
4,065
1,711

34,123

653
1,778
291
435
28,083
31,693

62,933

97,056

(10,902)
–
(267)

(11,169)

(69)
(999)
(269)

(1,337)

(12,506)

84,550

1,419
149,225
369
13,220
(2,151)
(77,532)

84,550

2013

£’000

24,971
2,084
–

27,055

1,112
1,750
263
–
11,875
14,475

29,475

56,530

(6,021)
(263)
(104)

(6,388)

(232)
(1,192)
–

(1,424)

(7,812)

48,718

1,164
95,793
369
9,813
(3,259)
(55,162)

48,718

The notes on pages 30 to 59 are part of these consolidated financial statements.

The financial statements on pages 22 to 59 were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on
27 April 2015. They were signed on its behalf by:

Susan Robertson
Chief financial officer

Company number 5712187

24

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014  

Velocys plc statement of financial position
as at 31 December 2014

Assets

Non-current assets

Investments in subsidiaries

Current assets

Trade and other receivables

Current income tax asset

Total assets

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Total liabilities

Net assets

Capital and reserves attributable to owners of Velocys plc

Called up share capital

Share premium account

Share-based payment reserve
Accumulated losses

Total equity

Note

19

21

24

29

29

2014

£’000

128,752

76

1,357

130,185

(85)

(85)

2013

£’000

77,355

–

1,300

78,655

–

–

130,100

78,655

1,419

149,225

13,220
(33,764)

130,100

1,164

95,793

9,813
(28,115)

78,655

The notes on pages 30 to 59 are part of these consolidated financial statements.

The financial statements on pages 22 to 59 were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on
27 April 2015. They were signed on its behalf by:

Susan Robertson
Chief financial officer

Company number 5712187

25

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Consolidated statement of changes in equity
as at 31 December 2014

Called up

Share Share-based

Foreign

premium

payments

share

capital

£’000

account

£’000

Balance at 1 January 2013

914

66,662

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 2014

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

Issue of ordinary shares in
relation to business
combination

Total transactions with owners

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
247

8

255

–

–

–

–
51,785

1,647

53,432

250

29,131

–

250

1,164

29,131

95,793

2,782

9,813

reserve

£’000

7,031

–

–

–

2,782

–

–

–

3,407
–

–

3,407

13,220

Merger

reserve

£’000

exchange Accumulated

reserve

£’000

losses

£’000

Total

equity

£’000

369

(2,990)

(38,241)

33,745

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

(16,921)

(16,921)

(269)

–

(269)

(269)

(16,921)

(17,190)

–

–

–

–

–

–

2,782

29,381

32,163

369

(3,259)

(55,162)

48,718

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

(22,370)

(22,370)

1,108

1,108

–

1,108

(22,370)

(21,262)

–
–

–

–

–
–

–

–

3,407
52,032

1,655

57,094

369

(2,151)

(77,532)

84,550

Balance at 31 December 2014

1,419

149,225

The notes on pages 30 to 59 are part of these consolidated financial statements.

26

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014  

Velocys plc statement of changes in equity
as at 31 December 2014

Share Share-based

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 1 January 2014

Comprehensive income

Loss for the year

Total comprehensive income

Transactions with owners

Share-based payments – value of
employee services

Proceeds from share issues

Issue of ordinary shares in relation to
business combination

Total transactions with owners

Called up

share capital

£’000

914

–

–

–

250

250

1,164

–

–

–

247

8

255

premium

account

£’000

66,662

–

–

–

29,131

29,131

95,793

–

–

–

51,785

1,647

53,432

Balance at 31 December 2014

1,419

149,225

The notes on pages 30 to 59 are part of these consolidated financial statements.

payments Accumulated

reserve

£’000

7,031

losses

£’000

Total

equity

£’000

(21,792)

52,815

–

–

(6,323)

(6,323)

(6,323)

(6,323)

2,782

–

2,782

9,813

–

–

3,407

–

–

3,407

13,220

–

–

–

(28,115)

(5,649)

(5,649)

–

–

–

–

2,782

29,381

32,163

78,655

(5,649)

(5,649)

3,407

52,032

1,655

57,094

(33,764)

130,100

27

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Consolidated statement of cash flows
for the year ended 31 December 2014

Cash flows from operating activities

Operating loss before taxation

Depreciation and amortisation

Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment

Loss on disposal of intangible assets

Impairment of intangible assets

Share-based payments

(Gain) loss on derivative financial instruments

Changes in working capital (excluding the effects of
exchange differences on consolidation)

– Trade and other receivables

– Trade and other payables

– Inventory

Tax credits (paid) received

Other

Net cash used in operating activities

Cash flows from investing activities

Purchase of property, plant and equipment

Purchase of intangible assets

Investment in GTL JV

Interest received

Interest paid

Proceeds from sale of fixed assets
Increase in funds placed on deposit

Net cash used in investing activities

Cash flows from financing activities

Net proceeds of issuance of ordinary shares

(Decrease) increase in borrowing

Net cash generated from financing activities

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

Exchange gains (losses) on cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

Note

23

26

23

The notes on pages 30 to 59 are part of these consolidated financial statements.

2014

£’000

(24,551)

909

11

154

1,328

3,407

(698)

282

2,507

(8)

901

–

2013

£’000

(18,145)

878

–

–

–

2,782

263

702

2,331

62

(39)

6

(15,758)

(11,160)

(1,544)

(429)

(1,613)

358

(37)

56
(16,208)

(19,417)

51,570

(104)

51,466

16,291

14,475

927

31,693

(971)

(418)

–

197

(38)

52
(11,875)

(13,053)

29,381

70

29,451

5,238

9,451

(214)

14,475

28

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014  

Velocys plc statement of cash flows
for the year ended 31 December 2014

Cash flows from operating activities

Loss before income tax

Movement in intercompany balances

Changes in working capital (excluding the effects of
exchange differences on consolidation)

– Trade and other receivables

– Trade and other payables

Cash consumed by operations

Tax credit received

Net cash used in operating activities

Cash flows from financing activities

Net proceeds of issuance of ordinary shares

Net cash generated 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 30 to 59 are part of these consolidated financial statements.

2014

£’000

(7,999)

(44,219)

(78)

85

(52,211)

641

(51,570)

51,570

51,570

–

–

–

2013

£’000

(7,743)

(21,638)

–

–

(29,381)

–

(29,381)

29,381

29,381

–

–

–

29

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

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 Technologies Limited and Velocys (USA Holdings) LLC, which holds Velocys, Inc. and Velocys
Project Solutions, LLC, and collectively they are referred to in the Notes to the financial statements 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, and in the Chairman’s statement, the Chief
executive’s report and the Strategic report on pages 2 to 9.

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

2.  Accounting policies
The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these consolidated and parent company 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 required under IFRS and measured in accordance with 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. 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 2014:
• Amendments to IAS 36, ‘Impairment of assets’, on the recoverable amount disclosures for non-financial assets.

This amendment removed certain disclosures of the recoverable amount of cash generating units which had been
included in IAS 36 by the issue of IFRS 13. The amendment was not mandatory for the Company until 1 January
2014, however the Company decided to early adopt the amendment as of 1 January 2013. The amendment does
not impact on the disclosures given in the financial information.

The following new standards, amendments to standards and interpretations are mandatory for the first time for the
financial year beginning 1 January 2014, but are not currently relevant for the Company:
•

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 Company has assessed that this will not impact the entities of the Company.
IFRS 11, ‘Joint arrangements’. This standard provides for a more realistic reflection of joint arrangements by
focusing on the rights and obligations of the arrangement, rather than its legal form. There are two types of joint
arrangements: joint operations and joint ventures. Proportional consolidation of joint ventures is no longer allowed.
This standard was considered in relation to the investment in GTL JV, however the investment has been classified
as assets available for sale. Therefore, the change to the standard has no impact on the Company.
IFRS 12 ‘Disclosure of interests in other entities’. This standard includes the disclosure requirements for all forms
of interest in other entities, including joint arrangements, associates, special purpose vehicles and other off
balance sheet vehicles. The standard is not applicable to the Company.
IAS 27 (revised 2011), ‘Separate financial statements’. This clarifies the point that the consequential amendments
from IAS 27 to IAS 21 ‘The effect of changes in foreign exchanges rates’, IAS 28 ‘Investments in associates’, and IAS
31 ‘Interests in joint ventures’, apply prospectively for annual periods beginning on or after 1 July 2009. The
amendment does not impact the Company.

•

•

•

30

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•

•

•

•

•
•

IAS 28 (revised 2011), ‘Investments in 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 amendment does
not impact 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. These amendments are not currently relevant to the Company.
Amendments to IFRS 10, IFRS 11 and IFRS 12. These amendments provide additional transition relief to IFRSs 10,
11 and 12, limiting the requirement to provide adjusted comparative information to only the preceding comparative
period. These amendments are not currently relevant to the Company.
IAS 32 (amendment), ‘Financial instruments – Presentation’ on asset and liability offsetting. This amendment
clarifies some of the requirements for offsetting financial assets and financial liabilities on the balance sheet. The
amendment is not applicable to the Company.
IFRIC 21 ‘Levies’. This is not applicable 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.

The following new standards, amendments to standards and interpretations are mandatory for the first time for the
financial year beginning 1 January 2015 or later, but are not currently relevant for the Company:
•

IFRS 9 ‘Financial instruments’, on ‘Classification and measurement’ (effective 1 January 2015). This is the first part
of a new standard on classification and measurement of financial assets that will replace IAS 39. IFRS 9 has two
measurement categories: amortised cost and fair value. All equity instruments are measured at fair value. A debt
instrument is measured at amortised cost only if the entity is holding it to collect contractual cash flows and the
cash flows represent principal and interest. Otherwise it is at fair value through profit or loss. Amortised cost
accounting will also be applicable for most financial liabilities, with bifurcation of embedded derivatives. The main
change is that in cases where the fair value option is taken for financial liabilities, the part of a fair value change
due to an entity’s own credit risk is recorded in other comprehensive income rather than the income statement,
unless this creates an accounting mismatch. The Company is yet to assess the impact of IFRS 9 on its financial
information. The Company will also consider the impact of the remaining phases of IFRS 9 when completed by the
Board.
IFRS 14 ‘Regulatory deferral accounts’ (effective from 1 January 2016). This is not currently relevant to the
Company.
IFRS 15 ‘Revenue from contracts with customers’ (effective from 1 January 2017). The IASB and FASB have jointly
issued a converged standard on the recognition of revenue from contracts with customers. The standard will
improve the financial reporting of revenue and improve comparability of the top line in financial statements
globally. The Company has not chosen to early adopt this standard, but it is considered relevant for future
accounting periods.
Amendments to IAS 16 and IAS 38 ‘Clarification of acceptable methods of depreciation and amortisation’ (effective
from 1 January 2016). In this amendment the IASB has clarified that the use of revenue-based methods to
calculate the depreciation of an asset is not appropriate because revenue generated by an activity that includes
the use of an asset generally reflects factors other than the consumption of the economic benefits embodied in the
asset. The IASB has also clarified that revenue is generally presumed to be an inappropriate basis for measuring
the consumption of the economic benefits embodied in an intangible asset. The Company has adopted the units-
of-production method of amortisation with the measured unit being reactors sold. The Company did not recognise
expense in 2014 but expects amortisation to begin in 2015 based on projected delivery dates for commercial
reactors. As a result no change to the accounting policy will be required.

•

•

•

Financial risk management policies
Financial risk management policies are set out in the Strategic report on pages 8 and 9.

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 acquiring 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.

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Notes to the financial statements (continued)

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.

Contingent consideration is initially measured at fair value on the acquisition date and classified as a liability. It is
remeasured at fair value at the balance sheet date and any change in value is recognised directly in the consolidated
income statement.

Exceptional items
Items that are material because of their size or nature, and/or that are non-recurring are considered as exceptional
items. Exceptional items are presented with the line items to which they best relate. During 2014, exceptional items
have been included in the consolidated income statement.

Segment reporting
Operating segments are reported in a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided to the chief operating
decision-maker. The person or persons responsible for allocating resources and assessing performance of the
operating segments has been identified as the Senior management team, who take operational decisions.

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:
•

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

Cash and cash equivalents including short term deposits
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 that have an original maturity of more than three months, or that 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

32

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

including production overheads. Where necessary, provision is made for obsolete, slow-moving and defective
inventories. Items purchased for use in externally funded research and development contracts are expensed to that
contract immediately. Items held for the Company’s 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 under which the Company incurs substantially all
the risks and rewards of ownership are classified as finance leases. Finance leases are capitalised on commencement
of the lease 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 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 after eliminating sales within the Company.

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.

Revenue related to FT reactors and catalyst
Prior to 2014 the Company recognised revenue and costs from its FT reactors over the manufacturing period, where the
right to consideration was accrued on a percentage of completion basis under IAS 11. In 2014, after the restructuring
of a major supply agreement, which provides a more consistent measure of the cost of each reactor, the Company
changed its method, and now recognises FT reactor revenue and costs when substantially all risk and reward
associated with the reactor has passed to the customer under IAS 18 (see note 4); this will be upon delivery of reactors.
The supplier agreement to which changes were made, was the first of its kind into which Velocys had entered, and was
designed to cover the manufacture of the first eight commercial reactors. As this process developed and evolved the
partners agreed that it would be appropriate for the contract to be amended to reflect this evolution.

Catalyst sales income will be recognised monthly, whilst the service element will be recognised when services are
provided. Licence fee revenue will be recognised on commencement of the contract provided that the fair value of the
licence fee can be determined. However, if 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.

Other revenue
Revenue from development contracts is measured in accordance with the Company’s policy on development contracts.
Revenue from most development contracts is earned on a time and materials basis, supplemented by milestones, and
is recognised as the work is performed. In a situation where a contract is for fixed services and value, and 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 as the proportion of
costs incurred for work performed to date relative 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 that contract costs incurred are expected to 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.

33

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

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 signature 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.

Grants are recognised as income over the periods necessary to match them, on a systematic basis, with the costs that
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.

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

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 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 and delivery of
commercial reactors has commenced, amortisation of the intangibles will begin. The Company uses the units-of-
production method of amortisation with the measured unit being reactors sold. The Company expects amortisation to
begin in 2015 based on projected delivery dates for commercial reactors.

Purchased intangibles
Purchased intangibles arose from the acquisition of Velocys, Inc. and Pinto Energy, LLC, now known as Velocys Project
Solutions (VPS). 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.

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Annual report and accounts 2014 

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, 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, 3-10 years. No depreciation is provided on land or 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 of executive share options with market performance conditions attached is measured using a Monte Carlo
pricing model. The expected life used in the model is assumed to be the earliest point at which the shares may vest.
Fair value of all other share options 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. Under both models, when options are exercised the proceeds received,
net of attributable transaction costs, are credited to share capital and premium.

For executive options with market performance conditions attached the recognition period covers the period of service
and the vesting period; for all other options the recognition period is the vesting period.

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 income statement with a corresponding
adjustment to reserves.

35

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

The grant by the parent company of options of 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 as an increase to investments in subsidiary undertakings with a corresponding credit to equity.

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 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 basis 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 the transaction affected 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 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.

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Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

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.

Financial assets
The Company classifies its financial assets in the following categories: at fair value through profit or loss, loans and
receivables and available-for-sale. The classification depends on the nature of the asset and the purpose for which the
assets were acquired. Management determines the classification of its financial assets at initial recognition.

Classification
•

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss are financial assets held for trading. A financial asset is
classified in this category if it is acquired principally for the purpose of selling in the short term. Derivatives are also
categorised as held for trading. Assets in this category are presented as current assets if they are expected to be
realised within 12 months after the balance sheet date, otherwise they are classified as non-current.
Loans and receivables are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted
in an active market. They are included as current assets, except for maturities greater than 12 months after the
balance sheet date which are presented as non-current assets. Loans and receivables are presented as ‘trade and
other receivables’ (note 21) and ‘cash and cash equivalents’ (note 23) on the balance sheet.
Available-for-sale financial assets are non-derivatives that are either designated in this category or not classified
in any of the other categories. They are included in non-current assets unless the investment matures or
management intends to dispose of the assets within 12 months after the balance sheet date.

•

•

Recognition and measurement
Regular purchases and sales of financial assets are recognised on the trade date – the date on which the Company
commits to purchase or sell the asset. Investments are initially recognised at fair value plus transaction costs for all
financial assets not carried at fair value through profit or loss. Financial assets carried at fair value through profit or
loss are initially recognised at fair value, and transaction costs are expensed in the consolidated income statement.
Financial assets are de-recognised when the rights to receive cash flows from the investments have expired or have
been transferred and the Company has transferred substantially all risks and rewards of ownership. Available-for-sale
financial assets and assets held at fair value through profit and loss are subsequently carried at fair value. Loans and
receivables are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Gains or losses arising from changes in the fair value of the ‘financial assets at fair value through profit or loss’
category are presented in the income statement in the period in which they arise. Dividend income from ‘financial
assets at fair value through profit or loss’ is recognised in the income statement as part of other income when the
Company’s right to receive payments is established.

Changes in the fair value of monetary and non-monetary securities classified as available for sale are recognised in
other comprehensive income.

When securities classified as available for sale are sold or impaired, the accumulated fair value adjustments
recognised in equity are included in the income statement as ‘Gains and losses from investment securities’.

Interest on available-for-sale securities calculated using the effective interest method is recognised in the
consolidated income statement as part of finance income. Dividends on available-for-sale equity instruments are
recognised in the income statement as part of other income when the Company’s right to receive is established.

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Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

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. 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.

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 17).

At 31 December 2014, the carrying value of the Company’s intangible assets was £28,347,000 (2013: £24,971,000). The
impairment charge for the year includes £1,328,000 in 2014 (2013: nil). The Company acquired intangible assets valued
at £3,209,000 through the acquisition of Velocys Projects Solutions in 2014 (see note 30).

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 sale of catalyst and ongoing engineering services. This fair
value is based on the sales contract and historical actual data.

Once the fair value of the components has been determined, revenue is recognised in line with the underlying nature of
the contract. Revenue for the reactor is recognised upon delivery. Where the fair value of the licence fee can be
determined this is recognised on commencement of the contract. However, if no reliable fair value can be determined
any revenue associated with the licence fee is deferred and recognised in line with the reactor sales. Catalyst sales
income is recognised monthly, whilst the service element is recognised when services are provided.

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

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, details of which are
disclosed in note 15. Such assumptions and estimates could change and could affect the amount recorded.

4. Exceptional items
Items that are material because of their size or nature, and/or that are non-recurring are considered as exceptional
items and are presented with the line items to which they best relate. During the year, exceptional items, as detailed
below, have been included in the consolidated income statement.

Impairment of intangible assets
Reversal of revenue
Reversal of cost of sales

2014
£’000

(1,328)
(1,742)
1,742

(1,328)

2013
£’000

–
–
–

–

The impairment of intangible assets relates to the full impairment of one of the Company’s six cash-generating units
(see note 17).

The revenue reversed was generated in the Americas.

The reversals of revenue and costs of sales are related to the restructuring of a major multi-year supply contract for
FT reactor cores which was formally agreed in early 2015. The terms of the revised agreement, which provides a more
consistent measure of cost of each reactor, resulted in a change in the method of recognising the revenue and costs
related to the build of the commercial reactors. The Company will now recognise revenue and costs upon delivery of

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Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

the commercial reactors under IAS 18 and no longer use the percentage of completion method under IAS 11. The
reversals of revenue and costs of sales represent the unwinding of the percentage of completion method for 2013.

None of the exceptional items described above has any cashflow impact.

5. 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. The SMT 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 commercial projects and 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 before exceptional items is
allocated based on the country in which the customer is located.

2014

2013

Europe
£’000

Americas
£’000

Asia Pacific
£’000

Europe
£’000

Americas
£’000

Asia Pacific
£’000

Total revenue before exceptional 
items

207

1,090

439

45

1,924

2,784

Revenues during the year were generated in the United Kingdom and United States.

Non-current assets, consisting primarily of goodwill, other intangible assets, investment in GTL JV and property, plant
and equipment, totalling £33,157,000 (2013: £26,039,000) were located in the United States. All other non-current
assets were held in the United Kingdom.

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

Partner 1
Partner 2
Partner 3
Partner 4
Partners less than 10%

Total before exceptional items

2014
£’000

532
312
250
183
459

1,736

2013
£’000

2,783
1,835
–
–
135

4,753

39

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

7. Finance income

Interest income on bank deposits
Net fair value gains on forward foreign exchange contracts
Foreign exchange gains

8. Finance costs

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

2014
£’000

164
394
667

1,225

2014
£’000

(8)
12
25
–

29

During the year the licence against which interest payments had been accrued was cancelled.

9. Other income

Sale of fixed assets

10. Expenses by nature

Employee benefit expense (see note 12)
Sub-contractor and consultant costs
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment: owned (note 18)
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment: leased (note 18)
Amortisation of intangible assets (note 17)
Operating lease payments – plant and machinery
Operating lease payments – other
Patent and other IP costs
Materials expense
Services
Other expenses

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

11. Auditors remuneration

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

2014
£’000

56

56

2014
£’000

14,014
2,714
680
48
181
13
418
914
2,018
811
3,148

24,959

2014
£’000

26
55

23

104

40

2013
£’000

419
–
–

419

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
1,050
2,379

22,898

2013
£’000

25
59

18

102

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

12. Employee benefit expense
The average monthly number of Company employees (including Executive Directors) was as follows.

Research, design and development
Administration

Total average headcount

Their aggregate remuneration comprised the following items.

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

2014
number

79
26
105

2014
£’000

9,684
649
252
22
3,407

14,014

2013
number
69
22
91

2013
£’000

7,719
504
207
5
2,782

11,217

Details of Directors’ remuneration are given in the audited information in the remuneration report on pages 17-18,
which forms part of these financial statements.

13. Income tax

Company

Current tax:
R&D tax credit

Income tax total

2014
£’000

(929)

(929)

2013
£’000

(1,111)

(1,111)

Due to the availability of losses incurred in the year, there is no charge to corporation tax. The Company recovered
£929,000 through R&D tax credits (2013: £1,111,000). A claim of £978,000 for the year ending 31 December 2013 was
submitted to HMRC during 2014 and settled in January 2015.

The actual tax charge for the current and previous year is higher (2013: 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.

Company

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 total

2014
£’000

(23,299)

(6,184)

401
5,783
(129)
(800)

(929)

2013
£’000

(18,145)

(4,875)

9
4,866
(236)
(875)

(1,111)

The weighted average applicable tax rate was 27.3% (2013: 27.3%).

The standard rate of corporation tax in the United Kingdom changed from 23% to 21% with effect from 1 April 2014.
Accordingly, profits in the United Kingdom were taxed at an effective rate of 21.5%. Legislation to reduce the main
rate of corporation tax from 21% to 20% from 1 April 2015 was included in the Finance Act 2013, substantively
enacted on 2 July 2013, and consequently deferred tax balances have been re-measured.

41

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

14. Deferred tax
The movement in deferred tax in the year was as follows.

Company

Deferred tax brought forward
Purchase of intangible assets through acquisition of subsidiary (see note 30)

Deferred tax carried forward

Company

Unrecognised
Deferred tax assets
− Trading losses
− Equity settled options

2014
£’000

–
269

269

2014
£’000

(16,298)
(1,081)

(17,379)

2013
£’000

–
–

–

2013
£’000

(14,860)
(1,097)

(15,957)

At 31 December 2014 the Company had a net unrecognised deferred tax asset of £16,298,000 (2013: £14,860,000)
arising from trading losses from incorporation. No recognition (2013: nil) of the net deferred tax asset has been made
at 31 December 2014 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, £10,929,000 (2013: £9,911,000) 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 (2013: 2023 and 2033).

15. Share-based payments
Equity settled share option scheme
The Company has four share option schemes that cover all employees. The number of shares outstanding at
31 December 2014 and the expense recognised in the profit and loss for these schemes, along with bonus and other
schemes, are as follows.

Scheme

EMI
ELTIP
NELTIP
Velocys, Inc.
Bonus
Other

Total

2014

2013

Options
outstanding

4,179,111
1,520,000
8,006,636
130,062
421,760
92,129

14,349,698

Income
statement
£’000

308
–
3,068
3
–
28

3,407

Options
outstanding

3,811,236
1,595,000
5,603,325
202,415
421,760
232,264

11,866,000

Income
statement
£’000

163
27
2,301
4
–
287

2,782

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.

42

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

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

At 1 January
Granted
Forfeited
Exercised

At 31 December

2014

2013

Weighted
average
exercise price
80.17p
180.64p
78.12p
86.89p

119.33p

Number of
options
3,811,236
1,264,000
(350,934)
(545,191)

4,179,111

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

Of the 4,179,111 options outstanding at 31 December 2014, 740,705 were exercisable (2013: 191,740). The weighted
average exercise price of the exercisable shares was 67.84p (2013: 95.38p).

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
2023
2024

Total

Range of
exercise price

124.00p
159.00p
54.50p
56.01 – 57.50p
50.22 – 59.50p
46.36 – 156.00p
126.19 – 179.79p
146.00 – 257.40p

46.36 – 257.40p

2014

2013

Number of
options

16,129
62,893
10,000
51,748
1,506,141
468,200
984,000
1,080,000

4,179,111

Weighted
average
exercise price

124.00p
159.00p
54.50p
56.19p
57.73p
76.21p
152.82p
194.65p

119.33p

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

The weighted average fair value of options granted during the year determined using the Black-Scholes valuation
model was 52.46p (2013: 38.21p) 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

2014

180.64
180.64
30%
3%
0%

4.0 years

2013

145.45
145.45
30%
3%
0%

4.0 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
£308,000 in 2014 (2013: £163,000).

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.

43

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

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

At 1 January
Exercised

At 31 December

2014

2013

Weighted
average
exercise price

31.71p
58.00p

30.41p

Number of
options

1,595,000
(75,000)

1,520,000

Weighted
average
exercise price

31.71p
–

31.71p

Number of
options

1,595,000
–

1,595,000

Of the 1,520,000 options outstanding at 31 December 2014, 1,520,000 were exercisable (2013: 1,595,000). The
weighted average exercise price of the exercisable shares was 30.41p (2013: 31.71p).

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

2014

2013

Number of
options

100,000
245,000
1,175,000

1,520,000

Weighted
average
exercise price

1.00p
1.00p
39.05p

30.41p

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 2014 (2013: nil). Total expense recognised in the income statement for share options
granted to Directors and employees was £nil in 2014 (2013: £27,000).

At the time of exercising their share options, executives of the Company may apply to an employee benefit trust
managed by Oxford Catalysts Trustees Limited for a distribution in respect of the exercise value of their options. The
trustees then request a contribution from the Company in respect of the grant made. The total value of funds
distributed to executives by Oxford Catalysts Trustees Limited during the year in respect of ELTIP options was £nil
(2013: nil).

New Executive Long Term Incentive Plan (NELTIP)
Under the NELTIP scheme 2,567,791 share options were granted to executives of the Company in April 2014 after
certain performance conditions relating to the year ended 31 December 2013 were satisfied. The fair value of the
share options was recognised over a period combining the year during which performance was measured, the time
from the end of that year to the options’ grant date, and the vesting period. Award of options in respect of the year
ended 31 December 2013 was announced on 27 February 2014.

Options awarded up to 2014 are, subject to the Board’s decision, 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.

Options to be awarded in respect of 2014 are divided into time lapse options and market performance options. For
the CEO time lapse options represent 30% of the potential total award, for the rest of the Senior management team
they represent 23%. Time lapse options vest two years after the conclusion of the period over which performance is
measured. The market performance conditions on which the rest of the award is based pertain to the Compound
Annual Growth Rate of the Company’s market capitalisation excluding fund raising subsequent to 1 January 2015.
Market performance options for the CEO are measured after 5 years from the start of the service period, with a
possible re-measurement one year later. Market performance options for other executives are measured after 3
years from the start of the service period, with possible re-measurements one, and two years later. Options are
subject to the discretion of the Board if the employee leaves the Company before the options vest.

44

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

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

At 1 January
Granted
Exercised

At 31 December

2014

2013

Weighted
average
exercise price
108.92p
97.54p
124.59p

125.96p

Number of
options
5,603,325
2,567,791
(164,481)

8,006,635

Weighted
average
exercise price
49.00p
159.00p
49.00p

108.92p

Number of
options
2,587,103
3,052,222
(36,000)

5,603,325

Of the 8,006,635 options outstanding at 31 December 2014, 1,485,503 were exercisable (2013: 906,215). The
weighted average exercise price of the exercisable shares was 83.89p (2013: 73.70p). 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
2024

Total

Range of
exercise price

49.00p
159.00p
153.00 – 163.50p

49.00 – 163.50p

2014

2013

Number of
options

2,498,503
2,968,400
2,539,732

8,006,635

Weighted
average
exercise price

49.00p
159.00p
163.05p

125.96p

Number of
options

2,551,103
3,052,222
–

5,603,325

Weighted
average
exercise price

49.00p
159.00p
–

108.92p

No options had been granted under this scheme in respect of the financial year ending 31 December 2014, however
on 27 February 2015 it was announced that up to 7,588,613 options would be awarded subject to the satisfaction of
certain market conditions over the vesting period. The weighted average fair value of the market performance options
and the time lapse options to be granted in respect of year ended 31 December 2014 using respectively the Monte
Carlo and Black-Scholes valuation models is 155.00p (2013: 100.91p) 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

2014

155.00p
0.01p
46%
1.03%
0%

3.77 years

2013*

163.50p
64.20p
30%
3%
0%

3.6 years

(i)

*

The expected volatility under Black-Scholes 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 expected volatility under Monte Carlo
was calculated using statistical analysis of historic share prices over an equivalent period to the vesting period.
This number was estimated in 2013 and adjusted according to the final award.

Total expense recognised in the income statement for share options granted to Directors and employees was
£1,390,000 in 2014 (2013: £1,452,000). In addition, an expense of £1,678,000 relating to shares to be granted for the
year ended 31 December 2014 has been accrued within the share-based payments charge (2013: £849,000).

At the time of exercising their share options, executives of the Company may apply to an employee benefit trust
managed by Oxford Catalysts Trustees Limited for a distribution in respect of the exercise value of their options. The
trustees then request a contribution from the Company in respect of the grant made. The total value of funds
distributed to executives by Oxford Catalysts Trustees Limited during the year in respect of NELTIP options was
£205,000 (2013: nil).

45

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

Velocys, Inc. 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, formerly Oxford Catalyst
Group PLC, option (the ratio of the value of one share of Velocys, Inc. stock to one share of Velocys plc, formerly
Oxford Catalyst 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

2014

2013

Weighted
average
exercise price

Number of
options

Weighted
average
exercise price

$0.94
$0.77
$0.86

$1.00

202,415
(951)
(71,402)

130,062

$0.94
$1.10
$0.77

$0.95

Number of
options

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

202,415

Of the options outstanding presented above, 130,062 (2013: 70,536) were exercisable as of 31 December 2014. The
weighted average share price of the exercisable shares was $0.91 (2013: $0.99).

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

Year of expiry

2014
2015
2017
2021

Total

Range of
exercise price
per share
$0.77
$0.77
$2.21 – $2.54
$0.93

$0.77 – $2.54

2014

2013

Number of
options
–
27,410
9,218
93,434

130,062

Weighted
average
exercise price
–
$0.77
$2.45
$0.93

$1.00

Number of
options

951
60,367
9,218
131,879

202,415

Weighted
average
exercise price
$0.77
$0.77
$2.45
$0.93

$0.95

Total expense recognised in the income statement for share options granted under the Velocys, Inc. plan was £3,000
(2013: £4,000).

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

46

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

bonus was based upon the executive’s salary as well as the Company and the executive achieving certain targets
throughout the year. No awards were, or will be, made under these schemes during, or in respect of, 2014.

The Velocys Technologies Limited bonus share scheme awarded nominal value share options (1p) that were issued
subsequent to the end of previous financial years. The awards vested on the date of grant and expire 10 years
thereafter. Details of the bonus shares outstanding under the Velocys Technologies Limited bonus share scheme are
as follows.

At 1 January

At 31 December

2014

2013

Exercise
price

1.00p

1.00p

Number of
options

421,760

421,760

Exercise
price

1.00p

1.00p

Number of
options

421,760

421,760

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

Year of expiry

2019
2020
202 1

Total

Exercise 
price

1.00p
1.00p
1.00p

1.00p

2014

Number of
options

42,105
342,000
37,655

421,760

2013

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. No bonus share awards were made in respect of 2014 (2013: 4,214 shares).

The share-based payment expense for the year includes a cost of £nil (2013: £nil) relating to shares granted under
either the Velocys Technologies Limited or the Velocys, Inc. bonus share schemes.

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 consultants’ share options outstanding and their related weighted average exercise
prices are as follows.

At 1 January
Granted
Forfeited
Exercised

At 31 December

2014

2013

Weighted average
exercise price

Number of
options

Weighted average
exercise price

Number of
options

58.38p
145.25p
–
73.99p

51.15p

232,264
21,375
–
(161,510)

92,129

23.37p
21.44p
1.00p
1.00p

58.38p

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

232,264

Of the 92,129 options outstanding at 31 December 2014, 70,969 were exercisable (2013: 189,944). The weighted
average exercise price of the exercisable shares was 66.10p (2013: 72.65p). An estimated further 11,750 options will
be granted to consultants at the start of 2015 in respect of the year ended 31 December 2014. The weighted average
exercise price of these options is 143.50p.

47

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

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

Year of expiry

2021
2022
2023
2024

Total

Range of
exercise price

1.00p
1.00p
1.00 – 53.10p
145.25p

1.00 – 145.25p

2014

Weighted
average
exercise price

1.00p
1.00p
29.44p
145.25p

51.15p

Number of
options

6,500
10,204
54,050
21,375

92,129

2013

Weighted
average
exercise price 

81.28p
39.71p
1.00p
–

58.38p

Number of
options

146,850
10,204
75,210
–

232,264

The weighted average fair value of options granted during the year determined using the Black-Scholes valuation
model was 0.92p (2013: 126.43p) per option. All 2014 options were granted at market price with immediate vesting,
whereas most 2013 options were granted at 1p and with a 1 or 2 year vesting period. The weighted average fair value
of estimated options to be granted in 2015 in respect of 2014 was 1.00p 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

2014

145.25p
145.25p
30%
3%
0%

2013

147.85p
21.44p
30%
3%
0%

0.01 years

0.8 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 £28,000 (2013: £249,000) related to options
granted to consultants. An expense of £nil relating to the year ended 31 December 2014 has been accrued within the
share-based payment charge.

Share-based payments charge
The total charge for share-based payments during the year was £3,407,000 (2013: £2,782,000) of which £2,864,000
(2013: £1,786,000) relates to options granted to Directors and the remainder to other employees.

16. 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)

2014

2013

(22,370)
122,062,050

(16,921)
115,929,849

(18.33)

(14.60)

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 15.

48

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

17. Intangible assets

Company
2014

Cost
At 1 January 2014
Additions
Disposals
Acquisition of subsidiary
Foreign exchange movement

At 31 December 2014

Accumulated amortisation
At 1 January 2014
Charge for the year
Disposals
Impairment
Foreign exchange movement

At 31 December 2014

Net book amount
At 31 December 2014

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

Goodwill
£’000

In process
technology
£’000

Patents,
licence and
trademarks
£’000

Customer
contracts
£’000

Software
£’000

4,062
–
–
1,865
31

5,958

–
–
–
–
–

–

19,440
–
–
–
1,170

20,610

–
–
–
1,328
–

1,328

1,752
329
(167)
–
81

1,995

382
138
(13)
–
21

528

–
–
–
1,344
129

1,473

–
–
–
–
–

–

5,958

19,282

1,467

1,473

211
100
–
–
17

328

112
43
–
–
6

161

167

Goodwill
£’000

In process
technology
£’000

Patents,
licence and
trademarks
£’000

Customer
contracts
£’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

Total
£’000

25,465
429
(167)
3,209
1,428

30,364

494
181
(13)
1,328
27

2,017

28,347

Total
£’000

25,573
418
(526)

25,465

368
138
(12)

494

24,971

In process technology is yet to be brought into use and hence is not being amortised. The Company will amortise in
process technology using the units-of-production method under IAS 16. The unit of measure will be number of
reactors sold.

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 had been determined that there were initially
six CGUs, each representing a separate technology stream for which distinct revenue streams are either being
currently generated or are anticipated in the future. One CGU was fully impaired in 2014; this represented one of the
Company’s non-core technologies, which is still believed to offer prospective future revenue, but which the Company
does not currently have the intention to pursue.

Goodwill of £4,062,000 (2013: £4,147,000) originates from the acquisition of Velocys, Inc. in 2008. Goodwill of
£1,865,000 (2013: £nil) originates from the acquisition of Velocys Projects Solutions in 2014. Customer contracts
represents the discounted value of expected future income to be received by the Company upon obtaining a final
investment decision by outside investors currently being sought to invest in the Ashtabula project (see note 30).

49

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

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.

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.

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 of 15 years in each case.

Discount rate
The discount rate applied to each CGU represents a pre-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
was 25% in 2014 (2013: between 25% and 30%).

Summary of results
During the year, goodwill and in process technology intangible assets were tested for impairment and it was
determined that one of the six CGUs was fully impaired resulting in an impairment charge of £1,328,000 (2013: nil).

For the remaining five CGUs, the forecasts used in the impairment review as at 31 December 2014 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 in relation to the remaining intangible assets.

Parent company
The parent company has no intangible assets (2013: nil).

50

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

18. Property, plant and equipment

Company
2014

Cost
At 1 January 2014
Additions
Disposals
Assets acquired on acquisition of subsidiary
Transfers to plant and machinery
Foreign exchange

At 31 December 2014

Accumulated depreciation
At 1 January 2014
Charge for the year
Disposals
Foreign exchange

At 31 December 2014

Net book amount
At 31 December 2014

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

Assets under
construction
£’000

160
1,203
–
–
(630)
45

778

–
–
–
–

–

Land
£’000

–
23
–
940
–
90

1,053

–
–
–
–

–

778

1,053

Plant and
machinery
£’000

6,953
318
(450)
–
630
376

7,827

5,029
728
(439)
275

5,593

2,234

Assets under
construction
£’000

Land
£’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

Total
£’000

7,113
1,544
(450)
940
–
511

9,658

5,029
728
(439)
275

5,593

4,065

Total
£’000

6,464
971
(185)
–
(137)

7,113

4,568
740
(185)
(94)

5,029

2,084

The costs of leased assets included above is £214,000 (2013: £225,000). The net book amount of leased assets
included above is £121,000 (2013: £162,000). Depreciation is charged to other administrative expenses in the
consolidated income statement.

Parent company
The parent company has no property, plant or equipment (2013: nil).

As at 31 December 2014, the Company had entered into contractual commitments for the acquisition of property, plant
and equipment amounting to £60,000 (2013: £24,000).

51

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

19. Investments in subsidiaries

2014

2013

Capital
Loan to contributions to
subsidiaries
£’000

subsidiaries
£’000

Total
investment in
subsidiaries
£’000

Loan to
subsidiaries
£’000

Capital
contributions
to subsidiaries
£’000

Total
investment
in subsidiaries
£’000

47,948
47,080

(1,208)

93,820

29,407
–
5,525
–

34,932

77,355
47,080
5,525
(1,208)

128,752

26,040
23,858
–
(1,950)

47,948

26,625
–
2,782
–

29,407

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

77,355

Velocys plc

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

At 31 December

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

The parent company has direct 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 (USA Holdings) LLC

Ohio, USA

Holding company for US subsidiaries

Oxford Catalysts Trustees Limited

England and Wales

Holds assets and makes distributions
in respect of employee remuneration

% Holding
(all ordinary
share capital)

100

100

100

The following companies are significant subsidiaries of the Company whose immediate parent is not Velocys plc.

Subsidiary undertakings

Velocys, Inc.

Country of
incorporation or principal
business address

Delaware, USA

Velocys Project Solutions, LLC

Delaware, USA

Ashtabula Energy, LLC

Delaware, USA

JAB Land-Ashtabula

Ohio USA

Principal activity

Design, development and exploitation
of its microchannel technologies

Project development of smaller scale
GTL plants

Project development of smaller
scale GTL plant in Ashtabula, Ohio

Hold land for small scale GTL
plant in Ashtabula Ohio

% Holding
(all ordinary
share capital)

100

100

100

100

Velocys plc has an investment in the following dormant subsidiary.

Dormant subsidiary

Incorporated

Principal activity

% Holding

Oxford Catalysts UK Limited

England and Wales (07671880)

Dormant company

100

52

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

20. Investments

Investment in GTL JV
Foreign exchange

2014
£’000

1,613
98

1,711

2013
£’000

–
–

–

Available for sale financial assets purchased for cash in 2014 represent the acquisition of an 8.6% minority interest
in a GTL joint venture. In 2014 the Company entered into an exclusive joint venture (GTL JV) with established players
in the gas and energy markets to develop GTL plants using a combination of renewable biogas (including landfill gas)
and natural gas. The investment is measured at fair value on the balance sheet date and any changes in value are
included in the consolidated income statement. The investment was remeasured at 31 December 2014 and there was
no change in value. This is a level 3 fair value measurement. The investment is denominated in US dollars. The
Company is committed to a further investment of £1,653,000. The parent company had no investments (2013: nil).

21. Trade and other receivables

Current
Trade receivables
Prepayments and accrued income
Other receivables

Company

2014
£’000

43
420
190

653

2013
£’000

102
797
213

1,112

The fair value of trade and other receivables is not materially different to the book value above (2013: 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 (2013: nil).

The parent company had trade and other receivables of £76,000 (2013: nil).

As at 31 December 2014 Company trade receivables of nil (2013: £71,000) were past due but not impaired. The aging
analysis for the 2013 amounts past the due date, which were received in full in 2014, is as follows.

Up to 3 months

Company

2014
£’000

–

–

2013
£’000

71

71

The parent company had no trade and other receivables past due but not impaired (2013: nil).

Trade receivables outstanding at year end represent approximately 9 days’ sales (2013: 8 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 2014, the parent company had no overdue trade receivables (2013: nil). The
other classes within trade and other receivables do not contain impaired assets (2013: nil).

53

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

The allowance for doubtful debt at 31 December 2013 related to two smaller companies who no longer appear to be
in a position to pay. This amount was written off in 2014. 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

22. Inventory

Raw materials and consumables
Finished goods

Total

The parent company has no inventory.

23. Short term investments, cash and cash equivalents

Short term bank deposits
Cash at bank and in hand

Total cash and cash equivalents

2014
£’000

–

–

2014
£’000

331
322

653

Company

2014
£’000

8
283

291

2013
£’000

90

90

2013
£’000

662
450

1,112

2013
£’000

–
263

263

Company

2014
£’000

28,083
31,693

59,776

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.

Both short term investments, and cash and cash equivalents, are denominated in UK sterling and in US dollars, as
follows:

Company

2014
£’000
21,000
24,039

45,039

2013
£’000
11,875
8,813

20,688

UK sterling denominated:

Short term bank deposits
Cash at bank and in hand

54

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Company

2014
£’000
7,083
7,654

14,737

Company

2014
£’000

728
875
62
3,260
4,214
1,763

10,902

2013
£’000
–
5,662

5,662

2013
£’000

1,526
–
65
3,600
830
–

6,021

US dollar denominated:

Short term bank depos its
Cash at bank and in hand

The parent company has no cash or cash equivalents (2013: nil).

24. Trade and other payables: current

Trade payables
Other payables
Other taxation and social security
Accruals
Deferred income
Deferred consideration

The parent company has trade and other payables of £85,000 (2013: nil).

The fair value of trade and other payables are not considered to be materially different to their carrying values based
on discounted cash flows. In circumstances in which an award for costs from an external entity is subject to a final
settlement, such as awarded costs from a court judgement, the Company does not recognise awarded amounts until
the settlement is finalised and are therefore included in other payables.

25. Trade and other payables: non-current

Accruals
Deferred licence payments

Company

2014
£’000

69
–

69

2013
£’000

96
136

232

The parent company has no non-current trade and other payables (2013: nil).

The deferred licence payments payable represented the discounted value of the minimum licence payments due
under the terms of a licence agreement between Velocys and ISIS Innovations Limited, the technology transfer office
of the University of Oxford, which was cancelled during 2014. In 2013 the discounted value of these payments was
included in intangible assets.

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

26. Borrowings
The parent company had no borrowings in 2014 (2013: nil). Maturity of borrowings for the Company is as follows.

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

Company

2014
£’000
267
999
–

1,266

2013
£’000
104
969
223

1,296

55

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

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 capital projects secured is £2,116,000 (2013: £1,994,000). The
loan was fully drawn down in 2012. After repayments of principal, the amount outstanding on the loan as at 31
December 2014 is £1,138,000 (2013: £1,134,000).

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.

27. Derivative financial instruments
The Company sells 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 2014 the notional principal amounts of the outstanding
forward foreign exchange contracts were £14,000,000 (2013: £4,000,000), and the notional principal amount of
outstanding forward foreign exchange options was £nil (2013: £1,000,000). All the outstanding contracts will mature
during 2015. Gains and losses against the US dollar exchange rate as at 31 December 2014 are recognised in Finance
income in the consolidated income statement and in Current assets in the consolidated statement of financial
position.

28. Financial instruments

Company

Assets as per balance sheet
Available-for-sale financial assets
Derivative financial instruments
Trade and other receivables excluding
non-financial assets
Short term investments – funds held on deposit
Cash and cash equivalents

Company

Assets as per balance sheet
Trade and other receivables excluding
non-financial assets
Short term investments – funds held on deposit
Cash and cash equivalents

31 December 2014

Loans and
receivables

Assets at fair
value through 
profit and loss

Available
for sale

–
–

233
28,083
31,693

60,009

–
435

–
–
–

435

1,711
–

–
–
–

1,711

31 December 2013

Loans and
receivables

Assets at fair
value through 
profit and loss

Available
for sale

315
11,875
14,475

26,665

–
–
–

–

–
–
–

–

Total

1,711
435

233
28,083
31,693

62,155

Total

315
11,875
14,475

26,665

56

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

The credit risk of short term investments and cash and cash equivalents, summarised in the following table, is
assessed using an external credit rating agency’s long-term ratings.

Short-term bank deposits, cash at bank 
and in hand

Aa3
A1
A2
A3

Company
Liabilities as per balance sheet
Borrowings
Trade and other payables excluding
non-financial liabilities
Finance lease liabilities

Company

Liabilities as per balance sheet
Borrowings
Derivative financial instruments
Trade and other payables excluding
non-financial liabilities
Finance lease liabilities

29. Called up share capital

Company and parent company

At 1 January 2013
Employee share options scheme: shares issued
Fund raising January 2013

At 31 December 2013
Employee share options scheme: shares issued
Investment by Shiloh Industries
Consideration for purchase of Pinto Energy, LLC
Fund raising October 2014

At 31 December 2014

2014

2013

£

11,504
8,951
27,496
11,825

59,776

%

19%
15%
46%
20%

£

–
–
18,402
7,948

26,350

31 December 2014

Liabilities at fair
value through the
profit and loss

Other financial
liabilities at
amortised cost

–

–
–

–

1,139

3,366
127

4,632

31 December 2013

Liabilities at fair
value through the
profit and loss

Other financial
liabilities at
amortised cost

–
263

–
–

263

Number of
shares
(thousands)

91,432
500
24,479

116,411
1,018
601
755
23,111

141,896

1,134
–

1,662
162

2,958

Ordinary
shares
£’000

914
5
245

1,164
10
6
8
231

1,419

%

–
–
70%
30%

Total

1,139

3,366
127

4,632

Total

1,134
263

1,662
162

3,221

Share
premium
£’000

66,662
99
29,032

95,793
506
1,197
1,647
50,082

149,225

A total of 13,927,937 (2013: 11,702,661) options to subscribe for ordinary shares of Velocys plc have been granted
and are outstanding at 31 December 2014 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 15.

On 11 March 2014 the Company issued 601,326 shares in Velocys plc at £2.00 per share to Shiloh Industries, Inc. as
part of a manufacturing partnership agreement between the companies. The shares represent 0.4% of issued share
capital. On 25 June 2014 the Company issued 754,887 shares in Velocys plc at £2.19 to the shareholders of Pinto
Energy, LLC, now known as Velocys Projects Solutions, as consideration for the purchase of 100% of its ordinary
share capital. These shares represent 0.5% of issued share capital. On 20 October 2014 the Company issued

57

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

23,111,111 shares in Velocys plc at £2.25 per share to raise £52 million before related transaction expenses of £1.7
million. These shares represent 16.3% of issued share capital. All of the ordinary shares issued have the same rights
as the other shares in issue.

30. Acquisition of a subsidiary
On 25 June 2014, the Company acquired 100% membership interest in a projects development company, Pinto
Energy, LLC, subsequently rebranded Velocys Project Solutions (VPS), along with its Ashtabula GTL project and
pipeline of other opportunities.

Through its acquisition the Company has expanded its commercial operations to actively pursue project development
opportunities. VPS is one of the leading project developers of smaller scale GTL in North America. Through its most
advanced project to date, VPS is developing a facility for a GTL plant to produce approximately 4,800 barrels per day
(bpd) on an 80 acre industrial site that it owns near the Port of Ashtabula, Ohio, USA. Final investment decision in the
Ashtabula plant by outside investors currently being solicited by VPS and the Company is expected towards the end
of 2015. Future expansions could see installed capacity upwards of 10,000 bpd at the site. In addition to Ashtabula,
VPS has a pipeline of smaller scale GTL projects it is seeking to develop throughout North America.

Goodwill of £1,865,000 arising from the acquisition is attributable to the acquired pipeline of potential projects. The
deferred consideration of £1,763,000 arose on the acquisition of Velocys Project Solutions and is due within one year.

The following table summarises the consideration for VPS, the fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities
assumed at the acquisition date.

Consideration at 25 June 2014

Equity
Cash
Deferred consideration

Total consideration

Recognised amount of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed

Land
Other intangible assets

Total identifiable net assets
Deferred tax liability
Goodwill arising on acquisition

Total

Fair value
£’000

1, 655
462
1,763

3,880

940
1,344

2,284
(269)
1,865

3,880

The total purchase consideration of £3,880,000 comprised an upfront amount of £1,655,000 through the issue of
754,887 shares in Velocys plc, £462,000 paid in cash for outstanding obligations and deferred consideration of
£1,763,000 that will also be settled by the issue of shares in Velocys plc. The deferred consideration is contingent on
the achievement of final investment decision on the plant in Ashtabula. A discount has been applied to the deferred
consideration based on the Company’s estimate of the percentage likelihood of achieving final investment decision
within a specified time period.

Acquisition costs have been charged to Other administrative expenses in the consolidated income statement for
2014. There were no acquisitions in the year ended 31 December 2013.

The fair value of the 754,887 shares issued as the consideration paid for VPS was based on an average of the
published share price from 17 June 2014 to 24 June 2014.

The deferred consideration arrangement requires the Company to pay, in shares of Velocys plc, to the former owners
of VPS contingent upon the achievement of final investment decision on the plant in Ashtabula in a specified
timeframe. The fair value of the deferred consideration was £1,763,000. The fair value estimates are based on a
discount rate of 25%. This is a level 3 fair value measurement.

58

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Other intangibles of £1,344,000 represents the discounted value of future income to be received by the Company
upon obtaining a final investment decision by outside investors currently being sought to invest in the Ashtabula
project (see note 30). The fair value estimates are based on a discount rate of 63% reflecting the probable level of the
eventual fee as well as the likelihood of the project proceeding; this is a level 3 fair value measurement.

31. Commitments
Capital commitments are disclosed in note 18.

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

2014
£’000

412
1,419
575

2,406

2014
£’000

1
3

4

2013
£’000

377
1,478
842

2,697

2013
£’000

1
4

5

32. Pension arrangements
The Company operates a number of defined contribution schemes for which the pension cost charge for the year
amounted to £252,000 (2013: £207,000).

33. Related party transactions
The parent company has the following amounts due from its subsidiaries:

Balances with subsidiary companies

Velocys Technologies Limited
Velocys (USA Holdings) LLC
Velocys, Inc.

Total due from subsidiaries

2014
£’000

78,565
1,711
13,544

93,820

2013
£’000

41,740
–
6,208

47,948

All amounts are unsecured and have no fixed date of repayment.

Oxford Catalysts Trustees Limited
At the time of exercising their share options, executives of the Company may apply to the employee benefit trust
managed by Oxford Catalysts Trustees Limited for a distribution in respect of the exercise value of their options. The
trustees then request a contribution from the Company in respect of the grant made. The total value of funds
contributed by the Company to Oxford Catalysts Trustees Limited during the year was £205,000 (2013: nil).

59

Velocys plc
Annual report and accounts 2014 

Directors, secretary and advisors to the Company

Velocys plc registration no.

5712187

Registered office

Directors

115e Olympic Avenue
Milton Park
Abingdon
Oxfordshire
OX14 4SA

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 and since 9 January 2015
Senior independent 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

Public relations

Independent auditors

Capita Asset Services
The Registry
34 Beckenham Road
Beckenham
Kent BR3 4TU

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

Camarco
107 Cheapside
London EC2V 6DN

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

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

Registered Number: 5712187 

www.velocys.com